September 24th, 2023 5:00pm
YouTube Auto-Generated Transcript:
[Music]
thank you [Music] well good evening everybody and welcome
to another edition of inside D2 football with Chuck Bittner Chris Ferguson Matt
with Wiki and Tony Nicolette I am Brandon Meisner thank you once again for
joining us really appreciate you uh being here with us uh what's going on well as an exciting day yesterday in
division two have some great games to talk about Harding uh classic at
Henderson State West Georgia and West Florida battled one out in the GSC also
uh sloppy defensive game in the psac that
cuts down uh was able to win at Shepard we'll talk about that one uh we'll review the entire top 25 or at least the
games of significance look stock up stock down who's trending in the right direction who's it going in
the wrong direction we'll uh we'll talk about that mention some of those and we will also do our normal pick segment and
this week I'm I'm happy to display the graphic this week because it was much better than it normally or at least it
has been in the last few weeks so uh but tonight we start off with the team of
the week which is the Indianapolis Greyhounds they had a big win yesterday
at Saginaw Valley a 35 to 10 Victory and Chuck pretty pretty uh good performance
on the road by the Greyhounds well it sure was I have to admit I was a little envious when I qued up the video of this this morning and saw the sunsplashed
field there because we got a little wet here all around the East Coast but uh wonderful wonderful day wonderful
performance for UND against a very solid Saginaw Valley State team and I really
think that early on this was much more of a battle than that final score might indicate the Saginaw Valley did a really
a good job of being disruptive getting into the backfield a lot putting a lot of pressure on Gavin sukup but we're
gonna we're gonna see as we get a little bit further into this that sukup made some tremendous plays they're really
kind of softened up that Saginaw defense and then put them into scoring position quite a few times uh and actually uh you
know Indianapolis is able to get out of this with a big win big reversal of Fortunes from last year is just a
completely different type of performance and ended up being a great win for UND heading into conference play you know
the Greyhounds are the defending glvc Champions and entered week four ranked
number 17 in the d2football.com poll at a 3-0 start for them this year been joining us now is Chris keevers he is
the head coach at the University of Indianapolis Chris thank you very much for joining us tonight on inside D2
football thank you for the invite well coach congrats on the big win I think the final score of this was
actually very similar to the game you had with them last year but this year you're on the winning side of that so a
big reversal of Fortunes and it really kind of felt like the big difference was just being patient and minimizing
mistakes they they were doing a pretty good job of disrupting your offense early on but then sukup comes back with
a couple of outstanding throws you get the special teams play that kind of gives you an early score after you kind
of softened up that defense a little bit with some big plays they kind of changed the way they were defending you the rest of the way
yeah they uh they were trying to do things with their coverage and they they don't do usually and and we took
advantage of some of that you know big played him to death really that was kind of our you know we had we had uh you
know we had two really long touchdowns 70 and 66 and uh really you know it kind
of because they're an option team and they don't you know they're not a prolific passing team that put them
behind and and put them off schedule and it made things difficult for their offense now do you do you coach uh the
quarterbacks to throw jumping out of bounds across their body back the field 40 yards downfield for a touchdown is
that something that you you coach him up on if your name's Gavin Suka yes yes you know he's that's what he's very Dynamic
outside of the pocket he's just very accurate I mean with you know uncanny
accuracy as he's running and and avoiding people so that means he's uh uh
he's made some plays like that the last you know our last three games you know you mentioned coach that
Saginaw is not a passing team they're a team that wants to run the football you were able to hold them to two yards
of carry what did you guys do why were you so effective in stopping the run you know to be honest they're they're their
run game is a lot like Wayne States so when we had a bye week and then we
played Wayne State so we we practiced that offense for two weeks before we play Wayne State and then we get to
Saginaw and it's the same type of offense so it's you know scheduling played a big you know part of that we
were our linebackers were you know we knew where to look and how to fit the run and if you watch us we fit the run
really well because we've been playing it for three weeks with the same defense I mean it's been uh very fortunate for
us coach a year ago you guys were you know looking at being right around 23 points
allowed per game this year you've almost pulled that number in half you guys are at 12 wins allowed per game
um Mike Brown you know your DB is a guy on our Elite 100 watch list you know
he's he's been as advertised who else has really uh kind of stepped up and and
has helped shape the success you guys have had defensively well we've got some guys with a bunch of experience uh
Landry mavungu is a sixth year kid number he's zero the corner that played an outstanding game he had a big pick in
the Red Zone he had they threw two long balls at him and he just defended him with ease I mean he was a uh he's a cool
character when when that ball comes up in the air he doesn't panic he's played for six years so Landry's played very
well along with Mike and then uh you know Dylan Shelton is a is a defensive tackle that's uh disruptive he has he he
calls them problems because they were getting their back out out of and not protecting with they would just protect
him with five it was one-on-one with Dylan a lot and he caused some problems and got a defensive end named Aaron
Barnett who's a you know he's been a fifth year guy and he's a guy came as a walk-on receiver and now he's in all
conference defensive end uh number two he's been disruptive and you know and then Justin Thomas our our sophomore uh
the end from Chicago he had you know two sacks and and a couple shots on the
quarterback that was uh uh number nine he's a uh he's a sophomore and he he had
a heck of a game so we've got some guys that have played a lot and and uh and
it's really helped us I mean we you know we don't have we lost our two inside linebackers and that was it with our defense we had everybody back so
we knew we were going to be good on offense you weren't quite as lucky that you didn't need to make some
additions and you did in the off-season strategic editions you know obviously
people that pay attention to division two know that you lost Toriano Clinton uh you brought in John Lewis who is the
leading rusher in division three last year how has he fit into your offense so far and he's fit Fanta he's a fantastic
fit for our program as a student as a person and he's a very talented and he
stayed here all summer and worked his tail off and earned the respect of our football team and he's he's doing a
great job I mean he's he's running with some ferocity and he's he's making some things happen and uh he's a he's more of
a he's a you know he's a physical back he's not like Toriano so it's a little bit of a change up we're not you know as
much outside Zone you know we you know we're more of an inside Gap scheme team now with with him and uh so it's it has
been a change up but he's fit in perfectly right uh you know you hadn't must have had an intense uh quarterback
competition uh you had an experienced starter but uh how did Gavin sukup who
is now your starter separate himself from the pack uh to lead your offense you know we just felt like he gave us
the best chance to win uh he's he can he's very good athlete uh competitor and
he and and he's accurate when he's running he's very accurate and he's got a he's got an arm that you know he can
throw the long ball very well and and he just he you know he stayed here all summer again he was came in in January
and won national championship at DuPage junior college and and you know was really going to stay and we kind of talked him into coming with us and and
he's been a pleasant surprise coach you guys um in super Region Three you guys are
obviously in the same boat with conferences like the gliac with you know
the MIAA some of the top teams in in the entire country I mean look at the rankings top ten there's plenty of those
names that are in there whether it's a a ferris or Grand Valley and others
um how does how does the gov see and and you Indy um how do you guys kind of find yourself
you know when you're battling for kind of positioning in there and and League respect at the same time within such a
competitive region are you talking about the recruiting they're just or the actual just playing
uh arcade you know what whether it's seating when when the playoffs come around or being able to continue to kind
of have success with your squad you know uh uh in 18 we beat Fort hay State at
our place and that kind of changed some things for us people you know we got some respect there uh you know you gotta
win in the playoffs to earn respect and I think that kind of that helped us some
time 17 we lost the Hardy and it was in final four and we lost the last second play and had him we had a chance we you
know right didn't get it done but that's the bottom line we had you know we didn't get it done but it was close so we've competed you know we've done a
good job uh but it is you know you you're playing Grand Valley Ferris and then MIAA you know we've we play you
know Central Missouri and had a good game with them down at their place uh so
it's I mean you know in our region you you know you're gonna have to you're going to be good teams to keep going so
it's uh uh you know it's you got to recruit a certain type of a young man that's gonna be able to win those games
and you know that's that's we try to build as best we can to make sure that we're you know physically
ready and you know then you play some of them you go out and play you know we played Wayne we played Saginaw this year we went played Hillsdale you know it was
a physical internet you know so it's you know you just try to get yourself ready
coach one more question before we let you get back to your normal Sunday night and get back to work for uh for game prep last week we had Jazz Baines on the
show he's head coach at Western Colorado and we asked him a question that I want to ask you as well because you you kind
of have a similar background you didn't play division two football you actually played in the Big Ten but most your
coaching career has been in small College you've actually been at UND for coming up on 30 years now what is it
that you like about coaching in division two because it is so much different than being in division one and being the Big
Ten it's a totally different skill set totally different set of challenges but you've been in this world for a long time what are some of the things that
you really like about division two I like the kids I coach I really like the kids I coach and I like the coaches I'm
around I was at Purdue for three years I coached there as a ga student assistant is a ga and uh uh you know
and then I went to St Mary's College of California out there in division two school and I just I like I like the
coaches better I liked I like the uh I like the kids are are
are doing it for the right reasons they're you know I've been very fortunate you know we're three three team GPA so we've got a bunch of really
smart great kids I've got a son on the team I mean it's just uh uh you know I want my son to be around my team our
team we've got some fantastic people I just like you know I never chase money I grew up poor in the east side
Indianapolis and and never needed money and so I don't I've never chased money I found a place I like to work and I said
man I really like these kids and I like the people I'm working with and which I know is not the way to go these days but
you know I you know I I just like the people it just it's more enjoyable than I that
there's much much better experience I had you know in the division two level and I had a division one level for me
very good well coach uh somebody who runs a a website and videos and stuff related to division two I totally
respect the idea of doing what makes you happy and not chasing the money because there's not a lot of money in the dish
and we think and we think your job is safe for a while coach very good that's Chris keevers he is the
head coach at UND and uh Chris thank you very much for joining us tonight on inside thank you really enjoyed it
thanks so much all right what a great uh what a great time talking to the coach and you know
what gentlemen there's going to be a great time had by everybody but Whitney
this Friday because we will be already here Brandon it's only five six days
away yes it really honestly um yes it did sneak up on you or at
least it did me and uh uh I am not looking forward to the challenge but I
want to meet the challenge so uh Brandon truth be told I was driving home from my
son's baseball game today and I literally drove right past the scene of
the crime it's gonna be all going down here on
Friday and it was kind of interesting I I kind of got a little nervous chill and then I thought that guy better take care
of his side of the pizza or else that's exactly what it feels like to me like I don't want to let you down
because I'm I'm pretty confident in your ability to Chow Down half that pizza I'm less confident in my own so hey quick
quick real quick story here guys I got a message that two Augie offensive
lineman Augustana uh college or university had done that now two weeks in a row
um two of their offensive linemen Blake Larson who's on our Elite 100 team and
Trevor Burkhart one of his teammates who are both right around 300 pounds they tried it not long ago and they came
up short ooh but you know what I think they're probably better at blocking and helmet
and shoulder pads and I think we're probably better at things like eating eating and talking yes okay well in any
case that's going to go sometime Friday don't know for sure yet but Whit and I will try to devour uh that it will be at
boss's uh uh pizza and chicken I'm sure there's going to be uh folks that we
know will be there Tom's gonna be there right Tom Frederick my my sidecar for nsic weekly and Tom will take some
photos as we go um we threw the idea of video out there but Brandon was afraid that he might
actually throw up on live video which would not be good for
watch no lineman throw up yesterday on Twitter but yeah
I just don't want it to be me so uh in any case you know the boss has become a
supporter of inside D2 football on our website and they're looking for franchisees around the Midwest uh go to
their website which you see on the screen right now and uh click in the upper right and uh you can get in
contact with them and they'd love to try to let you change your future trajectory or pad your wealth however you want to
by opening up one of the restaurants in Springfield Missouri is their current they're looking there Brandon right now
so if you're in that area have interest in this get on it well there are plenty
of Pitt State Missouri Southern folks that watch this show follow division two
football yeah and uh that that would be right in their wheelhouse I'm sure so uh
in any case I will see you in person on Friday and I am honestly pretty nervous
about this challenge so we'll see how it goes all right let's move on and talk about some of the results from the top
25. uh we'll start with probably what was the the game of the week uh Harding
Henderson State at 27-16 win for the Bisons on the road
yeah it was a pretty entertaining game to watch Brandon um you know it wasn't really what I was
expecting I was expecting that Harding was going to kind of control the pace and get out there and get after him
right away with the running game and so forth um they got stalled out pretty good early
um you know we're gonna see some some plays here and there of the video and Henderson was kind of in control much of
the first half here uh they have that that gray and red uniform combination that I'm not necessarily thrilled about
but uh they score here early and they're up nine nothing they missed the extra point and you know Harding's trying to
get the Run game going then they got loose here um and kind of get themselves back into the game just before halftime and I
really thought Henderson wasted a few opportunities in that first half they got kind of you know stopped at the goal
line and you know all sudden Harding gets the lead in the second half and you
know we had a back and forth battle here uh really pretty even football game until till real late but you see
Henderson get back here get the lead and then uh Blake De La Cruz here breaks
through 31 carries for this fella 179 yards and three tuds uh you know all
five eight of them and you know what he he was a handful hardening defense comes up late then they go on a seven minute
drive with you know 13 14 plays whatever it was and really really demoralized uh
you know Henderson right at the end really well fought game I thought Henderson was the better team in the
first half and Harding was able to kind of you know make it through that and uh finish the game strong
a great game by them and De La Cruz man he really shoots
it's pretty impressive so another game an impressive performance at least by
some defenses uh could stand a 20-3 win at Shepherd in a sloppy game well sloppy
conditions and Chuck you were there tell us about it yeah I was and I know I've
heard the conditions talked about and the reality is it was very sloppy before the game but during the game it was actually quite fine the rain stopped and
obviously but these turf fields that drain very well the conditions really were not a challenge for these teams
um it was interesting because I had the outcome of this game correct I I thought Kutztown was going to win and they did
but it didn't really go the way I thought it would at all I expected Shepard's defense to struggle with the
Kutztown offense that had been building a lot of momentum uh they have made a quarterback change I
went with Judd Novak a youngster uh from nearby and he's been playing extremely
well since week two of the season and I thought Shepard's defense was going to have some problems with them that really wasn't the case at all in fact Shepard's
defense played very courageously uh the offense was just awful
um they couldn't do anything right they turned the ball over I think five times total on the day four times in the first
half three of those turnovers were on their own side of the field their defense actually got him out of those jams quite a bit because there's only a
six to nothing game at the half so very different in the way that played out I really expected it to be totally the
opposite that the offense would be fine and their defense was going to be strong was going to struggle a lot with Kutztown but um yeah I I other than
Ferris and you know of course they didn't play well at mines last year other than those games in region I've
never seen Shepard's offense look so inept uh West Florida a dominating performance
against West Georgia they win 49-21. yeah I think you kind of made a
little bit of a joke at the uh at the at the outset about them slugging this one out this was never a competitive football game I mean it was just an
assault from the start um West Georgia's only points in the first half were kind of a fluky
defensive score where a guy ripped the ball out in a scrum and ran it back for a touchdown
um they couldn't they couldn't get anything going offensively they're really kind of struggling to figure themselves out kind of trying to find
their identity they don't really know which quarterback is best fit for them and West Florida man their offense was
just humming and I think that we're really starting to see that group come into its own peewee Jarrett really have
to give him a lot of credit for the trajectory that he's on he's a player who's just getting better week to week
really like what I'm seeing out of him John Giles has been an amazing addition
to that offense because they already had Caden Leggett John Giles kind of fills that spot you
know they they lost um David Durden to graduation you bring in John Giles and now you still got a
two-man punch at the receiver positions that offense looks really really good
right and uh finally uh make the same joke but uh Colorado Mines has no
problem at all with CSU Pueblo a 55 to 14 win at Pueblo
Brandon I really thought that this would be the year where we would see Pueblo really punch with them and you know it's
at Pueblo I thought it would this was had all the makings of being a good game uh 17 to 7 mines right before half
and uh you know chance Fuller he's going to take some chances and uh he hit a
linebacker right in in stride for pick six right before half that pretty much
changed his football game made it 24-7 and then all of a sudden you know you
got matoka being matoka uh doing Zone read and he's getting 15 yards 10 yards
then he's hitting you know Max McLeod who is really becoming maybe as good as
any receiver in the country to be really honest um and all of a sudden you take a look
and and this game's Out Of Reach and uh I just I think we all kind of thought
that we would see a little bit more in this contest at home uh from Pueblo than
what we did and uh they ended up scoring by bringing in a backup quarterback and letting him go on a Zone read run uh for
a long touchdown and it was just like if that's kind of what's happening with them right now now um they're they're
just maybe not quite where we had them and uh yeah all the credit in the world's all sort of Mines because they
are really really showing how good a team they are look at who they've played this year Angelo Pueblo Grand Valley and
they're unscathed yep well at the an impressive start uh
for them unfortunately um Ferris is the number one ahead of them and and probably rightfully so it's
uh it's gonna be interesting to see if we end up with a rematch um you know it doesn't look impossible
but uh I do guess we have a long way to go but uh I don't know how they match up with Ferris because we saw Ferris on how
big and physical and fast they are but I tell you anyway anybody not named Ferris I think I'm taking mines there you go
that's a great way to put it all right well that uh that was a look at the Roundup and we will touch on Virginia
Union's loss to uh Fayetteville State a little later in the show uh right now
however it is time for our stock up stock down segment check out uh the way
things are going in the on the D2 ticker we're gonna start tonight with stock up
Kentucky Wesleyan tell us about it Chuck yeah there's a reason I used an image of
Kentucky Wesleyan in my national Roundup column this morning um the Panthers lost their opener at
West Florida 35-3 very forgivable outcome for them but since then they've won three games in a row now they're not
beating top 25 opponents we know that but this is all relative this is a program that hasn't won more than three
games in a season since 2015. so sitting at three and one overall 2-0 in the
conference is a really big deal for them so we want to recognize that Camden Williams wide receiver is leading the
GMAC and receiving yards Christian arambiti playing very well at quarterback Christian I hope I got your
name right um so big things going on for them they've still got some really tough games coming up but uh stock up at steel
stadium in Owensboro Kentucky for the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers all right well with it feels a little bit like a
pile on but we're gonna go with the stock down and add a CSU Pueblo yeah I wasn't even done talking about them a
moment ago right but uh you know when we're gonna do this top up you know stock up stock down segment
um the reality of the situation is is we gave Pueblo a whole lot of love at the beginning of the year guys we talked
about them being you know kind of the new hot chick of the dance and you know what let's be real Frank
um things have turned and these last two weeks they've been at home and gotten
humbled twice and uh pretty badly and so you know with you you get both sides of
this I mean if we're gonna say a lot of good things on the front side we have to be be honest about this and that's kind
of where they're at right now they got plenty of time to recover here but right now they're stocked now
yeah uh good news though in for a CIAA team Virginia state stock is up for them
I think we got ferga is he muted I think we're having some
microphone issues well maybe we can come back to that yeah let's go ahead and uh Chris will uh
we'll remove you and see if you come back in and see if it helps but uh let's go ahead and go with our uh stock down
Saginaw Valley yeah guys you know coming into the season you know when you look back at
what the Cardinals did last year uh you know highly competitive against Ferris
State taking them down to the wire losing a one-point game at home to Davenport who was a playoff team and you
know a lot of us maybe thought that they might have even been better than Davenport in the body of worker through the entirety of last year
um and then having key win gosh this is a team that's really going
to be in a good spot next year and and Jairus Grissom wasn't their starting quarterback for morsel most of last year but they got him back for this year and
they get off to a 2-0 start and boy these last two weeks against Truman and uh Indianapolis they haven't gone well I
mean this is a team that uh you know wants to run the ball and they've really struggled to do it
um and then they've seen to be really susceptible to big plays in the past game so when you can't control other
teams and keep them off the field and they're throwing the ball over the top on you I mean coach keever's talked about those two big plays that they had
this week and then last week they gave up a 46 yarder to Truman so it's it's a it's a lack of identity on offense
because they've got three different guys playing quarterback and a bunch of different guys in the backfield and a poorest back into the defense it's just
not a good mix right now and and two and two is not where I think a lot of us had Saginaw Valley four weeks into the
season Tony do you think that this this squad you know we're just entering obviously conference competition at this
point yeah um you know they haven't seen Affairs they haven't seen a Grand Valley uh you
know or Davenport how do you do you think that they have time to write the ship here or what are your thoughts well
they get Grand Valley Saturday so if they've got time it's about six days worth so so uh yeah I mean yeah based on
what we've seen thus far at least the way it's trending they're going to have to figure out a lot of things in a real
hurry because Grand Valley's going to come in off of off of an extra week off to prepare and it's going to be a
challenge and I believe Ferris is the week after that so saginaw's got a tough stretch coming up absolutely sure all
right well uh with Chris having some technical difficulties that will be the end of our stock up uh stock
down segment and we will be right back after this just wanted to take this opportunity to
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but again thank you for supporting D2 football [Music]
all right let's bring Chris back Chris can we hear you now I don't know can you uh yes we can now all right so anyway go
ahead tell us about Virginia state please all right so Virginia state
um there's been kind of a revolving door in terms of who might be the best team in the CLA and we thought it was
Virginia Union uh but clearly they they had a slip up um yesterday but Virginia state has been
quietly coming back on on online as challenging for the very top of the CIAA
and you know they got the the win against Norfolk State they got the win against Tusculum and Silent
non-conference uh uh schedule and they've just been putting teams away um they're now leading the conference in
total offense rushing yards and also um they're second in the conference behind Bowie State in Total Defense and
I think nothing shows more what what they can do in that weather that that
many people had along the east coast and they managed to get over 30 points
and shut out Livingstone at the same time so certainly a team to watch um and certainly on the rise
awesome very good let's uh go over some other news and notes uh so uh tuskegee's
Aaron James is only the third coach in Tuskegee history to start 4-0 so congratulations to him
um Jada Byers did not play for Virginia Union and their loss to Fayetteville State which I said we'd touch on uh as a
10-7 loss uh Curtis or Curtis Allen ran for 155 but it wasn't enough and uh Virginia
Union lost three fumbles in that game and finally uh Valdosta State you know
and Minnesota Duluth both name programs in division two are four no how long do
you guys think they show up or until they show up in the poll how long do you guys think that'll be
first jump on that first I have some thoughts but anybody else got some thoughts well I was gonna say for
Valdosta I mean this week they're playing Chow on so I mean they're going to get to 5-0 before they get to uh to
Dallas Delta State week six so I think that there's a chance that they could certainly get their uh you know next
week if if not now Chuck what Chuck what are your thoughts about uh you had a chance to see some of
the Blazers didn't you I watched a bit of Valdosta uh last night yes they played North Greenville I thought it was
actually a very good performance and a very good win for them we kind of thought North Greenville might match up
in a few areas or make that a very competitive game um I think it was actually probably less
competitive than the 28-3 score I think Valdosta was really kind of just managing the deficit managing the game
Flow for most of the second half I think they were definitely the better team I think if they had needed to they
probably could have put up some more points in that game um the defense really kind of had that in control and I think they were just
kind of managing to that so when you look at being 4-0 there's a couple of
wins in there that we don't quite know how to Value so much yet I mean we know Kaiser is a very good NAIA team yeah but
it still is a little tough to kind of feel like how much do we really value um the good performance that they put in
there um I think we just kind of need to see them deliver again against the teams
that they have to compete with for the GSC so I didn't yet have them in my top 20 25 but they're like first or second
team out all right now for what it's worth I did put them in at 23 on my
latest now I look at Albany Kaiser in North Greenville is all what I would call capable and dangerous opponents
sure not necessarily ones that are cop 25 or maybe even in that immediate mix
but at the same time you're seeing their the Valdosta defense seems to be
measurably different than they were a year ago when they were kind of getting run over let's be honest
I mean they're actually playing defense that was Brandon Meisner but um
and then you know on the flip side Duluth uh Duluth has been dominating
some teams now uh they've got a big old husky fellow named Wall Jasper who plays
quarterback who's like a mountain man playing quarterback and uh you know the
only close game they had was against Sioux Falls where I thought they were really in control the whole time anyway
um but but you know you're talking about two teams two two programs who have been you know in the in the news for us for
many years and maybe a Resurgence can't keep an eye on them all right yep
awesome so let's go ahead and look at our pick em oh segment oh no no no you
know what I'm much happier about this than I am I have been the last couple weeks look at all that green on the
board now maybe it's because we uh maybe this choice of games was bad by me
um but uh nonetheless that's a lot of success and not too many failures the
opposite at least of what my season has been in the picture did Chuck and Chris get all five right do I see that correct
I believe that is correct respectable yes you've got to change that we we've
I'm I'm not picking all the the the chalk this week we're gonna go at this very good all right let's uh go ahead
and turn our attention to week five we'll start with the ones to watch first
uh Augustana is at Sioux Falls uh that's an interesting game it's the key to the
city and Whit and I will both be there so tell me about what I should expect if this game went
well they played 10 times in this key to the city you know uh matchup Sioux Falls
has had the key eight times out of the ten um Augustana is going to be the
clear-cut favorite and they haven't necessarily worn that title real well when they've been favorites in this
contest in the past uh for what it's worth they the two wins they have are both at USF
um so uh I I we don't know exactly what we're gonna expect and and who's to say how well you and I will be feeling by
the time when it comes to that the pizza challenge but um but I expect it'll be a hard fought
game very good uh in the South Atlanta conference Mars Hill will be at
Limestone uh a very resurgent Limestone team I should say you know they started Owen two with those two uh GSC opponents
but they've come back with two two good wins in a row so I think this is a closer game than the than it might look
just looking at records the one thing I mentioned about Mars Hill is how they've
been shutting down Run games and they did that against Barton and now they're going up against another really good
running back and Trey Stewart so I think it's gonna be a really good test to see if uh Laura silken sustain success yep
all right I Charleston's had a great start to the season they will host a two-in-one
Glenville State team that that that's uh is this the best start that Charleston's
had in a lot in a wild Chuck uh I won't I don't know if it's the best art they've had in a long time they've
had some good teams recently right um we'll see I mean two of the teams that that they've beaten their Forno so
obviously they're off to a great start two of the teams that they've beaten just have absolutely nothing going for them right now I mean you talk about
stock down concord's not stocked down they've been shut down by the SEC and taken off the exchange
for Chuck I like that and I like that yeah it's just they just don't have anything working for me wesleyan's just
oh boy um and Glenville State surprised me a little bit they lost to West Virginia
state this last weekend who West Virginia state would be a fantastic stock up right now they're playing some
really really good football uh but I think this is a very competitive football game right Missouri Southern at
three and one at Central Oklahoma uh one and three I think a lot of people would have thought the records could be uh
inverted at this point to me this one's interesting to see just where both programs are at I think central would
love to take what's on the graphic for their record right
no the uh as we take a look guys here Missouri Southern I mean did anybody
really expect three and one right out of the gate here uh I didn't no no so they
played they played very well ativa Bradley's doing a heck of a job there all right and finally Notre Dame two and
two will play at Frostburg State yeah back-to-back losses for Notre Dame they
they need a bounce back in a big way all right and I also wanted to mention
without commentary Delta State will be at West Alabama uh West Florida is it North Greenville as you guys mentioned
and then Grand Valley will play at Saginaw Valley a little bit of luster was uh knocked off for that game after
the result this past weekend or yesterday so uh but that'll be the ones
to watch this week um let's go ahead and look at the pick
segment what we think are some of the best games this week combined with games
that we think could go either way Davenport is at Michigan Tech Minnesota
State's at Bemidji State iup is a Slippery Rock Texas A M Kingsville is at
UT Permian Basin and East Stroudsburg will play at Kutztown all right uh let's go ahead and start to
pick them and Ferg you get to go first Davenport in Michigan Tech
I don't know that much about Michigan Tech I hate to say that um but you know I have seen Davenport in
person and they're a pretty resilient team um and can beat you on the ground and through the air uh I I like Davenport in
this one yeah all right and I will pick Davenport as well even though my heart
would like to go from Michigan Tech uh Chuck you yeah I like the fact that Michigan Tech
has had a really good start to the year 3-0 I think only one of those is a D3 opponent but 3-0 is really good start to
the year for them but I I just think Davenport's the better game here okay
um wit well after I thought Michigan Tech was going to get peacock this last week by
Upper Iowa I have a hard time having a lot of faith in them meeting a
team that I have ranked in Davenport so I think you can see I'm going with Davenport
I understood yeah uh and uh finally Tony so guys this game last year was actually
at Davenport and Tech held a pair of 17-point leads in the first half
and then uh Davenport outscored them 45 to 14 over the last 32 33 minutes of of
game action um so this is a these are Tech can play with Davenport
um and this is Davenport's Davenport's first road trip of the season and and going up to the up is difficult for
anybody so I I think this will be a somewhat competitive game I think just for me at this point you got a graduate
student experienced starter for Davenport playing at the quarterback position at Jason Whitaker and Alex
freeze is doing a good job for for Tech uh in his first year as a starter uh but
he's throwing six picks in the last two games uh and that's made his team have to work extra hard to beat a D3 uh
Wisconsin Platteville and an upper Iowa team that we didn't really expect to necessarily have a big leave over Tech
so yeah I got to go Davenport here too all right I was a little afraid of that but uh it
is what it is all right Minnesota state is at Bemidji State I will start first
at the beginning of the year I would have picked Bemidji but the way Minnesota state has played has forced my
hand and I will take the Mavericks in this one and uh Chuck
this is a really tough one and this is one that I I may go in a different direction by the time I write my column
later in the week but not alone not allowed on on the record for the show the pick that I have to go with
um I kind of feel the same way Brandon but I'm going to stick with the Beavers uh and this one I'm going to pick Bemidji State
um picking opposite of me is always a wise move uh Tony go ahead
yeah these are two teams that you know I I look at them and they're even but they're
sort of being more physical and I think that's probably still the case but Bemidji is really adapted their style of
play and obviously that shows by the success that they've had in the northern sun over the last couple of years and I think they're hungry for this one and
they get it at home so um yeah Mike gut kind of tells me Minnesota state but I think I'm gonna take Bemidji anyway fun all right uh
Ferg man I tell you Minnesota state has really been resurgent this year I mean I
feel like every time I tune in or try to look at what they're doing they're just running all over people
and you know I don't know if bemidji's defense has gotten better enough to stop
that I know they've been kind of up and down over the years at the same time you know it's hard to
go against the beavers and and bring it off and Company but here I'm going to go to Minnesota state I think that they're
going to take that win very good and Matt you get the last word on this game
you know watching Mankato you got Sheen Butler Lawson who is maybe as good as
any running back in the country explosive and uh can run between the
tackles and you know you see how well that they've been playing these last handful of weeks
but I'm gonna go with the Mean Green
and their defense they're leading the con Northern Sun against the rush 2.4 yards of carry
uh the comment about them being physical I think they're going to remember that I
think Bemidji is going to try an out physical Mankato and I can't wait to see this
football game I'm taking the Mean Green in this one I'm taking Bemidji very good iup is it slippery rock
another great rivalry game and Chuck you'll start this one off
I think Slippery Rock is probably the best team in super region one right now not just the psac but probably the best
team in super region one I know I'll hear from the Tiffin fans on that because they're they're playing really good football too but I think Slippery
Rock has done almost everything that they need to do of course there's areas where they want to get a little better
this is at Slippery Rock it's at night The Rock has won something like
I'm looking for some stats that I reviewed earlier this year I think they've won something like 30 night games in a row uh at home they they do
really well it's probably gonna be a huge crowd for this game uh and I think that they're just a much more complete
team right now so I'm going Slippery Rock okay Matt Chuck you got it all wrong
the Crimson Hawks are figuring out how to get cars Hunter going on the ground my friend
120 yards in the last two games total three tuds I have a feeling Chuck
I know that you know the psac but I am taken iup plan the disrespect card
winning this one on the road very good Tony yeah I could see this game going either
way I just think for me that's why it's on the Pick Em yeah well
thank you for that in-depth analysis Matt um to me when I look at what their body
of work is thus far the only team that really hasn't been tested or hasn't let a game get into a test mode is Slippery
Rock and they're at home um I think I agree with Chuck they probably are the best team in in super
region one at the moment and I think they're gonna play like it uh I I think they hold serve at home
Chris well I guess I would say that um just
looking at the numbers um iup certainly has the agile defense
um but at the same time I'm with y'all that I don't know if IEPs
really face a team as completed Slippery Rock as and and so if we go into the long
transitive properties I just think about that that week one lawsuit with Ashland I mean oh
so I'm gonna go rock here I tend to go with the rock they don't let me down so
I'm gonna go around all right hey um
to agree with Matt with Wiki on this one and go with sorry wit
um no
iup is a bad sequence at the end of the game from
being undefeated and uh I'm just gonna go with my gut this time and I'm picking iup
next game Texas stadium Kingsville at UT Permian Basin and whip you'll start this
one this one was the hardest one for me
uh I think UT Permian Basin at home and uh I I think they're doing a lot of good
things offensively um I just by the slimmest of margins I'm taking them okay
Tony
I think we might have a connection issue with Tony Chris let's move on to you
um I just want to say you see this is where
my WT degree is and I'm taking that off the wall right now after what happened
I mean come on um and so nonetheless
um what I was saying is you know I like Kingsville in a lot of ways but man
UTV is rolling right now and I think they're fighting for quite a bit of
respect and so if they're if they want it I think you know they've got to go through Kingsville they've got to go
through Angelo and so I think that this is a good way for them to get some some of that respect and they've seen that
you know their high powered offense I was a little suspect after the way they beat up um what was it uh Texas college and and
those teams but they showed that they can put up numbers against you know other respectable uh division two
programs so uh yes I'm going with UTV here all right Tony back to you yeah
sorry about the glitch guys so body of work wise I think kingsville's probably got the the more complete story coming
into this year but I picked uh Permian Basin and if Lowell low many weeks ago
in our season preview episode I picked them to win the Lone Star if they're
gonna do that they got to win Saturday so I'll I'll stick with Permian Basin very good I am going to go with
Kingsville just to stay on the good side of my friend Whit and not picking the
same team as him twice yeah I I agree with what I think this is probably a the toughest one to read I
I still don't really know what to think of Permian Basin um you know they gutted out a really
good win against West Texas this past weekend it's tough to know how good their offense is or isn't there's those
two lopsided losses where they put up huge numbers the opponents just found all kinds of ways
to play horrible football um so I I just don't really have a good read of where Permian Basin is at right
now I think they're a very good football team but I just don't know how high
powered that offense truly is and I do know that Kingsville has a really good defense uh they will need it because
they have to keep the slow score in Kingsville doesn't have a whole lot of offense but I'm going with the javelenas
and their defense all right very good all right in our final game
East Stroudsburg is at Kutztown and uh Tony you're gonna go first on this one
yeah I gotta give uh give credit to the fighting Jimmy terwilliger's for being four and all and uh that's certainly
respectable but I just I look at other than that odd win that they got over iup
um I still don't know that they've necessarily beaten anybody yet and kutztown's actually played a real football team so far so I think I'll
take the Bears okay uh Ferg
yeah I think Tony brings up a lot of good points here um Kutztown you would think that they
would actually maybe like a three in one team um but they're they're so hot and cold
that you know you think you got them pegged and you don't um
and I think with East Stroudsburg again they need this game to make a statement
um and they're all finding ways to to get it done um so it I think this is the hardest one
to pick over a interview and YouTube TV um I'm gonna go with ESU here I think
they're going to pull it together all right um I will go with Kutztown impressed by
their win yesterday uh let's go with Whit first and I'll let Chuck have the last one well I was kind of back and
forth on this one and uh so I consulted my good friend Massey
so we're waiting for you since I'm a big believer um they have Kutztown winning by seven
and I figured with that biggest spread if I'm uncertain I really need to trust Massey so I took Kutztown on this one
okay all right Chuck you get the last word yeah you know historically stroudsburg's
a team that is really dangerous when they've got momentum and they have a lot of momentum right now
um but at this point sodas cuts down I know it's only two weeks but I think they've got a lot of momentum too and I think it actually really started in the
Cal game that they lost they found some things offensively in that game now I I
want to see them ReDiscover some offensive form uh this coming week because like I said I thought that they
were going to perform a lot better than they did last week and East Stroudsburg is playing very well defensively right
now I mean we saw that in the game at iup um I can easily see this one going
either way I am going to go with Kutztown very good all right and we will get
Justin's uh numbers or Justin's picks off screen so that uh he is uh committed
to a team and will not cheat and just add numbers or add tell us what he got
just there in the embarrassment yeah Justin's in the middle of a move so that's why he's not here tonight and God
bless him I I'm I'm feeling for him I I'm sure that's the last thing in the world uh that he would like to be doing
is moving right now so all right this is your warning it's about a one minute
warning if you're watching on YouTube me to go on Twitter
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columns they have interesting perspectives not everybody is a columnist though we have some podcasts
and Tony and Matt our podcasters who are here tonight and uh
excellent excellent shows uh Tony Tony getting the hang of it I think and
trying to you know figure it out more and more each week about you know what your take on things are going to be in
you know your style is going to be and of course Tom Frederick hosts the show with Matt Witt Wiki for nsic weekly and
that's uh that's a great great show as well um so I remember on game days fans can
access a scoreboard it becomes way more important as we get later in the season
and as you're looking at the playoffs and believe it or not that time is
quickly approaching it always happens way quicker than than it it just gets here so quick every year
and uh if you'd like to we have the biggest collection of the best fans on in D2 on the message board if you would
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really appreciate that uh otherwise stick around and we will start the
overtime segment when we are ready it should not take very long uh but until
then really want to thank you for watching inside D2 football
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