Ranking |
School |
D2 Record |
Overall Record |
1. |
Shippensburg |
8-0 |
8-0 |
2. |
Winston-Salem |
8-0 |
8-0 |
3. |
Bloomsburg |
8-0 |
8-0 |
4. |
California |
7-1 |
7-1 |
5. |
New Haven |
7-0 |
7-0 |
6. |
Charleston |
7-1 |
7-1 |
7. |
Indiana |
7-1 |
7-1 |
8. |
Shepherd |
6-2 |
6-2 |
9. |
American International |
6-1 |
6-1 |
10. |
West Chester |
5-2 |
5-3 |
The top six teams in the final regional rankings qualify for the playoffs. Although the champions of the four conferences in the region - CIAA, NE10, PSAC, and WVIAC - are not guaranteed berths in the playoffs, they are almost assured of it. What must happen for West Chester to capture one of those top six places?
1. Win their remaining three games against Cheyney, Bloomsburg and Clarion. This will give West Chester a final D2 record of 8-2 on the season.
2. Have Shippensburg win their remaining games against Bloomsburg, Cheyney and California in the PSAC championship game. This accomplishes two things. First, it assures Shippensburg one of the spots in the postseason with an undefeated record. But it also gives both California and Bloomsburg two losses and West Chester would own the head-to-head tiebreaker over both of those teams.
3. Have Winston-Salem win their remaining three games, including the CIAA championship game. Since Winston-Salem is undefeated and currently ranked second, and no other CIAA team appears in the rankings, it's best to not let any other CIAA team enter the playoff picture.
4. Have New Haven win their remaining three games, including the NE10 championship game. This is the same reasoning as Winston-Salem with one small exception. New Haven is scheduled to play Southern Connecticut this Saturday, then American International. Then it's likely that the Chargers will play American International again the following week in the NE10 championship. So New Haven winning out will lay the second and third losses on American International, ending their regular season at 7-3.
5. Hope that California loses to Slippery Rock, defeats Mercyhurst, then loses to Shippensburg in the PSAC championship game. This would give California a total of three losses. By beating Mercyhurt, they ensure that they, and not Indiana or Mercyhurst, go to the PSAC championship game.
6. Have Charleston win their remaining three games, for much the same reason as New Haven and Winston-Salem.
7. Have Shepherd lose one or both of their final two games. Shepherd has a bye this Saturday, but then faces Glenville (4-4) and Fairmont St (4-3).
8. Hope that Indiana loses at least one of their remaining three games. The Crimson Hawks are scheduled to play Clarion (4-4) this Saturday and Gannon (1-7) next week. Indiana is scheduled to play Shippensburg in the final week, but if Shippensburg beats Bloomsburg on Saturday, the Raiders will play in the PSAC championship game and Indiana will play Millersville for the second time this season.
There's no doubt that the Golden Rams need a lot of help. Basically, Shippensburg, Winston-Salem, New Haven and Charleston can not be caught. Of the other five teams currently ranked in front of West Chester, the Rams need to leap four of them. They hold the tie-breaker over California (head-to-head) and Indiana (common opponent - California) and could hold the tie breaker over Bloomsburg (head-to-head), but they need help to get close enough to those teams in order for the tiebreakers to come into play.