Game 11 of the Night

And then there were eight. With three games to go, there are eight undefeated teams and another 23 teams at 9-1. Amazingly, two 9-1 teams are outside the top 32 and could be left out of the playoffs. The remaining three teams in the top 32 are 8-2 and are currently ranked #21, #30, and #32. It will be worth watching to see the records in the final pre-playoffs rankings and the big impact SOS has on the rankings. Bottom line is with all the human-coached teams, paying attention to making out your out-of-conference portion of your schedule can determine if a team gets into the playoffs or not.

The "smart dog" is back to doing what isn't preferred. Tonight's GotN is coming out of the GLIAC and involves #13 Hillsdale visiting #2 Ferris State with the winner capturing their division and the chance to play for the conference title against tonight's winner between #7 Northern Michigan and #25 Saginaw Valley State.

Coach Omcs1981 is in his sixth season at Hillsdale. He is coming off three straight playoff appearances; although all ended with first round losses. Hillsdale runs I on offense and 3-4 on defense. The team is currently very junior laden with 20 juniors that supports the 3 seniors. Although undefeated so far, both games against human-coached teams were very narrow wins, one in overtime against #8 Winona State and a last minute regulation win against #44 Findlay.

#2 Ferris State has Coach Coachoatie in his sixth season. His team has rotated between making it to the championship game and getting eliminated in the second season. He also plays the I on offense, but 4-3 on defense. Ferris State has played a much more difficult schedule with wins against the #9, #18, #25, and #34 teams and a tough overtime loss against #7 Northern Michigan.

Currently Coach Coachoatie has a 5-0 advantage against Coach Omcs1981. This season's match-up is the closest the two teams have been when comparing talent. Ferris State has a size-able advantage in seniors at 14-3 while Hillsdale take the advantage in juniors at 20-13. Although the "smart dog" is writing this with gritted teeth, the pick here is Ferris State 20-14.