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Last week Arkansas Tech and West Alabama
capitalized on their playoff opportunities with big wins over UNC Pembroke and
Albany State respectively. Unfortunately they have been rewarded with two of the
toughest draws anyone in the Division II world has this week in round 2. Carson
Newman may have been the hottest team in the country heading into the playoffs
and North Alabama is the most talented team in the nation.
Last week Arkansas Tech put it on a young UNC
Pembroke squad. The Wonderboys gained 554 yards of total offense in their 41-13
win as Harlon Hill finalist Nick Graziano went 33-for-54 passing for a
school-record 465 yards and four touchdowns. The ATU performance against UNC
Pembroke was probably the perfect outing before facing North Alabama. The
Wonderboys have to be riding a high heading into this week 5 rematch in which
UNA won 42-17 and if they have a chance at staying with the Lions; they'll need
to stay high.
Just as they controversially got into the
playoffs, West Alabama used a little drama to get to the second round of the
NCAA playoffs for the second time in school history. The Tigers blocked two
field goals and received some assistance, as Albany State missed a game winner
with 16 seconds left in their opening contest. Deon Williams threw for 300 yards
and three touchdowns proving that when he is healthy and in the lineup, West
Alabama is no slouch offensively.
Even if their seasons end this week, both
Arkansas Tech and West Alabama have more than pleased their fan bases. They
broke up the "Big Three", made the playoffs and most importantly won a
game; that is a huge step for any program and makes things scary in the Gulf
South Conference in the future.
Saturday 1 pm West Alabama at Carson-Newman
West Alabama heads to Jefferson City, Tennessee
to face off with what has been one the country's most inspired football teams
the last couple seasons. After getting being held out of the 2007 playoffs
Carson-Newman has proven to be a legitimate national power.
Experience is just one of many edges the Eagles
carry heading into this matchup, but the most important one in my eyes. Alex
Good gets lost in the shuffle because of his fellow senior Buck Wakefield's
success, but watching Good run the option attack for C-N is near artwork.
Good gains almost six yards a carry and 93 a
game while tossing the ball around for 132 a game. What the Eagles do best is
bait people. They'll run the ball down your throat and wait for you to expose a
week man to man coverage and usually are able to exploit it for a big play. Good
has completed 74 passes for 1452 yards, when he throws it he makes it count
averaging 19 yards a completion; not your typical option quarterback. The guy he
will go to is usually senior wide receiver Reggie Hubbard who has break away
speed, just say bye-bye if the ball is in the air and he's streaking in single
coverage.
Of course like any good business or
organization everything must be funded by somebody. There must be something that
establishes capital, think of Buck Wakefield as that capital. The reason Good
can do what he does on the ground and he and Hubbard can connect on big plays is
because of Wakefield's ground game. Wakefield averages just under 9 yards a
carry and around 140 yards a game leading the nation's top ground game.
Defending an option attack is assignment
football, that statement has been used over and over again. West Alabama's
defense has some high caliber athletes, we have seen that. Jeremy May has been
dominant in the back field and the secondary has been able to make big plays in
big games showing off their athleticism. But when it comes to defending a
rushing attack like Carson-Newman has it's as much about your head as it is the
rest of your body.
Obviously never having interviewed the athletes
on the Tigers squad I am purely speculating in my next statement, but they have
seven junior college transfers on the defensive side of the ball. Junior college
transfers tend to not be as headsy as other players. If they had graduated from
JUCO most would be playing Division I football, those that don't have to go the
Division II route. I have no information regarding these guys and they very well
could be smart players but I am just making an observation based on a tendency I
have found in Division II. Playing their assignments and relying on the mental
breakdown of a play could play a huge role in this game.
Deon Williams has his work cutout for him
facing an athletic secondary. Carson-Newman's defense is as fast as most of the
GSC's teams. Williams will be forced to make a lot of plays himself and will
need to avoid a slew of Eagle defenders that get into the backfield routinely.
Sophomore defensive end Zeke Andrews leads the C-N defense with 6.5 sacks on the
season and he forces quarterbacks to heave up ill advised passes that PJ Woods
and Mario Russell take advantage of. Woods has 4 interceptions this year will
Russell leads the team in tackles with 84, 15 pass breakups and 6 forced
fumbles; those sound like All American type numbers to me. I don't know if
Williams has the offensive help to neutralize that defense.
Williams' is going to have to continue playing
"his" game, keep his passes the "Piano Man" route, short,
sweet and complete, avoiding high risk plays. If he does this UWA will stay in
this game, the second he goes away from what he does best C-N will run away with
it.
Carson-Newman 33-17
Saturday 1 pm Arkansas Tech at North Alabama
The 2009 North Alabama Lions were assembled for
one reason; to win a championship. They understand what is at hand Saturday as a
hot Arkansas Tech team heads to Florence, Ala. What the Lions have that The
Wonderboys don't is a group of 20 plus guys that left the flash and glamour of
Division I football for whatever reasons and humbled themselves to play and
truly be a part of a championship run.
For a lot of the Lions, this is the first year
they have had a chance to play. Sure you have the Brandon Fanneys, Quinton
Andrews and Preston Parkers of the world there, but most of the guys that
transferred to UNA were not playing where they were at and could have stayed
there and reaped the benefits. They could have sat on the bench, practiced, not
played and received all the free gear, a ring for winning a bowl game or just
the status that goes with being on a big team in a big college town.
Instead most of those guys decided it was time
to play and be a part of a championship that's why they are there and that's why
they have coined the acronym "WWCD". "What Would a Champion
Do", that has been the Lion mantra this year and they have never lost sight
of it. Sure there was the slip up against West Alabama, but having locked up the
conference title and the top seed out of Super Region 2 played a huge role in
that contest.
UNA took care of Arkansas Tech handily in the
regular season and as much as I have believed in The Wonderboys this year, I see
it being the same again. While Nick Graziano has come into his own this season
and is coming off a monster performance, UNA is capable of slowing him down
enough to let their offense outscore the Harlon Hill finalist.
Graziano will most likely have a good game but
when he does make a mistake the Lions will pounce. They're too deep and fast for
ATU to hang all game with them. I can see this game taking a turn in the late
second quarter or early third and UNA going to Tim Hicks to run out the clock.
North Alabama's Harlon Hill finalist Harrison
Beck will be given more opportunities to score than any team has had against
Graziano this year. There is just too much depth on both sides of the ball for
ATU to handle this weekend. Graziano has had his way with most Division II
defenses this year but this is a Division I defense he has to face this week and
they will force him into mistakes.
On the other side, The Wonderboys just don't
have the thoroughbreds to run with UNA's offense. Beck will not have an easy day
but will find the end zone enough. Beck is going to be able to go deep on ATU
when he has to and even if Preston Parker doesn't play, he has plenty of weapons
to utilize.
I see UNA continuing on their path towards a
National Championship. This is just another step along the way and I see it
being business as usual for the Lions.
North Alabama 42-23
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