Hambone Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I figured I would start a thread about the 2011 FCS Playoffs, so anyone who would like can have a healthy discussion on the field this year. I'd like to keep this clean of smack, so when our Bison friends chime in please don't smack them just because they're Bison fans. So, here is a printable version of the bracket. http://fcsnow.com/Do...1%20bracket.pdf The four opening round games, and my picks, are as follows: Albany at Stony Brook Central Arkansas at Tennessee Tech Norfolk State at Old Dominion James Madison at Eastern Kentucky The second round on December third will look like this: Stony Brook/Albany at #1 Sam Houston State New Hampshire at Montana State Wofford at #5 Northern Iowa Tennessee Tech/Central Arkansas at #4 Montana Old Dominion/Norfolk State at #3 Georgia Southern Maine at Appalachian State Lehigh at Towson James Madison/Eastern Kentucky at #2 North Dakota State Personally, I think the championship game is Georgia Southern against Montana, with GSU coming out on top. The Griz are peaking at the right time, and I watched the GSU/Bama game this weekend and I was very impressed by the Eagles. However, SHSU, NDSU and Towson are my other favorites, although I think there are 12 or so (ie - the teams not playing in the first round games this weekend) of the 20 teams that have a very legitimate shot at winning and I wouldn't be surprised. I'm very excited for the playoffs! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bincitysioux Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I think NDSU will be tough to beat at home. And they'll end up with a pretty easy draw in their first game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Five Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Hambone I agree with your first round picks to a tee: Stony Brook, Central Arkansas, Old Dominion, and JMU. Edit: How about the fact that JMU has something like a 25K stadium and they got out-bid by a team that averages less than double digits? How cool would a Montana-Montana State semifinal be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bison Dan Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 My only complaint with the field is Ill State didn't get in. They are one team I wouldn't like to play again. They beat USD 28-3 and only allowing them 108 total yards. There D is really good and quick. Other than that I think JMU is going to be a challange, with the qb back and nothing to lose they could be hard to beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FSSD Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Stony Brook T Tech ODU James Madison I had a laugh at "so when our Bison friends chime in please don't smack them just because they're Bison fans." It should read when Bison friends chime in with smack please do not return fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FSSD Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 My only complaint with the field is Ill State didn't get in. They are one team I wouldn't like to play again. They beat USD 28-3 and only allowing them 108 total yards. There D is really good and quick. Other than that I think JMU is going to be a challange, with the qb back and nothing to lose they could be hard to beat. The E. Illinois loss hurt them 1) because it was a bad loss and 2) TTech beat E. Illinois. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDSU grad Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 If the playoffs would have started after the UNI game, I would have really liked NDSU's chances, but we just haven't played well the last two weeks. That being said, maybe the bye week is what the Bison need and we can get on a roll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homer Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 If the playoffs would have started after the UNI game, I would have really liked NDSU's chances, but we just haven't played well the last two weeks. That being said, maybe the bye week is what the Bison need and we can get on a roll. NDSU wasn't playing real well last year heading into the playoffs either and strung some games together. The physical ground game played in the midwest is tough for some teams to match up with. Along with earning home field and ndsu will be tough to beat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iramurphy Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 AC has a good chance of winning it all. They will need their QB to have a good playoff run though. Their defense is pretty good. They are beatable but you will need to stop the run and be able to run to beat them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homer Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 My only complaint with the field is Ill State didn't get in. They are one team I wouldn't like to play again. They beat USD 28-3 and only allowing them 108 total yards. There D is really good and quick. Other than that I think JMU is going to be a challange, with the qb back and nothing to lose they could be hard to beat. Illinois St beat 2 FCS teams with a winning record, USD who was 3-5 vs. FBS or FCS and Indiana St. who finished 6-5. They lost to Eastern Illinois. I don't think them being left out was a suprise after they lost to UNI at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambone Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 Illinois St beat 2 FCS teams with a winning record, USD who was 3-5 vs. FBS or FCS and Indiana St. who finished 6-5. They lost to Eastern Illinois. I don't think them being left out was a suprise after they lost to UNI at home. I do agree that these were probably factors, but I think that they deserved to be in over Eastern Kentucky, who lost to 3 win Austin Peay. Probably a toss up whether they should have been in over JMU as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambone Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 Stony Brook T Tech ODU James Madison I had a laugh at "so when our Bison friends chime in please don't smack them just because they're Bison fans." It should read when Bison friends chime in with smack please do not return fire. Probably true, but so far they have behaved (and so have the Sioux fans). I'd like to keep it that way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambone Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 Hambone I agree with your first round picks to a tee: Stony Brook, Central Arkansas, Old Dominion, and JMU. Edit: How about the fact that JMU has something like a 25K stadium and they got out-bid by a team that averages less than double digits? How cool would a Montana-Montana State semifinal be? I was going to say something about that. You renovate your stadium to that size, and somehow you can't put a bid in that would beat a team that averages less than UND (I believe). I know a lot of JMU fans are pretty upset about that one. If the Semi-finals are Montana - Montana State and NDSU - Georgia Southern, that would be some good football. Even though MSU was throttled by Montana last weekend, I wouldn't be surprised to see the game go the opposite direction if that happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxbow6 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 If the Semi-finals are Montana - Montana State and NDSU - Georgia Southern, that would be some good football. Even though MSU was throttled by Montana last weekend, I wouldn't be surprised to see the game go the opposite direction if that happened. My Griz fan buddy from Missoula was at game. Weather was cold with some blustery conditions. He said Griz dominated physical play and just ran ball down Cat's throats. Weather has to be decent for Cats to win if a rematch occurs IMO...see last year's NDSU playoff game vs. them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 My Griz fan buddy from Missoula was at game. Weather was cold with some blustery conditions. He said Griz dominated physical play and just ran ball down Cat's throats. Weather has to be decent for Cats to win if a rematch occurs IMO...see last year's NDSU playoff game vs. them. If that is happening to them at this point in the season, after what ndsu did to them at home in the playoffs last year, I don't have much faith they will make a run this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxbow6 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 If that is happening to them at this point in the season, after what ndsu did to them at home in the playoffs last year, I don't have much faith they will make a run this year. Griz had 2 RBs go over 100+ yards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Five Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I watched that Montana game. It was "here we come stop it" by Montana. Pretty darn impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodcon Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 If that is happening to them at this point in the season, after what ndsu did to them at home in the playoffs last year, I don't have much faith they will make a run this year. The Montana game reminded me a lot of the NDSU/Montana State playoff game, Griz pushed both their lines around all day and McGhee looked rattled. It was a good day to be a Griz fan. Road is going to be pretty tough for MSU now, if they win their first game they would have to play at Sam Houston State and then probably at Missoula...not quite the #1 schedule they were looking at last week. NDSU looked to have a pretty decent draw, they should cruise to the semis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siouxperfan7 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 The Montana game reminded me a lot of the NDSU/Montana State playoff game, Griz pushed both their lines around all day and McGhee looked rattled. It was a good day to be a Griz fan. Road is going to be pretty tough for MSU now, if they win their first game they would have to play at Sam Houston State and then probably at Missoula...not quite the #1 schedule they were looking at last week. NDSU looked to have a pretty decent draw, they should cruise to the semis. But it is the playoffs and anything can happen. Last year Montana St. was ranked #4 with a first round bye. An 8-4 Bison team rolled into Bozeman and dominated them in a huge upset. That's why they play these games on the field and not on paper!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Five Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Here is an article explaining the bids from JMU's side. Interesting that despite drawing 25K per game, the figured they would only draw 12K for a first round game: http://jamesmadison.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1297128 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDSU grad Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 The Montana game reminded me a lot of the NDSU/Montana State playoff game, Griz pushed both their lines around all day and McGhee looked rattled. It was a good day to be a Griz fan. Road is going to be pretty tough for MSU now, if they win their first game they would have to play at Sam Houston State and then probably at Missoula...not quite the #1 schedule they were looking at last week. NDSU looked to have a pretty decent draw, they should cruise to the semis. Sounds like the kiss of death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I look at that bracket, and honestly, they could go down to 8 teams this year ... I see Montana State surprising SHSU and then a rematch with the Griz (who slip past UNI because of the outdoor elements). I see Georgia Southern and App State in an epic game with the winner facing NDSU (who dispatched Towson). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darell1976 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Last year NDSU had only 12,202 in their first ever playoff game in the Fargodome, UND had playoff attendance problems when we played Winona State back in the DII days...why is playoff attendance poor up here? Is it tv? Or is it opponents? With NDSU playing possibly James Madison do you think that would boost the attendance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FargoBison Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Last year NDSU had only 12,202 in their first ever playoff game in the Fargodome, UND had playoff attendance problems when we played Winona State back in the DII days...why is playoff attendance poor up here? Is it tv? Or is it opponents? With NDSU playing possibly James Madison do you think that would boost the attendance? Thanksgiving weekend hurt NDSU last year(plus we weren't exactly tearing it up on the field), with two weeks to sell tickets I expect the attendance for the EKU/JMU game to be much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sioux_FF Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 I see Drake and San Diego tied at 9-2 for the Pioneer Football League title. SD was 25th in the Coaches poll, Drake got votes that would have made it about 30th. I feel better about that 16-0 early season Sioux win over Drake. I know the PFL is the only FCS non-scholarship conference, but the top teams somewhat hold their own at the FCS level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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