RFC Postseason Predictions--The 2013 Finale

Editor's Note: Here's the final post of postseason predictions for the 2013 season. Enjoy! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Real Football Central!


KEY: Projected winners marked in RED. 

Bowl Predictions 

Note: Teams in BCS automatic-qualifying conferences marked in ALL CAPS.  Only games involving teams in "mid-major" (Group of Five) conferences will be included in this post.  Those leagues are:

American Athletic (except Louisville and Rutgers)
Conference USA
Mid-American
Mountain West
Sun Belt

Tuesday, December 24, 2013 (CHRISTMAS EVE)

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl--at Honolulu

Boise State (8-4) vs. OREGON STATE (6-6)

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Little Caesar's Bowl: at Detroit

Bowling Green (10-3) vs. PITTSBURGH (6-6) 

Poinsettia Bowl--at San Diego

Utah State (8-5) vs. Northern Illinois (12-1) 

Friday, December 27, 2013

Military Bowl--at Annapolis, Md.

Marshall (9-4) vs. MARYLAND (7-5)  

Fight Hunger Bowl--at San Francisco

BYU (8-4) vs. WASHINGTON (8-4)  

(Note: BYU, an independent program, is marked in BOLD type.)

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Belk Bowl--at Charlotte, N.C.

Cincinnati (8-4) vs. NORTH CAROLINA (6-6)  

Monday, December 30, 2013

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl--at Fort Worth, Tex.

Middle Tennessee State (8-4) vs. Navy (8-4)  

Liberty Bowl--at Memphis, Tenn. (NEW YEAR'S EVE--DECEMBER 31, 2013)

Rice (10-3) vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE (6-6)  

Heart of Dallas Bowl--at Dallas (NEW YEAR'S DAY--JANUARY 1, 2014)

UNLV (7-5) v. North Texas (8-4)  

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl--at Glendale, Ariz. (NEW YEAR'S NIGHT--JANUARY 1, 2014)

UCF (11-1) vs. Baylor (11-1)  

(Note: UCF is the 2013 American Athletic Conference champion)

Saturday, January 4, 2014

FCS Championship Game--at Frisco, Tex.

North Dakota State (14-0) vs. Towson (13-2) 

Sunday, January 5, 2014

GoDaddy Bowl--at Mobile, Ala.

Arkansas State (7-5) vs. Ball State (10-2)

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RFC Postseason Predictions--Champions To Be Crowned; Bowl Season Begins

Editor's Note: Due to circumstances beyond our control, there was no installment of "RFC Postseason Predictions" last week.  Sorry for any inconvenience.  Anyway, here are this week's predictions just before Christmas. Enjoy!

Last Week: 10-9 (.526)
This Year: 192-87 (.688) 

KEY: Projected winners marked in RED.


NAIA Championship--at Rome, Ga.

Cumberlands (Ky.)--(13-0) vs. Grand View (13-0)

NCAA Division III Championship (Stagg Bowl)--at Salem, Va.

Mount Union (14-0) vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater (14-0)

NCAA Division II Championship--at Florence, Ala.

Lenoir-Rhyne (13-1) vs. Northwest Missouri State (14-0)

FCS Semifinals

New Hampshire (10-4) at North Dakota State (13-0)  

Towson (12-2) at Eastern Washington (12-2) 

Bowl Predictions 

Note: Teams in BCS automatic-qualifying conferences marked in ALL CAPS.  Only games involving teams in "mid-major" (Group of Five) conferences will be included in this post.  Those leagues are:

American Athletic (except Louisville and Rutgers)
Conference USA
Mid-American
Mountain West
Sun Belt

With that said, let's continue.

New Mexico Bowl--at Albuquerque, N.M.

WASHINGTON STATE (6-6) vs. Colorado State (7-6)

Las Vegas Bowl--at Las Vegas

Fresno State (11-1) vs. USC (9-4)  

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl--at Boise, Idaho

Buffalo (8-4) vs. San Diego State (7-5)  

New Orleans Bowl

Tulane (7-5) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4)  

Beef O'Brady's Bowl--at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Ohio (7-5) vs. East Carolina (9-3) 
 
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RFC Postseason Predictions: Deep Into December

Last Week: 20-8 (.714)
This Year: 182-78 (.700)

KEY: Projected winners marked in RED.


FCS Playoffs--Second Round

Bracket

Furman (8-5) at North Dakota State (11-0)

Coastal Carolina (11-2) at Montana (10-2) 

New Hampshire (8-4) at Maine (10-2) 

Sam Houston State (8-4) at Southeastern Louisiana (10-2) 

Jacksonville State (10-3) at McNeese State (10-2) 

Fordham (12-1) at Towson (10-2) 

Tennessee State (10-3) at Eastern Illinois (11-1) 

NCAA Division II Playoffs--Quarterfinals

Bracket

West Chester (12-1) at Shepherd (11-0)

North Alabama (10-2) at Lenoir-Rhyne (11-1)

St. Cloud State (12-1) at Northwest Missouri State (12-0)

West Texas A&M (11-2) at Grand Valley State (11-2) 

NCAA Division III Playoffs--Quarterfinals

Wesley (10-2) at Mount Union (12-0)  

North Central (12-0) at Bethel (Minn.)--(12-0) 

Linfield (11-0) at Wisconsin-Whitewater (12-0) 

St. John Fisher (10-2) at Mary Hardin-Baylor (12-0)

NAIA Playoffs--Semifinals

Carroll (Mont.)--(12-1) at Cumberlands (Ky.)--(12-0)

Morningside (11-1) at Grand View (12-0)

Bonus Prediction

SWAC Championship Game--at Houston

Southern (8-4) vs. Jackson State (8-3) 

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Postseason Round-Up: Road Warriors in FCS, Upsets in D-II, and more

As November fades into December, the playoff fields in each division of small college football will be shrinking to a precious few teams over the next several weeks, with three teams claiming road wins in the first round of the FCS playoffs, while multiple top teams found themselves being sent home early after upset loss in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.  With that said, let's get started.

FCS First Round

Furman stuns South Carolina State (Sports Network/TheState.com) 

South Dakota State crushes Northern Arizona (Arizona Daily Sun)

Tennessee State blanks Butler (Indianapolis Star

Updated Bracket 

NCAA Division II Second Round

Shepherd wins defensive struggle (d2football.com/The Journal [W. Va.])

St. Cloud State upsets No. 1 Minnesota State-Mankato (Minneapolis Star-Tribune/News Services)

GVSU stuns No. 3 CSU-Pueblo (Grand Valley State University Sports Information)

West Texas downs Ohio Dominican (Amarillo.com)

Updated Bracket

NCAA Division III Second Round

St. John Fisher upsets Hobart (Rochester [N.Y.] Democrat and Chronicle)  

Updated Bracket 

NAIA Quarterfinals

Morningside gets by Baker (Morningside College Sports Information)   

Updated Schedule


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RFC Postseason Predictions: The Post-Thanksgiving Feast

Last Week: 23-9 (.719)
This Year: 162-70 (.698)

KEY: Projected winners marked in RED. 

Note: Wittenberg was erroneously written as Washington and Jefferson in last week's installment of the "RFC Postseason Predictions". RFC regrets the error.

FCS Playoffs--First Round

Bracket 

Furman (7-5) at South Carolina State (9-3) 

Bethune-Cookman (10-2) at Coastal Carolina (10-2) 

Lafayette (5-6) at New Hampshire (7-4) 

Southern Utah (8-4) at Sam Houston State (8-4) 

South Dakota State (8-4) at Northern Arizona (9-2) 

Samford (8-4) at Jacksonville State (9-3) 

Sacred Heart (10-2) at Fordham (11-1) 

Tennessee State (9-3) at Butler (9-3) 

NCAA Division II Playoffs--Second Round

Bracket

Winston-Salem State (10-1) at Shepherd (10-0) 

West Chester (11-1) at Bloomsburg (10-1) 

Carson-Newman (10-2) at Lenoir-Rhyne (10-1) 

North Alabama (9-2) at UNC Pembroke (9-1)

Minnesota-Duluth (10-1) at Northwest Missouri State (11-0) 

St. Cloud State (11-1) at Minnesota State-Mankato (11-0) 

Grand Valley State (10-2) at Colorado State-Pueblo (11-0) 

West Texas A&M (10-2) at Ohio Dominican (11-0) 

NCAA Division III Playoffs--Second Round

Bracket

Wittenberg (10-1) at Mount Union (11-0)  

Ithaca (9-2) at Wesley (9-2) 

Wisconsin-Platteville (10-1) at North Central (11-0) 

Wartburg (9-2) at Bethel (Minn.)--(11-0) 

Franklin (8-3) at Wisconsin-Whitewater (11-0) 

Hampden-Sydney (9-2) at Linfield (10-0) 

St. John Fisher (9-2) at Hobart (10-0) 

Rowan (9-2) at Mary Hardin-Baylor (11-0) 

NAIA Playoffs--Quarterfinals

Schedule 

St. Francis (Ind.)--(9-2) at Cumberlands (Ky.)--(11-0)

Tabor (10-2) at Grand View (11-0) 

Missouri Valley (9-2) at Carroll (Mont.)--(11-1) 

Morningside (10-1) at Baker (11-1) 

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Postseason Round-Up: The Debut Edition

Round one of the NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA playoffs is in the books, and while there were many teams that advanced as expected, there were a few upsets.  Read below to find out more.

NCAA Division II First Round

St. Cloud State stuns Henderson State (scsuhuskies.com)

West Texas A&M knocks off Indianapolis (gobuffsgo.com)

North Alabama outlasts Tuskegee (NCAA.com)

Winston-Salem State slips past Slippery Rock (Winston-Salem Journal)


Updated Bracket (NCAA.com)

NCAA Division III First Round

St. John Fisher shocks John Carroll (Cleveland.com)

Wesley upsets Johns Hopkins (Baltimore Sun)

Wartburg wallops Illinois Wesleyan (go-knights.net)

Full Scoreboard (d3football.com) 

NAIA First Round

Full Scoreboard (NAIA.org)

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RFC Postseason Predictions--Round 1 of the D-II, D-III, and NAIA Playoffs

Final 2013 Regular Season Totals (RFC Random 20)

Week of November 8, 2013: 12-8 (.600)
Final Totals for 2013: 139-61 (.695)

KEY: Projected winners marked in RED.

The regular season is over at the NCAA Division II, Division III, and NAIA levels.  The playoffs have arrived.  So, what we waiting for?  Let's get started with the initial installment of the "RFC Postseason Predictions."

NCAA Division II Playoffs--First Round

Bracket 

Slippery Rock (9-2) at Winston-Salem State (9-1) 

American International (9-2) at West Chester (10-1)

Newberry (9-2) at Carson-Newman (9-2)

Tuskegee (8-2) at North Alabama (8-2)

Emporia State (9-1) at Minnesota-Duluth (10-1)

St. Cloud State (10-1) at Henderson State (11-0)

Saginaw Valley State (9-2) at Grand Valley State (9-2)

West Texas A&M (9-2) at Indianapolis (10-1)

NCAA Division III Playoffs--First Round

Bracket

Washington & Jefferson (8-2) at Mount Union (10-0)

Lebanon Valley (8-2) at Washington and Jefferson (9-1)

Framingham State (9-1) at Ithaca (8-2)

Wesley (8-2) at Johns Hopkins (10-0)

Albion (8-2) at North Central (10-0)

Concordia (Wis.)--(8-2) at Wisconsin-Platteville (9-1)

Wartburg (8-2) at Illinois Wesleyan (9-1)

St. Scholastica (9-1) at Bethel (Minn.)--(10-0)

St. Norbert (8-2) at Wisconsin-Whitewater (10-0)

Washington (Mo.)--(8-2) at Franklin (7-3)

Maryville (8-2) at Hampden-Sydney (8-2)

Pacific Lutheran (8-1) at Linfield (9-0)

Gallaudet (9-1) at Hobart (9-0)

St John Fisher (8-2) at John Carroll (9-1)

Endicott (8-2) at Rowan (8-2)

Redlands (7-2) at Mary Hardin-Baylor (10-0)

NAIA Playoffs--First Round

Schedule 

St. Ambrose (7-3) at Cumberlands (Ky.)--(10-0)  

Ottawa (8-3) at Grand View (10-0)

Georgetown (Ky.)--(7-3) at Carroll (Mont.)--(10-1)  

Sterling (9-2) at Baker (10-1)

Rocky Mountain (8-3) at Morningside (10-1)  

Faulkner (9-2) at St. Francis (Ind.)--(8-2) 

Northwestern (Iowa)--(8-2) at Missouri Valley (8-2)

Tabor (9-2) at Benedictine (Kan.)--(10-1)  

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RFC Random 20: Week 10

Last Week: 17-3 (.850)
This Year: 127-53 (.706)
 
KEY:  Projected winners marked in RED.

With the regular season starting to wind down at the NCAA Division II, Division III, and NAIA levels, this installment of the "RFC Random 20" will focus on the key games with playoff implications at those levels. So sit back and enjoy!

NCAA Division II


1. Northwest Missouri State (9-0) at Emporia State (9-0) 

2. Newberry (8-1) at Carson-Newman (7-2) 

3. Missouri Western State (7-2) at Washburn (8-1) 

4. Bloomsburg (8-1) at West Chester (9-0) 

NCAA Division III 

5. North Central (8-0) at Wheaton (7-1) 

6. Heidelberg (7-1) at John Carroll (8-0) 

7. Wittenberg (7-1) at Wabash (8-0) 

8. Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.)--(7-1) at St. Thomas (6-2) 

9. Baldwin-Wallace (6-2) at Mount Union (8-0) 

10. St. Lawrence (6-2) at Hobart (7-0) 

11. Centre (6-2) at Millsaps (8-0) 

12. Ithaca (7-1) at Salisbury (5-3) 

13. Albion (6-2) at Adrian (6-3) 

14. Washington and Lee (5-3) at Hampden-Sydney (6-2) 

15. Mississippi College (4-4) at Louisiana College (5-3) 

NAIA

16. Morningside (8-0) at Northwestern (Iowa)--(6-2) 

17. Benedictine (Kan.)--(9-0) at Missouri Valley (6-2) 

18. Rocky Mountain (7-2) at Carroll (Mont.)--(8-1) 

19. Ottawa (7-2) at Friends (7-2) 

20. St. Ambrose (6-2) at St. Francis (Ill.)--(6-3)

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RFC Random 20: Week 9

Last Week: 8-12 (.400)
This Year: 110-50 (.688)

FCS

1. Delaware (6-2) at Towson (8-1) 

2. Southeastern Louisiana (6-2) at McNeese State (7-1) 

NCAA Division II

3. Washburn (8-0) at Northwest Missouri State (8-0)

4. Emporia State (7-0) at Missouri Western State (7-1)

5. Carson-Newman (7-1) at Lenoir-Rhyne (7-1)

6. West Alabama (6-2) at North Alabama (5-2)

7. California (Pa.)--(6-2) at Slippery Rock (7-1)

8. St. Joseph's (6-2) at Indianapolis (7-1) 

NCAA Division III

9. Wisconsin-Platteville (7-0) at Wisconsin-Whitewater (7-0) 

10. North Central (7-0) at Illinois Wesleyan (7-0) 

11. Heidelberg (7-0) at Mount Union (7-0) 

12. Endicott (5-2) at MIT (4-2) 

13. Linfield (6-0) at Willamette (5-1) 

14. Olivet (6-1) at Albion (5-2)

15. Cortland State (4-3) at Rowan (5-2)

16. Hampden-Sydney (5-2) at Guilford (5-2) 

17.  Dubuque (4-3) at Simpson (5-2)

NAIA

18. Southern Oregon (6-2) at Carroll (Mont.)--(7-1) 

19. St. Xavier (5-3) at St. Ambrose (5-2) 

20. Morningside (7-0) at Concordia (Neb.)--(6-2)

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RFC Random 20: Week 8

Last Week: 13-7 (.650)
This Year: 102-38 (.728)

KEY:  Projected winners marked in RED.

Group of Five (FBS)

1. Toledo (4-3) at Bowling Green (5-2)  

FCS

2. Maine (6-1) at Villanova (4-3)  

3. Samford (5-2) at Wofford (5-2)

4. Northern Iowa (4-3) at South Dakota State (4-4) 

5. Eastern Washington (5-2) at Montana (6-1) 

6. Eastern Illinois (6-1) at Tennessee State (7-1) 

NCAA Division II

7. Pittsburg State (Kan.)--(6-1) at Missouri Western State (7-0)  

NCAA Division III

8. Wisconsin-Whitewater (6-0) at Wisconsin-Oshkosh (6-0)

9. Wheaton (6-0) at Illinois Wesleyan (6-0)   

10. Pacific Lutheran (5-1) at Willamette (5-0) 

11. Mary Hardin-Baylor (6-0) at Hardin-Simmons (3-3) 

12. Trinity (Conn.)--(5-0) at Middlebury (4-1) 

13. Olivet (5-1) at Adrian (6-1)

14. Franklin (4-2) at Rose-Hulman (4-2) 

15. Centre (5-1) at Rhodes (5-1) 

NAIA

16. Cumberlands (Ky.)--(6-0) at Reinhardt (5-2) 

17. St. Ambrose (5-1) at Grand View (7-0)  

18. Robert Morris (Ill.)--(5-3) at St. Francis (Ind.)--(5-1) 

19. Baker (6-1) at Missouri Valley (5-1) 

20. Carroll (Mont.)--(6-1) at Montana State-Northern (4-3)
 
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RFC Random 20: Week 7

Last Week: 13-7 (.650)
This Year: 89-31 (.742)


KEY:  Projected winners marked in RED.

The stakes couldn't be any higher for the teams who want to advance to postseason play of any kind, whether it be bowl games or playoffs, as we head into the third weekend in October.  Let's get started.

Group of Five (FBS)

1. UNLV (4-2) at Fresno State (5-0) 

FCS

2. Sam Houston State (5-1) at McNeese State (5-1) 

3. Princeton (3-1) at Brown (3-1) 

4. Tennessee State (6-1) at Tennessee-Martin (4-2) 

5. William & Mary (4-2) at Maine (5-1) 

6. Fordham (7-0) at Yale (3-1) 

7. Villanova (4-2) at New Hampshire (2-3) 

NCAA Division II

8. Northwest Missouri State (6-0) vs. Pittsburg State (Kan.)--(6-0) 

9. West Alabama (5-1) at Midwestern State (4-1) 

NCAA Division III

10. St. Thomas (4-1) at Bethel (Minn.)--(5-0) 

11. Wisconsin-Platteville (5-0) at Wisconsin-Stevens Point (4-1) 

12. Pacific (5-0) at Pacific Lutheran (4-1) 

NAIA

13. Georgetown (Ky.)--(3-2) at Cumberlands (Ky.)--(5-0)  

14. Trinity International (4-2) at Grand View (6-0) 

15. St. Francis (Ind.)--(4-1) at St. Francis (Ill.)--(4-2)

16. Carroll (Mont.)--(5-1) at Montana-Western (3-2)  

17. Ottawa (5-1) at Sterling (4-2) 

18. Central Methodist (4-2) at Baker (5-1) 

19. Tabor (5-1) at Friends (5-1) 

20. Faulkner (4-2) at Cumberland (Tenn.)--(4-2) 

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