Which game surprised you the most this weekend and why?

[BisonBacker]

Ok after the first round which game surprised you and why. Lets please try to keep this from going to the Smack Thread.

The game that surprised me the most was the UNI game being close as it was. Not sure why other then I thought UNI would be more dominant.

Coming in a close second on the list would be EWU at McNeese. I don't think anyone saw that coming, not even BSC fans. They can talk about EWU all they want but if they think they were going to dominate McNeese like that I don't believe them for a second.

[Sam Adams]

The UNI game was a surprise to me.

[FCS Preview]

EWU over McNeese. Not just the win, but the margin of victory.

You just don't expect to see an undefeated seed losing at home as badly as that.

[Ud1Hens]

I'd go:

1) E. Washington dominating McNeese St. like they did. Must have felt right at home with the weather cold and rainy.

2) Northern Iowa needed a last minute drive to win the game. Yes they missed FGs, allowed a KO return for a TD and probably didn't play their best...but the #1 team in the nation, playing at home against the 5th best team from a conference shouldn't get taken to the limits. They did win though, so that's all that matters.

Can't say I was surprised by Wofford winning...I picked them in all of the playoff pools.

[Tribe4SF]

For me it was Fordham hanging with UMass. There was nothing on Fordham's resume that led me to believe they could take that game to the fourth quarter.

The UNI win was surprising to many, but I'm not shocked that UNH made a game of it.

EWU and Wofford had plenty of people picking them. UD, SIU, Richmond were all solid favorites to me. ASU/JMU looked like a toss-up, and was just that.

[BisonBacker]

Why I didn't think the Wofford win was a big surprise? Every team at this stage of the season is good. In Woffords case they played a bunch of teams that were battle tested. Montana played EWU which was a good team as was shown in EWU's performance yesterday but after that who do you point to on Montana's schedule to show a battle tested team? NAU showed signs of being a good team but then had some real stinkers too. I do think Wofford benefited from playing those tougher games but that is just my opinion.

[Mountaineer#96]

For me the biggest surprise was UNI vs UNH, that was a very close and hard fought game.

The no surprise game was Del State vs Del......what a waste of breath. I'm very sick of the race card and it was a horrible game. UD destroyed State and made Del State look like a Div 2 squad.

[BlueHen86]

Eastern Washington - McNeese was the only game I picked wrong in the first round.

My second choice was Fordham hanging with UMass, I expected an easier win for UMass. (I should have known better, Patriot teams almost always play well in the playoffs.)

[ChickenMan]

I picked EWU over McNeese St.. but I expected a competitive game.. not a 30 point blowout.

[dgreco]

EWU over McNeese. Not just the win, but the margin of victory.

You just don't expect to see an undefeated seed losing at home as badly as that.
what i thought when I was saw the boxscore.

[Peems]

I picked EWU over McNeese. I was one of the BSC fans tooting the Eastern horn, but I didn't think it would be a complete blowout

[JBB]

Any blowout in the playoff is unexpected, but the EWU game was a big surprise to me.

The UNI game was surprising too. It must have been an exciting game to watch.

[KiddBrewer]

I thought UNI would win by atleast 21...

[blackfordpu]

I am more surprised with the Delaware/Delaware St. game. D St has looked much better than that all year.

The McNeese game didn't surprise me one bit.

[UNHFootballAlum]

The EWU-McNeese Game was the most surprising. I did not expect a blowout and if there was a blowout I thought it would be McNeese.

The UNH-UNI game didn't surprise me at all. I expected a close game and actually predicted a UNH win by a score of 41-38. Anytime you have a QB like Santos, you have a chance to beat any team

[Seawolf97]

Fordham staying with a good UMass team. I think the Patriot League will see them as contender next season.
I thought Delaware State would stay with UD longer. I suspect play off in experience got them. They will get better.

[blukeys]

I picked EWU over McNeese St.. but I expected a competitive game.. not a 30 point blowout.

Ditto here. I had heard the SLC was down this year and would not have been surprised with and EWU win but another NAU type blowout ala 2003?? Not really.

[appmountaineer]

EWU over McNeese. Not just the win, but the margin of victory.

You just don't expect to see an undefeated seed losing at home as badly as that.

agreed didn't think that would happen at all

[Tubby Raymond]

I thought UNI was a runnaway favorite, not nowxnonox

[Appdad]

ASU

I am surprised they won after watching the game from the stands. I am surprised I didn't get sick after the game because I felt I would vomit during it.

[feb18blacksunday]

I didn't even thing the EWU would blow out McNeese .

[UMass922]

EWU blowing out McNeese State.

UNH also proved me wrong--I didn't think they'd give UNI as good a game as they did. I'm among those who felt Villanova should have gotten the final playoff spot.

[Daved]

EWU vs. McNeese was the only game I predicted incorrectly,I almost went with JMU over Appy till I remembered that Mickey Matthews was still the coach there.

[skinny_uncle]

EWU thumping McNeese had to be the biggest surprise. How can an 11-0 team get beat that bad?

[Gil Dobie]

For me it was Fordham hanging with UMass. There was nothing on Fordham's resume that led me to believe they could take that game to the fourth quarter.

The UNI win was surprising to many, but I'm not shocked that UNH made a game of it.

EWU and Wofford had plenty of people picking them. UD, SIU, Richmond were all solid favorites to me. ASU/JMU looked like a toss-up, and was just that.

I agree xthumbsupx

[appchuck]

I agree with about everyone else, EWU. McNeese won by an average of 37-16 and EWU average of all their games was 33-21, it is hard to believe there was that much difference in this game.

[Torgo]

I thought UNI would destroy New Hampshire, so that one wins for me.


I'm surprised that EWU won by that margin, but not that they won. They impressed the hell out of me when they came into Missoula. They outplayed Montana pretty easily, but Montana was able to pull out a 1 point win. EWU is a dangerous team...but still. Undefeated, at home, and that bad of a loss...didn't see that happening.



Fordham hanging with UMass also was pretty shocking. I thought that one would be decided by the end of the first quarter.

[WyomingGrizFan]

Every team at this stage of the season is good. In Woffords case they played a bunch of teams that were battle tested. Montana played EWU which was a good team as was shown in EWU's performance yesterday but after that who do you point to on Montana's schedule to show a battle tested team? I do think Wofford benefited from playing those tougher games but that is just my opinion.

I can agree that this years schedule didn't have the particular quality for a strong OOC/regular season schedule, if one prefers to say so. Not deriding the likes of Southern Utah (brutal schedule) and Albany, which were good teams and came to play, which is all one can ask. They honoured the game to play it as it should be.

But the Griz team had nearly over twenty seniors that, in the main, started against Iowa and South Dakota State last year as juniors and against Cal Poly (twice) and Oregon as sophomores. In their college football careers during the past three years at least they've been battle tested a plenty. We're not ever going to replace them, but hopefully reload.

Fordham staying within striking distance of Massachusetts surprised me, after seeing UMass just last year, along with a number of other games. The QB at Eastern Washington is getting to be as bad as Eric Meyer was, and that was bad enough. Drew Huber, freshman QB at PSU, is another to watch out for. I don't think he even played against McNeese State, but he's another like Nichols, maybe better.

[ngineer]

Only BIG surprise was the EWU game. Not only the result but the spread. I actually picked Wofford to win in a close game. UD over DSU was expected, though I thought the Hornets would be a little closer (like 45-21). Despite UNH's erratic play throughout the year, I think most figured the Wildcats would give UNI a tussle--a little closer than most thought, but still a UNI win. No other surprises...

[AZGrizFan]

Ok after the first round which game surprised you and why. Lets please try to keep this from going to the Smack Thread.

The game that surprised me the most was the UNI game being close as it was. Not sure why other then I thought UNI would be more dominant.

Coming in a close second on the list would be EWU at McNeese. I don't think anyone saw that coming, not even BSC fans. They can talk about EWU all they want but if they think they were going to dominate McNeese like that I don't believe them for a second.

I certainly didn't think the score would get so out of hand, but I was fairly confident EWU would control the game.

And I picked UMass/Fordham. I expected a blowout, and only two late TD's by the Minutemen secured a hardfought victory. Doesn't bode well for the Minutemen in their second round game... xwhistlex xwhistlex xwhistlex

[Grizo406]

Excluding the Delaware State/Delaware game, I'd have to say the Wofford/Griz game.

I was there, and can honestly say we should have won it. We had numerous chances, but it slipped through our hands. It wasn't totally unlike trying to hold a hand full of Mercury...really hard to do!

As a Griz fan, I'm hurt by the loss, but I'm absolutely devastated for #29, Dan Carpenter.

The Terriers got it done, we didn't.

They will be hard to stop.

[mikebigg]

EWU over McNeese. Not just the win, but the margin of victory.

You just don't expect to see an undefeated seed losing at home as badly as that.

Really surprised me too... I expected the Cowboys to make a huge run in the playoffs. Maybe the Southland Conference is a bit overrated after all... I know this is gonna stir up some folk (especially with me being a SWAC member) but if that was a SWAC team that came in 11-0 and got pasted at home, the ridicule would be all over this board.

Is the Southland stronger than the SWAC in football? Yes, the record would seem to bear that out. However, the margin ain't as much as some would have you believe. Outside of McNeese, the rest are not really national players on a consistent basis.

[mikebigg]

For me the biggest surprise was UNI vs UNH, that was a very close and hard fought game.

The no surprise game was Del State vs Del......what a waste of breath. I'm very sick of the race card and it was a horrible game. UD destroyed State and made Del State look like a Div 2 squad.

Who mentioned race? Delaware was just the better club in terms of talent...why does this have to be about race? Delaware defeated Navy who the next week defeated Notre Dame. This game wasn't about race (not to me), it was about one school with better facilities and resources beating another school (from the same state) with fewer resources and less talent. No one made that racial... well, no one else!xnonox

[blukeys]

Who mentioned race? Delaware was just the better club in terms of talent...why does this have to be about race? Delaware defeated Navy who the next week defeated Notre Dame. This game wasn't about race (not to me), it was about one school with better facilities and resources beating another school (from the same state) with fewer resources and less talent. No one made that racial... well, no one else!xnonox

I'm glad you feel that way but the National and local media made this all about race and beat UD over the head for weeks and in a couple of cases for years.

Obviously, You didn't read Jeff Pearlman and ESPN or the non-stop threads on this board about how racist UD is. You were probably better off for having skipped it.

[putter]

I picked UNH/UNI. I did not think that UNH would hang with UNI. Eastern did not surprise me. The margin did but the win did not as I posted that Eastern was a dangerous team and still is.

[mikebigg]

I'm glad you feel that way but the National and local media made this all about race and beat UD over the head for weeks and in a couple of cases for years.

Obviously, You didn't read Jeff Pearlman and ESPN or the non-stop threads on this board about how racist UD is. You were probably better off for having skipped it.

At one time, it might have been for racial reasons only but I can see that it became a matter of UD having nothing to gain and everything to lose. Even now it was gonna be a no-win for you guys...

[aust42]

[QUOTE=Ud1Hens;763885]I'd go:

Northern Iowa needed a last minute drive to win the game. Yes they missed FGs, allowed a KO return for a TD and probably didn't play their best...but the #1 team in the nation, playing at home against the 5th best team from a conference shouldn't get taken to the limits. They did win though, so that's all that matters.

Come on Ud1Hens, they played the 5th best team from the best FCS conference. xsmiley_wix Because of "Santos The Giant Killer" I was not surprised at all that this game was close.

I'm with most others and was very surprised McNeese State was dominated at home.

[McDABest]

Really surprised me too... I expected the Cowboys to make a huge run in the playoffs. Maybe the Southland Conference is a bit overrated after all... I know this is gonna stir up some folk (especially with me being a SWAC member) but if that was a SWAC team that came in 11-0 and got pasted at home, the ridicule would be all over this board.

Is the Southland stronger than the SWAC in football? Yes, the record would seem to bear that out. However, the margin ain't as much as some would have you believe. Outside of McNeese, the rest are not really national players on a consistent basis.

Being a McNeese fan, I picked EWU over us. I knew they would have a good shot at beating us, but I thought we would win. Plus, if they did win, I would have never expected them to dominate us and blow us out, and I knew Montana was in the same boat as us, bad SOS.

About the SLC, partially yes, it is better than the SWAC, but not by that much as a whole. Our conference needs a team or two to step up. If that never happens, we will not be as good. When Troy was a football-only member, we were better because that was another school that was consistently good at football. Also, our conference has 3 teams in Texas, 4 in Louisiana, and 1 in Arkansas. That is tight recruiting-wise. The talent is getting spread out to thin to teams that only recruit out of local high schools. If a team in the SLC wanted to do good in the playoffs, they need to recruit out of their local high schools, the general areas around the schools city (For example: Southeast Texas for us), and any place that may have a player that wants to go to that school for that matter. Plus, they need several good FBS transfers.

[Houndawg]

I'd go:



2) Northern Iowa needed a last minute drive to win the game. Yes they missed FGs, allowed a KO return for a TD and probably didn't play their best...but the #1 team in the nation, playing at home against the 5th best team from a conference shouldn't get taken to the limits. They did win though, so that's all that matters.



5th best team is just a guess since the conference doesn't all play each other, they mightactually be the 2nd or 3rd best in the CAA. But by that logic it's also pretty surprising the the #1 team in the best FCS conference was tied with Fordham in the 4th quarter even though they likely didn't play their best. Just sayin'.

[BisonBacker]

Being a McNeese fan, I picked EWU over us. I knew they would have a good shot at beating us, but I thought we would win. Plus, if they did win, I would have never expected them to dominate us and blow us out, and I knew Montana was in the same boat as us, bad SOS.

About the SLC, partially yes, it is better than the SWAC, but not by that much as a whole. Our conference needs a team or two to step up. If that never happens, we will not be as good. When Troy was a football-only member, we were better because that was another school that was consistently good at football. Also, our conference has 3 teams in Texas, 4 in Louisiana, and 1 in Arkansas. That is tight recruiting-wise. The talent is getting spread out to thin to teams that only recruit out of local high schools. If a team in the SLC wanted to do good in the playoffs, they need to recruit out of their local high schools, the general areas around the schools city (For example: Southeast Texas for us), and any place that may have a player that wants to go to that school for that matter. Plus, they need several good FBS transfers.

I'm sorry but can you explain this???? You thought they would win but you thought you would win???xeyebrowx

[McDABest]

I'm sorry but can you explain this???? You thought they would win but you thought you would win???xeyebrowx

BIG TIME OOPS!!! xoopsx I meant to say "I picked us over EWU." I'll edit it if I can.

[blukeys]

At one time, it might have been for racial reasons only but I can see that it became a matter of UD having nothing to gain and everything to lose. Even now it was gonna be a no-win for you guys...

You have too much common sense. You would never make it as a Journalist for ESPN or News Journal. xsmiley_wix xsmiley_wix xsmiley_wix xsmiley_wix

[UDChE89]

You have too much common sense. You would never make it as a Journalist for ESPN or News Journal. xsmiley_wix xsmiley_wix xsmiley_wix xsmiley_wix

GOD, isn't that right... xthumbsupx