Commentary
Not much to say here about the Furman-Montana game, since it’s being discussed on several threads. It’s weird that both teams have an inexplicable loss on their record: Montana at NAU (5-6), versus Furman at Wofford (2-9). (The Paladin’s other loss was to FBS South Carolina.)
The Villanova at South Dakota State game features a question people have been asking all year: Can anyone stop the ‘Jacks? So far, the answer is no. Could the Wildcats change that? Their only losses were to highly-ranked Albany and an FBS opponent. And they played a solid CAA schedule, with decisive wins over Delaware (ranked), Rhode Island, Elon, and New Hampshire. Then they trounced a pretty good Youngstown State team, showing that they have peaked nicely into the playoffs. This looks very much like a “on any given Saturday” situation.
That brings us to North Dakota State at South Dakota. These two played during the regular season, with the ‘Yotes beating the Bison, 24-19, in Fargo. Could NDSU turn the tables in Vermillion? Well, I would not bet against it.
The Albany at Idaho game is hard to judge, in large part because none of us know much about Albany. They’ve been FCS for a decade, but this is only their third time in the playoffs. Two of their three losses this season were to FBS opponents (and only by 4 at Marshall). Then they ran through the CAA, except for a surprise loss at New Hampshire. Admittedly, the CAA isn’t what it used to be, but it’s still pretty strong. Meanwhile, Idaho didn’t exactly inspire confidence against the Salukis … but they showed plenty of grit in pulling the game out. The Spuds are the favored seed (and higher ranked), and let’s not forget that they were 1-1 against the FBS this year. Admittedly, Nevada was crap this year, but you can’t ignore a 33-6 blowout. In the end, I can only say … this could go either way.
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