They said Hill was out for possible concussion but didn't confirm it and they held him out for precautionary reasons. Hopefully that leaves him available to play against Jacsonville St. If not, I'm confident in Overstreet to take the reigns.
Keeler is really backing up all of his "I'm here to win championships" talk from his introductory press conference. I thought he was full of hot air after that CSU-P loss, but since that game, we're 8-1 and SLC champs (forget about that co-champion stuff after last Saturday...). This was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but Keeler and his staff had other ideas. Defense looked terrible the first few games, but made adjustments and is now the strength of the team. Who would have thought that would ever be the case after watching that EWU game. Hoping for another win on Saturday, but I won't be too upset if we lose. The future is so bright for this team. Once we get Cole Martin up and running (or passing...) this conference should be ours for the taking for the foreseeable future.
I know very little about Jacksonville St. Appears they play in a pretty weak conference (only 2 teams finished with an overall record above .500). Outside of Michigan St. and Eastern Kentucky, they haven't played a truly competitive team where Sam has been fighting to get to this point since that loss to CSU-P. I like our chances to advance.
They have a strong running game and are strong defending the run, so look for another game like the SLU game last weekend. Defensive struggle. They will probably stack the box and dare us to throw, so JJ is going to have to make some plays with his arm.....which scares me. Wish the game was on TV locally. Watching last weeks game on my phone was kind of a pain...
7-7 right now. The Jacksonville St stadium looks empty and the crowd has been quiet all game so far. I hope they stay that way.
Hell yes! Great win. Now we wait for the outcome of the Liberty/Villanova game. I know if Villanova wins then they host the game, but if Liberty wins is the game in Huntsville? I don't know how these things are determined. ::EDIT:: Got this from Katfans... not sure how accurate but it sounds right: "Nova wins we go there. Liberty wins it's based on bids that were sent in a while ago."
Liberty is up 19-14 on Villanova at halftime. I really like the chances of getting a home game if it goes to the bids. There is a lot of valid criticism that you can heap on Bobby Williams, but you have to give him credit for his success rate on bidding for home playoff games.
Great win today on the road against what was supposed to be a good team. JJohnson played well, accounting for 4 td's. The long td pass was perfect. The defense was absolutely fantastic in the 2nd half. Huge props to Keeler and his staff for the halftime adjustments. They clearly saw something that told them to blitz early and often. The Jax St. qb couldn't handle the pressure. Hope we don't have that ref crew again. They were not good. Liberty is still up by 8 going into the 4th. Man, how huge would it have been if SDSU could have knocked off NDSU? Just lost by 3. That could have possibly had us at home into the semis. Oh well. I don't mind another shot at NDSU.
What a game. How sweet is it to follow a team that actually makes adjustments at halftime? I knew if we could keep it close in the 1st half, we would come out strong in the 2nd. We always do. Apparently, the Villanova D is designed to stop the run, which is our bread and butter. But that's what they said about JSU. They have a very weak pass defense, so if JJ can make some good throws, we should score some points. Their offense is also pretty run-oriented....just like JSU's was supposed to be.... Keeler just wins in the playoffs. 13-3 career record. EAT EM UP.
Good half overall for the Bearkats to go into the locker room with the lead. The coaching staff has done a very good job during these playoffs of making adjustments coming out of halftime, so you feel have to feel pretty good about their chances of holding the lead and pulling away. Kudos also to Villanova, who have played pretty well considering all the hindrances they have working against them. They have a kicker who can't kick extra points (although he just hit a 46-yarder to end the half) and they found out this morning that their starting quarterback wasn't going to be able to play. Certainly it helps that their backup quarterback is a senior who has some starting experience.
I also meant to post that I couldn't help but notice that the attendance is once again pretty poor. Just goes to show a couple of things: 1. As much as we (SHSU folks) complain about attendance at Bowers, attendance at this level is a problem for most teams. 2. Unless you are NDSU, FCS football just doesn't do it for people, unfortunately.
Well, we get to see it in Fargo first hand next week as we're on to the Semifinals for the 3rd time in 4 years. Wish the semis were on a neutral field. EAT EM UP KATS!
The Bison are certainly more vulnerable this time around. Coastal Carolina just about pulled it off today and SDSU nearly got them last week. Then again, this SHSU squad isn't as good as the '11 and '12 squads, either. I certainly think the Bearkats have a puncher's chance, but if nothing else, it's incredible experience for a group that will return largely intact next season.
