I’m worried about Tarleton State.
The fact of the matter is these guys are a pretty good football team. They run Wake Forest’s slow mesh, or a pass-happy version thereof. That being said, the running backs are super shifty and gain a lot of yards on the ground when the pass is unavailable. Will it be? That is up to the coaching staff and who they choose to play out there. Biased as I am, I’m hoping to see my son cook. Why not? The seventeen year old freshman has proven time and again he can handle the best the opposition has. He rarely gets targeted because he plays tight coverage, and has only given up two catches this season through 7 games in man coverage. Sure, you can easily argue that the talent level he faced was less than that of Tarleton’s Texans, but you also have to acknowledge that his only interception on the year was against Butler, the second highest ranked team they faced all season. The Tarleton State Texans are ranked 14th, earning a 13 seed in the FCS Tourney. That puts them higher than Eastern Kentucky (who plays the 11 seed) who they lost to earlier this season. Now rankings and bracket placements are not everything but it is worth noting that Tarleton State did not beat a single ranked or tourney team this season. Their wins largely came at the expense of teams with losing records–teams that also lost to other good teams to be sure, but losing records nonetheless.
So, I’m saying there is a chance.
Everyone in the media is already writing Drake off and looking forward to the next round and Tarleton State battling with South Dakota. I’m not looking past Saturday morning. There are legends to be written in the grass this weekend. It is time the kid has a chance to make a name for himself.