Jabbering JAG 129.5

Scheduling... something that has been the debate now on a couple of shows. I won't bring up whether or not you should schedule elites at DIA or how many humans you should play. I have been paying attention to playoff teams lately and who they schedule/where their SOS ends up. As Wilkinson fills up it seems that maybe scheduling really hard isn't necessarily the way to go.

Currently in DIAA there are only 4 teams with a top 10 SOS inside the top 25. Only 11 of the top 20 SOS are even in the playoff field. The average of the SOS of the current playoff field is 40, which isn't terrible but seems a bit lower. There are currently seven remaining undefeated teams left and they span from the highest ranked at #1 to the lowest ranked at #21.

The other side of the coin is that with so many humans out there you may have truly played a really tough, human loaded schedule so far but because all of the humans beat eachother up your SOS takes a hit. A lot of coaches also like to test themselves as coaches and test their current rosters. They enjoy the challenge of playing a lot of humans. Also, if you are a fantastic coach and you can more or less go through a brutal schedule successfully you guarantee that you will earn a favorable playoff seed.

This raises the questions, in a world full of humans, is it better to just get wins or to really test yourself and have a stronger SOS and thus a better playoff seeding? Can you get a good playoff seeding with a lower ranked SOS?

Let's get to some predictions. We have just about hit the midway point in the conference slate of season 129 and things are looking crazy across DIAA.

A10- #20 Richmond @ #15 Maine - Both teams come in 6-2 and have played tough schedules this season. UR is fresh off a close win over Villanova, giving Nova their first loss of the season. Maine has more or less cruised through their schedule since their back to back losses in OOC. Richmond's pass defense will truly be put to the test against the air raid from Maine.

MAINE 33-24

Big Sky- Cal Poly @ Eastern Washington - The is the only human v. human game in the Big Sky. CP in their third season under sethstorer have gone through a gauntlet this season and with too many losses on the season their only hope at making the playoffs is to win the CC. The Mustangs enter the game coming off of two straight wins. EWU finally has a human at the helm and they have already ensured their best season since season 119. Both teams favor the passing attack and they have a chance to move the ball against some weaker secondaries.

CP 31-20

Gateway- #8 Northern Iowa vs Florida Int - This game is important for both squads as the winner stays tied atop the tight Gateway South division. Coach babcick has UNI rolling this season with only one close loss so far on the season. FIU has two losses on the season but they have come at the hands of top 10 teams. FIU will need their strong running attack to be on point to keep the pass heavy Panther offense on the sideline as much as possible. Coach babcick is 2-0 against katzphang88.

UNI 35-20

Ivy- Yale @ Penn - This is the only game worth noting in the Ivy. #Yell has been a team who we don't hear from much these days but they have quietly made two straight playoff appearances. Penn is a team looking to find their place in Wilkinson and haven't seemed to be able to do that yet. Penn has played the toughest SOS in DIAA and will look to use that experience to try to carry them to a win over the Bulldogs. Another game where the running offense is going to do all they can to keep the other offense off of the field. These struggling defenses will be tested.

Yale 28-23

MEAC- #24 Duquesne vs Norfolk State - A game that might be a bit more entertaining that it appears on paper. Duquesne has a solid record but has the 82nd ranked SOS. Norfolk comes in needing wins in every way and they have been through the #33 SOS. Both teams have similar offensive tendencies but one uses a combination of formations and the other uses the Shotgun. Both teams are hoping to make playoffs for a second straight season and both could really use a win to help their chances.

DUQ 35-27

NEC- #3 Albany vs Robert Morris - It has been a tough welcome to DIAA for RM coach ej6687. RM has pretty much done what has been expected of them this season, won where they should and got beat when it was expected. They face a team who is playing lights out this season. Albany's only loss on the season is a close defeat to the current #1 team. Both of these teams throw the ball a bit but they also have pretty solid rushing attacks as well and they will try to use that balance to keep the opposition off balance.

Albany 35-10

OVC- #13 Southeast Missouri vs #16 Jacksonville State - The Nation's toughest conference brings us this intriguing matchup. Both schools have played a bunch of human competition through the season so far and performed quite well through those games. These two teams are spitting images of one another on both sides of the ball and they have pretty similar stats. This will be the fourth meeting between these two coaches. Vikesrule69 holds a 2-1 lead over husker111 but both of these coaches know what it takes to win the bigger games.

JSU 34-31

PFL- Davidson vs Jacksonville - I had a hard time deciding on which game to choose for this conference. The two ranked opponents or this one. I went with this one because I think it's a little under the radar but still interesting. Davidson is right on the cusp of playoffs and will be looking to rebound after suffering their first loss on the season. Jacksonville and coach pwiest have dominated the series but this year they appear to be the underdogs. The young QB's on both teams will need to play lights out to get a win here. But they have SR RBs to back them up.

Davidson 27-24

SoCon- Northwestern State vs Nicholls State - Nicholls is still in the middle of a tough rebuild. This team has improved every season and to get a signature win like this would really help propel them in the right direction. NWSU just suffered their second loss on the season and needs to get back to winning to keep in the playoff race. The winner has a good chance to represent the division in the CC as the rest of their division is sims.

NWSU 33-17

SWAC- #4 Texas Southern @ #14 Grambling State - TSU has been playing great football all season and they hope to keep their undefeated season intact in this game. Grambling is looking to rebound after their first loss on the season and they will need their strong defense to be at the top of their game to keep things close here. TSU will rely on their stud JR QB and Grambling is going to need a solid performance from their SR RB. Coach panthsho has not been able to defeat nitros and he would love to get on the board this season.

TSU 31-17