((HT: d2football.com))
As far as this week is concerned, we have to wait until Saturday for football. That should allow the two teams that fell last weekend to lick their wounds. Is there any chance a couple more GSC teams go down this week?
SATURDAY 1 PM EASTERN - DELTA STATE AT ELIZABETH CITY STATE
Classic 'Coaches Speak' reminds us that teams make their biggest improvements from week one to week two. To me that just means you found out how good or bad you were in the first week and spend the next week fixing your issues. Delta State will find out if last week was a fluke or if it is going to be long season.
Elizabeth City State lost to Newberry 46-20 last week. Their former three-star recruit running back DaRonte McNeil was a workhouse carrying the ball 24 times for 124 yards. Coming off a game where they were dominated on the ground defensively, expect McNeil to match last week's total of rushes. Xavier Triplett and the DSU defense need to get their act together. The offense looks like it's not in sync yet. They just don't look capable to carry the team like in years past. How well this unit stops the ECSU running game will dictate the outcome.
Quarterback Trevor Wooden could turn things on and light up the world this week. When he looked good last week, he looked as good as a Kate Upton doing a jungle photo shoot. When he looked bad, he looked like June Shannon (Honey Boo Boo's mother) doing anything.
The ECSU defense allowed 238 yards on the ground against Newberry. Wooden and his fellow rushing weapons in Jamey Chadwell's offense have a chance to shut a lot of people up this week. Or they could keep people from talking about them for a while.
Prediction: Delta State over Elizabeth City State 27-21
SATURDAY 3 PM EASTERN - TUSCULUM AT WEST GEORGIA
As easy as last week was for West Georgia is how hard this week will be. Tusculum has long been a very good Division II program. Despite losing last week to Urbana 53-33, Tusculum created a lot to fear.
Quarterback Bo Cordell threw for 389 yards and four touchdowns while playing from behind. He spread the ball pretty evenly to his two best receivers Xzanvion Smith and Ken Funnye who combined to haul in 221 of those 389 yards. This tough West Georgia secondary has it's work cut out for them.
All that is nice to look at but the fact of the matter is that they still allowed Urbana to score 55 points. DJ Mendenhall went 22 of 30 for 305 passing yards, ran for 54 yards while scoring five total touchdowns. If that's not going H.A.M. I don't know what is. It wasn't just passing that gave them fits, Tusculum also allowed two 100 yard rushers in the contest.
If West Georgia is going to win this game it is by being multi dimensional. They can't just rely on the running game. Here is where we find out if Austin Trainor is the real deal Holyfield. UWG can run the ball. They have a versatile back field. The question is can Trainor carry the load through the air. I think he is better than people are anticipating.
Prediction: West Georgia over Tusculum 35-28
SATURDAY 6:30 PM EASTERN - SHORTER AT NEWBERRY
Two teams that seem to operate with similar theories in running the football should keep this game close. Newberry was able to drop 46 on Elizabeth City State to open the season on the back of 238 rushing yards and 118 passing yards.
Shorter will need to operate their methodical offense. Newberry had six players with three rushes or more last weekend. They are deep with athletic talent. Keep the ball from them while making the most of your opportunities will be the recipe for success for Shorter. The more chances Newberry has, the higher their chances are to win.
Prediction: Newberry over Shorter 34-21
SATURDAY 7 PM EASTERN - HARDING AT NORTH ALABAMA
This new running game of North Alabama gets an early test against a dominant defensive line this week. We'll find out how good this attack is because Harding returns 9 of 11 defensive starters and has been preparing for UNA for a while, with this being their first game of the year.
In 2011, the starters on this Harding defensive front combined for 29 tackles for loss. If the Lion rushing game is stalled can Chris Alexander win the game through the air?
This is where we find out how good the North Alabama running game is. We also find out if Chris Alexander can make big plays. We may also find out how far UNA needs to go to get back to their dominant ways.
Limiting what Harding quarterback Kevin Martin does in the option game will be vital. While this will be just his fifth start, he is the leading returning rusher for Harding. Can the former GSC member knock off one of it's marquee names?
Prediction; Harding over North Alabama 21-17
SATURDAY 7 PM EASTERN – FORT VALLEY STATE AT VALDOSTA STATE
The two teams have totally different feelings this week. Fort Valley is riding high after a last minute upset of Delta State while Valdosta State is looking for redemption after a fourth quarter collapse.
This is also a trap game for VSU. This game is sandwhiched between the build up of a trip to Michigan last week which went on all off season and the knowing about the trip to Dallas, Texas for a game in Jerry's World next week.
Blazer quarterback Cayden Cochran will not play against FVSU with another injury. In his limited time as the signal caller of Valdosta State, Cochran has suffered his fair share of injuries. His style of play is all-out all the time and he isn't afraid of contact.
Unfortunately for him, a quarterback coming off a great performance last week will fill in for him. Could Graham Craig steal his job if he builds on his 12 of 19 183 yard performance a week ago?
If VSU can force the inefficient Antonio Henton (who has been playing college football as long as Squints Palladouris from The Sandlot says 'The Beast' is to be locked up: FOREVER) to beat them through the air, he should make mistakes. The key to success is keeping the ball away from Fort Valley State running back Seth Hill. You do that by jumping out to a big lead.
Prediction: Valdosta State over Fort Valley State 34-14
SATURDAY 7 PM EASTERN – WEST ALABAMA AT SAMFORD
This is a great litmus test for the class of the GSC. West Alabama can find out just where they are by facing FCS Samford, who beat Furman 24-21 to open their season.
UWA will need to go to it's best player all day to send a message. Matt Willis should carry the rock at least 25 times. This is why he was taken out after exploding last week, so that he can have fresher legs for this big one. A lot of you don't care if a Division II schools tops an FCS one; West Alabama does and should.
Think about what this could do for recruiting or marketing among the rest of the state's smaller schools. Beating Samford would tell the state of Alabama that there is a new program on the rise. Look out for the Tigers. The test for the UWA defense early on should be exciting. Samford running back Fabian Truss is coming off a 19 rush 112 yard performance while quarterback Andy Summerlin was efficient in a 216 yard, two touchdown day.
Let's see how well Shontral Ford, D'Erick Johnson and Rico Jernighan can do against this passing game. Samford may be in for a surprise if they try to attack that secondary.
Prediction: West Alabama over Samford 31-27
No comments:
Post a Comment