Dr. Saturday's College Football Madness: The play-in games, session two
Welcome to Dr. Saturday's College Football Madness. Ever wondered how the 2013 college football season could have turned out with a 68-team playoff? You've come to the right spot. While 68 teams participate in the NCAA tournament, we're running an expanded college football playoff. And you're in charge. Each matchup is open to a vote and the team with the most votes in each game moves on to the next round. Here's the second set of play-in games. In case you missed the first two play-in games, CLICK HERE.
Let's continue the FCS love.
Our second session of play-in games will take on our No. 2 and No. 3 overall seeds, respectively, in our College Football Madness tournament. Voting for these two games will be open until Noon ET Thursday, March 20. Can any of these four teams below be Cinderella?
Eastern Washington vs. McNeese State
Eastern Washington (12-3): You know the Eagles best as the team with the red turf on its home field. And then next as the team that beat Oregon State 49-46 in the first week of the season. After starting the season 2-2, EWU was undefeated until losing to Towson at home in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs.
QB Vernon Adams had 4,994 yards passing and 55 touchdowns while freshman WR Cooper Kupp had 1,691 yards receiving and 21 touchdowns.
McNeese State (10-3): Just like Eastern Washington, McNeese opened the season with a win over an FBS team, defeating South Florida 53-21. it also upset then-No.2 Sam Houston State 31-23 in October. However, McNeese lost in the playoffs to Jacksonville State.
RB Marcus Wiltz ran for 1,287 yards and 11 touchdowns while QB Cody Stroud had 2,935 yards passing and 28 scores.
Eastern Illinois vs. Towson
Eastern Illinois (12-2): The opening-week wins over FBS teams are a trend. Eastern Illinois beat San Diego State 40-19 and only lost to Northern Illinois by four. However, its next loss came in the FCS playoffs to Towson, the team that went on to beat Eastern Washington. And the team it's facing here. Will EIU be able to turn the tables?
Yes, EIU is the home of QB Jimmy Garoppolo, who you will be hearing a lot about in the lead-up to the NFL draft in May. Garoppolo threw for 5,050 yards and 53 touchdowns while RB Shepard Little had 1,551 yards rushing.
Towson (13-3): Last, but not least, Towson beat UConn on the opening weekend of the season. In the regular season, Towson lost to Villanova and Delaware before getting two road wins in the FCS playoffs. However, the streak came to an end in the championship game against North Dakota State.
RB Terrance West had 2,410 yards and 40 TDs on the ground. (No, that's not a misprint.) QB Peter Athens threw for 3,194 yards and had 19 touchdowns. Will the Tigers beat Eastern Illinois again?
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is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @NickBromberg
