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Post by The Cats on Oct 21, 2023 21:05:51 GMT -5
As for a home game, the first round is supposedly based on sealed bids on schools who offer the NCAA money for the privilege of hosting a playoff game. So we could be 9-2, possibly even a tri-champ of the SOCON, and still be on the road depending on what we bid vs other regional schools who also make the playoffs. I guarantees even if we are higher ranked than other teams. The only guarantee to host games is to be seeded. There's 8 seeds in the tournament, all eight seeded teams get home games (for their first game). I think those 8 also get 1st round byes. So, if we are a top 10 team going into the tournament, we should get a seed. The bids come in for the teams playing in the first round.
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Post by wcugrad95 on Oct 21, 2023 21:11:31 GMT -5
Agree - we need to be 9-2 and seeded. If we are 9-2 and don’t secure a top-8 seed we have to bid more than other schools to host a game. First 8 get byes, the other 16 play each other at the schools who pay the NCAA the most - unless that has changed.
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Catback
Redshirt Freshman
The 2022-23 SoCon Football Pick'em Champion
Posts: 472
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Post by Catback on Oct 21, 2023 21:58:13 GMT -5
No, I meant who wins the conference?.....if the scenario I mentioned means there would be 3 co-champions....I think that is a great goal to be playing for as we have never been a conference champ or co-champ. In your scenario, there would be 3 SoCon champions. All the tie breaker does is determine who goes to the tournament with the SoCon's auto bid with the tie breaker rules. The other two schools would not be guaranteed an at large bid, but if we win out, we should still be in the top ten at the end of he season, which would pretty much make us a shoe-in for an at-large bid. Given our past, I would be just happy to be a co-champion! So, we need to pull for Chatty to beat Furman!
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Post by wcugamer2 on Oct 24, 2023 9:15:25 GMT -5
Chatty has the ability to beat Furman......will they? Who knows. Chatt's QB is a good as anyone in our league. They also have a solid defensive unit. Unfortunately for them, they lost their running back, Ford, to a season ending injury. Chatt is going to need their #2 and #3 running backs to step up.
Furman is going to be a tough out for anyone. They have the DNA of a championship team........a veteran team, size, and talent on both sides of the ball. They are a serious contender to win a Natty........but i think so are the Cats (if a few things go our way).
As long as nothing goes wayward, the SoCon should have 3 solid bids to the NCAA tourney in Furman, UTC, and WCU.
Mercer could possibly get in as well. Depends on what happens next weekend (a 6-2 conference record for Mercer gets them in the playoffs, in my opinion). But with a loss to the Cats, assuming no other big surprises, a 5-3 conference record likely leaves the Bears on the bubble, or on the outside of the playoffs
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Post by wcugrad95 on Oct 24, 2023 9:47:46 GMT -5
Chattanooga has really been playing mostly without Ford for several weeks now (including against us). You could tell he was not right in the Wofford game before the Mocs played WCU. They have 2 very good RBs behind him, with Appleberry having taken over the load (and he is a veteran with a lot of experience). The thing about UTC will be can they give the QB time? It is clear they have several really good WRs, so if they scheme the right way and can get those guys in space they can be really dangerous just like they were against us.
As for the playoffs:
Scenario #1 FU and WCU keep winning and they are probably the only two in (FU at 10-1 and WCU at 9-2 with UTC and Mercer at 7-4) - I would guess we miss a seed and we end up playing @ Furman in the 2nd round because we can't have 2 SOCON teams going deep in the playoffs. SARCASM but also probably true.
Scenario #2 WCU wins out and FU loses to UTC and we have a really good chance of 3 teams getting in with tri-champions (WCU and FU at 9-2 and UTC at 8-3). I'd guess it would again be lined-up for us to play @ Furman in the 2nd round just with Furman as a lower seed.
Scenario #3 WCU loses and UTC beats FU and we probably have 2 teams get in and two teams sweating it out in those "last 4 in" or "first 4 out" conversations (FU at 9-2, UTC, Mercer, and WCU all at 8-3). Chance that FU would not be seeded, or at best would be a 7 or 8 seed.
Scenario #4 WCU loses and FU wins and we have more of the same conversation from scenario 3, but now only between Mercer and WCU (both at 8-3).
My bet is Furman finishes 10-1 and has a top 2 or 3 seed (still several tough games for SDSU and Montana State who sit in front of the Paladins so they could even be #1). That win would probably put the Mocs on the outside looking in at 7-4. The WCU vs Mercer game should be viewed as a playoff game by both teams. They have to win out to have a chance at the playoffs IMO, and we will be sweating bullets if we don't win.
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Post by FLCATAMOUNT on Oct 24, 2023 11:54:32 GMT -5
Bottom line is that we have to win out to get into the playoffs. We have not been for 40 years so 8-3 is not going to get us a bid. Saturday is a must win. We lose to Mercer and we will be lucky to stay in the top 25.
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Post by jim68 on Oct 24, 2023 13:19:24 GMT -5
Bottom line is that we have to win out to get into the playoffs. We have not been for 40 years so 8-3 is not going to get us a bid. Saturday is a must win. We lose to Mercer and we will be lucky to stay in the top 25. Now you are dealing with reality instead of making excuses for Saturday’s debacle against Furman.
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Post by The Cats on Oct 24, 2023 13:25:05 GMT -5
Bottom line is that we have to win out to get into the playoffs. We have not been for 40 years so 8-3 is not going to get us a bid. Saturday is a must win. We lose to Mercer and we will be lucky to stay in the top 25. Now you are dealing with reality instead of making excuses for Saturday’s debacle against Furman. Who would you suggest was making excueses for Saturday's loss? On the Monday's coaches show, I think Bell took personal resposiblity several times for the loss. I fail to see how this could be interpeted as "making excuses". As far as what someone on this board wrote, they are just fans, as are you, stating opinions, just like your opinion that Saturday's loss was a "debacle". Opinions are like assholes, we all have one, your's is not better or worse than mine or anyone else posting here, and all are free to state their opinion here on this board without harassment from other posters.
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Post by jim68 on Oct 24, 2023 13:54:29 GMT -5
Now you are dealing with reality instead of making excuses for Saturday’s debacle against Furman. Who would you suggest was making excueses for Saturday's loss? On the Monday's coaches show, I think Bell took personal resposiblity several times for the loss. I fail to see how this could be interpeted as "making excuses". As far as what someone on this board wrote, they are just fans, as are you, stating opinions, just like your opinion that Saturday's loss was a "debacle". Opinions are like assholes, we all have one, your's is not better or worse than mine or anyone else posting here, and all are free to state their opinion here on this board without harassment from other posters. Flacat & 95 to start the conversation. They talked about being short on lineman & players being hurt etc. I was at the game & I saw exactly what was going on. The Furman Head Coach used the clock the entire game to shorten the game & keep our offense off of the field. People on here can make excuses until the cows come home but the Coaches made little to no changes to stop the linebackers from stunting & causing Cole to be under pressure the entire game. If you have read my posts on here, I have given Coaches praise when they deserve it & I have given criticism when they deserved it. I listen to the Coaches Show yesterday & he made the same type of excuses I’ve heard on here. One thing I might add, the question about the game were never answered & some questions were deleted by the moderator on the show. I don’t know what got you so hot & bothered. Remove me from this board & it will be fine with me.
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Post by wcugrad95 on Oct 24, 2023 14:23:24 GMT -5
My "excuse" has primarily been that Furman is a top-3 team and they make lots of people look bad. Some seemed to think we should have just been able to do whatever we wanted and that the problem was WCU and had nothing to do with how good the opponent was. Another of my "exuses" was that if we had a healthy Reid he is a difference-maker and could have helped us be more balanced on offense - pretty sure in all my posts I said I did not say that would mean a win, only that we would have a better chance.
I also try to remind people who all of the sudden think our coaches suck that we are positioned to win more regular season games than ANY Western team at the D1 level in the history of the program. As a team we had a bad game (players and coaches) this past Saturday. Against lesser opponents it might have been enough - we came back out and beat teams like EKU and UTC. But it was not enough aginst a very good and veteran team like the Paladins.
Some posters love to ramp-up their comments when things go wrong or when WCU loses. That is fine, and historically has made up much of the discussion on this board. But in a season like this where honestly we have played one bad defensive game (UTC) and one bad offensive game (Furman), I simply try to be a bit more of a half-glass-full type of guy.
If anybody heading into this season said "hey, we will go 8-3" how many people would have signed up for that? I am now saying "hey, we might go 9-2" and I'd prefer to just talk about the things we need to do vs immediately falling into thinking the season is over because we lost to Furman.
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