VSU among those winning 2nd round upsets
Nov. 28—VALODSTA — Round 2 of the NCAA Division II playoffs was one of upsets. Valdosta State was all-in on that scenario last Saturday, but do not want another week of upset fever Saturday in their national football quarterfinal versus Lenoir-Rhyne.
Both the Blazers and the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears won upsets to get to this game, which will kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in Valdosta.
Tickets are on sale now for the game at the VSU Athletic Ticket Office, hours Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Those already holding season tickets have until Wednesday at 5 p.m. to renew those tickets for Lenoir-Rhyne. If not renewed, they will be for sale. Tickets can also be purchased online, or by calling (229) 333-7328.
Those purchasing advance tickets to the Lenoir-Rhyne game get free admission to two VSU home basketball doubleheaders, Friday against Delta State and Sunday against Mississippi College.
The No. 4 seed in Super Region Two, the Bears knocked off No. 1 Benedict, 35-25. Valdosta State, No. 3, had a last-minute touchdown to defeat No. 2 Delta State, 38-31.
Theirs were scarcely the only shakeups in the brackets.
The top two teams in Super Region One — Tiffin and Charleston — are sitting home this weekend after Slippery Rock and Kutztown prevailed. Both played out similarly to VSU's bracket. Kutztown edged Charleston by a point, 32-31. Slippery Rock upset Tiffin by 10, 45-35.
However, Super Regions Three and Four stayed closer to the script: No. 1 and No. 2 meet up in the quarterfinals in both.
In Three, it's No. 2 Grand Valley State at No. 1 Harding. Four has No. 2 Central Washiington at No. 1 Colorado School of Mines.
What happens next is a bit more unpredictable, both in the immediate bracket or what is to come.
Teams will be reseeded in the national semifinals.
If undefeated Colorado School of Mines advances, they are almost assuredly a lock to be the No. 1 overall school. Harding and Central Washington are the only other undefeated schools still standing. Valdosta State, Grand Valley, Lenoir-Rhyne and Charleston all have one loss. Kutztown has two losses.
Should Mines fall, the semifinal seeding is a wild guess.
Only three of the top 10 in the final regular season AFCA poll survived the first two rounds — Mines, Grand Valley and Harding. The last D2Football.com poll was just as brutal, with only the same three of the top 10 remaining.
Saturday will be the Blazers' 10th quarterfinal appearance, all in the past 30 years. Should they win, head coach Tremaine Jackson would become the fifth consecutive VSU coach to make an appearance in a national semifinal game.
