FCS Playoff Thread

[BwareDWare94 723]

Towson and Eastern Washington are currently playing. Towson's starting RB Terrence West has the single season rushing yardage record in FCS. Eastern Washington starting QB Vernon Adams has thrown for 53 TD passes this season, which I also believe is a FCS record, and that isn't where the stat lines stop for Adams. I believe he has the single season total yardage record as well. It's insane.

 

North Dakota State beat New Hampshire last night 52-14. Over their three playoff games, NDSU has outscored opponents 138-35, with the starting defense only allowing 21 of those 35 points, and they shut out UNH last night (UNH scored on a pick 6 and a late TD against backups).

Beating UNH like that is nothing to be proud of. I attended the game (last home game for both Craig Bohl and a legendary senior class at NDSU). How UNH got to the FCS Semifinals is beyond me. The Bison played two significantly better teams in the first two rounds. They didn't even belong on the same field.

 

Looking ahead, I don't think Towson would have a chance against the Bison. They're a primarily running team and NDSU isn't susceptible to the run. Now and then, a great RB can break one, but it's very very rare. In the 2011 and 2012 FCS championship games, the Bison shut down Sam Houston State's excellent RB Tim Flanders, and Terrence West isn't about to do much against that defense.

 

Eastern Washington is a much more formidable opponent because of their excellent aerial attack. The Bison's defense is susceptible to nothing (something like 11 points allowed per game, two hundred and some yards, all this while playing in hands down the toughest FCS conference [Missouri Valley Football Conference]), but a talent like Vernon Adams is capable of anything. I would expect NDSU to trounce Eastern Washington, too, but if Vernon Adams isn't held in check, it'd at least be a game.

 

What it comes down to is how porous both EW's and Towson's defenses are. They certainly aren't going to stop the Bison offense, which has become a well oiled, balanced machine.

 

Either way, the FCS Championship Game is coming up and we can only hope that it's at least competitive.

Edited December 21, 2013 by BwareDWare94

[BwareDWare94 723]

LOLBigSkyConference. Seriously. I always felt bad for Sweetness when he was playing for Montana State, because them and Montana always entered the playoffs as a high seed but only EWU ever wins more than one game in the playoffs. The Big Sky just doesn't measure up against the rest of the FCS.

 

Towson has no chance, especially if their starting QB isn't back.

Edited December 22, 2013 by BwareDWare94

[OSUViking 505]

Whoever wins this could dominate the FBS, imo.

[BwareDWare94 723]

3rd straight title for the Herd.

 

In the playoffs, the Bison starters outscored their opponents 173-42, with the starting defense allowing a total of 28 points in four games. UNH scored their 14 on a pick 6 and one offensive TD against the second team defense.

Just. Fucking. Insane.

Edited January 5, 2014 by BwareDWare94

[BwareDWare94 723]

Over their entire season, the Bison went 15-0 and outscored their opponents 581-169, posting 3 shutouts, winning 13 of their 15 games by double digits, and one of those single digit games was against K State. Only one FCS team played the Bison within single digits (Northern Iowa, who was playing extremely well until their season was derailed by injuries).

 

All of this while playing in hands down the toughest FCS conference (Missouri Valley Football Conference). The playoffs would have been more interesting if the MVFC didn't get shafted in the playoff selections. Youngstown State (where Jim Tressell coached for many years) and Northern Iowa should have made it over certain teams from the Big Sky and the Colonial who clearly had no business being there over MVFC teams.

Edited January 5, 2014 by BwareDWare94

[Bucman 891]

Good thing I took that -17