Veg's Final Playoff Predictions

[vegattk]

A lot of bubbles will be burst.....

My take:
Big Sky: Eastern Washington
Big South: Coastal Carolina
Colonial: Villanova
Mid-Eastern: Bethune-Cookman
Missouri Valley: North Dakota State
Northeast: Wagner
Ohio Valley: Eastern Illinois
Patriot: Colgate
Southern: Georgia Southern
Southland: Central Arkansas

At Large:

LOCKS
ODU (10-1)
Montana State (10-1)
Sam Houston St (8-3)

SLEEPING EASY
Appalachian State (8-3)
Wofford (8-3)
Richmond (8-3)

LAST IN
New Hampshire
Illinois St
Cal Poly
South Dakota St


Last Out: Towson, Lehigh, Stony Brook

SEEDS:
#1 North Dakota State
#2 Eastern Washington
#3 Montana State
#4 Old Dominion
#5 Sam Houston State

First Round Games

Coastal Carolina @ Wofford
Wagner @ Colgate
Bethune Cookman @ Cal Poly
Villanova @ Illinois St
Central Arkansas @ Georgia Southern

Bracket I:
Wagner @ Colgate winner at No. 1 North Dakota State
New Hampshire @ Eastern Illinois

Bethune Cookman @ Cal Poly winner at #4 Old Dominion
South Dakota St @ No. 5 Sam Houston State

Bracket II:
Villanova @ Illinois St winner at No. 3 Montana St
Central Arkansas @ Georgia Southern

Coastal Carolina @ Wofford winner at No. 2 Eastern Washington
Richmond @ Appalachian State

[Cincy App]

As always, it has been an interesting last day of the season. I thought UNH would be a lock at the beginning of the day but believe they are out now.

My field has Wofford as the 19th team in the field. I think the last pick comes down to EKU, Lehigh, and Stony Brook. The OVC has been the best conference of the 3 this year so I'm predicting that EKU wins the last spot.

I think the 5th seed is also up for grabs. It should come down to Sam Houston St, GSU and ASU. While ASU has the best wins of this group (including out of conference), I think GSU has been more impressive throughout the year and thus, predict they will nose out SHSU and ASU for the final seed. SHSU has been solid in its victories but has no quality wins. The 5th seed actually means little for ASU unless it allows for a better bracket. It does not guarantee any additional home games.

In the wild and crazy CAA, Villanova has won the auto bid. ODU has the best resume while I believe Richmond had the best overall season outside of ODU in the conference. UNH was only 1-2 in games against the top teams in the CAA while giving up over 60 points in both losses. Towson had 4 losses which unfortunately will be counted against them. If you consider Towson, then you have to bring Youngstown St into play which I don't think will happen.

Thus, here is my projected bracket:

Colgate at E. Illinois winner at #1 North Dakota St
Cal Poly at South Dakota St

Wagner at Villanova winner at #4 E. Washington
Central Arkansas at #5 Georgia Southern

Bethune Cookman at Coastal Carolina winner at #2 Montana St
Illinois St at Sam Houston St

E. Kentucky at Wofford winner at #3 Old Dominion
Richmond at Appalachian St

[appstcyclist]

I'm really hoping that ODU gets seeded higher and we get placed in their bracket. It would be bad news to be placed in the EWU bracket. However, If your senario plays out to be correct I think wofford would stand a decent chance against EWU which would make for a very interesting rematch. Can't wait for tomorrow at 1:30.

[sixtoes9134]

nobowls.com is suggesting Wofford might get shunned?

http://nobowls.com/

[Cincy App]

nobowls.com is suggesting Wofford might get shunned?

http://nobowls.com/

This is the deepest field of playoff candidate teams from power conferences that I can remember. In a typical year, Wofford would be safely in the field with its resume. This year, Wofford could be hurt by its 7 D-1 wins. In my opinion, it's crazy that wins over non-scholarship FCS teams like St Peters count as a meaningful win for other teams. I do like Wofford's chances to make the field when you look at their overall schedule but they are clearly on the bubble.

Regarding the 5th seed, some projections include Central Arkansas in this spot. It does make sense that UCA is in the discussion. They are 9-2 as Southland Champs due to their win over Sam Houston St. Their losses are to SF Austin and Ole Miss. They also won yesterday over playoff team E. Illinois.

[sixtoes9134]

agree 100%, I would just be amazed, though, if Wofford didn't get in a we got a first round bye.

That would be hard to comprehend.

[appfanz]

Alot of talk in the Charleston paper this morning about The Citadel getting in. They say they will be disappointed if the don't. I just don't see it happening.

[Black Saturday]

Alot of talk in the Charleston paper this morning about The Citadel getting in. They say they will be disappointed if the don't. I just don't see it happening.

I really think the SmallCon only gets 3 teams.

[Cincy App]

Citadel is receiving very little discussion as a candidate. While they have 2 very good wins, they still have 4 losses including 3 FCS setbacks. I don't think Citadel will be seriously considered in the end. The only 4-loss teams with any shot are Youngstown St and Towson.

I believe ASU will be locked in the non-seeded, first-round bye group receiving a 2nd round home game. Thus, in the 6th - 12th group. I'm predicting Richmond as an opponent if they also fall in the 6th - 12 group. If not, other realistic possibilities for our opening game are Villanova, South Dakota St, and Illinois St.

I also expect to be in the bracket with either the 2nd or 3rd seed which creates a greater chance of hosting a quarterfinal game if we win and our bracketed seed loses (due to the presence of a 5th seed). The NCAA will be interested in this for $$ reasons.