The 'Eyeball' Test Working In JMU's Favor

Hutchinson, the athletic director at Morehead State University, is the chairman of the FCS Championship Committee. The first game he saw saw live this fall was Morehead State’s season opener on Sept. 3 at James Madison. The Dukes pounded his Eagles 80-7 in a contest that saw JMU rack up 10 rushing touchdowns.

“I’m still trying to forget it,” Hutchinson said. “But, you remember it.

“I remember particularly that they were just so disruptive defensively for us, and we turned it over quite a bit, which gave them a bunch of easy scores. That’s why the margin was like it was. Then, looking at other scores of other games that I did not watch, there were other games that the Dukes played in a somewhat similar way. Those things are memorable, there’s no question about it.”

The committee is responsible for putting together the FCS playoff bracket, seeding the top eight teams, determining the field and where some of the games are played. New this season, the 10-member panel of athletic directors serving at schools from the different FCS conferences, also publicly releases its own Top 10 rankings in the final three weeks of the regular season.

Hutchinson said each week throughout the season he and other committee members try to watch as many games from around the country as they can, in addition to seeing their own schools compete in person.

A week ago, JMU was placed No. 5 in the initial FCS Championship Committee rankings, and today at 4 p.m. on ESPNU, the committee will release its second set of rankings.

Hutchinson said releasing the Top 10 publicly has helped generate buzz about the playoffs.

Hutchinson is one of three athletic directors on the FCS Championship Committee to have seen JMU play live this season. Central Connecticut State athletic director Paul Schlickmann and New Hampshire athletic director Marty Scarano also saw their football programs fall at the hands of JMU. Madison knocked off Central Connecticut State 56-21 just a week after beating Morehead State. The Dukes also won a tough road conference game at New Hampshire in October. Before JMU’s trip to New Hampshire, the Wildcats had won 49 of their last 55 home games.

JMU has played against more schools with athletic directors serving on the committee than any other team in the country.

“We should have a good evaluation of who JMU is, right?” Hutchinson said. “Three-tenths of the committee will have stood through a game and seen it firsthand, so I think we’ll have a real fair assessment of where JMU is for sure.”

JMU athletic director Jeff Bourne served on the committee for four years and was the chairman in 2013. He said during his experience, the committee always operated without bias, but admitted the “eyeball test” plays a factor in rankings, seedings and pairings.

“It is important and is an issue that’s talked about on selection weekend,” Bourne said. “I know in every year I served on the selection committee, we relied on our colleagues that had seen teams and how important it was for that feedback.”

Both Hutchinson and Bourne said the national committee also uses information from the regional advisory committees (RAC). JMU and all the Colonial Athletic Association programs fall into the east region. Each RAC is responsible for passing along reports to the national committee on the teams in conferences in their region. The individual RAC features two athletic directors from the conferences falling into that particular region.

“There are certainly advantages in having your institution be looked at by a committee member or a RAC member,” Bourne said. “And the national committee does a great job of researching, vetting and ultimately seeding candidates.”