Playoffs Rnd 2

[jgrilley406]

UND took a blow as their QB is in concussion protocol and is likely out against Tarleton

[cats2506]

UND took a blow as their QB is in concussion protocol and is likely out against Tarleton

But I think both have played this year and they seem to be pretty close, the #2 did pretty good in the game. Tarleton could struggle with that defense, that slow mesh RPO game just looks like an opportunity for a good defense.

[tetoncat]

I think the Montana/SDSU and USD/Mercer quarter of the bracket is the most intriguing for Round 2. The ACU/SFA matchup is a battle of the UAC and Southland conference champion. Davis vs. Rhody is a battle of "does the #3 Big Sky team deserve a seed over the best CAA team". Lehigh vs. Nova is a "does the undefeated Patriot league champion have what it takes to prove they belong vs. ever competitive CAA team". Illinois State gets another crack at NDSU. Tarleton St. gets a chance to prove its seed versus a 5 loss UND team who is not afraid of anyone. And then there is our little game vs. Yale!

Overall, I thought the committee did a tremendous job creating "prove it" scenarios for each round of the tournament. Hard to argue otherwise...unless you are whining Griz fan.

I think I read Rhode Island didn't play the next 2 top teams due to unbalanced schedule. Likely why not seeded above UCD

[RobertSebastianCat-81]

I thought about a few things with this playoff bracket...

Even though the MVFC got 6 teams in, only NDSU was in the top ten seeds. All 3 BSC teams were top ten seeds! What a testimony it would be to the strength of the BSC if UCD can knock off NDSU.

I thought Tenn Tech was a better team than they turned out to be. Guess they knew not to seed them higher.

I thought the 2 Ivy League schools would have similar performances in the first round. Yale really exceeded expectations. I certainly won't be thinking the game's in the bag for us if we are up 3 TD's in the 3rd quarter.

I think it was stupid to schedule the UCD-URI game so late. Those east coast fans don't see kick off until 10PM.

And they should have spread out all the game times better. I'll be at a watch party at the same place where we held Cat-Griz, so now I have to bring my laptop (ESPN+) to check in on any other games that overlap that broadcast. I think SDSU at UM will be wildly entertaining.

[MSU01]

I think the Montana/SDSU and USD/Mercer quarter of the bracket is the most intriguing for Round 2. The ACU/SFA matchup is a battle of the UAC and Southland conference champion. Davis vs. Rhody is a battle of "does the #3 Big Sky team deserve a seed over the best CAA team". Lehigh vs. Nova is a "does the undefeated Patriot league champion have what it takes to prove they belong vs. ever competitive CAA team". Illinois State gets another crack at NDSU. Tarleton St. gets a chance to prove its seed versus a 5 loss UND team who is not afraid of anyone. And then there is our little game vs. Yale!

Overall, I thought the committee did a tremendous job creating "prove it" scenarios for each round of the tournament. Hard to argue otherwise...unless you are whining Griz fan.

I think I read Rhode Island didn't play the next 2 top teams due to unbalanced schedule. Likely why not seeded above UCD

Rhode Island did in fact benefit quite a lot from how big the CAA is with 14 teams. They did not play the second place team (Villanova) and they only played one team (UNH) of the three (UNH, Monmouth, William & Mary) that tied for third.

[Prodigal Cat]

5-3 both ways last week. This week features more known matchups so easier to bet? I wish.

Illinois St @ NDSU (-27.5) A rematch of a game played in Normal where The Redbirds hung tough for 3 qtrs but saw the Bison pull away at the end winning 33-16. Do the Bison switch into playoff mode and dispatch teams with little regard or resistance on the way to number 11? Can Illinois hang tough like they did the last game. 4 TD's is a lot so I think the back door cover could come into play here. NDSU wins but ILL St covers

ACU @ SFA (-8.5) Another rematch being played at the others stadium. SFA got out to a 2 TD lead only to have ACU get 3 in the second to lead at half and 28 unanswered and never relinquish. Southland teams haven't fared well in the tournament save some very good UIW teams and now we are getting points versus a team they already beat. ACU is underrated because of some real ugly, head scratching losses. ACU wins as the underdog

UND @ Tarleton (-5) Despite the final score, that was 10-6 rockfight at the start of the 4th in Cookeville last week. Tenn Tech defense played well enough to win the game but the offense was UGLY and turned the ball over 6 times. UND's early TD came on a very short field. I picked against UND last week because they have just looked bad lately. This game doesn't change that. Plus UND's QB is in concussion protocol. On the other side I've been a Tarleton believer all season. Tarleton wins and covers

Villanova @ Lehigh (-6) Future conference mates. The Patriot will most likely replace the CAA as the best east coast conference if things keep headed the way they are. In fact, they probably already have. I have watched almost zero of these 2 teams so give me the home team to win. Lehigh wins but I'll take 'Nova to cover.

South Dakota @ Mercer (-8) The easy position is to just take the Valley team and the points but Mercer has been a wagon for 3 months after a slow start. They have a Buck favorite at D-end and a Rice favorite at QB. Take out the Auburn game and they are averaging 48 per game. I genuinely think Mercer has a shot to be the surprise semifinal team the Cats welcome into Bobcat Stadium later. Mercer wins and covers.

SDSU @ UM (-5) It depends. If the gris team that messed around with EWU, Sacred Heart, and Cal Poly shows they will lose. If the team that got up to play the Cats shows they should win. Remember when gris fans said Jordan Cooke was the QB with the best arm talent they would see. They were wrong. This feels like 2023 Cats that lost the Brawl, got a bad draw, and lost. SDSU in a close one

URI @ Davis (-1.5) Might be a controversial take but I think Davis deserved the 8 seed. I haven't seen a team below them that was better. If this is close to an actual line it might be the bet of the week. Davis wins and covers easily.

Yale @ MSU (-17) This reminds me a bit of the William and Mary playoff game a few years ago. Yoder was a beast and his performance and no-quit is something I'll remember for awhile, despite his team's serious talent deficit. I think this Yale RB will be the same. The score will be the similar as well. Cats win and cover.

[Montanabob]

5-3 both ways last week. This week features more known matchups so easier to bet? I wish.

Illinois St @ NDSU (-27.5) A rematch of a game played in Normal where The Redbirds hung tough for 3 qtrs but saw the Bison pull away at the end winning 33-16. Do the Bison switch into playoff mode and dispatch teams with little regard or resistance on the way to number 11? Can Illinois hang tough like they did the last game. 4 TD's is a lot so I think the back door cover could come into play here. NDSU wins but ILL St covers

ACU @ SFA (-8.5) Another rematch being played at the others stadium. SFA got out to a 2 TD lead only to have ACU get 3 in the second to lead at half and 28 unanswered and never relinquish. Southland teams haven't fared well in the tournament save some very good UIW teams and now we are getting points versus a team they already beat. ACU is underrated because of some real ugly, head scratching losses. ACU wins as the underdog

UND @ Tarleton (-5) Despite the final score, that was 10-6 rockfight at the start of the 4th in Cookeville last week. Tenn Tech defense played well enough to win the game but the offense was UGLY and turned the ball over 6 times. UND's early TD came on a very short field. I picked against UND last week because they have just looked bad lately. This game doesn't change that. Plus UND's QB is in concussion protocol. On the other side I've been a Tarleton believer all season. Tarleton wins and covers

Villanova @ Lehigh (-6) Future conference mates. The Patriot will most likely replace the CAA as the best east coast conference if things keep headed the way they are. In fact, they probably already have. I have watched almost zero of these 2 teams so give me the home team to win. Lehigh wins but I'll take 'Nova to cover.

South Dakota @ Mercer (-8) The easy position is to just take the Valley team and the points but Mercer has been a wagon for 3 months after a slow start. They have a Buck favorite at D-end and a Rice favorite at QB. Take out the Auburn game and they are averaging 48 per game. I genuinely think Mercer has a shot to be the surprise semifinal team the Cats welcome into Bobcat Stadium later. Mercer wins and covers.

SDSU @ UM (-5) It depends. If the gris team that messed around with EWU, Sacred Heart, and Cal Poly shows they will lose. If the team that got up to play the Cats shows they should win. Remember when gris fans said Jordan Cooke was the QB with the best arm talent they would see. They were wrong. This feels like 2023 Cats that lost the Brawl, got a bad draw, and lost. SDSU in a close one

URI @ Davis (-1.5) Might be a controversial take but I think Davis deserved the 8 seed. I haven't seen a team below them that was better. If this is close to an actual line it might be the bet of the week. Davis wins and covers easily.

Yale @ MSU (-17) This reminds me a bit of the William and Mary playoff game a few years ago. Yoder was a beast and his performance and no-quit is something I'll remember for awhile, despite his team's serious talent deficit. I think this Yale RB will be the same. The score will be the similar as well. Cats win and cover.

Gosh - I went 7-1