S135 Playoffs Round 1 Recap
We started with 32 and after some battles, we are left with the best 16 teams. Now that the dust has settled, let's recap the action.
West Bracket - It would about as expected as the 4 favored teams all pulled out a win.
N. Alabama won with a dominant performance over Tarleton St. 52-14 and showed that running is not the answer to beating them. TSU ran the ball 69 times and averaged 4.24 ypc which is impressive, but it only translated to 14 points.
W. Chester had a scare at the half and trailed 17-13 at the half. Some nice adjustments lead to a 14-0 run to close out 27-17 with the victory. Omcs1981 knows how to game plan and it was evident this game as Hillsdale showed up.
Texas A&M showed a steady offensive performance and clinched victory early with a 24-7 dominant performance. They racked up 624 yards and their defense contained Shepherd to 114 total yards.
Valdosta St. delivered an elite performance handling Tusculum who entered the playoffs with 3 losses on the year, 62-7. 453 yards in the air and 14 receptions for 196 yards from stud RB Rosado put the game out of reach by halftime.
East Bracket - The predictions held firm in this bracket and each of the 4 teams pulled off a win.
Cheyney is playing lights out football right now and beat NC Central 53-0. RB Lancaster got some work with 33 carries for 241 yards and a TD.
In what was expected to be a close game, W. New Mexico pulls out the win in the 4th quarter 24-21. Both teams played very well and Pace QB Richard's gave away 2 interceptions but it did not play that big of a impact. Pace also received 5 penalties for 52 yards! WNMU completed 64.5% of their passes for 175 yards and RB Maxwell helped control the game on 27 carries for 175 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Kentucky State rises to the challenge with a nice win over Missouri-Rolla 59-20. Dukelegend has done a great job getting this team to perform and they posted 681 total yards. 14 wins on the year, we will see if he has one more in him against a tough Winona St. team.
Winona St. is looking to make it back to the quarterfinals, but they had a tough fight against a very good 4 loss team in Fort Lewis. Jong44 has had this team playing tough all season but it slipped through their fingers in the 4th quarter in a 24-17 loss. Azcowboy1 got a great performance on offense for 506 yards of total offense.
South Bracket - There was a couple surprises, or not depending on which teams you favored.
Midwestern St. won easily 44-6 and I was initially thinking Bloomsburg would find a way to keep it closer. Linux_Box has his team tuned up and his defense is playing really well. Nothing really jumps out at me here offensively, but their defense made Bloomsburg have a rough day with 1/15 on 3rd down conversions.
Saginaw Valley St., welcome to the tournament! Finally, they went away from an all season rush only offense. They balanced out the attack and what a difference it made. Their rushing attack Angelo St. played well against some good teams this year. so this was a great 45-33 win for SVSU and coach ojpick.
Humboldt St. did what they had to do and shut down Long Island's pass attack. I had picked Long Island thinking the air attack would get through, but the key to the game was going to come down to it. Long Island's QB Dalton struggled competing only 39.3% of their passes and the ground game struggled with RB hodge gaining 2.3 ypc on 27 attempts. Jaylien played a consistent game and won the TOP 37 to 23 mins and the battle of field position. The longest drive of their day was only 59 yards.
Northern Michigan did what they were suppose to do and delivered a dominant performance over Henderson St. 59-0. They completed 80+% of their passes spread out between 3 quarterbacks showing their solid depth in various positions.
North Bracket - This one checks out as expected as my favored teams all won their games.
Presbyterian continues to impress by beating S. Connecticut 34-3. They did suffer 5 penalties for 50 yards which will be more important in the closer games. Still, their ground game controlled the game and they dominated time of possession.
Saint Joseph's has had an off season but they got it going and pulled this one out with only 3 minutes left in the game. Very close win 26-19 over West Liberty State will move Tutank and Saint Joseph's into the 2nd round. In a strange game, W. Liberty St. probably played a better though it was more conservative game. SJU went 1/15 on 3rd down conversions and lost the time of possession but Jibe's team lacked explosiveness.
Ferris St. continues to keep their offense burning in a 61-21 win over N. Dakota St. Bama2448 did well by winning 12 in his first season as head coach and it's unfortunate they got paired up against a strong team. FSU was successful in all areas and looks great for the next round.
Virginia St. and coral_reefer are now 1 game closer to reaching the quarterfinals again. Impressive win 50-10 over a well coached Mesa St. team and they were able to move the ball in a balanced attack. Justp3ach3y returned to D2 and will look to improve next season over their 10-4 finish.