BUAFL Predict-O-Matic's National Championship Prediction

Newcastle Raiders (11-0) v Birmingham Lions (11-0)

So here we are. The 2 teams I predicted at the start to make it all the way have fulfilled the prophecy, and I will follow my initial gut feeling picking the Birmingham Lions to walk away with the Bowl. Here's why:

Coaching - Both teams have great coaching setups. Birmingham's Tony Athersmith is following in the footsteps of some great coaches, including most obviously those of Bowl winning HC Wayne Hill, now part of his staff. Athersmith has clearly already made his own mark by leading the Lions to the National Championship in just his second year.

Newcastle have a Head Coach in the form of Ben Johnson who's reputation continues to grow with each passing season. The Raiders were always a solid team in he North, but under his guidance they've become one of the 4 Northern powerhouses. Even after the departure of Coach Evans the Newcastle defence still proved dominated in their conference, and have carried this form throughout he playoffs. On coaching the finalists feel pretty even, with Birmingham perhaps ahead by a nose.

Offence - There are just 2 words to describe the offences of these teams "Polar opposites". Birmingham have the mind blowing Spread offence. Newcastle have the mind melting Double Wing. Neither has really been stopped this year, and both have overwhelmed their opponents physically and mentally. Even with all their injury worries, Newcastle still racked up an average of 41 points a game. Birmingham eclipsed that with a whopping 62 points a game, though the Predict-o-matic feels that stat line has been embellished by some merciless scorelines such as the 117-0 dismantling of Bristol. Either way it demonstrates that the Birmingham offence have ruthless streak. Before last weekend I would have said the Newcastle defence wouldn't stand a chance. But after seeing how the Raiders held a strong Loughborough offence to just 2 TDs, my circuits are not so sure.

Newcastle just keep scoring. The threat with their offence isn't so much that they will put the game out of sight early. Instead it's the persistent hammering away and eating up of time and ground that wears teams down, leading to scores long into the 3rd and 4th quarters. Their superior fitness and execution has proved decisive this season and along with the Double Wing's infallibility to horrible, hurricane conditions means I feel the Newcastle offence has the edge.

Defence - Between them, these defences have allowed just 6 TDs all season and recorded 12 shutouts in 15 games. Their both used to dominating their opponents which only adds to the intrigue of this matchup. Birmingham have actually faced the double wing already this season in the form of an inexperienced BNU side. But no offense to the new boys, Birmingham needn't bother consulting the video. Comparing the Newcastle Wing to the BNU Wing is the equivalent of comparing a Mac to a Macintosh 128k just because they are made by the same people. The best example Birmingham can really learn from is Loughborough's performance against the Raiders on Sunday. The Aces managed to shut down the Double Wing for 3 quarters. The Lion's defensive line are the key and they have experience and speed, which are both necessary to beat the wing. Add this to the fact that their linebackers and safeties are not satisfied unless they have decapitated their opponents and you have a fearsome defence built to stop running games cold.

Newcastle's defence have a combination of speed and aggression all over the field. There's some big guys on the line who are backed up by a vastly experience linebacking core. However with the low point of this season being the 10 points they allowed against Glasgow this is a defence that may not know how to react if they go down by a couple of scores. This, I feel, will be vital in determining the games outcome: can the Newcastle D keep their heads high against an offence that they've never faced, is so well executed and will certainly score points? I give this one to Birmingham on the premise that they have already managed to hold 4 playoffs teams to just 47 points which includes last years National Champions Southampton.

In summary I feel this game will be close, but Birmingham will have it by the final whistle. This will not be the blowout most people suspect. The Predict-o-matic truly believes there will be a lot more double wing fans come Monday morning!

The 'Matic Bowl MVP: Lions QB Tristan Varney

Predicted score: Birmingham Lions 28 - Newcastle Raiders 14

It's been a pleasure giving an insight into my motherboard this BUAFL season and I will be back next year. I'm getting my RAM upgraded in the offseason to match that of Blue Gene/L so maybe I'll aim for a 100% record next time around.

Though not to disappoint - I will cancel my engineers for the MVP game to predict who will come out on top.

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