NWMSU 59, SCSU 21

First off, huge kudos to the Huskies for getting this far. I think most SCSU fans would have been perfectly fine (a few weeks ago) if I were to say they'd go down and beat HSU, beat MSU-Mankato, and lose to the eventual D2 Champion on the road. Consider SCSU was a 6-seed who didn't make the dance til the 11th hour, this post-season run is something very memorable and unexpected.

As for the game, NW was simply a superior team. SCSU had some challenges slinging the rock at the start, as it was probably like a brick in the very cold first half. In the 2nd half it looked like things warmed up a touch (players and temp) and the Huskies were able to get the offense going a bit, however when down 28-0 at the half it's simply too late too late.

The NW defense was able to keep Klaphake in the pocket and their good coverage made things all the more difficult for play making down the field. In addition to that, the NW front was getting to Klaphake as well. The Bearcats really did a good job of disrupting what Klaphake and company wanted to do in the passing game.



The SCSU running game is almost an after-thought compared to the threat of Klaphake, and I think that SCSU knew they needed to be able to hit the shots down field in the passing game to have a chance to win this one. SCSU had their moments in the running game, but I think it was more of a result of a surprise attack than anything.

The NW offense really never was slowed down in this one, while wasn't a big surprise as the SCSU defense really hasn't looked like a playoff defense over this run, as the offense has seemingly won the games for them. NW was able to run the ball very well and really controlled things the entire way..even with their 2's.

With this game a blowout, I once again found myself thinking, "how would've Mankato done here instead of St. Cloud?" I realize that SCSU earned their way to this regional final, don't get me wrong....but as a fan of D2 football, I still can wonder about it.

I think Mankato would've matched up so much better with NW than the Huskies did. Why..? Stylistically they are very similar. Mankato is a very physical football team who uses the run to setup plays in the passing game, while having a defense that's also very physical and their 4 man front can be a lot to contend with. I think that if SCSU played Kato 10 times, they win 1 or 2 times. That just happened to be 2 Saturdays ago....to their credit....they came through in the clutch. On a typical Saturday though, Kato would've matched up far better with the Bearcats. (last year is some proof of that)

Do I think Mankato beats NW.....no. Compete..yes. From everything I've seen this year, I think Wolf would've given NW some problems with his fantastic ability to run off the zone-read, but I also think that the Bearcats would've contained him better than any other team this year. The OL for the Bearcats would've done well enough against the Mavs front-four that NW would've beaten the Mavs secondary a few times (like SCSU did)....and that's what I feel would be there difference in this one.

I think both teams would've played things close to the vest out of respect for the other (similar to how Duluth vs NW started), but if I'm picking a score in this pretend game, I got NW 31-21.

That all said, I got NW rolling through the rest of the way. Grand Valley will immediately catch the eye of the Bearcats, as they're a team of championship tradition (respect). Grand Valley will likely be able to put up some points, but I think they will give up a big number in this one. I'm looking at like a 45-28 kinda game. On the other side it's probably Lenoir Rhyne. Either way, I think NW would really have to stub their toe to not win it all this year at this point. They just look too complete.




Pitt State 90, SMSU 28

Way to 'represent' the NSIC there Mustangs!

I joke....most of us realized that Pitt State was a top 10 team this year that simply blew their season in the final week of the year. The Pitt State team was very athlete to watch and looked like they had a handful or more guys that SMSU simply wouldn't get in their program. That's just reality.

For a brief moment (17-14 score, PSU) I thought that SW was going to battle and compete in this one. However, Pitt State was just too explosive in this one, just too good. Mankato could've hung a huge number on SMSU, but instead shut things down a bit. This game reminded me of that game a bit, but I don't think Pitt felt like they should take their foot off the gas considering they were playing the top offense in the NSIC, a very explosive one.

Did PSU overcook their starters a bit, certainly. When it was 59-14 (half), it was apparent that Pitt could end up with a pretty high total. Were they passing the ball and trying to run it up in the final 5 minutes of the game, not that I recall. PSU scores their final TD on a longer run by a 2nd stringer and at that point it's really up to the Mustangs to not let the 2's run touchdowns in against ya.

This game wasn't about running up the score though, it was about Pitt State being a very good D2 team and the SMSU defense really getting exposed.

If you are a SMSU supporter, it'd be hard not to have some mixed feelings after this one. You are thrilled that your team had a 7-4 season and is being granted the opportunity to play in a post-season game like this, but then to give up 90 points and get pummeled, that really leaves a bad taste in the mouth. In any event, 7-5 at SMSU is something that most Mustang supporters would've been real good with if offered in the preseason.


Overall the conference comes up short of making the championship game again this year, but I'm very comfortable saying that Mankato, Duluth, and St. Cloud were all teams in the top 10 conversation. Solid season NSIC.