(Courtesy of Denver Post)

National Championship

Preview and Prediction


#1 Minnesota State-Mankato (14-0) v. #7 Colorado State Pueblo (13-1)
3:00 p.m. CST Kickoff
Kansas City, Missouri
Game Broadcast on ESPN 2

Weather Report for Game Time: 37 degrees Partly Cloudy and 6 mph wind


It has been quite a while that I can remember a game that had a final of 10 to 7.

Coming into this game we have 2 teams that have made a name for themselves with all the success that they have had over the past several seasons. Both teams are appearing in their first NCAA DII Championship game.

However, both teams road to the playoffs have been different. Mankato barely edged Pittsburg State in the 2nd Round and then dominated in the Quarterfinals and Semifinals; while CSUP dominated in the 2nd Round and edged their opponents in the Quarterfinals and Semifinals. They pretty much were complete opposites when each team played their opponent in every round; for example CSUP dominated and Mankato barely won, Mankato dominated and CSUP barely won. A pretty interesting adventure on their roads to the National Championship game.



thnd Round and 2014 loss to Fort Lewis. The biggest wins that come to mind are the win over Sam Houston State, Northern Colorado, 2011 WT game, and 2014 West Georgia. You know that you have a stellar program when you focus more on the few losses than all the victories that your team has accumulated over several seasons.



This will be the game that CSUP and MSU- Mankato fans talk about for years to come. For the CSUP and Mankato fan base, this upcoming game will live with you forever, win or lose. Unfortunately, one team will walk out with a title and the other will not, that is how life is.

Last week, the Mavs completely dominated Concord. The Mavs were clicking and just pushed their way into the end zone, time after time. They stopped the Concord offense and the Concord defense could not stop the Mavs. Running Back Connor Thomas looked unstoppable last week as he ran the ball for 123 yards.

rd downs against Concord. No disrespect for Concord; but, the Mavs came in and just cruised on past.

On the CSUP side of the ball, the defense has been the talk of the postseason. The defense is only allowing an average of 13.7 points per game and the offense is putting up and average of 35.1 points per game. Not a huge difference between the teams but the Mavs are scoring 1 TD more than the Thunderwolves on average.


What does this game come down to?

The fans of both teams have debated all week about this game. Apparently, Vegas is favoring MSU-Mankato, not surprising to me.








Prediction: MSU-Mankato 28 Colorado State Pueblo 21