Week Zero is one of the rare times that a team a Group of Five team sits atop the Roby Ratings, as only teams that have actually seen the field are included in the Ratings. That mirage will most likely have disappeared by the end of Week 1, and certainly by Week 2 of the new college football season.
The AQ7, officially titled the WAC/ ASUN challenge is a football scheduling alliance that will allow for seven institutions to have the opportunity to qualify for an automatic bid into the 2021 NCAA FCS Division Playoffs. The seven member institutions are Abilene Christian University, Lamar, Sam Houston St., Stephen F. Austin, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, and Jacksonville St.
South Dakota St. put a 30 point beatdown on Delaware in the FCS semifinals and will face Sam Houston St. The Bearkats made a dramatic comeback against James Madison to claim a 38-35 win after trailing 24-3 at halftime.
South Dakota St. Jackrabbits (8-1) RR 47.63
Sam Houston St. Bearkats (9-0) RR 35.95
SDSU is headed to the FCS National Championship game for the first time in program history. https://t.co/9i1RYYkpFb
Sam Houston St. remains atop the Roby Ratings for FCS schools with a Roby Rating of 26.78, which gives the Bearkats a #32 overall ranking in the Division I world of college football. James Madison is still unbeaten and has a 5.71 Roby Rating which places the Dukes with an overall ranking of #63.
Sam Houston St. was idle this weekend, and remained as the top-rated FCS school at an overall ranking of #32. Delaware moved into the second highest position behind the Bearkats with a 35-21 victory over Rhode Island and now holds the #48 slot.
The Fighting Hawks of North Dakota and Salukis of Southern Illinois are making noise in the FCS ranks as they respectively felled the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State and the FCS dynasty team, the North Dakota St. Bison this past weekend. (Now both the Bison and Salukis don’t qualify for the top numerical listings but can be found on the RR spreadsheet.)