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 each other once a decade together. It also brings a strength vs strength matchup that we don't always see in the playoffs because of how we get a lot of regional matchups and most schools tend to have similar styles within the different regions. And just the type of teams we will see tomorrow is the most interesting.
What makes Maine so interesting and unlike other surprise teams in the past is the fact that they came from an elite conference and won the CAA title outright. And they are also road tested, having been on the road eight times before Saturday's tilt. And then you have Eastern Washington, the established FCS power looking to get back to the top of the mountain after recent disappointments. And the Eagles have had to adjust since Gage Gubrud went down with the shoulder injury earlier in the year
So far during the playoffs, the Black Bear formula has been really simple...stop the run, force teams to throw to win, get turnovers, and capitalize on every mistake teams make. In last week's win versus Weber St., the Black Bears did all of those things in the 23-18 win (don't let to score fool you). They held the Wildcats to -1 rushing, forced 52 passing attempts, got four 2nd half turnovers that accounted for the final 10 points and killed drives, and most had a few big plays to get scores or keep drives alive. It will be interesting if they can pull off the same feat versus E. Washington.
The Eagles have evolved a bit since Eric Barriere took over as QB for the Eagles. They tend to run the ball a little bit more since he took over averaging a little over 42 carries in the eight games since taking over. Still balanced, the Eagle offense is one of few teams that has blended power upfront with speed in the skill positions. They are second in the FCS in yards per game (538.3), fourth in points per game (44.1), and average an impressive 6.78 yards per carry which is second best in the FCS. Oh btw, Maine allows just 2.11 yards per carry stingiest in the nation.
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 each other once a decade together. It also brings a strength vs strength matchup that we don't always see in the playoffs because of how we get a lot of regional matchups and most schools tend to have similar styles within the different regions. And just the type of teams we will see tomorrow is the most interesting.
What makes Maine so interesting and unlike other surprise teams in the past is the fact that they came from an elite conference and won the CAA title outright. And they are also road tested, having been on the road eight times before Saturday's tilt. And then you have Eastern Washington, the established FCS power looking to get back to the top of the mountain after recent disappointments. And the Eagles have had to adjust since Gage Gubrud went down with the shoulder injury earlier in the year
So far during the playoffs, the Black Bear formula has been really simple...stop the run, force teams to throw to win, get turnovers, and capitalize on every mistake teams make. In last week's win versus Weber St., the Black Bears did all of those things in the 23-18 win (don't let to score fool you). They held the Wildcats to -1 rushing, forced 52 passing attempts, got four 2nd half turnovers that accounted for the final 10 points and killed drives, and most had a few big plays to get scores or keep drives alive. It will be interesting if they can pull off the same feat versus E. Washington.
The Eagles have evolved a bit since Eric Barriere took over as QB for the Eagles. They tend to run the ball a little bit more since he took over averaging a little over 42 carries in the eight games since taking over. Still balanced, the Eagle offense is one of few teams that has blended power upfront with speed in the skill positions. They are second in the FCS in yards per game (538.3), fourth in points per game (44.1), and average an impressive 6.78 yards per carry which is second best in the FCS. Oh btw, Maine allows just 2.11 yards per carry stingiest in the nation.
Prediction: When you have a strength vs strength game like this, the main focus will, of course, be which strength dominates who. But don't sleep on the other matchup of Maine's offense versus EWU defense. Maine is no offensive juggernaut but it seems time after time comes up with big plays that have turned the tide in games. Also, how will yet another long trip affect the Black Bears? It is over 3000 miles between school and nearly 10 hrs on a non-stop flight. Don't sleep on the start time either, yeah its the west coast but a 2pm Eastern start time means Maine will be awake. It is hard to go against Maine and that run defense...Black Bears in a shocker by 8
No. 5 South Dakota State (10-2) at No. 1 North Dakota State (13-0)
Kickoff - 8 p.m. ET Friday Coverage - ESPN2
Series - North Dakota State leads 61-42-5 (last meeting: North Dakota State won 21-17 in Fargo on Sept. 29)
A rematch of the Dakota Marker game for the right to go to the national championship. This is a huge matchup between two teams that might be the best in the county. One is the Gold Standard while the other is the team just below looking for their moment in the sunshine.
It's gonna be really fun seeing how the Jackrabbits operate without dealing with snow or rain. Maybe we will finally get to see this offense in full gear. Last week the thing that was most surprising was how good the defense was. Yes, they gave up yards (anyone going up versus an option attack will) but I'm also waiting to see how Taryn Christion handles things this time around. Last year was an implosion of the worst kind from Christion as he threw six interceptions and had eight turnovers overall and looked like he pressed really hard as things got worse and snowballed. His play will most likely be the deciding factor on if they SDSU can pull off the win.
Hey, the Bison are the Bison. You know they are going to try and drive the ball down your throat with an old-school running attack, they are going to play great defense and get after the quarterback (41 sacks this year). It seems like the whole cloud surrounding Chris Klieman and him potentially, now the head coach at Kansas State hasn't affected anything with the Bison. The train is still rolling at top speed and it really seems like there isn't anything that can put the breaks on this train
Prediction: This game is a toss-up, both teams know each other and are pretty even. They are a little bit different in how they go about it but at the end of the day, these two teams are just really damn good. The matchup earlier this year was a tight afar but the Jackrabbits made a couple mistakes early that kept them from putting the Bison in a huge hole. Tonight I think they avoid the mistakes and put the Bison in a hole they haven't been in a long time and I don't think the Bison are ready for it. The Bison are on a mission but I also think this is the best team to derail them is their biggest rival. It might be an all-time classic but I'm going with the Jackrabbits by 3
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