PSAC Preview

PSAC Insider Zach Simpson weighs in on week 4 of the NCAA division 2 season:

Seven Weeks, One Goal, The PSAC West Title and a spot in the “State Game”

In Division II college football few conferences are as competitive and compelling as the PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference). Made up of sixteen football competitive members, the PSAC is divided in two divisions the East and the West. The PSAC east is made up of Cheney University, East Stroudsburg University, West Chester University, CW Post, Bloomsburg, Kutztown, Millersville, and Shippensburg. The West is contested between Lock Haven University, Indiana University of PA, Clarion, Edinboro, Mercyhust, Gannon, Slippery Rock, and California University. Competition is very strong in the PSAC and around the nation. Division II football unlike the Football Bowl Subdivision plays a 24 team playoff. The nation is split into four regions, each region receives six playoff bids and they play a tournament to crown a National Champion.

Starting last season the PSAC reinstated a “State Game” or Conference Championship game. The champion of the PSAC West will meet the champion of the PSAC East on the Eastern Division Champions home field. Last season the Vulcans of California defeated the Golden Rams of West Chester to claim the Championship.

All eyes of the sixteen teams have been focused on November 7^th, as that is the date of this seasons “State Game.” In the first three weeks teams have positioned themselves for the division race. The games up to this point will have had bearing nationally and regionally, but in the PSAC the season begins this Saturday.

This Saturday four games will be played, the winners will be in place to continue a push for the “State Game” and a PSAC West Crown. Many had picked the Vulcans of California as the preseason choice to win the West as well as the Region, the Vulcans have stumbled out of the gate with a 1-2 mark. IUP has soared up the rankings with a 3-0 start. A popular pick to be a sleeper was the Fighting Scots of Edinboro. They also hit a bump when they lost a game at home vs. Shippensburg. The Pride of Slippery Rock have stayed unbeaten at 3-0. Mercyhurst and Clarion are both 1-2, Gannon is 2-1 and the Bald Eagles of Lock Haven are the only PSAC west team without a win sitting at 0-2. Every team has time to make a turnaround and every team is still playing for something. The next seven weeks will show how much the hard work of these teams will pay off.

Week 4, Week 1 of PSAC West Games.

Gannon (2-1) @ California (1-2) 12pm.

In a game many feel should be a cake walk for the Vulcans, I take a different look. Last season the Knights of Gannon played hard and made it very much a competitive game and if not for one of the best offense showings of the season, the Vulcans may have been in trouble. California is coming off a huge win this past week, when they defeated the then ranked Golden Rams of West Chester on their home field. Gannon had an easy win over Cheney this past week 30-9. This is a trap game for Cal they must come out focused on the task at hand. A loss here and the season could go away very fast. They have to look ahead and see the IUP game and the importance that game may hold, but at this time they must be focused on one game and that game is Gannon. Cal should pull away in the second half and win 35-17.

Lock Haven (0-2) @ Clarion (1-2) 6pm.

This Saturday the Bald Eagles may have their best chance for a win as they travel down I-80 to play the Golden Eagles. Clarion still has high hopes as they should. They could move back to a five-hundred record and into first place in the West. Clarion must rebound from two disappointing games and show they have some bite left on the season. Lock Haven on the other hand should focus on getting the ball into the end zone. After two games the Bald Eagles have scored 7 points. These are college kids with a self pride, much closer than it should be, Clarion 24 Lock Haven 21

#21/13 Indiana (3-0) @ Mercyhurst (1-2)

IUP has not looked very good in the opening weeks of the 2009 season, a seven point victory at Southern Connecticut State, followed by two lack luster performances over CW Post and Millersville. They have been carried by their Defense. Mercyhurst lost last week to the #4 team in Division II by 10 points. Mercyhurst is a stingy football team who would love nothing better than to throw a wrench into the IUP plans to return to the playoffs. IUP plays SRU, Cal and Edinboro the next three weeks win those three and the West champion should be IUP and the kids up in the hills know this. I look for IUP to look past the Lakers and this to be a game late in the forth. IUP will prevail on the power of its D. IUP 20 Mercyhurst 17

Slippery Rock (3-0) @ Edinboro (2-1) 6pm

The PSAC West game of the week should be an early season classic. After a bump against Shippensburg the Scotts rebounded vs. CW Post last week. QB Trevor Harris is one of the best in all of the NCAA not only D2. Slippery Rock is the surprise team in the PSAC. With the fast start, the “P” word is being thrown around the campus. These two teams understand the importance of this division battle. I look for the winner of this game to make a playoff run. The loser is in no way out of the race but it would be a huge blow. Slippery Rock will continue its early season run and win on the road 24-23.

In a week with so much on the line it’s hard to say anything for sure, all that can be said for sure is that in the playoff format every game takes on more and more importance.

Season Picks:

1. California 6-1

2. IUP 6-1

3. Slippery Rock 5-2

4. Edinboro 4-3

5. Clarion 3-4

6. Mercyhurst 2-5

7. Gannon 2-5

8. Lock Haven 0-7

State Game

California over Bloomsburg

What a ride we can expect, strap in and hold on.

Thursday's Weekend Portal

So towards the end of every week this fall I will preview some of the top contests on the gridiron in the NFL, College Football, and the WPIAL. Sadly, the NFL only offers us week 4 of the preseason, so none of those contests were good enough to make the list. Typically I will do 15 games to look at. Five in the NFL, five in the NCAA, and five in the WPIAL. This week we will have a few more high school and college games to make up for the lack of big NFL games.

15 Games to watch over the weekend:

1. #6 Bloomsburg at #17 California-Saturday September 5th, 7:00

• We will see how good Bloomsburg is
• We will see how Cal can rebound from a tough loss
• 7:00pm, televised live on FSN Pittsburgh

2. Nevada at #23 Notre Dame-Saturday September 3rd, 3:30 (NBC)

• Notre Dame has high hopes for 2009
• Nevada could be a BCS Buster this season
• The Wolfpack return a ton of talent on both sides
• We'll see what both of these teams are made of right out of the gate

3. Baylor at Wake Forest-Saturday September 5th, 3:30 (ESPN360)

• Both teams are hoping to be spoilers in their respective conferences
• Robert Griffin (Bay) could be the best quarterback you have never heard of
• Wake Forest returns many offensive weapons
• Wake could contend in a weak ACC conference

4. #20 BYU at #3 Oklahoma-Saturday September 5th, 7:00 (ESPN)

• BYU looks to become a mid major power
• Oklahoma returns Sam Bradford, but loses many starters
• Great test for both teams in week 1

5. #13 Georgia at #9 Oklahoma State-Saturday September 5th, 3:30 (ABC)

• How will Joe Cox replace Matt Stafford for UGA?
• OSU looks to emerge as contender in the Big 12
• How will the Bulldog defense handle the Cowboys explosive offense?

6. #5 Alabama at #7 Virginia Tech-Saturday September 5th, 8:00 (ABC)

• Bama has to replace quarterback John Parker Wilson
• VT looks to be early favorite in the ACC
• Both teams showcase great defenses

7. Minnesota at Syracuse-Saturday September 5th, 12:00 (ESPN2)

• Interesting non-conference match up
• Minnesota could be a big spoiler in the Big Ten
• Syracuse hasn't improved, but has a good story in Greg Paulus
• Andrew Webber is a great quarterback to lead the talented Gophers squad

8. Cincinnati at Rutgers-Monday September 7th, 4:00 (ESPN)

• The Bearcats have lost a ton on both sides of the ball
• Rutgers is looking for a Big East Championship
• This game could prove to be huge down the stretch
• Big East Conference is wide open this year

9. Chartiers Valley at West Allegheny-Friday September 5, 7:00

• CV looks to contend in the tough Big 7
• WA should have another loaded team
• We should see what both teams are made of in week one

10. Gateway at Penn Hills-Friday September 5, 7:30

• Two perennial powers in AAAA
• Gateway returns multiple starters on both sides
• Penn Hills has a number of division 1 prospects
• Both teams have great talent, it should be a great game

11. North Catholic at Serra Catholic-Friday September 5, 7:30

• North and Serra both are early favorites in class A
• Serra is looking to compete for a section title
• NC returns great experience and talent
• A great early season match up of two highly touted schools

12. Western Beaver at Avonworth-Friday September 5, 7:30

• Both teams made the playoffs last year
• Western Beaver looks to have success in class A once again
• Avonworth should once again have a good squad
• This is another intriguing class A match up

13. Monesson at Rochester-Friday September 5, 7:30

• Just another of many great games this Friday in class A
• Rochester is a perennial power in class A
• Monesson lost a lot to graduation, but still looks to compete in the Tri-County South
• We'll get a good look at both teams this week

14. New Castle at Butler-Friday September 5th, 7:30

• A game between a solid team in AAA and AAAA respectively
• New Castle is one of many teams in AAA looking to knock off TJ for the WPIAL Title
• Butler will have its hands full with a very tough New Castle squad

15. Mt. Lebanon at North Hills-Friday September 5th, 7:30

• A great match up between two historic AAAA programs
• North Hills is looking to build off of an impressive 2008 campaign
• Mt. Lebo should have a great team in 2009
• This game is a gut check right out of the gate for both teams

Everyone have a great holiday weekend, and enjoy all of the football!!!!

Upsets and the Expected, Week 1 in the PSAC

To make things easier on my extremely busy life, I have hired my first writer to my blog staff. Let me be the first to introduce our PSAC insider, Zach Simpson. I recently talked about in my CAL Football 2009 Preview that I wanted to really have a weekly post on PSAC and Vulcan Football. Well I thought it over, and made a decision. I decided that to do this, I needed the insight of a man who walks the campus of California University, and lives for Vulcan football. I could not think of any person other than close, personal friend of mine, Zach Simpson. He is currently in his senior year at Cal, but I know he will be attending Vulcan games with his hardhat and cowbell for many years to come.

Once a week, Zach will send me the prior weeks wrap-up, and a preview of the top matchups for the coming week. This is the first installment of "Zach Simpson, PSAC Insider."

Week 2, a chance to make noise!!!!

In week 1 of the PSAC season many things went as expected, and many things went, well not as expected. As a whole the PSAC went 9-5 out of League for the weekend. Impressive wins by Clarion, Bloomsburg, Edinboro, and IUP give the conference faithful much to be excited about. Disappointments abounded throughout the league as well, The California loss to unranked Saginaw Valley State was a major let down for the Vulcan’s who entered the weekend with a top ten ranking. A Wayne State drubbing of Mercyhurst took the wind out of the Lakers Sails. CW Post and Shippensburg also had set backs, but they were not completely unexpected.

In the two biggest wins for the League from week one you can stay on I80 and visit both of these fine institutions. First as the Golden Eagles of Clarion traveled south to Fairmont State and walked out of town with a twelve point victory. The Eagles have a core of young returning players and they really have a chance to make lots of noise as they are off to a solid start to the season.

The other big win for the PSAC came from the Danny Hale Coached Bloomsburg Huskies who took a 10-7 victory over the Nationally ranked Eagles of Ashland University. Holding the high powered offense of Ashland to 7 points could prove to be the most impressive stat from this game, because the Ashland offense should put up plenty of points on their GLIAC opponents.

The biggest let down has to come from the Mon-Valley, four time defending PSAC west champs fell out of conference to the unranked the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals. The Vulcans were mistake prone, failed to take advantage of opportunities, out worked, and generally out played. With that said, with two minutes left they were driving inside the Cardinal fifty with a chance to tie or win the game.

In other games from the past weekend, Gannon won by a point over the Storm of Lake Erie College 35-34. Virginia Union did not have the firepower to hang with the Warriors of East Stroudsburg and fell 19-6. Millersville, IUP and K-town all won games over NE-10 competition 31-28, 28-21 and 17-13 respectively. The Rock won by three over a Bowie State team with much experience who looks to compete in the CIAA this season, so a solid win for the Rock to open the season. In the only cross over of the weekend the Golden Rams dismantled the Bald Eagles of Lock Haven 43-0.

As we look back on the weekend we see many great storylines emerging and many still to be discovered, a few to think about may in fact be the expected: How good is Bloomsburg, West Chester and East Stroudsburg out east. How can Cal rebound, how good is Edinboro and IUP, and what about the Eagles of Clarion? Some of these will be answered this coming weekend as the first full week of cross-over games take place.

In week 2 many opportunity arise for programs to make major statements, regroup or even take that step towards the “P” word, playoffs. Some huge contest should make for a very exciting weekend of football all across the state.

In a preview of what many felt would be the “State Game 2009” the Huskies of Bloomsburg come to the Mon-Valley to play the Vulcans of California University of Pennsylvania. The Huskies are 1-0 and ranked #6 in the country and the Vulcans 0-1 have dropped to #17. Danny Hale’s Huskies hold a 4-2 mark vs Cal and will look to build on the momentum gained against Ashland last Thursday. Coach Luckhardt and the Vulcans must shake off the major disappointment and reenergize the fan base after the set back last Thursday. I look for a tight game and a hard fought battle. Sr. Dan Lattorre may have some unfinished business with Cal after the regional championship last fall.

Bloom 27 Cal 24

In the Second Biggest game of the weekend the Golden Bears of Kutztown will visit beautiful Clarion PA, and the winner will move to 2-0 and makes a case for early playoff talk. Coach Jay Foster has changed the culture at Clarion and he looks to continue to build on the momentum of the first week of the season. K-town may be a sleeper in the PSAC east race and could make a huge statement this weekend. I am absolutely in love with the game and cant wait to see who stands up, and mans up in the gut check game for these two programs.

Clarion 31 K-town 27

The Fighting Scotts will look to move up the rankings as the Rocky Reiss coached Red Raiders of Shipensburg come calling to Sox Harrison Stadium. I have much respect for the Raiders but QB Trevor Harris and the Scotts will be to much as they will roll along this week, 37-17

Gannon 1-0 will host ESU 1-0, both looking for bigger and better things in 2009 after lackluster 2008 seasons. Gannon can ride their weird home field advantage early but may come up short in the end as ESU walks away with a 21-14 win.

The Lakers and the Wolves are the only matchup of teams with out a win, but the Lakers wont be without a win for long and the Wolves will continue to struggle falling 45-14 in Erie to the Lakers.

Coach Tepper and the IUP Hawks should roll over the CW-post Pioneers from Miller Stadium this Saturday. IUP has more speed, talent and heart and should win going away 24-3.

Slippery Rock and Millersville: much like the GU, ESU game this is a gut check game, a chance to stay un beaten and move along toward division play. Millersville should come away with a victory but SRU is always tough on home field. I see MU, 24- 22 on a late charge that comes up short by the ROCK.

Week 2 is poised to be exciting and bring our fans to their feet, Cal Bloom should be an all time classic, If your are in the Valley come to the stadium come see a family grow together or shatter in front of everyone. I expect the Vulcans to be excited and play a great game and give our fans something to be proud of. Kickoff is 7pm live on FSN Pittsburgh.

Remember win or lose we are members of the Vulcan family. We stand and fight together. We back each other, and we will achieve great success together.