As we move toward week ten, it's a good time to revisit the PSAC and NCAA playoff possibilities for West Chester. Details on both of these were reviewed a few weeks ago, but circumstances have changed which provide some clarity on the situations.
PSAC Championship - this one is easy. Defeat Millersville and host Indiana for the PSAC Championship on November 11. Lose to Millersville and host Clarion on November in what would likely be the last game of the season.
How we got there. By defeating Millersville, the Golden Rams would finish with a 6-1 record within the PSAC East. Even if Shippensburg defeats Bloomsburg on Saturday to also finish at 6-1 in the division, West Chester owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Raiders by virtue of their 37-27 win in Shippensburg in week six. IUP has already clinched the top spot in the PSAC West.
On the other hand, if West Chester were to fall to Millersville on Saturday, the best they could hope for is a Bloomsburg win over Shippensburg to force a four-way tie among West Chester, Shippensburg, Bloomsburg and Kutztown. But Kutztown (beat Bloomsburg, lost to West Chester and Shippensburg) and Shippensburg (beat Kutztown, lost to West Chester and Bloomsburg) would both be eliminated due to their 1-2 record against the other three teams in the tiebreaker. With the tied teams reduced to just Bloomsburg and West Chester, due to their head-to-head one-point win over West Chester in Farrell Stadium, Bloomsburg would advance to host the Crimson Hawks .
NCAA Playoffs - this one isn't so easy. The top six teams in the NCAA regional rankings did not change after last week. Kutztown fell from the top ten due to their loss to Shippensburg, and Shippensburg jumped from #9 to #7 due to their improved strength of schedule. Remember, the top seven teams advance to the NCAA playoffs.
Okay, so one path is easy. After defeating Millersville on Saturday, the Golden Rams would certainly qualify for the NCAA playoffs with a win over Indiana in the PSAC Championship game. Even if they managed to fill that order, there's a good chance that their seed would not rise, but of course this depends on what all the other teams do.
But what if West Chester falls to the number three team in the country, and ends the regular season at 8-3?
#5 Slippery Rock (7-2) travels to Seton Hill (0-9) and Kutztown (6-3). Even if the Rock falls at Kutztown, their head-to-head result over the Golden Rams in week two will keep them ahead of West Chester.
#7 Shippensburg (8-1) hosts Bloomsburg (6-3) and Seton Hill (0-9). West Chester needs Shippensburg to lose to Bloomsburg to keep the Golden Rams just one game behind the Raiders. The Golden Rams have been positioned ahead of Shippensburg thus far due to their head-to-head victory over the Raiders, so it's possible that may hold up in the final rankings.
#8 Notre Dame (7-2) hosts Virginia-Wise (4-4) before traveling to Indianapolis (9-0). If the Falcons win out, they would certainly move ahead of an 8-3 West Chester.
#9 LIU Post (6-2) has played one less game but is ranked high due to their lofty strength of schedule. That will soften over the next two weeks as they host Merrimack (3-5) and travel to Saint Anselm (1-7). An 8-3 West Chester may still rank ahead of LIU Post as their SOS's even and the Golden Rams own the "common opponents" factor in Bentley (West Chester beat Bentley while the Pioneers lost to Bentley).
#10 California (7-2) finishes at Edinboro (6-3) and East Stroudsburg (2-7). The Vulcans are currently four spots below West Chester due to schedule strength, so to maintain that gap, West Chester could use a victory by the Fighting Scots this Saturday.
Some other teams that are lingering include Ohio Dominican (5-3), Fairmont State (6-3), New Haven (6-2), Bloomsburg (6-3), Kutztown (6-3) and Edinboro (6-3) with Bloomsburg and New Haven posing the biggest threats to the Golden Rams.
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