Why does former Nebraska territories dominate FCS
Montana st
North Dakota st
South Dakota St
All in the final 4
And Nebraska wins just 3 games ??
I think it’s because they benefit from being the third tier of football recruiting in the Great Plains/northern US.
You have Nebraska as the first tier. Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, KState, Kansas, Missouri as the second tier (maybe Missouri is there with Nebraska in the 1st tier for recruiting due to $EC). Then those FCS schools are third tier.
Compare that to Youngstown for example. Recruits from Ohio and the surrounding area prioritize Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State first. The second tier of recruits go to schools like Pitt, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Indiana, Illinois, Purdue. The third tier goes to the MAC. Then the fourth tier goes to Youngstown.
Similar idea for a school in the south like McNeese.
Of course those areas are bigger recruiting hotbeds than the Great Plains, but I think the number of FBS schools in those areas outweighs that factor.
So basically what it comes down to is the Dakotas and Montanas are getting MAC-level recruits while other FCS schools get below MAC-level recruits.
