LIBERTY REPORT: Weekly watch

By: Chris Lang | The News & Advance
Published: October 16, 2008

First off, poster FargoBison again does nice a job at AnyGivenSaturday.com with his playoff eligibility list. Here it is.

Some games Liberty fans should keep an eye on this week:

* William & Mary (3-2) at Delaware (2-4): Delaware's at-large hopes are pretty much done, and if the Blue Hens can rebound from the loss to Maine and beat the Tribe at home, W&M would be pretty much out of the playoff picture as well.

* New Hampshire (4-1) at Northeastern (2-4): UNH's at-large resume is not strong, and a second CAA loss would put the Wildcats on the wrong side of the bubble unless they can beat UMass later in the season. Northeastern nearly upset UMass last week at home.

* The Citadel (3-3) at Furman (5-2): Furman's resume looks weaker and weaker as Delaware continues to struggle. The Paladins still have Wofford and App State on the schedule, and a loss to El Cid would put them in a very precarious spot postseason-wise. The Citadel is pretty much done anyway, unless it can win out, which won't happen since the Bulldogs still travel to Florida. An upset by The Citadel would help Liberty.

* McNeese State (3-2) at Sam Houston State (2-2): Essentially an elimination game here. I don't think the Southland will get two teams in anyway, but McNeese would have a much better at-large profile than Sam Houston, so LU fans should root for SHSU.

* Richmond (4-3) at Massachusetts (4-2): LU fans could stand for Richmond to pick up another road loss. UMass will probably make the field anyway.

* Central Arkansas (5-1) at Texas State (4-2): LU fans should continue to root for Central Arkansas to win the Southland, since UCA is not playoff eligible.

* Southern Illinois (3-2) at Youngstown State (2-5): Can YSU rally the wagons at home and sent SIU to a damaging third loss?

* North Dakota State (3-3) at Northern Iowa (4-2): UNI can pretty much end NDSU's playoff hopes with a win here.

* Cal Poly (3-1) at South Dakota State (3-3): If SDSU wins, Cal Poly will need a miracle to get to seven DI wins.