Tier 1: Regular Season Finale; Winless or Upset, and Playoff Format

Welcome to the final weekend of the FlagPlus Football Tier 1 Fall Cup. After 43 games, we are down to one matchup to end the final regular season as Never Overtime and the Maroons 2.0, square off tonight in Brossard.

This game means something for both teams. For the Maroons 2.0, a victory would give them a clean sweep during the second half of the season, as they already have victories over #NR, Terror Squad, and Run It Once.

Since suffering their last loss all the way back on Week 4, the Maroons 2.0 defense has stepped up in a big way as they have allowed an average of three touchdowns a game. Continuing that fantastic play on that side of the ball in conjunction with an offense that averages nearly 35 points a game (34.7) PPG, catapults this team into the contenders conversation.

For Never Overtime, after seven hard-fought games, they face do-or-die time. Can they finally scrape together their first victory, or will they end the regular season winless? Just like their opponents, this squad is using the second half of the season to play their best ball as they went from averaging eight points a game in the first half to 29.

A key to their improvement has been the performance of Quarterback Ryan Kharouf, as the rocket armed QB has seen his completion percentage, QB Rating, passing yards per game, and total touchdowns improve.

The former All-Star passer will need all of those improvements to show up tonight, as he will try to escape the pass rush of Rusher Zackary Alberts-Gill who is third in sacks with eight.

The key to this game will be turnovers. For as much improvement as Kharouf and his team have made, interceptions continue to be a problem, as the QB leads all passers in INTs with 20, six more than the next player. If he can avoid an increase in that number, he will give his team a fighting chance at pulling off the upset.

The FPF Fall Cup playoffs are finally here. Under Fall Cup rules, the format is a little bit different. There is a single and double elimination game format. The top six teams clinch the first category, and the bottom five secure a place in the latter. Essentially, it is a lose and go home scenario for the bottom half of the bracket, and lose and “hey, we still have another shot at this” situation for the others.

The action kicks off Monday night with Never Overtime squaring off with #NR, in a battle between the bottom two teams in Tier 1. A pair of squads with one win and a tie between them, both of which belong to #NR.

If Never Overtime losses tonight, was it simply a case of them saving their victories for the post-season? In all seriousness, they have a good chance at pulling off the upset, as their opponents have looked anything but trustworthy on either side of the ball this year.

 If this game was played on paper I would pick #NR in a heartbeat, as the team is superior athletically, and stacked with both talent and proven playmakers. On the field, turnovers, inconsistency, and an offense that hasn’t scored more than 25 points since Week 4 is killing this team. I already spoke about Never Overtime, so I won’t rehash it again, but I will say that I trust them more than #NR right now.

By virtue of fishing in first and second place in Tier 1, the Cap Friendly Braves and Royaume Luminaire, respectively, have already punched their tickets to the Quarter-Finals.

The Divisional Round playoff matchups have been set, and they are scheduled to kickoff in two weeks on November 20^th. The matchups are as follows:

(3) Blessed vs (6) 450 Ballers

(8) Run It Once vs (9) Mangoose

(4) Maroons 2.0 vs (5) KGP

(7) Terror Squad vs Never Overtime/#NR

Even though I am not a fan of the double-knockout format, or of the set-up of this post-season, where top teams have to faceoff so early in the playoffs, (it’s as dumb as the NHL post-season format) I understand why it is done this way. Looking at the big picture, the games look great…I’ll give you my breakdown next week.

Picks

Never Overtime vs Maroons 2.0 – Maroons

#NR vs Never Overtime – Never Overtime (Upset Special)

Last Week: (1-2)

Regular Season: (24-11-2)

Upset Special: (7-5)

That is it for this week. Good luck to everyone in their games tonight and next week.

If you liked the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected], or on the FPF Facebook page.