NCAA D-II football playoff bracket

[jimdahl]

Here it is: NCAA D-II football playoff bracket

Midwest region was pretty much as everyone who studied the selection criteria predicted (with the only question being the order of #3/#4):

1. North Dakota

2. Winona St.

3. Emporia St.

4. Pittsburg St.

The committee seemed to perfectly follow the criteria as laid out last summer.

[UND92,96]

The East Region is nuts. Can you imagine how ticked off the IUP team and its fans must be? A 10-1 record and a top-10 national ranking and they didn't get in! And how about defending champion Grand Valley St. with a 10-1 record having to travel to Bentley, who I believe is a non-scholarship program!

[BigGreyAnt41]

So what happens if the Sioux win and Winona St. wins in first round. Who will host the 2nd round game? Both teams have only one loss, but in common opponents are UM-Crookson and SDSU. Both UND and Winona St beat UMC 59-0, but for SDSU, UND only won 25-24, but Winona St. beat then 30-23. Would that give them the edge for homefield in the 2nd round or is it figured out some other way?

[UND92,96]

So what happens if the Sioux win and Winona St. wins in first round. Who will host the 2nd round game? Both teams have only one loss, but in common opponents are UM-Crookson and SDSU. Both UND and Winona St beat UMC 59-0, but for SDSU, UND only won 25-24, but Winona St. beat then 30-23. Would that give them the edge for homefield in the 2nd round or is it figured out some other way?

The higher seed hosts, unless there is some sort of conflict with the venue or the playing surface is unplayable.

[jimdahl]

IUP not making it seems unfair, when a team like Winona does, but that's a known effect of the regionality; the SE region is absolutely loaded. The quirkiness in that region is a side effect of the SOS point values having been arbitrarily made up. Basing SOS solely on opponents' win percentage instead of including opponents' opponents' percentage (like RPI does) doesn't properly sort out the relative strength of conferences that play relatively insular schedules.

Bentley, at 10-0, was pretty much guaranteed a higher seed than 10-1 Grand Valley because of a combination of that characteristic of SOS and the emphasis on win/loss records. Simply replacing the current SOS and win percentage criteria with an RPI would help a lot, but wouldn't provide the function of encouraging teams to play a D-II schedule, as desired by the committee.

[UND92,96]

IUP not making it seems unfair, when a team like Winona does, but that's a known effect of the regionality; the SE region is absolutely loaded.  The real problem in that region is that the SOS point values were arbitrarily made up.  Basing SOS solely on opponents' win percentage instead of including opponents' opponents' percentage (like RPI does) doesn't properly sort out the relatively insular schedules that football teams play.

Bentley, at 10-0, was pretty much guaranteed a higher seed than 10-1 Grand Valley because of a combination of that characteristic of SOS and the emphasis on win/loss records.

It will be interesting to see if the NCAA tinkers with the strength of schedule values after this year to avoid another situation like what has occurred in the East. The committee's hands are somewhat tied, but if Grand Valley really lays the smack down on Bentley as expected, it makes a mockery of the whole process. It is virtually impossible to really know how good (or bad) Bentley is until next Saturday since they haven't played anybody, but I think most people expect that they are probably going to be beaten very, very badly.

Can anyone confirm whether the NE-10 (Bentley's conference) is indeed a non-scholarship dII conference?

[bisonguy]

I'm pretty sure Bentley is non-scholarship. Don Hansen lists them in the DII mid-major poll-http://www.donhansen.com/polls/ncaaiimid.php

[RD17]

[Wilbur]

I'm actually pretty suprised that NDSU didn't get in, with Pitt. State losing yesterday. It would of been fun to see a UND-NDSU meeting in the playoffs, but I guess the football gods put a rest to the DII rivalry for good. If they had beaten SCSU they would of ended up #2 in the region and then we would of had the possible matchup at the Alerus in the second round.....would of been a dandy.

So what do people know about Pitt State? They didn't impress me a couple years ago when they came to the Alerus and UND completely dominated them. Are they still a mainly run the ball, throw when we have to team??? Looking forward to the post.

[Diggler]

I don't know if it is fair to judge Pitt State by that one game. The UND defense was beyond pi$$ed off after the Winona game and they were pretty much unstopable against Pitt State. The Gorilla's didn't have a prayer. I remember their cheerleaders were pretty impressive though.

Neil Philpot is still the QB for Pitt State and I believe they are still a running team. I wouldn't mind seeing a TE rumble down the sideline, dragging 6 Gorilla's behind him ala Chad Mustard nor would I mind seeing Jeff Glass kick a 65 yarder.

[UND92,96]

So what do people know about Pitt State?  They didn't impress me a couple years ago when they came to the Alerus and UND completely dominated them.  Are they still a mainly run the ball, throw when we have to team???  Looking forward to the post.

Pitt St. is still a primarily option-type team, although they do seem to throw a bit more than they did in 2001. They have the same quarterback as 2001 (he was a freshman then), and he's also their leading rusher. UND will need to hit the quarterback early and often and make him pitch the ball. It's not unlike playing NDSU when they ran the veer.

Defensively, Pitt St. has put up good numbers, although NW Mo. St. was able to throw for more than 300 yards against them yesterday. I suspect that as usual, the Sioux will need to throw the ball well to score points. Fortunately, Bowenkamp and company have been up to the task most of the year.

I also think the Sioux have an advantage in the all-important kicking game. Pitt St. lost yesterday in large part due to their kicker missing an extra point and having a fairly short field goal blocked.

[star2city]

Here's an unofficial Pittsburg State site, PSUgorillas.com, that has a lot of info from this season.

[CoteauRinkRat]

anybody know what time NDSU will be playing on saturday? lol kidding bison fans, just thought I would have a little fun with you.

After NDSU got screwed over a couple of years ago, a team never knows if they are going to have a home playoff game until the brackets come out.

I'm hoping we can pack the Alerus Center on saturday.

[beersong]

The Gorillas absolutely biotch slapped SCSU earlier this year. They'll give UND all they can handle. For UND's sake, they better have a full, loud crowd at the Alerus.

[jimdahl]

The Gorillas absolutely biotch slapped SCSU earlier this year.  They'll give UND all they can handle.  For UND's sake, they better have a full, loud crowd at the Alerus.

I don't think anyone is taking Pitt St. for granted. To repeat some of my points from my story:

Pittsburg State has a storied D-II history, having appeared in the D-II playoffs 12 times since 1988. The Gorillas are 14-11 overall in the playoffs, and have won 1 National Championship and 2 runner-up finishes.

So, Pitt State has made the playoffs 80% of the previous 15 years, and have frankly done pretty well there. The Sioux have seen the Gorillas enough that I hope they aren't afraid of Pitt. St., but I also definitely hope there's adequate respect. I think UND should be favored in this game at home, but a loss wouldn't be a shock at all. Unlike most NCC games in which I focused my pregame prognostication on UND's defense, for this game I'm actually concerned about UND's ability to score.

[Diggler]

Anyone else see on ESPN today that the analyst picked the Sioux to win the NC? Maybe I'm just pessimistic, but I'd think Saginaw, Grand Valley and Valdosta should all be considered ahead of the Sioux.

[bisonguy]

Anyone else see on ESPN today that the analyst picked the Sioux to win the NC? Maybe I'm just pessimistic, but I'd think Saginaw, Grand Valley and Valdosta should all be considered ahead of the Sioux.

I would be more worried about UNA. They may have forgot how to count to 36 (scholarships) again. They're undefeated, and handed Valdosta their only loss.

[UND92,96]

Anyone else see on ESPN today that the analyst picked the Sioux to win the NC?  Maybe I'm just pessimistic, but I'd think Saginaw, Grand Valley and Valdosta should all be considered ahead of the Sioux.

I don't recall exactly which team that guy normally covers, but I know he's an NSIC guy so it's probably no surprise that he would pick the top-ranked team from the midwest region as the favorite. Judging by how low the Sioux have been ranked in the national polls all year, I doubt very much too many people around the country would pick UND as a favorite. Personally, I'd pick Saginaw Valley and North Alabama as favorites. That should officially be the kiss of death for those two teams.

[Smoggy]

With the little bit I've seen and heard on the radio, I just don't think the Sioux have what it takes to win it all. The defense isn't dominating, the offense comes and goes, and Glas isn't Paterka.

Then again, the Al came in handy in 2001, and we are there again this year. Also, the playoffs are about grit and winning the close ones. We certainly have this.

I like that we play Pitt St. to begin with. Our 3-4 defense was put in to strickly stop all the option offenses that teams used to run. I expect Pitt to throw more than usual, since we do seem to be lacking in the pass coverage area.

It's the playoffs and anything can happen. We've had a week off, and I hope we are ready.

Go Sioux!

[SiouxMeNow]

I would be more worried about UNA. They may have forgot how to count to 36 (scholarships) again. They're undefeated, and handed Valdosta their only loss.

ohh yeah -- I remember UNA!! I was in Florence for that game ('94 I believe) and remember doing interviews with the UNA Coach. He said they had about a dozen NFL prospects. That should have tipped us off right there. What DII school has numbers like that?? When it finally came out, what did they have? Like 60-something total scholarships?? (Virtually a DI-AA school) Oh yeah, it was a math error!!! The real pisser was the NCAA never did anything about that - even after it was revealed!! The Sioux got screwed that year (and the year previous in the clay mud pit at UPI) How sweet it would be if UNA came up here for the semi's...I'm sure RT would give them a talk they'd never forget!! I'm getting ahead of myself and we need to take care of some business first but I'd LOVE to see UNA make the trip to GF...

[Smoggy]

Any time yet for the game?

[Smoggy]

Any time yet for the game?

Just found on the NCAA site that all games must start between noon and one.

Thanks, cheeringcali.

[CoteauRinkRat]

[UND92,96]

With the little bit I've seen and heard on the radio, I just don't think the Sioux have what it takes to win it all.  The defense isn't dominating, the offense comes and goes, and Glas isn't Paterka.

Then again, the Al came in handy in 2001, and we are there again this year.  Also, the playoffs are about grit and winning the close ones.  We certainly have this.

I would agree that the biggest difference between the 2001 and 2003 teams is that the 2001 defense was dominating and the 2003 defense is inconsistent. I do think the defense will be dominant in another year or two considering that there are 12-15 freshmen and sophomores who are playing a lot right now.

With regard to Glas, he has been up and down but he has come through in the clutch. Peterka was a great kicker, but I do recall him getting both of his field goal attempts blocked against UC-Davis, and making just 1 of 4 against Grand Valley St. The advantage Glas has is that he gets much better elevation on his field goal attempts so they are not as easy to block as Peterka's were.

I actually think this year's offense may be more explosive than the 2001 team was. In 2001, the running game was much better than it is now, but the lack of a consistent running game has forced the play-calling to open up a bit this year. The receiving corps this year is excellent, and Bowenkamp has done a nice job of spreading the ball around. This year's offensive line has also done an excellent job of pass blocking considering how few sacks have been given up. This year's team can run the ball just enough, and appears to be able to throw for close to 300 yards against nearly anybody.

With all that having been said, I would be very surprised if the Sioux were able to get to Florence. I would be extremely happy with a couple of wins. Although Pitt St. is a very good team, I would be disappointed with a first round loss considering we have the home field advantage and a lot of momentum.

[CoteauRinkRat]

We need to pack the Alerus on saturday. Pitt St. is a team that likes to checkoff on the line of scrimmage, a loud crowd would really cause them problems. (See UC-Davis semifinal game in 2001)