2022 Playoffs - Quarterfinals: #2 Sac State vs #7 Incarnate Word
The 2nd seeded/ranked Hornets (12-0, 8-0 BSC) host the 7th seeded Incarnate Word Cardinals (11-1, 5-1 SLC) in a quarterfinal matchup in the 2022 FCS Playoffs. UIW finished tied atop the Southland Conference under first year Head Coach GJ Kinne who is leaving for an FBS gig at the conclusion of UIW’s season. The Cardinals had a notable 55-41 win early in the season at a woeful Nevada and a late game 41-38 win at home over a stout Furman team in the 2nd round of the playoffs. The only other true test UIW has had was a 35-41 loss at Southeastern Louisiana in week 4 as the Cardinals ran roughshod over everyone else on their schedule.
Offensively, the Cardinals run a standard run-pass option attack and have a nearly 50-50 split in pass to run ratio and have put up video game numbers on the season. This offense is the best scoring offense in FCS. The Cardinals offense sets up passes underneath as well as takes shots deep down the field. The catalyst of UIW’s prolific offense is Lindsey Scott Jr (273/377, 4185 yds, 556 TD, 6 INT, 92 car, 466 yds, 7 TD) who is a total beast of an athlete with a cannon of an arm. Scott will be the most athletic quarterback that the Hornets have seen this season, and it’s not even close. UIW has two playmaking receivers in Darion Chafin (60 rec, 1155 yds, 16 TD) and Taylor Grimes (70 rec, 1091 yds, 14 TD) that lead the team in receiving production. On the ground, Marcus Cooper (170 car, 1148 yds, 10 TD, 23 rec, 189 yds, 2 TD) is a shifty and speedy runner that can break a big run when given the chance. Up front, all but one of their offensive line starters is over 300 pounds, and this line has only given up 15 sacks on the year.
Offensive Team Stats
The Cardinals defense runs a 4-2-5 and they are very aggressive with over 40 sacks and 117 TFLs on the year but they did struggle against their quality opponents. UIW’s defense is led by linebacker Kelechi Anyalebechi (96 tkl, 9 TFL, 1 sac, 2 INT) and they have two defensive ends that excel at getting to the quarterback in Chris Whittaker (32 tkl, 9.5 TFL, 7.5 sac) and Steven Parker (42 tkl, 11 TFL, 7 sac). Safety Shawn Holton (32 tkl, 0.5 TFL, 3 INT) leads the defense in interceptions.
Defensive Team Stats
UIW’s special teams look pretty solid. Kicker Carson Mohr (6/8 FG, 78/80 PAT) hasn’t been used much outside of PATs, and only has a long of 38 yards on the season. Punter Keven Nguyen (31 punts, 8 I-20) has a big leg with 6 of his punts exceeding 50 yards. In the return game, the Cardinals have a few players with significant kick return attempts and yards, three of whom average over 18 yards a return. The biggest threat in the return game is Kole Wilson as he has taken 2 punts back for touchdowns and is averaging 16 yards per punt return and 25 yards per kick return.
Hornet Team Stats
Incarnate Word is a reincarnation (see what I did there?) of a typical prolific EWU team the Hornets have seen in recent years, which is an offense that is built around a very athletic dual threat quarterback. Defensively, I see the Hornet defense taking a similar approach to that of the 2019 matchup against an Eric Barriere led EWU offense. The problem is that 2019 Hornet defense was much better than the 2022 Hornet defense, especially up front and even then Barriere still put up big numbers. Furman was able to stay in the game with limited offensive production, largely due to forced turnovers that set up easy scores.
On the defensive side, UIW isn’t anything special but they rush the quarterback and disrupt plays in the backfield very well. This will be concerning as Stiefel is out so that will be something to watch this week. The Cardinals have given up lots of points against the quality opponents they have faced. The Hornets have chewed apart plenty of 4-2-5 defenses this year and this week shouldn’t present anything they haven’t seen on multiple occasions this season.
Hornet special teams need to be wary of UIW’s return game. Kole Wilson looks to be more than capable of making a big return on both punts and kickoffs. However the Hornets have the better kicker by a wide margin.
On a final note about UIW, while their stats are gaudy, a lot of that was against garbage SLC teams and much weaker competition. That said, Incarnate Word is a damn good team stacked with talent on the offensive side that has the capability to boat race us in this one if the Hornets have some early game hiccups.
As of this post, there is about a 30% chance of rain Friday night, but based on last week's game there is no reason to believe that will slow down either team. This could very well be the last time us fans get to see this monumental Hornet squad so I strongly encourage anyone on the fence about attending this game to get a ticket and support this program as these Hornets certainly deserve our support. I have this game as a toss up and am going with the emotional pick and sticking with the Hornets to keep this magical season alive. We’ve been able to find a way in the tough games so there is no reason to cast doubt now.
Sac State is #1! Stingers Up!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRdTAXewH0E
The 2nd seeded/ranked Hornets (12-0, 8-0 BSC) host the 7th seeded Incarnate Word Cardinals (11-1, 5-1 SLC) in a quarterfinal matchup in the 2022 FCS Playoffs. UIW finished tied atop the Southland Conference under first year Head Coach GJ Kinne who is leaving for an FBS gig at the conclusion of UIW’s season. The Cardinals had a notable 55-41 win early in the season at a woeful Nevada and a late game 41-38 win at home over a stout Furman team in the 2nd round of the playoffs. The only other true test UIW has had was a 35-41 loss at Southeastern Louisiana in week 4 as the Cardinals ran roughshod over everyone else on their schedule.
Offensively, the Cardinals run a standard run-pass option attack and have a nearly 50-50 split in pass to run ratio and have put up video game numbers on the season. This offense is the best scoring offense in FCS. The Cardinals offense sets up passes underneath as well as takes shots deep down the field. The catalyst of UIW’s prolific offense is Lindsey Scott Jr (273/377, 4185 yds, 556 TD, 6 INT, 92 car, 466 yds, 7 TD) who is a total beast of an athlete with a cannon of an arm. Scott will be the most athletic quarterback that the Hornets have seen this season, and it’s not even close. UIW has two playmaking receivers in Darion Chafin (60 rec, 1155 yds, 16 TD) and Taylor Grimes (70 rec, 1091 yds, 14 TD) that lead the team in receiving production. On the ground, Marcus Cooper (170 car, 1148 yds, 10 TD, 23 rec, 189 yds, 2 TD) is a shifty and speedy runner that can break a big run when given the chance. Up front, all but one of their offensive line starters is over 300 pounds, and this line has only given up 15 sacks on the year.
Offensive Team Stats
- Points scored per game: 51.9 (1st SLC/1st FCS)
- Total Offense: 584.9 ypg (201.0 rushing ypg / 383.9 passing ypg) (1st/1st SLC / 18th/2nd FCS)
- Turnovers: 7/7 (INT/Fum)
- Redzone: 48/62 - 45/3 (TD/FG)
The Cardinals defense runs a 4-2-5 and they are very aggressive with over 40 sacks and 117 TFLs on the year but they did struggle against their quality opponents. UIW’s defense is led by linebacker Kelechi Anyalebechi (96 tkl, 9 TFL, 1 sac, 2 INT) and they have two defensive ends that excel at getting to the quarterback in Chris Whittaker (32 tkl, 9.5 TFL, 7.5 sac) and Steven Parker (42 tkl, 11 TFL, 7 sac). Safety Shawn Holton (32 tkl, 0.5 TFL, 3 INT) leads the defense in interceptions.
Defensive Team Stats
- Points allowed per game: 20.7 (2nd SLC/18th FCS)
- Total Defense: 337.2 ypg (140.6 rushing ypg / 383.9 passing ypg) (3rd/2nd SLC / 42nd/28th FCS)
- Turnovers Forced: 12/8 (INT/Fum)
- Redzone: 43/56 - 32/11 (TD/FG)
UIW’s special teams look pretty solid. Kicker Carson Mohr (6/8 FG, 78/80 PAT) hasn’t been used much outside of PATs, and only has a long of 38 yards on the season. Punter Keven Nguyen (31 punts, 8 I-20) has a big leg with 6 of his punts exceeding 50 yards. In the return game, the Cardinals have a few players with significant kick return attempts and yards, three of whom average over 18 yards a return. The biggest threat in the return game is Kole Wilson as he has taken 2 punts back for touchdowns and is averaging 16 yards per punt return and 25 yards per kick return.
Hornet Team Stats
- Points scored per game: 41.2 (2nd BSC/4th FCS)
- Points allowed per game: 22.6 (4th BSC/33rd FCS)
- Total Offense: 480.0 ypg (235.8 rushing ypg / 244.2 passing ypg) (2nd/6th BSC / 7th/37th FCS)
- Total Defense: 374.7 ypg (131.2 rushing ypg / 243.5 passing ypg) (2nd/8th BSC / 33rd/91st FCS)
- Turnovers: 14/8 (INT/Fum)
- Turnovers Forced: 10/9 (INT/Fum)
- Redzone Offense: 55/64 - 45/10 (TD/FG)
- Redzone Defense: 30/35 - 21/9 (TD/FG)
Incarnate Word is a reincarnation (see what I did there?) of a typical prolific EWU team the Hornets have seen in recent years, which is an offense that is built around a very athletic dual threat quarterback. Defensively, I see the Hornet defense taking a similar approach to that of the 2019 matchup against an Eric Barriere led EWU offense. The problem is that 2019 Hornet defense was much better than the 2022 Hornet defense, especially up front and even then Barriere still put up big numbers. Furman was able to stay in the game with limited offensive production, largely due to forced turnovers that set up easy scores.
On the defensive side, UIW isn’t anything special but they rush the quarterback and disrupt plays in the backfield very well. This will be concerning as Stiefel is out so that will be something to watch this week. The Cardinals have given up lots of points against the quality opponents they have faced. The Hornets have chewed apart plenty of 4-2-5 defenses this year and this week shouldn’t present anything they haven’t seen on multiple occasions this season.
Hornet special teams need to be wary of UIW’s return game. Kole Wilson looks to be more than capable of making a big return on both punts and kickoffs. However the Hornets have the better kicker by a wide margin.
On a final note about UIW, while their stats are gaudy, a lot of that was against garbage SLC teams and much weaker competition. That said, Incarnate Word is a damn good team stacked with talent on the offensive side that has the capability to boat race us in this one if the Hornets have some early game hiccups.
As of this post, there is about a 30% chance of rain Friday night, but based on last week's game there is no reason to believe that will slow down either team. This could very well be the last time us fans get to see this monumental Hornet squad so I strongly encourage anyone on the fence about attending this game to get a ticket and support this program as these Hornets certainly deserve our support. I have this game as a toss up and am going with the emotional pick and sticking with the Hornets to keep this magical season alive. We’ve been able to find a way in the tough games so there is no reason to cast doubt now.
Sac State is #1! Stingers Up!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRdTAXewH0E
