Code Orange

Final

And it’s over.  Appalachian State becomes the first team to ever win 3 straight I-AA/FCS titles in a row, defeating Delaware 49-21.

3:16 4th Quarter

Delaware runs the kickoff back for a touchdown, but it’s a little too little too late as it’s 49-21.

3:29 4th Quarter

Elder has a 53 yard rush for a touchdown, and ASU is piling it on now to make it 49-14.

3:45 4th Quarter

As Delaware goes through it’s death throws, they turn the ball over on downs one final time, and ASU should be able to pretty much run out the clock.

6:02 4th Quarter

Once again, Appalachian State is able to grind a drive down the field, burning clock, and putting another touchdown up on the board to go with it with a 6 yard run by Richardson as the Mountaineers go up 42-14.

11:03 4th Quarter

Delaware passes down to inside the Appalachian State 10 but once again can’t do anything with it as Delaware eventually turns it over on downs. This is now at least 17 points that Delaware has given up either in the red zone or in missed field goals.

14:08 4th Quarter

Delaware holds ASU and they have to punt.

End 3rd Quarter

ASU will have a 3rd and 1 on their own 31 when the 4th quarter comes around as the Mountaineers are only 15 minutes away from 3-peating with a 35-14 lead.

0:54 3rd Quarter

Delaware is able to execute a long, methodical drive down the field to get on the board for the first time in the 2nd half to narrow the lead down to 35-14. However, they have less than 16 minutes to make up 21 points, and they still have to stop the Mountaineer offense.

4:56 3rd Quarter

Just a reminder. Record for points scored by a single team in a I-AA title is 59. Biggest margin of victory is 40 points, which was done by Delaware in 2003.

4:56 3rd Quarter

The Mountaineers pass and run down the field, picking up several 3rd downs as well as a 4th down along the way to a touchdown on a 8 yard pass to Richardson. ASU now goes up 35-7 on a drive that took over 6 minutes (a very unusual thing for the Mountaineers).

11:34 3rd Quarter

After getting one first down, Appalachian State holds Delaware and the Blue Hens have to punt again.

13:29 3rd Quarter

ASU starts the 2nd half with a three-and-out after briefly considering going for it on 4th down near midfield.

Halftime

Well, Delaware showed that they can hang in there with tough teams by defeating Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois both on the road. However, one has to wonder whether playing two tough road games in a row, with some rough weather in between finally took it’s toll on this Delaware team.

There is also the matter that, even though ASU has 2 losses, they occurred when Edwards was either out or in his first game back from injury. If Edwards was healthy all year, ASU may be undefeated at this point. Also, ASU really turned it on in the playoffs, especially last week.

Delaware is still in the game, only down 21, but they have to stop ASU’s offense, which they haven’t been able to do very well so far. First, ASU ran all over them, and once Delaware stopped them a couple times by putting more people in the box, the Mountaineers went to the air and hurt Delaware that way. Meanwhile, ASU is playing a sort of bend-but-don’t-break defense by giving Delaware yards, but keeping them off the scoreboard.

ASU has had a tendency to let down in the 2nd half of games, but one can’t believe that that will happen in the national championship game. Delaware is probably going to have to figure out how to come back on their own.

Halftime

Here are some halftime stats:

Appalachian State has 295 yards.  Edwards is 4 for 6 passing for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns.  He also has 11 rushes for 67 yards.  Moore still has 2 rushes for 55 yards and a touchdown.  Richardson has 10 rushes for 47 yards.  They’ve run 31 total plays and have earned 13 first downs.

Delaware has 252 total yards.  Flacco is 13 for 23 passing for 189 yards and a touchdown.  Cuff has 13 rushes for 54 yards and Michaud has 2 rushes for 20 yards.  Delaware has run 42 plays with 13 first downs.

As much as the announcers in the game have said that Delaware is getting hammered with penalties (and that there were a lot in the game overall), Delaware has 4 penalties for 50 yards while ASU also has 4 penalties for 31 yards.

On a side note, I noticed that Yahoo! Sports is really the only sports site giving this game any play.  Not even the ESPN College Football section has this game as it’s leading story.  Only Yahoo! Sports College Football section seems to be paying attention. Rather sad.  I do have to give props to SI, though.  Even though their front story isn’t about the title game, they do ask whether ASU’s Edwards could be a Heisman trophy contender next year.

Halftime

Delaware is able to quickly get down the field and gets within field goal range. However, Delaware attempts to go for the touchdown instead of kicking a field goal and fails, and ASU goes into halftime leading 28-7.

0:44 2nd Quarter

Dexter Jackson scores on a 60 yard touchdown reception (see! I said ASU should start passing) and ASU goes back up by 3 touchdowns, 28-7.

1:10 2nd Quarter

Delaware has another touchdown called back, this time on an offensive pass interference call. However, they get it back this time, again on an official review, but Delaware is finally on the board, but is still down 21-7.

2:56 2nd Quarter

Delaware gets a short field after kick-catching interference is called on ASU on the punt.

3:27 2nd Quarter

Perhaps it’s time that ASU start airing it out a little (Edwards only had 4 passes so far). The Mountaineers try 3 straight runs and goes 3-and-out once again.

5:05 2nd Quarter

Delaware trades ASU’s 3-and-out with one of their own.

6:50 2nd Quarter

ASU is finally held to a 4th down and has to punt to Delaware.

8:50 2nd Quarter

On to Delaware’s 4th drive. Delaware is able to pick up a first down, but is then forced to punt after that, and ASU gets the ball back. Appalachian State has scored a touchdown on all 3 of their drives so far tonight.

10:22 2nd Quarter

Here are some stats for you.

Appalachian State has 212 total yards. Edwards only has 3 official passes so far in the game. He has completed 2 of them for 60 yards. Meanwhile, Edwards has 8 rushes for 58 yards, Moore has 2 rushes for 55 yards, and Richardson has 8 rushes for 45 yards.

Delaware has 147 yards. Flacco is 6 for 11 passing for 81 yards. Cuff has 10 rushes for 46 yards while Michaud has 2 rushes for 20 yards.

10:22 2nd Quarter

A pair of long Edwards runs puts Appalachian State back in the red zone on their 3rd drive of the game. Richardson ends up fumbling the ball into the endzone, where it is recovered by Appalachian State for a touchdown and the Mountaineers go up 21-0.

End 1st Quarter

Appalachian State takes over and will face a 2nd and 1 on their own 29 yard line when the 2nd quarter begins.

0:13 1st Quarter

Delaware quickly moves down the field on their 3rd drive of the game, but the drive stalls at around the 15 yard line. Delaware attempts a 35 yard field goal attempt, and once again Delaware gets into the red zone and comes away with nothing. It’s still 14-0 ASU.

4:14 First Quarter

I know that it is very, very premature to be handing ASU a 3rd title, much less talk about a blowout, but just for reference, the most points scored by a team in a I-AA title game was 59 by Georgia Southern against Youngstown State in the 1999 title game. The biggest blowout was a 40-0 shutout by Delaware against Colgate in 2003.

4:14 First Quarter

A 46 yard rush by Moore puts Appalachian State up 14-0, and this game starts much like the semi-final game against Richmond did.

4:45 First Quarter

A 7 yard rush by Richardson, a 4 yard rush by Edwards, a 17 yard Richardson rush, and a 15 yard face mask on Delaware quickly moves ASU from the shadow of their own endzone out to near midfield.

5:40 First Quarter

Just as a comment - I know Delaware gets ASU pinned back, but that last series had to be crushing to Delaware. They had a touchdown on the board, had it taken off, and then couldn’t get any points as a result.

5:40 First Quarter

Cuff gets a 4 yard rush down to the half yard line after a called touchdown was reversed on replay. However, that made it third down, and Appalachian State stuffed a run up the middle by Cuff to make it 4th down. Delaware decides to go for a fake field goal and doesn’t convert, so Appalachian State takes over on their own one yard.

10:47 First Quarter

Applachian State gets the ball and drives down the field, capping the drive with a 19 yard touchdown pass to Richardson, and ASU gets on the board first in the national championship, going up 7-0. This is after Delaware went 3-and-out on their first drive.

Pre-Game

It’s that time. Appalachian State is looking to become the first team to ever win 3 straight I-AA/FCS National titles and to become the first team in any division to win three in a row since Mount Union did it in Division III between 2000 and 2002.

The last time a team won a share of the Division I national championship was when Minnesota won the Associated Press/United Press poll championship (the only championship at the time) 3 in a row between 1934 and 1936 - the first three years of it’s existence. No team has won 3 straight championships in Division I via the same method (i.e. via the I-AA playoffs or 3 times in a row in the same poll) ever.

Appalachian State already defeated Richmond last night 55-35 to advance to the I-AA/FCS Championship Game in Chattanooga next week.  They’ll play the winner of Delaware vs. Southern Illinois, who kickoff at 4pm.

One half of each of the Division II and Division III title games were decided earlier today as, in the first Division II semifinal, Valdosta State defeated California (PA) 28-24.  Meanwhile, two-time defending Mt. Union rolled to yet another Division III title game by destroying Bethel (MN)  62-14.

The 2nd Division III semifinal, Mary Hardin-Baylor vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater, is currently in progress as the other Division II semifinal will be played at 8pm tonight as two-time defending champion Grand Valley State takes on Northwest Missouri State, the team they have defeated to earn each of their last two championships.

We have an interesting situation where the Division I-AA, Division II, and Division III championships may all feature two-time defending champions going for a third in a row.

Division I-AA has never had a 3-time champion.

Division II has had a back-to-back-to-back championship run once: North Alabama did it between  1993 and 1995.

Division III has also has had a back-to-back-to-back championship run three times before: Augustana (Ill) won 4 straight titles between 1983 and 1986, while this same Mt. Union team did it between 1996 and 1998 and again between 2000 and 2002.  Mt. Union has played in 9 of the last 11 Division III championships, winning 8 of them.  If Wisconsin-Whitewater wins their semifinal, it would be the 3rd straight year that they would face Mt. Union in the championship game.

Final

And it’s over as Appalachian State becomes the 4th school to go to a 3rd straight national championship and tries to become the first I-AA/FCS school to win 3 in a row as they defeat Richmond 55-35.

5:27 4th Quarter

A 13 yard touchdown to Cardwell pretty much puts this game out of reach as Appalachian State goes up 55-35. Armanti Edwards also passes 300 yards and breaks a record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in any I-AA/FCS game ever.
8:04 4th Quarter

Cory Lynch comes up with the interception. That’s a critical turnover that Richmond couldn’t commit as they try to come back in this game.

10:11 4th Quarter

A 29 yard touchdown pass to Cardwell puts Appalachian State up by 2 touchdowns once again, 49-35, and Richmond once again is in trouble as they have to come from behind again, but this time with only about 10 minutes left.

14:06 4th Quarter

Richmond once again forced into a 3-and-out and Appalachian State’s offense once again takes over.

0:30 3rd Quarter

Richmond finally makes a defensive stop that they need, forcing Appalachian State to punt after holding them to a 3rd and 14.

3:01 3rd Quarter

Appalachian State gets a defense stop that they need as Richmond goes three-and-out.

4:41 3rd Quarter

Richardson gets a 3 yard touchdown run on a drive where Armanti Edwards goes over 100 yard passing on the game, as Appalachian State retakes a 42-35 lead on Richmond.

9:02 3rd Quarter

Eric Ward has a 5 yard touchdown run and Richmond is able to close the entire 14 point Mountaineer lead without Appalachian State even being able to run a play in the 2nd half. It’s now tied at 35.

11:48 3rd Quarter

Hillary fumbles the ball on the kickoff return, and Richmond picks up their first turnover of the game as they’re in great position to tie the game.

11:57 3rd Quarter

Joe Stewart catches a 17 yard touchdown pass as Richmond scores on their opening drive of the 2nd half to narrow the score to 35-28.

Halftime

Appalachian State still has to watch out in this game as they’ve allowed Richmond to score 21 points and are only ahead by 2 scores. If Richmond can find out how to stop their offense, the Mountaineers will have to be on high alert on defense.

However, Richmond’s main problem is stopping Appalachian State on offense as, other than the drive that finished the half, the Mountaineers have scored touchdowns on 5 of their 7 drives. It doesn’t matter how much Richmond might be able to get their offense going, if they can’t stop Armanti Edwards, then they’re never going to be able to close the gap.

Halftime

Appalachian State just takes a knee to take the game to halftime, leading 35-21.

0:21 2nd Quarter

Eric Ward runs for a 32 yard touchdown run as Richmond once again closes the gap to two touchdowns as it’s now 35-21.

3:22 2nd Quarter

Richmond stops Appalachian State on 4th down this time and takes over on their own 45 yard line

5:58 2nd Quarter

Richmond drives a ways down the field, but is forced into a 4th down, and Richmond fails to convert, giving the ball back to the Mountaineers on the 28 yard line.

10:36 2nd Quarter

Armanti Edwards gets his 4th rushing touchdown of the game on a 3 yard rush, as Appalachian State goes up 35-14. They may break a record for most points scored in a playoff game at this rate.

13:42 2nd Quarter

Kevin Grayson gets his 2nd touchdown on a 26 yard pass as Richmond tries to climb back into the game, narrowing Appalachian State’s lead to 28-14.

14:41 2nd Quarter

Armanti Edwards gets his third touchdown run, and his 4th overall touchdown of the night as he gets a 36 yard touchdown run as Appalachian State now goes ahead of Richmond 28-7.

End of 1st Quarter

Armanti Edwards rushes for 9 yards to go over 100 yard rushing, and it’ll be 2nd and 1 on the 48 yard line to start the 2nd quarter.

0:10 First Quarter

We have our first turnover as Richmond fumbles the ball after a 23 yard reception, and Appalachian State gets the ball back on their own 39 yard line

0:29 First Quarter

Armanti Edwards helps Appalachian State rush down the field as they score another touchdown on a 9 yard touchdown run by Edwards to put Appalachian State back up 21-7.

3:35 First Quarter

A 29 yard touchdown pass to Kevin Grayson puts Richmond on the board, and it’s now 14-7.

6:29 First Quarter

Appalachian State picks up a key 3rd and 7 on their way down the field as they score score a touchdown on a 7-yard Armanti Edwards run to make the game 14-0.

8:31 First Quarter

Richmond goes 3-and-out after gaining only 8 yards.

9:33 First Quarter

Dexter Jackson catches and runs for a 52-yard touchdown pass and Appalachian State goes up on Richmond 7-0.

10:30 First Quarter

Each team has had the ball and punted. ASU got it first and went 24 yards in 4 plays before giving it up, while Richmond also had it for 4 plays, going 23 yards.

Pregame

The first I-AA/FCS semifinal is about to come up. Can Appalachian State become the 4th school to make it to three straight national titles? It’s been done by 3 schools - Eastern Kentucky, Georgia Southern, and Youngstown State - 4 times.

The I-AA semifinals are set to get underway, starting with Richmond at Appalachian State tonight, and Delaware at Southern Illinois tomorrow afternoon.  The winners will play each other in Chattanooga December 14th.

As most people know, Appalachian State is going for their third consecutive national championship.  No other I-AA/FCS team has won three championships, but three straight championship game appearances is not unprecedented.  Attending at least 3 straight championships has occurred 4 times in the past: Eastern Kentucky went to four straight championships between 1979 and 1982, winning the first and last.  Georgia Southern went to 3 straight title games between 1988 and 1990, as well as in 1998 and 2000, winning the last two titles in both streaks.  Meanwhile, Youngstown state also played in 4 title games between 1991 and 1994, winning all but the 2nd.  Youngstown State is still the only school to have even won 3 titles in 4 years.

The 2005 and 2006 titles are the only national championship appearances for Appalachian State.  Their opponent, Richmond, has never played in a national championship game (in face, they have never played in a semi-final game either, until tonight).  Delaware has played in two championships: the 1982 championship, where they lost to Eastern Kentucky, and in 2003, when they defeated Colgate 40-0.  As an interesting note, Appalachian State has already defeated James Madison, who was the last time who won the championship before them.  Delaware was the team who won the championship before JMU.  Southern Illinois played in one title game, in 1983, defeating Western Carolina 43-7.

So three of the four teams in the semifinals have won national championships, though Southern Illinois last did it 14 years ago.  There may be a few players left on the Delaware team who got rings however, but they would have been redshirting that year.

There is also the possibility that we will have our first intra-conference national title since 1988 when Furman defeated Georgia Southern - both of the Southern Conference.  It can happen this year if Delaware and Richmond play each other in the title game.  That could end up being a wild game since in their regular season meeting, it took 5 overtimes for Richmond to finally defeat Delaware 62-56.

Update 3:17 AM

Hawaii wins 35-28 and almost certainly earns a bid to the Sugar Bowl.

Update 3:08 AM

Aloha New Orleans? Hawaii takes a 35-28 lead on Washington with 44 seconds to go.

Update 2:49 AM

Reports of Hawaii’s death have been greatly exaggerated. They just tied Washington at 28 with 8:05 to go in the game.

Update 12:53 AM

It doesn’t look like the BCS is going to have to worry about where to put Hawaii. Washington will take care of the problem for them. The Huskies lead the Warriors 21-7 in the middle of the 2nd quarter.

Update 11:45 PM

Oklahoma wins the Big 12 Championship over #1 Missouri 38-17.

Update 11:38 PM

Oklahoma just put a cherry on top of the cake, going up 38-17 after kicking a field goal with only 3:42 to go.

Update 11:17 PM

Just do it. Seriously. Put Hawaii in the title game. If you can’t decide on which 2-loss team should play Ohio State, then either put Kansas, who is the only other 1-loss team, or stick in Hawaii, the only remaining undefeated team. Will anyone dare rank Hawaii #1 tomorrow if they win tonight?

Update 11:15 PM

Barring an amazing comeback by the Tigers, Oklahoma is going to cap the third top-two-double of the season as they go up on Missouri 35-17.

Update 11:10 PM

If you can believe it, before this weekend, the last time the #1 and #2 teams lost on the same day (and presumably the same weekend) was back on September 21, 1996. If the Oklahoma score holds up, #1 and #2 will have lost on the same day twice this season, and on the same weekend 3 times this season. The only good thing about the BCS title game is that both the #1 and #2 teams can’t lose - unless they aren’t actually playing (can anyone say LSU/USC?).

Update 11:01 PM

Missouri has to kick yet another field goal and it’s 28-17 Oklahoma with 14:51 to go.

Update 10:58 PM

Ohio State is going to the national title game. Pittsburgh defeats West Virginia 13-9. This is #13. The 13th top-5 teams who has lost to an unranked opponent this year.

Update 10:50 PM

West Virginia is able to get down to the Pitt 21, but is forced into a 4th and 17 and cannot convert. Pitt takes over with under two minutes to go.

Update 10:47 PM

Missouri is in deep trouble now as Oklahoma takes a two touchdown lead on them 28-14.

Update 10:40 PM

Oklahoma retakes the lead in the Big 12 Championship over Missouri 21-14.

Update 10:34 PM

Stanford defeats California 20-13.

Update 10:31 PM

Pittsburgh adds a field goal to take a 13-7 lead on West Virginia with only 6:17 to go.

Finals:

Florida International 38, North Texas 19

Update 10:11 PM

Richmond defeats Wofford 21-10 and they’ll play at Appalachian State in the I-AA semifinals next week.

Also, Brigham Young defeats San Diego State 48-27.

Update 9:51 PM

Missouri finally gets into the endzone with 14 seconds to go in the 1st half. It’s now 14-14 after Missouri converts a 2-point conversion..

Update 9:47 PM

Richmond is now up on Wofford 21-10 with 8:40 to go.

Update 9:43 PM

We may definitely be heading towards and Ohio State vs. Georgia championship game. Pittsburgh takes a 10-7 lead on West Virginia.

Update 9:37 PM

Oklahoma scores another touchdown as they go up on #1 Missouri 14-6.

Meanwhile, Richmond retakes the lead on Wofford 14-10 with 11:55 to go.

Update 9:17 PM

Wofford goes up on Richmond 10-7 in the 3rd quarter.

Update 9:15 PM

Pittsburgh gets on the board, and is now down West Virginia 7-3. Missouri is forced to kick a 2nd field goal, but it’s still 7-6 Oklahoma.

Update 9:02 PM

West Virginia finally gets on the board to go ahead of Pittsburgh 7-0 late in the 1st half.

Update 9:01 PM

Oklahoma goes ahead of Missouri with a touchdown. They’re now up 7-3 in the Big 12 Championship game.

Update 8:51 PM

Missouri strikes first as they kick a field goal to go up 3-0 on Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Arizona is up on Arizona State 7-0.

Update 8:31 PM

I’m sure this isn’t how West Vision envisioned their last game of the season - after the 1st quarter they’re scoreless with Pittsburgh.

Update 8:28 PM

Oregon State finishes off Oregon 38-31 in overtime.

Update 8:24 PM

Oregon/Oregon State doesn’t want to end. They went into overtime tied at 28. They now head into double-overtime tied at 31.

Update 8:11 PM

Southern California defeats UCLA 24-7, and wins the Pac 10. USC is going to the Rose Bowl against Ohio State or Illinios.

Meanwhile, Richmond goes ahead of Wofford 7-3.

Update 8:01 PM

Wofford goes up on Richmond 3-0 in the 2nd quarter.

Update 7:43 PM

Tennessee (specifically Ainge) made too many mistakes down the stretch as LSU wins the SEC Championship 21-14.

Update 7:37 PM

Tennessee tries to come back and gets down to the LSU 15, but Ainge throws an interceptions with only 2:42 to go.

7:19 PM

Tennessee turns the ball over for the first time in the game, and it’s a costly one as LSU returns it for a touchdown to take a 21-14 lead on the Volunteers with 9:54 to go in the SEC Championship Game.

Also, Nevada defeats Louisiana Tech 49-10.

Update 6:44 PM

Southern Illinois defeats Massachusetts 34-27 and will get Delaware at home next week in the I-AA semifinals.

Update 6:39 PM

Tennessee recovers only the 3rd lost fumble all year by LSU and then drives down the field to score a touchdown and retakes the lead 14-13 nearing the end of the 3rd quarter.

Update 6:35 PM

UMass is trying to come back, cutting Southern Illinois’ lead to 34-27, but there’s only 2:20 to go in that game. The winner will play Delaware in the semifinals.

Update 6:22 PM

Tennessee is able to finally put a drive together, but misses the field goal, so it’s still 13-7 LSU in the SEC Championship.

Update 6:11 PM

Tennessee leaves their defense in the locker room during halftime apparently as LSU flies down the field to score a touchdown and goes up 13-7.

Update 6:02 PM

Also, Florida Atlantic defeats Troy 38-32 as the owls pull off the upset to win the Sun Belt conference and earns a bid to the New Orleans Bowl.

Update 5:51 PM

We have our final Division II and III finals today:

In the Division II quarterfinals, Northwest Missouri State defeats Chadron State 26-13, while in the Division III quarterfinals, Bethel (MN) defeats Central College 27-13.

The Division II semifinals are now set as two-time defending champion Grand Valley State vs. Northwest Missouri State, whom GVSU has defeated in each of the last two national championship games, and Valdosta State vs. California (PA)

The Division III semifinals are set as Mt. Union vs. Bethel (MN) and Mary Hardin-Baylor vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Update 5:43 PM

Delaware defeats Northern Iowa 39-27.

Update 5:38 PM

LSU ends a rather sloppily played half offensively for both teams so far by missing a field goal, and Tennessee goes into halftime ahead 7-6.

Meanwhile, Delaware probably just put away Northern Iowa, scoring another touchdown and going up 39-27 with just 41 seconds to go.

Update 5:27 PM

Northern Iowa says not so fast. They cut their lead against Delaware to 32-27 with 4:30 to go.

Update 5:24 PM

We had 3 undefeated I-AA teams going into the playoffs. It looks like none of them will make the semifinals as Delaware is now up on Northern Iowa 32-20 with only 5:40 to go.

Update 5:17 PM

Tennessee finally forces LSU to punt.

Update 5:09 PM

Tennessee once again has to punt. Their 3rd punt of the game. LSU has not punted yet. Yet Tennessee still leads 7-6.

Update 5:03 PM

LSU drives down the field again, but this time they go for it on 4th down and fail to pick it up for only the 3rd time this year.

Update 5:02 PM

Delaware is now up on Northern Iowa 29-20 heading into the 4th quarter. Meanwhile, Southern Illinois extends their lead on Massachusetts 27- 13

Update 5:01 PM

Southern Cal strikes first and they lead UCLA 7-0.

Update 4:46 PM

Valdosta State defeats North Alabama in the Division II quarterfinals 37-23.

Update 4:44 PM

Tennessee gets stop and has to punt. LSU once again drives down the field, but like in their game against Arkansas, fail to get it into the end zone. They stick another field goal on the board and it’s 7-6 Tennessee.

Update 4:40 PM

Delaware retakes the lead on Northern Iowa with a field goal, going up 22-20. Meanwhile, Massachusetts is trying to crawl back in their game, now only down to Southern Illinois 20-13.

Update 4:38 PM

Virginia Tech is ACC Champions, defeating Boston College 30-16. Meanwhile, Hawaii celebrates as BC should fall below them, assuming Hawaii wins tonight.

Update 4:35 PM

Virginia Tech takes care of business this time, picking off Matt Ryan, and taking it to the endzone to take a 30-16 lead.

Update 4:31 PM

Boston College holds Virginia Tech to a 3-and-out, so they get the ball back on the Boston College 35 yard line with only 34 seconds to go, and no time outs. Will we see another BC comeback?

Meanwhile, Northern Iowa retakes the lead on Delaware 20-19 in the 3rd quarter.

Update 4:28 PM

LSU marches down the field, but then Tennessee’s defense stiffens and holds LSU to only a field goal. It’s 7-3 Tennessee in the SEC Championship game.

Update 4:25 PM

Boston College tries another comeback against Virginia Tech, but this time appears to come back short, failing on a 4th down play inside the Tech 15. Virginia Tech takes over with only 2:25 to go.

Update 4:16 PM

Another Division II final: Grand Valley State defeats Central Washington 41-21.

Also another Division III final: Wisconsin-Whitewater defeats Wabash College 47-7.

Update 4:14 PM

The 500 fans in Jacksonville goes wild as someone finally scores again in the ACC Championship as Virginia Tech goes up on Boston College 23-16 with 7:20 to go in the game.

Meanwhile in the SEC Championship Game, Tennessee strikes first, going up on LSU 7-0.

Update 3:48 PM

The ACC Championship game heads towards the 4th quarter with neither team really able to get anything going in the 3rd quarter. Virginia Tech and Boston College are still tied at 16.

Update 3:44 PM

Southern Illinois also leads Massachusetts 13-0.

Update 3:41 PM

Delaware is now up on Northern Iowa 19-10 nearing halftime.

Update 3:41 PM

Appalachian State recovers the onsides kick and advances to the I-AA semifinals to play either Wofford or Richmond.

In a Division II final, California (PA) defeats Shepherd 58-38.

Update 3:37 PM

Central Florida wins the Conference USA Championship game over Tulsa 44-25.

Update 3:35 PM

Appalachian State recovers the onsides kick and goes 3-and-out, but they force Eastern Washington to use all of their timeouts. Eastern Washington once again drives down the field to put another touchdown on the board, making it 38-35. They now need the onsides kick as there is only 28 seconds to go and they have no timeouts.

Also, suddenly Delaware is up on Northern Iowa 12-10.

Update 3:20 PM

Eastern Washington is able to drive down the field to close the gap against Appalachian State to 38-28, but they took a long time with there only being 3:11 left in the game.

Update 3:18 PM

Navy routes Army 38-3.

Update 3:07 PM

Appalachian State recovers an Eastern Washington fumble and probably puts the final nail in the coffin by scoring another touchdown, going up 38-21 with only 6:07 to go.

Update 3:06 PM

A couple of Division III finals:

Mt. Union 52, St. John Fisher 10
Mary-Hardin Baylor 27, Wesley College 10

Update 2:52 PM

Appalachian State is able to get into Eastern Washington’s territory but the drive stalls and EWU stops ASU for the 2nd straight drive. However, they’re still down 31-21.

Also, it’s now 10-o Northern Iowa over Delaware.

Update 2:39 PM

Virginia Tech responds to Boston College, driving down the field and tying the game at 16-16.

Update 2:38 PM

Appalachian State intercepts an Eastern Washington pass, but EWU is able to hold ASU to stay in the game and gets the ball back on a punt.

Update 2:30 PM

The last remaining undefeated team in I-AA Northern Iowa takes a 7-0 lead on Delaware in the 1st quarter.

Update 2:29 PM

Appalachian State once again answers Eastern Washington, putting another touchdown on the board and going up 31-21.

Eastern Washington is going to have to get their offense going. Their three touchdowns have been on a kickoff return for a touchdown, a fake punt, and a 14 yard drive after another long kickoff return. Eastern Washington hasn’t had a single long drive for a touchdown today. Meanwhile, Eastern Washington’s defense hasn’t been able to stop Appalachian State’s offense all day. They’ll need to do that if they want to win this game.

Update 2:20 PM

Boston College responds to Virginia Tech’s touchdown with one of their own. However, Virginia Tech blocks the extra point and returns it for 2 points and Boston College is only able to extend their lead to 16-9.

Update 2:18 PM

Eastern Washington gets their second huge kickoff return, this time for a touchdown, and suddenly it’s 24-21 Appalachian State.

Update 2:15 PM

Central Michigan wins the MAC, defeating Miami (OH) 35-10

Update 2:14 PM

Appalachian State drives down the field on their first drive of the 2nd half and puts up a field goal to expand their lead to 24-14.

Update 2:11 PM

Virginia Tech finally is able to get a drive together and sticks it into an endzone to make it 10-7 Boston College.

Update 1:59 PM

Eastern Washington scores a touchdown on a fake punt on their opening drive of the 2nd half to reduce Appalachian State’s lead to 21-14.

Meanwhile, Boston College works their way down the field and adds a field goal to make it a 10-0 lead over Virginia Tech.

Update 1:38 PM

Virginia Tech fumbles and Boston College recovers and runs it back for a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead.

Update 1:31 PM

In the Division II quarterfinals, California (PA) leads Shepherd 27-17 at halftime, Grand Valley State leads Central Washington 6-0 in the 1st quarter, while North Alabama and Valdosta State are tied at 6 in the 1st quarter. I can’t seem to find a score for the Chadron State vs. NW Missouri State game.

In the Division III quarterfinals, Mt. Union leads St. John Fisher 21-0 at halftime, Mary-Hardin Baylor leads Wesley College 10-3 at halftime, Wisconsin-Whitewater leads Wabash 7-0 in the 1st quarter, while the Bethel vs. Central College game is reported as being delayed.

Update 1:25 PM

Despite 3 holding calls on their drive, including one calling back a touchdown, Appalachian State is still able to stick it into the endzone, and now it’s 21-7 ASU over Eastern Washington near halftime.

Also, Tulsa strikes back and it’s now 24-20 Central Florida over the Golden Hurricanes. Also, Navy is now up on Army 21-3.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech is held to a 3-and-out.

Update 1:18 PM

Virginia Tech is back to their usual business in the ACC Championship Game as they block a Boston College field goal.

Update 1:17 PM

Central Michigan now goes up on Miami (OH) 14-3.

Update 1:15 PM

By the way, the Conference USA title game is also going on today. Currently Central Florida leads Tulsa 24-13.

Update 1:13 PM

Eastern Washington gets the ball inside the ASU 5 yard line but fumbles the ball away and is recovered by Appalachian State.

Meanwhile, Miami (OH) gets on the board, but is still down to Central Michigan 7-3. It’s also 7-3 Navy over Army.

Update 1:00 PM

Appalachian State is able to work their way into Eastern Washington territory, but then is stopped and is forced to put it away.

Update 12:52 PM

Eastern Washington returns the kickoff down to the ASU 14 yard line. They quickly put it into the endzone and makes it 14-7 Appalachian State.

Update 12:47 PM

Navy goes up 7-0 on Army. Meanwhile, Appalachian State appears to be having an easier time this week than last week as they go up on Eastern Washington 14-0.

Update 12:39 PM

Eastern Washington gets deep into Appalachian State territory, but a big sack sets EWU back and ASU blocks the field goal.

Update 12:27 PM

Appalachian State strikes first and goes up on Eastern Washington 7-0.

In the MAC Championship, it’s 7-0 Central Michigan over Miami at halftime (the game started at 11am).

Original Post

We start off the day with the MAC Championship game between Miami (OH) and Central Michigan and our first I-AA quarterfinal between Eastern Washington and Appalachian State.

Update at bottom.

While the teams who got into the I-AA tournament may not be all that surprising, I found the seeding to be a little shocking.

The first 3 seeds were not surprise: #1 Northern Iowa, #2 McNeese State, and #3 Montana all finished the season undefeated. Also, Southern Illinois being picked as the #4 seeded wasn’t wholly surprising given they were the only 1-loss team in the nation, and whose only loss was to Northern Iowa.

However, from that point, the surprises start coming.

9-2 Massachusetts and 9-2 Richmond were both seeded higher than 9-2 Appalachian State, despite Appalachian State’s Week 1 victory at Michigan. Massachusetts was given the #5 seed while Richmond was seeded #6. Appalachian State was seeded #7. Delaware, which lost this past weekend to Villanova, was given the #8 seed, giving Colonial Athletic Association teams 3 home games in the first round.

After that, Delaware State, which was ranked only one spot behind Delaware before the Blue Hen’s loss this past weekend, is seeded 9th, James Madison, another CAA team, is seeded 10th, Eastern Kentucky is seeded 11th, and Fordham is seeded 12th.

Rounding out the final 4 seeds are Eastern Illinois, Wofford, Eastern Washington, and New Hampshire, which became a record 5th CAA team in the tournament.

Youngstown State, who was ranked ahead of both New Hampshire and Eastern Illinois in the Coaches poll, were left out of the tournament, though apparently there is usually resisitence against putting 4-loss teams into the tournament if possible.

That makes the Bracket thus:

#16 New Hampshire at #1 Northern Iowa
#9 Delaware State at #8 Delaware
#12 Fordham at #5 Massachusetts
#13 Eastern Illinois at #4 Southern Illinois
#14 Wofford at #3 Montana
#11 Eastern Kentucky at #6 Richmond
#10 James Madison at #7 Appalachian State
#15 Eastern Washington at #2 McNeese State

Is it me, or was this bracket structured around making it as hard as possible for Appalachian State to win a 3rd straight title. First off, most people not only thought that Appalachian State probably wouldn’t be seeded that low, but could possibly jump Southern Illinois for the 4-seed due to SIU’s lack of strength of schedule and ASU’s win over Michigan. That obviously didn’t happen. Also, even though neither of ASU’s losses weren’t bad (to Wofford, who is in the tournament, and to Georgia Southern, who probably only didn’t make it because they lost to a I-A team this past weekend), apparently both Richmond and UMass have a bad loss on their record, which makes their being seeded over ASU surprising.

This also means, barring upsets, ASU will only get one home game - and that’s against probably the best team not playing at home in the first round in James Madison. If they win that game, they have to face undefeated McNeese State in the 2nd round instead of a 10-1 and more-equal-to-them Southern Illinois, who they would have faced if they were the 5 seed.

Basically, if everyone wins as they should, and ASU still wins the title, they will have definitely earned it, since they potentially have to defeat all three remaining undefeated teams left in I-AA to get there.

One also has to wonder if the first round matchups were made to make maximum hype for them. Clearly the James Madison vs. Appalachian State will be the most hyped first round game since both are excellent teams. But then you have several regional matchups in the 1st round with Delaware vs. Delaware State, Eastern Illinois vs. Southern Illinois, Massachusetts vs. Fordham, and, arguably, Eastern Kentucky vs. Richmond.

Really, only the big 3 undefeated teams got off by not having to play someone in pretty close proximity to them - Northern Iowa gets New Hampshire, McNeese State (which is located in Louisiana), gets Eastern Washington, while Montana gets Wofford.

In any case, we’ll see how this all plays out starting next week.

Update

As a commenter so eloquently pointed out, the reason there are so many regional matchups is because, well, that’s how the bracket is set up (warning, rather large pdf):

All pairings will be made by the Division I football committee. The following principles are applied when pairing teams:

1. The teams awarded the top four seeds are placed in the appropriate positions in the bracket (Nos. 1 and 4 in the upper half, and Nos. 2 and 3 in the lower half), and will be paired with teams that are in closest geographic proximity;

2. The remaining teams will be paired according to geographic proximity and placed in the bracket according to geographic proximity of the four pairings previously placed in the bracket.

So it’s kind of like pods, but in football.  It see why they do it this way - to keep teams as close as possible, and I guess there is a rationale that, if it’s a playoff, you have to beat everyone anyway, so who you play doesn’t really matter in the end.

Except, outside of first round games, I don’t see the regions holding up.  First off, Appalachian State is closer to #4 Southern Illinois than #2 McNeese State by about 400 miles (about 540 miles vs. 940 miles).  OK, one could arguably say that ASU should play down in Louisiana because none of the other 1st round host institutions (Delaware, Massachusetts, and Richmond) are closer to McNeese State.

However, if ASU is supposed to be the #5 team in the bracket, and there is no clear regional breakdown (teams in Delaware, North Carolina, Virginia, and Massachusetts being paired with teams in Iowa, Montana, Louisiana, and Illinois), shouldn’t they basically get first consideration on where to play, since no one is going to play remotely near home in the 2nd round anyway?

I mean, you look at those choices.  About the only team that doesn’t make sense to pair with McNeese State would be Massachusetts.  But about anyone could go with Northern Iowa, anyone could go with Montana, and anyone could go with Southern Illinois.  In that case, outside the first round, there isn’t really any regional integrity to maintain, so why not place them essentially as seeds?

Also, am I the only one who notices that their regional pairings could have been made considerably easier if they had just made ASU the #4 seed - something which some people believed would happen anyway (and they certainly had a strong argument for it).  In that case, you’d have Richmond being paired with ASU as a no-brainer.  Southern Illinois being paired with Northern Iowa as a no-brainer.  I already said UMass shouldn’t go to McNeese State, so they’d get shipped out to Montana, and then Delaware gets paired with McNeese.

I won’t even get into the issue of whether one gets to play a home game or not.  While, for practical purposes, the better team should always get the home game in the playoffs, it’s not guaranteed (and why it’s not is simple: $$$).

Also for perhaps another day is what I consider to be the unfair advantage the CAA gets by being a conference with 12 teams, yet playing only 8 conference games and not having any sort of conference championship game.  This conference was built to maximize the number of teams it can put into the I-AA tournament since everyone does not play everyone else (Case in point: UMass and Richmond, the conference co-champions, didn’t play).  The only other conference like this is the Ohio Valley, but it’s somewhat mitigated by the fact that it’s only 10 teams, so they don’t play 1 team instead of not playing 3 teams. (The MEAC also has 10 teams, but they play 9 conference games).

And I didn’t even notice this: the apparent last team in, New Hampshire has 4 losses - all in conference (meaning they were 4-4 in their conference).  Georgia Southern  also has 4-losses, they were thisclose from winning the conference (they ended up going 4-3 in a conference where everyone had at least 2 conference losses), and one of their losses was to a I-A team.  Why did New Hampshire get in as a 5th CAA team over Georgia Southern as a 3rd Southern Conference team?

Or why did New Hampshire get in above a 4-loss Youngstown State team, where 3 of their 4 losses are against 2 of the 4 seeded teams in the I-AA tournament and Ohio State?

Or why did they get in ahead of 4-loss Elon, who also went 4-3 in the Southern Conference, plus lost by only two touchdowns to South Florida?

Or why did they get ahead of a 3-loss Norfolk State team, who also lost to a I-A team (Rutgers)?

The more I look at it, the more the selection of New Hampshire makes absolutely no sense, and it’s just aggravated by the fact that it gave the CAA a record 5 teams in the tournament.  The only argument one could make is that they beat Marhsall (which is a comparable game to Georgia Southern vs. Colorado State, and Georgia Southern lost - but then again Georgia Southern lost to fewer I-AA teams too).

So even with the correction that teams are placed regionally, it still doesn’t make sense to me.