Playoffs

[canadarican]

Bears will host Shepherd.

Saints head to Valdosta.

[87Bear]

Bears will host Shepherd.

Saints head to Valdosta.

Don’t understand moving VU and Shepard around. Not sure travel distance is that different.

[Ram Tough]

See you guys soon! Well, on TV. But I'll see you.

[BEARS]

Gonna be a great day between the bricks. Always respected Shepherd's program, but FINALLY a home playoff game. Bear fans, time to bring the heat!

[Inkblot]

Don’t understand moving VU and Shepard around. Not sure travel distance is that different.

It was the only way for Kutztown to play a team they hadn't already played. Doesn't really make any difference for travel, which is why it was okay... although the committee elected not to send teams out of region to prevent rematches last year, so I don't know what changed.

[BearFan1]

Going to miss this game, first in a long time but Belize is calling my name that Saturday. What time is it? Bear and Belize Time this Saturday.

[Bearhof]

Well the coaches are familiar with each other since our coaches were with ND before LR. We formed an alliance with the M. East and wonder if that had any bearing because the travel seems about the same. We played West Chester in the playoffs and at their place back when Chester was dominating that conference most every year.

[Saints Tailgating]

Good lu k to the Bears. The Saints have a tall order but we'll see what happens.

[Ram Tough]

So, the second ever Shepherd game I attended in was when Lenoir-Rhyne came to Shepherdstown in 1996. The first was against the mighty Presbyterian Blue Hose. What does that have to do with this game? Nothing, but it's fun little memory for me.

[BEARS]

Good lu k to the Bears. The Saints have a tall order but we'll see what happens.

Glad the saints made the playoffs. Feel they were the best team we played this year. When Noller and Stewart are healthy I give them more than a fighting chance to knock those GSC teams in the mouth!

[ironcheftvdinner]

It was the only way for Kutztown to play a team they hadn't already played. Doesn't really make any difference for travel, which is why it was okay... although the committee elected not to send teams out of region to prevent rematches last year, so I don't know what changed.

Maybe I am missing something, but it does not appear that Kutztown has played New Haven this season.

[Ram Tough]

Maybe I am missing something, but it does not appear that Kutztown has played New Haven this season.

New Haven almost certainly got in via Earned Access. By rule, they had to play at the 2 seed, which is Charleston.

[Bearhof]

Seems to me SR1 becomes even weaker by this move and SR2 becomes stronger. The people doing this regional manipulation sure have a tough job with making the right decisions. I believe the biggest issue is proper seeding of teams and the NCAA is the villain because they control the money for travel. We need a money source to eliminate this issue and until that’s done we will always have mayhem.

[Ram040506]

Seems to me SR1 becomes even weaker by this move and SR2 becomes stronger. The people doing this regional manipulation sure have a tough job with making the right decisions. I believe the biggest issue is proper seeding of teams and the NCAA is the villain because they control the money for travel. We need a money source to eliminate this issue and until that’s done we will always have mayhem.

Shepherd is an enigma this year. They have some talent for sure, and seem to get up for bigger games. Certainly this will qualify.

After doing some half ass research, LR seems very balanced, with a pretty athletic backfield. An efficient, decently explosive passing offense with a strong run game to boot. Defense seems very stout as well. Shepherd is going to have their hands full for sure. Will have to play the best they have all year to escape with a W.

I think Shepherd may struggle with the athleticism at the QB position which is going to require extra LB help in containment, which could open up the crossing routes for bigger plays in LR's pass game.

On defense LR looks to have a strong pass rush and makes a bunch of plays in the backfield. Averaging about 9 TFL's a game. Shepherd late in the season, has really leaned a bit on the run game, especially introducing Jordan Dixon the last half of the season. He's a big back (225-230), and Shepherd hasn't much had that in the last 5-7 years really. If Shepherd can run the ball, they will be in this game and have a chance to win. Will be a tall order considering LR allows under 80 yds a game on average. If they can run it a bit, it will open up the play action game and the pass game in general, and Shepherd's WR's are good in space.

Very excited to see a new opponent for a change, having 4 PSAC teams make the playoffs was going to be very redundant so thought this was a nice way to mix it up. Good luck to the Bears and Rams this weekend! Initial weather looks awesome at about mid 60's and sunny.

[Bearhof]

Thanks for the analysis and agree it should be a great game. You will really enjoy the game day atmosphere here and encourage you to visit the home side of the stadium. Its quite impressive and ESPN has called it the best game day atmosphere in D2. We recently spent over 18 million on upgrades and it turned out really nice.