The two remaining east region teams were eliminated in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division 3 football tournament. St. Thomas pounded St. John Fisher 45-10, while two time defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater stopped Salisbury 34-14.
Whitewater built a 17-0 half-time lead in cruising past Salisbury. The Salisbury Gulls had some success running the football, but the option heavy run attack appeared too predictable for the athletic defending national champions. Wisconsin-Whitewater put extra defenders in the box and dared Salisbury to switch to a passing attack, which it did not do while the game was still within reach.
Salisbury's option running game is a ton of fun to watch, especially for old school football fans like me. But you cannot physically overwhelm every football team in the nation. Salisbury's option running game basically states, "We know you know it's coming. You just cannot stop it." That holds true when you are facing a team which is physically slower and smaller. But it back fires against a top tier team. Whitewater prepared to stop the option, and it did.
St. John Fisher's Cinderella playoff run ended in Minnesota to the #4 nationally ranked Tommies of St. Thomas. Ryan Francis had an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for Fisher to pull the Cardinals to within 14-10 late in the first quarter. That was the last time Fisher would score.
St. Thomas looked like a legitimate national championship contender running their record to 13-0. The Tommies have outscored its opponents 131-22 in the 2011 NCAA playoffs. Fisher ran into a buzz saw and did not have enough depth to compete with St. Thomas.
It was a solid run for east teams in the 2011 tournament. Fisher's big win over Johns Hopkins, Kean's destruction of Christopher Newport, and Hobart's near upset of Wesley likely changed a lot of perceptions about the strength of eastern football.
Showing posts with label ncaa playoffs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ncaa playoffs. Show all posts
Empire 8 Activates Beast Mode
Activate beast mode! The Empire 8 flexed its muscle as the premier football conference in eastern region, advancing two teams to the NCAA Division 3 quarterfinals.
Salisbury held off Kean 49-47 in a thrilling triple-overtime victory, while St. John Fisher defeated Delaware Valley 27-14 to upset the undefeated MAC champion.
Salisbury Holds Off Kean
The Salisbury State Sea Gulls (11-1) rolled up 382 yards rushing the football to stop the upset-minded Kean Cougars (10-2). Randal Smedley rushed for 202 yards on 26 carries, and quarterback Dan Griffin added 70 yards on the ground and 57 through the air on only 5 passes.
Tom D'Ambrisi completed 15-of-26 passes for three touchdowns for the Kean Cougars, but was intercepted three times by the Gulls.
Salisbury built a 34-20 lead late in the game, but Kean roared back behind the rushing of Chris Dimicco (20 carries for 155 yards) and the passing of D'Ambrisi. After cutting the score to 34-27, the Kean defense kept Salisbury in check through the fourth quarter.
D'Ambrisi found Matt Pitarresi for a 16-yard pass play to the Salisbury 2-yard line with just 51 seconds to play. On the next play, Darius Kinney rushed for a 2-yard score to tie the game at 34-34 and send it to overtime.
Both teams missed field goals in the first overtime. Kean had an opportunity to win the football game, but had a 31-yard field goal attempt blocked. Brandon Lemon saved Salisbury's season rejecting the Billy Daniels kick.
The teams traded touchdowns in the second overtime. In the third overtime, Randall Smedley rushed for a 2-yard touchdown to put Salisbury ahead 47-41. A Ross Flanigan rush on the two-point conversion play put the Gulls ahead 49-41.
The game appeared over with Kean trailing by eight, and facing a 4th-and-12 from the Salisbury 27-yard line. But D'Ambrisi rolled out to his right, avoided pressure, and threw toward the end zone. Chris Suozzo made an outstanding leaping grab to shock the Salisbury crowd.
With the score 49-47 in favor of Salisbury, the Gulls defense rallied to force a desperation pass from D'Ambrisi into the back of the end zone. The ball fell incomplete, and Salisbury celebrated a thrilling victory.
Cardinals Upset Aggies 27-14
The St. John Fisher Cardinals (10-2) stopped the Delaware Valley Aggies (11-1) 27-14 to advance to the national Elite 8.
It was the second consecutive week the underdog Cardinals beat an undefeated team on the road. Against high scoring offenses Johns Hopkins and Delaware Valley, the Cardinals yielded only 26 point in two weeks.
Backup quarterback Ahmed Hassanien filled in for injured Ryan Kramer, rushing for 196 yards and passing for 93 yards. Sophomore running back Cody Miller added a career-high 145 yards rushing. Wade Kline had a key second half interception for the Cardinals, thwarting a Delaware Valley drive.
The Cardinals never trailed against the young Aggies.
St. John Fisher may have been the last team to get into the tournament, but it is one of the final eight remaining. The victory over Delaware Valley marks the first time Fisher has been to the NCAA quarterfinals since 2007, when it was defeated by Mount Union.
The combined victories by Salisbury and St. John Fisher make a strong statement for the Empire 8 as the strongest eastern conference. Despite disappointing seasons by Alfred and Ithaca, Salisbury and St. John Fisher carried the conference into the playoffs, and eliminated the top teams from the MAC, NEFC, Centennial Conference, and NJAC to advance to the national quarterfinals.
Salisbury held off Kean 49-47 in a thrilling triple-overtime victory, while St. John Fisher defeated Delaware Valley 27-14 to upset the undefeated MAC champion.
Salisbury Holds Off Kean
The Salisbury State Sea Gulls (11-1) rolled up 382 yards rushing the football to stop the upset-minded Kean Cougars (10-2). Randal Smedley rushed for 202 yards on 26 carries, and quarterback Dan Griffin added 70 yards on the ground and 57 through the air on only 5 passes.
Tom D'Ambrisi completed 15-of-26 passes for three touchdowns for the Kean Cougars, but was intercepted three times by the Gulls.
Salisbury built a 34-20 lead late in the game, but Kean roared back behind the rushing of Chris Dimicco (20 carries for 155 yards) and the passing of D'Ambrisi. After cutting the score to 34-27, the Kean defense kept Salisbury in check through the fourth quarter.
D'Ambrisi found Matt Pitarresi for a 16-yard pass play to the Salisbury 2-yard line with just 51 seconds to play. On the next play, Darius Kinney rushed for a 2-yard score to tie the game at 34-34 and send it to overtime.
Both teams missed field goals in the first overtime. Kean had an opportunity to win the football game, but had a 31-yard field goal attempt blocked. Brandon Lemon saved Salisbury's season rejecting the Billy Daniels kick.
The teams traded touchdowns in the second overtime. In the third overtime, Randall Smedley rushed for a 2-yard touchdown to put Salisbury ahead 47-41. A Ross Flanigan rush on the two-point conversion play put the Gulls ahead 49-41.
The game appeared over with Kean trailing by eight, and facing a 4th-and-12 from the Salisbury 27-yard line. But D'Ambrisi rolled out to his right, avoided pressure, and threw toward the end zone. Chris Suozzo made an outstanding leaping grab to shock the Salisbury crowd.
With the score 49-47 in favor of Salisbury, the Gulls defense rallied to force a desperation pass from D'Ambrisi into the back of the end zone. The ball fell incomplete, and Salisbury celebrated a thrilling victory.
Cardinals Upset Aggies 27-14
The St. John Fisher Cardinals (10-2) stopped the Delaware Valley Aggies (11-1) 27-14 to advance to the national Elite 8.
It was the second consecutive week the underdog Cardinals beat an undefeated team on the road. Against high scoring offenses Johns Hopkins and Delaware Valley, the Cardinals yielded only 26 point in two weeks.
Backup quarterback Ahmed Hassanien filled in for injured Ryan Kramer, rushing for 196 yards and passing for 93 yards. Sophomore running back Cody Miller added a career-high 145 yards rushing. Wade Kline had a key second half interception for the Cardinals, thwarting a Delaware Valley drive.
The Cardinals never trailed against the young Aggies.
St. John Fisher may have been the last team to get into the tournament, but it is one of the final eight remaining. The victory over Delaware Valley marks the first time Fisher has been to the NCAA quarterfinals since 2007, when it was defeated by Mount Union.
The combined victories by Salisbury and St. John Fisher make a strong statement for the Empire 8 as the strongest eastern conference. Despite disappointing seasons by Alfred and Ithaca, Salisbury and St. John Fisher carried the conference into the playoffs, and eliminated the top teams from the MAC, NEFC, Centennial Conference, and NJAC to advance to the national quarterfinals.
2011 Playoffs Second Round
As excited as I am for the second round of the NCAA Division 3 football tournament, I have to admit to feeling a bit disappointed. When the NCAA committee unveiled its wide-open, national bracket, I couldn't help but feel this was the east's big chance to measure itself against the nation.
But instead, all four east survivors will be playing against each other tomorrow. The positive side is two teams will advance, guaranteed. The negative side is, two teams will be gone.
St. John Fisher (9-2) at Delaware Valley (11-0)
Both teams come from solid conferences. Last week Delaware Valley coasted by a Norwich team which may have been the weakest entrant in the 2011 tournament field. St. John Fisher went on the road and took down previously unbeaten Johns Hopkins.
Fisher quarterback Ryan Kramer injured himself in the Hopkins game, with Ahmed Hassanien throwing a touchdown pass as a reliever in his first play from scrimmage.
The importance of the Kramer injury is huge. Even if Kramer goes, one has to expect he will be hampered to run the option as well as he has all season. That takes away a huge dimension from Fisher's offense.
Meanwhile Delaware Valley is steam rolling the opposition, scoring 50 or more points in 5 of its games this season.
I liked Fisher's chances last week, but I think Delaware Valley is too talented to overcome with an injured option quarterback leading your offense.
Kean at Salisbury
Kean is the Rodney Dangerfield of Division 3 football. No respect, I tell ya! (fixes tie)
All they do is win, and it seems all everyone else does is say Kean shouldn't have won. Quite a few pundits scratched their heads wondering how Kean slipped past Wesley and Cortland in back-to-back weeks despite being out gained each time.
Many felt they would fold at Rowan late in the season, and again at Montclair. But they just keep winning, and it looks like Kean is gaining confidence as they prove their doubters wrong. Last week Kean crushed Christopher Newport 34-10 in a game most (this idiot included) figured would go down to the wire.
Guess what? Nobody thinks Kean can beat Salisbury tomorrow.
Salisbury is outscoring opponents 47-13 this season. The option heavy run game averages 6.7 yards per carry, and Kean is hardly dominant against the run (3.6 yards per carry). The Salisbury defense has caused 32 turnovers.
But something tells me this game is going to be a good one tomorrow. I like the Kean defense. I don't think it can shut down the Salisbury run game, but it might be able to limit the big plays and force Salisbury to settle for a few field goals instead of touchdowns. Red zone efficiency for Salisbury will likely win or lose this game.
I like Tom D'Ambrisi a lot at quarterback for Kean. He had a tough game against Montclair, but bounced back against Christopher Newport. If you need to win a big game on the road, you want a talented senior at quarterback.
I'm going with Salisbury because of the home field advantage, and that's the only reason. This is going to be a close call.
Who are your picks to win Saturday?
But instead, all four east survivors will be playing against each other tomorrow. The positive side is two teams will advance, guaranteed. The negative side is, two teams will be gone.
St. John Fisher (9-2) at Delaware Valley (11-0)
Both teams come from solid conferences. Last week Delaware Valley coasted by a Norwich team which may have been the weakest entrant in the 2011 tournament field. St. John Fisher went on the road and took down previously unbeaten Johns Hopkins.
Fisher quarterback Ryan Kramer injured himself in the Hopkins game, with Ahmed Hassanien throwing a touchdown pass as a reliever in his first play from scrimmage.
The importance of the Kramer injury is huge. Even if Kramer goes, one has to expect he will be hampered to run the option as well as he has all season. That takes away a huge dimension from Fisher's offense.
Meanwhile Delaware Valley is steam rolling the opposition, scoring 50 or more points in 5 of its games this season.
I liked Fisher's chances last week, but I think Delaware Valley is too talented to overcome with an injured option quarterback leading your offense.
Kean at Salisbury
Kean is the Rodney Dangerfield of Division 3 football. No respect, I tell ya! (fixes tie)
All they do is win, and it seems all everyone else does is say Kean shouldn't have won. Quite a few pundits scratched their heads wondering how Kean slipped past Wesley and Cortland in back-to-back weeks despite being out gained each time.
Many felt they would fold at Rowan late in the season, and again at Montclair. But they just keep winning, and it looks like Kean is gaining confidence as they prove their doubters wrong. Last week Kean crushed Christopher Newport 34-10 in a game most (this idiot included) figured would go down to the wire.
Guess what? Nobody thinks Kean can beat Salisbury tomorrow.
Salisbury is outscoring opponents 47-13 this season. The option heavy run game averages 6.7 yards per carry, and Kean is hardly dominant against the run (3.6 yards per carry). The Salisbury defense has caused 32 turnovers.
But something tells me this game is going to be a good one tomorrow. I like the Kean defense. I don't think it can shut down the Salisbury run game, but it might be able to limit the big plays and force Salisbury to settle for a few field goals instead of touchdowns. Red zone efficiency for Salisbury will likely win or lose this game.
I like Tom D'Ambrisi a lot at quarterback for Kean. He had a tough game against Montclair, but bounced back against Christopher Newport. If you need to win a big game on the road, you want a talented senior at quarterback.
I'm going with Salisbury because of the home field advantage, and that's the only reason. This is going to be a close call.
Who are your picks to win Saturday?
D3East Football Rankings - November 24
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Part of Thanksgiving tradition for us is watching football, eating plenty of turkey and stuffing, and of course sampling numerous pies. Before the NFL games kick off, let's break down our latest D3 Eastern Football Rankings. There has been a minor shakeup since the results of the first round of the NCAA playoffs, and the ECAC bowl games:
Delaware Valley and Salisbury State both held serve against weak first round playoff tests. Kean was the most impressive first round performer, beating up on Christopher Newport 34-10. We considered moving Kean up to #2, but decided to stick with Salisbury for now.
St. John Fisher made a big statement by shutting down previously unbeaten Johns Hopkins on the road. Widener and Cortland won comfortably in ECAC bowl games. Hobart moves up a spot by very nearly upsetting Wesley on the road. And Lebanon Valley rounds out the top 10 after a bowl win over St. Vincent.
The top four east teams battle it out this week in the second round of the playoffs. #4 St. John Fisher travels to #1 Delaware Valley, while #3 Kean visits #2 Salisbury. These are great match ups between the top teams from the Empire 8, MAC, and NJAC.
#cantwait
Join us tomorrow for our playoff preview. In the meantime, eat some turkey and enjoy good times with your family. Try to find the time to mix in a little football too.
Part of Thanksgiving tradition for us is watching football, eating plenty of turkey and stuffing, and of course sampling numerous pies. Before the NFL games kick off, let's break down our latest D3 Eastern Football Rankings. There has been a minor shakeup since the results of the first round of the NCAA playoffs, and the ECAC bowl games:
- Delaware Valley 11-0
- Salisbury State 10-1
- Kean 10-1
- St. John Fisher 9-2
- Widener 9-2
- Lycoming 8-2
- Cortland 9-2
- Hobart 7-2
- Montclair 8-2
- Lebanon Valley 8-3
Delaware Valley and Salisbury State both held serve against weak first round playoff tests. Kean was the most impressive first round performer, beating up on Christopher Newport 34-10. We considered moving Kean up to #2, but decided to stick with Salisbury for now.
St. John Fisher made a big statement by shutting down previously unbeaten Johns Hopkins on the road. Widener and Cortland won comfortably in ECAC bowl games. Hobart moves up a spot by very nearly upsetting Wesley on the road. And Lebanon Valley rounds out the top 10 after a bowl win over St. Vincent.
The top four east teams battle it out this week in the second round of the playoffs. #4 St. John Fisher travels to #1 Delaware Valley, while #3 Kean visits #2 Salisbury. These are great match ups between the top teams from the Empire 8, MAC, and NJAC.
#cantwait
Join us tomorrow for our playoff preview. In the meantime, eat some turkey and enjoy good times with your family. Try to find the time to mix in a little football too.
Thoughts on Playoff and ECAC Results
We've had a few days to digest the results from Saturday's playoff and ECAC results.
The biggest thing that comes to mind is the great job the NCAA committee did in 2011 by choosing a two-loss east region team (St. John Fisher) from a strong conference, over a one-loss team from a weaker conference. If you follow the D3Football boards as we do, you may have noticed some vocal disapproval of the committee's perceived snub of 9-1 Endicott from the NEFC.
We have been consistent in our belief that Endicott was not deserving of an at-large playoff selection. Endicott is a fine football program, and it had a great year. But Endicott racked up nine wins against NEFC competition which does not rank with that of the NJAC, Empire 8, and MAC.
Last Saturday's results proved we knew what we were talking about. NEFC champion Western New England (which defeated Endicott) was destroyed 62-24 by Empire 8 champion Salisbury. Empire 8 runner up St. John Fisher went on the road and beat previously undefeated Johns Hopkins. And the NJAC champion Kean, and MAC champion Delaware Valley, each won handily to advance in the playoffs.
One prediction from the Endicott faithful was that they would prove the NCAA made a mistake in passing them over, by winning their ECAC bowl by a large margin. But Endicott trailed a weak Mount Ida team for much of the game before rallying to win. Not much of a "statement" victory to beat the third place team from arguably the weakest football conference in Division 3, Mount Ida from the ECFC.
The NEFC also took it on the chin in the ECAC bowls when Alfred destroyed Bridgewater State 41-10. It is clear the NEFC did not deserve a second playoff bid. And it is arguable that their automatic bid, Western New England, was not ready for prime time either.
The solution for the NEFC is simple. It needs to start scheduling games against stronger competition during the season if it wants to gain the respect of pundits, and the NCAA committee. It would also behoove them to get their champion "playoff ready." The difference between the competition level of the average NEFC game and the NCAA playoffs is striking.
It is hard to believe Western New England adequately prepared its players for the size and speed of Salisbury by playing out of conference games against Massachusetts Maritime and Norwich. They should be following the lead of conference foe Salve Regina, which scheduled Montclair State and Union as their out of conference tests. Salve Regina blew out Worcester State 26-6 in their ECAC bowl. I would not be surprised if those out of conference tests had better prepared them for post season play.
Endicott simply did not deserve the at-large bid. There is no reason to believe the team which lost to Western New England would have fared better against Salisbury. For the growth of its own program, it needs to challenge itself on the field during the regular season. Until it does, there is no reason for the NCAA committee to give them the benefit of the doubt when their conference is 2-15 all time in the NCAA playoffs.
In other ECAC bowl competition, Cortland State shut out Albright 14-0, Lebanon Valley slipped by St. Vincent 23-15, Bethany beat up Kings 48-0, and Widener handled Waynesburg 48-27. Congratulations to the ECAC bowl winners, and to the seniors getting ready to graduate!
The second round of the NCAA playoffs kicks off this Saturday. Stay with us this week as we preview two huge games between east region teams.
The biggest thing that comes to mind is the great job the NCAA committee did in 2011 by choosing a two-loss east region team (St. John Fisher) from a strong conference, over a one-loss team from a weaker conference. If you follow the D3Football boards as we do, you may have noticed some vocal disapproval of the committee's perceived snub of 9-1 Endicott from the NEFC.
We have been consistent in our belief that Endicott was not deserving of an at-large playoff selection. Endicott is a fine football program, and it had a great year. But Endicott racked up nine wins against NEFC competition which does not rank with that of the NJAC, Empire 8, and MAC.
Last Saturday's results proved we knew what we were talking about. NEFC champion Western New England (which defeated Endicott) was destroyed 62-24 by Empire 8 champion Salisbury. Empire 8 runner up St. John Fisher went on the road and beat previously undefeated Johns Hopkins. And the NJAC champion Kean, and MAC champion Delaware Valley, each won handily to advance in the playoffs.
One prediction from the Endicott faithful was that they would prove the NCAA made a mistake in passing them over, by winning their ECAC bowl by a large margin. But Endicott trailed a weak Mount Ida team for much of the game before rallying to win. Not much of a "statement" victory to beat the third place team from arguably the weakest football conference in Division 3, Mount Ida from the ECFC.
The NEFC also took it on the chin in the ECAC bowls when Alfred destroyed Bridgewater State 41-10. It is clear the NEFC did not deserve a second playoff bid. And it is arguable that their automatic bid, Western New England, was not ready for prime time either.
The solution for the NEFC is simple. It needs to start scheduling games against stronger competition during the season if it wants to gain the respect of pundits, and the NCAA committee. It would also behoove them to get their champion "playoff ready." The difference between the competition level of the average NEFC game and the NCAA playoffs is striking.
It is hard to believe Western New England adequately prepared its players for the size and speed of Salisbury by playing out of conference games against Massachusetts Maritime and Norwich. They should be following the lead of conference foe Salve Regina, which scheduled Montclair State and Union as their out of conference tests. Salve Regina blew out Worcester State 26-6 in their ECAC bowl. I would not be surprised if those out of conference tests had better prepared them for post season play.
Endicott simply did not deserve the at-large bid. There is no reason to believe the team which lost to Western New England would have fared better against Salisbury. For the growth of its own program, it needs to challenge itself on the field during the regular season. Until it does, there is no reason for the NCAA committee to give them the benefit of the doubt when their conference is 2-15 all time in the NCAA playoffs.
In other ECAC bowl competition, Cortland State shut out Albright 14-0, Lebanon Valley slipped by St. Vincent 23-15, Bethany beat up Kings 48-0, and Widener handled Waynesburg 48-27. Congratulations to the ECAC bowl winners, and to the seniors getting ready to graduate!
The second round of the NCAA playoffs kicks off this Saturday. Stay with us this week as we preview two huge games between east region teams.
East Looking Strong in Playoffs
The playoff results from the first round of the NCAA Division 3 football tournament are in, and the scores look very good for east region.
I have long argued that east teams play in deeper, stronger conferences than do many other teams across the country. Evidence of this was provided today, as east teams won 2 out of 3 cross-regional games with only national power Wesley surviving.
For the first time in a long time, the NCAA committee looked past the highly flawed Strength of Schedule metric and evaluated at-large teams based on true merit. For that reason, St. John Fisher made the tournament as a two loss team while Endicott stayed home. The committee was clearly right. Western New England, the team which beat Endicott in the NEFC, gave up 62 points to Empire 8 Salisbury. The Empire 8 runner up, St. John Fisher, upset Johns Hopkins 23-12.
Was the Fisher win truly an upset? Hopkins ran through the weak Centennial Conference with an undefeated record, scoring 83 points against Gettysburg, and outscoring its opponents by better than 30 points per game. Meanwhile Fisher played in the rugged Empire 8, and scheduled Pool C bid Hobart out of conference. Fisher beat Johns Hopkins 23-12 in Baltimore on Saturday, providing more evidence for our argument that a one or two loss season in a tough conference should not disqualify you from the playoffs.
While Johns Hopkins was finding out about the quality of upper echelon east teams, southern power Wesley found themselves in a dog fight with Liberty League champion Hobart. Wesley's only loss on the season came to...you guessed it, an east region team...when Kean beat them in September. It nearly happened again. The Hobart Statesmen trailed Wesley 35-28 late in the fourth quarter today. Hobart drove to the Wesley 5-yard line, where Wesley finally stopped them to barely hold on to their victory.
A few hundred miles to the north, NJAC champion Kean was destroying south region Christopher Newport (CNU). Kean built a 34-7 half time lead, then coasted to a 34-10 victory. Kean picked off five passes and recovered a fumble in dominating CNU. Kean survived the rugged NJAC, and played Wesley to compile an impressive 9-1 record. CNU went undefeated in the USAC, but lost out of conference to Empire 8 champion Salisbury, and Stevenson which was 1-7 in the MAC.
The record speaks for itself. CNU went 8-0 against southern teams, and 0-3 against eastern teams. And one of those losses came to an east team which won only one game in their conference.
Meanwhile, Salisbury took care of business with a 62-24 whipping of Western New England. Delaware Valley remained undefeated, storming past ECFC champion Norwich 62-10.
The ECFC champion has been outscored the last two seasons in the NCAA playoffs 122-10, starting with Alfred's 60-0 destruction of SUNY Martitime in 2010. The ECFC champion gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, but it is clear they are not ready.
What was your biggest surprise from the first round of the NCAA tournament?
I have long argued that east teams play in deeper, stronger conferences than do many other teams across the country. Evidence of this was provided today, as east teams won 2 out of 3 cross-regional games with only national power Wesley surviving.
For the first time in a long time, the NCAA committee looked past the highly flawed Strength of Schedule metric and evaluated at-large teams based on true merit. For that reason, St. John Fisher made the tournament as a two loss team while Endicott stayed home. The committee was clearly right. Western New England, the team which beat Endicott in the NEFC, gave up 62 points to Empire 8 Salisbury. The Empire 8 runner up, St. John Fisher, upset Johns Hopkins 23-12.
Was the Fisher win truly an upset? Hopkins ran through the weak Centennial Conference with an undefeated record, scoring 83 points against Gettysburg, and outscoring its opponents by better than 30 points per game. Meanwhile Fisher played in the rugged Empire 8, and scheduled Pool C bid Hobart out of conference. Fisher beat Johns Hopkins 23-12 in Baltimore on Saturday, providing more evidence for our argument that a one or two loss season in a tough conference should not disqualify you from the playoffs.
While Johns Hopkins was finding out about the quality of upper echelon east teams, southern power Wesley found themselves in a dog fight with Liberty League champion Hobart. Wesley's only loss on the season came to...you guessed it, an east region team...when Kean beat them in September. It nearly happened again. The Hobart Statesmen trailed Wesley 35-28 late in the fourth quarter today. Hobart drove to the Wesley 5-yard line, where Wesley finally stopped them to barely hold on to their victory.
A few hundred miles to the north, NJAC champion Kean was destroying south region Christopher Newport (CNU). Kean built a 34-7 half time lead, then coasted to a 34-10 victory. Kean picked off five passes and recovered a fumble in dominating CNU. Kean survived the rugged NJAC, and played Wesley to compile an impressive 9-1 record. CNU went undefeated in the USAC, but lost out of conference to Empire 8 champion Salisbury, and Stevenson which was 1-7 in the MAC.
The record speaks for itself. CNU went 8-0 against southern teams, and 0-3 against eastern teams. And one of those losses came to an east team which won only one game in their conference.
Meanwhile, Salisbury took care of business with a 62-24 whipping of Western New England. Delaware Valley remained undefeated, storming past ECFC champion Norwich 62-10.
The ECFC champion has been outscored the last two seasons in the NCAA playoffs 122-10, starting with Alfred's 60-0 destruction of SUNY Martitime in 2010. The ECFC champion gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, but it is clear they are not ready.
What was your biggest surprise from the first round of the NCAA tournament?
Playoff Previews
Three more playoff games involving east region teams kick off this Saturday afternoon. Two of the three are intriguing matchups, while we see one as being lopsided:
WNEC, like most of its NEFC conference foes, went out of its way to avoid strong competition out of conference. The one exception was Salve Regina, which challenged Montclair State and Union. WNEC opted to play two more NEFC teams, plus Norwich. Loading up on weak foes can win you a lot of games, but the downside is your players are totally unprepared for playoff competition.
Salisbury will run the option again and again until the WNEC defense breaks. And when it breaks, the game will get ugly. We like Salisbury to win going away.
Christopher Newport (CNU) at Kean is a much closer battle. It may be the best match up involving east teams of the first round. CNU is a south region team from the USAC. There aren't many ways to overlap the schedules of Kean (9-1) and CNU (8-2).
We know that CNU lost a close game to Salisbury, and that Salisbury lost a close game to Wesley, and Wesley lost a close game to Kean. Advantage Kean, right? Well yes, unless you consider the Kean win over Wesley to be one of the season's biggest upsets.
There may be more points scored than most people are expecting. CNU is averaging 9.0 yards per pass attempt behind quarterback Aaron Edwards. Edwards took over late in the season and has only three starts under his belt. But he has completed 72 percent of his pass attempts and thrown seven touchdowns to only one interception.
I expect Kean will give Edwards a lot of different looks, and force him into a few mistakes. QB Tom D'Ambrisi is coming off a poor performance for Kean against Montclair, and we expect the senior to rebound. We like Kean to win a close game at home against CNU.
Wesley (9-1) hosts the Hobart Statesmen (7-1) in our final opening round preview. Hobart played a short eight game schedule. Due to a down year in the Liberty League, the Statesmen did not benefit from playing a playoff caliber opponent in conference.
However Hobart put a 56-20 hurting on Pool C playoff bound St. John Fisher back in September. The final score looks fluky in retrospect. How do we come to terms with Hobart losing to a mediocre RPI squad, and destroying a strong Fisher team? We believe the true Statesmen are somewhere between those two very disparate outcomes.
Wesley is beating its opponents by an average of 31 points per game. If not for the early season Kean loss, Wesley would be considered a number one seed and a serious threat to Mount Union and Wisconsin Whitewater. Askia Jahad averages 6.8 yards per rushing attempt, and quarterback Shane McSweeny completes 64% of his pass attempts.
The Wesley defense is big and fast, compiling 36 sacks and 93 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. DL Devin Hardy has 7.5 sacks, while Chris Mayes leads the team in tackles for losses with 17.5.
I would give Hobart more of a fighting chance if they had filled out their schedule with a playoff caliber team in the second half of their season. I don't think the Statesmen have seen anything remotely like Wesley in years, and they haven't seen a playoff quality opponent since September. We like Wesley to win convincingly.
- Hobart at Wesley
- Christopher Newport and Kean
- Western New England at Salisbury
WNEC, like most of its NEFC conference foes, went out of its way to avoid strong competition out of conference. The one exception was Salve Regina, which challenged Montclair State and Union. WNEC opted to play two more NEFC teams, plus Norwich. Loading up on weak foes can win you a lot of games, but the downside is your players are totally unprepared for playoff competition.
Salisbury will run the option again and again until the WNEC defense breaks. And when it breaks, the game will get ugly. We like Salisbury to win going away.
Christopher Newport (CNU) at Kean is a much closer battle. It may be the best match up involving east teams of the first round. CNU is a south region team from the USAC. There aren't many ways to overlap the schedules of Kean (9-1) and CNU (8-2).
We know that CNU lost a close game to Salisbury, and that Salisbury lost a close game to Wesley, and Wesley lost a close game to Kean. Advantage Kean, right? Well yes, unless you consider the Kean win over Wesley to be one of the season's biggest upsets.
There may be more points scored than most people are expecting. CNU is averaging 9.0 yards per pass attempt behind quarterback Aaron Edwards. Edwards took over late in the season and has only three starts under his belt. But he has completed 72 percent of his pass attempts and thrown seven touchdowns to only one interception.
I expect Kean will give Edwards a lot of different looks, and force him into a few mistakes. QB Tom D'Ambrisi is coming off a poor performance for Kean against Montclair, and we expect the senior to rebound. We like Kean to win a close game at home against CNU.
Wesley (9-1) hosts the Hobart Statesmen (7-1) in our final opening round preview. Hobart played a short eight game schedule. Due to a down year in the Liberty League, the Statesmen did not benefit from playing a playoff caliber opponent in conference.
However Hobart put a 56-20 hurting on Pool C playoff bound St. John Fisher back in September. The final score looks fluky in retrospect. How do we come to terms with Hobart losing to a mediocre RPI squad, and destroying a strong Fisher team? We believe the true Statesmen are somewhere between those two very disparate outcomes.
Wesley is beating its opponents by an average of 31 points per game. If not for the early season Kean loss, Wesley would be considered a number one seed and a serious threat to Mount Union and Wisconsin Whitewater. Askia Jahad averages 6.8 yards per rushing attempt, and quarterback Shane McSweeny completes 64% of his pass attempts.
The Wesley defense is big and fast, compiling 36 sacks and 93 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. DL Devin Hardy has 7.5 sacks, while Chris Mayes leads the team in tackles for losses with 17.5.
I would give Hobart more of a fighting chance if they had filled out their schedule with a playoff caliber team in the second half of their season. I don't think the Statesmen have seen anything remotely like Wesley in years, and they haven't seen a playoff quality opponent since September. We like Wesley to win convincingly.
Can Fisher upset Hopkins?
St. John Fisher looks to make good on their Pool C bid to the NCAA tournament when they travel to Johns Hopkins for Saturday's first round match up. The Pool C bid to Fisher was one of the biggest surprises of the tournament bracket announcement last Sunday.
The St. John Fisher Cardinals (8-2) will be representing themselves, and all eastern teams, when they take on the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (10-0). They can only prove they belong in this game if they win.
Learning from Past Mistakes
Johns Hopkins is outscoring its opponents 43 to 12 on average, and generating a mind blowing 500 yards of offense per game.
The set up to this game feels similar to the long trip to Maryland to play Salisbury two weeks ago. Salisbury was destroying league competition with gaudy numbers of its own. In the end, St. John Fisher fell to Salisbury 41-21. But a closer look at the numbers suggests the game was tighter than the final score indicated.
The Cardinals were nearly even in total yardage with Salisbury, but committed two turnovers while not causing one. They also missed a short field goal. But the biggest failing for the Cardinals was scoring just once on five trips inside the Salisbury red zone, while giving up four touchdowns to Salisbury on trips inside the Cardinals red zone.
For St. John Fisher to have a shot at victory, they must take advantage of their scoring opportunities with touchdowns, instead of field goal attempts. Further, they will need to bend but not break against the high powered Hopkins offense.
A Different Challenge
Whereas Salisbury is an option run attack, Johns Hopkins' offense revolves around the passing game. Quarterback Hewett Tomlin has passed for 2459 yards and completed 69% of his passes. The Blue Jays have yielded only 11 sacks in 2011.
One way we see Fisher pulling the upset is if they can get pressure on Tomlin, and force him to make some bad throws. However, the Cardinals sacked the quarterback only 15 times in 2011. They may need to gamble with some blitz packages if they hope to pressure Tomlin. But that may mean getting burned down the field.
It looks like the best chance for Fisher is simply to keep the ball away from Johns Hopkins. Quarterback Ryan Kramer will need to post a big game rushing the ball, and keep the Blue Jays honest with some accurate play action passing. Further, it is important that Fisher wins the red zone battle. That means converting on their offensive red zone opportunities with a higher percentage of touchdowns than Johns Hopkins. If the defense can force Hopkins to settle for field goal attempts, this game will get very interesting.
Our pick to win is Hopkins. We believe Fisher belongs in this tournament, but they will need to play a much more efficient game than they did against Salisbury if they hope to pull off the upset.
The St. John Fisher Cardinals (8-2) will be representing themselves, and all eastern teams, when they take on the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (10-0). They can only prove they belong in this game if they win.
Learning from Past Mistakes
Johns Hopkins is outscoring its opponents 43 to 12 on average, and generating a mind blowing 500 yards of offense per game.
The set up to this game feels similar to the long trip to Maryland to play Salisbury two weeks ago. Salisbury was destroying league competition with gaudy numbers of its own. In the end, St. John Fisher fell to Salisbury 41-21. But a closer look at the numbers suggests the game was tighter than the final score indicated.
The Cardinals were nearly even in total yardage with Salisbury, but committed two turnovers while not causing one. They also missed a short field goal. But the biggest failing for the Cardinals was scoring just once on five trips inside the Salisbury red zone, while giving up four touchdowns to Salisbury on trips inside the Cardinals red zone.
For St. John Fisher to have a shot at victory, they must take advantage of their scoring opportunities with touchdowns, instead of field goal attempts. Further, they will need to bend but not break against the high powered Hopkins offense.
A Different Challenge
Whereas Salisbury is an option run attack, Johns Hopkins' offense revolves around the passing game. Quarterback Hewett Tomlin has passed for 2459 yards and completed 69% of his passes. The Blue Jays have yielded only 11 sacks in 2011.
One way we see Fisher pulling the upset is if they can get pressure on Tomlin, and force him to make some bad throws. However, the Cardinals sacked the quarterback only 15 times in 2011. They may need to gamble with some blitz packages if they hope to pressure Tomlin. But that may mean getting burned down the field.
It looks like the best chance for Fisher is simply to keep the ball away from Johns Hopkins. Quarterback Ryan Kramer will need to post a big game rushing the ball, and keep the Blue Jays honest with some accurate play action passing. Further, it is important that Fisher wins the red zone battle. That means converting on their offensive red zone opportunities with a higher percentage of touchdowns than Johns Hopkins. If the defense can force Hopkins to settle for field goal attempts, this game will get very interesting.
Our pick to win is Hopkins. We believe Fisher belongs in this tournament, but they will need to play a much more efficient game than they did against Salisbury if they hope to pull off the upset.
Division 3 Tournament Bracket Released
The NCAA Division 3 Football Tournament bracket has been released. You can see it in all its glory at D3Football.com. The released bracket is a shocker.
First, Mount Union is not coming East. Second, you can forget about the concept of "East" or any regional breakdowns in the 2011 tournament. Once you make it through the first or second round, the other side of your bracket could be a team from the other side of the country. Region only seemed to be adhered to in the opening round. Third, Endicott did not receive a Pool C bid. But St. John Fisher (8-2) did, showing the committee paid close attention to true strength of schedule, rather than formulaic SOS.
Here are the opening match-ups for eastern teams, all of which we will be analyzing throughout the week. Keep in mind that they are divided between 3 separate brackets.
Christopher Newport (8-2) at Kean (9-1)
Western New England (10-1) at Salisbury (9-1)
St. John Fisher (8-2) at Johns Hopkins (10-0)
Norwich (7-3) at Delaware Valley (10-0)
Hobart (7-1) at Wesley (9-1)
I have never been so surprised by a Division 3 football tournament bracket. It is very exciting to see St. John Fisher getting an opportunity to challenge southern region Johns Hopkins. Christopher Newport coming north to play Kean may be the best game involving eastern teams in the first round. There is a lot to get excited about if you are a Division 3 football fan.
Stay tuned this week as we break down the opening round games.
What was the biggest surprise of the bracket for you?
First, Mount Union is not coming East. Second, you can forget about the concept of "East" or any regional breakdowns in the 2011 tournament. Once you make it through the first or second round, the other side of your bracket could be a team from the other side of the country. Region only seemed to be adhered to in the opening round. Third, Endicott did not receive a Pool C bid. But St. John Fisher (8-2) did, showing the committee paid close attention to true strength of schedule, rather than formulaic SOS.
Here are the opening match-ups for eastern teams, all of which we will be analyzing throughout the week. Keep in mind that they are divided between 3 separate brackets.
Christopher Newport (8-2) at Kean (9-1)
Western New England (10-1) at Salisbury (9-1)
St. John Fisher (8-2) at Johns Hopkins (10-0)
Norwich (7-3) at Delaware Valley (10-0)
Hobart (7-1) at Wesley (9-1)
I have never been so surprised by a Division 3 football tournament bracket. It is very exciting to see St. John Fisher getting an opportunity to challenge southern region Johns Hopkins. Christopher Newport coming north to play Kean may be the best game involving eastern teams in the first round. There is a lot to get excited about if you are a Division 3 football fan.
Stay tuned this week as we break down the opening round games.
What was the biggest surprise of the bracket for you?
Projections for the NCAA Eastern Bracket
It's Sunday morning and still several hours until the NCAA announces its picks for the 2011 Division 3 Football tournament at 6 pm EST. We have been wrestling with the bracket and finally have our thoughts on who is in, and who is out in this year's tournament.
Pool A automatic bids
Hobart - Liberty League
Salisbury - Empire 8
Kean - New Jersey Athletic Conference
Delaware Valley - Middle Atlantic Conference
Norwich - East Coast Football Conference
Western New England - New England Football Conference
Pool C At Large Bids
Endicott - New England Football Conference
We do not believe a two-loss team from Eastern Region will be afforded a birth in the NCAA tournament. With the way Widener (8-2) and Monclair (8-2) lost on the final Saturday of the season, they likely made the decision easier for the committee.
We are projecting Endicott to get the only Pool C bid from the east. Our rationale is that the NCAA committee commonly quotes the highly flawed Strength of Schedule (SOS) metric, which Endicott happens to rank highly in. We won't go into the simple methodology used to create the SOS, nor compare it to the various computer functions which are available, and far more telling of a team's strength of schedule.
Suffice it so say, Endicott has a pretty record (9-1) and a high SOS. That will get them in over St John Fisher (8-2), who played much stronger competition, and who we believe would beat Endicott convincingly on a neutral field. Cortland (8-2) may be the best two loss team on the outside looking in. But we see no way they would get in before Montclair, since Montclair won head-to-head 34-33.
That is seven teams, which means we need one more team to fill the bracket. Unfortunately, we believe the East Region will once again be denied an opportunity to crown its own champion. Enter the North Region's Mount Union as the #1 seed...again.
Differences in Opinion
D3Football.com has released its projections. They are the same as ours in terms of who gets in from the east. However D3Football.com projects Salisbury to be placed in the south bracket, with Albion being imported from the north to the east.
This is a very realistic possibility, but we believe the east bracket will remain seven eastern regional teams, plus Mount Union.
Our Projected Seeding
Pool A automatic bids
Hobart - Liberty League
Salisbury - Empire 8
Kean - New Jersey Athletic Conference
Delaware Valley - Middle Atlantic Conference
Norwich - East Coast Football Conference
Western New England - New England Football Conference
Pool C At Large Bids
Endicott - New England Football Conference
We do not believe a two-loss team from Eastern Region will be afforded a birth in the NCAA tournament. With the way Widener (8-2) and Monclair (8-2) lost on the final Saturday of the season, they likely made the decision easier for the committee.
We are projecting Endicott to get the only Pool C bid from the east. Our rationale is that the NCAA committee commonly quotes the highly flawed Strength of Schedule (SOS) metric, which Endicott happens to rank highly in. We won't go into the simple methodology used to create the SOS, nor compare it to the various computer functions which are available, and far more telling of a team's strength of schedule.
Suffice it so say, Endicott has a pretty record (9-1) and a high SOS. That will get them in over St John Fisher (8-2), who played much stronger competition, and who we believe would beat Endicott convincingly on a neutral field. Cortland (8-2) may be the best two loss team on the outside looking in. But we see no way they would get in before Montclair, since Montclair won head-to-head 34-33.
That is seven teams, which means we need one more team to fill the bracket. Unfortunately, we believe the East Region will once again be denied an opportunity to crown its own champion. Enter the North Region's Mount Union as the #1 seed...again.
Differences in Opinion
D3Football.com has released its projections. They are the same as ours in terms of who gets in from the east. However D3Football.com projects Salisbury to be placed in the south bracket, with Albion being imported from the north to the east.
This is a very realistic possibility, but we believe the east bracket will remain seven eastern regional teams, plus Mount Union.
Our Projected Seeding
- Mount Union
- Delaware Valley
- Kean
- Salisbury
- Hobart
- Western New England
- Endicott
- Norwich