What Happened & What's Ahead: The fifth-ranked Minnesota State football team (13-0, 11-0 NSIC) hosts #17 Valdosta State in the national semifinals of the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs this weekend. Last week, the Mavericks earned a 17-10 victory over Missouri Western State while Valdosta State downed Carson Newman, 48-26.
On the Air: Saturday's game will air on
ESPN3.com with
Shawn Kenny handling the play-by-play duties and former North Carolina head coach
John Bunting serving as the color commentator. Saturday’s game marks the fourth time that Minnesota State has played a game on national television in the past nine years and is the fourth game, ever, to be broadcast live from Blakeslee Stadium.
In 2008, Minnesota State upended Winona State, 35-32, on Fox Sports North and in 2003, Augustana defeated MSU, 34-27, on the now defunct Victory Sports Network. Last season, the Mavericks won a thrilling, 27-26 game against Augustana on the CBS Sports Network. Minnesota State's game vs. St. Cloud State in 1994 in the Metrodome was televised live by Midwest Sports Channel.
Practice Schedule & Media Availability: The Mavericks practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week from 3:15-5 p.m., on the practice fields of Blakeslee Stadium. There will be no access on Friday. Following practice Wednesday, acting head coach Aaron Keen, senior wideout Adam Thielen, senior linebacker Marcus Hall-Oliver, junior defensive end Chris Schaudt and sophomore offensive lineman Chris Reed along with any other players upon request. Please contact Paul Allan (cell - 507.381.7503) or Scott Nelsen (cell - 507.995.6331).
A Little History Lesson: The 2012 season marked the school's 86th season playing football. The Mavericks are 395-375-28 (.513) in 799 games since their inception as a varsity sport in 1922. Minnesota State is in its fifth season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and owns a 42-9 (.823) record in league action. Over the course of its history, MSU has claimed 18 conference championships, including 16 NIC titles.
What's in a Win: It would also mark the 396th win in program history...A win would be MSU's fifth all-time in the NCAA playoffs and its first ever against Valdosta State...A win would push the Maverick home winning streak and its overall winning streak to 14 games...A win would be its third playoff win in Blakeslee Stadium...Finally a win would be MSU's third victory in the month of December in program history.
A Little Bit About Our Opponent: Valdosta State enters the weekend with a 10-2 record and are coming off a 48-27 victory over Carson Newman last weekend. In the victory, the Blazers scored the final 26 points to ice the win.
Valdosta State rushed for 279 yards and threw for 246 in victory, accumulating 525 yards of total offense. Defensively, the Blazer defense allowed 362 yards rushing and just 30 yards passing in limiting Carson-Newman to 392 yards of total offense.
Freshman running back Cedric O'Neal led the team with 15 carries for 194 yards and three touchdowns in the win, averaging 12.9 yards per carry. Junior quarterback Cayden Cochran completed 23-of-31 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore wideout Chris Anderson had a team-high six catches for 43 yards in the win while junior Seantavious Jones caught five passes for 72 yards and a score.
Defensively junior linebacker Chris Pope registered a game-high 21 tackles while senior linebacker Ryan Smith added nine tackles and sophomore defensive end Tevin Davis tallied eight.
For the season, the Blazers are averaging 219.8 rushing yards per game while giving up 155.7. In the air, Valdosta State is throwing for 259.9 while its opponents are throwing for 186.4.
O'Neal leads the team in rushing with 152 carries for 1,055 yards and 13 touchdowns, averaging 95.9 yards per game and 6.9 yards per carry. Freshman running back Austin Scott is second on the team in rushing with 143 carries for 834 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 75.8 per game and 5.8 per carry. Cochran has completed 184-of-284 passes for 2,323 yards and 23 touchdowns, averaging 211.2 yards per game and while throwing just eight interceptions. Junior Gerald Ford has a team-high 60 catches for 942 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 85.6 yards per game and 15.7 yards per catch. Jones has caught 45 passes for 794 yards and 12 scores, averaging 66.2 yards per game and 17.6 per catch while junior Regginald Lewis has 50 catches for 653 passes and four touchdowns averaging 59.4 yards per game and 13.1 yards per catch.
On the defensive side of the ball Pope has a team-high 107 tackles to go with six quarterback hurries. Junior linebacker Jeremy Grable has 86 stops, 7.5 of which are a loss while Smith has 73 tackles, including 11 for a loss and two interceptions.
Valdosta State Program & Playoff Notes: Valdosta State has won a pair of NCAA Division II National Championships, one in 2004 and its second in 2007...The 2012 season marks its 12th NCAA Divsion II Playoff appearance (1994, 1996, 200, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010) and they are 17-9 in playoff games...The program first began playing football in 1982...They are a member of the five-team Gulf South Conference...The Blazers have won six Gulf South titles...They were second in the league in 2012.
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