This game figures to be uncomfortable for both teams. UNH & UTC are used to pounding their opposition (both are roughly +17 in scoring margin), but all signs point to this game being down to the wire. The outcome will likely hinge on which does better between the Moc pass defense and the Wildcat run defense. Tough call, so I'll go with the home field & cold weather.
Here's my assessment of the matchups & my pick for the game:
Bison Fan in NW MN wrote:ESPN2 and some Cheetos....here I come tonight!!!
Want to see how good these teams are.
New Hampshire is real good. Chattanooga is not. I mean, yes, they're better than average. But Jacksonville State out gained them 409 to 111 in total yards even though the game somehow went into overtime before Jacksonville State won. And I don't think Jacksonville State would've made the playoffs playing in a conference like New Hampshire's.
I think this one will probably end up real ugly. Don't know how Chattanooga beat Indiana State like it did. But I really think the reason we're seeing Chattanooga is because the Southern Conference has been depleted.
As Chattanooga gets s TD to tie the score at 7-7!
Well, I believe that I must tell the truth
And say things as they really are
But if I told the truth and nothing but the truth
Could I ever be a star? Deep Purple: No One Came
Bison Fan in NW MN wrote:ESPN2 and some Cheetos....here I come tonight!!!
Want to see how good these teams are.
New Hampshire is real good. Chattanooga is not. I mean, yes, they're better than average. But Jacksonville State out gained them 409 to 111 in total yards even though the game somehow went into overtime before Jacksonville State won. And I don't think Jacksonville State would've made the playoffs playing in a conference like New Hampshire's.
I think this one will probably end up real ugly. Don't know how Chattanooga beat Indiana State like it did. But I really think the reason we're seeing Chattanooga is because the Southern Conference has been depleted.
As Chattanooga gets s TD to tie the score at 7-7!
Yup.
Chattanooga should have put at least 50 on Indiana State.
"But the damned and the guiltiest among you are the men who had the capacity to know, yet chose to blank out reality, the men who were willing to sell their intelligence into cynical servitude..."
- John Galt
Now I'm starting to wonder about the CAA. New Hampshire couldn't stop a team that Jacksonville State completely shut down. Especially in the first half. Again: Chattanooga could manage only 111 total yards...73 rushing and 38 passing...against Jacksonville State earlier this season. They had over 300 in the first HALF against New Hampshire.
Then I think about Liberty knocking off James Madison and coming real close to knocking off Villanova. Richmond got soundly thumped by Coastal Carolina. I think Coastal Carolina's very good this year. But still.
So I look at the Sagarin Conference strength ratings, which I haven't been looking at much this year, and they've got the CAA rated as the 6th strongest conference...one spot behind the Southland. This, apparently, is not the CAA we've gotten used to seeing tear things up over the past 10 or 15 years.
Maybe Sam Houston State does have a shot against Villanova today. We shall see. It's been a LONG time since a Southland team beat a team from the conference we now know as the CAA in the playoffs. I believe the last time was McNeese beating Villanova in the 2002 semifinals. But the CAA is NOT impressing so far during the 2014 playoffs.
Well, I believe that I must tell the truth
And say things as they really are
But if I told the truth and nothing but the truth
Could I ever be a star? Deep Purple: No One Came
JohnStOnge wrote:Now I'm starting to wonder about the CAA. New Hampshire couldn't stop a team that Jacksonville State completely shut down. Especially in the first half. Again: Chattanooga could manage only 111 total yards...73 rushing and 38 passing...against Jacksonville State earlier this season. They had over 300 in the first HALF against New Hampshire.
Then I think about Liberty knocking off James Madison and coming real close to knocking off Villanova. Richmond got soundly thumped by Coastal Carolina. I think Coastal Carolina's very good this year. But still.
So I look at the Sagarin Conference strength ratings, which I haven't been looking at much this year, and they've got the CAA rated as the 6th strongest conference...one spot behind the Southland. This, apparently, is not the CAA we've gotten used to seeing tear things up over the past 10 or 15 years.
Maybe Sam Houston State does have a shot against Villanova today. We shall see. It's been a LONG time since a Southland team beat a team from the conference we now know as the CAA in the playoffs. I believe the last time was McNeese beating Villanova in the 2002 semifinals. But the CAA is NOT impressing so far during the 2014 playoffs.
It's a match up thing. CAA and the Valley are over-rated when it comes to fans and the Valley is over-rated in Massey (they have a 5-7 WIU in the top 15) and I'll gladly eat crow if we lose today.
While I would have loved to host a semifinal if we win today, I think Chatty was the more dangerous team and would like our chances in Durham.
