Seadragon76

Time for the draw.. Here's the groups:

Group A - Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands

Group B - England, Iran, USA, UEFA Playoff Route A Winner (Wales vs. Scotland/Ukraine)

Group C - Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland

Group D - France, IC Play-Off 1 Winner (UAE/Australia winner vs. Peru), Denmark, Tunisia

Group E - Spain, IC Play-Off 2 Winner (Costa Rica vs. New Zealand), Germany, Japan

Group F - Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia

Group G - Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon

Group H - Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea

With 29 of the 32 spots set, it's time for focus on the World Cup draw on Friday. Here's how that'll work...

Each of the teams will be split into four pots based on the upcoming FIFA World Rankings, which are set to be released tomorrow (for this example, the current ranking is used). Each pot has eight teams, so they go like this:

Pot 1: Qatar, Belgium, Brazil, France, Argentina, England, Spain, Portugal

Pot 2: Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Mexico, United States, Switzerland, Croatia, Uruguay

Pot 3: Senegal, Iran, Japan, Morocco, Serbia, Poland, South Korea, Canada

Pot 4: Tunisia, Cameroon, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, UEFA Playoff Route A winner (Wales/Scotland/Ukraine), Intercontinental Playoff A winner (Peru vs. UAE/Australia winner), Intercontinental Playoff B winner (Costa Rica vs. New Zealand)

Bryant's move is important on both sides.

For America East, it's about getting a school that has seen its stock rise thanks to their recent success on the basketball court. Also, they are losing Hartford and Stony Brook.

For the Big South, it puts them at six schools this season. This means they're able to keep their automatic bid for the time being (remember, the merger with the Ohio Valley is set for 2023).

As for the NEC, it does hurt them because Bryant was doing so well. There are a few options out there for the NEC if they want to make a move - Rumor has it that New Haven and Stonehill are the targets for the NEC right now, but there might be more teams involved then you might think.

It's a draw, which means both the US and Mexico are still tied and still in great position to make the World Cup. Costa Rica edged out Canada 1-0 (caught the very end of that game - Canada had a chance, mind you), which is huge for Costa Rica as they leapfrog past Panama into 4th place.

Sunday's games are going to be extremely important as Canada looks to seal their first trip to the World Cup since 1986 with a win over Jamaica, the United States can get in with a win over Panama in a huge game for both sides and Mexico can get in with a win over hapless Honduras.

I say it's a crap shoot because it's been a mess for the OFC.

After being held up twice thanks to COVID-19, the organization settled on a simple 9 team tournament in Qatar just to make it work... well, it hasn't worked that well.

Tonga withdrew before their qualifier against the Cook Islands after the underwater volcano erupted. Then, you have COVID-19 outbreaks causing both Vanuatu and the Cook Islands to withdraw from the tournament giving both Tahiti and the Solomon Islands a free semifinal berth.

That's just Group A. Group B has been very calm and problem free.

Getting a point against Mexico will be important since both teams are fighting for the other two spots into the World Cup. That'll make the other two games easier since both Panama and Costa Rica are fighting for 4th place, which would be a spot in the playoffs against whoever survives the absolute crap shoot that is Oceania.

A win over Mexico all but assures the US is getting in. A loss means Mexico's road is all but assured (their last two games are at Honduras and vs. El Salvador) while the US is pressing the panic button.

Am I the only one here that thinks it is very strange to have Herbstreit being the color commentary guy for TNF?

I should of just googled it, but thanks anyway @Sport.

This and the Sonny Gray move strikes me as odd moves. Wasn't Cincinnati within striking distance of a playoff berth last year?

Seattle just made a trade with Cincinnati... anyone know how good Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez are?

Because I get the feeling that Seattle is going all in with these moves and the expanded playoffs.

9 hours ago, CaliforniaGlowin said:

IFL and CIF started this weekend. 

Just for kicks, a quick update on each league...

IFL

-Spokane was kicked out of the league because they lost their lease to the Spokane Arena.

-This helps as the league is now at an even 14 teams with the expansion Vegas Knight Hawks competing in the Western Conference alongside Arizona, Bay Area, Duke City, Northern Arizona, San Diego and Tucson.

-In the Eastern Conference are Bismarck, Frisco, Green Bay, Iowa, Massachusetts, Quad City and Sioux Falls.

CIF

-Four new teams were added in the Topeka Tropics, the Southwest Kansas Storm (based in Dodge City), the Billings Outlaws and the Rapid City Marshalls.

52 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

Watson to Seattle. Make this region real uncomfortable.

Hell. No. As a fellow Seahawk fan, I implore you to rethink that.

This hurts a lot... I mean, as a Seahawk fan, losing Wilson is tough.

But, what Seattle gets in return from Denver is important - three players that could provide something, two first round picks (I assume it's this year and next year), 2 second round picks and a fifth round pick.

The challenge now is not screwing this up.

The exact implications for this aren't know yet, but I have the feeling that they might put Slovakia in since they already have the two Nation Leagues winners in the field in the form of Austria and the Czech Republic.

Or, they could throw a massive curve ball and give Poland a bye to the pod final.

It is official now: Lindenwood is jumping to DI and the Ohio Valley Conference. This is important for the OVC because it adds another football body to the conference that is starting an alliance with the Big South to basically combine the two leagues in 2023.

The reason the Big South is making that move? They lost North Carolina A&T to the CAA.

Remember the last time the Bengals were in the playoffs? Yeah, they self destructed in front of everyone in that loss to Pittsburgh.

Who knew that old history would come back to bite them in the ass??

Anyway, congrats to the Rams for winning it all.

19 hours ago, Burmy said:

What are the odds they could convince Morehead State (an OVC member in every other sport) to start offering scholarships and thus join them in football too?

Slim to none with slim heading out the front door. For the OVC to bring Morehead State back in the fold for football requires the school to start doing scholarships, which isn't exactly something that could be justified in this time frame.

3 hours ago, heavybass said:

How many would the OVC need for Football Schools?

At least two more football schools to help make up for Murray State's departure in 2023. This is where schools like Hillsdale and Grand Valley State would come in if they were looking to make the leap to Division I.

TCO Stadium? Never heard of it... who plays there??

In what might be the worst kept secret out there, Southern Indiana is joining the OVC as they make the jump to Division I

Go Bengals, beat the Lambs.

I should also mention that any potential D-II to D-I moves after Texas A&M Commerce may not happen since the NCAA has redone their constitution and the D-I Transformation Committee will be looking at a ton of topics for changing the overall field.

One of those topics is moving to Division I. It might become much, much harder for a school to get into Division I.

2 hours ago, Burmy said:

2. As New Haven is a football school, I'm wondering which conference they'd be most likely to join too.

The NEC. Not only does it fit better with New Haven regionally, the school can also play some of their old NE-10 rivals like Bryant and Merrimack in the process.

6 hours ago, stumpygremlin said:

Just as a note, Stony Brook has been in the CAA for football since 2013.

 

Now I wonder who the other conferences will pick up to replace the departing members. The Big South will only have five football schools and the America East will only have eight members total once SB and Hartford leave.

 

Maybe the Big South and OVC merge their football operations?

 

As far as the AmEast, maybe they take on CCSU? Southern Connecticut State? 

On the first topic: It's possible considering that the Big South is not just losing Hampton and Monmouth for football, they're losing Kennesaw State and North Alabama to the ASUN.  They're down to five members (four current schools and Robert Morris). They could

try to convince Presbyterian (already a member of the Big South) to come back for football, but that would be a very hard sell since the Blue Hose went to the Pioneer League in part to cut down on costs and to be more competitive.

The merger plan would have to wait until 2023 as Murray State is playing in the OVC for football this upcoming season.

On the second topic: At eight schools, the America East might be in perfect shape. There have been rumors of New Haven wanting to make the jump to Division 1... they would be a perfect fit for the conference. They might be needed as Albany is looking at jumping to the CAA alongside Stony Brook.

The CAA adding those three schools makes sense - Hampton's goal has always been to be in the CAA after leaving the MEAC. The Big South was just a stay over for them before making that move.

Monmouth and Stony Brook are big time grabs for the football side of things since they're losing a big time powerhouse in James Madison. Having them in the CAA will also help the league in other ways as well.

3 hours ago, sportsfan7 said:

Here's the thing though, BYU is leaving after next season which means the WCC currently has an open spot. Personally, I think it would make more sense for the conference to add GCU

It would, but I think Grand Canyon is probably happy where they are. Not to mention that Seattle already has history with the WCC as a former member. They would be ecstatic to see the Redhawks rejoin after nearly 50 years away.