Sioux Falls @ CO Mines

[Otis Day]

Yikes. Cougars try to get tricky with running a quick play on 3rd down and the nerds are not fooled. USF punts and Mines starts from their own 4.

[Otis Day]

Mines drives the length of the field and ties it up. 21-21 with 6.5mins to play in the game.

Matocha does most of it on his own that drive. Orediggers found some soft spots in the USF coverage.

[Otis Day]

Gross. USF goes a way too quick 3 and out. Ugly offensive series.

Gonna come down to the Cougar D to get a stop or the ball back. This stuff is not good for my heart.

Mines ball with 5 mins to play from their own 16.

[Otis Day]

The playoff heartbreak continues. Sigh.

Final: Mines 24 USF 21.

[MStateMaverick]

Great effort by Sioux Falls today, just not quite enough.
Augustana down 17-0 in the 4th qtr. Tarleton trailing in their game in the second half.

[Otis Day]

Great effort by Sioux Falls today, just not quite enough.

Mines got it done today late, hats off to them. Matocha was slippery enough late and USF couldn't get the big stop.

Coo went a little too conservative for my liking early once again. Had some untimely (albeit some questionable) and undisciplined penalties once again. Sound familiar? At least we had no special teams' fiascos! Just a botched snap that could've meant one more score.

Maybe I'd feel better if we appeared outmatched instead of blowing leads. I don't know, that could be frustration talking too. It is what it is. I'll be back next year for this wild ride once again.

[d2 football fan]

[whodat]

Agree with everything you said. SF was aggressive at the point of attack in the first half. But, by the middle of the third, Mines was finding seams that weren't there earlier, and I thought altitude was taking it's toll. Mines had the ball for a big chunk of the 4th quarter, and the SF D was gassed. Some missed long passes on both sides could have made a difference. Generally, the refs let them play, which I like, but SF was getting a bit too cocky at times, and it cost them.

Real good game with two good defenses. Glad for Mines they won, it was not easy.

[Tundra_Man]

Had to leave the house as soon as the game ended and just got back home.

Congrats Mines. You were the better team today. Your young QB is a great player who showed he could carry the team on his shoulders. He's going to be something special for you.

Very impressed with your production and announcers. The commentators had the right amount of being Mines fans without turning into complete homers. Lots of NSIC teams could learn a thing or two from your crew.

Heartbreaking that Mines didn't have a lead the entire time until there was 3 seconds left. It felt eerily similar to the 2011 USF game against UND where the only time the opposing team had a lead was when the clock hit 0.00.

Very happy that Reisdorfer was able to put up some good yards against a team that hasn't allowed much on the ground. I agree with Otis that USF got way too conservative early, which seems to be a trait of Coach Anderson. The Coo D played well overall, they were just out on the field too long in the 2nd half.

At least the Coo played competitive. Hopefully we can straighten out our snapping issues in the off season. Bad snaps pretty much lost us the game against Augie. While they didn't directly contribute to today's loss, they sure didn't help anything.

[togthorn]

I thought this was going to be a nail biter and it was. Mines needed to keep it close going into the 4th and hope that the altitude would take its toll and I think it did. SF defense just wasn't as sharp as the rest of the game. Congrats to SF on a Great Season!!!

[Matt Witwicki]

Matt Witwicki
@WittD2FootballNov 23
Mines had the ball 36 minutes. USF offense struggled to move the chains after capturing an early lead. Walters having a bum wheel was a factor. RPO passing game disappeared. Coo with a big TO when going in for a 2nd score..hurt. USF limited the run but QB scampers hurt them.

Above were some of the thoughts I had as the USF game concluded.

As mentioned on the Augie thread, I realized both squads were underdogs....but I probably had a bit more faith in USF pulling off the upset given how they'd competed with Mankato and how their offense had been more consistent throughout the year, while both USF and AU had strong defenses.

I do think the altitude played a factor when the USF offense wasn't moving the chains and then left the Coo D out there for 36 minutes of the contest. The RPO passes on the quick slant were no more after Q1....and those were huge in getting things going early. Maybe Mines adjusted to deny that..but if not, that was a tactical mistake to not continue with those middle shots. Throwing the ball out to the RB a few more times would've seemingly made sense too....but it seemed that USF had horrible field position for a lot of the game....which made USF conservative in play-calling since they were backed up in their own end.

Mines QB was able to elude a crowd of defenders in the pocket and turn a sack into moving the chains. That's what won the game for the Diggers. USF shut down Zeman almost completely and won the LOS for 3 quarters....but the QB got out and made plays..and has a sneaky good arm. As mentioned, the bad snap when USF was rolling early slowed down the Coo from running away early. Kudos to Mines....they weathered the storm and outlasted USF..and now advance.

The Coo brings back a lot of this playoff squad....but they have a massive hole at QB with Walters departure. He was a strong performer his year and his ability to make plays with his feet was a massive added dimension. Gabe Watson should return for a final season (after a med-red), as will AA-corner Hakeem Johnson who sat all year with a broken foot. With USF having Thuro at RB also....they will have the best depth around at that spot. Sioux Falls will need to replace some starting offensive lineman and that'll be hard like the QB spot as well.

Overall, strong season for USF after starting out with a blowout loss at CSP.