That Other Division

As the nation follows Division 1, Bowl Subdivision football (wow, that is a mouthful), you hear arguments about which team or conference is the best and there are many solid arguments... many of which remain at the end of the season. Much could be decided if they would just adopt a playoff system....but I digress, and that is not the point of this post.
Meanwhile, there is That Other Division, the division previously knows as Division 1, AA, now verbosely dubbed Division 1, Playoff Subdivision. I may be biased since I spent my college years playing for such a program, but I happen to believe that there is a lot of quality football played at that level. Of course you've all heard about App State's upset of Michigan last year. Perhaps that sent a message that these smaller programs are for real. Whether or not you agree with this, I'd like to take a moment to share the rankings of this division:
Team (First-place votes)
1. Richmond Spiders (49)
2. James Madison Dukes (37)
3. Appalachian State Mountaineers
4. Montana Grizzlies (12)
5. Northern Iowa Panthers (2)
6. McNeese State Cowboys
7. New Hampshire Wildcats (1)
8. Elon Phoenix
9. Cal Poly Mustangs
10. North Dakota State Bison
11. Eastern Washington Eagles
12. Central Arkansas Bears
13. The Citadel Bulldogs
14. Wofford Terriers
15. Southern Illinois Salukis
16. Furman Paladins
17. Delaware Blue Hens
18. Massachusetts Minutemen
19. Villanova Wildcats
20. South Dakota State Jackrabbits
21. Eastern Illinois Panthers
22. Western Illinois Leathernecks
23. Tennessee State Tigers (1)
24. Georgia Southern Eagles
25. Liberty Flames

I list this because I am very impressed by, albeit surely shortly lived, the showing of the Southern Conference. Notice the teams in bold. App St, Elon, Citadel, Wofford, Furman, and Georgia Southern. 6 of the 9 teams in the Southern Conference found themselves in the top 25 this week. That is incredible. Much like the SEC of Division 1, Bowl Division, the Southern Conference is a historically strong conference, with a high level of play. Once conference play begins, the teams beat up on each other and some find themselves knocked out of the rankings and playoff contention. For this one week though, I'm enjoying sitting back and seeing the Southern Conference at the top.
I think I'll end on that note.