December 6th, 2011 12:00am
Grand Valley State, Valdosta State, Minnesota-Duluth and Northwest Missouri State have combined to win the last nine D2 national championships. Over the last ten years those four schools have accounted for 16 of the 18 national championship game appearances by programs that are still in D2. Last week's elimination of NWMSU and UMD means none of these four teams will be involved in the title game for the first time in a decade.
Of course semifinalists Delta State and Pittsburg State have historically been very good programs and they account for the other two championship game appearances by current D2 schools. But PSU was just 11-12 combined over the previous two years and was picked fifth in the preseason MIAA race. The Gorillas haven't won a national title since 1991. DSU is eleven years removed from winning its lone national championship.
The other semifinal involves a Winston-Salem State team that prior to this season had just a single playoff win in school history-- 33 years ago. Wayne State had never even reached the playoffs prior to this year.
Regardless of who wins in the semifinals, the national championship game will have a different feel to it without any of the aforementioned "Big Four" that have dominated D2 football for the last decade.
Other Playoff Thoughts
-D.J. Winfield was a major factor in his return to the Minnesota-Duluth lineup, returning a kickoff for a touchdown in addition to 101 receiving yards. But as I said last week, the team that could slow down the UMD running attack would beat them and that's exactly what Wayne State did, limiting the Bulldogs to just 98 yards on the ground. It didn't help that the UMD defense failed to force any turnovers in the playoffs.
-North Greenville played very respectably in their loss to Delta State, but third down just killed the Crusaders. They were just one of ten against DSU, which meant that NGU couldn't sustain drives and ended up with just 52 offensive plays for the game. Meanwhile, Micah Davis converted with his arm on three huge third and longs in the second half-- two on the drive to take the lead and one on the drive where DSU ran out the clock. Davis outplayed his counterpart Willy Korn when it counted and that was the difference in the game.
-I was impressed with the size and speed of the Winston-Salem State defense. The Rams looked great in limiting a prolific New Haven offense to just seven points. The WSSU defensive line overpowered UNH up front, making it a long day for Ryan Osiecki and the Charger offense.
-Pittsburg State receiver John Brown's touchdowns were huge, but I really thought the key to the Gorilla win over Northwest Missouri State was the play of the PSU defense. After giving up 10 points early, the Gorillas settled in and absolutely shut down the Bearcats over the final three quarters. Impressive.
Harlon Hill Finalists
The top three vote getters in the Harlon Hill race are Washburn quarterback Dane Simoneau, Delta State quarterback Micah Davis and Mars Hill running back Jonas Randolph. All three will be at the Harlon Hill banquet next Friday in Florence to announce the winner.
As I said last week, Randolph is my favorite but I would have no issues with Simoneau winning the award either. I feel Davis is a long shot and doesn't have the statistics of the other two.
National Semifinals
It's very disappointing that neither game is being carried on regular network TV. I believe both semifinals have been broadcast on either CBS College Sports or the ESPN family of networks every year going back to 2006. I realize that ESPN3 coverage via the internet is the wave of the future with the advent of internet capable TVs and other technology. Five years from now people probably won't blink when games are only available via internet streams. But in 2011, this certainly seems like a step backward for D2.
Wayne State (11-3) at Winston-Salem State (13-0)
TV: ESPN3 Saturday 2 PM Eastern
As I stated earlier in the column, I was quite impressed in watching the WSSU defense last weekend. They have size and speed and really overwhelmed a very good New Haven offense. But WSU brings a team with multiple offensive weapons and a stout offensive line capable of opening up holes for thousand yard backs Toney Davis and Josh Renel. I think this will be quite a back and forth battle between the Warrior offense and Ram defense.
What I expect to decide the game is match up of the WSSU offense against the Warrior defense. Teams have moved the ball at times against the Warriors this postseason, but they have won three straight playoff games due to the fact that they have forced a remarkable 11 turnovers. WSSU quarterback Kameron Smith has had a fine season, but he will need to take better care of the football than he did against a very good California defense two weeks ago.
Prediction: I really believe it will come down to turnovers. WSSU is good enough physically to win this football game, if they can avoid any big mistakes with the ball. But Wayne State has won three straight on the road this postseason with no signs of wearing down and they just seem to have it all going for them with forced turnovers and big plays on special teams. Wayne State 30 Winston-Salem State 24.
Delta State (11-2) at Pittsburg State (11-1)
TV: ESPN3 Saturday 7 PM Eastern
With two very good teams that appear to be evenly matched on paper, the biggest factor in this game might be the fact that PSU earned the right to host. PSU's fan support and home field are a major plus for the Gorillas, in addition to the fact that DSU is forced to bus to the game. This is because the two campuses are located about 480 miles apart-- just below the NCAA's 500 mile threshold for flying teams to games.
DSU has had trouble with running quarterbacks this season, although they did a good job against North Greenville's spread option last week. The problem is that PSU's offensive line is much more physical than any they have faced this season and I really feel the Gorillas can have success running the football. The big thing for the Statesmen will be to avoid the big plays by receiver John Brown, as that part of the Gorilla offense killed Northwest Missouri last week.
The Gorilla defense is very good, but I do expect the Statesmen to move the football as they have against every team they have faced this season. The keys will be if DSU can avoid turnovers and if they can score in the red zone. Micah Davis will have to play error free football to give the Statesmen a good shot at winning.
Prediction: DSU is a very good team and will be the most athletic and experienced bunch PSU has faced all season. But in two playoff games so far this year, the PSU defense harassed Harlon Hill finalist Dane Simoneau into a 14 for 40 passing performance and limited the highest scoring team in the country to just 16 points last week. I think this will be a very good game, but it's hard to imagine this Gorilla team being denied at home. Pittsburg State 27 Delta State 20.
Mailbag
[Q] How are the officiating crews selected for the playoffs? Obviously they need to be impartial to the conferences involved in the game, but how is the crew selected from within the non-biased conference? The officiating I've experienced thus far in the postseason has been very good compared to the regular season.
Peter
[A] From the Division II Football Championship Manual:
The seven game officials for all games will be selected by the Division II Football Committee. The committee requests that the top crew from each conference be sent if chosen to participate. The committee will select officials based on transportation costs,
conference neutrality, previous performance in the championship playoffs and quality of officiating. The committee plans to use merit as an additional element for consideration in advancement through the playoffs. Further, the committee will attempt to ensure
that each conference is represented at least once every two years. Please note that if two teams from the same conference meet in the playoffs, game officials from that conference will be used to officiate that game. The committee is not concerned if an
officiating crew from a given conference works multiple weeks during the postseason. Finally, the committee does not have a problem if a given crew works more than one game of a given team during the playoffs.
[Q] Why was Elizabeth City State from the CIAA granted access to the D2 Playoffs with three losses and Shepherd was not with two losses? Clearly Shepherd would have made a better showing. Your thoughts? There is no recent history of ECSU making the playoffs. They did not represent their conference well in the playoff game against California. Did the D2 Playoff committee make a mistake here in your opinion? Elizabeth City State clearly was just happy to make the tournament, Shepherd had higher goals from the success they had last season.
Dwight
[A] ECSU had a very high strength of schedule due to their three losses being to Delta State and twice to Winston-Salem State. The loss to DSU was in overtime and the first loss to WSSU by five points, so it's obvious that ECSU was able to compete with some of the best teams in D2. Based on how ECSU had played previously, the blowout loss to California looks more like an anomaly than an indicator of the Vikings being a poor team.
In addition, Shepherd really has no beef with ECSU being selected because the Rams were behind West Virginia Wesleyan and Bloomsburg in the pecking order among teams not selected in Super Region One.
I also don't believe past playoff success or tradition should have anything to do with who gets selected for the playoffs. Wayne State and Winston-Salem State are still playing and neither school had ever done anything in the playoffs. Neither had North Greenville who won a pair of playoff games this year. Concord and CSU-Pueblo both did well in their first playoff appearances. If Pittsburg State wins on Saturday they will become the third team in the past eight years to reach the championship game after being at or below .500 the previous season.
Contact Me
Feel free to contact me with any comments or criticisms or if you have a question you'd like answered in the Mailbag.