CFB Week 7 MB-views

This segment has a new title this week. Instead of using the word preview in quotes, we’re calling them MB-views. Just like the Big Ten, it’s all about the brand here at MegaBracket and this segment definitely reflects the way we look at college football, sports, and life in general.

St. Francis (IN) @ Marian – Saturday, October 13 @ 12:00 pm CDT

Author: Ryan

Nebraska-Kearney @ Lincoln (MO) – Saturday, October 13 @ 2:00 pm CDT

One of three Battles of Defeateds in this week’s picks and one of two featured in the previews.

Author: Bristol

Mascot

Nebraska-Kearney – Lopers. Lopers is short for “antelope,” the standard American name for the animal more specifically called a pronghorn. You can be friends with Louie the Loper on Facebook or have Louie appear at your next event. If you have 8 minutes of your life you really want to waste you can watch “Louie Loper Learns a Lot”, an educational parable.

Lincoln (MO) – Blue Tigers. They became the Blue Tiger in the 1970s when a radio announcer wanted to find an easy way to distinguish the Lincoln Tigers from the Mizzou Tigers. The school color of navy blue sparked the name “blue tiger,” and it stuck. Check out the mascot, Stripes, in a bizarre mating ritual with the Missouri Southern Lion.

Advantage – Lopers. I didn’t watch the educational parable but it can’t be as bad as the homoerotic dancing going on with Stripes. Also, no one has ever or would have ever confused the Lincoln Tigers with the Missouri Tigers. Although they do have the same number of SEC wins this year.

Best Player Name

Nebraska-Kearney– Tie – junior WR Shad Bride (auditioning for the role of Jeff Spicoli), sophomore FS Tyler Tinglehoff and sophomore RB Ricky Trinidad (yes, just an excuse to get an Eddie Money song in the post). I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Lincoln (MO) – Tie – senior DB O’Hara Fluellen and junior WR Devoyius Mark.

Advantage – UNK. Unless Linlcon (MO) had somebody named Steve Shakin, they weren’t winning this one.

Coaching Staff (Most Awesome Member)

Nebraska-Kearney – Offensive coordinator/QB coach Andy Siegal. Siegal wrestled and played football for Hamline and played professionally for the Tampa Bay Shockers. I could find anything on the internet about a football team with such a name. Siegal’s coaching stops include Southern Miss, Southern Arkansas, Quincy, East Mississippi Community College, College of the Sequoias and Dodge City Community College. Most recently, he was Director of League Development for the World Professional Football League. I was excited to add another random league to MB, but according to their Facebook page, it doesn’t seem as if the league actually exists yet. And probably never will.

Lincoln (MO) – Offensive line coach Dustin Washburn helped lead the West Texas Roughnecks to the Indoor Football League playoffs in 2010 and student assistant Brandon Kirksey has an amazing photo, but the winner is head coach Mike Jones. Jones is in his 2nd year as Lincoln’s head coach after spending time at Southern University and Hazelwood East HS in St. Louis. However, he is best known for making “The Tackle” to secure Super Bowl XXXIV for the St. Louis Rams over the Tennessee Titans by tackling Titans WR Kevin Dyson on the 1-yard line in a 7-point victory. Jones played 12 seasons in the NFL, totaling 9 sacks, 8 interceptions and 4 touchdowns in 183 games. He was a running back at Missouri, leading the team in scoring as a junior and a senior.

Advantage – Lincoln. Even in MB, a Super Bowl-winning tackle outweighs the World Professional Football League.

Location

Nebraska-Kearney – Kearney, NE. Kearney is a town of just over 30,000 which lies on Interstate 80 in south central Nebraska. One of Kearney’s greatest strengths is its rich heritage, which has been preserved in museums, many of which reflect its location of being on the Mormon, Oregon, California Trails, the Pony Express and the Lincoln Highway. Kearney is home to the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, which spans Interstate 80 at mile marker 274. The structure is two-stories of fascinating interactive exhibitory that traces the history of the Great Platte River Road from Oregon Trail days to the fiber optic future world of tomorrow. On December 8, 2000, while on a visit to Kearney, President Bill Clinton toured the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument. Jack Nicholson was also filmed in a scene at the Archway for the movie About Schmidt. Also, my cousin’s wedding reception was held there. Before Kearney was named Kearney, it was called Dobytown and it was located 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of the present-day Kearney. Later the city was moved and renamed after the nearby Fort Kearny (with an extra “e” added, but pronounced the same). Notable people include former NFL player Kyle Larson; radio personality Charlie Tuna; and actress Leslie Easterbrook (Lt. Debbie Callahan from Police Academy).

Lincoln (MO)– Jefferson City, MO. Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri and home to slightly more than 43,000 people. Jefferson City was chosen as the new state capital in 1821 while Thomas Jefferson was actually still alive. The village was first called Lohman’s Landing. When the legislature decided to relocate there, they proposed the name “Missouriopolis” but later settled on Jefferson City. [Ed. Note: I really wish they had gone with Missouriopolis.] Jefferson City was selected as the site for a state prison and, in 1836, the Missouri State Penitentiary was opened. The prison was home to a number of infamous Americans, including: former heavyweight champion Sonny Liston, assassin James Earl Ray, and bank robber Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd. During the American Civil War, Jefferson City was occupied by Union troops. Notable residents include former MLB pitcher Tom Henke; WNBA player Maya Moore; NFL players Justin Gage and Justin Smith; and Cedric the Entertainer.

Advantage – Kearney. The arch defeats the prison and Police Academy beats Cedric the Entertainer.

Notable Alumni

Nebraska-Kearney – Former New York Jets player Randy Rasmussen; Tim Schlattman, the Co-Executive Producer of Dexter; New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain; and actress Marg Helgenberger (CSI).

Lincoln (MO) – Actor/comedian Joe Torry; 8-time NFL Pro Bowl selection Lemar Parrish, who finished his 13-year career with 47 interceptions and 13 total touchdowns (4 punt returns, 4 interception returns, 3 fumble returns, 1 kickoff return, 1 blocked field goal return); and CFL Hall of Fame member Leo Lewis (not the Leo Lewis who played for the Vikings in the 80s).

Advantage – Marg Helgenberger.

Decision

Kearney wins 4-1. Not a fair fight since they had tie-ins (albeit tenuous) to Eddie Money and Scrubs.

Wofford @ Georgia Southern – Saturday, October 13 @ 5:00 pm CDT

Author: Bristol

Mascot

Wofford– Terriers. Boss (costumed mascot) and Blitz (live mascot) are the Official Boston Terriers of the Wofford athletic department.

Georgia Southern – Eagles. They were known in the early 1900s as the “Culture”, then Blue Tide from 1924 to 1941 and either Professors or Teachers until 1959, when Eagles was selected in a campus-wide vote. GSU is the permanent home to three American bald eagles named Glory, Freedom and Seattle. In 1997, a contest was held to name the costumed mascot, now known as Gus. Gus is Ready.

Advantage – Gus, Glory and Freedom. But not Seattle.

Best Player Name

Wofford – Tie – sophomore LB Qay Bell, freshman S Philemon Permis and senior LB SeQuan Stanley. Zach Bobb seems awesome. Since he’s from Georgia, I would have assumed Bobb was his middle name.

Georgia Southern – Tie – freshman QB Vegas Harley, junior LB Carlos Cave and freshman slotback Shun Tribble.

Advantage – Georgia Southern. You aren’t beating Vegas Harley, quite possibly the greatest name this side of Razor Shines, and the tribble episode of Star Trek.

Coaching Staff (Most Awesome Member)

Wofford – Head coach Mike Ayers is in his 25th season as Terriers head coach. He has guided Wofford from NAIA to NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I FCS. The team made the playoffs twice in Division II and 5 times in FCS, including the last two seasons. Ayers was the head coach at East Tennessee State for three season before earning the same job at Wofford. During the 1987 season, East Tennessee State knocked off North Carolina State. He won the 2003 Division I-AA National Coach of the Year Award. Honorable mention goes to offensive coordinator Wade Lang, who has also been at Wofford for the past 25 years, 23 of them as offensive coordinator. The Terriers run a triple-option “Wingbone” offense that has led the nation in rushing the past 2 seasons after finishing second the 2 years prior.

Georgia Southern – Head coach Jeff Monken was a part of Paul Johnson’s staffs at Georgia Southern, Navy and Georiga Tech. As a result, Georiga Southern also runs the triple option offense, meaning this week’s game will see its fair share of running plays. GSU is the only school to reach the FCS semifinals in each of the past two seasons. Monken played WR at Millikin University and made coaching stops at Hawaii, Arizona State, Buffalo, Morton (IL) HS, and Concordia (IL) before his first tour of duty at GSU. Honorable mention goes to special teams coach and defensive line assistant John Scott, Jr. who played professionally for the Greensboro Prowlers of afl2 and was named the team’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2000.

Advantage – Georgia Southern. The unstoppable option offenses are a tie, so the win goes to the team with a coach who was a Prowler.

Location

Wofford – Spartanburg, SC. Spartanburg is the 4th-largest city in South Carolina at just over 37,000. The city is part of a 10-county region known as “The Upstate” and is also home to South Carolina-Upstate, the alma mater of my wife. Spartanburg’s nicknames include “The Hub City” and “Sparkle City” and its motto is “Historically Southern, Culturally Modern”.  The city was incorporated in 1831, at the time of the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Cowpens, a pivotal fight of the American Revolution that took place only a few miles away. The city is home to Retrofest, the Southeast’s largest disco festival held at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium on the first Saturday in February. Wofford is the yearly site of the Carolina Panthers’ training camp. Notable natives include blues musician Pink Anderson, the inspiration for the “Pink” in Pink Floyd; former NFL running back Stephen Davis; pro wrestler George Gray, the “One Man Gang”; 8-time Mr. Olympia record holder Lee Haney; the Marshall Tucker Band; NASCAR champion David Pearson; and former MLB MVP Al Rosen.

Georgia Southern – Statesboro, GA. The city of more than 28,000 was chartered in 1803, starting as a small trading community providing the basic essentials for surrounding plantations. Statesboro inspired the blues song “Statesboro Blues”, written by Blind Willie McTell in the 1920s, and covered in a well-known version by The Allman Brothers Band. During the Civil War and General William T. Sherman’s famous march to the sea, a Union officer asked a saloon proprietor for directions to Statesboro. The proprietor replied, “You are standing in the middle of town.” The soldiers destroyed only the courthouse—a crude log structure that doubled as a barn when court was not in session. Notable people include former MLB pitchers Joey Hamilton and John Rocker; Toronto Blue Jays 3B coach Marty Pevey; and actor Danny McBride (Kenny Powers).

Advantage – Spartanburg. It’s all about the wife tie-ins this week.

Notable Alumni

Wofford – ESPN anchor and reporter Wendi Nix; Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson; PGA golfer William McGirt; and Former Air Force head coach and member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Fisher DeBerry.

Georgia Southern– Daniel Cathy, president of Chick-Fil-A; Hala Moddelmog, CEO of Arby’s; country singer Luke Bryan; NFL Pro Bowl kicker Rob Bironas; actress Patrika Darbo; former Detroit Pistons head coach Michael Curry; former Chicago Bears RB Adrian Peterson (the other Adrian Peterson); and former Dodgers and Cardinals pitcher John Tudor.

Advantage – Georgia Southern. Tudor was on the 1988 World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers so that’s an automatic win.

Decision

Georgia Southern rolls behind Vegas Harley, John Tudor and patriotic eagles.

Morrisville State vs. Western Connecticut – Saturday, October 13 @ 11:00 pm CDT

Another battle of winless teams.

Author: Bristol

Mascot

Morrisville State – Mustangs. The only information I could find about their mascot is that his name is Humpy and he rides a zipline.

Western Connecticut – Colonials. Here is their logo and a video of Colin Colonial dancing with a WCSU student.

Advantage – Humpy. I’m pretty sure Colin Colonial gets humpy with all the girls at WCSU and will inevitably lead to a lawsuit.

Best Player Name

Morrisville State – Tie – freshman RB Jaquan Cesar and freshman DB Ahczar Walker.

Western Connecticut – Tie – sophomore OL Dino Koumoutseas, freshman WR Parriss Woods and freshman WR Tecumseh Champlain.

Advantage – Western Connecticut. Tecumseh Champlain is the winner here.

Coaching Staff (Most Awesome Member)

Morrisville State – Wide receivers coach B.J. Lovett. Lovett was a WR for Morrisville State when it was still a 2-year junior college. He then transferred to Michigan State where he started as a junior and a senior, earning Most Outstanding Offensive Player honors in 2003. Following his playing career at Michigan State, Lovett spent time in the NFL with both the San Diego Chargers and Cleveland Browns and also played in the Arena Football League with the Dayton Warbirds.

Western Connecticut – Information was only readily available for head coach Joe Loth, but pictures of all coaches are on one page. It appears offensive coordinator/OL coach Drew Owens just ate a lemon. Loth was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter at defensive back for Otterbein and still holds the school’s career interception record with 13. He has worked as an assistant at SMU, Western Connecticut, Capital and Rhode Island and had previous stops as head coach at Kean and Otterbein. He spent the past 3 seasons as a wide receivers coach in the CFL. Coach Loth has his work cut out for him at WCSU – the 0-5 start this season has extended the Colonials’ losing streak to 26 games, their last win coming during the 2009 season.

Advantage – Morrisville State. One word – Warbirds.

Location

Morrisville State – Morrisville, NY. Morrisville is a village of 1,545 and was named for its founder, Thomas Morris. It was originally called Morris Flats. The First National Bank of Morrisville, Morrisville Public Library, and Old Madison County Courthouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In the 1980s cartoon series, The Real Ghostbusters, Morrisville was the hometown of Ray Stantz.

Western Connecticut – Danbury, CT. Danbury is a city of 80,893 in southwestern Connecticut and is the seventh largest city in the state. The city was named for the place of origin of many of the early settlers, Danbury, Essex, in England, and has been nicknamed Hat City, because it used to be a center of the hat industry, at one point producing almost 25% of America’s hats. Originally called Paquiack (“open plain” or “cleared land”) by local American Indians,the settlers chose the name Swampfield for their town, but in October 1687, the general court decreed the name Danbury. During the American Revolution, Danbury was an important military supply depot for the Continental Army. On April 26–27, 1777, the British under Major General William Tryon burned and looted the city. The central motto on the seal of the City of Danbury is Restituimus (Latin for “We have restored”), a reference to the destruction caused by the Loyalist army troops. The Kohanza Reservoir, one of the many reservoirs built to provide water to the hat factories, broke on January 31, 1869. The ensuing flood of icy water killed 11 people in half an hour, and caused major damage to many homes and farms. Notable people from Danbury include singer Tracy Chapman (Fast Car); actor Jonathan Brandis (seaQuest DSV); Charles Ives, one of America’s most influential composers; former NASCAR driver Jerry Nadeau; and author Rex Stout.

Advantage – Danbury. However, it was closer than the experts thought because Morrisville was the home of one of the Ghostbusters.

Notable Alumni

Morrisville State– Could not find any.

Western Connecticut – Radio personality and Howard Stern Show writer Fred Norris; Chris Rhodes, member of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones; and Sonic Youth musician Thurston Moore (did not graduate).

Advantage – Western Connecticut by default. Here is the downside to previewing a game with small D-III schools.

Decision

Western Connecticut wins this one 3-2. Can they snap their 26-game losing streak on the gridiron? Either way at least one of these teams get a win.