Liberty Picked to Win Big South

[Sly Fox]

Big South favorite Liberty placed a League-high 11 on the preseason squad -- the second-most preseason selections in Big South history -- and became the first team to have an honoree at each position on offense and defense.

OFFENSE
QB - Brock Smith, Liberty, Jr. (Hershey, Pa.)
RB - Rashad Jennings, Liberty, Jr. (Forest, Va.)
RB - Zach Terrell, Liberty, Jr. (Manasses Park, Va.)
WR - Jerome Simpson, Coastal Carolina, Sr. (Reidsville, N.C.)
WR - Duvaughn Flagler, Gardner-Webb, Sr. (Norcross, Ga.)
WR - Brandon Turner, Liberty, Sr. (Gretna, Va.)
TE - Chris Luck, Liberty, Sr. (Montvale, Va.)
OL - Stephen Sene, Liberty, R-Sr. (Columbia, S.C.)
OL - Demario Deese, Gardner-Webb, Jr. (Charlotte, N.C.)
OL - Rick Howell, Charleston Southern, Sr. (Satellite Beach, Fla.)
OL - Robert Brown, VMI, Sr. (Mesquite, Texas)
OL - Eddie Pinigis, Liberty, R-Sr. (Forest, Va.)

DEFENSE
DL - Brian Johnston, Gardner-Webb, Sr. (San Diego, Calif.)
DL - Dennis Justiniani, Charleston Southern, Sr. (Huntington Beach, Calif.)
DL - Adrain Grady, Coastal Carolina, R-Sr. (Leland, N.C.)
DL - Steven Ackley, Liberty, R-Sr. (Columbia, Tenn.)
LB - Mario E. Brown, Gardner-Webb, Jr. (Greenville, S.C.)
LB - Jada Ross, Charleston Southern, Sr. (Summerville, S.C.)
LB - Stevie Ray Lloyd, Liberty, R-Sr. (Lynchburg, Va.)
LB - Mike Pavelko, Gardner-Webb, Jr. (Eden Prairie, Minn.)
DB - C.J. Hirschman, Charleston Southern, Sr. (Jacksonville, Fla.)
DB - Daniel Cooke, Gardner-Webb, Jr. (Charlotte, N.C.)
DB - Ryan Greiser, Liberty, Jr. (Quakertown, Pa.)
DB - Okeba Rollinson, Charleston Southern, R-Jr. (Gastonia, N.C.)

SPECIAL TEAMS
PK - Nick Ellis, Charleston Southern, Sr. (Stockbridge, Ga.)
P - Michael Hanna, Gardner-Webb, Jr. (Lawrenceville, Ga.)
LS - David McCarthy, Gardner-Webb, Jr. (Irmo, S.C.)
RS - Wynton Jackson, Liberty, R-Sr. (Jacksonville, Fla.)

PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jerome Simpson, WR, Sr., Coastal Carolina

PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Brian Johnston, DE, Sr., Gardner-Webb

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH (points)
1. Liberty (87)
2. Coastal Carolina (79)
3. Gardner-Webb (63)
4. Charleston Southern (43)
5. VMI (28)

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[AppGuy04]

Winning the Big South this year is about as special as winning the Sun Belt in BCS

Welcome to Boone or Amherst

[SuperJon]

Winning the Big South two seasons from 1-10 without a I-AA win is big.

[PAmedic]

Winning the Big South this year is about as special as winning the Sun Belt in BCS

Welcome to Boone or Amherst

Really? looks to me that the BSOUTH is solidly in the top half of the pack, not far behind the vaunted SoCon. Not too shabby for a "Still wet behind the ears" start-up conf.

Maybe you discount the source on this one

http://www.i-aa.org/articles/artfiles/8 ... nfrank.txt

Conference Rank
Rank, Conference (Average Rating)
1. Great West Football Conference (22.35)
2. Atlantic 10 Conference (24.93)
3. Gateway Football Conference (30.04)
4. Southern Conference (35.67)
5. Big Sky Conference (36.59)
6. Ivy League (40.90)
7. Big South Conference (46.69)
8. Ohio Valley Conference (50.21)
9. Southland Conference (50.81)
10. Patriot League (55.79)
11. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (58.23)
12. Northeast Conference (64.49)
13. Southwestern Athletic Conference (64.63)
14. Independents (67.70)
15. Pioneer Football League (69.58)
16. Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference (83.64)

[AppGuy04]

The supposed class of the conference at the time came to Boone and left with a 30-3 loss. Thats all I need to know about the competition level in the Big South

[Sly Fox]

So a homefield blowout over a team making their first ever playoff appearance is all the judgement you need about an entire league. Nice.

Its posters like this guy that will make Appy's eventual but inevitable fall from the throne more enjoyable for the rest of America.

As medic pointed out, the league is is showing better every season. Perhaps in a thread about the Big South that would make for better conversation that tired wet blanket posts.

[AppGuy04]

So a homefield blowout over a team making their first ever playoff appearance is all the judgement you need about an entire league. Nice.

Its posters like this guy that will make Appy's eventual but inevitable fall from the throne more enjoyable for the rest of America.

As medic pointed out, the league is is showing better every season. Perhaps in a thread about the Big South that would make for better conversation that tired wet blanket posts.

The dominant team in your conference not even showing up is a big deal. If they trounce everyone else and then come to Boone and show like that, that shows them and the Big South to be inferior IMO. Thats not a hard argument to understand

[lizrdgizrd]

Let's face it, the Big South is an unproven conference at this point. I'd say you're moving in the right direction and with some time will prove to be a solid conference.

[Swiss Militant]

If they trounce everyone else and then come to Boone and show like that, that shows them and the Big South to be inferior IMO.

There were a lot of teams that were inferior to App last year and, at least, seven of them were in the Southern Conference. In fact, Coastal showed better in Boone than Furman did. Is that really a reflection of the conference being inferior or one team being that dominant?

[AppGuy04]

If they trounce everyone else and then come to Boone and show like that, that shows them and the Big South to be inferior IMO.

There were a lot of teams that were inferior to App last year and, at least, seven of them were in the Southern Conference. In fact, Coastal showed better in Boone than Furman did. Is that really a reflection of the conference being inferior or one team being that dominant?

You may be partly correct, but the top team in the conference is usually a barometer of said conference. That being said, Coastal has was the BS playoff participant last year and was very close the year before. Both years they played and barely showed up in Boone. Until another team shows up, CCU is the face of the Big South for me

[Swiss Militant]

CCU is the face of the Big South for me

That's fine but to say that an entire conference is "inferior" based on two games against what was, on both occasions, clearly the best team in the country doesn't make sense. If you really followed that logic, then you would also have to say that the Gateway was an "inferior" conference also based on what App also did to their champ in the playoffs.

[AppGuy04]

That's fine but to say that an entire conference is "inferior" based on two games against what was, on both occasions, clearly the best team in the country doesn't make sense. If you really followed that logic, then you would also have to say that the Gateway was an "inferior" conference also based on what App also did to their champ in the playoffs.

Actually, the first time they came to Boone, it was the 3rd game of the season, with ASU coming off a 6-5 season, hardly the best team in the country at the time. Hindsight is 20/20, so its easy to say that now, but at the time, no way.

As for the Gateway comparison, it doesn't work, b/c we have seen the depth of that conference in competition. CCU is the only team in the Big South that has really played anyone of consequence, so thats apples and oranges compared to the Gateway

[Swiss Militant]

Hmm. Can't argue that.

[Sly Fox]

We've played teams of substance in recent years. We were at ACC Champ Wake last fall. We just haven't beaten any of them. But I see your point.

[heavyd]

The only problem I have with the point is that you can't judge a team early in the season. You have to look at the total performance. Just because someone is ranked high early and finishes low at the end doesn't mean they were harder at first and became easier - it means that they were overranked and their total performance was better assessed later in the year.