What Is Going On With Patriot League Football?

[News]

https://www.college-sports-journal.com/ ... -football/

In other conferences, winning the conference and autobid with a team with a losing record is something that never even crosses fans’ minds. But in the Patriot League, there is a real chance that the conference champion and FCS autobid entry will not have a winning record at all. All four teams still in the running could finish at .500 or worse, and still win the autobid.

And this isn’t the first time this has happened. In 2013, Lafayette won the Patriot League with a 5-6 record, and in 2017, their bitter rivals Lehigh did the same.

The Patriot League, over the last decade, has had some genuinely tremendous teams make it into the playoffs. In 2011, Lehigh upset Towson who two years later would make it to the FCS National Championship Game with much of the same roster. Colgate fielded a couple of all-time teams who happened to eliminate James Madison twice in the playoffs (in 2015 and 2018 – the Raiders are undefeated against the Dukes all-time). And Fordham, under then-head coach Joe Moorhead, fielded some Ram teams that nobody wanted to face.

But why does the Patriot League have this issue of feast or famine? Why does the Patriot League every couple of years have this issue of fielding teams that have losing records heading to the playoffs – a situation nobody wants – and what can the teams of the Patriot League do about it?

[Sundayamqb]

Take away the auto-bid and see what happens.

[RichH]

Doubt our Presidents would actually care Sunday.
LFN has a numbervof good questions that Council needs to answer.
Right now we are stuck in Limbo. Part schollie part Ivy Lite philosophy hamstringing football programs.
Schollies were supposed to even the playing field. Unfortunately the playing field deided not to stand still. Here we are 6 years later no better and in some ways worse than we were 7 yrs ago. True most of us arevindeed in rebuilding modes. Actually this is roundc2 of the rebuild withe new coaches but the same rules. Does anyone really expect that round 2 will move the needle enough for the conference?

[Richb-3]

I thought, at one point all 7 teams could end up 3-3 in the league. But either Lehigh or Laf will have 4 wins

[Sundayamqb]

Doubt our Presidents would actually care Sunday.
LFN has a numbervof good questions that Council needs to answer.
Right now we are stuck in Limbo.

You are right. It is a mess.