How does 1-AA football get away with this?

Look at all these teams with three and four losses! Eight!! and six of them are at large teams which had at least three losses!!! One automatic has five losses. That would be Lafayette, an automatic qualifier from the Patriot League at 6-5. MU opens at Lafayette next season.

To me: the 1-AA playoffs are like a closed little club. I don't know how they get away with it. But more 1-AA leagues are sprouting up and I have to feel sooner than later they will have to expand the field and or offer more automatic bids.

As I see it MU had to go 11-0 to have a "very realistic shot" and then it was 50-50 at best, and maybe 40-60, in my opinion.


Here is the schedule, note the records ...

November 25 at Boone, North Carolina (ESPNU at 3:30 p.m. ET)
Coastal Caro. (9-2) at No. 1 Appalachian St. (10-1)


November 25 at Bozeman, Montana
Furman (8-3) at Montana State (7-4)


November 25 at Charleston, Illinois
Illinois State (8-3) at Eastern Illinois (8-4)


November 25 at Youngstown, Ohio (ESPN2 at 7:30 p.m. ET)
James Madison (9-2) at No. 4 Youngstown State (9-2)


November 25 at Amherst, Massachusetts
Lafayette (6-5) at No. 3 Massachusetts (10-1)


November 25 at Hampton, Virginia
New Hampshire (8-3) at Hampton (10-1)


November 25 at Carbondale, Illinois
Tennessee-Martin (9-2) at Southern Illinois (8-3)


November 25 at Missoula, Montana
McNeese State (7-4) at No. 2 Montana (10-1)





The 2006 championship field consists of eight automatic qualifiers and eight at-large qualifiers.

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS (8)
Massachusetts: Atlantic 10 Conference
Montana: Big Sky Conference
Youngstown State: Gateway Football Conference
Hampton: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Tennessee-Martin: Ohio Valley Conference
Lafayette: Patriot League
Appalachian State: Southern Conference
McNeese State: Southland Conference
AT-LARGE QUALIFERS (8)
James Madison: Atlantic 10 Conference
New Hampshire: Atlantic 10 Conference
Montana State: Big Sky Conference
Coastal Carolina: Big South Conference
Southern Illinois: Gateway Football Conference
Illinois State: Gateway Football Conference
Eastern Illinois: Ohio Valley Conference
Furman: Southern Conference


DIVISION I FOOTBALL LABELS


During its August 3 meeting, the Division I Board of Directors approved a recommendation to

delete the labels Division I-A, I-AA and I-AAA from NCAA use. Additionally, the Board adopted the

title “NCAA Division I Football Championship” to replace the “Division I-AA Football Championship."

Finally, the Board adopted the terms “Football Bowl Subdivision” and “NCAA Football

Championship Subdivision” to refer to the level of football played by Division I members.

-Courtesy NCAA

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