First-Round of Playoffs

[PapaG]

I can’t think of a team that is as talented at WR and RB. Bergen, Harris, Racanelli, White, Fontes, Ostmo, Deck, Gilman, Grossman..

I’ll take Humphrey/Adam Jones/Davis/Coon/White/McCullough/Dowler/Alexander/King, and I’ll put in Rohan Jones due because as a TE he stretches the field. MSU’s WRs are excellent blockers, too. That’s a better grouping than what I saw for UM all season. Bergen isn’t an elite WR; he is an elite return specialist, and they rest of their guys are slow and wouldn’t start at MSU.

You mention Deck, but he’s a good Frontier Conference WR and at his size the Gris suffer to run the ball his direction because he gets blown up while blocking. No idea how he sees the field.

[GoCats18]

It’s going to be interesting to see who leaves and who stays for UM after this season. I think if they fall in the first round, it could add fuel to the fire and make some guys bolt. Nothing would be better than seeing Bobby go 3-9 or 2-10….the Zoo would crumble.

[catatac]

Arguably the best wr/rb group in the country and Fife is a good FCS qb. Really their defense held the best offense in the FCS to not much outside of 3 big plays.

Going to have to disagree on the RB/WR group but they are solid. The Bobcats were “held in check” I suppose by the defense, but how many games are there where an offense doesn’t feel the need to attempt a single pass in the 4th quarter (or was it the entire second half?)of a game that isn’t a 45-point blowout?

MSU played its most vanilla half of offense and defense of the season against UM and still won by 23.

I don’t think UM is anything other than average who won against bad teams and even lost to two bad teams.

I can’t think of a team that is as talented at WR and RB. Bergen, Harris, Racanelli, White, Fontes, Ostmo, Deck, Gilman, Grossman. That’s a dang good and deep group. Problem is they have had qb issues and o-line issues that come from lousy coaching. I hate the gris as much as anyone here but I think they have real talent.

As far as their defense they definitely looked better because of our play calling but I think they won’t have a problem keeping Tennessee St under 30. Just depends on if they can get their offense moving. With all that said they will get smoked by SDSU the following week if they win.

I completely agree that UM has a bunch of really good, talented players. However, that has absolutely nothing to do with them being a good team.

[Monymony]

Arguably the best wr/rb group in the country and Fife is a good FCS qb. Really their defense held the best offense in the FCS to not much outside of 3 big plays.

Going to have to disagree on the RB/WR group but they are solid. The Bobcats were “held in check” I suppose by the defense, but how many games are there where an offense doesn’t feel the need to attempt a single pass in the 4th quarter (or was it the entire second half?)of a game that isn’t a 45-point blowout?

MSU played its most vanilla half of offense and defense of the season against UM and still won by 23.

I don’t think UM is anything other than average who won against bad teams and even lost to two bad teams.

I can’t think of a team that is as talented at WR and RB. Bergen, Harris, Racanelli, White, Fontes, Ostmo, Deck, Gilman, Grossman. That’s a dang good and deep group. Problem is they have had qb issues and o-line issues that come from lousy coaching. I hate the gris as much as anyone here but I think they have real talent.

As far as their defense they definitely looked better because of our play calling but I think they won’t have a problem keeping Tennessee St under 30. Just depends on if they can get their offense moving. With all that said they will get smoked by SDSU the following week if they win.

I agree with you on paper but that changes in my eyes when you watch Gilman. He's clearly nicked up and not himself. And when you take Fontes out of the receiver corps, and I'm pretty sure he won't play again seeing that injury, they start to look a little more average. Still think they win their first one by 3 scores but that's the ceiling. They don't have the ponies to win in brookings.

I agree. Individually on paper, yes but not a group. Gilman is definitely not 100% and Fontes looked to be out for good.

[Monymony]

I can’t think of a team that is as talented at WR and RB. Bergen, Harris, Racanelli, White, Fontes, Ostmo, Deck, Gilman, Grossman..

I’ll take Humphrey/Adam Jones/Davis/Coon/White/McCullough/Dowler/Alexander/King, and I’ll put in Rohan Jones due because as a TE he stretches the field. MSU’s WRs are excellent blockers, too. That’s a better grouping than what I saw for UM all season. Bergen isn’t an elite WR; he is an elite return specialist, and they rest of their guys are slow and wouldn’t start at MSU.

You mention Deck, but he’s a good Frontier Conference WR and at his size the Gris suffer to run the ball his direction because he gets blown up while blocking. No idea how he sees the field.

I love our guys too. We have so much success because our guys are good as a group. I would take Racanelli, White, and Bergen over our guys though. Racanelli has good size, White is very consistent, and Bergen just makes plays. Nothing against our guys at all but individually I think they have some dudes

[Monymony]

It’s going to be interesting to see who leaves and who stays for UM after this season. I think if they fall in the first round, it could add fuel to the fire and make some guys bolt. Nothing would be better than seeing Bobby go 3-9 or 2-10….the Zoo would crumble.

They graduate Erik Barker, Cooper Barnum, Junior Bergen, Dillon Botner, Brandon Casey, Isiah Childs, Aaron Fontes, Chrishawn Gordon, Trevin Gradney, Cole Grossman, Xavier Harris, Hayden Harris, Patrick Hayden, Garrett Hustedt, Vai Kaho, Noah Kaschmitter, Cade Klimczak, Jaxon Lee, Andres Lehrmann, Ryder Meyer, Erich Osteen, Nick Ostmo, Evan Shafer, Ryan Simpson, Ryan Tirrell, Keelan White. Thats basically a chunk of OL/DL, nearly all WR, 1B RB, nearly all TEs, some secondary guys. Safe to say Bobby will be relying on the portal to get a winning season.

[tetoncat]

I can’t think of a team that is as talented at WR and RB. Bergen, Harris, Racanelli, White, Fontes, Ostmo, Deck, Gilman, Grossman..

I’ll take Humphrey/Adam Jones/Davis/Coon/White/McCullough/Dowler/Alexander/King, and I’ll put in Rohan Jones due because as a TE he stretches the field. MSU’s WRs are excellent blockers, too. That’s a better grouping than what I saw for UM all season. Bergen isn’t an elite WR; he is an elite return specialist, and they rest of their guys are slow and wouldn’t start at MSU.

You mention Deck, but he’s a good Frontier Conference WR and at his size the Gris suffer to run the ball his direction because he gets blown up while blocking. No idea how he sees the field.

I love our guys too. We have so much success because our guys are good as a group. I would take Racanelli, White, and Bergen over our guys though. Racanelli has good size, White is very consistent, and Bergen just makes plays. Nothing against our guys at all but individually I think they have some dudes

Agree to disagree. Slot is wash with Bergen and Taco. TE Cats with Rohan. I take Ty and Junior over Racennelli and Fontes who are their 2 best. They would flourish in Griz system with more touches, not sure Griz receivers would for Cats.

[RobertCats]

Haha yeah. Bergin is legit in open space, Fontes is a stud. Racennelli is JAG. Solid group for sure but there was a reason both Ty and Jr were FBS (and got PT there, I know Racenelli was at WASH but juat limited special teams snaps) they are just different. Just because we don't utilize them like the Gris offense utilizes their WR does not mean they are better

[nanacat]

This is interesting...
https://footballscoop.com/news/fcs-prog ... ad-instead

[coloradocat]

This is interesting...
https://footballscoop.com/news/fcs-prog ... ad-instead

"We didn't want to play at home in the playoffs anyway. This was the plan all along."

[GoldstoneCat]

Griz -16.5 on the open. Interestingly, for really the first time, sportsbetMT is offering action on all the FCS games. UT Martin -1 at new Hampshire.

[Prodigal Cat]

Bold prediction here. I think NAU wins this weekend vs ACU and goes to Fargo and keeps it sorta close. Not saying they keep it within a score but of the top 4 seeds that game is the closest. I know the Word blew them away but I think Brian Wright has made that team improve as the season progressed.

NAU's defense got better at the end of the season but mainly getting Pennington back has help the Offense sustain drives and not put the defense in bad situations. They held Visperas to a poor performance last week. They play in a dome as well and played at Washedup gris and at Arizona so the noise won't be as much of a factor as some other teams.

This could be fools gold, but I just think they have some pieces that will give teams fits. Their defensive front is pretty good and Pennington is mobile. McLaughlin the sophomore #7 is one of the best young defensive players in the BSC.

[WalkOn79]

Well we have our third bye week after finishing our 12-0 regular season. As great as everything has gone it is time to show the rest of the country how talented we are.

UTM at 16 UNH
Lehigh at 9 Richmond
SEMO vs 12 Illinois St
Drake at 13 Tarleton St
Tennessee St at 14 Montana
Eastern Ky at 11 Villanova
Central Conn St at 10 Rhode Island
NAU at 15 ACU

Good games (under 3 point favorites)
UTM at UNH
SEMO vs Illinois St
NAU at ACU

Decent games (7-10 point favorites)
Lehigh at Richmond
EKU at Villanova

Likely bad ones (+10 point favorites)
Drake at Tarleton St
CCSU at Rhode Island
Tennessee St at Montana

You think TSU/Griz will have that high of a spread? Given the game is in Missoula I'd only favor Tennessee State by 7.

[WalkOn79]

I can’t think of a team that is as talented at WR and RB. Bergen, Harris, Racanelli, White, Fontes, Ostmo, Deck, Gilman, Grossman..

I’ll take Humphrey/Adam Jones/Davis/Coon/White/McCullough/Dowler/Alexander/King, and I’ll put in Rohan Jones due because as a TE he stretches the field. MSU’s WRs are excellent blockers, too. That’s a better grouping than what I saw for UM all season. Bergen isn’t an elite WR; he is an elite return specialist, and they rest of their guys are slow and wouldn’t start at MSU.

You mention Deck, but he’s a good Frontier Conference WR and at his size the Gris suffer to run the ball his direction because he gets blown up while blocking. No idea how he sees the field.

I love our guys too. We have so much success because our guys are good as a group. I would take Racanelli, White, and Bergen over our guys though. Racanelli has good size, White is very consistent, and Bergen just makes plays. Nothing against our guys at all but individually I think they have some dudes

Sure your not a Griz Homer? I wouldn't trade any of our skill guys. Not One!!

[CodyCat]

Bold prediction here. I think NAU wins this weekend vs ACU and goes to Fargo and keeps it sorta close. Not saying they keep it within a score but of the top 4 seeds that game is the closest. I know the Word blew them away but I think Brian Wright has made that team improve as the season progressed.

NAU's defense got better at the end of the season but mainly getting Pennington back has help the Offense sustain drives and not put the defense in bad situations. They held Visperas to a poor performance last week. They play in a dome as well and played at Washedup gris and at Arizona so the noise won't be as much of a factor as some other teams.

This could be fools gold, but I just think they have some pieces that will give teams fits. Their defensive front is pretty good and Pennington is mobile. McLaughlin the sophomore #7 is one of the best young defensive players in the BSC.

Im pulling for NAU but I think Abilene wins this one.

[ClowderUp]

Bold prediction here. I think NAU wins this weekend vs ACU and goes to Fargo and keeps it sorta close. Not saying they keep it within a score but of the top 4 seeds that game is the closest. I know the Word blew them away but I think Brian Wright has made that team improve as the season progressed.

NAU's defense got better at the end of the season but mainly getting Pennington back has help the Offense sustain drives and not put the defense in bad situations. They held Visperas to a poor performance last week. They play in a dome as well and played at Washedup gris and at Arizona so the noise won't be as much of a factor as some other teams.

This could be fools gold, but I just think they have some pieces that will give teams fits. Their defensive front is pretty good and Pennington is mobile. McLaughlin the sophomore #7 is one of the best young defensive players in the BSC.

Im pulling for NAU but I think Abilene wins this one.

Two teams with very similar trajectories this season. ACU looked like complete garbage early in the season (looking at you, Northern Colorado game), but have looked really good at times late in the season. It's anyone's guess imo.

[jgrilley406]

Bold prediction here. I think NAU wins this weekend vs ACU and goes to Fargo and keeps it sorta close. Not saying they keep it within a score but of the top 4 seeds that game is the closest. I know the Word blew them away but I think Brian Wright has made that team improve as the season progressed.

NAU's defense got better at the end of the season but mainly getting Pennington back has help the Offense sustain drives and not put the defense in bad situations. They held Visperas to a poor performance last week. They play in a dome as well and played at Washedup gris and at Arizona so the noise won't be as much of a factor as some other teams.

This could be fools gold, but I just think they have some pieces that will give teams fits. Their defensive front is pretty good and Pennington is mobile. McLaughlin the sophomore #7 is one of the best young defensive players in the BSC.

Im pulling for NAU but I think Abilene wins this one.

Two teams with very similar trajectories this season. ACU looked like complete garbage early in the season (looking at you, Northern Colorado game), but have looked really good at times late in the season. It's anyone's guess imo.

ACUs QB got injured during the last game and didn’t return, and not sure if he’ll be good to go for the NAU game. If not I think NAU probably wins handily, there qb has thrown for 3,500 yards this season.

[FA_Q_M]

Well we have our third bye week after finishing our 12-0 regular season. As great as everything has gone it is time to show the rest of the country how talented we are.

UTM at 16 UNH
Lehigh at 9 Richmond
SEMO vs 12 Illinois St
Drake at 13 Tarleton St
Tennessee St at 14 Montana
Eastern Ky at 11 Villanova
Central Conn St at 10 Rhode Island
NAU at 15 ACU

Good games (under 3 point favorites)
UTM at UNH
SEMO vs Illinois St
NAU at ACU

Decent games (7-10 point favorites)
Lehigh at Richmond
EKU at Villanova

Likely bad ones (+10 point favorites)
Drake at Tarleton St
CCSU at Rhode Island
Tennessee St at Montana

Not just saying this because i despise the gris, but i think they're in real trouble of losing on Saturday. Not a well coached team; i could definitely see some guys with one foot out the door mailing it in this weekend. Don't know much about TSU, but it seems the gris have struggled with good teams. My money is on TSU.

[Monymony]

Well we have our third bye week after finishing our 12-0 regular season. As great as everything has gone it is time to show the rest of the country how talented we are.

UTM at 16 UNH
Lehigh at 9 Richmond
SEMO vs 12 Illinois St
Drake at 13 Tarleton St
Tennessee St at 14 Montana
Eastern Ky at 11 Villanova
Central Conn St at 10 Rhode Island
NAU at 15 ACU

Good games (under 3 point favorites)
UTM at UNH
SEMO vs Illinois St
NAU at ACU

Decent games (7-10 point favorites)
Lehigh at Richmond
EKU at Villanova

Likely bad ones (+10 point favorites)
Drake at Tarleton St
CCSU at Rhode Island
Tennessee St at Montana

Not just saying this because i despise the gris, but i think they're in real trouble of losing on Saturday. Not a well coached team; i could definitely see some guys with one foot out the door mailing it in this weekend. Don't know much about TSU, but it seems the gris have struggled with good teams. My money is on TSU.

I would say the same thing but they looked much better last Saturday overall, although it could’ve been our stagnant play calling. I also don’t know a ton about TSU but I just think they are going to struggle when they run into them. I would say they are going to have a lot of false starts but the attendance will be between 10-14k due to Thanksgiving.

[CPACAT]

So playing at 8:15 after Thanksgiving and after the ass kicking last week and the last weekend of hunting season and the general overall disappointment with an 8-4 record do the gris get over 15,000 in attendance for this game?