South Region playoffs

[golden_dome]

Now let me make this clear before I go any further I do not expect LG to beat millsap. Though I do expect it to be closer than many might expect such as the person who said by 50 or more. LaGrange has come a long way in three years and I think it is a great thing that they have made the playoffs that quickly!

I hope they do play well, it's always fun seeing underdogs challenge in the playoffs. It's just hard to believe a program that has gone 0-20 the last two years improved that much in one year. It's easier to believe their improvement had more to do with joining a weak football league in the SLIAC. MS College beat them 50-7 last season and this year's Millsaps team is better than that team was.

I think LaGrange will eventually have a great team due to the fact Georgia puts out so much talent every year, but I'm not sure they've made that jump from 0-10 to serious contender in one year. Who knows, Georgia is a hotbed for football talent, and the great thing about the playoffs is the opportunity to prove yourself.

[Ralph Turner]

I think that LaGrange had two factors working for it.

1)  It is the third year of the program.  By the end of the season, the core of the team had played 30 games.  Those are veteran players by now.

2)  The SLIAC is a beatable conference.  The only competition that they faced was Huntingdon, in their 30th game.  Thirty games into the career is different from 21 or 22.  Making the playoffs as a Pool B is another advantage.

This raises the profile of D3 in the Deep South.  BSC will have a good program.

This will be fun in the future!

[LGpanthers]

It is fun and by no means am I saying we are on the same level as the national powerhouses yet. I agree that it somewhat was due to joining a weak conference but when presented you cant pass it up in the case of huntingdon and LG. There also happens to be other things that have helped make a difference such as having a returning quarterback for the first time and not having to play a freshman quaterback. LG does have some decent wins against HC and Maryville and a 5 point loss to the 12th ranked NAIA shorter college. Maryville who beat us 21-3 last year we beat this year 38-14 and that played CNU and only lost 38-31. I dont think it is always great to look at scores but that sure is encouraging. HC beat us 43-0 last year this year we beat them 27-17 and it could have been worse. We moved the ball up and down the field on them and put up 420 yards of offense. Last year shorter wasnt even ranked they beat us 38-12 this and this year it was 28-23 and we threw an interception in the endzone at the end of the game from the 17 yard line. These statistics just show that it wasnt only the weak conference that caused they great turnaround rather it was a team that believes in themselves and works hard because they know nobody believes in them yet! I do think this is just a great oppurtunity to see where we are it will be fun who knows maybe a miracle can happen.

[wesleydad]

what a loaded bracket, with 4 of the top 12 teams in the same half.  i agree with ralph, i like the matchups for wesley.  they are strong against the run and the teams in their half like to run.  wesley is very balanced on offense so they will give any team trouble.  add the threat of beavers on special teams and they have to be one of the favorites, certainly the best 7 seed in the playoffs.  i will save my prediction for the game with muhlenburg for later.  will have plenty of fun reading some posters comments to see how over the top they get with their predictions.  it is too bad that they could not split up umhb and hsu so that they could meet in the second or third round depending on how they had set up the bracket.  seems to be more than the usual flights for this bracket although wesley did fly to umhb 3 years ago and beat them.  let the fun begin.

[Bob.Gregg]

While I wish the AA didn't have the "geographic proximity" rule, they do.

That having been said, let's remember that THIS year's "Millsaps" bracket matches up #2 UMHB & #3 HSU in the first round.  Naturally, those two, with wins, would meet in the second round.

Being seeded #2 & #3, they could NOT meet in the Region Finals.

[The Forgotten Man]

...
I've been banging the Millsaps drum all year, but they face a LaGrange team they will beat by 50 or more...

Let's see now, I guess that puts you in with the folks who  thought LC would lose to Maryville, Greenville, Westminster, and Huntingdon.  Yes, and they were wrong.

Now, I'm not predicting the outcome of the game--LC will need more than a few lucky breaks to keep up with the Majors.  But trashing LaGrange like that is wrong.

Let's hope it had more to do with your frustration with the NCAA than any critical analysis on your part.

As Ralph has indicated, LC is now a team of third year varsity players with three years of college level weight training (you should see the great facility they have) and is no longer the youthful team of freshmen and sophomores of last year. Should be interesting watching them next year when the core of the team will have played varsity football for 35+ games before the season starts.

To paraphrase a stock prospectus, past year's performance is not  a reliable indicator of future success. If you had seen 29 of the past 30 games as I have you would be amazed at the improvement shown this year and especially this week. Seeing is believing.

Good luck to all of the south region teams playing--especially poor Randolph Macon who gets to challenge MUC! The better these teams do, the better the chances for seeing the birth of more D3 programs in the south, especially in Georgia (we are the only program in the state).

[Ralph Turner]

My framework for LaGrange is that LaGrange has not played a "Millsaps" like we see this year.

This Millsaps is a really great team.  I am already thinking about where they fit in "my top10 all-time teams in the South".  Click here.

Millsaps has been here.  UMHB had to get the Trinity monkey off its back.  This is the year that LaGrange sees what it needs to do to get to the next level, as seniors.

If you guys can knock them off, I think that the rest of the South will appreciate it, tho'. 

[Josh Bowerman]

Let's let them win a game or two in the playoffs before we go that far, Ralph....   

[The Forgotten Man]

Don't get me wrong. Our boys understand both how far they've come and how far they have yet to go. They were thrilled  with the invitation to the playoffs and never had the presumptuousness to assume they deserved a bid. To quote my son, "We've come a long way Dad; if the season ends today, it's still been a great season, but if we get a bid that is just icing on the cake."

Many, many things will have to go their way to keep up with the Majors.  The only prediction I'm making is that they won't lay over and die like a previous poster suggested. They have worked too hard to just do that.

These boys young men and their coaches are building a program that I hope will do much to inspire other schools in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to do the same.

Wouldn't it be great if some day the south region consisted solely of schools in the south?

[@d3jason]

I am wondering if Ralph has the had the "Barbed-Wired-And-Mesquite" trophy made up yet for the winner of the "Texas Sub bracket."

And if so what does it look like?

To be honest, LaGrange's big win really suprised me. They lost to Huntingdon 43-0 last season and though I thought they'd give the Hawks a game I never expected them to dominate. But according to box score, they appeared to do just that. I am anxious to watch Huntingdon's football show online tomorrow night and get my first "look" at them.

[Ralph Turner]

I am wondering if Ralph has the had the "Barbed-Wired-And-Mesquite" trophy made up yet for the winner of the "Texas Sub bracket."

And if so what does it look like?

To be honest, LaGrange's big win really suprised me. They lost to Huntingdon 43-0 last season and though I thought they'd give the Hawks a game I never expected them to dominate. But according to box score, they appeared to do just that. I am anxious to watch Huntingdon's football show online tomorrow night and get my first "look" at them.

The best artist that I have found in this part of the country is here.  He does some beautiful work.   

Please scroll down to see the barbed wire in the rough timber.

[frank_ezelle]

In 2005 Millsaps was 2-7 and only 4 points away from a winless season.  In 2006 they won their last 7 games of the season, were undefeated in the SCAC, and they made the NCAA Playoffs.  No one should know better than Millsaps just how much a team can improve in one year.

There is a huge similarity between the 2006 Millsaps team and this year's LaGrange team in that both had to win a huge game on the last Saturday of the regular season and then turn around and prepare for an away game the following Saturday.  It's hard to properly prepare in such a situation, but Millsaps went to Pittsburgh and played to a 0-0 halftime tie before simply wearing out in the second half.  If Millsaps had had the depth in 2006 that LaGrange has now, I think they would have won that playoff game.

I fully expect LaGrange to be a tough playoff team this Saturday and I would expect LaGrange to win if Millsaps plays like they did Saturday against Birmingham Southern (7 turnovers, 100+ yards in penalties).  Birmingham Southern is the only common opponent of these two teams with LaGrange beating them 34-31 and Millsaps beating them 31-14 yesterday--those scores seem fairly competitive to me.

Like everyone else except a handful of LaGrange faithful, I believe Millsaps is a solid favorite to win this opening round.  But being a Millsaps fan, I've seen some strange things happen on our Harper Davis field like the 2006 Millsaps 34-12 win over Trinity and the 2007 15-lateral play by Trinity.  I expect Millsaps to need their "A" game this Saturday and I think they'll have their "A" game after yesterday's wake up call.

[golden_dome]

...
I've been banging the Millsaps drum all year, but they face a LaGrange team they will beat by 50 or more...

Let's see now, I guess that puts you in with the folks who  thought LC would lose to Maryville, Greenville, Westminster, and Huntingdon.  Yes, and they were wrong.

Now, I'm not predicting the outcome of the game--LC will need more than a few lucky breaks to keep up with the Majors.  But trashing LaGrange like that is wrong.

That comment was not just sizing up this year's LaGrange team but came from the last couple years when the south's top seed has usually blown out the lower seeded teams. Last season #4 UMHB beat #16 Trinity 52-23, then beat NC Wesleyan 64-0 the following week.

Congrats to LaGrange for getting into the playoffs, it is something to be proud of. I knew they were picking up wins this year but none of those four teams you mentioned had great years either. Maryville, Greensboro and Westminster all were about .500 without any wins over a quality opponent. Huntingdon was 8-2 but they didn't beat anyone either.

I hope to see LC come out and be competitive, but it's a big jump from the SLIAC to face a #4 ranked team. On the other hand it's a great opportunity to earn respect, which is the same thing teams like UMHB had to do in the playoffs. Geting into the playoffs is the first hurdle, now we'll see how they stack up.

[The Forgotten Man]

...
Like everyone else except a handful of LaGrange faithful, I believe Millsaps is a solid favorite to win this opening round.  But being a Millsaps fan, I've seen some strange things happen on our Harper Davis field like the 2006 Millsaps 34-12 win over Trinity and the 2007 15-lateral play by Trinity.  I expect Millsaps to need their "A" game this Saturday and I think they'll have their "A" game after yesterday's wake up call.

Even the LaGrange faithful are realists and recognize we are the definite underdog in this matchup; we're just hopeful realists.  Looking forward to the game and hoping we give you a good one.

[@d3jason]

I am wondering if Ralph has the had the "Barbed-Wired-And-Mesquite" trophy made up yet for the winner of the "Texas Sub bracket."

And if so what does it look like?

To be honest, LaGrange's big win really suprised me. They lost to Huntingdon 43-0 last season and though I thought they'd give the Hawks a game I never expected them to dominate. But according to box score, they appeared to do just that. I am anxious to watch Huntingdon's football show online tomorrow night and get my first "look" at them.

The best artist that I have found in this part of the country is here.  He does some beautiful work.   

Please scroll down to see the barbed wire in the rough timber.

That guy does nice work. I may have an idea for a Xmas present for my mother now, Thanks!