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NCAA Playoffs First Round Results
Saginaw Valley at Nebraska Kearney
This was definitely the tale of two halves. In
the first half the playoff jitters had the UNK offense looking confused. The
first four possessions four the Lopers resulted in an interception, two three
and out series with a total of four yards gained and another interception. The
Cardinals capitalized on the Loper mistakes to take a 14 - 0 lead early in the
second quarter.
The Lopers then seemed to regroup and begin to
move the ball but their next two drives ended in fumbles. Kearney seemed to be
trying to give this game away. Finally as the second quarter was coming to an
end the Lopers lead by Spitzleberger put together a 64 yard drive to close to
within seven. Just when there seemed to be reason for hope, the Cardinals Nick
Gallina made a 44 yard reception down to the Kearney 1 yard line with one second
left on the clock. SVSU scored and stretched their lead to 20 - 7.
I have no idea what adjustment the UNK coaching
staff made or what the players did during the half time but the second half
belonged to the Lopers. Saginaw took the second half kickoff and proceeded to
drive to the Lopers 16 yard line. It was then that the Big Blue defense stepped
up and stoped the Cardinals. The UNK Train was up to speed now. Big Blue went on
to score 28 unanswered points in the second half. The Kearney defense shut out
the Cardinals in the second half each time SVSU got into the red zone, the
Lopers forced turnovers.
In the end, it was the Lopers that controlled
the line of scrimmage and punched their ticket for the second round of the
playoffs.
Players of the Week
UNK Rustin Dring rushed 23 times for 189 yards
and one touchdown. Dring also caught three passes for 22 yards. Dring also
kicked off once for 40 yards. Dring had one run of 77 yards.
UNK Jake Spitzlberger completed 16 passes on 28
attempts for 184 yards with two interceptions and three touchdowns. Spitzlberger
also rushed 10 times for 41 yards.
UNK Tyler Hilton caught four passes for 42
yards and two touchdowns.
UNK Jake Mandelko made 12 tackles with one half
tackle for loss and two broken up passes.
UNK Pat Ackerman made 11 tackleswith one sack
and one forced fumble.
SVSU Charles Dowdell completed 22 passes on 41
attempts for 310 yards with two interceptions and two touchdowns. Dowdell also
rushed 11 times for 57 yards.
SVSU Xavier Walker rushed 19 times for 63
yards. Walker also caught passes for 84 yards.
SVSU John Jacobs made 13 tackles with one and
one half tackles for loss.
SVSU Mike LeVand made 10 tackles with one
tackle for loss and one broken up pass.
NCAA Playoffs Second Round
Nebraska Kearney at Minnesota Duluth
Well the reward for winning their first round
playoff is a trip to James S. Malosky stadium to face the defending national
champion Duluth Bulldogs. UMD is the number one seed in Super Region 3.
The Bulldog offense is lead by junior running
back Isaac Odim. Odim finished the regular season third in the nation in
rushing. UMD is ranked second in the nation in rushing offense. This year the
Bulldogs have been one dimensional, but with Odim that one dimension has been
very successful. It will be up to the Loper defense to stop the UMD ground game.
Kearney is currently ranked ninth in the country in rush defense.
If the Loper defense can stop the run then the
Bulldogs will be forced to pass. Chase Vogler the Bulldogs freshman quarterback
has an efficiency rating of 148 and is averaging 114 yards per game. Vogler has
not even averaged the minimum 15 pass attempts per game this season to be ranked
nationally. Vogler's favorite targets this season have been D.J. Winfield, Noah
Pauley and Odim out of the back field. One thing to keep in mind if Vogler is
forced to pass the Loper defense leads the nation in sacks averaging 4 per game.
It no secret that the Lopers have been a
running team as well. UNK is ranked fifth in the country in rushing offense with
Rustin Dring in fifth place nationally. UMD's defense has been very good this
season at stopping the run and are ranked second in the country for rushing
defense allowing only 55 yards per game.
If the Loper offense finds the can not run
against the Bulldogs then Spitzleberger, Kaiser, Liess and Hilton must step up
and make some plays. Spitzleberger has had a couple of big games passing and his
efficiency rating is 162, eighth in the country in passing efficiency.
This will be a very tough battle for the Lopers.
The Bulldogs are national champs; they have had a week of rest and are at home.
A poor start for the Lopers may be impossible to overcome in this game. Last
week's heroic second half proved to me that this team has heart. Will heart be
enough to overcome experience and home field advantage? Well my playoff bracket
is already a bust so I am going to pick the Lopers to win. The Big Blue Train
advances to the third round.
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