Leatherneck Nation

sealhall74 wrote: Sun Dec 08, 2024 9:59 am

sealhall74 wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2024 6:58 pm That Tarleton State offense scheme was very strange.  If you have an RB with lightning quickness who can pick his own holes wisely and change direction on a dime, it can be deadly.  I dont think USD ever really figured out how to stop it but got some lucky turnover breaks to get the job done.  I might make a trip to Vermillion next week to catch the Quarters as well as the mens Hoops game.


 

Both games currentlly scheduled for 2pm on Saturday.  Surely they will make an adjustment to the start times?

 

ST_Lawson wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2024 8:32 am Couple of things...first isn't directly related to this year's playoffs, but the Ivy League has (finally) agreed to participate in the FCS playoffs beginning in 2025.

Also, this weekend's games:
11/21 at 11 AM - #3 South Dakota State at #2 North Dakota State, ABC - SDSU favored by 3
11/21 at 2:30 PM - #4 South Dakota at #1 Montana State, ABC - MSU favored by 7
Looks like the committee was pretty accurate this year. Seeds 1-8 all made the quarterfinals, with 1-4 all winning their games to play in the semifinals.

The DII championship is this Saturday as well, #1 Valdosta State (GA) vs #2 Ferris State (MI) at 1 PM. That game will be on ESPN2.
In DIII, the semifinals games are also going on, with Susquehanna (PA) at North Central College (Naperville) at 2:30 PM and Johns Hopkins at Mount Union (OH) 11 AM. Both games are on ESPN+.

 

meganeck wrote: Sun Dec 22, 2024 9:38 am

ST_Lawson wrote: Sun Dec 22, 2024 11:54 am

meganeck wrote: Sun Dec 22, 2024 9:38 am  

I think that was one of the big arguments, but really I think it boiled down to them not wanting to "lower themselves" to playing the other FCS schools in the postseason. In the other sports, they compete at the highest level (DI)...so like, Princeton in Men's Basketball having occasional sweet sixteen runs and taking down teams like (in 2023), Arizona and Missouri. In FCS, however, they're not competing with Michigan, Georgia, or Notre Dame...they're competing with North Dakota State, Montana State, or Mercer. In the past, they could play a couple of other FCS teams in their region to start the season and consider it like how FBS teams play an FCS team early on, then they played their Ivy League season, ending with their precious rivalry games (biggest of which is Yale vs Harvard). I think there's been pressure to join the FCS playoffs for a while from players who want to actually compete for a championship, even if it isn't the top-level championship and from younger fans/alumni, but finally enough of the "old guard" people either passed away or relinquished control enough to allow them to join the playoffs.

If most of the Ivy League ever decided that they really wanted to put the full force of their alumni base and financial reserves towards football, most of them could easily rival other smallish private schools like Notre Dame, SMU, Tulane, or Miami (FL).