FCS Playoffs Round 2

Once again we see what happens when games are decided on the field and not on a computer. This past Saturday saw a bit of everything from one really good shootout, to the status quo, to revenge, and yes we had some surprising. For guys like me, its good seeing a huge mess of results because, lets face it, its boring when we see the same teams winning and just going about it in some "ho hum" kinda way. You want to see some excitement to see a team like Kennesaw St seemingly bring its  whole fan base and treat a road game like it was played in the Georgia Dome. More about that crowd in a bit but just like last week, go through every game and some notes on each game.

There is something to say about the fan bases of these teams when you see 5 of the 8 game with 10,000+ in attendance. With conference championships all over to see so many in the stands creates an atmosphere that players on this level rarely see. And with the venues next week, expect those numbers to stay really high

So I know I'll probably miss my fair share of stuff (that incredible catch last week in the USD/NAU game) but its not that easy watching 8 games and 7 of them starting within 90 minutes of each other. If I miss something good I apologize. Seriously though, it would really be nice to have split screen or games spaced out better. Hey at least this week I only have to watch four games and they are spread out over two days.

One of things that has been talked about all throughout the playoffs has been the regional matchups. It was first talked about during the selection show about how teams are placed and it has been the cause for much debate and anger among coaches and analysts. This week it brought us a couple good matchups and the best games of the day but it also brought us some rematches and one really uneven matchup. I will talk about more at length at some point soon but the point has been made by most, this system has to change. Its great when we see a KSU/JSU or S. Dakota/SHSU games but not as fun when San Diego is going back to NDSU and the so called #1 Seed is playing the team that finished second in their conference. 

One more thing, when you watch the Celebration Bowl in two weeks think of what might have been with the two teams involved and think of the potential sloppiness that will happen with the amount of time between games. Both NC A&T and Grambling are Top 15 teams, both would have had home playoff games and I would imagine that the Aggies would have had a Top 8 seed and a bye, and both would have had a huge fan base ready to show up and show out on behalf on the HBUs. But alas we get a bowl game between the two HBU conferences and while the HBU Championship is on the line it just had that stinky feeling of a huge cash grab for the conferences. Add the fact that the game is in two weeks which means Grambling gets a "normal" rest but A&T will have had nearly a full month between games. It'll be a fun game between two really good teams but man oh man what could have been.

Onto the games...

James Madison 26 - Stony Brook 7

• This one was never in question as the Dukes continue to show why they are one of the best. 24 straight wins and a defense that hasn't allowed a team to score more than 14 points all year long. You have to wonder if we are seeing the next FCS dynasty. Now whether or not that is a good thing, I'm not so sure
• Granted, its not easy when you go from facing one of the worst defenses in FCS to dealing with the best the division has to offer but the Seawolves did themselves no favors. Not much pre-snap movement, no real deep shots till the game was long since decided, and just no real imagination. It is a bare bones "no thrills" offense that when it hums you get the 650+ yard performance from round 1, when its not you get the 5 INTs and just half of the round 1 total
• Stony Brook coach Chuck Priore gave one of my favorite coach interviews of the weekend...Being completely defiant of the situation during the post halftime interview, Priore held firm about his teams chances despite the lack of any real offensive production.
• Also its really funny and a reminder of how it was when I was in school when you have the color guy do the interview and the camera from the opposite side of the field shooting the interview and the band walking though the shot because it was so tight. Oh the memories
• Last week I talked about Donald Liotine who had recovered from a couple injuries to be a star RB, Harrison Jackson is another SB player who has gone through a lot and too see him catch a TD and be a bright spot for the Seawolves was good to see. Also remember he had one of the top moments of the year with his GW catch versus Maine 

Jacksonville St 7 - Kennesaw St 17

• You honestly wouldn't have know it but the Gamecocks were the home team in this game. But with only two hours separating the two teams (really didn't know that) this felt more like a neutral site game rather than a home game. Also a lot of times the Owls' fans drowned out JSU fans. Either way, a game with over 17,000 in attendance is a huge win for both schools
• As a former player, I have dealt with a few times where fans of an opposing team are louder than your own and its a deflating feeling at it really makes you press no matter the score. You saw a lot of that pressing from a lot of the JSU players and probably a few coaches
• If you were a fan of defense and hard hitting, this was the game for you. The KSU in particular was impressive holding the JSU offense to under 250 yards well under the 368.7 average.
• Before I forget, the interception by KSU DB Jace White was one of the most impressive you will see. Off the tip, falling down, and having to reach back a beat is pretty damn good

Wofford 28 - Furman 10

• This game is what I mean by "ho hum" if you pass by this game and you aren't a fan of either team, you're probably gonna switch to one of the other games playing at the time. Doesn't mean it was bad or didn't have its moments, its wasn't one of any major excitement
• Both teams prefer to run the ball in order to win and when you look at the run total you can see why the Terriers won this game. Wofford - 291 Furman - 52...Game, Set, Match
• One thing that you probably missed because of my initial note, the perfectly run fake FG attempt in the 4th. You can't run the option much better and to DB on the edge has absolutely no shot

Sam Houston St 54 - South Dakota 42

• You know if you were like me and you got all excited for this game and then saw the first half, I can forgive you for kinda tuning this game out and watching something else cause I really thought the Coyotes were gonna lose by about 50 
• In the end the shootout between 2 of the 3 Walter Payton award candidates came to be a reality as Jeremiah Briscoe of Sam Houston and Chris Streveler of South Dakota combined for 1,076 yards of total offense and 10 touchdowns. Streveler pulling his best Russell Wilson impersonation and doing everything basically by himself
• One of the oddest calls I've ever seen was late in the third with USD driving down by 13, Coyote linemen Tanner Anderson was called for "aiding the runner" Now mind you he looked to be pulling a defender off the moving pile as it was going into the endzone but that was boggled the mind. Oh and of course on the replay of 4th down, a horrible spot gave the ball to the Bearkats on down. Just a bad sequence for the refs
• Not to be outdone by Streveler's performance, USD wide receiver Brandt Van Roekel caught 11 passes for a school-record 234 yards and a touchdown. It is going to be interesting to see how those two are replaced next year

Central Arkansas 15 - New Hampshire 21

• Count me among those who know believe UNH belongs in the playoffs. I didn't think they deserved to get in, let alone a home playoff game, and now they are in the quarterfinals with a decent shot to continue the run
• Just like with Jacksonville St, you could tell that the players on UCA got tense as the game went on. They had a clear advantage in yards (434-216), but it never seemed like they were clicking on all cylinders and also game up five sacks including the one that ended the game
• It makes the win all the more surprising when you take into account that UNH was playing most of the game with its backup QB Redshirt freshman Christian Lupoli. Lupoli finished an efficient 8 for 10 for 63 yards and a touchdown
• That touchdown was one hell of a catch by Malik Love. That diving catch proved to be the game winner 

South Dakota St 37 - Northern Iowa 22

• Just like the Wofford/Furman game, this was on of those "ho hum" games where you probably didn't pay much attention to it if you weren't a fan of the teams
• I don't know if you have noticed a theme so far in the playoffs but outside of the Elon/Wofford game, games with teams from the same conference haven't been that captivating. Ok we saw a fake FG and two teams got revenge but it shows that the familiarity between teams had made for some average games. Luckily we don't have to worry about another potential rematch of conference members until the national championship
• SDSU made solid adjustments against a team that beat them pretty good during the regular season. UNI ran for 218 yards in the first matchup, this past Saturday that number shrunk to 82 

North Dakota St 38 - San Diego 3

• When you watch this game you saw a USD team that if it had the talent, they would have made this more of a game. The one major disadvantage that the PFL faces is that the depth of talent is lacking. A lot of the 2s and 3s for the Bison would probably be starters or role players on USD and that sucks 
• Its never easy to beat the Bison at home but when they run for 301 yards you can pretty much forget about it. The matchup next week versus Wofford should be interesting
• Now USD still has some talent on the roster as evidence to Senior DE Jonathan Petersen performance. His 3 sacks gave him 44 in his career and set the FCS record for sacks in the process
• I could imagine the rest of the field is a little more than upset about how NDSU ended up with San Diego has their first game of the playoffs. Though you could imagine if Lehigh was playing JMU the Dukes wouldn't be as upset about how the brackets were set

Southern Utah 13 - Weber St 30

• It was one impressive defensive performance put on by the visitors from Weber St. They held the Thunderbirds over 200 yards below their season average. And if you take away the opening drive that number nearly goes to 300.
• Think about that for a second, SUU went 75 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown on the opening drive...for the rest of the game 144 yards in 54 plays. 
• Something about the play calling for SUU was off. Too many times on 3rd and long plays you saw simple handoffs and QB draws. Not often did you see a drop back or a roll out, hell a pass of any kind
• QB Stefan Cantwell had himself a day. Not to be outdone by the performances of other QBs, the senior had 416 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. Not a bad redemption after being knocked out of the first matchup with a concussion