WE'RE BAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!

After a hiatus of more than a month, RFC is back with a new feature, the "RFC News Center". It features the latest headlines in the world of small college and minor league professional football, indoors as well as outdoors. Check it out on the top right of the homepage at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Real Football Central says Happy New Year, with hopes for a prosperous 2009! As always, RFC will go on hiatus for the upcoming NFL playoffs, with regular posting to resume after Super Bowl XLIII in February. Here are the final tallies for the 2008 season on the "LIGHTNING ROUND".

CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES (FCS, NCAA Division III, NAIA)

2-1 (.667)

FINAL TOTALS FOR 2008

306 games right, 162 wrong (.654)

And as a new year gets underway, and RFC goes on hiatus, Arena Fan Online explores what 2009 will be like without arena football, as the Arena Football League board of directors voted to cancel its upcoming season. Still, it won't be a total loss.

SEASON'S GREETINGS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

AND

HAPPY NEW YEAR

FROM

REAL FOOTBALL CENTRAL!!!

National champs crowned

The 2008 small college football season ended this past weekend, with one national champion crowned Friday night, and two others on Saturday. Here's what happened...

FCS Championship--at Chattanooga, Tenn.

Richmond 24, Montana 7

The University of Richmond Spiders completed one of the greatest Cinderella stories in all of sports Friday, as the knocked off the University of Montana Grizzlies for their first-ever NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-AA) title.

Complete coverage...

Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch

Billings (Mont.) Gazette

Chattanooga Times Free Press

NCAA Division III Championship--at Salem, Va.

Mount Union 31, Wisconsin-Whitewater 26

One year after being denied a three-peat, the Purple Raiders of Mount Union College won their 10th national championship in the last 16 years by dethroning the defending national champion Warhawks Saturday.

Article courtesy of Mount Union College Sports Information

NAIA Championship--at Rome, Ga.

Sioux Falls 24, Carroll (Mont.) 7

The Cougars win their second national championship in three years, and deny the Saints their sixth title in seven years, in convincing fashion.

Article courtesy of naia.cstv.com

National title games end 2008 season

It may hard to believe, but this is the last weekend of the 2008 small college football season, as three games will decide national championships in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formeryly NCAA Division I-AA), NCAA Division III, and the NAIA. Here's a quick look at each of those contests.

FCS Championship (Tonight [Friday] at Chattanooga, Tenn.)--Montana vs. Richmond

Probably one of the most unlikely title game pairings in FCS history will take place between the No. 4 seeded Grizzlies, and the unseeded Spiders. Montana upset No. 1 seed James Madison, 35-27, in a national semifinal game last week, while Richmond rallied to stun No. 3 seed Northern Iowa on the road in the other semifinal contest.

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

For the fourth straight year, it's Mount Union vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater for all of the marbles in D-III. The defending national champion Warhawks will look to make it back-to-back titles, while the Purple Raiders hope to take back the title that Whitewater took away last year. Should be yet another hard-fought, down-to-the-wire game.

NAIA Championship (Saturday at Rome, Ga.)

In a battle of 13-0 teams, Carroll (Mont.) hopes to win an unprecedented sixth national championship in seven years, while Sioux Falls hopes to win a second title in three teams. The Cougars won the crown in 2006.

THE LIGHTNING ROUND--WEEK 17 (THE SEASON FINALE)

Last Week: 2-4 (.333)
Year To Date: 304-161 (.654)

KEY: Projected winners highlighted in RED.

FCS CHAMPIONSHIP--at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Friday)

Montana (14-1) vs. Richmond (12-3)

NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP (Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl)--at Salem, Va. (Saturday)

Mount Union (14-0) vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater (13-1)

NAIA CHAMPIONSHIP--at Rome, Ga. (Saturday)

Carroll (Mont.)--(13-0) vs. Sioux Falls (13-0)

PLAYOFF RECAP--Minnesota-Duluth wins first-ever D-II title

After having no postseason wins prior to this year, the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs won four such contests en route to their first-ever NCAA Division II national championship. UMD handed Northwest Missouri State its fourth straight title game loss in a 21-14 win at Florence, Ala. Saturday.

Article courtesy of the Florence (Ala.) Times-Daily (click on title above)

A little late...

but better late than never...as Minnesota-Duluth and Northwest Missouri State prepare to play for an NCAA Division II football national championship today. Therefore, there's some catching up to do.

FCS

James Madison won its first two playoff games in close fashion (Wofford 38-35 and Villanova 31-27). But Friday night, the No. 1 seeded Dukes finally ran out of luck, as they were upset by No. 4 seed Montana, 35-27. The Grizzlies now await the winner of Saturday's Northern Iowa-Richmond contest in next week's title game at Chattanooga, Tenn.

As for how the Grizzlies got to the FCS finals, they defeated Texas State, 31-13, then avenged their lone regular season loss to Weber State by knocking off the Wildcats, 24-13. UNI earned its way into the national semifinals with a thrilling 36-34 win over New Hampshire at home in the quarterfinals last Saturday.

NCAA Division II

No contest in either national semifinal game last weekend. Really.

Northwest Missouri State 41, North Alabama 7

Minnesota-Duluth 45, California (Pa.) 7

Enough said.

NCAA Division III

Mount Union advanced to yet another national semifinal game with a convincing 41-14 win over Cortland State. The 13-0 Purple Raiders face the upstart Thunder from Wheaton, who downed Franklin 45-28 to advance to the D-III semis.

On the other side of the bracket, defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater outlasted Wartburg 34-17, while Mary Hardin-Baylor crushed Washington & Jefferson 63-7 to set up the other national semifinal contest.

NAIA

It will be a battle of 13-0 teams in next week's NAIA championship game at Rome, Ga. on Dec. 20, as defending national champion Carroll (Mont.) facing Sioux Falls (S.D.). The Saints edged Lindenwood (Mo.) 38-37 in one national semifinal game last weekend, while the Cougars rolled past St. Francis (Ind.) 24-6 in the other semifinal match-up.

THE LIGHTNING ROUND--WEEK 16

Last Week: 6-6 (.500)
Year To Date: 302-157 (.658)

KEY: Projected winners highlighted in RED.

FCS PLAYOFFS--SEMIFINALS

Montana (13-1) at James Madison (12-1)

Richmond (11-3) at Northern Iowa (12-2)

NCAA DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIP--at Florence, Ala.

Minnesota-Duluth (14-0) vs. Northwest Missouri State (13-1)

NCAA DIVISION III PLAYOFFS--SEMIFINALS

Wheaton (11-2) at Mount Union (13-0)

Wisconsin-Whitewater (12-1) at Mary Hardin-Baylor (12-1)

SWAC CHAMPIONSHIP--at Birmingham, Ala.

Grambling State (10-2) vs. Jackson State (7-4)

Minnesota-Duluth football grabs attention of locals

As they prepare to play in their first-ever NCAA Division II championship game at Florence, Ala., the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs football program is narrowing the gap between it and its more successful hockey program.

Article courtesy of the Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune

What went wrong for Appalachian State?

Last weekend, Appalachian State was on the march for a fourth straight NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision national championship. This weekend, the Mountaineers find themselves watching from the sidelines, as Richmond pulled off the improbable upset in the second round of the FCS playoffs. College Sporting News explores what went wrong in this article listed below.

FULL STORY

Richmond derails App State bid for four-peat

So much for trying to win a fourth straight national championship. The University of Richmond Spiders denied three-time defending NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision national champion Appalachian State's bid for a four-peat with a 33-13 upset win over the Mountaineers at Boone, N.C. Saturday.

Article courtesy of the Sports Network

THE LIGHTNING ROUND--WEEK 15

Last Week: 15-9 (.625)
Year To Date: 296-151 (.662)

KEY: Projected winners highlighted in RED.

FCS PLAYOFFS--QUARTERFINALS

Villanova (10-2) at James Madison (11-1)

Weber State (10-3) at Montana (12-1)

Richmond (10-3) at Appalachian State (11-2)

New Hampshire (10-2) at Northern Iowa (11-2)

NCAA DIVISION II PLAYOFFS--SEMIFINALS

North Alabama (12-1) at Northwest Missouri State (12-1)

Minnesota-Duluth (13-0) at California (Pa.)--(12-1)

NCAA DIVISION III PLAYOFFS--QUARTERFINALS

Cortland State (11-1) at Mount Union (12-0)

Wheaton (10-2) at Wabash (11-1)

Washington & Jefferson (11-1) at Mary Hardin-Baylor (11-1)

Wartburg (10-2) at Wisconsin-Whitewater (11-1)

NAIA PLAYOFFS--SEMIFINALS

Lindenwood (11-1) at Carroll (Mont.)--(12-0)

St. Francis (Ind.)--(12-0) at Sioux Falls (12-0)

BREAKDOWN--Playoff Preview

Well, the final month of the 2008 football season, December, has arrived, and the road to a national championship in each of the four divisions RFC covers (FCS, NCAA Division II, Division III, and NAIA) is nearing the end. Here's a quick preview of each division going into this weekend.

NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Quarterfinals

The "Elite Eight" of the subdivision formerly known as "NCAA Division I-AA" features several re-matches, including Montana hoping to avenge its lone loss to Weber State, Richmond looking to derail Appalachian State's hopes of a "four-peat", not to mention Villanova trying to put their memory of a last-second loss to James Madison out of their minds, with a win. Oh, and there's a mouth-watering fourth match-up between a team in the Colonial Athletic Association (New Hampshire) and the Missouri Valley Conference (Northern Iowa) too.

Updated bracket

NCAA Division II Semifinals

The "Final Four" of the D-II dance might as well be dubbed the "Two-fer" round. That's because all four national semifinalists are No. 2 seeds, and both games are interesting to boot. Northwest Missouri State plays host to North Alabama in one semifinal, while 13-0 upstart travels to Pennsylvania to face the Vulcans of California University, who fell to eventual national champion Valdosta State in last year's semis.

Updated bracket

NCAA Division III Quarterfinals

Only one No. 1 seed remains in Mount Union, whose Purple Raiders play host to No. 3 Cortland State in the East Regional final. On the other hand, No. 5 Franklin hosts No. 7 Wabash in the North, No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor takes on No. 5 Washington & Jefferson at home in the South, and defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater hosts Wartburg in another No. 5 vs. No. 7 match-up in the West region.

Updated bracket

NAIA Semifinals

After an unexpected bye week due to Northwestern Oklahoma State's forfeiture of its playoff win, defending champion Carroll (Mont.) hopes to move one step closer towards a sixth title by facing Lindenwood (Mo.), while St. Francis (Ind.) travels to South Dakota to face Sioux Falls in a battle of 12-0 teams.

Please, Mr. Brand, Don't Change the FBS

With the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-AA) playoffs entering the quarterfinals this weekend, one columnist states his case for not having a playoff in the current NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-A).

Article courtesy of College Sporting News

PLAYOFF RECAP--WEEK OF NOVEMBER 29, 2008

The Thanksgiving weekend has come and gone, and so has another round of playoffs. Let's quickly recap what happened.

FCS First Round: Aside from two road teams pulling off mild upsets (Cal Poly over Weber State, and New Hampshire over Southern Illinois), there were really no surprises to speak of in the first round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-AA) playoffs. In fact, all four nationally-seeded teams advanced to next weekend's quarterfinals, although top seeded James Madison had to fight off a scrappy Wofford squad to win 38-35.

FCS Playoff Bracket (Updated)

NCAA Division II Quarterfinals: Straight from the "who would've thunk it?" category, all four No. 2 seeds went on the road, and pulled off upset wins over the No. 1 seeds in Saturday quarterfinal action.

Starting in Super Regional 1, California (Pa.) returned to the national semifinals after shocking Bloomsburg, 28-24. The Vulcans will now take their 12-1 overall record into next week's contest against now 13-0 Minnesota-Duluth, whose Bulldogs pulled off the biggest shocker of all, as they stunned Grand Valley State--whose Lakers were ranked No. 1 in both the AFCA and d2football.com polls, respectively, for most of the 2008 season--19-13 in double overtime to win the Super Regional 3 title.

North Alabama and Northwest Missouri State provide the other national semifinal match-up. While neither program is a stranger to winning national championships (UNA won three straight titles in 1993, 1994, and 1995, while Northwest won back-to-back crowns in 1998 and 1999), both had to go on the road to set up this otherwise unlikely contest. The Lions avenged their regular season loss to Delta State by stomping the Statesmen, 55-34, while the Bearcats did the same against previously undefeated Abilene Christian in a 45-36 upset win.

NCAA Division II Playoff Bracket (Updated)

NCAA Division III Second Round: The D-III dance had its share of surprises, too, as three of the four No. 1seeds fell in round two. In the North bracket, Franklin avenged its playoff loss of a year ago by rolling past North Central, 38-28. In the South, Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) upset previously unbeaten Millsaps 35-20, and in the West bracket, defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater ended Willamette's dream season with a 30-27 win. The Warhawks face No. 7 seed Wartburg, whose Knights eliminated No. 3 seed and previously undefeated Monmouth in a similarly 30-28 final score. The lone No. 1 seed to advance to round three was Mount Union, who crushed Hobart, 42-0. The Purple Raiders now await No. 2 seed Cortland State. The Dragons scorched Curry College, 42-7.

NCAA Division III Playoff Bracket (Updated)

NAIA Quarterfinals: There was one close game among the three quarterfinal contests, as Lindenwood (Mo.) knocked off Morningside (Iowa) on a last-second field goal, 37-34. On the other hand, St. Francis (Ind.) held off the University of the Cumberlands, Ky., 31-20, while Sioux Falls stomped Langston (Okla.), 50-13. Those results will set up next Saturday's two semifinal contests; with defending national champion Carroll (Mont.) playing host to Lindenwood in one game, while Sioux Falls hosts St. Francis in a re-match of the 2006 title game, a contest in which Sioux Falls eventually won.

NAIA Quarterfinal Recap (courtesy of naia.cstv.com)

The Post-Thanksgiving, Post-Season Feast

Thanksgiving is in the rear-view mirror, and it's now time for a feast, not leftovers. A feast of postseason games, that is. Let's briefly this four-course meal of playoff games.

FCS: The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-AA) begins its run to the 2008 national championship this weekend. Three-time defending champion Appalachian State hopes to join select company, and win a fourth straight title. Should that happen, the Mountaineers would join the likes of Augustana (Ill.), who won four straight NCAA Division III national championships from 1983-1986, and Carroll (Mont.), winners of four NAIA titles in a row from 2002-2005. Standing in the way, though, is James Madison, who was the last program other than Appalachian State to win an FCS national championship (2004).

FCS Playoff Bracket

NCAA Division II: If there was ever a excellent group of "Elite Eight" teams at any level of college football, this Saturday's quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division II playoffs has to be just that. All four games involve the No. 1 seeds playing host to the No. 2 seeds in each of the respective "Super Regionals". Also, three of those four games involve re-matches of regular season contests, with hosts Delta State (vs. North Alabama), Abilene Christian (vs. Northwest Missouri State), and Bloomsburg (vs. California [Pa.]), all winning those aforementioned games. Th fourth contest, Grand Valley State (11-0) vs. Minnesota-Duluth (12-0), is the only game involving teams that are still undefeated.

NCAA Division II Playoff Bracket

NCAA Division III: Mount Union (11-0) has been steamrolling opponents as usual, and last weekend was no different, as the Purple Raiders stomped Randolph-Macon 56-0 to advance to round two this weekend. Meanwhile, defending champion Wisconsin-Whitewater (10-1) also moved on to the second round after routing St. John's 37-7. The Warhawks will now draw top-seeded Willamette (11-0) in the West bracket, which is a game that's sure to be intense. The most telling storyline of the D-III playoffs, however, has to be the fact that all four No. 7 seeds pulled off upsets in the first round, as Curry, Wheaton, Wesley, and Wartburg all advanced in shocking fashion. Could it happen again this weekend? After all, the games are played on the field for a good reason, and this quartet proved it last weekend.

NCAA Division III Playoff Bracket

NAIA: The road to the NAIA title got a little bit easier for defending champion Carroll (Mont.), as Northwestern Oklahoma State was forced to forfeit its upset win over Friends (Kan.) in the first round, as well as relinquish its participation in the remainder of the postseason, because of the use of an ineligible player. That leaves just three quarterfinal playoff games set for Saturday, Langston at Sioux Falls; Cumberlands (Ky.) at St. Francis (Ind.), and Lindenwood at Morningside.

Bayou Classic: Although not a playoff game in the truest sense, the annual showdown between Grambling State and Southern Saturday (2 p.m. EST--NBC) will impact who will represent the Western Division in next month's SWAC title game. A win by Grambling would pit the Tigers against Eastern Division champion Jackson State in that contest, while a victory by Southern would force a three-way tie for the West crown.

THE LIGHTNING ROUND--WEEK 14

NOTE: Last week's first round NAIA playoff game between Friends (Kan.) and Northwestern Oklahoma State was declared a forfeit, with Friends defeating NWOSU 2-0. The forfeit was declared after NWOSU used an ineligible player. Therefore, that game won't count in the tally for the updated predictions.

Also, RFC apologizes for the omissions of the following NCAA Division III first round playoff games, with the final scores listed below:

Monmouth (Ill.) 42, Aurora 13
Wartburg 26, Wisconsin-Stevens Point 21
Wheaton 14, Trine 0
Willamette 48, Occidental 33
Wisconsin-Whitewater 37, St. John's 7

And now, on to this week's predictions!

Last Week: 32-12 (.727)
Year-To-Date: 281-142 (.664)

KEY: Projected winners highlighted in RED.

FCS PLAYOFFS--FIRST ROUND

Wofford (9-2) at James Madison (10-1)

Colgate (9-2) at Villanova (9-2)

Texas State (8-4) at Montana (10-1)

Weber State (9-3) at Cal Poly (8-2)

South Carolina State (10-2) at Appalachian State (10-2)

Eastern Kentucky (8-3) at Richmond (9-3)

Maine (8-4) at Northern Iowa (10-2)

New Hampshire (9-2) at Southern Illinois (9-2)

NCAA DIVISION II PLAYOFFS--QUARTERFINALS

North Alabama (11-1) at Delta State (10-1)

Northwest Missouri State (11-1) at Abilene Christian (11-0)

California (Pa.)--(11-1) at Bloomsburg (11-1)

Minnesota-Duluth (12-0) at Grand Valley State (11-0)

NCAA DIVISION III PLAYOFFS--SECOND ROUND

Hobart (9-1) at Mount Union (11-0)

Curry (10-1) at Cortland State (10-1)

Franklin (10-1) at North Central (11-0)

Wheaton (9-2) at Wabash (10-1)

Washington & Jefferson (10-1) at Millsaps (11-0)

Wesley (9-1) at Mary Hardin-Baylor (10-1)

Wisconsin-Whitewater (9-1) at Willamette (11-0)

Wartburg (9-2) at Monmouth (Ill.)--(11-0)

NAIA PLAYOFFS--QUARTERFINALS

Carroll (Mont.) advances to semifinals due to forfeit by Northwestern Oklahoma State

Langston (10-2) at Sioux Falls (11-0)

University of the Cumberlands (Ky.)--(10-1) at St. Francis (Ind.)--(11-0)

Lindenwood (10-1) at Morningside (10-1)

BONUS PREDICTION

Grambling State (9-2) vs. Southern (6-4)

(Bayou Classic at Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans, LA)

FCS Playoff Selections Announced

James Madison, three-time defending national champion Appalachian State, Northern Iowa, and Montana are the top four national seeds, as the 16-team field for the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivsion playoffs was announced Sunday night.

Complete FCS Playoff Bracket

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's more on Abilene Christian's record setting performance in their resounding win over West Texas A&M in second round NCAA Division II playoff action. The Wildcats defeated the Buffaloes convincingly, 93-68.

Article courtesy of the Abilene (Tex.) Reporter News (includes video highlights)

ALSO...

Updated NCAA Division II Playoff Bracket