Semifinal Week - Breakdown

[Mvemjsunpx]

Playoffs

NOVA 31-41 EWU
GASO 10-27 UD

• Best Performance: (#3) Delaware 27, Georgia Southern 10 - Pat Devlin didn't put up big numbers—just 137 yards passing—but he didn't need to. Andrew Pierce ran for 186 yards while the Blue Hen D forced 5 Eagle turnovers.
  
  Worst Performance: Villanova 31, (#5) Eastern Washington 41 - The Wildcats played like they spent the pre-game warm-ups fondling Sac State jerseys as they turned the ball over 6 times.
  
  Most Surprising Result: (#5) Eastern Washington 41, Villanova 31 - This may seem strange since EWU was seeded higher & playing at home, but Villanova's hot streak & the absence of Taiwan Jones makes this one of the biggest upsets in playoff history. Eagle QB Bo Levi Mitchell had the best game of his career, throwing for 292 yards and 4 TDs (170.3 efficiency rating), while the defense held do-everything star Matt Szczur to just 67 all-purpose yards.

[SuperHornet]

Worst Performance: Villanova 31, (#5) Eastern Washington 41 - The Wildcats played like they spent the pre-game warm-ups fondling Sac State jerseys as they turned the ball over 6 times.

[EWURanger]

This may seem strange since EWU was seeded higher & playing at home, but Villanova's hot streak & the absence of Taiwan Jones makes this one of the biggest upsets in playoff history.

The #1 ranked team in the country beating an un-seeded team at home is one of the biggest upsets in playoff history? Really? I don't think so, dude. I wouldn't even put this as the biggest upset win in playoff history for the school - I'd say that was in 2004 when we traveled to Southern Illinois and knocked off the #1 seed in their house. Biggest win in school history, definitely.

Winning without TJ may have been a surprise to many, but to people who follow the program closely it wasn't. I have been trying to tell people all year along about our defensive tenacity and that we have a lot of other weapons on offense.

[CatMom]

Ranger,

You're looking at it from your POV. MV is looking at it from a national perspective. In that case, yes, I'd have to agree with him on this assessment. He's been pretty good with these breakdowns all year (and in the past). Don't get your panties in a wad over it. Step back and look at it from where the rest of the country (collectively) has been seeing it.

The way the season went this year for most every big name team and conference, it was a crap shoot and then Nova was running wild in the playoffs. ECB, maybe, but I'm not one of those people.

And remember, if you're not one of the teams that "always" gets there, you have to keep on proving your worth. Not how it should be, but it is.

[kalm]

Ranger,

You're looking at it from your POV. MV is looking at it from a national perspective. In that case, yes, I'd have to agree with him on this assessment. He's been pretty good with these breakdowns all year (and in the past). Don't get your panties in a wad over it. Step back and look at it from where the rest of the country (collectively) has been seeing it.

The way the season went this year for most every big name team and conference, it was a crap shoot and then Nova was running wild in the playoffs. ECB, maybe, but I'm not one of those people.

And remember, if you're not one of the teams that "always" gets there, you have to keep on proving your worth. Not how it should be, but it is.

So is a seeded team winning at home against a 4 loss team that finished 3rd in it's conference a bigger upset than that same 4 loss team beating the #1 seed on the road the week before?

As you suggest, this was a big upset only due to a lack of familiarity on the part of some fans. EWU has been in the playoffs a bunch and is from a conference that has had a team in the chipper for three straight years now so even that isn't much of an excuse.

In other words, it wasn't much of an upset at all.

[CatMom]

[So is a seeded team winning at home against a 4 loss team that finished 3rd in it's conference a bigger upset than that same 4 loss team beating the #1 seed on the road the week before?

As you suggest, this was a big upset only due to a lack of familiarity on the part of some fans. EWU has been in the playoffs a bunch and is from a conference that has had a team in the chipper for three straight years now so even that isn't much of an excuse.

In other words, it wasn't much of an upset at all.

Yes, I still think so. From the outside looking in, on perception alone. You're not Montana, you're without your "best player" (don't get pissy about that cause I think he's a great RB). An EWU win over the defending NC who may have been a 4 loss team but were from the CAA and were on a playoff tear. Yes, I can see it.

It may not be so...but I still see his pov. I think it's easier for me, with no stake here. Here's how I perceived..... I wanted EWU to win. Did I think they would? No. It is a surprise/upset that they did? Absolutely.

It's not a knock on your team, per se, but as I first stated ....lack of familiarity and that is our fault.

[kalm]

[So is a seeded team winning at home against a 4 loss team that finished 3rd in it's conference a bigger upset than that same 4 loss team beating the #1 seed on the road the week before?

As you suggest, this was a big upset only due to a lack of familiarity on the part of some fans. EWU has been in the playoffs a bunch and is from a conference that has had a team in the chipper for three straight years now so even that isn't much of an excuse.

In other words, it wasn't much of an upset at all.

Yes, I still think so. From the outside looking in, on perception alone. You're not Montana, you're without your "best player" (don't get pissy about that cause I think he's a great RB). An EWU win over the defending NC who may have been a 4 loss team but were from the CAA and were on a playoff tear. Yes, I can see it.

It may not be so...but I still see his pov. I think it's easier for me, with no stake here. Here's how I perceived..... I wanted EWU to win. Did I think they would? No. It is a surprise/upset that they did? Absolutely.

It's not a knock on your team, per se, but as I first stated ....lack of familiarity and that is our fault.

I get where you're coming from, just disagree on the magnitude of the upset. But I rarely get pissy and I don't wear panties.

[Mvemjsunpx]

Worst Performance: Villanova 31, (#5) Eastern Washington 41 - The Wildcats played like they spent the pre-game warm-ups fondling Sac State jerseys as they turned the ball over 6 times.

PAM…



Duhhh…

[EWURanger]

The way the season went this year for most every big name team and conference, it was a crap shoot and then Nova was running wild in the playoffs. ECB, maybe, but I'm not one of those people.

I see where you're coming from. Nova was having a great run through the playoffs, and almost seemed unbeatable. Most did not expect us to be able to stop Sczcur after what he'd been doing. And we didn't have Taiwan Jones.

All that said - as worthless as the rankings are at the FCS level, we weren't ranked #1 going into the playoffs for no reason. And as good a player as TJ is, you don't get to 12-2 by relying on one player. Chances are your team probably has some depth, which is the difference between good teams, and championship caliber teams. I also don't think people really realize how much of an advantage a team has by playing all your playoff games at home. All those years Montana made runs to the NC, they played almost every single playoff game at home. Not having to travel every week is a huge advantage.

Ranger, You're looking at it from your POV.

I'm not. This "national perspective" you are talking about is all relative, and is mostly based on the perception that the CAA is somehow vastly superior than the Big Sky. Hard to argue, given the results from the past NC's, but IMO the best of the Big Sky can line up with most teams in the CAA. Am I saying we'll beat Delaware? I have no idea. I think we'll compete. That's why we play the games.

From a completely objective stand-point, a #1 ranked and #5 seeded team, playing with a 7 game home winning streak AT HOME against an 8-4 team that didn't even win their conference isn't an upset (one can argue that Nova didn't have Sczcur in those losses, but see my point above), and definitely isn't "one of the greatest upsets in playoff history." I think that's being just slightly dismissive.

And remember, if you're not one of the teams that "always" gets there, you have to keep on proving your worth. Not how it should be, but it is.

We have been to the semi's before, and we have made the playoffs 5 of the last 7 years. So it's not like the program and the players in it have no playoff experience. This is a relatively young team, but the Seniors who are playing this year went to the playoffs their Freshman and Junior years.