2) This week will see the S23 Ultimus and Ultimini races finally come to their conclusion. In 800 words or more, recount any of the previous playoff cycles of either league. How did each team arrive at the playoffs? Were there any dark horse or Cinderella teams that went unexpectedly far, or any presumptive favorites that fell flat? How did the title game play out, and which players made their mark on the field? Tell the story of those playoffs as completely as you can. Do not simply recount your own experience in those playoffs or that of a singular team.
To keep this answer as relevant as possible I’m going to be writing about the S21 Playoffs. We’ll start with our wildcard teams and slowly work our way up to the champions.
To begin we have the worse of our two wildcard teams, the Austin Copperheads. They came into this season with a lot of expectations due to being the reigning champions. Their starting quarterback, Easton Cole, had just thrown for almost 30 touchdowns. Their defense just came off of a season where they had the least points allowed in the entire league. They were filled with expectations and they wanted to bring a second trophy to Austin. The first couple of weeks were fairly tumultuous for the team. They lost their week one matchup against New Orleans which was fairly expected due to being considered the worst team and playing against home field advantage. They were barely able to beat the Outlaws in Arizona in a 30-27 win. They proceeded to lose to the Otters at home by 15 points. They were able to get a win streak after beating both the Sabercats and the Hawks. They were sitting at 3-2 going into week 6 which isn’t very good but keeps them in playoff contention. They continued to have a fairly shaky season in which they lost a game for every game they won. This put them at 7-6 which beat out the Sabercats for the third seed in the ASFC. Unfortunately they had to play the Second Line in New Orleans. They made it a very close game, but the Copperhead’s season was ended by the Second Line at the wild card round.
Next we have the wild card team from the NSFC, the Colorado Yeti. You may be asking, “Wait, weren't the Yeti second in the NSFC standings”. You would be correct, however they did get upset in the wild card round. Now let’s hop into their regular season. They started the season on a 2 game losing streak in which they lost games to the Liberty and the Hawks. They were able to bounce back and beat the Butchers but they immediately lost the next game to the Second Line. Starting the season at 3-1 wasn’t a very good sign to where their season was headed. That being said, they were able to turn it around. The Yeti were able to win their next three games against the Wraiths, Butchers, and Hawks. Unfortunately, their winning streak was ended by the Liberty in a close 19-10 loss. This didn’t end their hot streak however as they were able to win three out of their four remaining games which put their finishing record at 8-5 which made them the second seed in the NSFC. They were matched up against the Wraiths in the wild card in which they were predicted to win due to having a great team and having home field advantage. However, the Wraiths were able to upset the Yeti and ended their season.
Now we’re moving onto our semi final teams. We will first cover the worse one record wise, the Baltimore Hawks. Before the season began the Hawks were considered to be one of the better teams in the NSFC and the league in general. With star quarterback Corvo Havran nearing the end of his career they knew that they needed to make an Ultimus push. They knew that they needed to win and they came into the season with a win now mentality. Their skills showed immediately coming out of the gate. They dominated early in the season winning their first four games. However, all good things must come to an end. After dominating so early they immediately lost their three next games. This didn’t deter them though as they went on to win five out of their remaining six games. The hawks finished the regular season with a record of 9-4 which made them the first seed in the NSFC. They just relaxed during the wild card week due to having a first round bye. Much to many people’s chagrin, they were playing the Wraiths which came into the playoffs as the third seed. However, the Wraiths were able to pull off a major upset and end the Hawk’s season.
For the next semi final team we have the Orange County Otters. The Otters came into this season and were expected to be one of the best teams(not much different from every other season). Their MVP quarterback Franklin Armstrong was in his prime and was expected to have a BANGER of a season. They definitely delivered on their promise to be one of the best teams and it showed in the first couple of weeks. They went 4-0 and each win was dominated by Armstrong and the Otters. However, the second best team that season(the Second Line) were able to snag a win away from the Otters in a close 22-17 loss for the Otters. That being said Nola wasn’t able to slow down the Otter Train.. TOOT TOOT. They dominated throughout the rest of the season only letting up two more losses to the Wraiths and the Hawks, which were both on the road. They finished the season with a 10-3 record which made them the first seed in the ASFC. They were able to sit easy during the wild card round due to having a first round bye. However they began to sweat once they saw who they would be facing in the semi finals, the New Orleans Second Line. The Second Line and the Otters had been clashing all season for the first seed and their duels were going to come to an end with one final battle. This game was one of the best ones all season in which the Second Line were able to win by a mere three points in overtime which ended the Otter’s season.
To keep this answer as relevant as possible I’m going to be writing about the S21 Playoffs. We’ll start with our wildcard teams and slowly work our way up to the champions.
To begin we have the worse of our two wildcard teams, the Austin Copperheads. They came into this season with a lot of expectations due to being the reigning champions. Their starting quarterback, Easton Cole, had just thrown for almost 30 touchdowns. Their defense just came off of a season where they had the least points allowed in the entire league. They were filled with expectations and they wanted to bring a second trophy to Austin. The first couple of weeks were fairly tumultuous for the team. They lost their week one matchup against New Orleans which was fairly expected due to being considered the worst team and playing against home field advantage. They were barely able to beat the Outlaws in Arizona in a 30-27 win. They proceeded to lose to the Otters at home by 15 points. They were able to get a win streak after beating both the Sabercats and the Hawks. They were sitting at 3-2 going into week 6 which isn’t very good but keeps them in playoff contention. They continued to have a fairly shaky season in which they lost a game for every game they won. This put them at 7-6 which beat out the Sabercats for the third seed in the ASFC. Unfortunately they had to play the Second Line in New Orleans. They made it a very close game, but the Copperhead’s season was ended by the Second Line at the wild card round.
Next we have the wild card team from the NSFC, the Colorado Yeti. You may be asking, “Wait, weren't the Yeti second in the NSFC standings”. You would be correct, however they did get upset in the wild card round. Now let’s hop into their regular season. They started the season on a 2 game losing streak in which they lost games to the Liberty and the Hawks. They were able to bounce back and beat the Butchers but they immediately lost the next game to the Second Line. Starting the season at 3-1 wasn’t a very good sign to where their season was headed. That being said, they were able to turn it around. The Yeti were able to win their next three games against the Wraiths, Butchers, and Hawks. Unfortunately, their winning streak was ended by the Liberty in a close 19-10 loss. This didn’t end their hot streak however as they were able to win three out of their four remaining games which put their finishing record at 8-5 which made them the second seed in the NSFC. They were matched up against the Wraiths in the wild card in which they were predicted to win due to having a great team and having home field advantage. However, the Wraiths were able to upset the Yeti and ended their season.
Now we’re moving onto our semi final teams. We will first cover the worse one record wise, the Baltimore Hawks. Before the season began the Hawks were considered to be one of the better teams in the NSFC and the league in general. With star quarterback Corvo Havran nearing the end of his career they knew that they needed to make an Ultimus push. They knew that they needed to win and they came into the season with a win now mentality. Their skills showed immediately coming out of the gate. They dominated early in the season winning their first four games. However, all good things must come to an end. After dominating so early they immediately lost their three next games. This didn’t deter them though as they went on to win five out of their remaining six games. The hawks finished the regular season with a record of 9-4 which made them the first seed in the NSFC. They just relaxed during the wild card week due to having a first round bye. Much to many people’s chagrin, they were playing the Wraiths which came into the playoffs as the third seed. However, the Wraiths were able to pull off a major upset and end the Hawk’s season.
For the next semi final team we have the Orange County Otters. The Otters came into this season and were expected to be one of the best teams(not much different from every other season). Their MVP quarterback Franklin Armstrong was in his prime and was expected to have a BANGER of a season. They definitely delivered on their promise to be one of the best teams and it showed in the first couple of weeks. They went 4-0 and each win was dominated by Armstrong and the Otters. However, the second best team that season(the Second Line) were able to snag a win away from the Otters in a close 22-17 loss for the Otters. That being said Nola wasn’t able to slow down the Otter Train.. TOOT TOOT. They dominated throughout the rest of the season only letting up two more losses to the Wraiths and the Hawks, which were both on the road. They finished the season with a 10-3 record which made them the first seed in the ASFC. They were able to sit easy during the wild card round due to having a first round bye. However they began to sweat once they saw who they would be facing in the semi finals, the New Orleans Second Line. The Second Line and the Otters had been clashing all season for the first seed and their duels were going to come to an end with one final battle. This game was one of the best ones all season in which the Second Line were able to win by a mere three points in overtime which ended the Otter’s season.
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