(05-03-2021 07:55 AM)quo vadis Wrote: Both games on Saturday, March 8
Delaware @ #1 South Dakota State ............... 11 AM CT ........ ESPN
#3 James Madison @ #2 Sam Houston State .... 2:30 PM CT .... ABC
With seeds 1-3 all advancing, it looks like they got the seeding right this year.
Yes, the only upset was #4 Jacksonville State (an Alabama school, not Florida, btw) losing to Delaware, and they were hampered by the loss of their star QB.
SHSU lost 55-13 in prior matchup against NDSU and the Kats heard the same thing this past week from the Bison fan base. Who is still playing?
JMU won that last game when the Walter Payton Award winning QB was playing hurt. The program also reshuffled its focus from an offensive juggernaut that just wants to score at will and in a blink of the eye into the current iteration that handed NDSU its worst offensive game in seven years.
This is a different team and Sam is playing at home. Kats are undefeated in the playoffs at home and K.C. Keeler (head coach) has never lost a home playoff game at Rowan, Delaware or Sam.
JMU will be a tough test but Dukes living in the past may get caught up living in the off-season sooner than they suspect. Just ask Ye Olde Bison.
(05-04-2021 06:47 AM)TexasTerror Wrote: SHSU lost 55-13 in prior matchup against NDSU and the Kats heard the same thing this past week from the Bison fan base. Who is still playing?
JMU won that last game when the Walter Payton Award winning QB was playing hurt. The program also reshuffled its focus from an offensive juggernaut that just wants to score at will and in a blink of the eye into the current iteration that handed NDSU its worst offensive game in seven years.
This is a different team and Sam is playing at home. Kats are undefeated in the playoffs at home and K.C. Keeler (head coach) has never lost a home playoff game at Rowan, Delaware or Sam.
JMU will be a tough test but Dukes living in the past may get caught up living in the off-season sooner than they suspect. Just ask Ye Olde Bison.
I watched all of the quarterfinals, and IMO, James Madison and Sam Houston State look like two pretty evenly matched teams. If you force me to predict, I would likely bet on JMU to win by a touchdown, I was more impressed with their form in the quarters. I was very impressed by how JMU was in control vs a North Dakota team that IMO was very formidable. OTOH, Sam Houston almost botched their game vs ND State with horrific kick return breakdowns. Then again, they were playing the program that had won 8 of the last 9 national titles, so there was probably a mystique factor they had to confront that JMU did not.
In any event, a touchdown isn't much, it implies a close game. Which is what I expect.
Games that happened 5 years ago mean little to nothing in college football, as all the players are different. If this game is a blowout either way, I will be surprised.
(This post was last modified: 05-04-2021 08:25 AM by quo vadis.)
(05-04-2021 10:05 AM)JMU2004 Wrote: Final statement is that NDSU did not look like NDSU last weekend. Whether that was SHSU being that good or just a talent drain at NDSU, I don't know.
SHSU's defense held NDSU to 0 points.
Whether the Bison did not look good or not, all we have heard is the SHSU defense is a non-factor, everyone is going to blow them out, take them to the woodshed, etc.
The Bison offense scored 0 points.
Three special teams plays led to all the Bison points.
ESPN has been putting a lot of random events on Saturday afternoons on ABC recently. They may be responsible for programming a certain amount of time on ABC on Saturday afternoons...I'm not sure.
For instance, a few weeks ago, they showed the NCAA women's gymnastics final on a Saturday afternoon on ABC. In the past, it was shown on a Saturday night on ESPN2. (The men's final was shown that night on Big Ten Network)
I'm not sure if ABC is a step up in prestige, as ESPN holds the big-ticket items for the mother ship whenever possible. However, as an over-the-air network, ABC still provides the biggest reach and the biggest potential audience. It's still good to be shown on ABC.
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FCS Semifinals date/time/network
