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Subject: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: Tiger_Inn_Boy () [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 13:26:30 10/26/25 Sun Harvard wins the next 3 games by 3 or more TDs leading to a top ten ranking in FCS polls. Yale also wins next 3 games by large margins. Yale beats Harvard in final game by less than a TD. Yale goes to FCS playoffs as Ivy winner Harvard goes to FCS Playoffs as at-large team. Last edited by author: Sun October 26, 2025 13:31:27 GMT-6   Edited 1 time. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

[> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: observer [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 14:07:09 10/26/25 Sun The irony of that happening, when those two schools (plus Princeton) held out the longest against the playoffs, because of the sanctity of "the Game" would be impressive.

[> [> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: Old Blue [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 14:13:39 10/26/25 Sun Gentlemen; One could only hope.

[> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: Ivy Inquisitior [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 18:39:20 10/26/25 Sun Even if Yake wins the Ivy or not ,if they win out ,which they should they'll probably get an at large bid. Unfortunately, for Dartmouth three losses might leave them out. The Big Green are a play off quilty team but if they finish at 7-3 they might be left out. I'm glad to see the Ivy is no longer a winner take all leauge. I'm fine with not adding a 11th game or starting the season in early September. I hope to never see a confrence title game. What we've witnessed in major collge football due to the cfp ,the regular season has almost disputable. I believe it's mathematically possible to have a quad championship Each finishing 4-3. If that happens, fine by me. I'll accept that over a confrence championship game. Don't get me wrong, I personally love confrence championship games but it won't be good for the Ivy. I want to see this league as a standard of purest form of college football. I thought Nine years ago, Yale was the only one that wanted to end the Ivy's long standing self probation.

[> [> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: Tiger_Inn_Boy [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 19:12:15 10/26/25 Sun If Harvard wins the next 3 and then Yale wins out, including the Harvard game, Yale will be Ivy Champion and going to the FCS Playoffs as the winner of the Ivies. there will be NO Ivy team with 2 or 3 losses going to the Playoffs as an at-large under these circumstances.

[> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: ED S. [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 19:33:32 10/26/25 Sun Harvard's weak out of conference strength of schedule would preclude them from going as an at large team if they don't win the Ivy League title.

[> [> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: Go Green [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 20:47:54 10/26/25 Sun I agree with the sentiment that barring extraordinary circumstances, a two-loss Ivy team will not get an at-large bid to the playoffs. So if Harvard runs the table, no other Ivy team is going to the playoffs.

[> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: John Harvard (FCS Rankings updated) [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 15:00:27 10/27/25 Mon Through games of 10/25: #15 Harvard #29 Dartmouth (tied with Lafayette) Presumably Penn (4-2) was knocked out of post season contention by Yale's dominating victory. Yale (4-2) has two losses as well. Each, along with Princeton and Dartmouth has only one Ive League Loss. Seems while the league title is up for grabs, I'd agree that only Harvard and possibly Dartmouth have a chance to get a postseason spot without winning the League Title. This weekend looms large for Dartmouth, as a loss at Harvard gives Dartmouth its second loss in the league. Like Men's Basketball, it seems that the top team must get knocked out in the final weekend to possibly earn us a second bid. Specifically, if 9-0 Harvard loses to Yale in The Game and does not get the automatic bid then the Crimson could end up one of the at large selections (e.g., top 24 teams).

[> [> Subject: We will see... Author: Go Green [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 15:33:29 10/27/25 Mon I should also have clarified that my predictions are limited to this season. I suspect that much of the FCS simply does not buy that the Ivy can play with real teams. I do not expect FCS to give, say, two-loss Dartmouth the benefit of the doubt for an at-large bid. But, if say undefeated Harvard makes a real run to (say) the semis of the FCS playoffs, that could change minds and bode well for multi-bid Ivy teams in the years thereafter.

[> [> [> Subject: Maybe I'm wrong! Author: Go Green [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 12:54:40 10/28/25 Tue BGA today says that FCS playoff prognosticators think a two-loss Dartmouth team has a good chance of making playoffs. We might need help, but we'd be in the discussion. Of course, our chances of making the playoffs are 100% if we win out!!!

[> [> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: Son of Eli [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 20:54:04 10/28/25 Tue If Dartmouth wins out and Yale wins out they would both be going to the playoffs. Dartmouth would have the tie breaker for the automatic bid, but I believe an 8-2 Yale team (which beats Harvard and loses to Dartmouth by only one point on the road and to top 10 Lehigh on the road) would get an at-large bid.

[> [> [> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: John Harvard (3 bid Ivy!) [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 21:17:50 10/28/25 Tue If Harvard loses to Yale and Dartmouth, can a n 8-2 Crimson gain an at large bid?

[> [> [> [> Subject: 3 Ivy League schools in playoffs ? Author: Penn Nation [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 18:25:19 10/29/25 Wed Not a chance!

[> [> [> [> [> Subject: Re: 3 Ivy League schools in playoffs ? Author: Greenhorn [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 19:19:13 10/29/25 Wed Agree. No chance Ivy League gets more than one team in playoffs this year. There is a built in bias against the Ivies within the FCS rankings, Ivy teams play a weak out of league schedule, and with this being the first year Ivies will be allowed in the playoffs, I would bet that the playoff committee will want to see how one Ivy team fares before opening it up to more in future years.

[> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: Re: 3 Ivy League schools in playoffs ? Author: sparman [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 20:29:24 10/29/25 Wed He's pulling your leg.

[> [> [> [> [> Subject: Not this year, but... Author: Go Green [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 06:20:11 10/30/25 Thu If Penn had beaten Lehigh, then 2015 *might* have seen three Ivy teams in the playoffs if we had been eligible. I mean, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Penn all shared the Lambert Cup that season.

[> [> [> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: Ed S. [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 06:29:31 10/29/25 Wed No, not with Harvard's weak of conference schedule they played.

[> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: John Harvard (2 Bid) [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 13:43:49 11/02/25 Sun Assuming Yale and Harvard win until The Game, I’m expecting the Crimson have a good chance at either a bye (10-0) or an at large bid if 9-1. Yale has been playing well and hosts The Game. Harvard should be ranked close to top 10 after a solid win over Dartmouth. Despite a light OOC schedule, Harvard has prevailed by 21+ every contest. Holy Cross having an off year isn’t Harvard’s fault. In 9 games, HC’s only double digit losses are to Harvard & Yale. Compare that to the Crimson leading 59-10 early in the third quarter. The Game could be memorable if 9-0 Harvard visits 7-2Yale with the automatic bid on the line. I’m just thinking this Crimson squad has been so solid it could warrant an at large selection. Had Yale not lost to Dartmouth on a final second field goal, its lone loss would have been to currently 9-0 Lehigh.

[> [> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: Boola Boola [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 14:33:41 11/02/25 Sun Doubt it. Weak out of conference strength of schedule.

[> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: John Harvard (FCS Poll Bias) [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 12:14:57 11/07/25 Fri Prior to the season I identified that no Ivy squad was ranked in the top 25 and the there is a historical bias against us because we don't participate in the FCS playoffs. I also noted that our late start to the season contributed to that as well. Now that the league will participate, we find 7-0 Harvard at #13 in the Coaches Poll. Note that in the Stats ranking Harvard is #9. Sagarin, however, ranks Harvard as #6 and Massey has Harvard as #7. At 7-0 and having won every game decisively with margins of victory of at least 21 points, the knock on Harvard (other than having played 7 games and being in the Ivy League) is its strength of schedule. However, when one looks closely, the SOS argument doesn't seem to hold up. 1. North Dakota State (9-0) (SOS 52.9/Rank 158th) 2. Montana (9-0)(66.52/181) 3. Montana St (7-2)(50.64/183) 4. Lehigh (9-0)(43.46/247) 5. Tennessee Tech (9-0)(41.97/258) 6. Monmouth (8-1)(45.49/230) 7. Tarleton St (8-1)(49.53/192) 8. Villanova (6-2)(49.50/193) 9. South Dakota St (7-2)(51.57/171) T10. Mercer (7-1)(44.12/241) T10. Rhode Island (7-2)(44.86/234) 12. UC Davis (6-2)(50.72/193) 13. Harvard (7-0)(42.66/256) 14. Southeastern Louisiana (7-2)(43.24/249) Certainly, Harvard has one of the weakest SOS' in the nation, which won't improve tonight vs #234 Columbia (1-6). On the other hand, Harvard's SOS is within a point or two from #4 Lehigh, #6 Monmouth, #10 Mercer, #10 Rhode Island, and #14 SE Louisiana. Harvard's SOS is stronger than #5 Tennessee Tech. Of those squads, only Lehigh and Tennessee Tech are undefeated like Harvard is. So, Sagarin and Massey's ratings (#6/#7) are empirically consistent on these metrics, whereas the subjective coaches poll (#13) is the outlier. As for posters here who have criticized Harvard's SOS, I posture that had Holy Cross been having the season it usually does, Harvard's SOS would be in the middle of the pack. With Columbia (#234), Penn (#177) and Yale (#138), Harvard might just end up near the top of league in SOS, despite the statistical impact of not getting to play against the Ivy League's best squad. Bottom Line: as expected, the Coaches will minimize Ivy Squads because of the historical remnant of not participating in the post season and the fact that we will play less games, exacerbated by others starting two weeks earlier than we do. This SOS argument goes away if Harvard replaces Stetson with a team like Lafayette, Fordham, or UNH. I'd welcome it.

[> [> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: sparman [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 15:01:03 11/07/25 Fri ?Bottom Line: as expected, the Coaches will minimize Ivy Squads because of the historical remnant of not participating in the post season and the fact that we will play less games, exacerbated by others starting two weeks earlier than we do." These are surely contributing factors, but I suspect another significant reason is general resentment of perceived ivy "elitism".

[> [> [> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: John Harvard (Playoff Committee) [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 08:09:20 11/08/25 Sat Apparently there is a less biased “FCS Playoff Committee” that has Harvard ranked #9 going into last night’s game.

[> [> Subject: Re: Potential route to getting 2 Ivies into the FCS playoffs Author: Greenhorn [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 21:51:15 11/07/25 Fri Agree with both of your arguments but I still think it is highly unlikely that two Ivy teams get in the playoffs in the first year of Ivy participation. Too much anti Ivy bias currently. If Harvard wins out and makes a playoff run ( which I think they will), in future years, the playoff committee will give more respect to the Ivy squads.