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2009 Week-12 Preview (Games of Nov. 21)

 

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This the time of the season where we put aside the niceties, and get down to the business at hand; that is deciding which 16-teams will make it to the play-off. Each team within a conference with an automatic-berth has two chances into the "sweet-16":

  1. Conference crown (automatic-berth), or
  2. Overall record. Our cut-off is at 4 FCS/I-AA losses.

Columns in gray represent conferences with no automatic-berth.

Big Sky Standings

TEAM CONF OVERALL
Montana**$ 7-0 10-0
Weber State 6-2 6-4
Eastern Washington 5-2 7-3
Montana State 5-2 7-3
Northern Arizona 4-3 5-5
Sacramento State 4-4 4-6
Northern Colorado 1-7 3-8
Portland State 1-7 2-9
Idaho State 1-7 1-10
*Share of conference crown.
** Conference champion.
$ Automatic-qualifier.

Last Week: The Montana Grizzlies secured their 17th consecutive FCS playoff apperance, clinching the Big Sky Conference outright title and automatic bid to the playoffs with a 38-10 victory over Northern Colorado on Saturday. Weber State kept its playoff hopes a live with a 27-9 victory over Northern Arizona in winter conditions in Ogden, Utah. Montana State also kept its playoff hopes with a 27-17 win over Sacramento State.

This Week: Six Big Sky teams still have games remaining. Montana has already clinched the automatic bid to the playoffs and the league outright championship. Eastern Washington, Weber State, and Montana State will need to win for any hope of an at-large berth to the play-off. Montana State brings a 7-3 record into the 109th "Brawl of the Wild" against visiting Montana. The Grizzlies have won three in a row over the Bobcats. Eastern Washington, also 7-3, travels to Northern Arizona. Weber State is 6-4 (only 3 I-AA losses) entering its finale against Cal Poly of the Great West Conference. The Wildcats beat the Mustangs in the first round of the I-AA/FCS Championship last season. Sacramento State closes out its season against rival UC Davis in the "Causeway Classic".

Big South Standings

TEAM CONF OVERALL
Liberty * 5-0 8-2
Stony Brook 4-1 5-5
Charleston Southern 3-2 5-5
Coastal Carolina 3-2 5-5
Gardner-Webb 2-3 5-5
VMI 1-5 2-8
Presbyterian 0-5 0-10

*Share of conference crown.
** Conference champion.
$ Automatic-qualifier.

Last Week: A back-and-forth battle in the first half turned into a one-side effort in the second, as Liberty remained unbeaten in Big South play with a 51-28 victory over Gardner-Webb, Saturday afternoon, at Spangler Stadium.Special teams and turnovers led the way as Charleston Southern won their third-straight Big South game taking down Stony Brook, who was tied for the lead in the Big South, 30-27 in overtime Saturday afternoon at Buccaneer Field. With the victory, along with Stony Brook’s loss to Charleston Southern, Liberty has claimed at least a share of the 2009 Big South Conference football title. Army junior slotback Patrick Mealy's 17-yard touchdown run with 8:58 remaining in the fourth quarter helped Army rally past VMI, 22-17, Saturday afternoon at West Point. The Black Knights held off VMI's upset bid and snapped a three-game losing streak.

This Week: Liberty will travel to Stony Brook. A win will give the flame the outright 2009 Big South Crown. Old Dominion goes to VMI. That has all of the ingredients of a great rivalry.

CAA Standings

. CONF OVERALL
Villanova 6-1 9-1
William & Mary 6-1 9-1
Richmond 6-1 9-1
New Hampshire 5-2 8-2
Delaware 4-3 6-4
Maine 4-3 5-5
James Madison 3-4 5-5
Massachusetts 3-4 5-5
Northeastern 2-5 2-8
Hofstra 2-5 4-6
Towson State 1-6 2-8
Rhode Island 0-7 1-9

*Share of conference crown.
** Conference champion.
$ Automatic-qualifier.

Last Week: William and Mary led a host of winners in Week 11 CAA Football action. Maine, James Madison, Northeastern, Villanova and Richmond also earned wins. Brian Pate kicked a go-ahead 37-yard field goal with 2:54 remaining to lift William and Mary to a 20-17 victory against New Hampshire at Zable Stadium. With the victory, W&M improves to 9-1, now owns the program’s best record through 10 games since the 1947 season.

This Week: Villanova is in control of their own destiny, as they have beaten both Richmond and William & Mary. Simply put, if they win, they are at least co-champs & will receive the auto-bid. Clearly, the game-of-the-week will be the Tribe traveling to the meet Spiders.
a. If both Villanova and Richmond win: The two teams are recognized as CAA Football Co-Champions and Villanova earns the conference’s automatic bid by virtue of the league’s first within-the-division tiebreaker; Head-to-head competition. b. If both Villanova and William and Mary win: The two teams are recognized as CAA Football Co-Champions and Villanova earns the conference’s automatic bid by virtue of the league’s first within-the-division tiebreaker; Head-to-head competition. c. If Richmond wins and Villanova loses: Richmond is awarded the outright CAA Football title and earns the conference’s automatic bid by virtue of a 7-1 league record. c. If William and Mary wins and Villanova loses: William and Mary is awarded the outright CAA Football title and earns the conference’s automatic bid by virtue of its 7-1 league record.

 

Great West Standings

TEAM CONF OVERALL
Cal-Davis 3-1 6-4
North Dakota 2-2 5-5
South Dakota 2-2 5-5
Southern Utah 2-2 4-6
Cal-Poly 1-3 4-6

*Share of conference crown.
** Conference champion.
$ Automatic-qualifier.

Last Week: UC Davis defeated North Dakota, 28-20, on Saturday afternoon to claim the 2009 Great West Conference Football Championship. In other Saturday games, South Dakota held on to win at Cal Poly, 50-48, in GWC action, while Southern Utah fell at home to Eastern Washington, 41-28, in a non-conference contest.

This Week: UC-Davis is most-likely going to find themselves out of the post-season hunt, as they currently have only 5 I-AA/FCS wins. Even with a win next week over Sacramento State, they will not have 7. That is proabably a good thing in this case, as the University did schedule two IA/FBS money games, and a DII game in addition.

MEAC Standings

TEAM CONF OVERALL
South Carolina State 7-0 9-1
Florida A&M 5-2 7-3
Norfolk State 5-3 6-4
Bethune-Cookman 4-3 5-5
Morgan State 3-4 5-5
Hampton 3-4 5-5
N. Carolina A&T 2-4 4-5
Delaware State 2-4 3-6
Howard 0-7 2-8

*Share of conference crown.
** Conference champion.
$ Automatic-qualifier.

Last Week: Junior quarterback Malcolm Long connected on 21-of-32 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns, while senior wide-receiver Oliver Tre' Young had six catches for 166-yards and two touchdowns; as South Carolina State clinched their second-straight MEAC title and a playoff berth with a 37-13 victory over Morgan State. Hampton defense forced four turnovers on Saturday, as it held Florida A&M to just 184 yards of total offense to earn a 25-0 victory Saturday at Armstrong Stadium. That lost will most-likely prove very costly for the Rattlers post- season hopes.

This Week: The Florida Classic looks to be a very interesting game in 2009. The Rattlers loss to Hampton takes their record to 7-3 ... two I-AA/FCS losses. The Wildcats are the winners of three in-a-row, and 5 of their last 6. Game time is 2:30 ET.

Missouri Valley Standings

TEAM CONF OVERALL
Southern Illinois **$ 8-0 9-1
S. Dakota State 6-1 7-3
Northern Iowa 5-2 7-3
Illinois State 4-3 5-5
Missouri State 4-4 6-5
Youngstown State 3-4 5-5
North Dakota State 2-5 3-7
Indiana State 1-7 1-10
Western Illinois 0-7 1-9

*Share of conference crown.
** Conference champion.
$ Automatic-qualifier.

Last Week: Southern Illinois became the first team in the 25-year history of the Missouri Valley Football Conference to win eight conference games in a season (although the opportunity to go 8-0 has only existed this year and last). SIU is only the 10th team in conference history to go undefeated in league play.

This Week: Seven of the league's nine teams are in action this weekend, and three of the four contests involving MVFC schools have post-season implications. The league has had at least two playoff teams every year since 1995, but more than two only twice. Three teams represented the conference in 2006 and four teams in 2003. A league team has reached the semifinals in 11 of the past 13 years, which includes two national crowns. Southern Illinois defeated Missouri State, 44-24, Saturday to set a new Missouri Valley Football Conference record with its 14th-straight league victory in the final regular season game ever at McAndrew Stadium. The victory secures the outright MVFC Championship for SIU. This is the second time that Southern has won the conference outright and the fifth time it has shared at least part of the title since 2003.

Ohio Valley Standings

TEAM CONF OVERALL
Eastern Illinois 6-1 8-2
Jacksonville State 5-1 7-3
Eastern Kentucky 5-2 5-5
Tennessee Tech 4-3 5-5
Tennessee-Martin 3-4 4-6
Austin Peay 3-4 4-6
Tennessee State 2-4 3-7
Murray State 2-5 3-7
Southeast Missouri State 1-7 2-8

*Share of conference crown.
** Conference champion.
$ Automatic-qualifier.

Last Week: Visiting Western Carolina capitalized on four Eastern Kentucky University turnovers to defeat the Colonels in non-conference football action Saturday afternoon at Roy Kidd Stadium, 24-7. The Colonels fall to 5-5 with the loss while the Catamounts snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 2-8. Jake Christensen became the first Eastern Illinois quarterback to throw four touchdown passes in a game since Tony Romo accomplished the feat in 2002 as the 13th-ranked Panthers routed UT Martin, 49-13.

This Week: Eastern Illinois clinched at least a share of its fifth OVC Championship with a 49-13 victory over UT Martin on Saturday...The Panthers can win the title outright on Thursday night when they host Tennessee State in a game that will be broadcast nationally in ESPNU. A win over TSU will also give the Panthers the OVC’s automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs. If Eastern Illinois would lose to Tennessee State and Eastern Kentucky would top nationally-ranked Jacksonville State, then the Colonels would share the OVC Championship and get the league’s automatic bid, by virtue of their 10/3 victory over EIU. This is the only scenario that we see multiple selections from the Ohio Valley Conference.

Patriot League Standings

TEAM CONF OVERALL
Holy Cross **$ 5-0 9-1
Lafayette 4-1 8-2
Colgate 4-2 9-2
Lehigh 3-2 3-7
Fordham 1-4 4-6
Bucknell 1-4 3-7
Georgetown 0-5 0-10

*Share of conference crown.
** Conference champion.
$ Automatic-qualifier.

Last Week: Holy Cross can call itself the Patriot League Football champion for the first time since 1991, and the Crusaders are headed to the NCAA Division I Football Championship for the first time since 1983 after defeating No. 20 Lafayette, 28-26, on Saturday at Fitton Field.

This Week: The Patriot League has 3-team eligible for the post-season. Although Holy-Cross has earnesd their bid; Colgate and Lafayette look for an at-large invitation. The Red-Raiders finished their season at 9-2; while the Leopards look to do the same this week. To accomplish this, they must win "the game" Saturday. Lafayette travels to Lehigh, with a win over Colgate in their "back pockets".

Southern Standings

TEAM CONF OVERALL
Appalachian State *$ 7-0 8-2
Elon 6-1 8-2
Furman 4-3 5-5
Chattanooga 4-4 6-4
Samford 3-4 5-5
Georgia Southern 3-4 4-6
Wofford 2-5 3-7
Citadel 2-5 4-6
Western Carolina 1-6 2-8

*Share of conference crown.
** Conference champion.
$ Automatic-qualifier.

Last Week: ELON, N.C. -- In front of a Rhodes Stadium record crowd of 14,167, the sixth-ranked Elon Phoenix came out on the short end of a 27-10 decision against the seventh-rated Appalachian State Mountaineers in a battle of Southern Conference unbeatens on Saturday. With the win by ASU, the program's 19th consecutive league victory, the Mountaineers improved to 8-2 overall and 7-0 in SoCon play to clinch at least a share of their fifth straight league crown. Elon saw its six-game winning streak snapped and is now 8-2, 6-1.

This Week: Elon remains what should be a strong contender for an at-large berth to the Division-I Championship. However, a win over a quality Samford club is the number-1 priority this weekend. A weeker OOC (I-AA) schedule can use some help.

Southland Standings

TEAM CONF OVERALL
Stephen F. Austin 5-1 8-2
McNeese State 5-1 8-2
Southeastern Louisiana 4-2 6-4
Texas State 4-2 6-4
Sam Houston State 3-3 5-5
Central Arkansas 2-4 5-5
Nicholls State 1-5 2-8
Northwestern State 0-6 0-10

*Share of conference crown.
** Conference champion.
$ Automatic-qualifier.

Last Week: The Lumberjacks got past Southeastern Louisiana, 41-10, in Hammond to improve to 8-2 and 5-1 in conference play. McNeese State also won on the road, picking up a 30-27 victory over Texas State in San Marcos. The Cowboys look to enter the play-off in good form, and are now 8-2 overall and 5-1 in conference play after its fifth consecutive victory. In other games, Nicholls St. defeated Northwestern State 28-21 and Sam Houston State beat Central Arkansas 17-14.

This Week: Stephen F. Austin holds all tiebreakers for the AQ over McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana and Texas State. So, if both clubs win this weekend, they receive the bid. Stephen F. Austin and McNeese State find themselves tied atop the Southland Conference football standings with one game remaining. That means if each wins this weekend, the two will split the regular-season championship. It is possible that Stephen F. Austin, McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana and Texas State could win part of the SLC championship should both Stephen F. Austin and McNeese State falter.

 


 

 

 

 

© 2009 The Horizon Connection
Some Content provided by The NCAA

 
  1. Southern Illinois
  2. Montana
  3. Villanova
  4. William & Mary
  5. S. Carolina St
  6. Appalachian St
  7. Richmond
  8. Northern Iowa
  9. S. Dakota St
  10. New Hampshire
  11. McNeese St
  12. Holy Cross
  13. Elon
  14. Liberty
  15. Eastern WA
  16. Eastern IL
  17. Jacksonville St
  18. Stephen F. Austin
  19. Lafayette
  20. Colgate
  21. Weber St
  22. Texas St
  23. Montana St
  24. Missouri St
  25. Delaware
 Also Mentioned:
James Madison
Massachusetts
Florida A&M
Southeastern Louisiana
Central Arkansas

Click Here For Entire Poll

 

  1. Colonial
  2. MVFC
  3. Southland
  4. Big Sky
  5. SoCon
  6. Patriot
  7. Great West
  8. OVC
  9. Big South
  10. Mid-Eastern