Lamar won 6 straight to get their first playoff appearance, but I'm pretty sure the streak will end Saturday in Cedar Falls. UNI is the better team, they're 4-1 at home, and they've won their last 3 first-round games handily.
Here's my assessment of the matchups & my pick for the game:
I hesitated to post this for obvious reasons but, honestly, I think it's likely that Lamar is in the playoffs because McNeese continued to suffer injuries during the last game of the season. By the time the game was over they were playing three true freshmen on the defensive line and had almost nobody left in terms of people who were starters at the beginning of the season in the back 5 of their 4-2-5.
As the McNeese football site quoted now ex-McNeese head coach Lance Guidry:
"We had a lot of our guys hurt," said Guidry. "We just ran out of players."
I don't think Lamar is really a playoff caliber team. I think Nicholls State and Incarnate Word out of the Southland are playoff caliber teams with the caveat that Incarnate Word may not be without its starting quarterback. But Lamar is probably not.
Well, I believe that I must tell the truth
And say things as they really are
But if I told the truth and nothing but the truth
Could I ever be a star? Deep Purple: No One Came
