Fall 2021 - Football Week 15

[ST_Lawson]

In DI, the bowl games have been set. Here's the full schedule, but I'll post here any teams in our region that are playing:
12/17 at 5 PM - Northern Illinois (9-4) vs Coastal Carolina (10-2) on ESPN2 - Tailgreeter Cure Bowl (Orlando, FL)
12/22 at 7 PM - Missouri (6-6) vs Army (8-3 although they still play Navy this weekend) on ESPN - Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, TX)
12/25 at 1:30 PM - Georgia State (7-5) vs Ball State (6-6) on ESPN - TaxAct Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, AL)
12/29 at 4:45 PM - #19 Clemson (9-3) vs Iowa State (7-5) on ESPN - Cheez-It Bowl (Orlando, FL)
12/30 at 2 PM - Tennessee (7-5) vs Purdue (8-4) on ESPN - TransPerfect Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN)
12/30 at 9:30 PM - Wisconsin (8-4) vs Arizona State (8-4) on ESPN - SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, NV)
1/1 at 12 PM - #9 Oklahoma State (11-2) vs #5 Notre Dame (11-1) on ESPN - PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ)
1/1 at 12 PM - #15 Iowa (10-3) vs #22 Kentucky (9-3) on ABC - Vrbo Citrus Bowl (Orlando, FL)

In DII, the next round of games are:
#2 Shepherd vs #1 Ferris State
#1 Valdosta State vs #1 Colorado School of Mines
(DII seeds 4 in each quarter of the bracket)

And DIII is down to:
Mary Hardin-Baylor vs Wisconsin Whitewater
North Central (IL) vs Mount Union

In NAIA:
Grand View (IA) beat Lindsey Wilson (KY)
Morningside (IA) beat Northwestern (IA)
So, Grand View and Morningside, who are ~200 miles apart in Iowa, will travel to Durham, NC for the NAIA Championship game. It's too bad they couldn't relocate to a nice stadium in Omaha or something to play in. It'd be much closer for both fanbases.

[ST_Lawson]

Relevant bowl games start up this Friday (see above).

All times listed are in Central.

DII Championship Game is #1 Ferris State vs #2 Valdosta State
Ferris State is from Big Rapids, MI (North of Grand Rapids) and Valdosta State is from Valdosta, GA (far southern central GA...almost to Florida)
Game is 12/18 at 8 PM in McKinney, TX and on ESPNU

DIII Championship Game is Mary Hardin-Baylor vs North Central (IL)
Mary Hardin-Baylor is from Belton, TX (in the Temple/Killeen/Ft Hood area between Waco and Austin) and North Central is in Naperville.
Game is 12/17 at 6 PM in Canton, OH and on ESPNU

NAIA Championship Game is Morningside vs Grand View (both in Iowa)
Game is 12/18 at 5 PM in Durham, NC.

[sealhall74]

Relevant bowl games start up this Friday (see above).

All times listed are in Central.

DII Championship Game is #1 Ferris State vs #2 Valdosta State
Ferris State is from Big Rapids, MI (North of Grand Rapids) and Valdosta State is from Valdosta, GA (far southern central GA...almost to Florida)
Game is 12/18 at 8 PM in McKinney, TX and on ESPNU

DIII Championship Game is Mary Hardin-Baylor vs North Central (IL)
Mary Hardin-Baylor is from Belton, TX (in the Temple/Killeen/Ft Hood area between Waco and Austin) and North Central is in Naperville.
Game is 12/17 at 6 PM in Canton, OH and on ESPNU

NAIA Championship Game is Morningside vs Grand View (both in Iowa)
Game is 12/18 at 5 PM in Durham, NC.



 

Ahh, MHBU.  The power of nice facilities pays off big time for them.  Suites for the high rollers to watch from.  Students can be enjoying the game from the friendly confines of their Student Union while sipping on a latte.  Cant beat that setup.

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x ... ip6BAgkEAM

Stadium cost about $20M in 2013 dollars.
 
 
 

[ST_Lawson]

Ahh, MHBU.  The power of nice facilities pays off big time for them.  Suites for the high rollers to watch from.  Students can be enjoying the game from the friendly confines of their Student Union while sipping on a latte.  Cant beat that setup.

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x ... ip6BAgkEAM

Stadium cost about $20M in 2013 dollars.

 

That DIII stadium looks nicer than half of the stadiums in the FCS:


 

[sealhall74]

Ahh, MHBU.  The power of nice facilities pays off big time for them.  Suites for the high rollers to watch from.  Students can be enjoying the game from the friendly confines of their Student Union while sipping on a latte.  Cant beat that setup.

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x ... ip6BAgkEAM

Stadium cost about $20M in 2013 dollars.



 

That DIII stadium looks nicer than half of the stadiums in the FCS:


 


 

The SEMO design looks pretty similar with the suite/pressbox setup.  Also like the berms at end of field.  SIU got berms too, right? Never been there.
 

[ST_Lawson]

The SEMO design looks pretty similar with the suite/pressbox setup.  Also like the berms at end of field.  SIU got berms too, right? Never been there.


 

I haven't been to SIU's current stadium (I have been to their old McAndrew Stadium that was torn down around 2011), but theirs is a horseshoe shape with a berm at one end.


 
My "if I ever win the lottery" dream (I don't play the lottery, so maybe it's a "if I ever inherit a ridiculous amount of money" dream) would be to donate enough money to the athletics department to completely redo the soccer field (so it doesn't have drainage issues), put a track around that along with any other necessary facilities, then redo the home side of Hanson Field, but have it moved in towards the field. Without the track, they could also build the football building right up close to the field, put the scoreboard up on that, and have an "entryway" for the football team to run out of rather than the long hike from the current locker rooms.

[ST_Lawson]

Mary Hardin-Baylor defeats North Central, 57-26

12/17 at 5 PM - Northern Illinois (9-4) vs Coastal Carolina (10-2) on ESPN2 - Tailgreeter Cure Bowl (Orlando, FL)

And Coastal Carolina takes down Northern Illinois in the Cure Bowl, 47-41.
Former Leatherneck Clint Ratkovich ran 7 times for 13 yards and 1 TD and caught 2 passes for 11 yards.
Also, former Youngstown State TE Miles Joiner (NIU) caught 5 passes for 29 yards and 1 TD.

[wiu712]

In Friday night's NJCAA National Championship Game, New Mexico Military Institute beat Iowa Western 31-13.   The game was played in Little Rock, Arkansas.

 

[ST_Lawson]

DII Championship Game is #1 Ferris State vs #2 Valdosta State
Ferris State is from Big Rapids, MI (North of Grand Rapids) and Valdosta State is from Valdosta, GA (far southern central GA...almost to Florida)
Game is 12/18 at 8 PM in McKinney, TX and on ESPNU
 

Ferris State crushed Valdosta State, 58-17 yesterday in the DII championship game.

Ferris State is in Big Rapids, MI, about an hour from Grand Valley State. Grand Valley has been mentioned as a team of interest by the OVC for moving up to DI, and I've seen mentions that there's a chance Ferris State could join them. Ferris State also won the DII men's basketball championship in 2018. In the 6 seasons they've played since 2015, they have a total of 8 losses.

[wiu712]

Ferris State finished the season with a 14-0 record.

Attendance for the championship game in McKinney, Texas = 3,933