Thanks guys !!! :0008
As I said before, this is my hometown team !! The Bearcats come in to this game 14-0 !! Lenoir-Rhyne is 13-1 !! The Bearcats played a 12-2 Grand Valley squad (the 2nd most storied D2 school behind Northwest) last week. I saw the game and the Bearcats did NOT play at all to their normal standards and still won by 14. 2 weeks ago, Northwest beat St. Cloud (12-1) by 38, 59-21 !! 3 weeks ago, the CATS beat the #4 team in the end-of-the-year rankings, Minnesota-Duluth, by 24, 45-21 !!
Lenoir-Rhyne has beat some stiff teams in their playoff run, but their games have been much closer, and have been against lesser competition. LR likes to run the ball and this plays right into the hands of the Northwest D !! All American defensive lineman, Matt Longacre is a beast, look for him to have a huge day !! When LR tries to throw the ball, look for All American cornerback Brandon Dixon to be in the middle of things !! This Northwest D is one of the best I've seen in the last 10 years !! I will be shocked if they don't score some sort of D/ST TD (they have in half their games this year) !!!
I am a homer, but at the same time, this team from Northwest Missouri is special !! The Bearcats have been to the national championship game 8 times in the last 16 years !! Head Coach, Adam Dorrell, has been a part of all the teams' trips: twice as a player, 5 times as the O-Line coach, and this year as the HC. LR has never been !! Experience is on the side of the Bearcats in a huge way !!!
Prediction:
Northwest 45
Lenoir-Rhyne 17