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 7th, 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.
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