Bribi did good. It was a close and fun game. Now to get beaten like the King's whipping boy from a Lyonzfan's Indiana PA that was just handed a loss by Mansfield. Looking forward to the humiliation .

North
GVSU vs. SDSU
GVSU cruised in their first round matchup while SDSU took care of business easily enough, even if it wasn't super dominating. GVSU should have a clear advantage here but that's the same thing I thought last season when SDSU faced Millersville and they ended up only losing in that one by a TD so don't count them out. I still think GVSU wins by a couple scores at least.

SEO vs. Long Island
Long Island had a whole lot of first half trouble against the SIM Glenville so that's not a good vibe to get going into their next game against a clearly better type such as SEO. SEO won handily and is looking to get to the quarterfinals to face a presumable GVSU whom which they'd love to get revenge on from earlier in the year when they lost a heartbreaker 27-24. I like SEO in this game, especially if they can come out in the first half and take advantage early. Long Island can't afford to play like they did against Glenville if they want to win this one.

South
Saint Joseph's vs. Miles
The first of two rematches in the south bracket will most definitely be the closer game. Miles has done a great job this year and recently had a hard fought game in the CCG against a better Quincy team and the first go around against Saint Joe's was very close all the way until the last 10 or so minutes of the game. I'd say Saint Joe's is the favorite but not by much more than 50/50.

Quincy vs. Abilene Christian
Quincy routed ACU in their first meeting and I don't see much difference to go the other way in this one. When Quincy has been dominant this year, they've been about as dominant as you can get. Look for ACU to try to keep the ball away from Quincy's offense but that is a very hard feat with how quickly Quincy's defense can get opposing offenses off the field.

East
NCCU vs. Humboldt State
Humboldt State comes off of a big win against Valdosta State and did so absolutely dominating the game if it weren't for a -5 turnover ratio. You read that right, five turnovers and they won 34-20. Very impressive defensive performance, sacking Valdosta's QBs 13 times! Looking over the talent on each team, I honestly have no clue how that happened. Probably one of the weirdest stats I've seen in this game so far. No possible reason for this to happen to Valdosta considering their O-Line vs. Humboldt's D-Line (which all 13 sacks came from). There really wasn't a talent gap. Especially since 8 of the 13 sacks came from a true sophomore and true freshmen. Please let me know how you do that tampa??? Color me confused. NCCU is a better ball club than Valdosta State but tampa has to be feeling confident after that kind of performance. The only test that NCCU has had this year was against Indianapolis, a team they probably should've beaten more handily. They certainly can't make mistakes if Humboldt plays at all like they just did. I'll take NCCU in a squeaker but wouldn't be surprised by the upset.

Millersville vs. Indiana (PA)
Indiana crushed it in their first round game while Millersville got real lucky and probably shouldn't be in this game with the way that that last one ended. Bryant made it very competitive (which I got way wrong by the way) and was up by a field goal with just over a minute left with the ball on Millersville's 35 yard line, 4th and 1. Bribigdog expressed how he had ultra conservative for 4th down strategy and they end up going for it. I understand there is no time on the clock associated with the 4th down strategies and that regardless of how much time is left or what the situation is, they're going to go for it there, even with very conservative. But a punt makes a FG very hard to achieve with just a minute left. Granted, getting just that one yard left on 4th down puts the game away as well. So a very tough loss for Bryant and a stolen win for mojo's Millersville. And the reward is most likely to get pummeled by Indiana. That being said, mojo can hang with the best of them and if there is a coach in Warner DII who can pull off this upset, mojo just might be the guy to do so.

West
Mansfield vs. ESUP
Another PSAC meeting in the 2nd round has the better seeded and better team Mansfield playing as good as they can play right now. Some ups and downs for ESUP this year with a great OOC result, followed by losing to Indiana by only a TD, then getting shocked by California, slaughtered by Millersville and easily beaten in the last game of the year against Mansfield. Very erratic but that last one is the most important one. Mansfield handled them easily not too long ago and should be able to unless badaxe can come up with some lucky bounces and a stellar game plan. He's capable, but I doubt it will happen. I like Mansfield here by 17 or so.

Stonehill vs. UMC
Stonehill was able to shock Carson-Newman while UMC easily beat Indianapolis in the first round. It should end for Stonehill here as they just don't quite have the talent to hang with a team like UMC. Big special teams play and a big turnover margin is what Stonehill needs to hope for in order to pull off the upset.

GL to all in the 2nd round!

Well, we didn't get on them in the first. Hopefully, that will change in the 2nd. Otherwise, we will go home after round 2.......again.

It was a good run, but now I have to play Indiana (PA). Great season everyone! Hopefully I get an easier bracket next time.

Some very interesting upsets that leave lots of stuff wide open. A little less wide open simply because Indiana is still in this thing. Either way, it's nice to see variety with who we see in the final 8 and so on. Unpredictability is a good thing, even if it sucks to be on the wrong end of it, I certainly don't like that part but overall, I think it makes the game more fun.

North
SDSU vs. Long Island
Wow. I totally didn't see either of these teams winning and here they both are. The SDSU game was more shocking to me than the Long Island game. GVSU was up 21-10 at half and SDSU just didn't seem quite over the hump to be able to hang with them but proved that wrong in a hurry. I guess SDSU can really play when they want to. Some nice wins lately with the CCG over Humboldt and now the upset against GVSU. Long Island had trouble in the first round against the SIM Glenville so I thought that was a sign of bad things to come but they were able to edge out SEO in a close, low scoring affair, 24-17. Now what to make of this matchup, I have zero idea. I think I like SDSU by just a slim margin but really, with how much I was shocked last round, who knows what will happen. On paper it may look like Long Island has the better overall talent, especially at the skill positions but SDSU is better on the lines so there is some give and take there. If Long Island can get off to a hot start I like their chances. I think a lower scoring game suits SDSU a bit better. Should be close. I'll take SDSU in quadruple overtime, why not.

South
Quincy vs. Saint Joseph's
Quincy absolutely pummeled Saint Joe's in the regular season, 44-3. There have been two ways that the games between these two teams have gone over the last five years. Either Quincy has demolished SJC or they've beaten them by around 10-13 points. Either way is a bad sign for me and I think Quincy will most likely get by unscathed in this one. This really looks like a good year for Quincy to have a chance for revenge against lyonzfan's Indiana (PA) in the finals.

East
NCCU vs. Indiana (PA)
Speak of the devil. kevinbigham has already almost conceded defeat but I wouldn't say it's over yet. NCCU is great on the lines and Indiana is just that much better. It's hard to believe. NCCU's QB will have to play up to and beyond the hype of his talent in this one. I think Indiana will be able to control the game enough for a final score that I see as them winning by a couple scores. It's not over til it's over, kevin but it doesn't look great for you either.

West
ESUP vs. UMC
Another wow as ESUP took down the vaunted Mansfield. Well done, sir. Now you get UMC, a team that is one year away from being extremely good but also still has a great shot in this one. I would say UMC would be much less likely to win against Mansfield but then again, this is the team that just beat that Mansfield squad, so what's scarier? I think this one will come down to the wire and my gut tells me to go with ESUP but I don't know if that's more just because of today's results. After all, this is a team that has lost 4 games this year. That's a lot for a team in the quarterfinals. It might be pretty close to 50/50. Might be another classic.

Well, more GL to all and see you in the final four soon! I'll guess at it right now as SDSU/Quincy and Indiana/ESUP. If that were the case, at least the PSAC couldn't have two teams in the final again. Yeesh.

Wow, this has been a very competitive playoffs. Lots of new blood making waves. This has been great to watch and know there are so many good coaches in the world. GL to SDSU and St. Joes in the semifinal. I'm going to crush you ESUP :)

Like you beat me last time we played, I am sure, Crimson Hawk.

Down to the Final Four. This is certainly not the last four teams you would have guessed would be here at this point. You wouldn't have guessed it at the beginning of the season, at the beginning of the playoffs, and probably not even yesterday. Three out of the four teams (SDSU, SJC and ESUP) are making their first ever semifinal appearance in the history of Warner DII. That's already pretty epic. One of those teams, either SDSU or SJC, is guaranteed to make their first NC appearance. On to the two games at hand.

SDSU vs. Saint Jospeh's
These is a rematch from day 3 where Saint Joe's had their way with SDSU 31-9. However, with how SDSU has played in the playoffs thus far, I'd be surprised if that were to happen again. This one should be close. SDSU did a great job on defense shutting down Long Island yesterday, holding them to only 3 points. But they proved they can win the other way when they out-shot GVSU 40-37. Saint Joe's is coming off of their first win (under my reign at least) against conference rival Quincy with a complete offensive reversal from the first time the two teams met this year. History shows that Saint Joe's may have the edge but I really think this one is more of a coin flip. Both teams have a great shot to make a very unexpected NC appearance.

Indiana (PA) vs. ESUP
Another rematch from earlier this year. That one ended with Indiana walking away with a 38-31 victory, that while close, wasn't quite as close as it sounds due to ESUP's last TD coming in the final seconds. Still, badaxe has proven he can hang with the big boys in the PSAC and is relishing this chance for revenge and opportunity. That damn PSAC is ripe with contenders, I tell ya. The truth is though that Indiana is flat out the more talented team. They'll be the more talented team in the NC game if they get there, regardless of who they face. This doesn't mean they will automatically advance though. I remember a few years back that ESUP came out of the woods to take Indiana down in a big surprise some time in early conference play. That Indian team probably wasn't as talented but then again I doubt that ESUP team was quite as talented as this one as well. I still give a solid 70/30 chance for Indiana in this one.

Gonna be very exciting and it's great to see a pretty fresh final four! GL all and let's hope for another great round of play!

Both semifinal games didn't cause too many problems for the two that advanced. Those two are Saint Joseph's and Indiana (PA) who goes into the game as the heavy favorite. Indiana was battle tested a few times this year but only lost once in the CCG against Mansfield, and it wasn't by much. This is Saint Joe's first trip to the finals in their entire Warner DII history. They'll have more than their work cut out for them as they're definite underdogs. The talent is lopsided, though not by an insurmountable margin. Still, everything will have to go right for SJC in order for them to be in the game. This one could be close, but then again it could be a blowout. The biggest advantage in this one will be Indiana's line play as both sides may just be too much for SJC to overcome. Good luck, lyonzfan! And great season, everyone. I'll give a post game update some time tomorrow.

Congrats to lyonzfan on the repeat and congrats to icki on a fantastic season. Also icki, great job on the blog.

Posted by ranger1951 on 5/1/2016 9:42:00 PM (view original):
Congrats to lyonzfan on the repeat and congrats to icki on a fantastic season. Also icki, great job on the blog.

Thanks, ranger. Yes, I congratulate lyonz on his second straight NC and third in four seasons! Sounds like the beginning of a dynasty. We'll all just have to collectively try to nip that in the bud next season. The game actually looked very good for Saint Joe's at the end of the first half, with SJC leading 20-10. Only 160+ yards on offense for Indiana and a huge start to the game with a SJC KR for a TD. The second half was mostly all Indiana and even though it was tied going into the fourth, it just had the feel like Saint Joe's wasn't going to be able to get back in the game, which they did not. 46-27 was the final after a couple of 4th quarter interceptions put the game away. I can honestly say I've never been so anxious to get back into the recruiting cycle. I'd quite like that to happen immediately and really don't wanna wait a whole week. Oh well. Thanks for all the help pitching in when you've had the time to, ranger. It's greatly appreciated.

Great season blogging icki and ranger. Thanks to both of you for putting in the time.

Thank you ranger and icki for all of your work this season.