Sorry, Western Illinois does count. Everyone is getting confused between Div I-AA (counts) and Div. II (doesn't count). That being said, the way it counts is a little strange. I got this off www.collegebcs.com: What is the penalty for playing a non-Division I-A opponent? It can be significant. A team's record for SOS purposes is considered to be all wins over Division I-A opponents and all losses. For non-Division I-A teams, that record is going to be something like 0-6. Or at best 1-0. Here is an example from 1998. Kansas State beat Division I-AA Indiana State 66-0. Indiana State ended up 5-6, but none of their wins came against Division I-A competition, so for the purposes of calculating SOS, ISU was 0-6. The loss to KSU counted in 1998, but not in 1999. Also, ISU's opponents could only manage 2 wins against D-IA opponents (not counting KSU in 1998; KSU does count in 1999), so their opponents' record was 2-45. The 0-6 and 2-45 went into KSU's SOS calculation, which helps explain why they finished about 65th in the SOS ratings last year, despite playing in a good conference. However, games against teams outside of Division I altogether do not count in the SOS formula, so there is no penalty for playing them. For example, in 1999, New Mexico State played D-II New Mexico-Highlands and was not penalized in the SOS for it. After the quality win component, this is probably the most illogical piece of the formula.
