Just a little sports chatter

Well...now we wait. Jan 5th is the national championship and we get to put a big ol' pause on the season for reasons that bug the shit out of me (gonna do a write up about that this week). As for the game, it has the potential to be interesting. Eastern Washington is no push over...but then again we've said that about James Madison, Illinois St, Sam Houston St (twice), Jacksonville St, and Towson. And year after year when the Bison come calling to the national championship game, they are the ones raising the trophy. As the game comes closer there will be more talk about this but it boils down to Continued Dynasty or Surprising Upset? As for the games this past weekend? Well, needless to say, they were not very exciting. What was hoped to be two good games versus four sound ballclubs turned into two blowouts of different varieties.  One one side we got the second-half adjustments blowout and on the other, we got the first half blitz. Both sides very deserving of the...

Needless to say, the matchups this week are really good. You don't get to the point as a team just by sheer luck, you gotta have some talent behind you and all four of these teams have talent. Both games are a toss-up and you almost wish they were played on a neutral site but even then I have no doubt that we are gonna have two really good games between teams that are pretty evenly matched. I went 3-1 last week last week though I should have pulled the trigger on Maine, but don't hold it against me. Looking around at a few of the other FCS publications I've seen all four teams picked at a decent spread and all four have arguments for being in the national championship. I do think we will see an unexpected matchup in the national championship a couple weeks from now. No. 7 Maine (10-3) at No. 3 Eastern Washington (11-2) Kickoff - 2 p.m. ET    Coverage - ESPN2 Series - First meeting Matchups like this are awesome...it puts two teams that might play ...

Well here we are...the final four in this year's FCS playoffs are set. And when you look at the four teams, its not a bad collection of programs. We have the "juggernaut" in NDSU, the "steady contender" in E. Washington, the "little brother" in SDSU, and we have the "surprise that shouldn't be one when you see them play" in Maine. We have the top three conferences represented, which isn't a huge surprise. We are also guaranteed that for the eighth straight year an MVFC team will be in the championship game and we also know that for the 11th straight year, the national champion will come from one of these three conferences. The last school to win a national championship that wasn't from the MVFC, Big Sky, or CAA? Appalachian State, the last of that three-peat in 2007. And naturally the beat Deleware, a CAA school in the national championship. Here is a look back at the quarterfinals:  No. 7 Maine 23 - No. 2 Weber State 18 ...

Not gonna lie I probably should have done this for the entire playoffs but I had been on the fence about doing something like this. We will see how this goes and if I actually get this out before the first game which is in about 3 hours. Maybe if I get the first one out I'll post then update as I go along. But anyways onto the predictions. NO scores or anything like that just what I'm looking out for and who is gonna come out on top. There are some very interesting matchups for the Quarterfinals as only one is really considered a mismatch, and that is only because its NDSU in the FargoDome. Outside of that these are very evenly matched teams who in one case mirror one other so closely. As talked about in the last post, home teams so far in the playoffs are 15-1 and most of the games haven't been close. I will say this, I have at least one road team winning this weekend Onto the picks: No. 7 seed Maine (9-3) at No. 2 seed Weber State (10-2) Kickoff - 8 p.m. ET    Co...

So what to make of the playoffs so far... We have had some interesting games, impressive performances along the first sixteen games. The weather has played a role in a couple and we got our good snow game in Brookings during the SDSU/Duquesne tilt. Also, while the first round had an impressive showing attendance wise...the second round was a different story. Numbers outside of the FargoDome were pretty down. Yes, the weather did play a significant role in a few games (more on those later) but the venues and matchups for the second round games played a larger factor. Larger crowd numbers would have happened if James Madison and Jacksonville St would have hosted over Colgate and Maine. Though it wasn't like either crowd was silent and they did earn it. The quarterfinals should bring larger numbers overall as there are more rival matchups and better traveling fan bases But at the end of the day, for all of the craziness the regular season has brought us, the final eight teams are ...

The opening round of the FCS playoffs has come and gone and after a couple days a looking from afar, it was a Saturday that was mostly uneventful. Only a couple games had some real intrigue and as I talk about the games, a theme of sloppiness and turnovers comes to the forefront in most of the eight playoff games. One of the other big storylines from the selection show was a record six CAA teams that made the field of 24. Five of those teams were in action during the open weekend and outside of the one guaranteed CAA win, they went winless. And looking back at all of those games the theme of quick starts followed by turnovers and missed opportunities showcased itself. It's a pretty bad look for a conference that was a meat grinder all year and was thought to be the best conference this year. But it goes to show you how crazy the season has been so far. One more interesting note...only one road team won and other than Duquesne impressive showing the only road team...

Well, that's over....well not quite just yet. It was one of the craziest, most unpredictable regular seasons that I can remember and it sure was a lot of fun. It was a mostly quiet week (go figure) in the FCS landscape as it was more of a week of records and accomplishments than it was intriguing. Now that isn't to say we had some really good games and finishes but at the end of the day things came out a little less exciting than the weeks prior. Record Setter It really is a shame that we won't be able to see Samford QB Devlin Hodges in the playoffs. His career ended this past Saturday, and during the 38-27 victory over ETSU, Hodges set the FCS record for passing yards ending his career at 14,584 passing yards. That broke the mark set by the late, great Steve "Air' McNair. Pretty amazing that the record stood for over two decades "Who wouldn't want to be the all-time passing leader? I'm just really glad I've had a lot of help along the way,...

So the season is officially over and it was a wacky season to say the least. We have a clear favorite but after NDSU who really knows who's the second best team out there let alone who's all in that next tier of championship hopefuls. The committee is gonna have its hands full as there will be a lot of teams with 6 and 7 Div-I wins all square on the bubble and looking to be in the field of 24. Needless to say that this year things are a little bit stretched at the bottom. But that is what makes it all the more interesting We'll know officially in about an hour or so, but for now here are my field of 24. Bids done by conference. Few surprises too Big Sky (4) Weber State, UC-Davis, E. Washington, Montana State Big South (2) Kennesaw, Monmouth CAA (6) Deleware, Stony Brook, Maine, James Madison, Towson, Elon Missouri Valley (3) S. Dakota St, N. Dakota St, Indiana St Northeast (1) Duquesne Ohio Valley (2) Jacksonville St, SE Missouri St Patriot (1)...

Well...I think this is the season of chaos or at least confusion cause things once again got turned on its head this week. Things were thought to have finally got to a point where we knew where everyone stood then a couple conferences had some bad weekend (more on that in a sec). It is kinda cool that all this is going down because it makes for a more interesting conversation of who may or may not get into the playoffs this year. And it also opens the door for a few teams that wouldn't normally get some consideration, more than a fair shot if they take care of business. Now the argument can be made that while it is nice to see the middle nice and tight it won't matter come the end of the day cause the top tier of the FCS is now miles away from the pack. And to an extent, they would be right, but its still fun to see the race to the playoffs. One more week left...it will definitely be fun. Oh boy was it a bad week It was a bad week for a few teams and conferences but the...

So its been almost a year since I've been doing this, other posts aside, which is pretty cool. Hopefully, I start turning up the dial on things doing a little bit more but a solid start. Anyways With the Selection Sunday only a couple weeks away the race for the playoff is reaching its final stretch. And the fun part, there are so many teams who look to have that final push to get in the dance. Some who, just a few weeks ago was left for dead (Samford), to the ones who are fading very fast (Illinois State). So unlike last year where I talked about 35 teams, not sure what the hell I was thinking, stick to the one that is on the playoff bubble. For reference, that will be the ones at 6-3 or 5-4 in power conferences or in some cases in lower conferences with big wins. Oh, one more note...not every 5-4 team will be in the bubble lis.  Big Sky Locks: E. Washington, UC-Davis, Weber St Bubble: Idaho St: 6-3 (5-1) Remaining: @Cal Poly, Weber St The Bengals ...

Well just when you think things clear up you get a few results that put things right back in the fog of a couple weeks ago. Some playoff mainstays are in some serious trouble and the group of teams sitting at 5-4 now is large and features a mix of teams with some very interesting resumes, schedules, and conference races that will make the last two weeks very intriguing. But at least a few teams have risen above the fray to give themselves less of a worry but onto the recap of Week 10 Here's your ticket Week 10 saw five teams have an opportunity to punch their ticket into the FCS playoffs, two of those teams got those tickets punched. North Dakota St got a stiff challenge from Youngstown St but secured at least a share of the MVFC championship with a 17-7 in the FargoDome. Mind you it was the Bison's eight straight conference title, and to think people (myself included) thought they were vulnerable. Once again they look like the class of the FCS and with everything else goin...

Yea, not gonna lie, since I've been closely following the FCS this could be the craziest season in terms of the number of teams who not only can win a conference title but can also make the playoffs. Just off the top of my head, maybe about 40-50 or so teams in the jumble to get those coveted 24 playoff spots. Call it parody or luck, I just like to think that things are starting to even out as you see talent go across the board. Yes, the amount of national championship contenders is about the same but even that has new blood and it makes for a very fun last month and a half in the season. Now, this one won't go team by team and talk about the prospects of each cause the next couple of weeks can clear things up nicely. Plus, I don't want to write 40+ outlooks...the one last year took forever, although it did get the most reads (go figure) So we shall do it like this, go thru each conference (yes even the MEAC, SWAC, and Ivy League) and say who should win the conference, ...

So I guess we have finally had our moving day. I mean it had to come at some point right? Though the way things had been going, moving day might not have been til sometime around week 11...but alas, we have some form of clarity in the FCS world. Its still not much when you look at the conference races in the Southland, Big Sky, and the CAA (my word the possibilities) but the number of teams we thought had playoff hopes lowered considerably after this week. CAA Bundle Speaking of the CAA, after this past weeks action, four teams (Deleware, James Madison, Towson, Maine) sit at the top of the conference with 4-1 records. Elon, who had the week off, sits at 3-1. And not to leave them out of the mix, Stony Brook sits at 4-2 and Rhode Island still is in the hunt at 3-2. And to top all the craziness, they all have 5 or more wins overall, all have solid playoff resumes, and all of them play at least two of the other teams before the season ends So, the moral of the story is, if you can f...

You know just when you think there may be some stabilization in the FCS landscape, you get this past Saturday's action. More upsets, more wide open races, and less certainty. There will be some really good teams sitting at home come playoff time and the growing possibility of a 6-5 team making the playoffs grows. Or an even worse possibility, a seven-win team with a sub-Division I win on the resume may slip in. And it's over, it's all over 36 games...that's nearly five years without a conference loss, second-longest such streak in FCS history and that all ended for Jacksonville State with the 37-14 loss on the road at Southeast Missouri State. What makes this all the more strange, this wasn't some fourth quarter flood of points, SEMO was in control pretty much from the word go and got big plays from all three phases. Long term, the Gamecocks are in a bit of haze, a matchup with conference leader Murray State is up next. And while a win will right the ship and ...