Illinois State

[clawman1]

....I'm sure we will all be Chattanooga Fans Friday night...

Why wait until Friday night. I'm hoping the Wildcats come down with a 7 day flu... starting now! :lol:

 

[Rjones61]

Alright, confession time:

I have been a slight fan of Illinois State football ever since they came to Cheney in 2012. I think it's because I saw a team that had so much in common with our own (playing style, red, birds) and the level-headedness from the majority of their fan base. I really respect the redbird program, and I hope we have opportunities to play them many times in the future. :thumb:

Looking into this game, this can only turn into a shootout. This game is going to look a lot like the University of Washington game where EWU has a slight edge offensively and ISU has a slight edge defensively.

Eastern Washington will score points. They will score many points. Illinois State has not seen a team which is lethal in every phase of the offense, like EWU is. Not only are we deep at every point in the offense, we have FBS caliber athletes everywhere. Vernon Adams is the best player in the FCS. Forte is a beast of a runningback and is always overlooked. The top five of our wide receiving corps would start at any FCS football team. Our offensive line is big, strong, and dependable.

Illinois State is also deep offensively and has an impressive scheme and players. They will score many points. EWU defense has had success of late, but if you think our defense is going to do much damage versus the Illinois State offense, you need to take off the homer glasses. It's kind of like how Montana saw success offensively when they smashed MSU and San Diego, got cocky, only to get shut down by EWU. Our defensive line has really grown into their role and I am very proud of their progress. However, they are still young and undersized* and facing a very talented ISU offensive line. Our secondary will be forced to play run support and ultimately get burned on many passes.

As many have said, whomever wins the turnover battle wins the game. This is where we win. The second half of the season, EWU has taken very good care of the ball and our defense is getting very good at making balls slip from defenders.

Edit: changed oversized to undersized

 

[kalm]

Redbirds best OOC win, Massey Rated #36 Eastern Illinois 34-15. Don't know that you would want to point out Miss Valley State or Austin Peay, as they both would barely squeak by the NAIA team we played early in the season.

Our best OOC win, Massey Rated #11 SHSU, a team that has won two playoff games so far, and just took out the 3 seed.

I only hope your coaches and players have taken the same solace in the empty stats of OOC record that the MVFC as a whole as pointed to constantly. Look at the teams the conference played, it wasn't as impressive as it's made to sound.

You thought we had only won 2 games against teams in upper half of you conference. But MVFC actually won 5 games against teams in upper half of your conference and are now 9-1 against Big Sky. We had 5 teams make round of 16 with first round wins over ranked teams: Mont St and EKU .. both on the road against higher ranked teams supposedly. As for your SHSU win, they also lost to Northwestern St early in season; who lost to Missouri St (1-7). I could go on and on, and have done too much research on this topic usin below resources. It doesn't change our match up with you .. which will be a good one.

But if your interested, just start tracing a few of these links, and you'll see what I mean. All objective sources that compile all the data to produce rankings and SOS. MVFC stands alone, top to bottom the last 3 years for sure, arguably 4 years. FCS selection committee took way too long to figure this out.

Massey: http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?s=cf2014&sub=11605" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sagarin: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/sagarin/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Massey Poll of Polls: http://www.masseyratings.com/cf/compare1aa.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good discussion but you're not the only one who looks into this stuff and checks out the various ranking systems.

Massey can be very helpful, especially late in the season, but it's still a computer ranking with some flaws. For example, it has a 5-7 WIU at #14 and a 6-6 SIU at #16 who had zero quality wins and was beat by two or more scores against every quality opponent they faced.

Our SOS's are very comparable with us playing a much tougher OOC slate with some weaker in-conference opponents. The quality wins and losses are pretty damn close too with EWU having one more win against a playoff team, and ISU having a better loss (UNI vs. NAU).

And I'll echo the other comments regarding the MVFC. Terrific conference - especially this year - but not nearly as far out in front of the Big Sky and CAA as the computers or its fans suggest.

Since you suggested MVFC isn't as strong as we think, i will respond.

Putting EWU aside where we have no argument .. a few weeks ago, you had Cal Poly, NAU, Montana sitting tied for first in your conference .. we did very well against these 3 teams, as well as the middle and lower tier teams.South Dakota beat NAU by 7 and lost to Montana by 8. Then went 0-8 in MVFC losing by average of 22 points per game. SIU is certainly an unusual example, but since you are saying MVFC is over-rated by Massey, I will have to again say, we are 9-1 against Big Sky with some large margins where our teams with less wins in conference are beating your teams with more wins in your conference. That has to speak to our superiority and depth top to bottom, putting only EWU aside. Montana had some very weak outings this year in and out of conference. Northern AZ, exact same thing. Cal Poly showed life beating Montana and Mont St but SDSU beat them badly. Last year, Big Sky got 4 teams while we got just 2 .. and quickly had 3 teams sent home. SDSU lost to EWU where you pulled away 2nd half.

Saw some posts on Zenner being over-rated. Your defense figured out how to contain Zenner last year, but he has lit up many very good FCS teams. Every great RB has an off day. His numbers against Big Sky and MVFC speak for themselves. This year, he put 250 on Mont St, 200 on Cal Poly and 150+ on Southern UT. Last year he ran for 296 on North Dakota, and 249 on NOrthern AZ, before EWU held him in check. Got to give credit where its due. Look at every great back at every level, there is always a down day or two.

Good post. I think the Valley is very strong this year but also over-rated, including by Massey.

Regarding Zenner, great back, but when you drill down a little, you'll find that Montana State and Southern Utah were terrible against the run this year (88th and 114) and Cal Poly wasn't much better.

We're not exactly the cat's meow either in run stoppage, but we have shown a tendency to get better heading into the playoffs. Was Zenner and T. West both having a pair of their worst games of the season a coincidence?

 

[kalm]

Alright, confession time:

I have been a slight fan of Illinois State football ever since they came to Cheney in 2012. I think it's because I saw a team that had so much in common with our own team (playing style, red, birds) and the level-headedness from the majority of their fan base. I really respect the redbird program, and I hope we have opportunities many times in the future. :thumb:

Looking into this game, this can only turn into a shootout. This game is going to look a lot like the University of Washington game where EWU has a slight edge offensively and ISU has a slight edge defensively.

Eastern Washington will score points. They will score many points. Illinois State has not seen a team which is lethal in every phase of the offense, like EWU is. Not only are we deep at every point in the offense, we have FBS caliber athletes everywhere. Vernon Adams is the best player in the FCS. Forte is a beast of a runningback and is always overlooked. The top five of our wide receiving corps would start at any FCS football team. Our offensive line is big, strong, and dependable.

Illinois State is also deep offensively and has an impressive scheme and players. They will score many points. EWU defense has had success of late, but if you think our defense is going to do much damage versus the Illinois State offense, you need to take off the homer glasses. It's kind of like how Montana saw success offensively when they smashed MSU and San Diego, got cocky, only to get shut down by EWU. Our defensive line has really grown into their role and I am very proud of their progress. However, they are still young and oversized and facing a very talented ISU offensive line. Our secondary will be forced to play run support and ultimately get burned on many passes.

As many have said, whomever wins the turnover battle wins the game. This is where we win. The second half of the season, EWU has taken very good care of the ball and our defense is getting very good at making balls slip from defenders.

Good post Jonesy!

 

[93bird]

Solid take, RJ. The Redbirds OL will give Roberson time to throw and room for Coprich to run. They'll score their points. We just need to score more and take care of the ball. Something special from our special teams wouldn't hurt either.

 

[REALBird]

Very good post Mr. Jones. From one Jones to another, good synopsis. Hoping the other Birds (Redbirds) emerge victorious, but I agree that turnovers will be the key. If the turnovers are even, then all bets are off, whoever gets the ball last wins.

Regardless of the outcome, I'm rooting for one of these Birds to win in all.

Good luck Eagle Fans.

 

[luckyintheorder]

Illinois State looks good but I think they are overrated. The MVFC gets more credit than it deserves because of NDSU, who else from that conference has really made a run in the playoffs the last couple of years?

As far as Ill State, they have only played 4 road games this year. Two of them against cellar dwellers in their conference, one against UNI which they lost, and they had a good win against a 7-5 Indiana State on the road. They didn't play the best team in their conference, NDSU, so we really don't know how good they are. They only played 11 games this year, played a dog crap OOC schedule, and haven't proved they can beat a good team on the road.

I think Eastern wins big here. We have faced a MVFC team in our last 3 playoff appearances, all at home, and we won all 3. Beat NDSU by 7 in 2010, Ill State by 16 in 2012, and SDSU by 24 last year. The MVFC teams don't play against teams like EWU all year, they don't see our speed and our style and it bodes well for us. I think its a shootout but we dominate and really pull away in the 2nd half. The one thing the Red Birds have going for them is they have the type of QB that has hurt us before...

Should be a great game....I'm sure we will all be Chattanooga Fans Friday night...

Mirrors my own thoughts to a tee. Nice work! :thumb:

 

[luckyintheorder]

....I'm sure we will all be Chattanooga Fans Friday night...

Why wait until Friday night. I'm hoping the Wildcats come down with a 7 day flu... starting now! :lol:

Moc's looked very good against a solid offense in Indiana St. Know I have said it before, but the CAA isn't that strong this year and has had the easiest post season matchup's to date. UNH faces reality Friday. Go Moc's!

 

[dudeitsaid]

Alright, confession time:

I have been a slight fan of Illinois State football ever since they came to Cheney in 2012. I think it's because I saw a team that had so much in common with our own (playing style, red, birds) and the level-headedness from the majority of their fan base. I really respect the redbird program, and I hope we have opportunities to play them many times in the future. :thumb:

Looking into this game, this can only turn into a shootout. This game is going to look a lot like the University of Washington game where EWU has a slight edge offensively and ISU has a slight edge defensively.

Eastern Washington will score points. They will score many points. Illinois State has not seen a team which is lethal in every phase of the offense, like EWU is. Not only are we deep at every point in the offense, we have FBS caliber athletes everywhere. Vernon Adams is the best player in the FCS. Forte is a beast of a runningback and is always overlooked. The top five of our wide receiving corps would start at any FCS football team. Our offensive line is big, strong, and dependable.

Illinois State is also deep offensively and has an impressive scheme and players. They will score many points. EWU defense has had success of late, but if you think our defense is going to do much damage versus the Illinois State offense, you need to take off the homer glasses. It's kind of like how Montana saw success offensively when they smashed MSU and San Diego, got cocky, only to get shut down by EWU. Our defensive line has really grown into their role and I am very proud of their progress. However, they are still young and undersized* and facing a very talented ISU offensive line. Our secondary will be forced to play run support and ultimately get burned on many passes.

As many have said, whomever wins the turnover battle wins the game. This is where we win. The second half of the season, EWU has taken very good care of the ball and our defense is getting very good at making balls slip from defenders.

Edit: changed oversized to undersized

Good post. I watched the UNI/ISU game last night, and I thought ISU looked great on offense. UNI should've made the QB change earlier in the game, and their throw it first strategy with a QB who was so inept at passing the ball put them in a tough position early on. ISU did a great job stopping the all world running back UNI has, and bottling up the mobile UNI QB, perpetuating his need to throw the ball. Kollmorgen did a better job, but by then, it was too late.

This was the only time that I have seen ISU play this year, but based on this game, I was surprised the starting QB, Roberson was below 60% completion percentage for the year. The receivers did an outstanding job of getting open, and his throws were on point. When he needed to run, he was effective at it. And their feature back, Coprich, was a solid runner that didn't go down easy, even when being mauled by multiple players that looked twice his size.

They remind me of MSU, but with a stronger D. I agree this is going to be a shoot out. Now that the bye is behind us, hopefully the EWU offense can get into their normal rhythm, and put up at minimum their season average. When EWU's O is clicking, I think we are unstoppable in that regard. Have to agree with everyone else, this likely comes down to a couple of key special teams plays or turnovers. This should be a great game!

 

[luckyintheorder]

Redbirds cranking it up now on their fansite. quote, unquote Bizon fan giving them advice... Bizon afraid to play the Eags??? :lol:

http://www.redbirdfan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=7017&sid=2e2360d8eeb018313c1734c6ac0ffe8a

If I was a Redbird fan, would definitely take the Bizon guy with a grain of salt.

 

[clawman1]

Redbirds cranking it up now on their fansite. quote, unquote Bizon fan giving them advice... Bizon afraid to play the Eags??? :lol:

http://www.redbirdfan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=7017&sid=2e2360d8eeb018313c1734c6ac0ffe8a

If I was a Redbird fan, would definitely take the Bizon guy with a grain of salt.

Ya about this size grain of salt

 

[EWURanger]

Alright, confession time:

I have been a slight fan of Illinois State football ever since they came to Cheney in 2012. I think it's because I saw a team that had so much in common with our own (playing style, red, birds) and the level-headedness from the majority of their fan base. I really respect the redbird program, and I hope we have opportunities to play them many times in the future. :thumb:

Looking into this game, this can only turn into a shootout. This game is going to look a lot like the University of Washington game where EWU has a slight edge offensively and ISU has a slight edge defensively.

Eastern Washington will score points. They will score many points. Illinois State has not seen a team which is lethal in every phase of the offense, like EWU is. Not only are we deep at every point in the offense, we have FBS caliber athletes everywhere. Vernon Adams is the best player in the FCS. Forte is a beast of a runningback and is always overlooked. The top five of our wide receiving corps would start at any FCS football team. Our offensive line is big, strong, and dependable.

Illinois State is also deep offensively and has an impressive scheme and players. They will score many points. EWU defense has had success of late, but if you think our defense is going to do much damage versus the Illinois State offense, you need to take off the homer glasses. It's kind of like how Montana saw success offensively when they smashed MSU and San Diego, got cocky, only to get shut down by EWU. Our defensive line has really grown into their role and I am very proud of their progress. However, they are still young and undersized* and facing a very talented ISU offensive line. Our secondary will be forced to play run support and ultimately get burned on many passes.

As many have said, whomever wins the turnover battle wins the game. This is where we win. The second half of the season, EWU has taken very good care of the ball and our defense is getting very good at making balls slip from defenders.

Edit: changed oversized to undersized

Good post. I like 'em too. I have since we played them in 2012. Their fans seem very level-headed and knowledgable both on here and the other sites...unlike another team from their conference.

Plus their a Coach has a cool name and a pretty sweet 'stache.

 

[Redbird 4th & short]

turnovers are always key. but given each of our strengths, we need to win the trenches, if we do that, we will be tough. if we break even in trenches, we need to make it up somewhere else like special teams.

 

[Redbird 4th & short]

Redbirds best OOC win, Massey Rated #36 Eastern Illinois 34-15. Don't know that you would want to point out Miss Valley State or Austin Peay, as they both would barely squeak by the NAIA team we played early in the season.

Our best OOC win, Massey Rated #11 SHSU, a team that has won two playoff games so far, and just took out the 3 seed.

I only hope your coaches and players have taken the same solace in the empty stats of OOC record that the MVFC as a whole as pointed to constantly. Look at the teams the conference played, it wasn't as impressive as it's made to sound.

You thought we had only won 2 games against teams in upper half of you conference. But MVFC actually won 5 games against teams in upper half of your conference and are now 9-1 against Big Sky. We had 5 teams make round of 16 with first round wins over ranked teams: Mont St and EKU .. both on the road against higher ranked teams supposedly. As for your SHSU win, they also lost to Northwestern St early in season; who lost to Missouri St (1-7). I could go on and on, and have done too much research on this topic usin below resources. It doesn't change our match up with you .. which will be a good one.

But if your interested, just start tracing a few of these links, and you'll see what I mean. All objective sources that compile all the data to produce rankings and SOS. MVFC stands alone, top to bottom the last 3 years for sure, arguably 4 years. FCS selection committee took way too long to figure this out.

Massey: http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?s=cf2014&sub=11605" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sagarin: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/sagarin/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Massey Poll of Polls: http://www.masseyratings.com/cf/compare1aa.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good discussion but you're not the only one who looks into this stuff and checks out the various ranking systems.

Massey can be very helpful, especially late in the season, but it's still a computer ranking with some flaws. For example, it has a 5-7 WIU at #14 and a 6-6 SIU at #16 who had zero quality wins and was beat by two or more scores against every quality opponent they faced.

Our SOS's are very comparable with us playing a much tougher OOC slate with some weaker in-conference opponents. The quality wins and losses are pretty damn close too with EWU having one more win against a playoff team, and ISU having a better loss (UNI vs. NAU).

And I'll echo the other comments regarding the MVFC. Terrific conference - especially this year - but not nearly as far out in front of the Big Sky and CAA as the computers or its fans suggest.

Since you suggested MVFC isn't as strong as we think, i will respond.

Putting EWU aside where we have no argument .. a few weeks ago, you had Cal Poly, NAU, Montana sitting tied for first in your conference .. we did very well against these 3 teams, as well as the middle and lower tier teams.South Dakota beat NAU by 7 and lost to Montana by 8. Then went 0-8 in MVFC losing by average of 22 points per game. SIU is certainly an unusual example, but since you are saying MVFC is over-rated by Massey, I will have to again say, we are 9-1 against Big Sky with some large margins where our teams with less wins in conference are beating your teams with more wins in your conference. That has to speak to our superiority and depth top to bottom, putting only EWU aside. Montana had some very weak outings this year in and out of conference. Northern AZ, exact same thing. Cal Poly showed life beating Montana and Mont St but SDSU beat them badly. Last year, Big Sky got 4 teams while we got just 2 .. and quickly had 3 teams sent home. SDSU lost to EWU where you pulled away 2nd half.

Saw some posts on Zenner being over-rated. Your defense figured out how to contain Zenner last year, but he has lit up many very good FCS teams. Every great RB has an off day. His numbers against Big Sky and MVFC speak for themselves. This year, he put 250 on Mont St, 200 on Cal Poly and 150+ on Southern UT. Last year he ran for 296 on North Dakota, and 249 on NOrthern AZ, before EWU held him in check. Got to give credit where its due. Look at every great back at every level, there is always a down day or two.

Good post. I think the Valley is very strong this year but also over-rated, including by Massey.

Regarding Zenner, great back, but when you drill down a little, you'll find that Montana State and Southern Utah were terrible against the run this year (88th and 114) and Cal Poly wasn't much better.

We're not exactly the cat's meow either in run stoppage, but we have shown a tendency to get better heading into the playoffs. Was Zenner and T. West both having a pair of their worst games of the season a coincidence?

agree Massey gets a little top heavy towards end of year. But from week 4 to week 10, there is no better source for strength of schedule. TSN and FCP at the FCS level are terrible … democracy and cronyism run amok.

 

[Redbird 4th & short]

I posted this on our fan board in response to "Clawman", who said EWU can run and pass:

I don't doubt with EWU's pass attack, that it could open up their run game. But here is what I struggle with. There are 121 FCS teams. Big Sky has 13 teams. 10 of them are ranked in bottom 40 on Defense in Total Yards per Game

How would you answer to question of whether people play defense in Big Sky. Your 5 best defensive teams are all teams we beat easily:

36. North Dakota … 354 yards/game; Missouri St (1-7) beat them by 36 and got 384 total yards
40. Montana .. 359 yards/game; NDSU beat them by 12, but ran all over them and settled for FGs, got 447 yards; South Dakota (0-8) played them tough, even in total yards
67. No AZ .. 390 yards/game; South Dakota (0-8) beat them by 7 and got 389 total yards
81. Cal Poly .. 414 yards/game; SDSU beat them by 26, and got 502 total yards
85. No. CO .. 419 total yards/game; UNI destroyed them completely 46-7, and got 473 total yards

Here are the other 8 teams:

93. EWU .. 434 yards/game and 6.05 yards/play
98. Port St
100. Weber St
107. Sac St ..
110. Idaho St .. 1st in country in pass yards and 11th from bottom in defense; still finished 2nd in Big Sky, and didn't make playoffs
113. Cal Davis .. 482 yards/game
114. Mont St .. finished 4th in conference
120. So. UT .. 525 yards/game

I get that Big Sky focuses on offense and passing, and some leagues get like that as they try to compete .. but this is hard to understand.

 

[dudeitsaid]

Big time props for the Redbirds from our head coach. Obviously, a ton of respect for ISU coming into this game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzFG4HfTliQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On another note, how are these podcasts distributed? 6 views (two by me)! Where are these being posted by EWU athletics so they get more visibility. I look for these podcasts every week as I can't always listen to the coaches show. But it seems like a better job could be done of getting these out there. I see there is a banner on the goeags.com homepage, but it just seems like these could be more conspicuous.

 

[Redbird Michael]

Does Ill St have a fan forum?

http://www.redbirdfan.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Redbird Michael]

Redbirds best OOC win, Massey Rated #36 Eastern Illinois 34-15. Don't know that you would want to point out Miss Valley State or Austin Peay, as they both would barely squeak by the NAIA team we played early in the season.

Our best OOC win, Massey Rated #11 SHSU, a team that has won two playoff games so far, and just took out the 3 seed.

I only hope your coaches and players have taken the same solace in the empty stats of OOC record that the MVFC as a whole as pointed to constantly. Look at the teams the conference played, it wasn't as impressive as it's made to sound.

You thought we had only won 2 games against teams in upper half of you conference. But MVFC actually won 5 games against teams in upper half of your conference and are now 9-1 against Big Sky. We had 5 teams make round of 16 with first round wins over ranked teams: Mont St and EKU .. both on the road against higher ranked teams supposedly. As for your SHSU win, they also lost to Northwestern St early in season; who lost to Missouri St (1-7). I could go on and on, and have done too much research on this topic usin below resources. It doesn't change our match up with you .. which will be a good one.

But if your interested, just start tracing a few of these links, and you'll see what I mean. All objective sources that compile all the data to produce rankings and SOS. MVFC stands alone, top to bottom the last 3 years for sure, arguably 4 years. FCS selection committee took way too long to figure this out.

Massey: http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?s=cf2014&sub=11605" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sagarin: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/sagarin/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Massey Poll of Polls: http://www.masseyratings.com/cf/compare1aa.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good discussion but you're not the only one who looks into this stuff and checks out the various ranking systems.

Massey can be very helpful, especially late in the season, but it's still a computer ranking with some flaws. For example, it has a 5-7 WIU at #14 and a 6-6 SIU at #16 who had zero quality wins and was beat by two or more scores against every quality opponent they faced.

Our SOS's are very comparable with us playing a much tougher OOC slate with some weaker in-conference opponents. The quality wins and losses are pretty damn close too with EWU having one more win against a playoff team, and ISU having a better loss (UNI vs. NAU).

And I'll echo the other comments regarding the MVFC. Terrific conference - especially this year - but not nearly as far out in front of the Big Sky and CAA as the computers or its fans suggest.

Since you suggested MVFC isn't as strong as we think, i will respond.

Putting EWU aside where we have no argument .. a few weeks ago, you had Cal Poly, NAU, Montana sitting tied for first in your conference .. we did very well against these 3 teams, as well as the middle and lower tier teams.South Dakota beat NAU by 7 and lost to Montana by 8. Then went 0-8 in MVFC losing by average of 22 points per game. SIU is certainly an unusual example, but since you are saying MVFC is over-rated by Massey, I will have to again say, we are 9-1 against Big Sky with some large margins where our teams with less wins in conference are beating your teams with more wins in your conference. That has to speak to our superiority and depth top to bottom, putting only EWU aside. Montana had some very weak outings this year in and out of conference. Northern AZ, exact same thing. Cal Poly showed life beating Montana and Mont St but SDSU beat them badly. Last year, Big Sky got 4 teams while we got just 2 .. and quickly had 3 teams sent home. SDSU lost to EWU where you pulled away 2nd half.

Saw some posts on Zenner being over-rated. Your defense figured out how to contain Zenner last year, but he has lit up many very good FCS teams. Every great RB has an off day. His numbers against Big Sky and MVFC speak for themselves. This year, he put 250 on Mont St, 200 on Cal Poly and 150+ on Southern UT. Last year he ran for 296 on North Dakota, and 249 on NOrthern AZ, before EWU held him in check. Got to give credit where its due. Look at every great back at every level, there is always a down day or two.

Good post. I think the Valley is very strong this year but also over-rated, including by Massey.

Regarding Zenner, great back, but when you drill down a little, you'll find that Montana State and Southern Utah were terrible against the run this year (88th and 114) and Cal Poly wasn't much better.

We're not exactly the cat's meow either in run stoppage, but we have shown a tendency to get better heading into the playoffs. Was Zenner and T. West both having a pair of their worst games of the season a coincidence?

The feeling is mutual with me. That 2012 playoff loss was a tough one to swallow, but I really liked what I saw from EWU. I'm a Redbird fan and admit I havne't seen many games from the the Big Sky so I have no opinion other than rankings on that front. I will say that Coprich is a beast and really opens up the passing game for the Birds. We didn't really have that component in 2012. I'm really looking forward to watching this one on TV if my eyeballs don't fry form the inferno.

The winner of this game will play in Frisco as far as I can tell and I'm hoping it's the Birds, if not good luck to you guys. May the best team win.

 

[LDopaPDX]

Honestly, I'm more worried about Illinois State than the Chattanooga / New Hampshire winner. I'm not even all that sure UNH isn't the better matchup for Eastern. I just would much rather play in Cheney (although, truth be told, we've sort of run out of steam in the last two semis, maybe going on the road would help with the focus).

 

[luckyintheorder]

How would you answer to question of whether people play defense in Big Sky. Your 5 best defensive teams are all teams we beat easily:

36. North Dakota … 354 yards/game; Missouri St (1-7) beat them by 36 and got 384 total yards
40. Montana .. 359 yards/game; NDSU beat them by 12, but ran all over them and settled for FGs, got 447 yards; South Dakota (0-8) played them tough, even in total yards
67. No AZ .. 390 yards/game; South Dakota (0-8) beat them by 7 and got 389 total yards
81. Cal Poly .. 414 yards/game; SDSU beat them by 26, and got 502 total yards
85. No. CO .. 419 total yards/game; UNI destroyed them completely 46-7, and got 473 total yards

Here are the other 8 teams:

93. EWU .. 434 yards/game and 6.05 yards/play
98. Port St
100. Weber St
107. Sac St ..
110. Idaho St .. 1st in country in pass yards and 11th from bottom in defense; still finished 2nd in Big Sky, and didn't make playoffs
113. Cal Davis .. 482 yards/game
114. Mont St .. finished 4th in conference
120. So. UT .. 525 yards/game

I get that Big Sky focuses on offense and passing, and some leagues get like that as they try to compete .. but this is hard to understand.

Whew! Want you to know I have taken a shine to you 4th and Short. Might rename you Dostoyevsky for the lengths of your posts. You have a tendency to roll the whole MVC into your "we" statements as with your previous transitive posts on head to heads. Don't believe any of those things are relevant and will endeavor to show how I view this game; just one fans opinion. What's Ill. St record against the Big Sky this year? You don't have one, so casting the net across the conference may make sense to you, but it doesn't apply. If EWU had any head to heads with MVC teams prior to our match-up.... I'd give you that. (pretty big of me )

So, referring to the above; this post on defense across the conference doesn't really get to the point of this week; which is the Redbirds matchup with Eastern. Right? Love stats, had nine classes in stats and use them daily, but don't get wrapped around the axle as the destination, rather like a compass, you too and others I think. (damn am broad minded this morning, must be the Frampton Live playing)

Prefer to look at momentum for each team: Eags had a bad loss end of october but have won with relative ease since against Montana twice, a sad sack and a who knows. As you know, our defense is bend over and don't break, but has improved in takeaways over the last four games. With an offense like ours, extra possessions are like sounding the death knell . It has been said the past couple of years, our offense is the best defense. I, for one, believe we have plenty of talent on defense. They are young and after 8 games and three + months of playing together are starting to play as a unit at just the right time. Momentum.

The Redbirds suffered their loss around the same time as the Eags and have played three good teams and sad sack, winning in good fashion throughout. It has been mentioned all the tough wins were at home. Beating UNI like a drum is great for your program and confidence. Could give a bunch of ESPN pseudo sports psychology here, but won't. Like were both programs are, didn't answer your defense question directly but wanted to offer a little different slant and think this will be a VERY good game. Best team will win. Head over to our prediction thread if you want my view on that ;-)

Wish I could be in Cheney and see the game. Ya'll have a GREAT day.