VTTW Board Index

I think most can agree that the epicenter for FBS football is in the Southeast. There are a few exceptions of course, but for the most part it’s SEC teams plus Clemson, OU, FSU, Tx, that have dominated the sport this century. Obviously this is mostly due to the majority of HS talent located in this part of the country.

But drop down to the FCS level and it’s just the opposite, with most of the powerhouses in the Northwest. E. Washington, Montana, Montana St., N. Dakota, S. Dakota, S. Dakota St., Weber St. are all frequent  top 5-10 programs. N. Dakota St. is a dynasty the likes of which the sport has never seen.

Is there a good explanation for this? I know it left a bit of a power vacuum when teams like Ga Southern and App. St. moved up to FCS, but there should have been other SE schools move up from D2 to replace them by now. Where are those NW schools getting their players from? Are they mostly homegrown or CA imports? Is it just a matter of all the best coaches being up there?

I just thought that was weird. :dunno:

I think the moving up is a lot of it.  I would further speculate that teams in the NW are less motivated to move up.  Westerners are typically fiercely independent and insular.  They likely don't give a crap about moving up, and are happy to dominate FCS.  Vs back East money is more imporatant. That's just a WAG, but I've known a few Westerners and they are proudly independent, typically.

I could be completely wrong about this because times have changed in the decade that's passed since the info I'm sharing was relevant, but I remember when the schools in the NW pulled in a TON of talent from the Pacific Islands. I wonder if this is still the case.

Even if this was still going on, my questions lay with the type of coaching the lower schools are pulling in. How come the players look better coarched than a lot of the elite players at the power 5 schools?

It is a bit ridiculous that NDSU hasn’t moved up by now. They’re currently on a run of 9 NCs in 11 years, and they’re probably winning it again this season. At what point do they get bored of dominating that level?

I wonder if the lack of FBS competition in recruiting up there has something to do with it. A lot of high schools up there don’t even play 11 man football. That region is mostly ignored by the recruiting sites and very few FBS coaches are even looking up there. I would guess that there are a lot of really good players slipping through the cracks that could otherwise go FBS.

These schools up here in South Dakota beats a P5 school occasionally. Look at North Dakota St.  South Dakota St just lost to Iowa 7-3 a couple of weeks ago. They just don't have the depth to do it week after week. I see where a QB at a local high school has committed to University of Minnesota before his Sr year of High School. He is good. They have a lot of high school games on TV here.

They like being the big fish in the small pond, is another way of saying what I post above.