Week 5 Recap / Week 6 Preview
Week 5 Recap
Let's get right to it...
#2 Winona State (4-0)
#9 Shepherd College (4-0)
Shepherd just came off a win against North Dakota State in Week 4 and Winona State had been untested so far. I picked Shepherd by two touchdowns...
The first half was pretty evenly matched between the two teams as they went into halftime with Shepherd up 17-14. The 3rd quarter was a defensive battle, which carried over into the 4th quarter with no scoring until Winona State kicked a 44 yard field goal with 2:39 left to tie it at 17-17. Two plays later, Paul Martinez picked off a Richard Brewer pass and Winona State got the ball right back on the Shepherd 38 yard line. Four plays later and Winona State was in the endzone on at 16 yard scamper by David Carver. Shepherd moved the ball right down the field in an attempt to send the game to overtime, but a sack and incompletion on the Winona State 34 yard line as time ran out closed out the game.
Statisically, it was a very close matchup, with Shepherd outgaining Winona State 390 yards to 335 yards, and Winona State was only 3/15 on 3rd down. In the end, Winona State made the timely plays at clutch moments to pull out the victory.
#3 Edinboro (4-0)
#19 Saint Joseph's (3-1)
Edinboro came into the game with three wins against sims and a 30-22 win against 5th year coach tbook and New Mexico Highlands. Saint Joseph's and coach fla_dave lost a tough one to Lock Haven in week 4, and was looking to bounce back in this game before facing a conference schedule that features 5 human coaches.
Saint Joseph's went right down the field on their first drive for a touchdown and never looked back. Neither team looked great passing the ball, but Juan Peterson controlled the clock and kept the chains moving with 157 yards on 34 carries and 9 receptions for 149 yards. Edinboro never could seem to get going and was held to 273 total yards, only averaging 3.8 yards per play. Saint Joseph's experience in the back 7 was instrumental in shutting down Edinboro's passing attack.
Week 6 Preview
As we head into conference play, there are quite a few matchups that caught our eye, so let's take a quick look at some of the better games that will be happening tomorrow.
Stonehill (5-0)
#23 Long Island (5-0)
Stonehill coach rushmen is in his 5th season, and coming off his first playoff berth last season. Oddly enough, he made the playoffs for a 9-4 season following a 12-2 and 12-1 season that saw him right outside a playoff bid. They will feature a trips offense that is extremely balance in their attack. So far, Ferris State ranks 4th in total yards per game. WIS has them ranked at #30 and an upset here would be huge for the program and would almost certainly catapult them to a playoff berth for a second straight year.
Long Island comes in ranked #23, with a win over Cheyney earlier in the season. They currently lead D2 with the fewest yards per game allowed (170.2) but have yet to intercept a pass. As mentioned before, bigppa85 has made the title game in the last 4 consecutive seasons, so Long Island is a huge favorite in this game.
I like Long Island by two scores, but Stonehill is rapidly improving and this could be the start of a big rivalry in the NE-10.
Indianapolis (5-0)
Ferris State (5-0)
Both teams come into this game very underrated by their WIS rankings due to the low level of competition played so far.
Indianapolis is led by nitros, in his second season with this team. After bouncing back between human and sim control for 8 seasons, nitros has this team headed back in the right direction. They like to run a well balanced offense out of I formation and spread the ball around. Indianapolis is led by QB Todd Bailey, who is fifth in D2 in passing yards and Glenn Cantu who is 18th in D2 in rushing yards. On the defensive side of the ball, DL Franklin Winter is tied for 3rd in sacks with 8 and DB Frank Turner is tied for 7th in interceptions with 4 so far.
Ferris State is undefeated to start the season after making the playoffs last year and finishing 12-3. Coach champ83 is in his second year and also runs a balanced I Formation offense, although they are starting to sprinkle in a little Wishbone here and there. There are no real standouts statistically as nearly every skilled position player sees the field and contributes to the team. So far, Ferris State has just demolished every sim they have played, but their combined opponent's record so far is 0-25.
That being said, this isn't your typical featured matchup, but on paper it looks like a good matchup of teams that could use a big win to take the next step on their climb to the next level. I think I like Ferris State in this matchup, but that is probably just the nail in the coffin for them.
#7 Edinboro (4-1)
#9 Bloomsburg (5-0)
I've highlighted these teams before, so I'll keep it short and sweet, but I didn't want to ignore the matchup. Edinboro is coming off a tough loss a week ago and Bloomsburg's only true test was week 1 when they knocked off Cheyney 49-16.
Bloomsburg is just so talented and efficient on offense, I can't see Edinboro being able to slow them down. Since Edinboro likes to put it in the air a lot, it could snowball in a hurry if they aren't able to answer Bloomburg's scores, but if they can hit on a few big plays, they could keep the game within reach late.
That's all for this edition. Check back tomorrow to see how it all plays out.