Bowie State vs Valdosta State

[BSURover31]

There are two interesting D vs O matchups this week. Bowie vs Valdosta and Northwest vs Ferris. Both defenses will be facing the best athletes and offenses they have seen all year.

I watched Bowie play a little in round 1, that is a good defense but I don't think it's as good as NW. Any team willing to spread them out and commit to throwing the ball will give them problems.

Both Valdosta and Ferris are monsters and just different athletes at almost every position than most CIAA teams and all but the top couple of MIAA teams.

Because we are fans of two different teams in two different regions, I'm sure our opinions will differ.
1. Bowie State has the best defense in DII. Whether your going by stats or the eye test, we have provided plenty of proof to back up this claim (Albany State is the only team who can argue this point).

2. It's not that Valdosta has better athletes, it's that they have more depth (as a fully funded school should). Our top players are great athletes. It's easier said than done to just line up and throw the ball, when you have a tremendous defensive line in front of you that doesn't need a blitz behind it to apply pressure. Our defensive backfield is loaded: You have the homegrown kids in 2019 All American (lead country in ints) CB Demetri Morsell, and 2019 All CIAA CB Tevin Singleton and then you have the newer Bulldogs who came from D1 programs in S Simeon Gatlin(Morgan State) ,2020 All CIAA S Raymond Boone (UMD), and the hitmaker Myles Woolfork (UNC).

Valdosta is in for a street fight. I think the thing most people are overlooking, is how good Jerome Johnson is both through the air and on the ground and how well coached Bowie is. This is a disciplined ball team, as we saw last game when there were no offside penalties despite how many times Newberry tried to draw us offsides on 3 and 4th in inches.

[Wallst]

For the first time in school history, the #10 Bowie State Bulldogs (12-1) have advanced to the NCAA DII Quarterfinals after a 13-10 defensive slugfest versus Newberry. Their reward is a rematch of the 2018 NCAA DII Playoffs second round match versus Valdosta State. Now the politically correct answer is that the 66-16 blowout in 2018 were two completely different teams and results have no effect on the current two teams. HOWEVER, I promise you it has not been forgotten. On paper the #2 ranked Blazers should dominate the matchup. Massey has them beating down the Bulldogs by 24 points. The one thing that Massey doesn't seem to be accounting for is, what we call The #Darkside. The #Darkside is the nickname for the Bowie State Defense, which is the best defensive unit in the DII country. The #Darkside leads the country in defensive touchdowns, tackles for losses, red zone defense and are 3rd in third down conversion percentage, 5th in passing defense, 5th in scoring defense, & 5th in total defense.

NW 2nd in scoring defense, 2nd in total defense, (FYI Albany State is first in both) 11th in First downs allowed, Both are legit good defenses. I think if you go by the numbers and depending on what weight you want to give certain stats NW probably has the edge and Albany State is better than both.

Valdosta is an efficient offense especially passing the ball and has one of the higher ypc in the nation. top 15. Your passing defense efficiency is good, I'm just not sure you have faced this level of competition. You alluded to this earlier, when you talked about depth. I'm just not sure your 3rd or 4th cb is as good as their 3rd or 4th WR.

[BSURover31]

You can't mention our pass defense without first mentioning the penetration of our defensive line, which is the strength of our defense. Our d-line is elite and will have their QB on the run if they go to a pass happy scheme. We are certainly used to dealing with mobile quarterbacks and it won't be anything that catches us off guard. I'm fully expecting to play the best offense we have played this year, but let's not act like they are indestructible. Our style of play is the perfect recipe for "upsetting" a high octane offense. We have a good dual threat run game, great defense, and a great punter. If we play a clean game, we will definitely be in this. I stand by my opinion that Bowie will win a lower scoring game. No one scores over 35.

[Wallst]

You can't mention our pass defense without first mentioning the penetration of our defensive line, which is the strength of our defense. Our d-line is elite and will have their QB on the run if they go to a pass happy scheme. We are certainly used to dealing with mobile quarterbacks and it won't be anything that catches us off guard. I'm fully expecting to play the best offense we have played this year, but let's not act like they are indestructible. Our style of play is the perfect recipe for "upsetting" a high octane offense. We have a good dual threat run game, great defense, and a great punter. If we play a clean game, we will definitely be in this. I stand by my opinion that Bowie will win a lower scoring game. No one scores over 35.

I'm not sure I would consider 35 points low scoring but ok. Other than a couple games your offense didn't put up 30 points against better competition except for LR.. I do agree with you that your best bet is to make this an ugly dogfight. So to bring your < 35 points some hopefully good juju 34-20. And if thats the final or the spread regardless of score that says great things for Bowie this year and hopefully future years.

[ShoNuff]

I'm not sure I would consider 35 points low scoring but ok. Other than a couple games your offense didn't put up 30 points against better competition except for LR.. I do agree with you that your best bet is to make this an ugly dogfight. So to bring your < 35 points some hopefully good juju 34-20. And if thats the final or the spread regardless of score that says great things for Bowie this year and hopefully future years.

I will make sure I am watching this game. As a resident of Maryland, I will be pulling for Bowie State. But this will be a tall order to make that commute to South Ga and win. But anything can happen on a given day....

[stillabulldog]

I'm not sure I would consider 35 points low scoring but ok. Other than a couple games your offense didn't put up 30 points against better competition except for LR.. I do agree with you that your best bet is to make this an ugly dogfight. So to bring your < 35 points some hopefully good juju 34-20. And if thats the final or the spread regardless of score that says great things for Bowie this year and hopefully future years.

Bowie has played better defenses than Valdosta.( Fayetteville, Lenoir Rhyne and Newberry are all top 25 scoring defense) I think that think can put up more than 20 points against them. As great as the GSC is as a conference they are better known for their offenses. their defenses rank low in almost every defensive statistical category.

[stillabulldog]

448 yards on 82 plays. we definitely had a bend don't break gameplay against you guys. stop the run (SAC Offensive player of the year had 71 yards) and let you dink and dunk down the field then make stops when necessary.

You been saying bowie gonna lose in a blowout the past 2 weeks. guess if you keep saying it enough you'll be right eventually

[BSURover31]

Today Bowie State Rb Calil Wilkins was named a 2021 Harlon Hill Trophy Finalist. He didn't get the chance to do his usual damage last game after sitting out the entire first quarter, but I'm sure he will be a integral part of the game plan this week.

[ShoNuff]

Today Bowie State Rb Calil Wilkins was named a 2021 Harlon Hill Trophy Finalist. He didn't get the chance to do his usual damage last game after sitting out the entire first quarter, but I'm sure he will be a integral part of the game plan this week.

Congrats to the young man!!!

[BSURover31]

Just read the GSC columnists post for our game and I love that people think we have no chance. "We haven't seen an offense like theirs". As if we don't play against great athletes every week in the CIAA! My rebuttal would be, They haven't seen a defense like ours! I can't wait till Saturday. Bowie State is literally going to have to snatch the respect of the GSC!

[Wallst]

Just read the GSC columnists post for our game and I love that people think we have no chance. "We haven't seen an offense like theirs". As if we don't play against great athletes every week in the CIAA! My rebuttal would be, They haven't seen a defense like ours! I can't wait till Saturday. Bowie State is literally going to have to snatch the respect of the GSC!

Except for Albany State who as noted in a previous post on this thread is probably the best defense in the country even better than Bowie and NW. I guess the good thing you could take from that is that Valdosta only scored 21 on them and West Georgia only put up 23 on them in the playoffs and one of those was a defensive touchdown.

You are going to need to make this a dirty boxing match, no Marquis of Queensbury rules, step on their toes and shove them back, rabbit punch, hold the head, shoulders to the chin in the clinch. All of it. Repeatedly.

[GoVSUTrojans]

Damn, so all the teams just so happen to play bad versus Bowie defense, but we aren't a lockdown defense lmfao... I expect nothing less from a Trojan fan. Here's to hoping Valdosta has a "bad game" versus the dawgs.

Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. I said "this playoffs". LR and Newberry played poorly IMO. They made mistakes and I think the coaches got caught up in overthinking the game plan. I thought LR lost the game before it even started. That's actually a credit to Bowie's defense.

Valdosta most definitely will not make that mistake.

Again, let's go Bulldogs!

[BSUguy]

Except for Albany State who as noted in a previous post on this thread is probably the best defense in the country even better than Bowie and NW. I guess the good thing you could take from that is that Valdosta only scored 21 on them and West Georgia only put up 23 on them in the playoffs and one of those was a defensive touchdown.

You are going to need to make this a dirty boxing match, no Marquis of Queensbury rules, step on their toes and shove them back, rabbit punch, hold the head, shoulders to the chin in the clinch. All of it. Repeatedly.

[BSURover31]

Except for Albany State who as noted in a previous post on this thread is probably the best defense in the country even better than Bowie and NW. I guess the good thing you could take from that is that Valdosta only scored 21 on them and West Georgia only put up 23 on them in the playoffs and one of those was a defensive touchdown.

You are going to need to make this a dirty boxing match, no Marquis of Queensbury rules, step on their toes and shove them back, rabbit punch, hold the head, shoulders to the chin in the clinch. All of it. Repeatedly.

Bowie State Defense leads the country in defensive touchdowns. Our defense scores every other game, which means we are due for one on Saturday. This is absolutely going to be a slug fest. Defensive line will set the tone. Defensive backs will have to demonstrate why are #5 in passing yards allowed, #2 in passing defense efficiency, and #1 in 3rd down conversion percentage. With all of this talk about our defense, people seem to forget we average 30+ a game as well. We can also put points up. Saturday can't come quick enough!!

[BSURover31]

https://sportal.co.in/2021/12/ross-n...merica-honors/