Sorry for the tardiness of this post, which is actually going up after one of the two FCS semifinals. I’ve been fighting off a particularly nasty bout of bronchitis, and haven’t been able to concentrate on getting this done. That said, last week’s quarterfinal recaps, a recap of the first semifinal, and a preview of today’s game after the jump.
Note that only the top five seeds are actually “seeds”, and are guaranteed to play at home through the quarterfinals. The remaining seeds, as listed here, are simply bracket extrapolations for illustrative purposes.
Quarterfinals:
at (3)Delaware 16, (11)New Hampshire 3 (Friday)
It was a slugfest, but Pat Devlin hit on two TD passes in the second half to break a 3-3 halftime tie and lead the Blue Hens (11-2) to victory. The Wildcats, 0-6 all-time in the quarterfinal round, took the lead early, but were never able to find the scoreboard again as Delaware ate clock at an astounding rate; they consumed most of the second quarter on one single 85-yard drive which ended with the tying field goal. New Hampshire ends the year 8-5.
(9)Villanova 42, at (1)Appalachian State 24
The Wildcats (9-4) basically just slapped the Mountaineers around. All-purpose stud Matt Szczur was firing on all cylinders, as he threw one TD pass, ran for three others, and caught a pass for a fifth. It looked like a potential shootout early, as Villanova took a 14-10 lead into the second quarter, but they extended it to 28-10 by halftime. Appy closed to 28-17 in the third, but were buried in the fourth. Appalachian State goes home with a 10-3 mark.
(15)Georgia Southern 23, at (10)Wofford 20
The Eagles (10-4) capitalized on two critical Wofford turnovers on the Terriers’ first two possessions, converting one into a touchdown and scoring directly on a 20-yard fumble return on the second. They were able to make that early lead hold up despite being outgained by just under 100 yards on the afternoon. Another key moment was the Eagle defense stuffing Mitch Allen for no gain at the three yard line on 4th-and-1 midway through the fourth quarter. Wofford did grasp at victory after that, scoring on a 23-yard fumble return themselves, but were unable to stop Southern from running out the clock. Wofford ends their campaign at 10-3.
at (5)Eastern Washington 38, (13)North Dakota State 31 (OT)
The Eagles (11-2) scored the tying touchdown with 23 seconds to go, then scored on the first play of overtime and recovered a fumble on the four yard line on the ensuing Bison possession to advance. EWU actually only trailed for 5:28, all in the fourth quarter, having jumped out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter, but NDSU scrapped back into the game in the second period. EWU’s Taiwan Jones rolled for 230 yards in the win, and probably would have had more had he not suffered a broken foot. The Bison wrap their season at 9-5.
SWAC Championship, Texas Southern 11, Alabama State 6 (Legion Field, Birmingham)
The Tigers (9-3) scored a touchdown on their first possession, held the Hornets to two field goals, and secured their first-ever outright SWAC title. Alabama State ends the year 7-5.
Semifinals:
at (5)Eastern Washington 41, (9)Villanova 31 (Friday)
Villanova returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, but the Eagles (11-4) responded with 13 points before the quarter was over. The Wildcats hung in, trailing only 27-24 after three, but a 15-yard fumble return by Tyler Washburn a minute into the final period basically sealed the deal. Even without Taiwan Jones, the offense was in overdrive, racking up 405 yards on the Wildcat defense. Six Villanova turnovers also helped Eastern’s cause, and Villanova star Matt Szczur was held to 61 yards of total offense (and Villanova was held to 230 overall). Villanova’s title defense ends one step short, and they concludes their season with a 9-5 record.
(15)Georgia Southern at (3)Delaware (12:00 ET, ESPNU)
The other semifinal will see the high-powered option attack of the Eagles matched up against a very penurious Blue Hen defense. Georgia Southern has been on fire for the last six weeks, having beaten three extremely good teams in Appalachian State, William & Mary, and Wofford in that span. None of them had time to prepare to defend against GSU’s attack (save Wofford, who also run the triple option and are thus accustomed to defending it in practice), and Delaware probably won’t either. Thus the real question is whether Delaware’s offense can keep them in the game. I think it will, but I don’t think they’ll get over the top.