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(Photos Courtesy of UWG Athletics and NWMSU Athletics)
There are only two weeks of D2 football left this season and I am glad to still be writing about it. That means the Gulf South Conference has, once again, won Super Region Two and is in the final four teams remaining this season. The West Georgia Wolves repeated as SR2 champions by defeating Tuskegee last week in Carrollton. UWG will now travel to face the winners of SR3, the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats in Maryville, MO this weekend.
#6 West Georgia (12-1) at #2 Northwest Missouri State (13-0)
3:30 PM EST/2:30 PM CST on ESPN3
Last Meeting: N/A
Series: 1st meeting
The West Georgia Wolves have advanced back to the national semifinals for the second consecutive season since Will Hall took over the program last year. After getting their first D2 playoff wins ever last season, UWG is 5-1 in the postseason and looking forward to the chance of potentially advancing to the NCAA Division II National Championship Game in Kansas City.
Northwest Missouri is a storied, perennial powerhouse program in our division. The Bearcats are on a string of 12 consecutive seasons with 10 or more wins, and 18 out of the last 20 seasons, winning four national titles during that time. This is their tenth appearance in the D2 semifinals and they are 8-1 in those games while having a 7-0 semifinal record at home.
Both teams enjoy veteran senior quarterbacks that have started for the past three seasons. Brady Bolles shared quarterbacking duties during his Bearcats national title run in 2013 and Dallas Dickey led his team to the 2014 semifinals. The Wolves' offense is relatively balanced while the Bearcats seem to favor their passing game. UWG spreads it around in their running attack as four players have over 80 rushing attempts complemented by several capable receivers with two having over 30 catches on the year. NW has three backs with over 90 rushing attempts alongside a stable of receivers including six with 25 catches or more this season.
Both squads have great defenses ranked atop the division (NW #1, WG #2) and are especially good at stopping the run (NW leads the nation and WG is ranked #12) while the Wolves defense has 15 interceptions on the year and the Bearcats have 24 (ranked 2nd nationally). The Bearcats, also top-ranked nationally at passing efficiency defense only allowing an average of 82.2 yards per game, have 48 sacks on the year (ranked 2nd nationally) while the Wolves have 41 (ranked 16th nationally).
Each team is good at blocking kicks and punts with NW having blocked 14 so far this year and WG blocking 10 this season while both schools have accurate kickers and effective punters. The NW quarterback also has the ability to quick kick/pooch punt.
UWG Key Stats:
Avg. Points Scored: 37.8
Avg. Points Allowed: 14.6
Offensive Yards: 424.5
Yards Allowed: 238.1
Turnover Margin: +1
Avg. Penalties: 80 yards
Third Down Conversions: 42.5%
Opp. Third Down Conversions: 31.1%
Red Zone Scores: 80.9%
Field Goals: 11-14 (78.6%)
NWMSU Key Stats:
Avg. Points Scored: 42.2
Avg. Points Allowed: 11.9
Offensive Yards: 441.8
Yards Allowed: 220.8
Turnover Margin: +18
Avg. Penalties: 57.9 yards
Third Down Conversions: 46%
Opp. Third Down Conversions: 22%
Red Zone Scores: 93%
Field Goals: 22-27 (81.5%)