MVFC – Playoffs Week 2 in Review

MVFC LogoAnother round of playoffs and two more MVFC see their seasons come to a close. Neither are huge surprises for the most part…one game involved two MVFC teams and somebody has to lose there, and the other was a team that barely made it past the first round but made it a competitive game with a seeded team.

Northern Iowa (8-4) at #5 South Dakota State (9-2)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
UNI 0 7 0 15 22
SDSU 10 16 0 11 37

Quick Hits:

  • UNI – QB Eli Dunne threw for 287 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT.
  • UNI – RB Marcus Weymiller, who had a huge game against SDSU early in the season, only ran for 59 yards and caught for 39 yards.
  • UNI – LB Duncan Ferch led the team with 12 tackles, but it was LB Jared Farley who “stole the show” with 10 tackles, in addition to a 1-yard TD run in the 4th quarter.
  • SDSU – QB Taryn Christion threw for 237 yards, 3 TDs, and 1 INT. He also ran for 38 yards and 1 TD.
  • SDSU – TE Dallas Goedert caught 6 passes for 83 yards and 1 TD.
  • SDSU – LB Logan Backhaus led the team with 8 tackles including 1 for loss, 1 forced fumble, and 2 pass breakups.
  • SDSU – PK Chase Vinatieri hit 3 FGs (29, 55, 44) and went 2/2 on XP attempts (because of score differential, SDSU went for 2 on two of their TD plays)

SDSU ramped up an early lead with a FG and TD in the first. UNI would answer early in the 2nd with their own TD to pull within 3, but then the Jackrabbits put together a string of drives that chewed through the rest of the half while allowing them to tack on two more TDs and a FG to take a 26-7 lead into halftime. Some strong defense and a couple of turnovers ensured that neither team would score in the 3rd quarter, but then in the 4th, things kicked into high gear with scoring going back and forth. SDSU with a TD and FG, UNI with two TDs…but unfortunately for the Panthers, it wasn’t quite enough, as they fell by the final score of 37-22. The Jackrabbits were able to nearly completely shut down UNI’s run game, only allowing 82 yards, and held onto the ball for over 10 minutes more than the Panthers did.

Northern Iowa’s season comes to a close with a 8-5 overall record.
South Dakota State is now 10-2 and will host unseeded 9-4 New Hampshire next Saturday afternoon.

My Pick in Review:

I said: Panthers by 4
It was: Jackrabbits by 15
South Dakota State’s defense really stepped up, limiting a balanced Panther offense to their 3rd lowest point total of the season (the other two were against playoff teams Southern Utah and NDSU).

South Dakota (8-4) at #6 Sam Houston State

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
USD 7 7 14 14 42
SHSU 14 27 0 13 54

Quick Hits:

  • USD – QB Chris Streveler threw for 520 yards and 5 TDs plus 2 INTs and ran for 51 yards and a TD
  • UDS – WR Brandt Van Roekel caught 234 of those yards and 1 TD. Four other players had receiving TDs and three of them went over 50 receiving yards each
  • USD – DB Andrew Gray led the team with 13 tackles and twin brother, LB Alex Gray had 4 tackles and an INT
  • SHSU – QB Jeremiah Briscoe threw for 505 yards, 4 TDs, and 1 INT
  • SHSU – WR Nathan Stewart caught 180 yards and 1 TD, while WR Davion Davis caught 131 yards and 3 TDs
  • SHSU – RB Corey Avery ran for 100 yards and 2 TDs
  • SHSU – LB Hunter Brown led the Bearcats in tackles with 15

The first half was one of those “two for me, one for you” kinda situations with the Bearcats picking up scores twice as fast as the Coyotes. They turned a 14-7 lead after 1 quarter into a 41-14 halftime lead…however, USD wasn’t going to go down without a fight. South Dakota’s defense held the line in the 3rd, while their offense picked up two TD passes and then another TD run early in the 4th to pull within 6. SHSU got a FG, which was then answered by a 3-play, 48 second drive culminating in a a 58-yard TD pass to bring the Coyotes within 2 (44-42). This time though, the South Dakota defense was not able to stop the Bearcats offense, with them snagging another TD and a FG to end up winning 54-42.

To the surprise of pretty much nobody, the two QBs in this game combined for 1,025 yards and 9 TDs passing. Streveler won the QB battle with a few more yards and 1 more TD, but lost the war, with the difference being a couple of FGs and a bit more of a ground game for the Bearcats. Pretty much outside of USD in the 3rd quarter, defense was not really a thing that occurred in this game.

South Dakota ends their season with an 8-5 overall record.
Sam Houston State will spend next Saturday night hosting unseeded 12-1 Kennesaw State.

My Pick in Review:

I said: “A score of something in the range of a 58-52 SHSU win”…essentially Bearcats by 6
It was: Bearcats by 12
I was a little off on South Dakota’s score, but within 4 of Sam Houston State’s. A solid pick.

San Diego (10-2) at #2 North Dakota State (10-1)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
SD 0 0 0 3 3
NDSU 14 3 21 0 38

Quick Hits:

  • SD – QB Anthony Lawrence threw for 107 yards and 1 INT
  • SD – S Colton Giorgi led the team with 11 tackles, while DE Jonathan Petersen had 3 sacks and a forced fumble, recovered by LB Kim Mahoney
  • SD – PK Patrick Murray had the lone score for San Diego with a 48-yard FG in the 4th quarter
  • NDSU – QB Easton Stick threw for 171 yards and 3 TDs and ran for 54 yards and 1 TD
  • NDSU – RB Bruce Anderson continued to fill the Dunn-sized hole in the run game with a 112 yard performance, while also catching a 48-yard TD pass
  • NDSU LB Chris Board led the team in tackles with 6, while SS Robbie Grimsley had a forced fumble and recovery, FS Jaxon Brown had an INT and LB Nick DeLuca had 2 sacks and an INT

San Diego has a good team, but they just ran into a Bison buzzsaw on Saturday. NDSU had a couple of TDs in the 1st and a FG in the 2nd to take a 17-0 halftime lead. In the 3rd, NDSU shut the door on the visiting Toreros, putting up three more TDs to go ahead 38-0. In the 4th, NDSU eased up on the gas a bit and SD was able to get a FG for their only points of the day, but still went down by a score of 38-3.

San Diego ends their season at 10-2 overall.
North Dakota State is now 11-1 and will host the #7 seed, 10-2 Wofford, next Saturday afternoon.

My Pick in Review:

I said: Bison by 28
It was: Bison by 35
I thought it’d be a little closer than last year…it wasn’t.

We are now down to 8 teams left in the playoffs. The #1 and #2 seeds as well as numbers 5, 6, and 7 have all survived their first games, but #3, #4, and #8 were all taken down by unseeded teams…thus is the excitement of the playoffs. Thankfully next weekend’s slate of games are a bit more spaced out, and with much less other football going on, it’ll be much easier to keep an eye on most of the games live. Later this week I’ll preview the two MVFC games: #5 South Dakota State hosting New Hampshire at 2 PM Saturday, and #2 North Dakota State hosting #7 Wofford at 11 AM on Saturday. The other two games in the playoffs are #1 James Madison hosting Weber State at 6 PM on Friday evening, and #6 Sam Houston State bringing in Kennesaw State at 7:30 PM Saturday evening.

MVFC – Playoffs Round 2 Preview

MVFC LogoWeek 2 of playoff football…time for the “big boys” to see what they can bring. Frequent championship contenders like North Dakota State, James Madison, Jacksonville State, and Sam Houston State get to test themselves against the unseeded teams who survived (or in some cases, dominated) the first round. Since I handle pretty much just the MVFC games, I’ll hit up the three games involving 4 MVFC teams that are being played on Saturday. Here’s the full playoff bracket if you’d like to see what everyone is up to.

So, here are the MVFC games this week (numbers listed before team names are seeding numbers):
2:00 PM – Northern Iowa (8-4) at #5 South Dakota State (9-2)
2:00 PM – South Dakota (8-4) at #6 Sam Houston State (10-1)
2:30 PM – San Diego (10-2) at #2 North Dakota State (10-1)
All games listed in Central time and all games on ESPN3.
Like last week, lots of games on at the same time, which is annoying. There is one playoff game on in the evening (WSU@SUU), but the remaining 7 games all kickoff between 1:00 and 2:30 (Central). Of course they couldn’t stagger them…that’d be too easy…

Northern Iowa (8-4) at #5 South Dakota State (9-2)

This Season/Last Week:

  • Northern Iowa hosted and decimated 9-3 Monmouth by 39 points in the first round of the playoffs. They are now 8-4 on the season.
  • South Dakota State had last weekend off (as did all seeded teams). They went 9-2 overall this season with wins over other playoff teams WIU, USD, and most impressively, NDSU, although one of their two losses was to UNI, 38-18 in mid-October.

History:
Unlike a lot of playoff games, there is actually quite a bit of history between these two teams. As previously mentioned, they did already meet once before this season, with the Panthers handing the Jackrabbits one of their two losses. The two teams have met 52 times overall, with UNI holding a 30-20-2 series record. Prior to the recent string of matchups due to both being in the MVFC together, the two teams (along with the other Dakota schools) shared a conference for quite a while back when both were DII schools, so a lot of it comes from that. If you’re interested in reading more about that, it was the North Central Conference, which was a small college/DII conference founded in 1922 that went until 2008 and included teams such as NDSU, USD, SDSU, UNI, UND, and Northern Colorado (as well as current non-football schools Creighton and U of Nebraska-Omaha).

Northern Iowa started the season a bit rough, but have really gotten their swagger back since the return of RB Marcus Weymiller mid-season. QB Eli Dunne came back last week after being out for most of the last couple of games…not that they really needed him, beating Missouri State and Indiana State both fairly easily. I won’t get into too much detail about the last time these two teams met up, since I did a recap for it back then (read all about that here), but essentially, Weymiller had a great day, running the ball all over SDSU’s questionable run defense. The Panther’s overall run game has significantly stepped up in the latter half of the season, averaging 72.6 ypg in their first 5 games, but 140.8 ypg in their last 5 games…and that includes under 60 in games against NDSU and USD. Last weekend against Monmouth, UNI put up 246 total yards on the ground, their best performance this season. The defense has been stepping up their game as well, giving up 159 points in the first 5 games, but only 111 points in the 7 games following that. Overall, it feels like UNI is just really playing their best football right now. To be fair, their last three games were against two of the worst MVFC teams and a playoff team that many regarded as one of the weaker of the squads playing the postseason.

South Dakota State also happens to be on a solid streak, winning the last 5 games of their regular season, including taking down WIU by 28, NDSU by 12, and USD by 3. They have one of the higher scoring offenses in the conference, putting up 37.5 ppg overall (41 ppg in their last 5 games) and boast a couple of receivers who will likely be on NFL rosters at some point next year (TE Dallas Goedert and WR Jake Wieneke). Overall offensive production does appear to be down a bit though (“down” being a relative term here, they’re still light years ahead of many FCS teams), with total offensive production being held below 400 yards each of the last two games (they were averaging 547.6 ypg in the 3 games before that, which included NDSU and WIU). On the defensive side of the ball, they have struggled with stopping the run (as previously mentioned), but have been relatively stingy against passing games.

So, both teams are playing pretty well right now, although UNI just seems to be doing it a bit better. Last time they met, UNI ran all over SDSU, although as the saying goes, “it’s harder to beat a team the second time”. SDSU will have a much better read on what they need to do to stop UNI…but I’m not sure if it’ll be enough. I think the Jackrabbits will slow down the Panthers better than they did in October, but I don’t think it’ll quite be enough. My guess is UNI by 4.

South Dakota (8-4) at #6 Sam Houston State (10-1)

This Season/Last Week:

  • South Dakota traveled down to the bayou and came away with a VERY close 38-31 victory over Nicholls State (NSU had 1st and goal at the 1 yard line heading for a tie and likely OT game, but fumbled the ball in the end zone and time ran out for them). They are 8-4 on the season now.
  • Sam Houston State was off last weekend, but is 10-1 so far this season. They beat fellow playoff team Nicholls State (that they would have had a rematch with if NSU had won) early in the season by 49 points. Their only loss was to the #4 seeded team in the playoffs, Central Arkansas, by 11 points at the end of September.

History:
The Coyotes and Bearcats have never met before on the football field. This is South Dakota’s first appearance in the FCS playoffs, while SHSU has made the I-AA/FCS postseason 10 times, including each of the last 7 years, making it to the championship game in both 2011 and 2012 (the first two years of NDSU’s 5-year championship run).

South Dakota has had an “up and down” season…or more specifically…up…then down. 6 straight wins including beating FBS Bowling Green and playoff team Western Illinois, but then the “down”…a loss to Illinois State kicked off a 5-game run where they only won one game (to be fair, 3 of the 4 teams they lost to are the other three MVFC teams that are playing this weekend in the playoffs). For much of the year, they had one of the most dangerous offensive threats in the FCS, with QB Chris Streveler able to both throw the ball incredibly effectively and tuck the ball and turn himself into the Coyote’s best RB. He’s run for 10 TDs and out of the 10 best total offensive yardage performances in the MVFC this season…he has 6 of them. The problem with playing a very tough late-season schedule, is that a QB like Streveler, who runs a lot…and hence, gets hit…a lot…is that they get pretty banged up after a while. This has contributed to some of their struggles later in the season. Also not helping both on the defensive side of the field and likely for a short bit in the locker run, was the legal troubles of a few of their former defensive players (including probably their top DB). To USD’s credit, the players are no longer on the team, but the fact is, they’re down a starter and a couple of backups from where they were earlier in the season. They do still have a few threats on that side of the ball, specifically DB Phillip Powell who has 3 INTs and forced the fumble that essentially won the game against Nicholls State and DL Darin Greenfield who leads the MVFC in tackles for loss with 1.5 per game. Still, the Coyote defense that was averaging giving up 18 points per game in the first 6 games of the season is now averaging allowing 30.3 points per game in the last 5 games of the regular season and their first in the playoffs (and that includes a shutout against SIU).

Sam Houston State also has one of the top offensive threats in the FCS, with last year’s Walter Payton Award winner, QB Jeremiah Briscoe. Briscoe’s average of nearly 354 passing yards per game and 37 passing TDs are both #1 in the entire FCS, which is why SHSU is overall #1 in the FCS in passing offense, scoring offense, and total (yardage) offense. His top targets are WR Nathan Stewart (118.6 ypg, 11 TDs), WR Davion Davis (90 ypg, 14 TDs), and WR Yedidiah Louis (88.8 ypg, 5 TDs). Davis is also a threat on punt returns, leading the team with a 22.7 yard per punt return average with 2 TDs. The “weakness” in the Bearcat offense is the run game, which puts up just under 184 ypg (32nd in the FCS). On the other side of the ball, LB Justin Johnson leads the team with 77 tackles including 7.5 for loss (4 sacks), 1 INT and a forced fumble. Getting pressure on the backfield are DLs Chris Stewart (46 tackles, 16 for loss, 11 sacks, 10 QB hurries, 1 forced fumble, and 2 blocked kicks) and PJ Hall (40 tackles, 15 for loss, 6 sacks, 3 QB hurries, 1 forced fumble and 4 blocked kicks…and he missed the first two games of the season). They do, however, seem to give up quite a few yards both on the ground (170.4 ypg, 85th in FCS) and through the air (247.4 ypg, 99th in FCS)…which kinda seems odd to me given how good those two D-Linemen are.

You’ve got two of the top offenses in the FCS, led by two QBs who are probably in most people’s lists of players in contention for this year’s Walter Payton Award. Part of me thinks this is one of those “whomever makes it to 60 points first wins” games…honestly. I mean, USD put up 77 points in their opener, SHSU reached 60+ points twice…against defenses that are ranked somewhere in the middle of the FCS in points allowed. USD has a great QB who is pretty banged up…probably not playing close to even 80%…but have probably the second-best defense that SHSU has faced this year (behind Central Arkansas…the only team to beat the Bearcats). SHSU has a great QB…period…but have one of the worst defenses that USD has faced this year. This one is a really tough call for me. If Streveler was at 100%…Coyotes win by probably 10…but he’s not, so I think it’ll be a very close, very high scoring game, and the Bearcats come away with the victory. A score of something in the range of a 60-54 SHSU win (which of course means that USD will probably win 2-0 on a last second safety).

San Diego (10-2) at #2 North Dakota State (10-1)

This Season/Last Week:

  • San Diego went 9-2 in the regular season this year and spent last week completely embarrassing Northern Arizona in the first round of the playoffs to the tune of 41-10.
  • North Dakota State hung out back in Fargo, watched some games, drank some beer, polished their pile of championship trophies…probably something like that. The Bison went 10-1 this season, beating fellow playoff teams WIU (24-12), UNI (30-14) and USD (49-14). Their only loss of the season was to conference rival and current playoff #5 seed SDSU 33-21

History: Congratulations San Diego…you notched your 2nd ever playoff win (and the 2nd ever for the Pioneer League)…and what do you get as a reward? Only a return trip to the Fargodome. The Bison and Toreros have played each other only once…in the second round of last year’s playoffs…when NDSU won 45-7. Normally I’d also mention NDSU’s playoff history, but I don’t have that kind of time (you can read all about it here if you’re interested)

San Diego earned the big upset last weekend (NAU was favored by ~12 points, if I remember correctly) with a pretty strong defensive performance. The Toreros limited the Lumberjacks to their second-lowest passing performance of the year (178 yards) and their third lowest rushing performance of the year (60 yards). SD (I’m going to abbreviate them as SD because USD is the Coyotes in MVFC-land) also forced two fumbles and 1 INT to completely dominate the turnover battle (NAU had no gained turnovers). SD also has one of the better scoring offenses in the FCS, putting up 39.2 ppg this season. To be fair, they do play in the Pioneer League, so the level of competition is, on average, not quite what you see in a conference like the CAA, Southern, or MVFC. QB Anthony Lawrence is #2 in the FCS in passing TDs with 33…but the big thing…#1 in the FCS in interceptions thrown. 349 attempts…66.5 completion %…over 3k yards…33 TDs…and only 2 INTs. They’ve also only lost 5 total fumbles this entire season, which makes them #1 in the FCS in turnovers lost. Their O-line is also solid, allowing the fewest tackles for loss and sacks of all FCS teams. Defensively, they only allow 76.6 ypg on the ground (5th in the FCS) but have been extremely vulnerable to the pass (268.9 ypg, 116th in FCS). They do have the second best red zone defense and 9th best scoring defense in the FCS, so even while giving up so many yards through the air, they are effective at limiting teams abilities to get into the end zone. They also limit opponent’s scoring chances, being the #2 team in time of possession, holding onto the ball for an average of 34:16.

North Dakota State’s credentials have been fairly well documented in my articles throughout this season. They currently have the #2 scoring defense and #3 scoring offense in the FCS. NDSU mostly gets it done offensively with their ground game, running for an average of 265.1 ypg (5th in FCS). Some of that is skewed by some huge performances by RB Lance Dunn in the first half of the season. Dunn has been out with an injury for the last 5 games of the season (he was averaging right about 100 ypg in the 6 games he fully played in) and had 12 TDs. It is unclear if Dunn could be back for this game, although I highly doubt they would start him unless he’s back up to full power, and if he does get on the field, it likely wouldn’t be until later into the 2nd half if the game is still close. QB Easton Stick doesn’t pass a ton (64th in passing yards) but is very good at it when he does (6th in passing efficiency and passing yards per completion). The Bison defense is excellent in pretty much all aspects. Despite losing DE Greg Menard for the season with an injury during fall camp, everyone else has picked up the slack well enough for them to still have the 8th best run defense and 4th best pass defense in the FCS. Whereas most good defensive teams have a couple of big standouts and some solid performance from most other starters, NDSU has a full lineup of starters that could go to just about any other FCS team and be the “big standout” guy there. LBs Jabril Cox, Nick DeLuca, Levi Jordheim, DBs like Robbie Grimsley and Jalen Allison, and D-Linemen like Aaron Steidl and Nate Tanguay are all better at their positions than probably 95% of the starters in the FCS. They have a strong front line, bring a lot of pressure on QBs and RBs behind the line of scrimmage, and defend receivers very well, although I think a large portion of the success against the pass is due to guys making the opposing QB have a rough day.

San Diego heading back to Fargo…not sure you could find two more different climates to play football in…thankfully for all involved, it doesn’t really matter what the weather’s doing, since it’s in the Fargodome. Last year, the 45-7 NDSU victory was actually closer than the score would indicate, with the game being within 14 until NDSU blew open a few big TD plays late in the 3rd quarter and in the 4th. San Diego actually won the possession time battle in that game, holding onto the ball for 35:36 and was nearly equal with NDSU for passing yardage (and they have a better passing offense this year than last year). San Diego also has a bit of experience playing in the playoffs now, and specifically in second-round games at the Fargodome…which will help because playing your first Fargodome game can be a rough time for most visiting teams trying to deal with the noise level. I think this one will probably play a bit closer than last year’s game…San Diego is well coached, and due to their location advantage, are able to get recruits who are generally a step above what you usually see in the scholarship-less Pioneer League. None of this, however, is likely going to be enough to enough to counter the advantage of size and strength that NDSU has over…well…most teams. Last year…it was a 38-point NDSU win…this year…I think something more like a 28-point margin is more likely, but don’t be surprised if a lucky bounce here or there makes it a more “exciting” (closer) game than most people are thinking at first glance.

On a more semi-personal note, I wanted to point out this week’s MVFC First and Goal Podcast episode with former WIU Head Coach Don Patterson:

Coach Don Patterson

Coach P is a HUGE part of why I am such a big Leatherneck (and subsequently FCS) football fan. He took over a highly successful Leatherneck squad in 1999, my 3rd year as a Marching Leatherneck, after Coach Randy Ball left for Missouri State. With Coach P in charge, WIU had two more winning seasons including winning the conference (at that point the Gateway Conference) and making the playoffs in 2000 (a 16-team playoff).

A “down” season in 2001 was followed by a couple more highly successful years, going 11-2 in 2002, making it to the playoffs and destroying the Tony Romo-led EIU Panthers 48-9 before losing by 3 to eventual national champion Western Kentucky (the infamous “sledgehammer game”). In 2003, WIU went 9-4 while playing two FBS teams back-to-back (beating Eastern Michigan by 22 and then losing to that year’s FBS champion…Nick Saban-coached LSU…and only being down by 1 possession late into the 3rd quarter). That year in the playoffs, WIU had an incredibly exciting OT win at Montana (43-40 in OT) followed by a 1-point loss at Colgate in a snowstorm.

There was a bit of a rough situation a few years later when he was diagnosed with cancer and was essentially “forced out” in 2009 by our athletics administration at the time, which really left a bad taste in the mouths of many of our football alumni who played under Coach P. It wasn’t until seven years later, when newly-hired HC Charlie Fisher reached out to Coach P and many of the football alumni to repair those wounds and help bring them back into the Leatherneck family.

Because I was lucky enough to be in the Marching Leathernecks at that time, I had essentially a front-row-seat (well…50 yard line, about halfway up the stands) for the best 5 year span of Leatherneck football in our DI era. In that time, I attended every home game (and 5 away games including 2 FBS games) and witnessed a grand total of 5 losses. Coach P was a big part of our team’s success in the latter portion of that timeframe and heading into the next millenium. He is the second-winningest HC in WIU history behind Randy Ball (by only 1 game) and had the second-longest term as HC behind only Ray “Rock” Hanson (for whom Hanson Field is named).

MVFC – Playoffs First Round in Review

MVFC LogoSorry about the lateness of this review article…holiday travel and illness conspired against me this week.

The one good thing about this going out a bit later though is that I am able to post info about the All-Conference teams that was released on Monday. The full MVFC All-Conference team is available here, with USD QB Chris Streveler winning the Offensive POY award, WIU LB Brett Taylor winning the Defensive POY award, and NDSU LB Jabril Cox receiving both the Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards. NDSU HC Chris Klieman won the ‘Bruce Craddock’ Coach of the Year award. Overall, NDSU led the selections with 15 total players receiving season accolades. SDSU came in second with 12 players, then WIU with 11, UNI and YSU with 10 each, ILSU with 9, SIU and USD with 8 each, MSU with 7, and INSU with 5.

Also, the MVFC All-Newcomer team was announced Tuesday morning (Full list here). As previously mentioned, NDSU LB Jabril Cox won the Newcomer of the Year award. Teams with players on the All-Newcomer team include 5 for South Dakota, 3 each for Illinois State and Youngstown State, 2 each for Missouri State, South Dakota State, Southern Illinois, Western Illinois, and Northern Iowa, and 1 for North Dakota State.

The first round of the 2017 FCS Playoffs is in the books, with the MVFC going 2-1 in their three games.

Western Illinois (8-3) at Weber State (9-2)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
WIU 3 3 6 7 19
WSU 0 14 0 7 21

Quick Hits:

  • WIU – WR Jaelon Acklin had 116 yards receiving and 27 yards rushing. His final game as a Leatherneck was his 5th 100+ yard receiving game of the season.
  • WIU – LB Brett Taylor led the team with 12 total tackles
  • WIU – LB Pete Swenson had a big day with 10 tackles, 3 for loss including 1 sack
  • WIU – PK Sam Crosa hit both FG attempts, from 44 and 45 yards out
  • WSU – QB Stefan Cantwell threw for 186 yards and 3 TDs and led the team in rushing with 43 yards
  • WSU – TE Andrew Vollert caught 8 passes for 112 yards and 1 TD
  • WSU – DB Jordan Preator led the Wildcats with 11 tackles, 1 for loss
  • WSU – P Jacob Demaio kicked 5 punts for an average of 48.4 yards per including a long of 58 and 2 within the 20 yard line

Western Illinois spent the first half putting up FGs which were answered by Weber State TDs. The WIU offense had a hard time getting out of their own way in the first bit of the game, with three false start penalties and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty all in the first quarter. By halftime, the Leathernecks were down by a score of 14-6 against the top defense in the Big Sky. Late in the 3rd quarter, WIU finally got into the end zone with a TD run (2-pt attempt failed) to bring the score within 2. Early in the 4th, a very questionable roughing the passer penalty immediately followed by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (both against WIU) moved WSU all the way from their own 49-yard line down to the WIU 21. On the very next play, WSU got their third TD of the day to go up 21-12. A few drives later, WIU was able to move down and get into the end zone again to pull back within 2 points, but with less than 5 minutes to go in the game, WSU was able to do what they’ve done quite a bit this year and run the ball just enough to keep picking up first downs and eat up the entire rest of the game clock to seal the playoff win in Weber State’s first home playoff game.

This was a matchup of two very tough and very similar teams. Most polls had these two teams in roughly the #9-#11 range, so they (along with maybe Stony Brook) were the toughest of the non-seeded teams. Weber State plays football like a MVFC team…honestly, from my perspective, they really looked like a slightly less disciplined or slightly less talented NDSU team. Very strong against the run, tough at the front lines, good run game that can pass effectively when necessary, but the ground game is their “bread and butter”.

Western Illinois finished their season at 8-4 overall.
Weber State is now 10-2 and will head down the road to take on 8th seeded in-state conference rival Southern Utah late Saturday night.

My Pick in Review:

I said: Leathernecks by 3
It was: Wildcats by 2
Close battle…yup. Low scoring…yup. Leatherneck victory…?
Looks like home field advantage was more of a difference than I thought it’d be.

South Dakota (7-4) at Nicholls State (8-3)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
USD 7 10 14 7 38
NSU 0 7 14 10 31

Quick Hits:

  • USD – QB Chris Streveler showed why he was the MVFC Offensive POY with a 378 yard, 4 TD passing performance (1 INT) and 34 rushing yards
  • USD – WR Brandt Van Roekel led the team in receiving yards with 82 and 2 TDs
  • USD – DL Darin Greenfield had 11 tackles including 1 sack
  • USD – DB Phillip Powell had 10 tackles and 1 sack, but also forced the decisive fumble at their own 1 yard line to essentially win the game
  • NSU – QB Chase Fourcade threw for 232 yards, but gifted the Coyotes 3 INTs. He also ran for 89 yards
  • NSU – RB Kyran Irvin ran for 88 yards and 1 TD and RB Tahj Smith ran for 65 yards and 2 TDs
  • NSU – DB Corey Abraham led the team with 7 tackles and DB Austin Dickerson had an interception that he returned 43 yards for a TD
  • NSU – P Tyler St. Germain had 3 punts for an average of 55 yards per punt, including a long of 73 yards and 2 within the 20

The game was a little slow to get the scoring going, with USD picking up the first points with a few minutes left in the 1st quarter. Into the 2nd and they’d have another one before Nicholls State would get things rolling with a 43-yard INT returned for a TD. As time expired in the first half, USD kicked a 39-yd FG to take a 17-7 lead into the locker room at halftime. In the second half, NSU was the one to score first with their own TD, but was answered by a Coyote TD on a 47-yard pass a couple of minutes later. Nicholls ground out another TD with 40 seconds left in the 3rd, only to be responded to “in kind” with a 75-yard TD pass on the next play from scrimmage to keep USD ahead by 10. The Colonels defense buckled down in the 4th, while their offense put together a TD drive and a FG in the first half of the 4th to tie the game up at 31-all. The Coyotes had one more solid drive for a TD to go ahead by 7. Nicholls was then able to drive down the field again, starting at their own 45-yard line, and at one point, converted a 4th and 3 at the South Dakota 4 yard line to make it 1st and goal at the 1 (with a TD needed to tie the game and likely head to OT). But then, on the 1st and goal run, USD DB Phillip Powell stripped RB Kyran Irvin of the ball and it was recovered by USD DB Andrew Gray in the end zone for a touchback. From there, South Dakota was able to kneel a few times to run out the clock and come away with the 38-31 victory.

I’m personally very impressed with the ability of the Colonels’ offense to keep pace with the Coyotes and keep it a much closer game than myself (and many MVFC fans) expected.

South Dakota moves to 8-4 on the season and will play Saturday afternoon at the #6 seed, Sam Houston State.
Nicholls State ends their season at 8-4

My Pick in Review:

I said: Coyotes by 14
It was: Coyotes by 7
Like I said, I underestimated NSU’s ability to move the ball against USD, especially considering that 7 point differential was very nearly a tie game going to OT.

Monmouth (9-2) at Northern Iowa (7-4)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
MU 0 0 0 7 7
UNI 14 19 13 0 46

Quick Hits:

  • MU – WR Reggie White Jr. (son of former NFL D-Lineman Reggie White…no, not that Reggie White, this Reggie White) led the Hawks with 81 receiving yards
  • MU – DB Mike Basile led the team with 13 tackles and DB Agbai Iroha had 11 with 1 sack and 2 pass breakups
  • MU – WR Lonnie Moore IV only had 25 yards receiving, but had the only score for Monmouth on a 19-yard TD pass in the 4th quarter
  • UNI – QB Eli Dunne returned from being out for a couple of weeks due to injury to throw for 260 yards and 4 TDs
  • UNI – RB J’Veyon Browning ran for 136 yards and RB Marcus Weymiller had 74
  • UNI – WR Daurice Fountain caught 139 yards on 10 catches with 2 TDs
  • UNI – DB Korby Sander led the team with 8 tackles, while LB Jared Farley only had 3 tackles but also a 1-yard TD reception

Hey Panthers, hasn’t anyone ever told you not to play with your food before you eat it? I’m pretty sure that’s the best way to describe putting in your top LB as essentially a TE and getting him a TD catch in the first quarter. Anyway, this was one of those games where one team is very obviously outmatched. UNI had 2 TDs in the first quarter (including LB Farley’s 1-handed TD catch), 2 more TDs and 2 FGs in the 2nd to go into halftime up 33-0. The 3rd quarter, the Panthers continued to pile on with a couple more FGs and a TD run near the end to go up 46-0 against the #2 team in the Big South. Finally, with 8 minutes left in the 4th, MU was able to pick up their first score of the game on a 19-yard pass, although something tells me that UNI had their second string in their by then. Overall just a dominating performance for a playoff game.

Monmouth University finishes their season at 9-3.
Northern Iowa moves to 8-4 overall and is set for a conference rematch at #5 seed South Dakota State next weekend.

My Pick in Review:

I said: Panthers by 20
It was: Panthers by 39
Wow, ok then. MU was averaging 35 points per game…but apparently against fairly mediocre defenses…or they just forgot their defense back in NJ.

So that’s it for the games from the first round of the playoffs. Now each of last weeks winners gets to head on the road to face off against a Top 8 seeded team. Three of those games will involve MVFC teams: a conference rematch of Northern Iowa and South Dakota State at 2 PM (Central) in Brookings, South Dakota again heading “down south” to face off with Sam Houston State (also at 2 PM), and a half hour later (2:30 PM), Pioneer League champion San Diego fresh off the heels of their big win over Northern Arizona (theirs and the Pioneer League’s second ever playoff wins) will face a VERY tough challenge against North Dakota State in Fargo. San Diego at NDSU will be a rematch of last year’s second-round game, where the Bison steamrolled San Diego 45-7…so we’ll see if history repeats itself next Saturday.

FCS Playoffs 1st Round: Lehigh at #9 Stony Brook

Lehigh (5-6) at #9 Stony Brook (9-2) – Nov. 25th 2 PM LaValle Stadium Stony Brook, NY

Live Streaming – ESPN3/Watch ESPN APP

For only the second time ever, Lehigh (Patriot League) and Stony Brook (CAA) will square off on the gridiron. The stakes this time around will be far higher on Saturday than they were on September 2, 2004 when these two schools met for the first time. That’s when a Top 25 Lehigh squad smothered the upstart Seawolves 25-2 in Bethlehem, PA. This time around the two meet in the 1st round of the FCS Playoffs with Stony Brook being the prohibitive favorite at home. The winner will get the opportunity to play defending national champion James Madison next Saturday in Harrisonburg, VA. Stony Brook did not face the Dukes in the regular season so they would love nothing more than to prove the best team in the CAA resides on Long Island.

In order for the Seawolves to advance they must stick to the formula that got them here. For most of the year Stony Brook has been efficient on offense and played sound, disciplined defense. Their offensive numbers (180 ypg passing/149 ypg rushing) certainly don’t jump off the page but they only tell part of the story. Coach Priore values the running game, timely passing and not beating yourself. The Seawolves have deployed a hard-nosed, physical brand of football (some might call boring) that has resulted in 3 FCS Playoff appearances under his watch.

Stony Brook has two very capable running backs in Stacy Bedell (694 yards 7 TDs) and Donald Liotine (561 yards 8 TDs). Bedell is nursing an injury heading into this week so there is some concern as to how effective he’ll be. If he is limited expect to see Jordan Gowins get significant playing time. Whoever lines up in the Seawolve’s backfield will find plenty of running room against Lehigh’s 116th ranked rush defense (232 ypg allowed). The Mountain Hawks will need their front 7 to play at a much higher level than they’ve shown so far this season. Stony Brook has a big offensive line (averages 6’4 312 lbs) that will lean on the Lehigh defense for 60 minutes. The Mountain Hawks will need big individual performances from DT Tyler Cavenas and LB Mark Walker.

Stony Brook quarterback Joe Carbone (181 ypg 20 TDs 3 INTs) is the perfect signal caller for Priore’s ball control offense. Carbone can make plays with his arm when he has to but his decision making and understanding of situational football is hit primary asset. His favorite target this year has been 1st Team CAA selection Ray Bolden (66 rec 780 yards 9 TDs). Bolden was banged up against Maine, and like Bedell, his status for Saturday’s game remains a bit cloudy. If he’s not 100% or can’t go all together that will be a significant blow. Lehigh’s pass defense has had its share of breakdowns but its play has been better than the stats suggest (232 ypg 84th in FCS). The inability to stop the run and the lack of a pass rush has often put the secondary in tough spots. As a result, opponents have hit on big plays from time to time. The Mountain Hawks possess a capable, experienced defensive backfield that should fair reasonably well against the Stony Brook passing attack.

The reason Lehigh feels like they can pull off the upset is their offense. There’s no question the Mountain Hawks are led by one of the most explosive “O’s” (36.5 ppg, 9th in FCS) in all of FCS. Quarterback Brad Mayes (323 ypg 28 TDs 12 INTs) can sling it as well as anyone in FCS if defenses don’t disrupt his rhythm. Mayes has two exceptional senior targets at wide receiver to work with in Troy Pelletier (95 rec 1,198 yards 9 TDs) and Gatlin Casey (49 rec 747 yards 11 TDs). Then there’s the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Dom Bragalone (1,131 yards 18 TDs) at running back.

The Seawolve’s defense has been good all year (19.4 ppg allowed, 22nd in FCS) but they haven’t faced an offense this explosive since their season opener against FBS South Florida. The key will be trying to take away Bragalone and force Mayes to beat them through the air. NT Ousmane Camara and LB Shayne Lawless will need to bring their “A” game in order for Stony Brook to control the trenches against a veteran Lehigh O-Line. Stony Brook has the type of defense that is built to contain the Lehigh offense as long they avoid giving up the big plays. Lehigh has been prone to mistakes when they’ve been forced to grind out long drives or play from behind. The Mountain Hawks prefer to use tempo which puts a lot of pressure on opposing defenses both mentally and physically.

The contrasting styles are what make this game so interesting. Stony Brook wants to insert their physical will, avoid mistakes and take advantage of their opponent’s hiccups in order to capture victory. Lehigh on the other hand needs a track meet to overcome their historically bad defense. The Mountain Hawks absolutely have the offense to make this a competitive game but their front 7 on defense is going to be their Achilles heel. As long as Stony Brook avoids costly turnovers and scores touchdowns instead of field goals they’ll get their shot at the defending national champions.

Prediction: Stony Brook 42 Lehigh 31

Patriot League: Week 12 Review and Power Rankings

The 2017 Patriot League football season concluded with two schools, Colgate and Lehigh, staking claim to the championship. The Raiders were able to overcome a sluggish start against Georgetown by scoring 35 straight points to earn a share of their 9th title. Lehigh also finished their game strong to sneak past rival Lafayette in the 153rd edition of “The Rivalry”. The win earned the Mountain Hawks a bid into the FCS playoffs for the second straight year. Fordham outlasted Bucknell in the other game over the weekend. Chase Edmonds went out in style in his final college start. The Patriot League’s all-time leading rusher finished his college career with a 185 yard and 2 TD performance against the Bison.

Colgate 35 Georgetown 10

Despite an auspicious start, Colgate (7-4, 5-1) was able to easily take care of Georgetown (1-10, 0-6) to capture a share of their 9th Patriot League Championship. With the dominating win, the Raiders ended up out scoring their final 5 Patriot League opponents 185-32. Grant Breneman (1,594 yards 18 TDs 5 INTs, 401 yards rushing 6 TDs) led a well balanced offense and the defense smothered teams during Colgate’s dominant finish. A slow start to the season is what ultimately cost the Raiders the outright Patriot League Title and/or a chance at an at-large bid in the playoffs. As it is, Colgate will return a wealth of talent and experience in 2018 from a 7-4 team, league co-championship squad.

Georgetown on the other hand will enter next year’s campaign riding a 15 game conference losing streak and a 10 game overall losing skid. The Hoya offense that averaged an anemic 12.5 points this season (5th worst average in FCS) is the main culprit for the team’s struggles. Georgetown managed just 6 first downs and 140 yards of total offense against Colgate. Even the return of veteran quarterback Tim Barnes (8-20 72 yards) on Senior Day could not spark the “O”. The longest drive Georgetown put together during the course of the game, 5 plays 39 yards, was the last one of the game. Five out of the Hoyas 11 drives during the game ended with a 3 and out. As a result of so many short possessions their defense eventually wilts over the course of 60 minutes.

Prior to running out of gas against the Raiders, the Georgetown defense was able to make their presence felt immediately. On Colgate’s first play from scrimmage Kristian Tate pick sixed Grant Breneman (16-23 137 yards 3 TDs 1 INT) to give the Hoyas a 7-0 lead less than 10 seconds into the game.  Georgetown extended their lead to 10-0 on their first offensive possession thanks to Brad Hurst’s 36 yard FG. Colgate’s offense would answer with a methodical 13 play 68 yard TD drive that took nearly 8 minutes off the game clock. James Holland (13 carries 57 yards 1 TD) finished the drive with a 5 yard run to pay dirt.

The Raiders would take their first lead of the game the next time they touched the ball. This time it was Breneman connecting with Thomas Ives for a short 2 yard TD toss to give Colgate a 14-10 lead with 11:10 left in the 2nd quarter. Just before half, Breneman would find Ives (5 rec 45 yards 3 TDs) for another score to give Colgate a 21-10 lead. Ives added a spectacular one handed catch in the corner of the end zone late in the second half for his 3rd TD of the game! The play earned the junior WR a spot in ESPN’s Top 10 list and the Colgate record books (3 TD receptions ties school record).

Fordham 20 Bucknell 9

Fordham’s (4-7, 3-3) win over Bucknell (5-6, 2-4) had to be a bit bittersweet for the Rams on Senior Day in Bronx. The win is certainly a nice capper to the year but watching Chase Edmonds run for 185 yards and 2 TDs for one final time reminded fans of what could have been for Fordham this year. Edmonds entered the season within shouting distance of Adrian Peterson’s (Georgia Southern) career FCS rushing mark and was the preseason favorite to win the Payton Award as the subdivision’s best player. As things played out, injuries would derail Edmonds march towards history and greatly handicap Fordham’s overall performance. The Ram’s run of 5 straight winning seasons (4 with at least 8 wins) came to a crashing halt but there’s no doubt Edmonds and his teammates provided the home crowd one last great memory.

Bucknell was not able to the spoil Edmonds going away party due to their offense’s inability to score touchdowns. John Burdick’s three field goals were enough to keep the Bison ahead for the first 50 minutes of play but in the end the Rams three trips to the end zone won the game. It was the 4th time out of 6 league games the Bison failed to score a touchdown. The most points Bucknell posted in a Patriot League contest was 21 in a three touchdown loss to Lehigh. As has been the case for much of the year, DeFloria and Freshnock failed to combine for a 100 yards and the quarterback play lack efficiency. Bison quarterback John Chiarolanzio (17-43 162 yards) also struggled to gain traction in the loss. Until the offense can complement Bison’s usually stout defense, Bucknell’s Patriot League Title drought (1996) will continue.

The only scoring in the first half came via a 65 yard Edmond’s touchdown run midway through the 2nd quarter. After both defenses controlled play during the first 30 minutes of play, things would finally open up after halftime. Burdick’s 27 yard FG finally got Bucknell on the board with 3:41 left in the 3rd quarter following a Fordham fumble deep in their own territory. Burdick would tack on two more field goals early in the 4th quarter to give Bucknell a 9-7 lead. The Bison would hold onto the lead until Austin Longi broke their back with 90 yard punt return for a touchdown midway through the final quarter. Following a 4th down stop by the Ram “D”, Edmonds broke loose for another long touchdown (55 yards) with just over 3 minutes left in regulation to put the game on ice.

Lehigh 38 Lafayette 31

Lehigh’s (5-6, 5-1) 7 point win over their arch rival Lafayette (3-8, 3-3) was basically a microcosm of the Mountain Hawks season that ended with a share of the Patriot League Championship and a spot in the FCS Playoffs. Lehigh’s performance was not always pretty, (turnovers and a porous rush D reared their ugly head again) but in the end it was just good enough to get the job done. The most impressive aspect of the win might be how the defense played in the second half. Mayes, Bragalone, Pelletier were once again great on “O” but it was the Lehigh “D” that held Lafayette to 23 total yards over the final 30 minutes. Offense won Lehigh 5 games this year but the second half proved that defense does indeed win championships.

Speaking of defense, Lafayette’s league leading unit was shredded (495 yards allowed) for much of the game. The Leopard’s “D” struggled to get pressure on Mayes for much of the game which allowed the junior quarterback to carve up the secondary. The much anticipated battle between Leopard CB Phillip Parham and the Lehigh wide receivers went in favor of the Brown and White. Lafayette’s defense also failed to keep Dominic Bragalone from racking up another 100+ yard rushing game.

Surprisingly, it was the much malinged Leopard offense that gave Lafayette a 10 point lead at half. John Garrett came out with a creative gameplan in first half that worked with great success. Lafayette used several different formations to keep the Lehigh defense off balance. Leopard WR Nick Pearson (6 rushed 95 yards 1 TD) came out of nowhere to steal the show during the first 30 minutes of play with several big runs around the edge. For whatever reason, Garrett and his staff opted for a much more conservative approach on offense in the second half.

Lafayette’s aggressive play calling in the first half paid dividends right away. Pearson’s 1 yard touchdown run on a jet sweep capped a very impressive 10 play 73 yard drive on the Leopard’s opening possession of the game. It wouldn’t take Lehigh long to respond however. After a Gatlin Casey fumble inside the Lafayette 10 yard line was overturned by replay, Dom Bragalone (29 carries 113 yards 2 TDs) powered into the end zone from 5 yards out to tie the game at 7 with 6:30 remaining in the 1st quarter. Lehigh would take a 14-7 lead on their next possession thanks to a 5 yard Troy Pelletier (9 rec 109 yards 2 TDs) TD reception.

Following a Lehigh muffed punt, Lafayette would tie the game at 14 early in the 2nd quarter. Selwyn Simpson bulldozed his was passed the goal line from 5 yards away for the score. Lehigh’s Marc Raye-Redmon would then fumble the ensuing kickoff to once against set up the Leopard offense deep in Mountain Hawk territory. That would lead to a 33 yard Jeff Kordenbrock FG and 17-14 Lafayette lead. C.J. Amil’s 6 yard TD run on Lafayette’s next possession would give Lafayette a 24-14 halftime lead.

Lehigh would close the gap to 24-21 with 7:12 left in the 3rd quarter on Bragalone’s second TD run of the game. That setup C.J Amil’s 94 yard kickoff return touchdown that pushed the Leopard lead back to 10 points. That would be the last impact pay for Lafayette. Following Amil’s return, Lehigh dominated the rest of the game. The Mountain Hawks would score the game’s final 17 points to escape with the win and the championship.

Up Next: Lehigh heads to Long Island to play Stony Brook (9-2) in the 1st Round of the FCS Playoffs.

Power Rankings

  1. Colgate – The Raiders finish the season with a share of the Patriot League Title and the conference’s only winning record. Expectations will be high in Hamilton in 2018 given how much Colgate returns on both sides of the ball.
  2. Lehigh – The 2017 season didn’t go to script but the Mountain Hawks managed to capture a share of their 12th Patriot League Title and a chance for some playoff redemption.
  3. Fordham – With a healthy Chase Edmonds this would have been much different team and season. As it is, Coach Breiner faces a pretty hefty rebuilding job for 2018.
  4. Lafayette – With a championship in sight and fate in their hands, the season ended with 2 disappointing losses. Coach Garrett must find a way to put an end to the Leopard’s streak of 8 straight losing seasons in 2018.
  5. Holy Cross – Peter Pujals’s career certainly did not end the way he wanted but that doesn’t take away from his stellar individual career. It will be a new era of Holy Cross football in 2018 with a new head coach and quarterback.
  6. Bucknell – Bucknell could not carry the early season momentum they built up into league play. The offense completely fell apart down stretch which is why the Bison finished under .500 in the Patriot League and overall.
  7. Georgetown – 15 straight Patriot League, 10 consecutive losses overall; those are the only two stats that matter as Coach Sgarlatta turns the page to 2018. The Hoyas desperately need to improve the offense if those ugly streaks are going to end.