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2016 college football postseason: Lower Divisions


4_tattoos

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It's that special time of year for those of us that actually give a damn about the lower divisions of college football. The NCAA Division 2 and 3 playoff selections are later today. I believe the FCS playoff selection is next week. I don't follow JuCo, Club or NAIA football, but I'm sure others here do and could enlighten us all on their postseason as it unfolds.

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Allow me...

 

At the JuCo level, they have bowl games similar to what the FBS has, but at a far fewer amount (8 bowl games). The final regular season rankings come out tomorrow and the #1 team in the rankings will have a chance to make their conference's designated bowl game the National Championship game only if #2 agrees to play in the game. Otherwise, the final rankings will decide the national championship.

 

NAIA has a 16 team tournament with the selections held today. A conference champion ranked in the Top 20 of the final poll gets an automatic bid while the rest of the bids are at-large bids with their ranking being the biggest factor.

 

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They do have a postseason as well, apparently. In three of the four conferences, #1 hosts #2 while the Great Lakes conference has a division winner based title game. The winners head to semifinal dates (Eastern Connecticut vs. Oakland [MI] and Coppin State vs. Middle Georgia State). Winners there play for the national championship.

 

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Still about a half hour to go until the Division 2 selection show, however the number 1 seeds from each Super Region has already been announced via the NCAA Division II facebook page.

 

SR1: California (PA)

SR2: North Alabama

SR3: Northwest Missouri State

SR4: Grand Valley State

Hotter Than July > Thriller

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Division 2 first round matchups

 

Super Region 1

  • (1) California - BYE
  • (4) Fairmont State vs (5) IUP
  • (2) LIU-Post vs (7) Winston-Salem State
  • (3) Shepherd vs (6) Assumption

Super Region 2

  • (1) North Alabama - BYE
  • (4) Valdosta State vs (5) UNC Pembroke
  • (2) Newberry vs (7) Tuskegee
  • (3) Florida Tech vs (6) North Greenville

Super Region 3

  • (1) Northwest Missouri State - BYE
  • (4) Emporia State vs (5) Minnesota-Duluth
  • (2) Sioux Falls vs (7) Azusa Pacific
  • (3) Harding vs (6) Central Missouri

Super Region 4

  • (1) Grand Valley State - BYE
  • (4) Texas A&M-Commerce vs (5) Colorado Mesa
  • (2) Ferris State vs (7) Midwestern State
  • (3) Southwest Baptist vs (6) Colorado Mines

Hotter Than July > Thriller

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Division 3 first round

  • Mary Hardin-Baylor vs Redlands
  • Hardin-Simmons vs Linfield
  • Wheaton (IL) vs Huntingdon
  • North Central (IL) vs Rose-Hulman
  • Alfred vs Bridgewater State
  • Western New England vs Husson
  • Hobart vs Mount Union
  • Johns Hopkins vs Randolph-Macon
  • St. Thomas (MN) vs Northwestern-St. Paul
  • Coe vs Monmouth (IL)
  • St. John's (MN) vs Wisconsin-Platteville
  • Wisconsin-Oshkosh vs Washington-St. Louis
  • John Carroll vs Olivet
  • Wesley vs Stevenson
  • Thomas More vs Wittenburg
  • Wisconsin-Whitewater vs Lakeland

Hotter Than July > Thriller

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3 hours ago, 4_tattoos said:

Division 3 first round

  • Mary Hardin-Baylor vs Redlands
  • Hardin-Simmons vs Linfield
  • Wheaton (IL) vs Huntingdon
  • North Central (IL) vs Rose-Hulman
  • Alfred vs Bridgewater State
  • Western New England vs Husson
  • Hobart vs Mount Union
  • Johns Hopkins vs Randolph-Macon
  • St. Thomas (MN) vs Northwestern-St. Paul
  • Coe vs Monmouth (IL)
  • St. John's (MN) vs Wisconsin-Platteville
  • Wisconsin-Oshkosh vs Washington-St. Louis
  • John Carroll vs Olivet
  • Wesley vs Stevenson
  • Thomas More vs Wittenburg
  • Wisconsin-Whitewater vs Lakeland

Go Eagles

"And those who know Your Name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You." Psalms 9:10

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20 hours ago, Seadragon76 said:

They do have a postseason as well, apparently. In three of the four conferences, #1 hosts #2 while the Great Lakes conference has a division winner based title game. The winners head to semifinal dates (Eastern Connecticut vs. Oakland [MI] and Coppin State vs. Middle Georgia State). Winners there play for the national championship.

 

I work the chains for this game on Saturday in Salem,Va... hoping for a better game than the last time I worked the sidelines for these two... as long as no more than 4 players get ejected, it should be.

 

also, worked the D-II CIAA conference championship between Winston-Salem State and Bowie State this past week. That was a fun atmosphere! 

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Far as more non-D1 football goes, a few weeks ago Penn won the Collegiate Sprint Football League with a 7-0 record (sprint is basically regular football, but everybody's required to weigh in as lighter than Wes Welker).  Largely because some Ivy League teams were among the league's founding members, the CSFL has no postseason games, but I figured it was worth a mention.

And up north, Canada's college university season is down to its penultimate weekend...in one semifinal, Laurier faces off against Laval, with St. Francis Xavier taking on Calgary in the other semifinal.  Winners head to Hamilton for all the marbles, losers start waiting for frozen ponds.

 

On the D3 first round...gotta feel a bit sorry for Hobart...the good news is they get to host a playoff game; the bad news is they'll probably serve as the first road bump on Mount Union's annual march to Salem.

13 minutes ago, 4_tattoos said:

Can anybody beat Mount Union and/or Wisconsin Whitewater in the D3 playoffs? Grown tired of seeing the mega powers in the Stagg Bowl every year. 

Well, John Carroll beat Mount Union for their conference title last Saturday, so Mount's gotta start on the road, so there's that.

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A strong mind gets high off success, a weak mind gets high off bull🤬

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Forgot to mention the NAIA field is set...

 

First Round:

-Robert Morris (IL) at Marian (IN)

-Sterling (KS) at Baker (KS)

-Southeastern (FL) at Reinhardt (GA)

-Missouri Valley at St. Francis (IN)

-Tabor (KS) at Morningside (IA)

-Dickinson State (ND) at Montana Tech

-Eastern Oregon at Doane (NE)

-Grand View (IA) at Lindsay Wilson (KY)

 

The champions of the CSFL (Arizona Christian) and the Mid-South's East Division (Georgetown [KY]) failed to meet the cut off of the Top 20, so they stay home.

 

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41 minutes ago, 4_tattoos said:

In Division II, all of the road teams in Super Region 2 won their first round games today. Don't know how rare that is.

 

It sounds rare, but this weekend sounds like a microcosm of what D-II play has been this season... you don't know what to expect. Of the 12 games today, the lower seeds went 5-7. Three teams (Indiana [PA], Ferris State and Colorado Mines) cracked the 60 point barrier with Emporia State a single point away from being number 4.

 

Like you mentioned, Super Region 2 (or as I like to call it, the South Region) saw all it's lower seeded teams win.

 

In Division III, it went the way everyone expected with the big fish winning their games. Same with the NAIA playoffs as well.

 

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Full disclosure: I officiate D-III football in New England. The teams in this area are generally weaker than those in the midwest and mid-Atlantic, so the only teams that make it are those that earn automatic bids by winning their conferences. NESCAC (the little Ivies of Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Tufts, Middlebury, Amherst, Williams, Trinity, & Wesleyan) schools don't make the playoffs yet (they may earn an automatic bid in the future) because their season is only 8 games, and since they only play each other (no non-conference games), it's difficult to accurately gauge their strength against other schools across the country.

 

I did not work any game this season involving teams that made the playoffs, nor any participating in the ECAC Football Fest at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

 

The best I team I saw this year was St. Lawrence. They went 9-1, but did not make the playoffs. I've seen Husson, Western New England, and Bridgewater State in the past, but not this season.

Back-to-Back Fatal Forty Champion 2015 & 2016

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Forgot to mention this, but the bowl games at the JuCo level are set.

 

December 3rd

Heart of Texas Bowl (Copperas Cove, TX): Northwest Mississippi vs. Trinity Valley

Red Grange Bowl (Glen Ellyn, IL): Central Lakes at DuPage

Salt City Bowl (Hutchinson, KS): Eastern Arizona vs. Butler (KS)

El Toro Bowl [National Championship Game] (Yuma, AZ): #1 Garden City (KS) vs. #2 Arizona Western

Valley of the Sun Bowl (Mesa, AZ): Mesa vs. Lackawanna (NY)

December 4th

The Graphic Edge Bowl (Cedar Falls, IA)

 -Undercard: Rochester (MN) vs. Ellsworth (IA)

 -Main Event: Holmes (MS) vs. Iowa Western

Mississippi Bowl (Perkinston, MS): Kilgore (TX) vs. East Mississippi

 

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FCS playoff selection show is at 11am on ESPNU.

 

I wonder if North Carolina A&T will make it in this year? The MEAC gave up it's auto-bid opting for it's champion to play the SWAC champion in the Celebration Bowl. Last year many people thought North Carolina Central deserved an at-large bid into the playoffs but didn't get in. A&T only has 1 FCS loss this season (to arch rival and 2016 MEAC champ NC Central) and 9-2 overall which includes a win over an FBS opponent.

Hotter Than July > Thriller

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14 minutes ago, 4_tattoos said:

FCS playoff selection show is at 11am on ESPNU.

 

I wonder if North Carolina A&T will make it in this year? The MEAC gave up it's auto-bid opting for it's champion to play the SWAC champion in the Celebration Bowl. Last year many people thought North Carolina Central deserved an at-large bid into the playoffs but didn't get in. A&T only has 1 FCS loss this season (to arch rival and 2016 MEAC champ NC Central) and 9-2 overall which includes a win over an FBS opponent.

 

It could be possible, but I wonder if the MEAC's track record in the playoffs (I think the conference is winless in the playoffs) might be a hindrance.

 

BTW, the top four seeds were just announced... They are Eastern Washington, Jacksonville State, James Madison and North Dakota State.

 

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Lehigh had a great season; started with two close losses, they could've easily been undefeated heading into the postseason. Lehigh could be playing at home, or on the road. It just depends on how the Selection Committee makes the Playoff seeding.

 

Last time they got into the Playoffs; they beat Towson. Then they got shutout at the Fargodome against the NDSU Bison juggernaut.

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Time for the FCS playoffs...

 

Top 8

1. North Dakota State

2. Eastern Washington

3. Jacksonville State

4. James Madison

5. Sam Houston State

6. The Citadel

7. North Dakota

8. South Dakota State

 

1st Round

-San Diego at Cal Poly (Winner plays at (1) North Dakota State)

-St. Francis (PA) at Villanova (Winner plays at (8) South Dakota State)

-Weber State at Chattanooga (Winner plays at (5) Sam Houston State)

-Lehigh at New Hampshire (Winner plays at (4) James Madison)

-Samford at Youngstown State (Winner plays at (3) Jacksonville State)

-Charleston Southern at Wofford (Winner plays at (6) The Citadel)

-North Carolina A&T at Richmond (Winner plays at (7) North Dakota)

-Illinois State at Central Arkansas (Winner plays at (2) Eastern Washington)

 

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