2024 Quarterfinal Preview: Mercer

[tony]

One of the few good things about not being able to get back to Fargo for the playoff game was that I got to watch an hour of the Mercer v Rhode Island game.

Mercer's true freshman QB, Whitt Newbauer, looked kind of slow but threw a couple nice deep balls. The guy is 6-6 though and sometimes it's hard to judge straight-line speed - a guy that tall can look like he's jogging and still be motoring. He did not look quick though. Their defense looked extremely aggressive - they scored Mercer's only points up to the 4th quarter.

I'd like to think that NDSU's defense matches up better with the Mercer offense than they did with ACU's, but I'm wondering a bit if I'm wishing that this will be the case.

[LITTLEGUYSINGREEN]

Our D needs to play better or we could very well lose this one.

With our D playing the way it has as of late, at least the games have been entertaining.

[TheKingpin28]

Mercer can defend the run and Landry needs to call play action early and often. Open up the box and then let Marty run wild to keep the defense honest.

On the other side of the ball, the defense needs to get pressure without sending extra help.

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[mtoutfitter]

Does Mercer still co-op with Turtle Lake?

[ndsubison1]

Mercer can defend the run and Landry needs to call play action early and often. Open up the box and then let Marty run wild to keep the defense honest.

On the other side of the ball, the defense needs to get pressure without sending extra help.

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No idea why we don't use more under center PA

[heffray]

Mercer can defend the run and Landry needs to call play action early and often. Open up the box and then let Marty run wild to keep the defense honest.

On the other side of the ball, the defense needs to get pressure without sending extra help.

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Agree, especially with Rock out now, we may need to pass first to open the run, let Cam run the offense… Jake has been stubborn with run first and slow to make adjustments when it hasn’t worked.

[southcliffbison]

Does Mercer still co-op with Turtle Lake?

I believe now it's Turtle Lake/Mercer/Underwood ........Central Mclean County co-op.......but I've been gone a few years.

[runtheoption]

No idea why we don't use more under center PA

This and more of this!!!

[IndyBison]

Crew is from Big Sky. Same crew that worked Incarnate Word last week. MVFC crew working at Montana State but may be the last game they'll be eligible to work. They've been blocked from the national championship and often the semi-finals since 2011.

[Professor Chaos]

Crew is from Big Sky. Same crew that worked Incarnate Word last week. MVFC crew working at Montana State but may be the last game they'll be eligible to work. They've been blocked from the national championship and often the semi-finals since 2011.

I mention it every year but I think if it's an intra-conference matchup in the playoffs (such as Idaho @ Montana St this weekend) it should automatically be officiated by the crew from that conference. The officials, players, and coaches all know each other better and know each other's style so it would lead to a better quality product on the field.