Filling out your NCAA Tournament bracket based on who would win in football

Round 1: South Region

Since there are just a few Pac-12 teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament for basketball, could this be the region that stands out as one of its teams makes a run to the Final Four?

No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 16 Gardner-Webb

Virginia lost as a 1-seed last year in the NCAA Tournament, but the football team would never allow that to happen, even though Gardner-Webb does actually have a team. This one would be fairly lopsided even though Virginia’s not exactly a football powerhouse.

Final Score: Gardner-Webb 7, Virginia 34

No. 8 Ole Miss vs. No. 9 Oklahoma

This is just not a good matchup for Ole Miss. I know everyone talks about SEC speed, but the Sooners have constantly put explosive players onto the field for years, especially under Lincoln Riley. The Sooners would score often. Ole Miss would be able to put up some points because of Oklahoma’s lack of defense, but it wouldn’t win a shootout.

Final Score: Oklahoma 56, Ole Miss 35

No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 12 Oregon

Wisconsin is currently quarterback-less, at least in terms of solid starting experience, while Oregon has Justin Herbert. This one really shouldn’t be all that close as long as the Ducks have a better showing than they had in the Redbox Bowl.

Final Score: Oregon 31, Wisconsin 24

No. 4 Kansas State vs. No. 13 UC Irvine

Kansas State gets a rare bye here because UC Irvine has never had a football program.

Final Score: Kansas State def. UC Irvine (forfeit)

No. 6 Villanova vs. No. 11 Saint Mary’s

This is one of those rare non-FBS matchups that would send the college football world into a tizzy. Villanova doesn’t have a great football team, while Saint Mary’s hasn’t fielded one since 2003. I guess that means the Wildcats win by default.

Final Score: Villanova def. Saint Mary’s (forfeit)

No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 14 Old Dominion

Purdue has Rondale Moore and an explosive offense. That’s all you really need to know, although it wouldn’t be shocking to see Old Dominion put up a fight like it did when it beat No. 13 Virginia Tech this season.

Final Score: Old Dominion 20, Purdue 42

No. 7 Cincinnati vs. No. 10 Iowa

This one truly is a coin-flip. Cincinnati was the better team, record-wise, in 2018, but the Hawkeyes played tougher competition. Look for an upset here as the Hawkeyes pull off a nice, low-scoring victory thanks to the play of Nate Stanley and those elite tight ends.

Final Score: Iowa 21, Cincinnati 17

No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Colgate

No, Tennessee isn’t at the point it would like to be just yet under Jeremy Pruitt, but the excitement for the future is there, especially with Jarrett Guarantano improving every year. Colgate had a relatively successful 2018 season, going 10-2 with an FCS playoff quarterfinal loss to North Dakota State, so the Volunteers could be on upset alert here.

Final Score: Colgate 21, Tennessee 24