Matt

Who knows? No one, and I mean not anyone in Fargo either, saw this run coming after the 09 season.

The AC did their part. Now it is Eastern's turn.

When you refer to "missing", do you mean they didn't play vs the #2 defense?

Can we check the league bylaws-is there a requirement that upon entry to the BSC you must stop playing quality defense? Maybe they copied that section from the old WAC days?

I would love to see Eastern show the AC in the championship that the '10 game was no fluke.

I work with a bunch of folks that were trying to buy tix from the AC but couldn't. Strange that they would choose not to sell tix to fans that wanted to go if they really didn't sellout all the tix.

The closest comparison would be Cal Poly. UND had 3 guys with 7 tackles to lead the team. It comes back to the same analysis the SFI guys had. The team needed the backers to make way more plays this year than they did. http://www.undsports.com//fls/13500/stats/football/2012/fb092912.htm

Wasn't the MSU defense the best in the BSC? If that's true, as we've seen from the UND defense this year as well, this conference has a long way to go on defense.

So much for my prediction. It appears MSU is the one going fetal in the cold. Maybe just as well for the cats to bow out tonight. From what i've seen here, the AC would crush them. Again.

Why split hairs? Hager was 4-5 (including playoffs) in the 90s vs UND and Babich was 2-4. Had Hager not benefited from Earle's all american recruits (Satter, Simdorn, Hansen) from 87-90, I'm not sure he'd even be as good a Babich. How's that for stoking the rivalry fire?

I've been watching these two programs battle since 1980. In that time, even in the 90's when the nickel pretty much took up residence on the UND campus, I've never-ever seen or heard a media opinion piece or even an unnamed quote from "a source close to the program" in the Fargo media which took the position that in any year UND out recruited the AC in football. The only sport where a UND recruiting advantage was publicly stated, that I've seen, was the Rich Glas glory days of men's basketball.

I think the AC/Wofford game will be close because of Wofford's defense (they are a top 10 but nobody knows it). I like a 17-7 game for the AC. With some much rushing, possessions will be limited. I like the Redbirds in an upset. The Bobcats get payback on Sam, which folds up in the fetal position in the cold. ODU beats GSU in a close one.

The word (and picture) on bville says President Kelley attended the AC playoff game. I hope he was negotiating a home-home. http://www.bisonvill...onship-football

True, but one thing that did not change was the UND offense. It began the season near the top of the country in total offense, and stayed there all season. Nothing I've seen from the UND "O" or SDSU "D" leads me to believe there is any difference today.

Seeding would be important vs the AC unless Faison would bid a guarantee beyond the capacity of the Al to ensure a home game. We'll call that a strategic financial loss for the greater good.

Dom Izzo‏@DomIzzoWDAY Last post on #FCSPlayoffs bracket; 1 thing is for certain; when #UND makes the tourney, it will be paired with either #NDSU or #SDSU

I may agree with this idea of doing the "most with the least" thing had the player roster been assigned to the coaching staff rather than being hand picked by them. If the staff has the least talented team in the league, that is nobody's fault but their own.

Don't get me wrong-I agree the Griz will be ranked (and ala' UNI, many will feel they shouldn't be), but coming off this season's disaster they won't be higher than a playoff team that finished 2nd in their conference that returns key starters. If UND beats the Jacks, they will be favored vs the Griz.

Based on this year and players returning, I'll be surprised if the Griz is ranked higher than the Jacks to start the season next year.

Let's move on from the "to kick or not to kick" thing and ponder this: This is two years in a row that UND has needed a field goal at the end to beat a team that, man for man, UND is better than. Question is, are the coaches offering a winning edge? I don't advocate firing muss, but I expect the same things from leadership that I do from the grunts-and that is to make it happen.

This is an intriguing observation. My take is that performance on the field is number 1, but following close behind must be Bohl's connections at that level. Muss is younger and much less connected than Bohl. Side note: Bohl has stayed longer than I believed he would. If he doesn't leave after this year, I would start questioning whether or not being an FBS coach at a good program is a goal of his anymore. Since he's married again with a young stepson, his son is at MSUM, not too far from Lincoln, and can do no wrong in Fargo, I wonder if he's just happy to stay there. UND really has to step up its game.

Would MN want to give more UND fans access to tickets? As we've seen with the final five, the MN home ice advantage is mitigated vs UND at the X.

Nice analysis. At least the program knows exactly in what areas there must be improvement. No need to guess.

Bracketology http://www.sportsnet...FCS_Bracket.pdf

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/misc/cfoot225poll.aspx The Sports Network FCS Top 25 College Football Poll Team (First-place votes) 2012 Record Points Previous Rank 1. North Dakota State Bison (121) 9-1 3930 1 2. Montana State Bobcats (20) 9-1 3748 2 3. Sam Houston State Bearkats (14) 8-2 3585 3 4. Old Dominion Monarchs (3) 9-1 3496 4 5. Eastern Washington Eagles 8-2 3362 5 6. Georgia Southern Eagles 8-2 3113 7 7. New Hampshire Wildcats (1) 8-2 2897 10 8. Appalachian State Mountaineers 8-3 2659 12 9. Wofford Terriers 8-2 2502 13 10. Central Arkansas Bears 8-2 2341 14 11. Illinois State Redbirds 8-2 2094 15 12. Stony Brook Seawolves 9-2 1917 6 13. James Madison Dukes 7-3 1885 9 14. Lehigh Mountain Hawks 9-1 1843 8 15. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 8-2 1594 11 16. Villanova Wildcats 7-3 1477 21 17. Cal Poly Mustangs 8-2 1354 19 18. Indiana State Sycamores 7-3 1294 18 19. Towson Tigers 6-4 1251 17 20. Richmond Spiders 7-3 1153 20 21. South Dakota State Jackrabbits 7-3 1046 16 22. Eastern Kentucky Colonels 8-3 750 22 23. Tennessee State Tigers 8-2 450 24 24. Bethune-Cookman Wildcats 8-2 423 NR 24. Eastern Illinois Panthers 7-3 423 NR Others receiving votes: Colgate 213, Samford 200, Albany 136, Sacramento State 90, UT Martin 75, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 52, Harvard 43, Youngstown State 40, Wagner 29, McNeese State 28, Northern Iowa 22, Lilberty 21, The Citadel 20, Delaware 17, Southern Utah 16, Penn 15, Southern Illinois 13, Chattanooga 7, Coastal Carolina 3, Alabama A&M 3, Alabama State 2, Drake 2, North Carolina A&T 2, San Diego 1, Jacksonville 1