UAZipster0305

I like your distinction between playoff and invitational tournament. Let me expand on that... For me to take it seriously as a playoff, it would have to be setup like other NCAA Tournaments where conference champions get an automatic berth. This would discourage all of the ridiculous conference consolidation and ensure that, from the start of the season, everyone has a legit shot of winning the title (however stretched those odds may be). The fact that the ACC Champion (Duke) was excluded while a team not even eligible to play in its conference championship game got into the "invitational tournament" is ridiculous, regardless of other logical justifications.

Thankfully, college basketball and NHL. The NBA is unwatchable, and beyond the Zips, college football bores me to death anymore.

All those things are true, but I wouldn't advertise regression to the mean as something we have going for us because by its very definition in our case, it highlights that we have traditionally been one of the worst programs in FBS/D1-A.

That is about the most AI statement ever. I think I heard Frank Caliendo say something similar when he was impersonating John Madden.

Would the Big Ten really want Notre Dame though? All prior Big Ten expansion was based on capturing as many media markets as possible. Notre Dame literally offers nothing in that regard. And no, I don't think there are enough casual ND fans and alums throughout the country to make it worth adding another very loud and hungry mouth to feed. I don't see ND being added to the Big Ten.

I think about that IU game and the one at Michigan all the time. Those could have been defining moments for the program. Winning programs or programs that are turning the corner from winning to losing win those games, especially when all it requires is something as simple as a 20-ish yard field goal.

I didn't know VAR was already part of the college game. I've not been able to attend or watch a game in quite some time. My concern about there being several unjust calls that went against us were based on comments I read here and several other second hand accounts from people who I know well and who also know the game well.

This is certainly one way to look at the conclusions of the season... We have been lucky to get three home games, but being up 2-0 at halftime with everything going our way and then to give the game away is the tough part to me. It is also tough knowing that one catastrophic half cost us an opportunity to just have to win two more games, against competition that is playing well but not better than us, to seize a second star. That Portland, Maryland, and Georgetown all also lost was a dream scenario for us. I really hope the NCAA finds a way to implement VAR. The outcomes of too many of these games is determined by controversial officiating decisions, and if a few go against the same team, it can feel insurmountable for one team to play against its usual competition and simultaneously against the handicap imposed by poor officiating.

Hard to argue with a personal reason like that. And I am in Raleigh right now, so if the Wolfpack win, they essentially get a home game right next door in Cary. Woulda been way to convenient for me to see the Zips in the College Cup, which is probably another reason it didn't happen.

Why? When our conference teams do well in the post-season, it is generally good for us.

Nothing more classy and humble than Barry Sanders just handing the ball to the referee. Even if it was the first time, It showed that he belonged there, not necessarily that he had been there before. I hope Georgetown has the opportunity to pound St. Louis.

Dude, you totally jinxed us! I tried to correct it, but the soccer gods were watching and made us pay in a very cruel way.

That makes this loss even worse!

Maryland did lose. Yeah, I am nauseous too. Not much else could have gone wrong for us in that second half.

Yep! Like prevent in football. It only prevents the team with the lead from winning. Snapping defeat from the jaws of victory.

#4 Maryland loses at home 3-1 to unseeded Washington.. It will be Washington or Furman in the final. Absolutely unreal tournament results.

Such a subjective and bull$hit interpretation. Of all the things I love about soccer, I absolutely hate how games change on such inconsistent interpretation and poor judgement. That together with the yellow versus red has likely cost us the match.

Rat farts!

There goes the shutout streak. I knew that couldn't last forever. At least it ended when we were up by more than one.

Great teams make good teams pay for their mistakes.

Figures that I can't watch it though because it requires an ESPN+ subscription in addition to my cable. Thanks anyhow. Guess I will just follow the game tracker.

How does one watch via the ESPN app? I am not finding the game or the men's soccer team when searching.

LFG!

Just as notable, with Portland losing, the #8 seed is now out. Just #'s 4 Maryland, 7 Georgetown, 14 Akron, 15 NC State, and 16 Furman remain. Maryland must be feeling very confident. Hopefully overly so.

Actually, SLU leads the series history 7-5-1 and 2-0-0 in the NCAAT ('71 and '75). Time to claw another one of those losses back! We are 3-0-1 against them in the past four matches. https://gozips.com/news/2025/12/5/mens-soccer-akron-hosts-saint-louis-in-ncaa-tournament-quarterfinals https://gozips.com/news/2025/9/22/mens-soccer-akron-hosts-saint-louis-in-top-25-showdown