2023 Playoffs Round 2: Mercer @ #1 South Dakota State

[Professor Chaos]

Game kicks off Saturday 12/2 at 1PM CT and will be streaming on ESPN+. Winner faces the winner of Youngstown State and Villanova.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53356229257_d18ae8fa46_b.jpg

[Milktruck74]

Go Bears. That's twice today....and now I need a shower!!!

[Mocs123]

Yep, it pains me to say it but, Go Bears!!!!

[Milktruck74]

I don't expect to see an upset here, but Mercer is a very well coached team with a very dangerous return man and a solid defense. A few lucky bounces and who knows???

[SteelSD]

Looking forward to seeing a new team come to Brookings. Hopefully Mercer brings a good crowd as it’s fun to meet different fan bases.

[FUBeAR]

Since FUBeAR did this research last summer and opened the file for another reason, he thought he would provide some historical data that may interest we peeps posting in this thread...

In the 9 prior Playoffs that have utilized the 24 Team / 8 Seeds (with home games AND 1 week rests prior), the record of #1 Seeds vs. Unseeded Opponents, in Round 2, is:

#1 Seeds = 9 WINS
Unseeded = 9 L's

The Average Score in these matchups has been #1 Seed ~42 - Unseeded Team ~16; a margin of victory of ~26 points.

In the 9 #1 Seed Wins, only 2 times has the margin of victory been less than double digits.

In 2021, unseeded Incarnate Word (Southland) lost to #1 Seed Sam Houston State (WAC) by a TD 49-42.
In 2015, unseeded Chattanooga (SoCon) almost pulled the upset, before falling 41-35 to Jacksonville State (OVC).

[caribbeanhen]

Hey what happened to this part

“Haven't read this thread...don't really intend to...sorry Griz/Hen fans, FUBeAR just ain't that into you.”

“FuBeaR don’t care”

[ngineer]

Since FUBeAR did this research last summer and opened the file for another reason, he thought he would provide some historical data that may interest we peeps posting in this thread...

In the 9 prior Playoffs that have utilized the 24 Team / 8 Seeds (with home games AND 1 week rests prior), the record of #1 Seeds vs. Unseeded Opponents is:

#1 Seeds = 9 WINS
Unseeded = 9 L's

The Average Score in these matchups has been #1 Seed ~42 - Unseeded Team ~16; a margin of victory of ~26 points.

In the 9 #1 Seed Wins, only 2 times has the margin of victory been less than double digits.

In 2021, unseeded Incarnate Word (Southland) lost to #1 Seed Sam Houston State (WAC) by a TD 49-42.
In 2015, unseeded Chattanooga (SoCon) almost pulled the upset, before falling 41-35 to Jacksonville State (OVC).

Love your signature. It drips with sarcasm. NCAA has been a losing cause for years, and now completely lost.

[Chalupa Batman]

Hey what happened to this part

“Haven't read this thread...don't really intend to...sorry Griz/Hen fans, FUBeAR just ain't that into you.”

“FuBeaR don’t care”


I'd guess he's into SDSU since they're playing Mercer and hence he's going to read every post on this thread.

[FUBeAR]

I'd guess he's into SDSU since they're playing Mercer and hence he's going to read every post on this thread.
Unlike CHen, you, CBatman, have an amazing grasp of the obvious!

[caribbeanhen]

Unlike CHen, you, CBatman, have an amazing grasp of the obvious!

Hmmmm, actually it is rather obvious you do have a great interest in the Delaware Montana game as you have been promoting Delaware all over AGS. Why? Because FuBeaR has great fear of cold weather and 24,000 Grizzlies gathered in one place and has no desire whatsoever to head west of the Appalachia chain, and besides interpreters are getting expensive.

[FUBeAR]

you have been promoting Delaware all over Absolutely not true. FUBeAR is too busy for such foolishness. Look at all the peeps he had to feed this T'Giving. Getting them all to sit still long enough to pose for a pic in FUBeAR's backyard took almost half a day...

https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront. net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Fbluehens.com%2Fimage s%2F2015%2F1%2F9%2FOGTVFSIZREOQLCI.20150109193554. jpg&height=1100&type=webp

[Mocs123]

Delvin Harper is an elite playmaker. Mercer needs to get the ball in his hands as often as possible on Saturday to have a chance. On paper this looks like a solid win for SDSU, but I think Drew Cronic is a good coach, so hopefully he's able to scheme up a good gameplan against the Jackrabbits.

[FUBeAR]

FWIW, Massey projects SDSU as having a 99% likelihood to beat Mercer.

In his “Matchup” tool, Massey’s “most likely” score is SDSU 35 - Mercer 7.

This predicted outcome is similar to, but better than SDSU’s actual outcomes on the road @ #3 Seed, South Dakota and @ Playoff Team/Advancer, Youngstown State…so FUBeAR thinks Mr. Massey is being generous to the 1st time Playoff participant Bears with his prediculation.

[Mocs123]

BTW - 99% chance of victory? Really? I certainly wouldn't expect Mercer to be favored, but this isn't Davidson, they do have 63 scholarship players in case Massey didn't know. I can't imagine any playoff game involving two teams with fully funded scholarships having one team with a 99% chance of winning - that just seems crazy to me.

[caribbeanhen]

BTW - 99% chance of victory? Really? I certainly wouldn't expect Mercer to be favored, but this isn't Davidson, they do have 63 scholarship players in case Massey didn't know. I can't imagine any playoff game involving two teams with fully funded scholarships having one team with a 99% chance of winning - that just seems crazy to me.

You won’t need to imagine anything after Saturday

[caribbeanhen]

Delvin Harper is an elite playmaker. Mercer needs to get the ball in his hands as often as possible on Saturday to have a chance of scoring at least one TD.

FYP

[FUBeAR]

FYP
SDSU held #3 Seed, South Dakota, without a TD, so if the Bears do not cross the bunnies’ goal line, they will be in good company.

If you really wanted to “FYP,” you would have corrected the spelling of Mr. Harper’s 1st name to Devron, as in…

NCAA DIVISION I FCS COMBINED KICK RETURNSThrough games Saturday, November 25, 2023


RANK
NAME
TEAM
CL
POSITION
G
KO RET
KO RET YDS
PUNT RET
PUNT RET YDS
YDS


1
Devron Harper
Mercer (https://www.ncaa.com/schools?school=mercer)
Sr.
WR
12
20
470
27
371
841.00













The next closest Returner to Mr. Harper remaining in the Playoffs is Ranked #15 and trails Mr. Harper by 263 yards.

FUBeAR would guess predictions are that Harper may have abundant opportunities to increase his Kick Return Yards this week, but very few, if any, Punt Return opportunities.

[Professor Chaos]

BTW - 99% chance of victory? Really? I certainly wouldn't expect Mercer to be favored, but this isn't Davidson, they do have 63 scholarship players in case Massey didn't know. I can't imagine any playoff game involving two teams with fully funded scholarships having one team with a 99% chance of winning - that just seems crazy to me.
Massey has SDSU at #27 and Sagarin has them at #29 in all of D1. They're very very good - there's a reason why Vegas is giving better than 1:1 odds for a bettor to take the field outside of SDSU to win the FCS title. This is similar to Mercer going on the road against a good (but not great) FBS team. Ole Miss, who Mercer lost to 73-7, is at #12 and #16, respectively, in Massey and Sagarin. So it's not quite that kind of challenge Mercer has on its hands but it's not far behind especially since SDSU will likely be more motivated than Ole Miss was.

[FUBeAR]

Ole Miss, who Mercer lost to 73-7, is at #12 and #16The Ole Miss game score was an anomaly for Mercer’s usual results vs. FBS SEC Teams.

Their 42-16 loss to Auburn in 2022 and their 48-14 loss to #1 Alabama in 2021 are much more reflective of how those types of games have played out over the years.

Almost all of the leaders and primary contributors on this Mercer Team have visited Bryant-Denny Stadium, Jordan-Hare Stadium, and Vaught Hemingway Stadium to face-off against Alabama, Auburn, and Ole Miss, respectively, in the past 3 years, playing head-to-head against many of the most talented college Football Players & Teams on the planet, in front of as many as 95,396 hostile football-crazed SEC fans, which is almost 5 times as many attendees as SDSU’s largest 2023 crowd of 19,431.

SDSU may (or may not) be an immeasurably better Football Team than Mercer, but FUBeAR is certain these Bears, from their SEC experiences, will certainly not be intimidated by any of the Jackrabbit Players, the Team as a whole, or the Stadium environment. Now, if the weather turns to the teens (or below) with freezing precipitation and howling bare-skin freezing winds, that’s a different story. Mercer’s Players have never experienced anything like trying to play Football in that kind of climate. (And no one should have to…just in case our NCAA overlords are reading along.)

[Professor Chaos]

Another component of this game that may play to Mercer's disadvantage is I'm thinking this might be the first time many of the players on this team have flown to an away game??? Looking at their previous year's OOC schedules I'd assume the last time they flew was in fall 2020 to West Point to play Army. OOC road games in that time are North Alabama (in Birmingham), Ole Miss, Auburn, Gardner-Webb, Alabama, and Jacksonville St and I'd assume they bus to all road SOCON games.

Might mean nothing.... might mean something...

[FUBeAR]

Another component of this game that may play to Mercer's disadvantage is I'm thinking this might be the first time many of the players on this team have flown to an away game??? Looking at their previous year's OOC schedules I'd assume the last time they flew was in fall 2020 to West Point to play Army. OOC road games in that time are North Alabama (in Birmingham), Ole Miss, Auburn, Gardner-Webb, Alabama, and Jacksonville St and I'd assume they bus to all road SOCON games.

Might mean nothing.... might mean something...The 2013 1st ‘new edition’ of the Mercer Bears finished 10-2, an NCAA record for 1st year startup programs. They lost to San Diego & Marist - both flights, their only flights that season. FUBeAR Jr. told FUBeAR after the Marist game, “Sorry Dad, Bears don’t fly.”

So, you may be on to ‘something.’

FUBeAR counts around a dozen Bears on the 2023 roster who would have flown to West Point, but they are 12 of the primary contributors and Team Leaders, so they will, undoubtedly, lead the younger Bears as they take to wing for their maiden journey. Also, Coach Cronic, FUBeAR believes, has much experience traveling via air as he has led NAIA and D2 Teams on deep Playoff runs. Like OJ, he knows how to get thru airports.

It’s ’something,’ but FUBeAR believes the young (and not so young) men wearing blue and yella & orange & black will have a lot more impact as to the outcome of this game than the articles read in InFlight magazine this week.

[Mocs123]

Another component of this game that may play to Mercer's disadvantage is I'm thinking this might be the first time many of the players on this team have flown to an away game??? Looking at their previous year's OOC schedules I'd assume the last time they flew was in fall 2020 to West Point to play Army. OOC road games in that time are North Alabama (in Birmingham), Ole Miss, Auburn, Gardner-Webb, Alabama, and Jacksonville St and I'd assume they bus to all road SOCON games.

Might mean nothing.... might mean something...

Well they might be afraid of being stuck in an airport after recent events!

Maybe the Jackrabbits will feel bad picking on the 12th largest school in the state of Georgia.

[Karl Havoc]

SDSU is favored by 32.5.

[caribbeanhen]

SDSU held #3 Seed, South Dakota, without a TD, so if the Bears do not cross the bunnies’ goal line, they will be in good company.

If you really wanted to “FYP,” you would have corrected the spelling of the Mr. Harper’s 1st name to Devron, as in…

NCAA DIVISION I FCS COMBINED KICK RETURNSThrough games Saturday, November 25, 2023


RANK
NAME
TEAM
CL
POSITION
G
KO RET
KO RET YDS
PUNT RET
PUNT RET YDS
YDS


1
Devron Harper
Mercer (https://www.ncaa.com/schools?school=mercer)
Sr.
WR
12
20
470
27
371
841.00













The next closest Returner to Mr. Harper remaining in the Playoffs is Ranked #15 and trails Mr. Harper by 263 yard.

FUBeAR would guess predictions are that Harper may have abundant opportunities to increase his Kick Return Yards this week, but very few, if any, Punt Return opportunities.

The Eulogy for Mercer’s season has already commenced

[Professor Chaos]

The Ole Miss game score was an anomaly for Mercer’s usual results vs. FBS SEC Teams.

Their 42-16 loss to Auburn in 2022 and their 48-14 loss to #1 Alabama in 2021 are much more reflective of how those types of games have played out over the years.

Almost all of the leaders and primary contributors on this Mercer Team have visited Bryant-Denny Stadium, Jordan-Hare Stadium, and Vaught Hemingway Stadium to face-off against Alabama, Auburn, and Ole Miss, respectively, in the past 3 years, playing head-to-head against many of the most talented college Football Players & Teams on the planet, in front of as many as 95,396 hostile football-crazed SEC fans, which is almost 5 times as many attendees as SDSU’s largest 2023 crowd of 19,431.

SDSU may (or may not) be an immeasurably better Football Team than Mercer, but FUBeAR is certain these Bears, from their SEC experiences, will certainly not be intimidated by any of the Jackrabbit Players, the Team as a whole, or the Stadium environment. Now, if the weather turns to the teens (or below) with freezing precipitation and howling bare-skin freezing winds, that’s a different story. Mercer’s Players have never experienced anything like trying to play Football in that kind of climate. (And no one should have to…just in case our NCAA overlords are reading along.)
Yeah, I don't think the atmosphere will have much effect on Mercer. Based on ticket sales looks like the crowd will top 10k but very unlikely to get to 15k so they'll definitely hear the crowd but probably not much to cause much of an issue. The Brookings forecast is reasonable for this neck of the woods this time of year - partly cloudy, high 39, winds 10-20 mph.

The tough part about playing in Brookings is more about trying to handle the guys lined up on the other side of the football.

[dbackjon]

SDSU by 15, minimum

[ElCid]

BTW - 99% chance of victory? Really? I certainly wouldn't expect Mercer to be favored, but this isn't Davidson, they do have 63 scholarship players in case Massey didn't know. I can't imagine any playoff game involving two teams with fully funded scholarships having one team with a 99% chance of winning - that just seems crazy to me.

SDSU has been taking care of business all year against mostly good competition. Remember that it is a computer cyphering data based off connected games. Not many games to digest. Game is at home for them as well. And, while not part of the algorithm most likely, SDSU has the playoff experience that Mercer doesn't. Probably 1% is excessive, but 10-20% would probably be more accurate. But still, does it matter at that point. Mercer better come with their A game, make no mistakes in regard to turnovers or penalties, and have the ball bounced their way. It wouldn't surprise me if it was a blowout or if it was close.

[mmiller_34]

This Saturday’s game will be the first time since September 12th, 2009 that SDSU has played a team from the SoCon. SDSU played Georgia Southern that day, winning 44-6. Current SDSU Head Coach Jimmy Rogers had 6 tackles, 1.5 TFL in that game.

I will be there in attendance this weekend. SDSU has done great with their stadium atmosphere this year. However, don’t think this Saturday’s crowd will be anything special. Anything more than 8k in attendance will be considered good.

Obviously, we play the games for a reason. I’ve followed Mercer through the start of their program; but, this SDSU team has just been on another level this year. The past few seasons, the first playoff games in Brookings each year have been heavy blowouts. I would expect a 3-score game in favor of the Jackrabbits.


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[OrangeAndBlack]

There's no denying that South Dakota State is a world beater team, but there's 2 games that stand out on the schedule:

Montana State 16
South Dakota State 20

South Dakota State 17
Southern Illinois 10

In both games, SDSU had one turnover, while their opponents had 1 (MSU) and 2 (S. Ill)

Montana State had a 77% chance to win the game with only 2:30 remaining in the 4th quarter.

Southern Illinois went yard-for-yard with SDSU (308 total yards each)

SDSU QB Mark Gronowski has been impressive with 2359 yards, 30 total touchdowns, and only 3 interceptions.

Mercer QB Carter Peevy nearly matched these numbers.. 2200 yards, 23 total TD, and also only 3 INT.

A key for the game for Mercer is ball security. 20 (!) fumbles on the season, with 13 lost. SDSU has 6 fumbles (5 lost).

The other key (obvious for any game) is 3rd and 4th down. SDSU is successful 55% on 3rd and 78% on 4th (7-9). Mercer is 36% and 56%.


So let's watch the film of the Southern Illinois and Montana State games. The amazing Mercer D will have a chance to force some turnovers (not too long ago I saw a Mercer team force 5 fumbles at Auburn and be within 1 score in the 4th quarter).

[mmiller_34]

There's no denying that South Dakota State is a world beater team, but there's 2 games that stand out on the schedule:

Montana State 16
South Dakota State 20

South Dakota State 17
Southern Illinois 10

In both games, SDSU had one turnover, while their opponents had 1 (MSU) and 2 (S. Ill)

Montana State had a 77% chance to win the game with only 2:30 remaining in the 4th quarter.

Southern Illinois went yard-for-yard with SDSU (308 total yards each)

SDSU QB Mark Gronowski has been impressive with 2359 yards, 30 total touchdowns, and only 3 interceptions.

Mercer QB Carter Peevy nearly matched these numbers.. 2200 yards, 23 total TD, and also only 3 INT.

A key for the game for Mercer is ball security. 20 (!) fumbles on the season, with 13 lost. SDSU has 6 fumbles (5 lost).

The other key (obvious for any game) is 3rd and 4th down. SDSU is successful 55% on 3rd and 78% on 4th (7-9). Mercer is 36% and 56%.


So let's watch the film of the Southern Illinois and Montana State games. The amazing Mercer D will have a chance to force some turnovers (not too long ago I saw a Mercer team force 5 fumbles at Auburn and be within 1 score in the 4th quarter).

The Montana State game was wild. MSU was up 10-0 before SDSU came back. We took a 13-10 lead, then after a series of awful SDSU mistakes, MSU tied it up with 2 minutes left (they couldn’t punch the ball in from the 2 yard line). SDSU went 75 yards in 2 plays for the go-ahead score.

The SIU game, while close as the score indicates, never really in doubt. 14-0 at the end of the 3rd quarter, SDSU threw an interception going in for a would-be 21-0 score. SIU ended up scoring a TD off that turnover. SDSU drove down, got a FG. Then, SIU made a FG with 32 seconds left.

Completely agree with you. The path for Mercer will be to force SDSU into painful turnovers, and then capitalize on them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JacksFan40]

Another factor for this will be the weather. Currently the temperature for kickoff is looking to be 33 and will peak at 35 for the day. The temperature in Macon does drop pretty good at night, but day time temperatures seem to be consistently in the 50s, with Saturday looking like it’ll be high 60s. No snow is projected between now and the game, but there will still be some on the ground, but the field will be clear. See if the Bears are ready to play in cooler temperatures.

I predicted a 31 point SDSU win on the pick’em so I’d say somewhere around 41-10.

[FUBeAR]

Another factor for this will be the weather. Currently the temperature for kickoff is looking to be 33 and will peak at 35 for the day. The temperature in Macon does drop pretty good at night, but day time temperatures seem to be consistently in the 50s, with Saturday looking like it’ll be high 60s. No snow is projected between now and the game, but there will still be some on the ground, but the field will be clear. See if the Bears are ready to play in cooler temperatures.

I predicted a 31 point SDSU win on the pick’em so I’d say somewhere around 41-10.While Mercer’s Players would prefer to swelter the furry lagomorphs in the heart of the Maconga Delta in August in 110 degree heat and 85% humidity, this weather…

https://i.postimg.cc/XvwwyJkC/IMG-0983.jpg

…won’t bother the Bears Players at all.

Mercer conducts their ‘Spring’ Practice in winter and they practice in the EARLY morning hours, under the lights, before classes start. So, just as an example…

https://i.postimg.cc/HLLXxgkw/IMG-0985.jpg

…we can see that the Bears were out there gettin’ better at 6 AM this past January in high 20’s - low 30’s Temps. They’ll be fine…IF the forecast is accurate.
https://twitter.com/mercerfootball/status/1617863402810134528
Now, any Mercer Fans that come are gonna not have the right clothes, freeze, whine, complain, and wonder why (as FUBeAR does) anyone would CHOOSE to live in such an uninhabitable climate.

[PaladinNation]

^^^ interesting Bear… did Chronic carry this over from his Furman days?
Furman is one of the few teams originally that held early spring practices in colder weather.

[FUBeAR]

Game kicks off Saturday 12/2 at 1PM CT and will be streaming on ESPN+. Winner faces the winner of Youngstown State and Villanova.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53356229257_d18ae8fa46_b.jpg

Just looked at these stats. FUBeAR does not like them. Can you change them, or, at least remove them, please?

A friend recently told FUBeAR that many Montana & Montana State fans, along with their Big Sky & MVFC posse(s), just vehemently argue with facts they don’t like and demand that the offending facts be changed, or at least not mentioned in public. Thus, that standard is the basis for FUBeAR’s simple request. He looks forward to your prompt compliance.

[Professor Chaos]

Just looked at these stats. FUBeAR does not like them. Can you change them, or, at least remove them, please?

A friend recently told FUBeAR that many Montana & Montana State fans, along with their Big Sky & MVFC posse(s), just vehemently argue with facts they don’t like and demand that the offending facts be changed, or at least not mentioned in public. Thus, that standard is the basis for FUBeAR’s simple request. He looks forward to your prompt compliance.
Is this better???

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53362245019_484a9ac885_o.jpg

[FUBeAR]

Is this better???

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53362245019_484a9ac885_o.jpg

You omitted Opponent Kick Return Average! This is an outrage!! Why are you such a hater?

[mmiller_34]

While Mercer’s Players would prefer to swelter the furry lagomorphs in the heart of the Maconga Delta in August in 110 degree heat and 85% humidity, this weather…

https://i.postimg.cc/XvwwyJkC/IMG-0983.jpg

…won’t bother the Bears Players at all.

Mercer conducts their ‘Spring’ Practice in winter and they practice in the EARLY morning hours, under the lights, before classes start. So, just as an example…

https://i.postimg.cc/HLLXxgkw/IMG-0985.jpg

…we can see that the Bears were out there gettin’ better at 6 AM this past January in high 20’s - low 30’s Temps. They’ll be fine…IF the forecast is accurate.
https://twitter.com/mercerfootball/status/1617863402810134528
Now, any Mercer Fans that come are gonna not have the right clothes, freeze, whine, complain, and wonder why (as FUBeAR does) anyone would CHOOSE to live in such an uninhabitable climate.

That humid 36 degrees in Georgia you are referring to is going to be different than the dry Northern Plains 33 degrees, + winds gusting to 25 mph, creating a wind chill of 10 below freezing.


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[FUBeAR]

That humid 36 degrees in Georgia you are referring to is going to be different than the dry Northern Plains 33 degrees, + winds gusting to 25 mph, creating a wind chill of 10 below freezing.

Uh-huh

https://i.postimg.cc/MKNSNP75/IMG-0986.jpg

What part of Montana are you from, originally?

[Mocs123]

I hope someone told Coach Drew Cronic that they might as well not even show up. It would save the hassle of traveling all the way to South Dakota, which is not really a great place to visit this time of year - maybe a nice September game.

[rtzlunar]

Don’t think SDSU needs a weather advantage this week or any other week. Weather will have no bearing (no pun intended, FUBeAR) on this game.

[FUBeAR]

Don’t think SDSU needs a weather advantage this week or any other week. Weather will have no bearing (no pun intended, FUBeAR) on this game.
Exactly - they got plenty of thunder & lightning in those young (and not so young) men wearin' blue & yella. Why try to make up ish about the horrors of the weather?

FUBeAR guesses it's the typical Northern thinking that all peeps from the south are rubes, so we'll have fun a-skeerin' 'em wit da big bad weather boogieman.

Jeez - we know the weather up there can suck. It's absolutely an uninhabitable part of the planet as far as FUBeAR is concerned, but that ain't the forecast for this Saturday...yet. No need to pretend that it is.

Mercer is, for the most part, healthy.
The weather looks fine/reasonable.
Sure, the crowd will be hostile. That's a good part of college football. If you don't love it as a Visiting Player, then you are playing the wrong game.
FUBeAR would imagine the Officials might end up being like from the NEC or PFL, so they may be intimidated by SDSU initially, but they'll get over that in the 1st quarter and do their best the rest of the way.

This should be a fair contest in fair weather and it's fair that Mercer is going there to play. SDSU earned home field with their Regular Season record and Championship. It wasn't something that was only 'gifted' to them subjectively by the Committee...and Mercer just had a bye the week before the Playoff game. If Mercer loses 100-0 or if the Bears are able to find a way to keep it close, then that will be where Mercer stands in relation to the best in the Subdivision.

This is the way we ALL should want these Playoff games to be....the outcome determined by which is the best Team and also which Team plays the best being the Team that wins the game. Winning because the weather is completely ridiculous or you've created an artificial jet engine housing that you force the other Team to endure playing inside or because the Committee gifted your Team with a Bye and a Home Game and 1 or more less-than-competitive prior matchups are all BS ways to win. This game is none of those.

EVERYONE SHOULD WANT THE BEST TEAM AND/OR THE TEAM THAT PLAYS THE BEST TO WIN EACH FCS PLAYOFF GAME ... not have the deck double and triple stacked so that their Team is more likely to win even if they are not the best Team and/or do not play the best.

[Chalupa Batman]

Exactly - they got plenty of thunder & lightning in those young (and not so young) men wearin' blue & yella. Why try to make up ish about the horrors of the weather?

FUBeAR guesses it's the typical Northern thinking that all peeps from the south are rubes, so we'll have fun a-skeerin' 'em wit da big bad weather boogieman.



It's our version of "southern speed" that for years and years we heard we wouldn't be able to handle. Both are way overblown.

[FUBeAR]

It's our version of "southern speed" that for years and years we heard we wouldn't be able to handle. Both are way overblown.
Yep - that's as stupid as "corn-fed farm boys" -- Jeez - we have weights down here y'know - and farms too. FUBeAR will challenge any wheat or corn farm boy to spend all day up in the rafters of a tobacco curing barn in the south in August pulling up or passing up 150-200 pounds of wet tobacco leaves tied to 6 foot sticks to be hung for drying/curing. All of these kids are big, strong, and fast - some bigger, stronger, and faster than others....Their zip codes have nothing to do with any differentiation. It's all BS.

Now, weather - that can be real and it can be a real problem....but when it's not, it's not. It's not like elevation like @ Air Force and Wyoming - those places are ALWAYS HIGH and it's always a potential problem. Brookings forecast looks like it's gonna be a fantastic day for high quality Football on Saturday...and we should all hope so.

[mmiller_34]

Oops. It appears my point went sideways.

I’ll try again.

It won’t be warm on Saturday. It won’t be as cold as it was in the Montana State semi-final last year. Bring warm clothes.

The weather won’t have any bearing on the outcome of the game. Jackrabbits should win by 3 scores.


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[MR. CHICKEN]

Yep - that's as stupid as "corn-fed farm boys" -- Jeez - we have weights down here y'know - and farms too. FUBeAR will challenge any wheat or corn farm boy to spend all day up in the rafters of a tobacco curing barn in the south in August pulling up or passing up 150-200 pounds of wet tobacco leaves tied to 6 foot sticks to be hung for drying/curing. All of these kids are big, strong, and fast - some bigger, stronger, and faster than others....Their zip codes have nothing to do with any differentiation. It's all BS.

Now, weather - that can be real and it can be a real problem....but when it's not, it's not. It's not like elevation like @ Air Force and Wyoming - those places are ALWAYS HIGH and it's always a potential problem. Brookings forecast looks like it's gonna be a fantastic day for high quality Football on Saturday...and we should all hope so.

....BUT......WAIT TIL YA SEE 'UM.......DEY'RE....LIKE JOHN DEERE MEETS CATERPILLAR......CORN STUCK 'TWEEN TEETH.....AN' NOT VERAH HAPPY.....'BOUT......BEIN' FROM SOUTH DAKOTAH..........BUT YOUSE GOT SOUTHERN SPEED.....SO THERE'S DAT...........xeekx

[SeattleCat]

SDSU is favored by 32.5.

SDSU to cover.

[Houndawg]

SDSU to cover.

Give the 1s a week off

[FUBeAR]

SDSU to cover.
Give the 1s a week off
https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIG.Mo7dmxvM2vWHYvr573xq?pid=ImgGn

[MUrsus67]

Game kicks off Saturday 12/2 at 1PM CT and will be streaming on ESPN+. Winner faces the winner of Youngstown State and Villanova.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53356229257_d18ae8fa46_b.jpg
Do these stats include D2, Pioneer, and FBS opponents? I'd be interested to see the numbers after those are removed. A quick calculation shows that Mercer is giving up 17.5 per game to scholarship FCS opponents which would be tied for 8th. Obviously other teams play those teams as well so the rankings would be off, but at least seeing the numbers could be interesting.

[FUBeAR]

Do these stats include D2, Pioneer, and FBS opponents? I'd be interested to see the numbers after those are removed. A quick calculation shows that Mercer is giving up 17.5 per game to scholarship FCS opponents which would be tied for 8th. Obviously other teams play those teams as well so the rankings would be off, but at least seeing the numbers could be interesting.
Interesting observation.

Reckon could/would the Professor remove Ole Miss & Morehead State stats from Mercer’s overall stats & remove Western Oregon & Drake stats from SDSU’s overall stats and even ‘re-slot’ / re-rank them with the revised data. Be fun to see, but FUBeAR ain’t doin’ it.

[Professor Chaos]

Interesting observation.

Reckon could/would the Professor remove Ole Miss & Morehead State stats from Mercer’s overall stats & remove Western Oregon & Drake stats from SDSU’s overall stats and even ‘re-slot’ / re-rank them with the revised data. Be fun to see, but FUBeAR ain’t doin’ it.
I just pull the season-to-date numbers from the NCAA stats site (https://stats.ncaa.org/rankings/change_sport_year_div) so I wouldn't be able to easily exclude games.

I'm not sure that would make the numbers more "fair" anyway because SDSU played the toughest MVFC schedule they could possibly play (they missed the 3 bottom feeders; Murray St, Indiana St, and Western Illinois). Even with Western Oregon and Drake included in SDSU's schedule their SoS according to Massey was 12th in the country.

[FUBeAR]

I just pull the season-to-date numbers from the NCAA stats site (https://stats.ncaa.org/rankings/change_sport_year_div) so I wouldn't be able to easily exclude games.

I'm not sure that would make the numbers more "fair" anyway because SDSU played the toughest MVFC schedule they could possibly play (they missed the 3 bottom feeders; Murray St, Indiana St, and Western Illinois). Even with Western Oregon and Drake included in SDSU's schedule their SoS according to Massey was 12th in the country.Yeah - FUBeAR ain’t studyin’ no flawed calculations replete with circular logic and initial/latent (at least) partially subjective bias AKA voodoo math AKA SoS Calculations.

Maybe FUBeAR will take a whirl at some of these cuz Prof torqued him off bringing up that SoS hooey.

[SteelSD]

Do these stats include D2, Pioneer, and FBS opponents? I'd be interested to see the numbers after those are removed. A quick calculation shows that Mercer is giving up 17.5 per game to scholarship FCS opponents which would be tied for 8th. Obviously other teams play those teams as well so the rankings would be off, but at least seeing the numbers could be interesting.
Not going to break down all the stats with those parameters, but scoring versus fully funded FCS schools would be 12.2 ppg. And that includes games against 2 of the top 3 scoring teams in the country where we gave up 16 to both.

[FU_Paladin08]

I was looking for the option in the poll for Mercer to lose, but to beat the spread. Guess my vote is just Mercer losing…

[SteelSD]

Jus a couple of random things from watching some games and watching the interview with Mercer's coach.

1. Special teams will be a factor in the game. From what I could tell the Mercer kicker doesn't have a particularly strong leg so lots of shorter kick offs. Combine that with Harper being very active with returning means there could be some special teams fireworks in this game.

2. The Mercer coach compared SDSU to Furman on steroids (not in a bad way I assume...). Looking at the OL's the Furman line really doesn't compare to the SDSU line size wise. Haven't compared DL's but assume something similar. So like often happens when the top MVFC schools face off against non MVFC schools it will come down to whether the opponent can stand up on both LOS. Mercer looks like they have overall held up well against the rush but Furman had 220+ yards on them. So unfortunately I don't see Mercer slowing the SDSU rush game which inevitably leads to openings in the passing game.

Therefore to me this looks like just a bad matchup for Mercer and a comfortable SDSU win. But hopefully some Mercer fans can make it and we will make sure they get some good drinks and friendly conversation prior to the game.

[caribbeanhen]

Game will essentially be over as soon as Mercer gets off the plane if they decide to even board the plane

[Christiank22]

This got me thinking. What’s the worst team to ever make the second round? Mercer has to be up there

[JacksFan40]

This got me thinking. What’s the worst team to ever make the second round? Mercer has to be up there
2018 Duquesne was pretty bad. They upset Towson in the first round before getting stomped in Brookings 51-6. Also those San Diego teams in 2016 & 2017 have to be mentioned due to being Pioneer teams, and beating some overrated Big Sky teams in the first round before getting stomped in Fargo both times.

I'm sure there are worse but these were some off the top of my head.

[Christiank22]

2018 Duquesne was pretty bad. They upset Towson in the first round before getting stomped in Brookings 51-6. Also those San Diego teams in 2016 & 2017 have to be mentioned due to being Pioneer teams, and beating some overrated Big Sky teams in the first round before getting stomped in Fargo both times.

I'm sure there are worse but these were some off the top of my head.

Yeah I remember those San Diego teams. They were something lol. A team deserves a favorable matchup when you play as well as you guys have in the regular season.

[MUrsus67]

This got me thinking. What’s the worst team to ever make the second round? Mercer has to be up there

According to the Massey ratings of historical seasons, the 2012, 2013, and 2016 SDSU teams which were in the 2nd round are rated lower than this Mercer team. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Could change after the game I suppose since those teams have 4 or 5 losses and Mercer only has 3 right now.

Also this SDSU team is the best ever so far.

https://masseyratings.com/top?lg=cf&t=7268

[wcugrad95]

I think there are multiple teams that this Mercer team would compete with and/or beat left in this season’s playoffs. So seems a little crazy to ask if they are the worst team to ever make the 2nd round when it could be argued there are teams not any better (maybe not as good) still playing right now.

How many other teams in the round of 16 would be 30-point underdogs at SDSU? Probably quite a few.

This may be a blowout, but Mercer is a legit top-20 team.

[Christiank22]

According to the Massey ratings of historical seasons, the 2012, 2013, and 2016 SDSU teams which were in the 2nd round are rated lower than this Mercer team. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Could change after the game I suppose since those teams have 4 or 5 losses and Mercer only has 3 right now.

Also this SDSU team is the best ever so far.

https://masseyratings.com/top?lg=cf&t=7268

The best SDSU team sure it might be, best FCS team ever? Not quite.

[Chalupa Batman]

I think there are multiple teams that this Mercer team would compete with and/or beat left in this season’s playoffs. So seems a little crazy to ask if they are the worst team to ever make the 2nd round when it could be argued there are teams not any better (maybe not as good) still playing right now.

How many other teams in the round of 16 would be 30-point underdogs at SDSU? Probably quite a few.

This may be a blowout, but Mercer is a legit top-20 team.

Agreed. I think Mercer would have a fairly decent chance of winning at any seed this weekend except for Montana, Montana State, and the one they drew in SDSU.

[KUlawJack]

I think there are multiple teams that this Mercer team would compete with and/or beat left in this season’s playoffs. So seems a little crazy to ask if they are the worst team to ever make the 2nd round when it could be argued there are teams not any better (maybe not as good) still playing right now.

How many other teams in the round of 16 would be 30-point underdogs at SDSU? Probably quite a few.

This may be a blowout, but Mercer is a legit top-20 team.

Agree with this.

[SteelSD]

I think there are multiple teams that this Mercer team would compete with and/or beat left in this season’s playoffs. So seems a little crazy to ask if they are the worst team to ever make the 2nd round when it could be argued there are teams not any better (maybe not as good) still playing right now.

How many other teams in the round of 16 would be 30-point underdogs at SDSU? Probably quite a few.

This may be a blowout, but Mercer is a legit top-20 team.
You will just have to ignore a certain chest thumping Bison fan. He claims it's rock related brain damage...

[gofurman]

It's our version of "southern speed" that for years and years we heard we wouldn't be able to handle. Both are way overblown.

SOUTHERN SPEED is REAL. Its just we are playing FCS football - take the BEST guys (IE FBS) and who wins every freakin year??? UGA, UGA, UGA, Clemson, Clemson, Alabama, Alabama, Alabama, Auburn. Ohio State pulled off ONE. The north and midwest is a joke of FBS football. They have to hope and pray that one of Michigan or OSU can say enough hail marys to hang with Bama and UGA. Which they can't .

Those are basically your last national champs when you take the BEST guys.

FCS is not a way to measure speed and size. You have to look to FBS so you find where the 5* speed is at. its in the SOUTH. I put some sheckles that UGA wins it all again this year too.

[Christiank22]

You will just have to ignore a certain chest thumping Bison fan. He claims it's rock related brain damage...

Sorry I’m just not sold on the 157th ranked sagarin team being a power house.

For perspective the San Diego team we played in 2016 was ranked 129

[Mocs123]

SOUTHERN SPEED is REAL. Its just we are playing FCS football - take the BEST guys (IE FBS) and who wins every freakin year??? UGA, UGA, UGA, Clemson, Clemson, Alabama, Alabama, Alabama, Auburn. Ohio State pulled off ONE. The north and midwest is a joke of FBS football. They have to hope and pray that one of Michigan or OSU can say enough hail marys to hang with Bama and UGA. Which they can't .

Those are basically your last national champs when you take the BEST guys.

FCS is not a way to measure speed and size. You have to look to FBS so you find where the 5* speed is at. its in the SOUTH. I put some sheckles that UGA wins it all again this year too.

Football in the south is watered down. I mean after the P5, there are so many scholarship D1 football players - tons of G5's that have moved up and schools that have started FCS programs, etc. I wasn't joking when I said that Mercer is the 12th largest university in Georgia, and then of course half the D1 schools in the country recruit Georgia regularly.

[JacksFan40]

SOUTHERN SPEED is REAL. Its just we are playing FCS football - take the BEST guys (IE FBS) and who wins every freakin year??? UGA, UGA, UGA, Clemson, Clemson, Alabama, Alabama, Alabama, Auburn. Ohio State pulled off ONE. The north and midwest is a joke of FBS football. They have to hope and pray that one of Michigan or OSU can say enough hail marys to hang with Bama and UGA. Which they can't .

Those are basically your last national champs when you take the BEST guys.

FCS is not a way to measure speed and size. You have to look to FBS so you find where the 5* speed is at. it’s in the SOUTH. I put some sheckles that UGA wins it all again this year too.
I would reckon that’s because the southern schools are in more populated states with a higher quantity of recruits to choose from. Not nearly as much homegrown talent in Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, Wisconsin etc. as there is in Texas, Georgia, Florida etc. Midwest teams have to go recruit out in states like Texas and California, where everyone and their mother is trying to recruit. Unless you’re Ohio State, Notre Dame or Michigan, you aren’t typically winning big recruiting battles in those states. Teams like Iowa and Wisconsin have made their success from recruiting and developing Midwest players, but it can only get you so far.

Because of national recruiting, teams like Nebraska and Iowa spend as much time recruiting states like Texas as they do their own region. Players like Tucker Kraft, Zach Zenner, Spencer Waege, Carson Wentz etc. get overlooked and end up in Fargo and Brookings, also due in part to the lack of G5 teams in the area. Back in the 90s when recruiting wasn’t as national, Nebraska picked up pretty much everyone they wanted and left the rest of us with the scraps. Now SDSU and NDSU get everyone outside of a select few, and everyone gets the scraps.

[FUBeAR]

Do these stats include D2, Pioneer, and FBS opponents? I'd be interested to see the numbers after those are removed. A quick calculation shows that Mercer is giving up 17.5 per game to scholarship FCS opponents which would be tied for 8th. Obviously other teams play those teams as well so the rankings would be off, but at least seeing the numbers could be interesting.
Positively inspired by MUrsus67's excellent observation and angrily inspired by ProfC tryna throw that voodoo math SoS-ish @ FUBeAR as a reason NOT to undertake this endeavor, FUBeAR has persevered and leveled the playing field for the stats that ProfC compiled - removed 2 games from each Team - 1 PFL non-scholarship opponent game for both, 1 D2 for SDSU, and 1 P5 FCS SEC for Mercer.

Here are the results for each category that ProfC posts.

These metrics certainly are a more accurate reflection of Mercer's Defensive strength vs. FCS Teams.

SDSU remains dominant as one would expect. The Jackrabbits have, without question, enjoyed a dominant season and the statistics reflect that.

These are just a more 'equitable' reflection...Enjoy...





SDSU vs. Scholarship
FCS63
Teams
Mercer vs. Scholarship
FCS63
Teams


Stat Category
Value
R
Value
R


Points scored per game
33.2
(12)
26.2
(52)


Points allowed per game
12.2
(1)
17.5
(8)


Points per game differential
21.0
(1)
8.7
(22)


Offensive yards per game
432.7
(12)
336.4
(78)


Yards allowed per game
272.8
(2)
294.0
(9)


Yards per game differential
159.9
(3)
42.4
(31)


Offensive yards per play
7.36
(2)
5.14
(83)


Yards allowed per play
4.79
(18)
4.55
(8)


Yards per play differential
2.57
(2)
0.59
(30)


Rush yards per game
205.7
(10)
155.9
(46)


Rush yards allowed p/game
95.7
(7)
102.9
(13)


Yards per carry
5.73
(7)
3.72
(80)


Yards per carry allowed
3.36
(19)
3.18
(9)


Passing yards per game
227.0
(41)
180.3
(87)


Pass yards allowed p/game
177.1
(13)
191.3
(33)


Yards per pass attempt
9.92
(2)
7.64
(33)


Yards allowed per pass att
6.20
(18)
5.94
(10)


Passing efficiency
175.10
(1)
143.84
(27)


Defensive pass efficiency
123.46
(48)
114.16
(14)


3rd down conversion %
53.7
(1)
36.8
(65)


Opponent 3rd down conv %
39.3
(69)
30.6
(9)


Turnover margin
7
(11)
8
(10)


Penalty yards per game
72.11
(114)
56.56
(75)


Penalties per game
7.56
(110)
6.56
(85)


Opponent kick return avg
19.00
(53)
17.02
(18)


Kickoff return average
22.36
(17)
22.30
(18)


Net punt average
41.16
(6)
32.80
(101)


Punt return average
9.23
(44)
9.96
(36)


Opponent redzone score %
63.0
(2)
79.4
(56)


Opponent redzone TD %
33.3
(2)
47.0
(9)


Redzone score percentage
97.0
(1)
71.1
(103)


Redzone TD percentage
82.3
(2)
52.6
(98)


Average time of possession
32.23
(12)
31.30
(24)



SDSU 23 - Mercer 10 (categories 'won' score)... FUBeAR wouldn't be too upset if that turned out to be the game score also. :)

[FUBeAR]

Looking at the OL's the Furman line really doesn't compare to the SDSU line size wise. Haven't compared DL's but assume something similar. So like often happens when the top MVFC schools face off against non MVFC schools it will come down to whether the opponent can stand up on both LOS.
SDSU's Starting OL averages 6-4 3/4 306
Furman's Starting OL averages 6-4 1/4 297

So Furman's OL averages 1/2 inch shorter and 9 pounds lighter than SDSU's OL

That's 'not comparing size wize' to you...really?

To FUBeAR, both those OL's average about 6-4 300 .... FUBeAR's weight would regularly drop 8-10 pounds, or more, during a summer practice or an Aug/Sept game - lost 15 @ UNC on a HOT Saturday in Chapel Hill and FUBeAR was 30-40 lbs lighter than these guys...1/2 inch and 9 pounds is nothing for these bigguns.

SDSU's line may be all 1st Team All-Americans and Furman's may be all scrubs that aren't good enough to even play HS ball....but they do compare very favorably size wise.


On the other side of the ball...

SDSU's Starting DL (Front 4) averages 6-3 1/4 273
Furman's Starting DL (Front 4) averages 6-3 1/2 277

SDSU's Starting D Front (DL & LB's - 7) averages 6-1 3/4 249
Furman's Starting D Front (DL & LB's - 7) averages 6-2 1/2 254


So, Furman is a little bigger up front on D than SDSU...but, pretty much like OL....they're about the same (6-3 275 DL & 6-2 250 if we include the LB's)- hey, you said you would "assume something similar" in terms of the comparisons D-Front and O-Front ... so you were right about ... um, THAT...at least.


But, all that said ... FUBeAR does continue to enjoy how all y'all never let the facts get in the way of your chosen narratives.


(Here's comes the -- "oh, that's not really their sizes" (for either/both Teams) rebuttal...in 3-2-1...). It's important to argue with facts, y'know. Feelings and opinions must prevail...or where are we as a society?

[FUBeAR]

Dang...looks like Mercer hasn't yet figured out a way to get out of playing this game. Well, there's still another couple of days. Maybe they'll think of something...

https://twitter.com/MercerFootball/status/1730042717084782931

[SteelSD]

SDSU's Starting OL averages 6-4 3/4 306
Furman's Starting OL averages 6-4 1/4 297

So Furman's OL averages 1/2 inch shorter and 9 pounds lighter than SDSU's OL

That's 'not comparing size wize' to you...really?

To FUBeAR, both those OL's average about 6-4 300 .... FUBeAR's weight would regularly drop 8-10 pounds, or more, during a summer practice or an Aug/Sept game - lost 15 @ UNC on a HOT Saturday in Chapel Hill and FUBeAR was 30-40 lbs lighter than these guys...1/2 inch and 9 pounds is nothing for these bigguns.

SDSU's line may be all 1st Team All-Americans and Furman's may be all scrubs that aren't good enough to even play HS ball....but they do compare very favorably size wise.


On the other side of the ball...

SDSU's Starting DL (Front 4) averages 6-3 1/4 273
Furman's Starting DL (Front 4) averages 6-3 1/2 277

SDSU's Starting D Front (DL & LB's - 7) averages 6-1 3/4 249
Furman's Starting D Front (DL & LB's - 7) averages 6-2 1/2 254


So, Furman is a little bigger up front on D than SDSU...but, pretty much like OL....they're about the same (6-3 275 DL & 6-2 250 if we include the LB's)- hey, you said you would "assume something similar" in terms of the comparisons D-Front and O-Front ... so you were right about ... um, THAT...at least.


But, all that said ... FUBeAR does continue to enjoy how all y'all never let the facts get in the way of your chosen narratives.


(Here's comes the -- "oh, that's not really their sizes" (for either/both Teams) rebuttal...in 3-2-1...). It's important to argue with facts, y'know. Feelings and opinions must prevail...or where are we as a society?
Haha, I see what you tried to do here and it's a pretty obvious fail. Let's do what you didn't want to do (for obvious reasons) and compare the lines:





SDSU


Furman


LT
#64
6'7, 320

#75
6'3, 295


LG
#60
6'5, 315

#51
6'3, 285


C
#50
6'3, 295

#63
6'3, 282


RG
#61
6'4, 300

#55
6'3, 276


RT
#78
6'5, 300

#77
6'7, 340



So what becomes obvious quite quickly when not hiding behind "average" numbers is that the SDSU line is bigger across the board while Furman is undersized outside of a gargantuan being at RT. To better compare let's remove the outlier on either team:

SDSU 6'-4 1/4 303
Furman 6-3 285

So now the difference is 1 1/4 inches and 18 pounds. But I appreciate what you did trying to use the mountain of a RT to offset the obvious differences and use "average size" to compare the size of the lines. I give you an F...

As for the DL sizes it's hard to do for SDSU since we rotate 9-10 guys. So any number you use will include players who play at most 50% of the snaps. I didn't do the calculations on DL for this very reason since I have absolutely no idea (and zero care) about how/if Furman rotates their defensive line.

This is the last of the Furman/SDSU discussion I will have as 1) this is a thread about SDSU versus Mercer and 2) sorry Furman but I don't care at all about you.

-

[FUBeAR]

Haha, I see what you tried to do here and it's a pretty obvious fail. Let's do what you didn't want to do (for obvious reasons) and compare the lines:





SDSU


Furman


LT
#64
6'7, 320

#75
6'3, 295


LG
#60
6'5, 315

#51
6'3, 285


C
#50
6'3, 295

#63
6'3, 282


RG
#61
6'4, 300

#55
6'3, 276


RT
#78
6'5, 300

#77
6'7, 340



So what becomes obvious quite quickly when not hiding behind "average" numbers is that the SDSU line is bigger across the board while Furman is undersized outside of a gargantuan being at RT. To better compare let's remove the outlier on either team:

SDSU 6'-4 1/4 303
Furman 6-3 285

So now the difference is 1 1/4 inches and 18 pounds. But I appreciate what you did trying to use the mountain of a RT to offset the obvious differences and use "average size" to compare the size of the lines. I give you an F...

As for the DL sizes it's hard to do for SDSU since we rotate 9-10 guys. So any number you use will include players who play at most 50% of the snaps. I didn't do the calculations on DL for this very reason since I have absolutely no idea (and zero care) about how/if Furman rotates their defensive line.

This is the last of the Furman/SDSU discussion I will have as 1) this is a thread about SDSU versus Mercer and 2) sorry Furman but I don't care at all about you.

-
1) You brought up Furman and mistakenly characterized FU's OL and DL as 'not comparing size wise' with SDSU's OL and DL. Should FUBeAR, a Furman Fan, just ignore your negative mischaracterization? Seems out of character for this crowd. You guys argue with accurate facts if you don't like them, as you are proving here.

2) FUBeAR has been doing FCS Football 'roster analysis' since 2009 and he always does it this way. Starting OL / Starting DL / D-Front - etc. He doesn't pick something he doesn't like and remove it to make his prior incorrect claim seem correct. The Starting OL is the Starting OL and the Average is the Average. They aren't playing with 4 OLmen. What you've done is just silly...silly rabbit.

3) Furman also rotates their DL about every 2 plays, so your thought process there is fine, unlike your silliness to try to make yourself 'right' with your prior WRONG 'OL doesn't compare size wise' silliness. LB's don't change quite as often so let's just compare all the DL's Players listed on the Depth Charts of the most current Game Notes and see what that does for us....

Furman 6-2 1/2 270
SDSU 6-3 1/4 265

....about the same...

HAPPY to accept that we've resolved the issue and return to discussing Mercer @ SDSU as you suggest.

As we can all see, the correct answer, without attempting silliness to manipulate the data, is that Furman's and SDSU's OL's and DL's / D-Front's are just about the same...size wise.

[RahRahRabbits]

FUBear, I'm not sure if you announced it anywhere... are you making the trip?? A man of your status aught to be allowed on the plane with the team... or at least stowed away amongst the smelly equipment truck. It may not be your momma's southern cooking, but we still know a thing or two about preparing deceased animals.

Gonna be absolutely beautiful football weather with much lower than average fall wind. Might even have to dig the shorts back out.

[FUBeAR]

FUBear, I'm not sure if you announced it anywhere... are you making the trip?? A man of your status aught to be allowed on the plane with the team... or at least stowed away amongst the smelly equipment truck. It may not be your momma's southern cooking, but we still know a thing or two about preparing deceased animals.

Gonna be absolutely beautiful football weather with much lower than average fall wind. Might even have to dig the shorts back out.
Appreciate the offer to cook up some road kill for FUBeAR. He’s partial to Lapin à la Moutarde if that’s in your repertoire…but FUBeAR has a prior commitment.

Apparently, there is some kind of bird and snake infestation coming to Greenville, SC via Train, a train also carrying a band of Indigenous Peoples wearing soft leather shoes. FUBeAR has been invited to support the virtuous and chivalrous efforts to repel this menace.

So…he’ll only be with the Bears in spirit this week. Perhaps, he can make it to Philly next week or enjoy a visit from Ohioans to the land of Maconga.

[BearDownMU]

The OL size conversation generally is hilarious to me, especially in the context of FCS, because it means very little. At FBS, sure, because, at a UGA for example, they are all huge AND athletic freaks. Height and weight means absolutely bupkis compared to CAN THEY BLOCK SOMEBODY. Not suggesting that SDSU doesn't have great lineman, but pointing at sizing as some indicator of which line is "better" is silly. Cuz I don't think it matters all that much. Particularly when you are talking about fractions of inches and 10-15 pounds. A better technique lineman slightly shorter and lighter than his opponent can still whip their tail on every play. I see it happen plenty. So, it's fun to talk about weigh in stats, but I don't think it amounts to a whole lot. Way more important as to who can beat their guy when the ball is snapped.

[ElCid]

The OL size conversation generally is hilarious to me, especially in the context of FCS, because it means very little. At FBS, sure, because, at a UGA for example, they are all huge AND athletic freaks. Height and weight means absolutely bupkis compared to CAN THEY BLOCK SOMEBODY. Not suggesting that SDSU doesn't have great lineman, but pointing at sizing as some indicator of which line is "better" is silly. Cuz I don't think it matters all that much. Particularly when you are talking about fractions of inches and 10-15 pounds. A better technique lineman slightly shorter and lighter than his opponent can still whip their tail on every play. I see it happen plenty. So, it's fun to talk about weigh in stats, but I don't think it amounts to a whole lot. Way more important as to who can beat their guy when the ball is snapped.

No joke. When we ran a pure Triple option our Online was about 270-280 and they would absolutely push D lines around for our runners.

[SteelSD]

The OL size conversation generally is hilarious to me, especially in the context of FCS, because it means very little. At FBS, sure, because, at a UGA for example, they are all huge AND athletic freaks. Height and weight means absolutely bupkis compared to CAN THEY BLOCK SOMEBODY. Not suggesting that SDSU doesn't have great lineman, but pointing at sizing as some indicator of which line is "better" is silly. Cuz I don't think it matters all that much. Particularly when you are talking about fractions of inches and 10-15 pounds. A better technique lineman slightly shorter and lighter than his opponent can still whip their tail on every play. I see it happen plenty. So, it's fun to talk about weigh in stats, but I don't think it amounts to a whole lot. Way more important as to who can beat their guy when the ball is snapped.
Don't get upset with me, I'm just quoting your coach. When asked to compare SDSU to someone Furman has already faced he compared us to "Furman on steroids" and said we were like Furman only "probably a little better." If you don't like that, talk to your coach and not me. Seems a certain Furman fan is more butthurt about this than anyone. Perhaps that person should just go back to ignoring me...

And as for who pushes who around we will certainly see on Saturday. But traditionally the MVFC (most notably SDSU and NDSU) have won national titles because we have dominated the LOS. So to say it "means very little" seems to be arguing against history.

[SteelSD]

No joke. When we ran a pure Triple option our Online was about 270-280 and they would absolutely push D lines around for our runners.
When you say "push D lines around" what you really meant was "took out opposing defensive players as the knees." We all know why the triple option has fallen off and it has to do with the rule against cut blocking. Now I can't speak intelligently about the FCS prior to us moving up, so maybe back then you did. I will take your word on that.

[FUBeAR]

Don't get upset with me, I'm just quoting your coach. When asked to compare SDSU to someone Furman has already faced he compared us to "Furman on steroids" and said we were like Furman only "probably a little better." If you don't like that, talk to your coach and not me. Seems a certain Furman fan is more butthurt about this than anyone.

This is just more silliness from you.

You have, for the most part, accurately characterized Coach Cronic's comment . But, Coach Cronic comparing FU to the Defending FCA National Champion, #1 Ranked Team is nothing but HIGH PRAISE for Furman. NOTHING Coach Cronic said was in the least bit less than complimentary to Furman or SDSU. There is absolutely no reason anything he said would "upset' FUBeAR in any way.

So...no...nothing about your false (again) claim in this recent post is accurate.

What got this ball rolling...that you are are keeping rolling...is this comment from you...


https://www.anygivensaturday.com/images/misc/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by [B]SteelSD https://www.anygivensaturday.com/images/buttons/viewpost-right.png (https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?p=3163538#post3163538)
Looking at the OL's the Furman line really doesn't compare to the SDSU line size wise. Haven't compared DL's but assume something similar.

You made a false statement about Furman's OL and DL and that false statement serves to characterize Furman Football in a negative light. The implication is that Furman is 'less than' in the areas you referenced.

If FUBeAR said SDSU's record this year is 0-11, he thinks you might take a minute to correct that false statement. It's only reasonable. Anyone would.

The humor is how you 1st try to 'deny' your statement was false by a silly manipulation of the data and now trying to shift to a diversionary ad hominem tact - trying to make it seem as if FUBeAR is all emotional over something Coach Cronic said about Furman.

Goodness gracious, it's really easy just to say...."Hmmm....well, how about that? Now that you've shown me the facts, FUBeAR, I guess I was wrong about how I characterized the size of Furman's OL and DL. Good to know."

The other 2 (silly) 'fact rebuttal' techniques you have used (so far) have a pretty high degree of difficulty. Seems like a lot of effort to avoid admitting an error, but it's not surprising...and IS very entertaining.

[SteelSD]

Do these stats include D2, Pioneer, and FBS opponents? I'd be interested to see the numbers after those are removed. A quick calculation shows that Mercer is giving up 17.5 per game to scholarship FCS opponents which would be tied for 8th. Obviously other teams play those teams as well so the rankings would be off, but at least seeing the numbers could be interesting.
I think you are track with this but there is also a major issue with this logic. The assumption here is that all FCS teams are the same and that simply is not the case. For example, if Team A gives up 150 yards rushing to Team C and Team B gives up 150 yards rushing to Team D then we say that both are equal. However, if Team C averages 200 yards rushing per game and Team D averages 100 yards rushing per game then it changes the narrative on how good that 150 yards allowed looks.

So as a mathematical exercise I decided to look at how SDSU and Mercer perform based on the average of their opponents average stats. So in the above example, if Team A was SDSU we would say that they were 50 from expectation while Mercer (Team B) would be 50.

So here is a chart I calculated based of points, rushing offense/defense, and passing offense/defense. Please feel free to expand to other metrics if you have the time. The number indicates how much above (green) or below (red) the respective team performs based off the season averages of their opponents. So for instance SDSU scores 11.4 more points per game that it's opponents gives up on average and allows 19 less points per game than it's opponents score on average.



SDSU Scoring Offense
11.4


SDSU Scoring Defense
19






Mercer Scoring Offense
0.9


MercerScoring Defense
5.5






SDSU Rush Offense
82.1


SDSU Pass Offense
15.3






Mercer Rush Offense
1.4


Mercer Pass Offense
40.5






SDSU Rush Defense
75.4


SDSU Pass Defense
52.7






Mercer Rush Defense
43.2


Mercer Pass Defense
11.3



So what the numbers here showed is that Mercer's offense tends to score just a bit below what their opponents season average is for points allowed. I was also surprised that with the talent Mercer has on the edge that they pass for 40.5 yards less per game than what their opponents give up on average.

So based off these numbers this is the projection:

SDSU- 28
Yards rushing- 174
Yards passing- 211
Total yards- 385

Mercer- 9
Yards rushing- 89
Yards passing- 132
Total yards- 221

A few other interesting notes:

Mercer passed above expectation 30% of the time while SDSU was only a little better at 56%.
Mercer exceeding expectation on rushing 50% of the time while SDSU was 89%.

Both teams were actually more dominant defensively.
Mercer exceeded expectation on rushing yards allowed 90% of the time while SDSU was 100%.
Mercer exceeded expectations on passing yards allowed 60% of the time while SDSU was 100%.

[FUBeAR]

I think you are track with this but there is also a major issue with this logic. The assumption here is that all FCS teams are the same and that simply is not the case. For example, if Team A gives up 150 yards rushing to Team C and Team B gives up 150 yards rushing to Team D then we say that both are equal. However, if Team C averages 200 yards rushing per game and Team D averages 100 yards rushing per game then it changes the narrative on how good that 150 yards allowed looks.

So as a mathematical exercise I decided to look at how SDSU and Mercer perform based on the average of their opponents average stats. So in the above example, if Team A was SDSU we would say that they were 50 from expectation while Mercer (Team B) would be 50.

So here is a chart I calculated based of points, rushing offense/defense, and passing offense/defense. Please feel free to expand to other metrics if you have the time. The number indicates how much above (green) or below (red) the respective team performs based off the season averages of their opponents. So for instance SDSU scores 11.4 more points per game that it's opponents gives up on average and allows 19 less points per game than it's opponents score on average.



SDSU Scoring Offense
11.4


SDSU Scoring Defense
19






Mercer Scoring Offense
0.9


MercerScoring Defense
5.5






SDSU Rush Offense
82.1


SDSU Pass Offense
15.3






Mercer Rush Offense
1.4


Mercer Pass Offense
40.5






SDSU Rush Defense
75.4


SDSU Pass Defense
52.7






Mercer Rush Defense
43.2


Mercer Pass Defense
11.3



So what the numbers here showed is that Mercer's offense tends to score just a bit below what their opponents season average is for points allowed. I was also surprised that with the talent Mercer has on the edge that they pass for 40.5 yards less per game than what their opponents give up on average.

So based off these numbers this is the projection:

SDSU- 28
Yards rushing- 174
Yards passing- 211
Total yards- 385

Mercer- 9
Yards rushing- 89
Yards passing- 132
Total yards- 221

A few other interesting notes:

Mercer passed above expectation 30% of the time while SDSU was only a little better at 56%.
Mercer exceeding expectation on rushing 50% of the time while SDSU was 89%.

Both teams were actually more dominant defensively.
Mercer exceeded expectation on rushing yards allowed 90% of the time while SDSU was 100%.
Mercer exceeded expectations on passing yards allowed 60% of the time while SDSU was 100%.
Good stuff.

A few questions/comments....

Did you remove the impact that Mercer and SDSU had on their Opponents' averages before doing your calculation of Above/Below Average - Say SDSU scored 100 points on NDSU...you might want to remove that 100 Points Allowed from NDSU's Stats, recalc their Average and then take the difference SDSU's 100 and the new (much lower average). Adds a step, but would seem, to FUBeAR, to give a more relevant picture.

Also - FUBeAR believes you could (and should) do this analysis as FUBeAR did/re-did ProfC's - the best we can do in leveling the playing field without getting into subjectivity and/or voodoo math is to just include games against 63 scholarship Teams...IFBO.

[SteelSD]

Good stuff.

A few questions/comments....

Did you remove the impact that Mercer and SDSU had on their Opponents' averages before doing your calculation of Above/Below Average - Say SDSU scored 100 points on NDSU...you might want to remove that 100 Points Allowed from NDSU's Stats, recalc their Average and then take the difference SDSU's 100 and the new (much lower average). Adds a step, but would seem, to FUBeAR, to give a more relevant picture.

Also - FUBeAR believes you could (and should) do this analysis as FUBeAR did/re-did ProfC's - the best we can do in leveling the playing field without getting into subjectivity and/or voodoo math is to just include games against 63 scholarship Teams...IFBO.
All SDSU and Mercer stats were calculated against full scholarship FCS teams only. The opponents average stats were taken from the NCAA page and included all their games. Feel free to do the extra work on your own and present it, this took what little time I had today to calculate. It is an interesting thought experiment though. Perhaps I will do that for the next matchup assuming SDSU actually wins.

[BearDownMU]

Don't get upset with me, I'm just quoting your coach. When asked to compare SDSU to someone Furman has already faced he compared us to "Furman on steroids" and said we were like Furman only "probably a little better." If you don't like that, talk to your coach and not me. Seems a certain Furman fan is more butthurt about this than anyone. Perhaps that person should just go back to ignoring me...

And as for who pushes who around we will certainly see on Saturday. But traditionally the MVFC (most notably SDSU and NDSU) have won national titles because we have dominated the LOS. So to say it "means very little" seems to be arguing against history.

I feel like you are reading this like you want to rather than how I wrote it. At no point did I suggest dominating that LOS isn't important. In fact, I would argue it's the MOST important thing you can do if you have to pick a unit to be successful in a football game. My post purely points out that SIZE, as statistics on there own, doesn't really mean much. I've seen smaller lines dominate the other side of the ball more times than I can shake a stick at. More succinctly, comparing height and weight alone is indicative of nothing. I've seen 6'6'', 330 tackles that couldn't block me. So it doesn't matter how big they are if they can't block or move a blocker.

[FUBeAR]

Guess SDSU fans heard that Mercer was gonna be too skeert to show up, so they haven't bothered to buy tickets...

https://twitter.com/GreenDotWatch/status/1730258918230704262

[FU_Paladin08]

Quite a haul for Mercer to drive their equipment all the way to SD. Crazy they can’t find room on the plane.

[Professor Chaos]

Guess SDSU fans heard that Mercer was gonna be too skeert to show up, so they haven't bothered to buy tickets...

https://twitter.com/GreenDotWatch/status/1730258918230704262
That's actually a very good number (attendance would be in the 10-14k range I believe depending on how full their student section is). In last year's 2nd round vs Delaware they drew 6k, in 2019 2nd round vs UNI they drew 4k, and in 2018 vs Duquesne they only drew 3k (although I believe weather has been a factor in at least 2 of those games).

[FUBeAR]

Quite a haul for Mercer to drive their equipment all the way to SD. Crazy they can’t find room on the plane.
TSA wouldn't let the 4 Live Bears (AKA Mercer's DL) thru security, so their cages are on the truck.

[FUBeAR]

That's actually a very good number (attendance would be in the 10-14k range I believe depending on how full their student section is). In last year's 2nd round vs Delaware they drew 6k, in 2019 2nd round vs UNI they drew 4k, and in 2018 vs Duquesne they only drew 3k (although I believe weather has been a factor in at least 2 of those games).
That's crazy-talk. FUBeAR has been under the impression that all MVFC and Big Sky Teams sell out their 100k seat stadiums every game.

Guess FUBeAR has been duped again.

[BearDownMU]

That's actually a very good number (attendance would be in the 10-14k range I believe depending on how full their student section is). In last year's 2nd round vs Delaware they drew 6k, in 2019 2nd round vs UNI they drew 4k, and in 2018 vs Duquesne they only drew 3k (although I believe weather has been a factor in at least 2 of those games).

I'd want to come watch us too. xcoffeex

[SteelSD]

Yes, because our playoff attendance woes aren't well documented...xeyebrowx

[SeattleCat]

That's crazy-talk. FUBeAR has been under the impression that all MVFC and Big Sky Teams sell out their 100k seat stadiums every game.

Guess FUBeAR has been duped again.

Montana and Montana State did, I don't know what everyone else's problem is.

[SteelSD]

Montana and Montana State did, I don't know what everyone else's problem is.
Haven't you heard?

1) There's nothing else to do in Montana
2) You don't compete against a pro/FBS team, so you are the state's "big time team"

C'mon catch up!

[FUBeAR]

Montana and Montana State did, I don't know what everyone else's problem is.Good to know. Didn't doubt it for a second. After they sold out the 100k in the stadiums, were they able to sell out the simulcast in the 30k seat basketball arenas?

Hey - BTW - have you engaged with SteelSD yet to get his assessment of the size of MTSt's O-Line...saw the depth chart posted on the bizuns @ bobcats thread and thought SteelSD would surely have a comment on how @ 6-3 298 (6-2 295, if you take out the largest one (for some unknown reason that you might do that)) they "compare with SDSU's OL size wise." Didn't look at the DL, but would assume it's the same. Y'all should really link up around this topic. It's absolutely fascinating.

[SteelSD]

Good to know. Didn't doubt it for a second. After they sold out the 100k in the stadiums, were they able to sell out the simulcast in the 30k seat basketball arenas?

Hey - BTW - have you engaged with SteelSD yet to get his assessment of the size of MTSt's O-Line...saw the depth chart posted on the bizuns @ bobcats thread and thought SteelSD would surely have a comment on how @ 6-3 298 (6-2 295, if you take out the largest one (for some unknown reason that you might do that)) they "compare with SDSU's OL size wise." Didn't look at the DL, but would assume it's the same. Y'all should really link up around this topic. It's absolutely fascinating.
I would ask you to give me the Montana State average line size, but you've already proven you can't average 5 numbers correctly. But then you argue "facts"... You make me laugh silly little Paladin!

[SteelSD]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbhlZP_00gI

Game day Eve

[FUBeAR]

I would ask you to give me the Montana State average line size, but you've already proven you can't average 5 numbers correctly. But then you argue "facts"... You make me laugh silly little Paladin!
LOL - so, you’ve progressed from nonsensical data manipulation to false/diversionary+ad hominem tactics, and now to just purely making ish up. Impressive.

And …my goodness…the reading comprehension issues…those ARE the MtSt OL average HT/WT…Starting OL, and your preferred (for no logical reason) methodology of Starting OL minus 1 average.

[SeattleCat]

Good to know. Didn't doubt it for a second. After they sold out the 100k in the stadiums, were they able to sell out the simulcast in the 30k seat basketball arenas?

Hey - BTW - have you engaged with SteelSD yet to get his assessment of the size of MTSt's O-Line...saw the depth chart posted on the bizuns @ bobcats thread and thought SteelSD would surely have a comment on how @ 6-3 298 (6-2 295, if you take out the largest one (for some unknown reason that you might do that)) they "compare with SDSU's OL size wise." Didn't look at the DL, but would assume it's the same. Y'all should really link up around this topic. It's absolutely fascinating.

Sorry, been too busy trying to find my seat in our 100k stadium. You have to come in 3 days early and hike a mountain to get to it.

[FUBeAR]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbhlZP_00gI

Game day Eve
That is a nice preview. Very well done.

One interesting FCS playoff-relevant fact not mentioned about Mercer’s QB, Carter Peevy, that you can drop to impress all of your lagomorphic pals…

His Dad, Jim Peevy, played OL for the #7 Seed Furman Paladins from ‘92-‘94.

https://i.postimg.cc/L6Zk3p9p/IMG-0995.jpg

….you’re welcome.

[Paladin1aa]

Time for my prediction - Bunnies 42-10. It will be ugly.

[Karl Havoc]

32.5 points a lot to lay with SDSU. But I don’t think I have the balls to bet against them. I’d imagine they’ll just be bleeding the clock for most of the 4th quarter and trying to stay healthy.

[SeattleCat]

I'll be impressed if Mercer can keep it within 32.

[FU_Paladin08]

SDSU 33-17

[FUBeAR]

Clockwise from top left - Mercer’s WR Ty James, Safety Richie Coffey (FUBeAR thinks that’s Coffey), RB Al Wooten II, and WR/RS Devron Harper preparing for their Hula Bowl invitations on the plains in Sioux Falls, SD.

https://twitter.com/mercerfootball/status/1730738515363696820

[FUBeAR]

https://twitter.com/mercerfootball/status/1730769374745661578

[SoDakSA]

SDSU wins this game. I am tempted to bet Mercer with the points. since I think their #1 offense should be playing against the Jacks' #3 defense by the 4th quarter.

Unfortunately I will not be able to make it to Coughlin 2.0, but my seats will be used by some longtime fans making their first playoff game. It will be fun to see a different team no matter the outcome, I just wish that these type of games could be scheduled during the regular season.

[FUBeAR]

I am tempted to bet Mercer with the points. since I think their #1 offense should be playing against the Jacks' #3 defense by the 4th quarter.
If the score warrants SDSU playing their #3 Defense in the 4th quarter, FUBeAR can assure you Coach Cronic will not have Mercer's #1 Offense in the game.

At Furman this season, about halfway through the 4th quarter, Furman, leading 38-14, pulled their Starters. As soon as the Paladins made that move, Coach Cronic did the same.

He is the son of a highly respected Coach in GA - many years of success in the HS ranks and in starting up Reinhardt's NAIA program. He was raised to respect the game and he respects both his Players and the Players of his opponents. He's all about class. He will not embarrass his Starters by leaving them on the field against SDSU's #3's, if the game is, essentially, unwinnable, and he wouldn't embarrass anyone's Team by leaving his Starters in the game beyond what is/was necessary to ensure victory.

So place your wagers, comfortably, with that knowledge.


That said, FUBeAR is certain that the post-game narrative, IF things happen to go as you expect scorewise, will be that Mercer's played their Starters against the Brookings HS JV Team the entire game, regardless of the veracity of such claims. Facts don't matter. It's the narrative that must rule the day!

[SoDakSA]

If the score warrants SDSU playing their #3 Defense in the 4th quarter, FUBeAR can assure you Coach Cronic will not have Mercer's #1 Offense in the game.

At Furman this season, about halfway through the 4th quarter, Furman, leading 38-14, pulled their Starters. As soon as the Paladins made that move, Coach Cronic did the same.

He is the son of a highly respected Coach in GA - many years of success in the HS ranks and in starting up Reinhardt's NAIA program. He was raised to respect the game and he respects both his Players and the Players of his opponents. He's all about class. He will not embarrass his Starters by leaving them on the field against SDSU's #3's, if the game is, essentially, unwinnable, and he wouldn't embarrass anyone's Team by leaving his Starters in the game beyond what is/was necessary to ensure victory.

So place your wagers, comfortably, with that knowledge.


That said, FUBeAR is certain that the post-game narrative, IF things happen to go as you expect scorewise, will be that Mercer's played their Starters against the Brookings HS JV Team the entire game, regardless of the veracity of such claims. Facts don't matter. It's the narrative that must rule the day!

With the knowledge perhaps I shall take the points. Can I count on the FUBeAR Financial Group to guarantee my investment should this assurance not come to fruition?

Actually, I think that Mercer would have rather played the Brookings Bobcat varsity team over their JV team this season.

[FUBeAR]

With the knowledge perhaps I shall take the points. Can I count on the FUBeAR Financial Group to guarantee my investment should this assurance not come to fruition?

Actually, I think that Mercer would have rather played the Brookings Bobcat varsity team over their JV team this season.
FFG is guaranteeing all such investments based upon knowledge dropped by FUBeAR. In order to secure this guarantee, please DM your SSN, Mother’s Maiden Name, birthdate, and Bank Info (including PIN) so that we deposit your funds in the unlikely event that FUBeAR’s knowledge fails to secure your winnings.

[JacksFan40]

Jacks open with FG.

3-0 in the 1st.

[FUBeAR]

Jacks open with FG.

3-0 in the 1st.
Mercer failing to recover the fumble and dropping an INT does not bode well for the Bears

[SoDakSA]

I see why Mercer puts him on kick returns. His decision making isn't great as a wide receiver

[JacksFan40]

Davis short TD run makes it 10-0 early 2nd quarter.

[SoDakSA]

Nice to hear that the officials borrowed their mics from the McDonald's drive-thru

[JacksFan40]

Gronowski hits Jaxon Janke for a TD.

17-0 midway through 2nd.

[SoDakSA]

For to equally sized lines, SDSU sure seems to be playing bigger. xcoolx

[FUBeAR]

For to equally sized lines, SDSU sure seems to be playing bigger. xcoolx
The performance of both Teams’ lines on both sides of the ball has far exceeded your reading comprehension performance.

[SoDakSA]

The performance of both Teams’ lines on both sides of the ball has far exceeded your reading comprehension performance.

If you are trying to insult a terrible reader, using words like "comprehension" and " the" isn't a good plan. Ha

[SteelSD]

The performance of both Teams’ lines on both sides of the ball has far exceeded your reading comprehension performance.
What exactly have the Mercer lines done?

[SoDakSA]

What exactly have the Mercer lines done?

They did have a really impressive block in the back. Does that count?

I have actually been impressed with the Mercer defense (score not withstanding)

[FUBeAR]

What exactly have the Mercer lines done?
Far exceeded SoDakSA’s reading comprehension, as soon as they were able to successfully find their way from the locker room to the field.

[SteelSD]

Far exceeded SoDakSA’s reading comprehension, as soon as they were able to successfully find their way from the locker room to the field.
Ahh, didn’t realize the SoCon bar was that low…. Maybe if they were bigger….

[SteelSD]

The SDSU backups are in. Where is this backup Mercer respect the game thing I heard about?!

[KUlawJack]

What an ass beating. Had to duck out since the little one was cold. Turnovers need to be cleaned up but not much of today will prepare us for next week.

[FUBeAR]

Ahh, didn’t realize the SoCon bar was that low…. Maybe if they were bigger….

The SDSU backups are in. Where is this backup Mercer respect the game thing I heard about?!
Look - it’s obvious y’all’s is purty good at feetsball, but reading skills seems to be a significant deficiency in SD.

Only Furman’s OL/DL sizes were discussed in this thread; never Mercer’s.

And - reading numbers is fairly easy. As soon as SDSU began liberally substituting, Mercer did as well. The different numbers on the Players jerseys should be context clues for you guys. It appears a few Mercer Players, like #15 Ken Standley, a former walk-on probably playing the final football game of his life has refused to come out, but there have been 7-8 backups in since SDSU went to their reserves.

But feel free to make up whatever ish y’all wanna make up.

[POD Knows]

Mercer exceeded my expectations. I thought SDSU would drop 50 on them.

[SteelSD]

Mercer exceeded my expectations. I thought SDSU would drop 50 on them.
Well, to be fair our backup QB was in with 3 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter.

[Bison56]

The SDSU backups are in. Where is this backup Mercer respect the game thing I heard about?!

First time?

[JacksFan40]

Game wasn't even as close as the score indicated, at no point did it ever feel like Mercer was in this.

Mercer played good, it’s not like they were making egregious mistakes or giving up big plays outside of the Angel Johnson TD run, they were just outmatched from top to bottom.

Looking forward to Villanova next week.

[FUBeAR]

Nothing surprised FUBeAR about this game. The MVFC Champion defeated the SoCon’s #3 Team, after a week off, about like they beat the #3 MVFC Team, Northern Iowa.

Great season for Mercer. Very proud of these Bears.

Outstanding win for SDSU. Big Congrats. Totally deserved it!

Will look forward to SDSU facing off with Furman in Frisco.

[SeattleCat]

Nothing surprised FUBeAR about this game. The MVFC Champion defeated the SoCon’s #3 Team, after a week off, about like they beat the #3 MVFC Team, Northern Iowa.

Great season for Mercer. Very proud of these Bears.

Outstanding win for SDSU. Big Congrats. Totally deserved it!

Will look forward to SDSU facing off with Furman in Frisco.

Ha! That's funny stuff right there.

[Pards Rule]

Congrats JRs! Go get em in Brookings next week. We love Dallas Goedert (GO EAGLES!)

[POD Knows]

Well, to be fair our backup QB was in with 3 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter.I watched the game, still though they would drop 50 on them.

[SteelSD]

Nothing surprised FUBeAR about this game. The MVFC Champion defeated the SoCon’s #3 Team, after a week off, about like they beat the #3 MVFC Team, Northern Iowa.

Great season for Mercer. Very proud of these Bears.

Outstanding win for SDSU. Big Congrats. Totally deserved it!

Will look forward to SDSU facing off with Furman in Frisco.
The MVFC Champion defeated the SoCon’s #2 Team, after a week off, about like they beat the #6 MVFC Team, Northern Iowa.

There, fixed it for you. See, I can do what you did too...

[FUBeAR]

See, I can do what you did too...
https://lifeunsweetened.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/imitation.jpg

[SteelSD]

https://lifeunsweetened.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/imitation.jpg
https://i.redd.it/5d1hq33i15s71.jpg