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Pete's Weekly Review/Preview
2009 Week-12 Preview (Games of Nov.
21)
See
Voting Results
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":
-
Conference crown (automatic-berth),
or
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Overall record. Our cut-off is
at 4 FCS/I-AA losses.
Columns in gray represent conferences with no automatic-berth.
| 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".
|
| 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.
|
| . |
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.
|
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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.
|
| 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".
|
| 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.
|
| 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.
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© 2009 The Horizon Connection
Some Content provided by The
NCAA
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- Southern Illinois
- Montana
- Villanova
- William & Mary
- S. Carolina St
- Appalachian St
- Richmond
- Northern Iowa
- S. Dakota St
- New Hampshire
- McNeese St
- Holy Cross
- Elon
- Liberty
- Eastern WA
- Eastern IL
- Jacksonville St
- Stephen F. Austin
- Lafayette
- Colgate
- Weber St
- Texas St
- Montana St
- Missouri St
- Delaware
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Colonial
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MVFC
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Southland
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Big Sky
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SoCon
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Patriot
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Great West
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OVC
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Big South
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Mid-Eastern
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