Things are starting to get very interesting. Good teams are starting to play one another, and the wheat is going to be separated from the chaff.
In the Big Sky we see some important match ups. One is the surprising North Dakota squad taking on Cal Poly. North Dakota is at home so this could be real good. Montana State tries to remain undefeated on the road at Southern Utah. And Northern Arizona continue their search for a title by hosting Portland St. Both favored teams ought to win. But the real match up the week in the Big Sky is Montana versus Eastern Washington. Montana may have been looking forward to this game last week. If Montana loses it will be very hard for them to win the Big Sky.
Big Sky team Stony Brook has a chance for a win over an FBS team. Army hosts Stony Brook.
The CAA has a bevy of great games today. New Hampshire's heart breaking loss they host Delaware, so it does not get any easier. However, New Hampshire showed they can play, so don't count them out. Old Dominion's come back now has to be followed up against Richmond at Richmond. Now, let us not forget about Villanova. They are a recent national champ, and they play Maine at Maine. Also as a side note, William and Mary plays Georgia State. One of those teams will get their first win.
The MEAC is still wide open, but you can never miss a South Carolina State against Norfolk State game. This one is in South Carolina, so we will see how they look this year. The loser could be in real trouble.
In the Missouri Valley, the surprise conference this year, Northern Iowa continues their brutal early season schedule. They host #1 ranked North Dakota St. Let us not forget that the Missouri Valley has another undefeated team that no one is talking about: Illinois State. They travel to South Dakota.
The NEC has Albany at Monmouth. This should weed out a team at the top of this conference.
The OVC features Eastern Kentucky going to UT Martin. I think Eastern Kentucky will pull it out, but this is the game to watch. Arkansas Pine Bluff comes to visit the undefeated Tennessee St. SE Missouri St goes to Jacksonville State. Last gasp for Jacksonville State.
Patriot League leaders Leigh host Fordham. Important game, but Leigh ought to win.
The Southern Conference sees its wild season continue. Citadel hosts Chattanooga in a winnable game. Wofford visits Elon in another winnable match to keep those two atop the league. Georgia Southern hosts the third Samford, who is still undefeated. That is the game I am most interested in. Can Samford do it on the road. Will Georgia Southern recover? App State has had a horrible season, but they continue it against Coastal Carolina, a game they ought to win, but it does not help them in conference.
The Southland is heated as well. Sam Houston State won Thursday night out of conference in a big way to show they are not dead yet. Central Arkansas should win this Saturday as should McNeese St. So the big show downs in this conference wait a week.
Enjoy the big games.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
Week 4
Man an amazing week last week as Citadel proved it was for real after drubbing App. St. It kind of makes you think anything is possible.
The Big Sky ought to go as planned with Montana and Montana St hosting games. Eastern Washington should have no trouble at Weber St. The big game is Sacramento State hosting North Dakota.
Old Dominion hosts New Hampshire in a big early season show down. Delaware goes to William and Mary, and the rest of the CAA should go according to plan. The winner of ODU and New Hampshire will have a leg up on making the playoffs over the rest of the conference.
North Dakota St. returns to action, but is playing out of conference and should have no problems. The big game is Youngstown St. hosting Northern Iowa. Northern Iowa has lost two close games to BCS teams, and Youngstown is undefeated. It might be a bit early to say this, but it has the feel of a must win for Northern Iowa. You can hope that three teams get in the playoffs from the Missouri valley and a 1-3 record looks bad even if two of the losses are to BCS schools. They would still have to play NDSU and hold serve against everyone else. UNI needs this game.
The Southern Conference is wide open. And with Wofford taking the week off it gives the spot light to teams like Elon who is 2-1 and taking on a reeling Georgia Southern at 1-1. Let us not forget undefeated Samford at Western Carolina. They ought to remain undefeated. UTC and App St. are both in most wins with 1-2 records. Surprising Citadel takes a shot at NC State for a possible BCS upset.
Sam Houston St. goes to Central Arkansas in what should be a good match up. McNeese St should win keeping that eventual showdown exciting.
Leigh should beat Liberty keeping their post season hopes alive. Stony Brook comes back to conference after their near upset of Syracuse. They should win too.
Enjoy the games!
The Big Sky ought to go as planned with Montana and Montana St hosting games. Eastern Washington should have no trouble at Weber St. The big game is Sacramento State hosting North Dakota.
Old Dominion hosts New Hampshire in a big early season show down. Delaware goes to William and Mary, and the rest of the CAA should go according to plan. The winner of ODU and New Hampshire will have a leg up on making the playoffs over the rest of the conference.
North Dakota St. returns to action, but is playing out of conference and should have no problems. The big game is Youngstown St. hosting Northern Iowa. Northern Iowa has lost two close games to BCS teams, and Youngstown is undefeated. It might be a bit early to say this, but it has the feel of a must win for Northern Iowa. You can hope that three teams get in the playoffs from the Missouri valley and a 1-3 record looks bad even if two of the losses are to BCS schools. They would still have to play NDSU and hold serve against everyone else. UNI needs this game.
The Southern Conference is wide open. And with Wofford taking the week off it gives the spot light to teams like Elon who is 2-1 and taking on a reeling Georgia Southern at 1-1. Let us not forget undefeated Samford at Western Carolina. They ought to remain undefeated. UTC and App St. are both in most wins with 1-2 records. Surprising Citadel takes a shot at NC State for a possible BCS upset.
Sam Houston St. goes to Central Arkansas in what should be a good match up. McNeese St should win keeping that eventual showdown exciting.
Leigh should beat Liberty keeping their post season hopes alive. Stony Brook comes back to conference after their near upset of Syracuse. They should win too.
Enjoy the games!
Friday, September 14, 2012
Week 3 Preview
Oddly for a third week, there are not a lot of marquee kind of games.
We should start with the best possible upset of a BCS school and that is Northern Iowa vs. Iowa with Stony Brook at Syracuse not all that far behind. Baylor is going to win, but I am interested to see how Sam Houston State does against them.
As far as conference battles go, they have yet to really heat up. The Southern Conference does see Wofford hosting Western Carolina. Should be a Wofford victory and a chance to take SC lead with the early season losses of Georgia Southern and App. St. Which brings up the interesting game now of App. St. hosting Citadel, who is currently undefeated with a win over Georgia Southern under its belt. App. St. is coming off of its close win over Montana, so we will see how this one plays out. Is Citadel for real? Can they slay Goliath two weeks in a row? We shall see.
Big Sky will see SF Austin come up to Montana St. That could be a good game. Sacramento State plays Northern Colorado to see who has the outside chance of competing for the Big Sky crown.
The big boys in the CAA should roll making the only really interesting game the William and Mary v. Towsen game. Both teams have yet to win, so one of them will get on the right side of the ledger this week.
Most of the Ivy League schools actually start playing now, so we will see how that shakes out.
North Dakota State has the week off, so the spotlight belongs to Youngstown State and its showdown with Albany of the NEC. Both are undefeated, but look for Youngstown to put up a win here.
The Southland conference is kind of waiting to see the McNeese State v. Sam Houston St. game. McNeese should win this week to keep their undefeated season alive.
And for those looking for the Bayou Classic later in the year, both Grambling and Southern are 0-2. Southern was shut out Thursday night by Miss Valley State in a 6-0 loss. Grambling tries to avoid 0-3 against Alabama St.
Enjoy the games!
We should start with the best possible upset of a BCS school and that is Northern Iowa vs. Iowa with Stony Brook at Syracuse not all that far behind. Baylor is going to win, but I am interested to see how Sam Houston State does against them.
As far as conference battles go, they have yet to really heat up. The Southern Conference does see Wofford hosting Western Carolina. Should be a Wofford victory and a chance to take SC lead with the early season losses of Georgia Southern and App. St. Which brings up the interesting game now of App. St. hosting Citadel, who is currently undefeated with a win over Georgia Southern under its belt. App. St. is coming off of its close win over Montana, so we will see how this one plays out. Is Citadel for real? Can they slay Goliath two weeks in a row? We shall see.
Big Sky will see SF Austin come up to Montana St. That could be a good game. Sacramento State plays Northern Colorado to see who has the outside chance of competing for the Big Sky crown.
The big boys in the CAA should roll making the only really interesting game the William and Mary v. Towsen game. Both teams have yet to win, so one of them will get on the right side of the ledger this week.
Most of the Ivy League schools actually start playing now, so we will see how that shakes out.
North Dakota State has the week off, so the spotlight belongs to Youngstown State and its showdown with Albany of the NEC. Both are undefeated, but look for Youngstown to put up a win here.
The Southland conference is kind of waiting to see the McNeese State v. Sam Houston St. game. McNeese should win this week to keep their undefeated season alive.
And for those looking for the Bayou Classic later in the year, both Grambling and Southern are 0-2. Southern was shut out Thursday night by Miss Valley State in a 6-0 loss. Grambling tries to avoid 0-3 against Alabama St.
Enjoy the games!
Friday, September 7, 2012
Week 2 Preview
The big game is a no doubter this week. Montana at App St. Two of the winningest programs go head to head. I am looking forward to it. Montana won last week, but App was playing in the FBS. I have to give the slight edge to Montana. App State is still adjusting to life without star wide out Quick. I think that maybe the difference.
Jacksonville State gets a chance at revenge on Chattanooga. Last year UTC hosted Jacksonville State and ended hopes of an undefeated season early. It showed Jacksonville St was not ready for title contention. This year Jacksonville State gets to play host. Maybe they are ready this year.
Sam Houston State has yet to play a game, but they should be fun to watch in their debut.
Of course Delaware and Delaware State ought to be watched for the rivalry alone. Because it is not going to be a good game. Blue Hens in a rout.
One interesting note is Savannah State. I hope that got good money this year because after getting humiliated 85-0 against OKST, they go to play Florida State. They are 70 point underdogs. They had better score this week.
Top ranked North Dakota State goes to play Colorado State, who beat Colorado last week, so it should be a good game. NDSU could pull of another FBS upset. Four teams did it last week, who will do it this week?
Youngstown State, the beater of Pitt, plays Valparasio, so we get to see how they deal with success.
So another week with a lot of games that may not give us an actual idea of how it is going to shake out, but this week has that one monumental game. It should be on ESPN3. 6:30 eastern, 5:30 central.
Jacksonville State gets a chance at revenge on Chattanooga. Last year UTC hosted Jacksonville State and ended hopes of an undefeated season early. It showed Jacksonville St was not ready for title contention. This year Jacksonville State gets to play host. Maybe they are ready this year.
Sam Houston State has yet to play a game, but they should be fun to watch in their debut.
Of course Delaware and Delaware State ought to be watched for the rivalry alone. Because it is not going to be a good game. Blue Hens in a rout.
One interesting note is Savannah State. I hope that got good money this year because after getting humiliated 85-0 against OKST, they go to play Florida State. They are 70 point underdogs. They had better score this week.
Top ranked North Dakota State goes to play Colorado State, who beat Colorado last week, so it should be a good game. NDSU could pull of another FBS upset. Four teams did it last week, who will do it this week?
Youngstown State, the beater of Pitt, plays Valparasio, so we get to see how they deal with success.
So another week with a lot of games that may not give us an actual idea of how it is going to shake out, but this week has that one monumental game. It should be on ESPN3. 6:30 eastern, 5:30 central.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Week 1 2012
Four teams beat Division IA teams, and a few more got close.
UT Martin beat Memphis 20-17. I don't think this is going to mean much in the long run, but good for UT-Martin. Did not see it coming.
McNeese State beat Middle Tennessee State. This could mean something. McNeese St. has been just on the outside the last couple of years, but this year they may be ready to reappear in the playoffs.
Eastern Washington's win over Idaho (20-3) was thorough and convincing. Eastern Washington is going to probably make the playoffs and could win the Big Sky. They have rediscovered their run game and it ran all over Idaho.
Youngstown State beat Pittsburgh 31-17 for the biggest upset. One has to think that this spells good things for Youngstown. However, I would note on piece of caution. Pitt stinks. And the Missouri Valley is loaded. It is a good sign, but they are overrated in most polls right now. Sports Nation has them 6th. They could lose 3 games in conference.
Northern Iowa also moved up despite a loss to Wisconsin. It was a close game, but Northern Iowa did most of their scoring late. Their quarterback looked really good, but I don't think Wisconsin was taking them seriously after the early lead. Northern Iowa could beat Youngstown, but at #8, I think they are also overrated.
William and Mary was close against Maryland losing 6-7. W&M put up 6 in the first quarter, and then was shut down. Maryland's scoring drive looked to be against a tired defense that had no strength left in their arms to bring men down. Don't expect too much out of W&M despite the good showing. Maryland is no good.
I did get to watch a lot of the NDSU game. They should be ranked #1. Brock Jensen was excellent. The running game is there. And the young defense showed it was very tough and that NDSU is going to be a serious threat to repeat.
One other interesting note. Georgia Southern beat a lower division school 58-0. They put up 555 yards of offense . . . all on the ground. They did not complete a single pass. The starter was 0-5, and the rest threw 3 more passes into the ground. Swope had his 100 yard game, but sat a lot o this game. I think there is reason for concern. You have to be able to complete a pass. They are not going to put up 555 yards on the ground against App St or Wofford.
UT Martin beat Memphis 20-17. I don't think this is going to mean much in the long run, but good for UT-Martin. Did not see it coming.
McNeese State beat Middle Tennessee State. This could mean something. McNeese St. has been just on the outside the last couple of years, but this year they may be ready to reappear in the playoffs.
Eastern Washington's win over Idaho (20-3) was thorough and convincing. Eastern Washington is going to probably make the playoffs and could win the Big Sky. They have rediscovered their run game and it ran all over Idaho.
Youngstown State beat Pittsburgh 31-17 for the biggest upset. One has to think that this spells good things for Youngstown. However, I would note on piece of caution. Pitt stinks. And the Missouri Valley is loaded. It is a good sign, but they are overrated in most polls right now. Sports Nation has them 6th. They could lose 3 games in conference.
Northern Iowa also moved up despite a loss to Wisconsin. It was a close game, but Northern Iowa did most of their scoring late. Their quarterback looked really good, but I don't think Wisconsin was taking them seriously after the early lead. Northern Iowa could beat Youngstown, but at #8, I think they are also overrated.
William and Mary was close against Maryland losing 6-7. W&M put up 6 in the first quarter, and then was shut down. Maryland's scoring drive looked to be against a tired defense that had no strength left in their arms to bring men down. Don't expect too much out of W&M despite the good showing. Maryland is no good.
I did get to watch a lot of the NDSU game. They should be ranked #1. Brock Jensen was excellent. The running game is there. And the young defense showed it was very tough and that NDSU is going to be a serious threat to repeat.
One other interesting note. Georgia Southern beat a lower division school 58-0. They put up 555 yards of offense . . . all on the ground. They did not complete a single pass. The starter was 0-5, and the rest threw 3 more passes into the ground. Swope had his 100 yard game, but sat a lot o this game. I think there is reason for concern. You have to be able to complete a pass. They are not going to put up 555 yards on the ground against App St or Wofford.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Football time
It is that time of year again. College football. This is week 1, and it will be a slow start for the FCS. It is hard to tell who is going to be good when they are playing FBS teams or some are playing Division II teams. But there are a few major matchups to watch and it is always fun to predict the FCS upset of the FBS.
Furman at Samford is a Southern Conference game that has real implications. Furman is trying to climb back into the mix for playoff spots, and needs to overtake Wofford to do so. Wofford is going through a QB change, so this is their chance. A must win game on the road to start the season.
App State is at East Carolina. I think this could be one of the FBS upsets. Everyone is ready for App state, but East Carolina is not all that good.
Richmond and William and Mary are both taking on ACC opponents. And Delaware beat a Division II school, so no real indicator there. The game to watch in the CAA is already over. Towsen, who had a great year last year and is ranked, lost to Kent St. 41-21. Also South Carolina State beat down Georgia State at Georgia State. The 33-6 score was a surprise and might mean South Carolina State is back.
Big Sky is all playing weird teams except Montana playing South Dakota. Montana ought to win. They had a great year last year, but are picked below Montana State by a lot of people. Should be interesting to watch. Also is Eastern Washington back as they beat Idaho 20-3 at Idaho. It is a running attack this year for Eastern Washington with Quincy Forte leading the way sharing the load with Jordan Talley. It could be a very interesting year in the Big Sky.
And of course North Dakota State starts their defense off the national title against Robert Morris. Not a push over team, but a game NDSU should win. Returning starter Brock Jensen pilots the running attack and is backed by a big time defense. They are my pick to repeat this year, but they have a pretty tough schedule. It is a junior heavy team, in fact, they only have 7 seniors on the whole team. So, we will see if they are up for the challenge.
Furman at Samford is a Southern Conference game that has real implications. Furman is trying to climb back into the mix for playoff spots, and needs to overtake Wofford to do so. Wofford is going through a QB change, so this is their chance. A must win game on the road to start the season.
App State is at East Carolina. I think this could be one of the FBS upsets. Everyone is ready for App state, but East Carolina is not all that good.
Richmond and William and Mary are both taking on ACC opponents. And Delaware beat a Division II school, so no real indicator there. The game to watch in the CAA is already over. Towsen, who had a great year last year and is ranked, lost to Kent St. 41-21. Also South Carolina State beat down Georgia State at Georgia State. The 33-6 score was a surprise and might mean South Carolina State is back.
Big Sky is all playing weird teams except Montana playing South Dakota. Montana ought to win. They had a great year last year, but are picked below Montana State by a lot of people. Should be interesting to watch. Also is Eastern Washington back as they beat Idaho 20-3 at Idaho. It is a running attack this year for Eastern Washington with Quincy Forte leading the way sharing the load with Jordan Talley. It could be a very interesting year in the Big Sky.
And of course North Dakota State starts their defense off the national title against Robert Morris. Not a push over team, but a game NDSU should win. Returning starter Brock Jensen pilots the running attack and is backed by a big time defense. They are my pick to repeat this year, but they have a pretty tough schedule. It is a junior heavy team, in fact, they only have 7 seniors on the whole team. So, we will see if they are up for the challenge.
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