Far afield: Your weekly football fix from Afghanistan
11/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | General
Nov. 7, 2011
So I'm doing a bit of traveling and wasn't able to watch a lick of football this past weekend. Wasn't even able to touch a computer to even see what's been going on for the past week. I had a bit of catching up to do, and when we get into the FBS polls, it won't be NEARLY as fun because they've already been published.
What that means for me is that I don't get to show off my Carnac-esque abilities (anybody reading this article remember one of the great all-time Johnny Carson skits?). What that means for you is that you don't get to be amazed by my ability to control the outcome of games through sheer genius (when I get `em right), or you don't get to marvel at how ludicrous it is that the amount of money paid to me by GoGriz.com is directly proportional to the number of predictions I get WRONG. Regardless, we're still in for some fun in this edition.
Let's get the FBS out of the way so we can talk FCS playoff picture. LSU beats 'Bama 9-6. The main thing I saw was that 'Bama missed our field goals. They weren't EASY distances, but still. Four field goals?!?! Right now 'Bama is drooling over Brody McKnight. But the Tide is the only team with one loss that I consider to still be in the hunt for the title. I wasn't far off when I said Alabama could possibly lose and stay No. 2. They only dropped to No. 3 in the BCS.
Oklahoma State moved into the No. 2 spot in the BCS after squeaking past Kansas State. They don't have the defense to make it through the end of the regular season undefeated, much less the Big 12 championship game. I thought they'd get beat by Texas Tech after I saw Tech dismantle Oklahoma, but the Red Raiders are a little too schizophrenic. I don't think they can pull it off, but I know Oklahoma will beat the Cowboys the last game of the regular season, and that will put the Cowboys out of contention.
Stanford stayed at No. 4, and Boise State stayed at No. 5. My brother-in-law is an assistant coach for the Boise State basketball team and just turned the big 40 a couple days ago, so his gift from me will be some more Boise State propaganda and some tired, worn-out "Old Man" jokes.
Boise State deserves a shot. I know the polls are strictly based on this year's performance, and the strength of schedule is the main reason the Broncos don't get they're shot. But for the past eight years, every time they've played a team from what is widely considered a strong conference, they've won or held their own. They deserve to play LSU for the title. I don't think it will happen. I think it will be a rematch of LSU/Alabama, but it SHOULD happen. Oklahoma State will lose and be out of the picture, and they aren't as balanced as Boise State. Stanford isn't as good as they were last year and will lose to Oregon anyways. But unless `Bama loses again, the Broncos will be shunned ... again.
And my brother-in-law will shed a tear in his glass of Metamucil. Hey, JR, what are the chances of the Broncos getting a shot at the BCS championship? Depends. Get it? Now go change the tennis balls on your walker, chase those meddling kids off your lawn and get the Broncos ready to make a run to March Madness. Just don't break a hip.
Okay, let's talk Big Sky football!
The Griz had a balanced game overall in their defeat of Western Oregon. Five-hundred yards of total offense, a solid showing on defense and pretty good special teams. Just what we needed before an idle week and then the big one.
Roundhouse kick of the week is split. Chuck Norris voted for Brody McKnight for his school record six field goals and because of the irony. I told Chuck I already used that joke in last week's article, and I thought it should go to Peter Nguyen for his 150-yard rushing performance. What ensued was a brouhaha that caused earthquakes in Oklahoma. It was a draw.
Also of note, some guy from Western Oregon named D. Wells had 18 total tackles. I guess they don't have full first names in Division II. But that's still an impressive number.
The Hairy Pickles destroyed Weber State. I was reaching last week. I knew Weber State couldn't hang. But that sets up what everybody wants anyways: The Big Sky championship determined in the Big Sky state. It's how it should be. Who cares about Portland State beating Sac State, or Northern Arizona beating Northern Colorado.
Wait, I take that back. I was hoping the Bears would win. And I'm pulling for them to beat Portland State this coming weekend. But really, that's Sideshow Bob. I want Krusty the Clown. Griz/Hairy Pickles will be on my mind for the next two weeks.
By the by, how are we coming with the T-shirts? Is this thing gonna grow wings and fly? Can I get some pictures on Facebook to see if anyone is actually hopping on this bandwagon? As soon as I get back to Kandahar, I'll get mine cranked out and post it, but don't wait for me. Get on it, Griz Nation!
Okay, as I promised, I'm going to set up the FCS playoff picture. First, let's talk about how we come up with the brackets. It used to be a 16-team format until it was changed to 20 teams last year. There are 15 conferences (I'm counting independents as a conference). Ten of the 20 spots go to conference champions of the Big Sky, Big South, Northeast, Southern, Colonial Athletic, Ohio Valley, Southland, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Missouri Valley and Patriot conferences.
The Ivy League abstains from the playoffs because of academic conflicts. Crazy Ivy Leaguers. People don't go to college for academics, they go for football!
The Southwestern Conference also abstains because their mid-December conference championship conflicts with the FCS playoffs. You'd think they could adjust that to get into the mix and would want to adjust that for monetary purposes. I think they have some strong teams with some rich history that could make a run every year (Grambling State, Alcorn State, Prairie View, Alabama A&M just to name a few). But we'll gladly let them have their own fun.
The Great West and Pioneer conferences, as well as the independents, only make the playoffs with at-large bids. They're still in the kiddie pool. Once they take the floaters off and jump in the deep end, they can have a conference champion bid.
At-large bids can only go to teams with a minimum of seven Division I wins. Twelve teams get a first round bye, so the remaining eight teams play into a regular 16-team bracket. There is no limit to the number of teams from any particular conference that can get at-large bids.
All of these decisions as to who gets a bid are made by a committee consisting of a representative from each conference. When a team is being voted on, the representative from that conference is not allowed to vote or even be in the room. He or she is bound and blindfolded, and then driven around in an unmarked van so that they can't trace the location of the super-secret meeting to talk about them. Or that last part might have been in a movie I saw one time. Just making sure you're still following me. Now that we have the gist, let's get into the details.
The Griz get the automatic bid from the Big Sky after defeating the Hairy Pickles in an epic game in Bozeman. My mind has already played out the scene: 30 degrees, no wind, big snowflakes falling, twelve inches of snow already on the ground, and the Griz score a touchdown as time expires to win it.
The Big South will more than likely have only one representative in the playoffs: their conference champ. Stony Brook and Liberty are both undefeated in the conference, and will stay that way until they play each other on the 19th. Stony Brook should have no problem with Gardner-Webb this weekend, but the week off will be good for Liberty, and they'll get the bid.
Albany and Duquesne seem to be the frontrunners from the Northeast Conference. My pick is Albany, but Sacred Heart could possibly slide in by beating both Albany and Duquesne in the last couple weeks of the season.
The Southern Conference has three strong contenders. Powerhouse Appalachian State is out of the championship picture, which really has come down to Georgia Southern and Wofford. Those teams play each other this weekend, and that's going to determine the automatic bid. I'm going with Georgia Southern.
The Colonial Conference is a mess at the top. Traditional contender James Madison sits at 5-4 but is still in the Top 25. I don't understand that. They will probably get the seven wins necessary to be eligible for an at-large bid, but they don't deserve one. Towson, Maine and New Hampshire are tied at the top. Towson just beat Maine to move into that three-way tie and still has to play New Hampshire. Maine and New Hampshire still have to play each other. I'm going with Towson, just because I want to hear people argue over whether it's pronounced TOW (as in cow)-SON, or TOE-SON. Sometimes there's no logic behind my genius.
The Ohio Valley Conference is also a big mess at the top. Eastern Kentucky sits atop the conference with a record of 5-1 after beating Jacksonville State this past weekend. Tennessee Tech, Tennessee-Martin and Jacksonville State all sit at 4-2. I'm going with a bit of a sleeper in Tennessee Tech. They'll beat Eastern Kentucky this weekend and will then have wins over Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, and Tennessee-Martin.
The Southland Conference is pretty weak. Sam Houston State should be the only team out of there. Central Arkansas has a miniscule shot, but they lost to Sam Houston early in the season, so that loss should seal their fate. The only problem I have with Sam Houston is that they are the Bearkats, with a "k." Kome on. That konfirms my earlier statement that people go to kollege for football.
The Mid-Eastern Conference is also pretty weak. They should still be in the kiddie pool with the independents, Great West and Pioneer leagues. Norfolk State is the runaway for the title, and they will go solo to the prom. Hey, if NCAA basketball has "The Dance," then FCS football gets "The Prom."
The Missouri Valley Conference used to be such a tough conference. I remember Youngstown State being almost unbeatable in the 90s. North Dakota State looks to be a tough, tough squad and should retain the No. 1 ranking in the country. They've already beaten Northern Iowa and don't have a real threat coming down the home stretch. They get the nod for the automatic bid.
It's unfortunate that the Patriot League gets an automatic bid. It will come down to a game between Lehigh and Georgetown. I honestly did not know Georgetown had a football team. That is weird, wild stuff. And Lehigh's mascot is the Mountain Cat. That'll strike fear into any team. At least they didn't go with the Mountain Kats. Lehigh wins but loses big in the first round of the playoffs. Why are they No. 7 in the Top 25?
So the 10 automatic bids will go to the Griz, Liberty, Albany, Georgia Southern, Towson, Tennessee Tech, Sam Houston State, Norfolk State, North Dakota State and Lehigh.
My at-large bids (conference in parentheses) go to the Hairy Pickles (Big Sky), Appalachian State (Southern), Wofford (Southern), Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley), Maine (Colonial), Old Dominion (Colonial), New Hampshire (Colonial), Illinois State (Missouri Valley), and since I'm having trouble finding two more teams that A) I feel worthy of being in the playoffs (that list should include Appalachian State, but their reputation should get them in) and B) have the necessary number of wins, I'm going to throw in Georgetown (Patriot) and Duquesne (Northeast) as sleepers.
As far as the pairings and seedings go, I have no idea. I think they usually keep it pretty regional, and for seedings I think they thumb wrestle. We'll see how my picks hold up through the next couple weeks.
I've gone over my word limit. Next week will have little tidbits to update the playoff picture, but it will mostly be about the BIG GAME. Go Griz, Hairy Pickles Suck, God Bless, Keep Supporting Our Troops, Rangers Lead the Way!
