Neck And Neck And Neck

The Gridiron Power Index (GPA) collects the various polls and computer rankings and synthesizes them into what it bills as, "the index ranking for the NCAA Division I FCS by College Sporting News and a top indicator of at-large playoff selection." Translated, this is the one you might want to believe in. Here's this week's GPI:

1. North Dakota State
2. Jacksonville State
3. Illinois State
4. South Dakota State
5. William & Mary
6. McNeese State
7. Northern Iowa
T8. Portland State
T8. Coastal Carolina
10. James Madison
11. Harvard
12. Dartmouth
13. Charleston Southern
14. Chattanooga
15. Southern Utah
16. Penn
17. Youngstown State
T18. Fordham
T18. Sam Houston State
20. Richmond
21. Western Illinois
22. Citadel
23. Montana
24. Villanova
25. North Carolina A&T

33. Yale
T44. Princeton
55. Brown
77. Columbia
103. Cornell

65. Georgetown
T85. Central Connecticut
97. Central Connecticut

125. Arkansas Pine Bluff

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The Valley News writes about the highly anticipated Dartmouth Hard Nose Award, which recognizes the player chosen by the trainers who has best overcome injury to be a significant contributor on the field. The trainers will reveal their choice at the end of practice tonight. Check BGA Premium tonight for the announcement of this year's winner.

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The University of North Dakota has settled on a nickname to replace the Fighting Sioux. The finalists were the Roughriders and the Fighting Hawks. If I had a vote I would have voted early and often for the Roughriders. Great nickname and fitting, given Teddy Roosevelt's history in the area. But Fighting Hawks won the balloting and so the reported two-dozen or more teams in the country who already use some variation of Hawk have more company.

Too bad the Suhaki didn't get any traction. (Say it aloud and think about a winter sport in which North Dakota has had a lot of success ;-).

The Suhaki, apparently, is real. Check it out HERE.