No. 8 Ottowa Beavers (9-7) at No. 1 Bangalore Monsoon (15-1)
Previous Meeting: Bangalore 55, Ottowa 6 (Week 7)
Overview: It didn't take 11 weeks for SEA Pro to take notice that Bangalore was for real, but the team's record after Week 11 was remarkable -- 11-0, no close games, no games having allowed more than 10 points, only one game in which the team scored fewer than 37. Then came a rousing 20-17 win over also-undefeated Krungthep and a final three-game stretch that were probably the toughest finish in SEA Pro. Yet Bangalore managed to squeak out wins with LSP and Tet sandwiched around a suprising big loss to Buffalo. Ottowa finished the season with six straight wins to steal the final playoff spot, but have big losses on their sheet to many of the above named teams.
Outlook: The previous matchup was a no-contest knockout by Bangalore -- domination in the running game, a 10-minute advantage in time of possession, three forced turnovers and seven forced punts. For Ottowa to have any chance in this game, they must find a way to stop the Monsoon running game while establishing one of their own to keep the big Bangalore D off the field.
Prediction: Bangalore 48, Ottowa 7
No. 7 Vietnamese Sweatshop (10-6) at No. 2 Krungthep Garudas (15-1)
Previous Meeting: Krungthep 56, Sweatshop 21 (Week 15)
Overview: If you ignore the loss to Bangalore, Krungthep looks like the most dominant team in the conference by a long shot. Nobody scored more than 21 points on them all season (and fewer than 10 in 12 of their 16 games) and the only team to hold them to fewer than 42 points was the Monsoon. The Sweatshop, on the other hand, is the only team to score 21 points on Krungthep. The Sweatshop offense was only truly shut down by Bangalore, but the team did have big stumbles against every team who finished ahead of them in the standings which makes it look as though there might be a big gap between the top 6 teams and the next two.
Outlook: In their previous meeting, Krungthep pounced to a 30-point lead before the midway point of the second quarter, and two of the three Sweatshop touchdowns came in the fourth quarter when the game was already well out of hand. The Garduas racked up 600 yards (including 367 on the ground), forced four fumbles, and won the time of possession by a jaw-dropping 29:17. In order to have any chance, Vietnamese needs to somehow stop the Krungthep rushing attack and create a lot of turnovers. Otherwise, this one is over quickly just like the last one.
Prediction: Krungthep 47, Sweatshop 13
No. 6 Lucid D.R.E.A.M. (10-6) at No. 3 Louisiana Screaming Pelicans (14-2)
Previous Meeting: LSP 39, Lucid 6 (Week 5)
Overview: LSP is a team that puts together solid win after solid win, rarely flashy but always finding a way to make the most of their talent. They nearly beat Bangalore in a 7-6 snooze-fest and the only real blemish on their record came at the hands of the Garudas. Lucid, on the other hand, has been a bit of a roller-coaster: big wins against Buffalo and Bali, but big losses to Tet and Ottowa.
Outlook: In the previous matchup, LSP took control early before unloading for 23 points in the fourth quarter to seal the win. But the Pelicans didn't look dominant until the final quarter -- they only won the time of possession by 4 minutes and turned the ball over three times to Lucids two turnovers. In order to have a chance of advancing, though, the DREAM has to play a nearly perfect game and hope for a couple of LSP slip-ups that they can take advantage of.
Prediction: LSP 37, Lucid 10
No. 5 Buffalo Rampage (11-5) at No. 4 Tet Offensive (13-3)
Previous Meeting: Tet 36, Buffalo 34 (Week 14)
Overview: Buffalo shocked the Pacific Rim with its Week 15 trouncing of Bangalore -- not just by winning, but by doing it in such a decisive fashion. But the Rampage had a number of stumbles before reaching Week 15, notably a 12-9 loss to the DREAM in Week 6, along with a brutal inter-division matchup with Saigon to start the year. Meanwhile, Tet racked up 10 wins to start the year before face-planting against Krungthep like nearly everyone else did. Other than that, though, the Offensive have only a 6-point loss to LSP and a 3-point loss to Bangalore counting against them.
Outlook: The previous matchup for these two powerhouses was an instant SEA Pro classic, with Buffalo driving 80 yards in 1:48 to take a 34-29 with less than two minutes remaining, only to see Tet drive 74 yards in 1:49 for a game-winning 7-yard TD pass as time expired. The box score shows two evenly matched teams in terms of yardage, time of possession, turnovers, pancakes, and so on. Both teams need to focus on limiting mistakes in what should easily be the playoff game of the week.
Prediction: Buffalo 34, Tet 31
Previous Meeting: Bangalore 55, Ottowa 6 (Week 7)
Overview: It didn't take 11 weeks for SEA Pro to take notice that Bangalore was for real, but the team's record after Week 11 was remarkable -- 11-0, no close games, no games having allowed more than 10 points, only one game in which the team scored fewer than 37. Then came a rousing 20-17 win over also-undefeated Krungthep and a final three-game stretch that were probably the toughest finish in SEA Pro. Yet Bangalore managed to squeak out wins with LSP and Tet sandwiched around a suprising big loss to Buffalo. Ottowa finished the season with six straight wins to steal the final playoff spot, but have big losses on their sheet to many of the above named teams.
Outlook: The previous matchup was a no-contest knockout by Bangalore -- domination in the running game, a 10-minute advantage in time of possession, three forced turnovers and seven forced punts. For Ottowa to have any chance in this game, they must find a way to stop the Monsoon running game while establishing one of their own to keep the big Bangalore D off the field.
Prediction: Bangalore 48, Ottowa 7
No. 7 Vietnamese Sweatshop (10-6) at No. 2 Krungthep Garudas (15-1)
Previous Meeting: Krungthep 56, Sweatshop 21 (Week 15)
Overview: If you ignore the loss to Bangalore, Krungthep looks like the most dominant team in the conference by a long shot. Nobody scored more than 21 points on them all season (and fewer than 10 in 12 of their 16 games) and the only team to hold them to fewer than 42 points was the Monsoon. The Sweatshop, on the other hand, is the only team to score 21 points on Krungthep. The Sweatshop offense was only truly shut down by Bangalore, but the team did have big stumbles against every team who finished ahead of them in the standings which makes it look as though there might be a big gap between the top 6 teams and the next two.
Outlook: In their previous meeting, Krungthep pounced to a 30-point lead before the midway point of the second quarter, and two of the three Sweatshop touchdowns came in the fourth quarter when the game was already well out of hand. The Garduas racked up 600 yards (including 367 on the ground), forced four fumbles, and won the time of possession by a jaw-dropping 29:17. In order to have any chance, Vietnamese needs to somehow stop the Krungthep rushing attack and create a lot of turnovers. Otherwise, this one is over quickly just like the last one.
Prediction: Krungthep 47, Sweatshop 13
No. 6 Lucid D.R.E.A.M. (10-6) at No. 3 Louisiana Screaming Pelicans (14-2)
Previous Meeting: LSP 39, Lucid 6 (Week 5)
Overview: LSP is a team that puts together solid win after solid win, rarely flashy but always finding a way to make the most of their talent. They nearly beat Bangalore in a 7-6 snooze-fest and the only real blemish on their record came at the hands of the Garudas. Lucid, on the other hand, has been a bit of a roller-coaster: big wins against Buffalo and Bali, but big losses to Tet and Ottowa.
Outlook: In the previous matchup, LSP took control early before unloading for 23 points in the fourth quarter to seal the win. But the Pelicans didn't look dominant until the final quarter -- they only won the time of possession by 4 minutes and turned the ball over three times to Lucids two turnovers. In order to have a chance of advancing, though, the DREAM has to play a nearly perfect game and hope for a couple of LSP slip-ups that they can take advantage of.
Prediction: LSP 37, Lucid 10
No. 5 Buffalo Rampage (11-5) at No. 4 Tet Offensive (13-3)
Previous Meeting: Tet 36, Buffalo 34 (Week 14)
Overview: Buffalo shocked the Pacific Rim with its Week 15 trouncing of Bangalore -- not just by winning, but by doing it in such a decisive fashion. But the Rampage had a number of stumbles before reaching Week 15, notably a 12-9 loss to the DREAM in Week 6, along with a brutal inter-division matchup with Saigon to start the year. Meanwhile, Tet racked up 10 wins to start the year before face-planting against Krungthep like nearly everyone else did. Other than that, though, the Offensive have only a 6-point loss to LSP and a 3-point loss to Bangalore counting against them.
Outlook: The previous matchup for these two powerhouses was an instant SEA Pro classic, with Buffalo driving 80 yards in 1:48 to take a 34-29 with less than two minutes remaining, only to see Tet drive 74 yards in 1:49 for a game-winning 7-yard TD pass as time expired. The box score shows two evenly matched teams in terms of yardage, time of possession, turnovers, pancakes, and so on. Both teams need to focus on limiting mistakes in what should easily be the playoff game of the week.
Prediction: Buffalo 34, Tet 31
I am truly impressed with the depth that you went to to write this up.
.....that was one of the more intense games I watched this season. 
