goapps15
November 27th, 2012, 05:39 PM
The following are your 8 predictions for the round of 16.
Game 1: Illinois State (8-3) at Appalachian State (8-3) 2 PM TV: ESPN3
This is a matchup between the Missouri Valley at-large bid (Illinois State) and Southern Conference Co-Champion Appalachian State. Illinois State is led by the strong play of their front seven on defense and QB Matt Brown. ISU’s best win of the season came against FBS Eastern Michigan on week 2 of the season. Illinois State on defense has been stout all year giving up on average about 310 yards a game. Colton Underwood will be a name to watch for Mountaineer fans this weekend; he has 9.5 sacks and around 90 tackles on the season. Brown has thrown for 2,676 yards, 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on the campaign. His leading target is Tyrone Walker, who has 71 receptions and 995 yards with 6 touchdowns. Now the one weakness that may haunt the Redbirds on Saturday is the size of their cornerbacks being 5’7” and 5’8”. They will have to matchup with Appalachian’s strong receiving corps led by juniors Andrew Peacock and Tony Washington and 6’5” redshirt freshman Sean Price.
Appalachian State has come on strong as the season has continued mainly due to their play in close games. In games decided by a touchdown or less, they are 4-0 including a huge 31-28 win a month ago at Georgia Southern. The Apps are led by the strong play of their offense including: QB Jamal Jackson, RB Steven Miller and WR’s Sean Price and Andrew Peacock. Steven Miller has run for 1,300 yards and added 367 yards receiving with 15 total touchdowns on the year. Jackson has had another solid season as the signal caller for Appalachian accumulating over 3200 yards of total offense and 24 touchdowns. Sean Price and Andrew Peacock have combined for 136 receptions, 1750 yards and 11 touchdowns. The Mountaineers are led on defense by seniors Brandon Grier and Jeremy Kimbrough at linebacker. Kimbrough was the co-Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year and was the Apps leading tackler this year. I think that Appalachian should be able to take advantage of the Redbirds secondary and move on to the Quarterfinals. The winner of this game gets the winner of the Eastern Washington vs. Wagner game.
My Prediction:
Appalachian State 31
Illinois State 24
Game 2: Central Arkansas (9-2) at #5 Georgia Southern (8-3) 2 PM TV: ESPN3
This is a matchup between the Southland Conference Champions (Central Arkansas) and the Southern Conference co-champions (Georgia Southern) in Statesboro Georgia. This is one of the most interesting matchups of the round of 16. Central Arkansas has had a solid season and had an extremely nice win over Sam Houston State, the FCS national runner-up a year ago. Their offense is led by QB Wynri Smothers who has amassed 3200 yards of total offense and 34 touchdowns on the season. Smothers leading receivers are Jesse Grandy and Dominqu Croom who have accounted for 1400 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns. Georgia Southern is led by QB Jerick McKinnon and running back Dominique Swope. The talented tandem has about 2000 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns combined for the year. This is a very interesting matchup because Georgia Southern runs the triple-option and Central Arkansas uses an air-raid attack on offense. I am taking Georgia Southern because of the huge advantage they get from playing at Paulson Stadium. The winner of this game gets the winner of the Old Dominion vs. Coastal Carolina game.
My Prediction:
#5 Georgia Southern 35
Central Arkansas 31
Game 3: Coastal Carolina (8-4) At #4 Old Dominion (10-1) 2 PM TV: ESPN3
This will be a game that pits the Big South Champions (Coastal) and an at-large team from the CAA (Old Dominion). This game on paper does not look to be much of a matchup. Old Dominion is better in every facet of the game. Both teams have great quarterback play in Aramis Hillary (Coastal) and Taylor Heinicke (Old Dominion). Heinicke has accounted for 4500 yards of total offense, mostly coming through the air and 43 total touchdowns. He has also been helped as of late by the play of RB Tyree Lee who has 750 yards and 8 touchdowns this season. Hillary is a great quarterback but when he faced Appalachian earlier this year he struggled and I think he will struggle again against the Monarchs. The winner of this game gets the winner of the Georgia Southern vs. Central Arkansas game.
My Prediction:
#4 Old Dominion 45
Coastal Carolina 24
Game 4: New Hampshire (8-3) at Wofford (8-3) 2 PM TV: ESPN3
This game is between the CAA co-champions (New Hampshire) and Southern Conference co-champions (Wofford). Wofford is led by senior standout FB Eric Breitenstein who has rushed for 1650 yards and 16 touchdowns this year. Wofford has a quality win at Appalachian State this year. They rarely pass the ball which will be strong in contrast from their opponents New Hampshire. New Hampshire has been led by their RB Nico Steriti and WR R.J. Harris. Steriti has run for almost 900 yards and ten touchdowns, and Harris has 73 passes for 981 yards. UNH runs a much more balanced attack than do the Terriers. New Hampshire has a strong win over Richmond at home. However, they have given up 60 or more points twice this season which makes me go away from picking the Wildcats this weekend. The winner of this game gets the winner of the North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State game.
My Prediction
Wofford 42
New Hampshire 38
Game 5: Cal Poly (9-2) at Sam Houston State (8-3) 4 PM TV: ESPN3
This is a game between co-champions from the Big Sky (Cal Poly) and the Southland Conference (Sam Houston State). Cal Poly had a solid season in the Big Sky knocking off Northern Arizona and FBS Wyoming. They run a triple-option style offense and throw a decent bit out of this look. However, there is little doubt in who the leader offensively for this football team, it is running back Deonte Williams. Williams has rushed for 1,450 yards and 12 touchdowns. They also have been very efficient in the passing game thanks in part to the play of QB Andre Broadous who has thrown for nearly 1300 yards and 18 touchdowns. Sam Houston State has lost to every solid team they have played this season but two of them were FBS teams in Baylor and Texas A&M. There lone Southland conference loss came to Central Arkansas by four points. They are led on offense by running back Timothy Flanders who has rushed for 1,150 yards and 18 touchdowns this season. QB Brian Bell has been solid this year throwing for 2,033 yards, 19 TDs and 7 interceptions. Sam Houston looks to be the better team on paper and seems to have the advantage from being in this situation before. The winner of this game will play the winner of the Montana State and Stony Brook game.
My Prediction:
Sam Houston State 38
Cal Poly 27
Game 6: South Dakota State (9-3) at #1 North Dakota State (10-1) 4 PM TV: ESPN3
This is battle between two bitter Missouri Valley Football Conference rivals. Both teams have been playing well as of late and these two squads met less than a month ago. This game was also played at the FargoDome and the Bison came out on top with a 20-17 win over the Jackrabbits. South Dakota State is led by running back Zach Zenner who has run for 1,998 yards on the season and 13 touchdowns. He ran for 295 yards last week in their opening round win at home versus Eastern Illinois. They won last week and have played extremely well of late due to their ball control and pound the rock mentality. However, they are facing the same type of team in North Dakota State. North Dakota State has dominated for most of the season and have only given up 11.8 points per game. They are led offensively by the RB tandem of John Crockett and Sam Ojuri. These two have combined for 16 touchdowns and 1,500 yards on the season. They also have been helped by the steady play of QB Brock Jensen who has thrown for 1,935 yards and 14 touchdowns. This game will be tight throughout and should come down to whoever plays the best fourth quarter. The winner of this game gets the winner of the Wofford and New Hampshire game.
My Prediction:
#1 North Dakota State 24
South Dakota State 23
Game 7: Wagner (9-3) at #2 Eastern Washington (9-2) 6 PM TV: ESPN3
This is a matchup of conference champions from the Northeast Conference (Wagner) and the Big Sky Conference (Eastern Washington). Wagner picked up a nice win last week at home versus Colgate. It was probably their best win of the season to date and now have won 9 games in a row. The Seahawks are led by running back Dominique Williams who has rushed for 1,162 yards and 14 touchdowns. They run a spread offense and what makes them unique is the fact that the receivers just start blocking as soon as the ball is snapped. Wagner is no doubt a run first, pass second team. Now for the #2 overall seed Eastern Washington. The Eagles are led by QB’s Kyle Padron and Vernon Adams who have combined to throw for 3,275 yards and 24 touchdowns. Their leading targets at wide receiver have been Brandon Kaufman and Greg Herd who have over 2,000 receiving yards combined and 16 touchdowns. They have over double the amount of passing yards as running yards. This game should not be that tough for the Eagles but they still have to come ready to play to beat the Seahawks. The winner of this game gets the winner of the Appalachian State and Illinois State game.
My Prediction:
#2 Eastern Washington 31
Wagner 17
Game 8: Stony Brook (10-2) at #3 Montana State (10-1) 7 PM TV: ESPN3
This is a game between conference co-champions from the Big South Conference (Stony Brook) and the Big Sky Conference (Montana State). Stony Brook picked up a win in the play-in round last weekend against CAA champion Villanova. As mentioned last week, Stony Brook is led by running back Miguel Maysonet who has rushed for 1,881 yards and 21 touchdowns. He is also helped out by running back Marcus Coker who had 107 yards himself versus the Wildcats last weekend. Montana State has had an impressive season. They have been led by the strong play of their offense which has scored 36.6 points per game, thanks in large part to QB DeNarius McGhee. McGhee has thrown for 2,726 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. He has also been helped by the running back duo of Cody Kirk and Orenzo Davis who have over 1,450 yards and 20 touchdowns combined this year. They have played very solid all year and with a signal caller like McGhee anything can happen in the playoffs. The winner of this game gets the winner of the Sam Houston State and Cal Poly game.
My Prediction:
Montana State 38
Stony Brook 31
Hope you enjoy these and please let me know what you think. Good luck to all in the Round of 16
Game 1: Illinois State (8-3) at Appalachian State (8-3) 2 PM TV: ESPN3
This is a matchup between the Missouri Valley at-large bid (Illinois State) and Southern Conference Co-Champion Appalachian State. Illinois State is led by the strong play of their front seven on defense and QB Matt Brown. ISU’s best win of the season came against FBS Eastern Michigan on week 2 of the season. Illinois State on defense has been stout all year giving up on average about 310 yards a game. Colton Underwood will be a name to watch for Mountaineer fans this weekend; he has 9.5 sacks and around 90 tackles on the season. Brown has thrown for 2,676 yards, 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on the campaign. His leading target is Tyrone Walker, who has 71 receptions and 995 yards with 6 touchdowns. Now the one weakness that may haunt the Redbirds on Saturday is the size of their cornerbacks being 5’7” and 5’8”. They will have to matchup with Appalachian’s strong receiving corps led by juniors Andrew Peacock and Tony Washington and 6’5” redshirt freshman Sean Price.
Appalachian State has come on strong as the season has continued mainly due to their play in close games. In games decided by a touchdown or less, they are 4-0 including a huge 31-28 win a month ago at Georgia Southern. The Apps are led by the strong play of their offense including: QB Jamal Jackson, RB Steven Miller and WR’s Sean Price and Andrew Peacock. Steven Miller has run for 1,300 yards and added 367 yards receiving with 15 total touchdowns on the year. Jackson has had another solid season as the signal caller for Appalachian accumulating over 3200 yards of total offense and 24 touchdowns. Sean Price and Andrew Peacock have combined for 136 receptions, 1750 yards and 11 touchdowns. The Mountaineers are led on defense by seniors Brandon Grier and Jeremy Kimbrough at linebacker. Kimbrough was the co-Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year and was the Apps leading tackler this year. I think that Appalachian should be able to take advantage of the Redbirds secondary and move on to the Quarterfinals. The winner of this game gets the winner of the Eastern Washington vs. Wagner game.
My Prediction:
Appalachian State 31
Illinois State 24
Game 2: Central Arkansas (9-2) at #5 Georgia Southern (8-3) 2 PM TV: ESPN3
This is a matchup between the Southland Conference Champions (Central Arkansas) and the Southern Conference co-champions (Georgia Southern) in Statesboro Georgia. This is one of the most interesting matchups of the round of 16. Central Arkansas has had a solid season and had an extremely nice win over Sam Houston State, the FCS national runner-up a year ago. Their offense is led by QB Wynri Smothers who has amassed 3200 yards of total offense and 34 touchdowns on the season. Smothers leading receivers are Jesse Grandy and Dominqu Croom who have accounted for 1400 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns. Georgia Southern is led by QB Jerick McKinnon and running back Dominique Swope. The talented tandem has about 2000 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns combined for the year. This is a very interesting matchup because Georgia Southern runs the triple-option and Central Arkansas uses an air-raid attack on offense. I am taking Georgia Southern because of the huge advantage they get from playing at Paulson Stadium. The winner of this game gets the winner of the Old Dominion vs. Coastal Carolina game.
My Prediction:
#5 Georgia Southern 35
Central Arkansas 31
Game 3: Coastal Carolina (8-4) At #4 Old Dominion (10-1) 2 PM TV: ESPN3
This will be a game that pits the Big South Champions (Coastal) and an at-large team from the CAA (Old Dominion). This game on paper does not look to be much of a matchup. Old Dominion is better in every facet of the game. Both teams have great quarterback play in Aramis Hillary (Coastal) and Taylor Heinicke (Old Dominion). Heinicke has accounted for 4500 yards of total offense, mostly coming through the air and 43 total touchdowns. He has also been helped as of late by the play of RB Tyree Lee who has 750 yards and 8 touchdowns this season. Hillary is a great quarterback but when he faced Appalachian earlier this year he struggled and I think he will struggle again against the Monarchs. The winner of this game gets the winner of the Georgia Southern vs. Central Arkansas game.
My Prediction:
#4 Old Dominion 45
Coastal Carolina 24
Game 4: New Hampshire (8-3) at Wofford (8-3) 2 PM TV: ESPN3
This game is between the CAA co-champions (New Hampshire) and Southern Conference co-champions (Wofford). Wofford is led by senior standout FB Eric Breitenstein who has rushed for 1650 yards and 16 touchdowns this year. Wofford has a quality win at Appalachian State this year. They rarely pass the ball which will be strong in contrast from their opponents New Hampshire. New Hampshire has been led by their RB Nico Steriti and WR R.J. Harris. Steriti has run for almost 900 yards and ten touchdowns, and Harris has 73 passes for 981 yards. UNH runs a much more balanced attack than do the Terriers. New Hampshire has a strong win over Richmond at home. However, they have given up 60 or more points twice this season which makes me go away from picking the Wildcats this weekend. The winner of this game gets the winner of the North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State game.
My Prediction
Wofford 42
New Hampshire 38
Game 5: Cal Poly (9-2) at Sam Houston State (8-3) 4 PM TV: ESPN3
This is a game between co-champions from the Big Sky (Cal Poly) and the Southland Conference (Sam Houston State). Cal Poly had a solid season in the Big Sky knocking off Northern Arizona and FBS Wyoming. They run a triple-option style offense and throw a decent bit out of this look. However, there is little doubt in who the leader offensively for this football team, it is running back Deonte Williams. Williams has rushed for 1,450 yards and 12 touchdowns. They also have been very efficient in the passing game thanks in part to the play of QB Andre Broadous who has thrown for nearly 1300 yards and 18 touchdowns. Sam Houston State has lost to every solid team they have played this season but two of them were FBS teams in Baylor and Texas A&M. There lone Southland conference loss came to Central Arkansas by four points. They are led on offense by running back Timothy Flanders who has rushed for 1,150 yards and 18 touchdowns this season. QB Brian Bell has been solid this year throwing for 2,033 yards, 19 TDs and 7 interceptions. Sam Houston looks to be the better team on paper and seems to have the advantage from being in this situation before. The winner of this game will play the winner of the Montana State and Stony Brook game.
My Prediction:
Sam Houston State 38
Cal Poly 27
Game 6: South Dakota State (9-3) at #1 North Dakota State (10-1) 4 PM TV: ESPN3
This is battle between two bitter Missouri Valley Football Conference rivals. Both teams have been playing well as of late and these two squads met less than a month ago. This game was also played at the FargoDome and the Bison came out on top with a 20-17 win over the Jackrabbits. South Dakota State is led by running back Zach Zenner who has run for 1,998 yards on the season and 13 touchdowns. He ran for 295 yards last week in their opening round win at home versus Eastern Illinois. They won last week and have played extremely well of late due to their ball control and pound the rock mentality. However, they are facing the same type of team in North Dakota State. North Dakota State has dominated for most of the season and have only given up 11.8 points per game. They are led offensively by the RB tandem of John Crockett and Sam Ojuri. These two have combined for 16 touchdowns and 1,500 yards on the season. They also have been helped by the steady play of QB Brock Jensen who has thrown for 1,935 yards and 14 touchdowns. This game will be tight throughout and should come down to whoever plays the best fourth quarter. The winner of this game gets the winner of the Wofford and New Hampshire game.
My Prediction:
#1 North Dakota State 24
South Dakota State 23
Game 7: Wagner (9-3) at #2 Eastern Washington (9-2) 6 PM TV: ESPN3
This is a matchup of conference champions from the Northeast Conference (Wagner) and the Big Sky Conference (Eastern Washington). Wagner picked up a nice win last week at home versus Colgate. It was probably their best win of the season to date and now have won 9 games in a row. The Seahawks are led by running back Dominique Williams who has rushed for 1,162 yards and 14 touchdowns. They run a spread offense and what makes them unique is the fact that the receivers just start blocking as soon as the ball is snapped. Wagner is no doubt a run first, pass second team. Now for the #2 overall seed Eastern Washington. The Eagles are led by QB’s Kyle Padron and Vernon Adams who have combined to throw for 3,275 yards and 24 touchdowns. Their leading targets at wide receiver have been Brandon Kaufman and Greg Herd who have over 2,000 receiving yards combined and 16 touchdowns. They have over double the amount of passing yards as running yards. This game should not be that tough for the Eagles but they still have to come ready to play to beat the Seahawks. The winner of this game gets the winner of the Appalachian State and Illinois State game.
My Prediction:
#2 Eastern Washington 31
Wagner 17
Game 8: Stony Brook (10-2) at #3 Montana State (10-1) 7 PM TV: ESPN3
This is a game between conference co-champions from the Big South Conference (Stony Brook) and the Big Sky Conference (Montana State). Stony Brook picked up a win in the play-in round last weekend against CAA champion Villanova. As mentioned last week, Stony Brook is led by running back Miguel Maysonet who has rushed for 1,881 yards and 21 touchdowns. He is also helped out by running back Marcus Coker who had 107 yards himself versus the Wildcats last weekend. Montana State has had an impressive season. They have been led by the strong play of their offense which has scored 36.6 points per game, thanks in large part to QB DeNarius McGhee. McGhee has thrown for 2,726 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. He has also been helped by the running back duo of Cody Kirk and Orenzo Davis who have over 1,450 yards and 20 touchdowns combined this year. They have played very solid all year and with a signal caller like McGhee anything can happen in the playoffs. The winner of this game gets the winner of the Sam Houston State and Cal Poly game.
My Prediction:
Montana State 38
Stony Brook 31
Hope you enjoy these and please let me know what you think. Good luck to all in the Round of 16