Game 6 of the Night - Season 141
Previous GotN Prediction: Texas A&M-Commerce 31 - Northern Michigan 28
Result: Texas A&M-Commerce 48 - Northern Michigan 3
Intro/comments/match-up: After that impressive performance, the "smart dog" may just write Texas A&M-Commerce into the championship game when the playoff brackets come out. I wasn't surprise to see TAMC win, but who saw 48-3 coming down the highway. As for Northern Michigan, they will have a few conference games to make any adjustments and get themselves right when the playoffs arrive. As for the game itself, NMU led 3-0 at the end of the first quarter. After that TAMC decided to play and scored the next 48 points. The statistics firmly showed how much of a blowout the game was: 43-7 in first downs, 753-159 in total yards, 339-35 in rushing yards, and 42:38 - 17:32 in time of possession.
For the GotN tonight, the standings all but screamed #5 and #4 ranked match-up between Stonehill and Long Island should get the honors. The "smart dog" is staying away from this game for two reasons. One, the game will be a blowout. Two, in two more nights it is Long Island and Southern Connecticut State that will be a much better game.
So with that out game out of the way, the "smart dog" went looking for a game that will be in doubt in the fourth quarter. There were three or four games that were considered, but the pick comes from the CIAA and their Virginia State at North Carolina Central game.
Team: Virginia State
Coach: Lsteenberg # of Seasons: 4
Roster Breakdown:
Seniors: 7
Juniors: 12
Sophomores: 17
Freshmen: 14
Offensive Formations: Pro-set
Defensive Formations: 3-4, 4-4, Nickel
Key Wins: 26-18 over #10 West Chester
Losses: 17-38 to #8 Shepherd
Comments: Back to back games against top 10 games resulting in a surprising loss and an equally surprising win. Coach Lsteenberg has this challenging game to get through before cruising through the rest of the schedule. With Virginia State having only seven seniors on their roster, there have to be some weak spots in their lineup. In this case the glaring weakness is the defensive line with one junior, two sophomores, and three freshmen.
Team: North Carolina Central
Coach: Bucki22 # of Seasons: 5
Roster Breakdown:
Seniors: 10
Juniors: 15
Sophomores: 8
Freshmen: 17
Offensive Formations: Pro-set
Defensive Formations: 4-3, Nickel
Key Wins: N/A
Losses: 17-24 to #10 West Chester
Comments: After respectable back-to-back second round appearances, Coach Bucki22 hopes to have North Carolina Central take the next step this season. Also, the coach wants to be able to put his first conference championship trophy into a barely used trophy case. Win or lose tonight, the team has a clear path to the conference championship game since NCC has the only human coach in the division. So tonight's game will be a chance to send a message for the later rematch.
Tonight's Prediction: NCC has potentially the better defense with four seniors on the front line. Virginia State probably has the better offense. Both teams has a common opponent in West Chester with NCC losing to them and Virginia State winning their game. Even though some of the "smart dog" picks are head scratchers in retrospect, this game is an easy one for even the "smart dog" to pick. Virginia State 25, NCC 18.