Week 7 Recap / Week 8 Preview
I obviously need work on picking the most competitive games of the week, but I am learning on the job and the pay is terrible, so you get what you get.
With that being said, let's get to the action.
#9 Shepherd (5-1)
#25 Tusculum (5-1)
I felt like Shepherd and dawgnuts would have the upper hand in this game, but I didn't expect this kind of game. Tusculum went 3 and out in their first 3 series and Shepherd took advantage, connecting on 3 TD passes in the 1st quarter. On their 4th possession, Tusculum drove down to their opponents 21 yard line, but a holding call and three incompletions led to a curious punt call from their own 31, rather than attempting a 48 yard field goal. Tusculum finally drew blood in the middle of the 2nd quarter to make it 24-7, but do everything back Dennis Burris returned the ensuing kickoff for a 92 yard TD and Shepherd never really looked back. Shepherd had their second team offense in the game for the 4th quarter, and but they managed to score 3 TDs to bring the final to 73-20. Shepherd has moved up to #7 in the WIS poll and shouldn't truly be tested again until their conference championship game.
West Alabama (6-0)
Valdosta State (4-2)
My apoligies to West Alabama and mjacques for featuring this game. This is just a cruel reminder of the talent gap between the top vision schools and a team only a few seasons into a full rebuild. I still firmly believe that West Alabama is headed in the right direction and will be much improved in a couple of seasons when these sophomores that are getting a lot of playing time finally mature. But until then...
Let's just say Valdosta scored a lot and West Alabama struggled. Senior QB Matthew Morales completed 80% of his passes for 410 yards and 8 TDs, and he had only had one game over 64% coming into this one. David Harris added 227 yards on the ground for good measure. When all the dust settled, Morales ranks 4th in passing yards and Harris ranks 7th in rushing yards. West Alabama may get the pleasure of meeting Valdosta State again later in the season, as a showdown of West Alabama and Central Arkansas in two weeks should determine who makes it to the Conference Championship game. If West Alabama could make it to the Conference Championship, it would be their first trip to the title game in 77 seasons. Also, despite this tough loss, West Alabama is ranked #31 in the WIS Rankings and has a chance to be one of the last teams that could sneak into the playoffs, which would end a 42 season playoff drought.
Week 8 Preview
#4 Winona State (7-0)
#1 West Liberty (7-0)
In this week's marquee matchup, two undefeated teams out of the NSIC will meet for the first of two times this season (yes, I'm sure). Winona State has a big OOC win versus Shepherd earlier this season, which gives them a lot of credibility going into this huge matchup. Winona State is scoring 68.3 pig while only giving up 5.7 ppg. West Liberty has knocked off 4 formidable human foes so far and has been in control of every game they played.
While neither of these teams made my Top 10 before the season began, they are certainly knocking on the door. Winona State has had the upper hand in conference play in recent seasons, and it looks like that will be the case again in this game. Winona State's win over Shepherd is the most impressive OOC win of the group, and if that team shows up to play, they should have the edge over West Liberty.
For West Liberty to win, RB Gerald Strickland (#2 in D2 rushing yards) will have to keep the chains moving and give the offense short 3rd down opportunities. In the last two game, Rs FR James Martin has gotten a majority of the reps at QB and it is unclear if he has taken over for good or if regular starter Rs JR Ray Ellis has just been knicked up or resting.
Presbyterian (5-2)
West Virginia Wesleyan (5-2)
In our other featured matchup, Presbyterian and coach rposborne have won the SAC 15 of the last 20 seasons, while WV Wesleyan is in the third season of a full rebuild by coachoatie.
Presbyterian has had a confusing season so far, getting shutout by quality opponents Southern Connecticut and Shepherd, but also only sneaking by a 1-6 Sim, Central Oklahoma, by a score of 24-20. Presbyterian likes to pound the ball on the ground out of the Notre Dame Box. RB Oscar Osborne is 3rd in D2 in rushing and will look to carry the offensive load. On paper, I would expect Presbyterian to win by at least 3 scores, but their results so far scare me off of that a bit.
West Virginia Wesleyan has losses against coach cjlememp and Tusculum as well as a 3OT loss to Sim coached Concord. Their 5 wins are all against sims, including a one point opening week win against 1-6 Northwood. They feature a Trips offense which is led by RS Fr QB Jason Smith (14 TD/15 INT). West Virginia is obviously playing for the future, but if (a BIG IF) Smith can keep the ball out of the defense's hands, they might have a chance. On the other hand, if he throws a few ducks under pressure, it could be a long night.
Well, that's it for this week. Stay tuned for Tortoise Curling, (yes that is curling using tortoises instead of stones) coming up next on ESPN+.