PREDICTION
On the surface, Northwest Missouri would have the edge in most of the key statistical categories. There’s also the matter of having nearly half of the roster (45 players) who were a part of the 2013 team which won the national title. This isn’t the Bearcats’ first rodeo.
Northwest Missouri is also expected to have a home field advantage, with the Maryville campus located 90 minutes north of Sporting Park and a sizable alumni base in the Kansas City area. The Bearcats are certainly familiar with playing in larger venues, having played one game every season at Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.
So, should we just skip the game and give Northwest Missouri the trophy and be done with it?
Not so fast.
Shepherd entered their previous three playoff games as a clear underdog. Yet, the Rams managed to beat two of the top teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in Indiana (Pa.) and Slippery Rock to get out of Super Region 1. Then, with a backup quarterback, eliminated four-time national champion Grand Valley State in the national semifinals.
Then again, those three wins were in the friendly confines of Ram Stadium in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle.
Can the Rams tame the Bearcats? They’re certainly capable of it. The big question is whether or not Jeff Ziemba is healthy enough to start. Although, it’s worth noting that Ziemba’s backup, Connor Jessop, more than answered the bell against Grand Valley.
The Rams defense will also get reinforcements with cornerback Tre Sullivan, who was ejected for targeting in the first half of the Grand Valley game, expected to return.
It’s also worth noting that no team from Super Region 1 has won the D2 football championship. Then again, no team from the Mountain East Conference (or its predecessor league, the WVIAC), has appeared in a national football championship game since the 1990s and no team from the MEC/WVIAC has won a football crown since Fairmont State won the NAIA title in 1967.
Despite what the numbers say, that changes tomorrow. Call it a gut instinct, but you can’t help but sense that there’s a “nothing to lose” attitude from this Shepherd squad.
PREDICTION: Shepherd 27, Northwest Missouri 24