Central Connecticut State (8-3) at New Hampshire (7-4), Saturday 2:00
Central Connecticut State won the Northeast Conference and punched their ticket to the FCS Playoffs for the first time in school history. The reward is a trip to the franchise of the playoffs, who qualifies every year it seems. The Blue Devils will surely take on the challenge and one has to wonder how a team who wants to be here will play against one who was shutout this last week. Still, life as an NEC team in the playoffs remains an uphill climb. They’ve won eight straight games, but none to this level of competition. In FCS action, they did play good in losing to Fordham (38-31), but were drug around the field and scolded by Youngstown State (59-9). The statistical numbers do not look overly impressive and that’s against mostly NEC opponents, which is concerning.
Look who’s back in the playoffs...it’s New Hampshire. So nice to see you, for the 14th year in a row. Give someone else a shot, would ya? The Wildcats aren’t an overly powerful team offensively, which may lead to issues against an opponent wanting to keep the score down and close. However, the defense is stout scoring-wise, except for two horrible beat downs at the hands of Stony Brook and Holy Cross. If the offense can generate any kind of momentum, the defense is usually good enough to carry them to victories. Playing in the Colonial should have them ready to go for the playoffs.
General thought is New Hampshire wins this handily. There might be some concerns if the offense struggles early on, but it’s hard to imagine the defense getting gouged to a point where the outcome is in question. But, that’s why they play the game.
Projected Score: New Hampshire 31, Central Connecticut State 7
