Seldom poster, but continuous lurker of this forum... First, let me congratulate the Maryville Fighting Scots and the Hampden Syndney Tigers on winning their respective conferences to receive an automatic bid to this years D3 playoff championship. Here are some of my random thoughts/questions regarding this Saturday's matchup between the Fighting Scots and the Tigers:
(1) I am going to show my age with this, but, Hampden Syndney was the site of my last Football Road Game as a Fighting Scot in 1999. Which, by the way, was a 13-3 victory for the Fighting Scots. Hopefully that is a good omen...And, The Fighting Scots finished that season the following week with a victory against those Wasps from E&H to finish the season with a 7-3 record...
(2) We have all heard fans of each of these respective conferences debating for several years about which conference was stronger. Well, on this upcoming saturday we are going to get a one-time shot at bragging rights for whichever conference champ wins.
(3) One question that needs to be asked is, "How is each of these teams going to respond after their respective games last weekend?" For examples: The Fighting Scots traveled to Huntingdon and lost to a good, but not as good as they usually are, Huntingdon team. I feel that one must remember that games between those two teams have always been great. And, each of those teams know almost everything about the other given their history and the fact that Coach Rader was an assistant at Huntingdon for so many years. While that lose may have hurt, I feel that it can be used to help focus and humble a young team that has never ever been in the position that it is in at the present time. On the flip side, The Tigers traveled to Ashland to compete in "The Game" and returned victors. Will that combined with the unexpected opportunity to host a first round game lead to a slight bit of overconfidence for the Tigers? Who knows? I certainily hope so
(4) While we all know that this game is going to hinge on the Tigers passing attack versus the Fighting Scots rushing attack, I feel that in order for the Fighting Scots to be victorious there are a couple of things that must happen. First, I feel that the Scots need to receive the opening kick and either score first, or at the very minimum establish field position early. Second, the Fighting Scots MUST win the turnover battle. CNU proved that the best way to beat the Tigers is to turn them over. Third, the Fighting Scots must not have any more special teams breakdowns. Those will get you beat against good teams, which at this point, everyone is. Fourth, I feel that it is important that the Scots gameplan must mirror the things that have gotten them to this point. Don't fix things that aren't broke.
(5) As great as it would have been for the Fighting Scots to have been able to win last week and have the shot at hosting, I feel that being on the road may actually play into the Scots favor since they have never been in this position before. I always felt as a player it was much easier to focus the week of, night before, and day of an away game. Especially, one that is an overnight trip.
(6) Given this matchup, I am 100% sure that each team and its fans feel that this is a winnable game for each of the respective institutions. It's not like the ODAC champ or the USAC champ was shipped to Belton or Alliance I feel that this matchup is great for the schools and the conferences that they represent. On this train of thought, I have read all about the criteria regarding the selection of the brackets and where each team is placed. One question that I have not heard is that maybe the selection committee saw this as an oppportunity, given the results in the South and East last weekend, to ensure that one of these conference champs make it to the second round
(7) Win or lose, I am extremely proud of my Fighting Scots!!!
(8) I look forward to others comments and posts leading up to the matchup this saturday.
(1) I am going to show my age with this, but, Hampden Syndney was the site of my last Football Road Game as a Fighting Scot in 1999. Which, by the way, was a 13-3 victory for the Fighting Scots. Hopefully that is a good omen...And, The Fighting Scots finished that season the following week with a victory against those Wasps from E&H to finish the season with a 7-3 record...
(2) We have all heard fans of each of these respective conferences debating for several years about which conference was stronger. Well, on this upcoming saturday we are going to get a one-time shot at bragging rights for whichever conference champ wins.
(3) One question that needs to be asked is, "How is each of these teams going to respond after their respective games last weekend?" For examples: The Fighting Scots traveled to Huntingdon and lost to a good, but not as good as they usually are, Huntingdon team. I feel that one must remember that games between those two teams have always been great. And, each of those teams know almost everything about the other given their history and the fact that Coach Rader was an assistant at Huntingdon for so many years. While that lose may have hurt, I feel that it can be used to help focus and humble a young team that has never ever been in the position that it is in at the present time. On the flip side, The Tigers traveled to Ashland to compete in "The Game" and returned victors. Will that combined with the unexpected opportunity to host a first round game lead to a slight bit of overconfidence for the Tigers? Who knows? I certainily hope so
(4) While we all know that this game is going to hinge on the Tigers passing attack versus the Fighting Scots rushing attack, I feel that in order for the Fighting Scots to be victorious there are a couple of things that must happen. First, I feel that the Scots need to receive the opening kick and either score first, or at the very minimum establish field position early. Second, the Fighting Scots MUST win the turnover battle. CNU proved that the best way to beat the Tigers is to turn them over. Third, the Fighting Scots must not have any more special teams breakdowns. Those will get you beat against good teams, which at this point, everyone is. Fourth, I feel that it is important that the Scots gameplan must mirror the things that have gotten them to this point. Don't fix things that aren't broke.
(5) As great as it would have been for the Fighting Scots to have been able to win last week and have the shot at hosting, I feel that being on the road may actually play into the Scots favor since they have never been in this position before. I always felt as a player it was much easier to focus the week of, night before, and day of an away game. Especially, one that is an overnight trip.
(6) Given this matchup, I am 100% sure that each team and its fans feel that this is a winnable game for each of the respective institutions. It's not like the ODAC champ or the USAC champ was shipped to Belton or Alliance I feel that this matchup is great for the schools and the conferences that they represent. On this train of thought, I have read all about the criteria regarding the selection of the brackets and where each team is placed. One question that I have not heard is that maybe the selection committee saw this as an oppportunity, given the results in the South and East last weekend, to ensure that one of these conference champs make it to the second round
(7) Win or lose, I am extremely proud of my Fighting Scots!!!
(8) I look forward to others comments and posts leading up to the matchup this saturday.