FCS Playoff Breakdown

The waiting game is now over with and we all know who will be playing in the FCS Playoffs for the 2010 season. I will first list the scheduled games, will break it down by team, and will then break down who was in and who was out, and who deserved to go in either direction. Let's take a look at the FCS 2010 Playoffs...

1st Round (All Games Saturday)
Western Illinois at Coastal Carolina
Robert Morris at North Dakota State
Lehigh at Northern Iowa
South Carolina State at Georgia Southern

2nd Round (12/4)
Western Illinois/Coastal Carolina at Appalachian State
Villanova at Stephen F. Austin

Southeast Missouri State at Eastern Washington
Robert Morris/North Dakota State at Montana State

Lehigh/Northern Iowa at Delaware
New Hampshire at Bethune-Cookman

Wofford at Jacksonville State
South Carolina State/Georgia Southern at William & Mary

Quarterfinals (12/10 and 12/11)
Semi-Finals (12/17 and 12/18)
Championship (1/7/11)

A Look at the Teams


Western Illinois Leathernecks
In by at-large bid
Record: 7-4
Conference: Missouri Valley, 2nd
Note of interest: Went 3-3 to finish out the season.
Good Wins: North Dakota State, Northern Iowa
Bad Losses: South Dakota State, Missouri State, Southern Illinois
Chances of Winning the Title: Slim
Best Player Offense: QB Matt Barr (3079 yards, 26 TDs, 5 INTs)

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Won Big South
Record: 6-5
Conference: Big South, 1st
Note of Interest: Won 4 straight to close out season, including a win over Liberty to steal the conference title. Struggled through a very aggressive non-conference schedule that included games against West Virginia, Georgia Southern, and Richmond.
Good Wins: Liberty
Bad Losses: Towson
Chances of Winning the Title: None
Best Player on Offense: QB Zach MacDowell (20 TDs passing, and 8 rushing)

Robert Morris Colonials
Won The Northeast Conference
Record: 8-2
Conference: Northeast, 1st
Note of Interest: Had an 8 game win streak snapped in the finale against future NEC member Bryant.
Good Wins: Liberty, Central Connecticut State, Duquesne
Bad Losses: Bryant
Chances of Winning the Title: None
Best Player on Offense: RB Myles Russ (1246 yards and 8 TDs)

North Dakota State Bison
At-large Bid
Record: 7-4
Conference: Missouri Valley, 3rd
Note of Interest: Won 3 of 4 to finish out the regular season, with all 3 wins coming at home.
Good Wins: Kansas
Bad Losses: Illinois State, Missouri State
Chances of Winning the Title: Slim
Best Player on Offense: RB DJ McNorton (1118 yards and 9 TDs)

Lehigh Mountain Hawks
Won Patriot
Record: 9-2
Conference: Patriot, 1st
Note of Interest: Comes into the playoffs on a 7 game winning streak. Only 2 losses came against Colonial opponents New Hampshire and Villanova, both playoff teams.
Good Wins: Harvard, Colgate
Bad Losses: None
Chances of Winning the Title: Slim
Best Player on Offense: WR Ryan Spanola (64 catches for 931 yards, 7 scores)

Northern Iowa Panthers
Won Missouri Valley
Record: 7-4
Conference: Missouri Valley, 1st
Note of Interest: Had 5 game winning streak broken in the finale against Western Illinois. Didn't put forth a good effort in that game.
Good Wins: North Dakota State
Bad Losses: Southern Illinois, Western Illinois
Chance of Winning the Title: Slim to moderate
Best Player on Offense: QB Tirrell Rennie (1465 yards passing, 1205 yards rushing, 22TDs)

South Carolina State Bulldogs
At-Large Bid
Record: 9-2
Conference: MEAC, 2nd
Note of Interest: Won 9 games in 10 after losing to Georgia Tech. Only other loss was to Bethune-Cookman.
Good Wins: Florida A&M and Hampton
Bad Losses: None
Chances of Wining the Title: Moderate
Best Player on Offense: Chris Merrill (8 TDs rushing)

Georgia Southern Eagles
At-Large Bid
Record: 7-4
Conference: Southern, 3rd
Note of Interest: Won 4 of 5 after they had slid into oblivion. Had to score 15 unanswered points to rally for a win over Furman.
Good Wins: Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State
Bad Losses: Samford
Chances of Winning the Title: Slim
Best Player on Offense: QB Jaybo Shaw (17 total TDs)

Appalachian State Mountaineers
Won SoCon
Record: 9-2
Conference: Southern, 1st
Note of Interest: Lost 2 of 3 to finish the season. However, they won their 6th straight SoCon title.
Good Wins: Chattanooga, Jacksonville, Wofford
Bad Losses: Georgia Southern
Chances of Winning the Title: Extremely High
Best Player on Offense: QB DeAndre Pressley (18 TDs passing, 11 TDs Rushing)

Villanova Wildcats
At-Large Bid
Record: 7-4
Conference: Colonial, Tied 3rd
Note of Interest: Lost 2 of 3 to end the season. Won the title last season.
Good Wins: Lehigh, Penn, Delaware
Bad Losses: Rhode Island
Chances of Winning the Title: Moderate
Best Player on Offense: QB Chris Whitney (17 TDs passing and 10 rushing)

Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
Won Southland
Record: 9-2
Conference: Southland, 1st
Note of Interest: Had win streaks of 6 and 3 this season.
Good Wins: Northern Iowa, Central Arkansas
Bad Losses: Texas State
Chances of Winning the Title: Moderate to High
Best Player on Offense: QB Jeremy Moses (3658 yards passing, 34 TDs) WR Cordell Roberson (940 yards and 16 TDs)

Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
Won Ohio Valley
Record: 9-2
Conference: Ohio Valley, 1st
Note of Interest: Despite falling to Jacksonville State, still backed into the OVC title.
Good Wins: Murray State
Bad Losses: Ball State
Chances of Winning Title: Moderate
Best Player on Offense: RB Henry Harris (1627 yards and 17 TDs)

Eastern Washington Eagles
At-Large Bid
Record: 9-2
Conference: Big Sky, Tied 1st
Note of Interest: Lost to Montana State, and then won 7 straight. May be a dark horse.
Good Wins: Montana, Weber State, Northern Arizona, Southern Utah
Bad Losses: None
Chances of Winning Title: High
Best Player on Offense: RB Taiwan Jones (1344 yards rushing and 11 TDs)

Montana State Bobcats
Won Big Sky
Record: 9-2
Conference: Big Sky, Tied 1st
Note of Interest: Went on 2 seperate 4 game win streaks. The defense forced fumbles by Montana twice inside the Bobcats 5 yard line, preserving the win for MSU.
Good Wins: Drake, Eastern Washington, Sacramento State, Weber State, Montana
Bad Losses: None
Chances of Winning Title: High
Best Player on Offense: Denarius McGhee (267 yards passing per game. 22 TDs)

Delaware Blue Hens
At-Large
Record: 9-2
Conference: Colonial, 2nd
Note of Interest: Went 2-2 to close out regular season.
Good Wins: Duquesne, UMass
Bad Losses: Villanova
Chances of Winning Title: Moderate
Best Player on Offense: RB Andrew Pierce (1149 yards and 12 TDs)

New Hampshire Wildcats
At-Large
Record: 7-4
Conference: Colonial, Tied 3rd
Notes of Interest: Lost 3 of 5 to start season, won 5 of 6 to finish it.
Good Wins: Central Connecticut State, Lehigh, UMass, Villanova
Bad Losses: Rhode Island, Maine
Chances of Winning Title: Moderate
Best Player on Offense: QB RJ Toman (2278 yards, 15 TDs)

Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
Won MEAC
Record: 10-1
Conference: MEAC, 1st
Note of Interest: Scored 60 points or more 3 times this season. Finished #1 in the PRS to win our first ever regular season points championship. Averages 440 yards per game.
Good Wins: South Carolina State and Hampton
Bad Losses: None
Chances of Winning the Title: Moderate
Best Player on Offense: QB Matthew Johnson (186 yards passing per game, 63 yards rushing, 21 TDs)

Wofford Terriers
At-Large Bid
Record: 9-2
Conference: Southern, Tied 1st
Note of Interest: The Terriers rush for 310 yards per game. Old school option team had best season ever.
Good Wins: Georgia Southern, Chattanooga
Bad Losses: None
Chances of Winning Title: Moderate to High
Best Player on Offense: FB Eric Breitenstein (1359 yards and 20 TDs)

Jacksonville State Gamecocks
At-Large
Record: 9-2
Conference: Ohio Valley, 2nd
Note of Interest: Lost 2 of 3 after being ranked #1 in the PRS all season.
Good Wins: Ole Miss, Chattanooga, Georgia State, SE Missouri State
Bad Losses: Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee Tech
Chances of Winning Title: Low to Moderate
Best Player on Offense:  QB Marques Ivory (17 TD passes)

William & Mary Tribe
Won Colonial
Record: 8-3
Conference: Colonial, Tied 1st
Note of Interest: Won 6 straight, but then finished 2-2.
Good Wins: Old Dominion, Villanova, Delaware, New Hampshire
Bad Losses: None
Chances of Winning Title: Moderate
Best Offensive Player: RB Jonathon Grimes (8 TDs rushing)

WHO GOT SNUBBED

Jacksonville Dolphins (10-1)
Snubbed because of the nonscholarship label, and punished for a win over Edward Waters, a game that was scheduled 3 seasons ago according to Joel Lamp, AD-Media Relations. #2 in the PRS, and led the nation in scoring and total offense. A very bad snub, as this school deserved an in. Went 8-0 in the Pioneer Football League.
Ranked Ahead Of: All participants except for Bethune-Cookman

Dayton Flyers (10-1)
Also from the Pioneer. Snubbed for much the same reason as Jacksonville. JU was thought all along to be the team from the PFL that would have gotten the bid, but how do you snub not one, but two 10 win schools? Also went 8-0 in the PFL, but never had a shot at Jacksonville.
Ranked Ahead Of: All participants except for Bethune-Cookman

Liberty Flames (8-3)
You knew that the Flames werescrewed when they fell to a streaking Coastal Carolina squad. Completely undone after a strong start to the season that included a win over FBS Akron.
Ranked Ahead Of: Georgia Southern, Villanova, New Hampshire, Western Illinois, Northern Iowa, North Dakota State

Florida A&M Rattlers (8-3)
There was not a chance that the FCS would take 3 from the MEAC, even though A&M defeated Bethune-Cookman. The Rattlers late run came up short.
Ranked Ahead Of: Georgia Southern, Villanova, New Hampshire, Western Illinois, Northern Iowa, North Dakota StateBased on the final PRS Numbers, North Dakota State, Western Illinois, and NEw Hampshire got in when mayne they should not have. Villanova would never have gotten in without the OT win over Delaware. Western Illinois would have been out with a loss to Northern Iowa.



I will continue to break this info down later this week.