September 22nd, 2015 12:00am
The Division II Championships Committee has approved a new regional alignment for football that, if approved by the Division II Management Council, would be put in place for the 2017 season. The Management Council is set to meet next month to vote. The regions would potentially be set up like this:
Super Region One: NE-10, PSAC, MEC, GMAC
Super Region Two: GSC, SAC, CIAA, SIAC
Super Region Three: MIAA, GLIAC, GLVC, GAC
Super Region Four: LSC, NSIC, RMAC, GNAC
My initial reaction to the proposed new regions is that they aren't too bad. They make sense from a geographic standpoint as SR1, SR2 and SR3 are all contiguous. SR4 is a bit far flung but someone has to be in the West. There are four conferences in each region and roughly the same amount of teams per region.
It also makes a lot of sense to have the CIAA back in a southeast region and to have the MIAA and GLVC in the same region since they are intertwined.
In my opinion one change could be made to this structure that would make it very, very good: swap the GLIAC and GMAC. Since the GLIAC is the stronger league, this would help with competitive equity between the regions. Geographically, there wouldn't be too much difference.
As I said last week and have said many times in the past: I would prefer a system similar to D3, one that doesn't have the strict regional alignments. But, this new proposal is definitely better than what we have currently and is one that most could live with.
News and Notes from Week Three
-The South Division of the CIAA has an overall 2-14 record entering conference play this week. This division includes Winston-Salem State, a team that has reached the playoffs four straight seasons with an overall 45-6 record during that timeframe. The Rams are 0-3 this fall and have scored a total of just 23 points.
-Sioux Falls built a big lead, and then held on late to defeat Minnesota-Duluth 35-31 in a battle of NSIC heavyweights. The loss dropped UMD to 1-2 on the season which means zero room for error the rest of the way if the Bulldogs are going to have a shot at the playoffs.
-After winning 20-14 at Bloomsburg, Mercyhurst is 3-0 for the first time since 1989, when the Lakers were a Division III program. MSU-Moorhead beat Augustana 35-34 to move to 3-0 on the season. The Dragons haven't been 3-0 since 1987, when the program was still NAIA. Southwest Minnesota State beat St. Cloud State 21-20 to move to 3-0 for the first time since 1991.
-The most entertaining game of the week may have been Findlay's 48-44 win over Tiffin. The lead changed hands six times in the game, with Findlay quarterback Rhys Gervais throwing for 507 yards and five touchdowns and Tiffin quarterback Antonio Pipkin throwing for 344 yards and rushing for 234 more.
-Central Oklahoma had a breakthrough season last year, going 8-4 and making the program's first postseason appearance in eleven years. But the Bronchos have started 0-3 this fall and it won't get any easier to turn it around with a trip to Northwest Missouri State (3-0) this Saturday.
-Jason Vander Laan's mastery of Grand Valley State continued last week as the Ferris State senior improved to 4-0 in his career against the rival Lakers with a 61-24 win. Vander Laan finished with 496 yards of total offense and six touchdowns (3 pass, 3 rush) in the game, giving him 1467 yards of total offense and 16 touchdowns in four career games against GVSU. An impressive 16,121 fans were in attendance at GVSU's Lubbers Stadium.
-The crazy box score of the week comes from Lenoir-Rhyne's 55-52 triple overtime win over conference rival Tusculum. LRU rushed for 601 yards on 89 attempts and had zero passing yards. Meanwhile Tusculum's Luke Lancaster was 42-73 passing for 452 yards and six touchdowns. The SAC has to be a tough league for defensive coordinators- you have to be prepared to defend everything.
-Shippensburg (2-1) is the only team in the PSAC's East Division that doesn't have at least two losses on the season. The entire division went 0-5 in D2 non-conference games and 6-12 against the PSAC West Division so far. In contrast the PSAC West has four unbeaten teams: Clarion, Slippery Rock, Gannon and Mercyhurst.
Top Games this Week
Stonehill (3-0) at LIU Post (3-0)
These are the only two unbeaten teams left in the Northeast-10. Stonehill has played outstanding defense so far this season, allowing just 194 yards per game. LIU Post can move the ball and score points but the Pioneers have struggled defensively. This should be interesting. Stonehill 27 LIU Post 23
Wingate (3-0) at Catawba (2-1)
The Bulldogs have allowed just 16 points total in their first three games, but we will start to find out if that defense is for real as they haven't really been tested. The Indians are great offensively either, but showed a lot defensively in holding Carson-Newman to seven points last week. Wingate 20 Catawba 13
Angelo State (3-0) at West Texas A&M (2-1)
ASU comes into this game completely untested as the Rams have played a weak schedule. WTAMU on the other hand has played three solid opponents, including the win over CSU-Pueblo two weeks ago. I think this will be a high-scoring game, but I give the battle-tested Buffaloes an edge at home. West Texas A&M 38 Angelo State 35
Findlay (3-0) at Ashland (3-0)
Both of these teams can move the football, but Ashland has been much better defensively this season. I think Findlay would need to win the turnover battle to win this game. Ashland 31 Findlay 24
MSU-Moorhead (3-0) at Southwest Minnesota State (3-0)
Both of these teams have excelled in close games as the Dragons have won their last two by a combined three points and the Mustangs have a pair of one point victories. However, the Dragons are more explosive offensively and I expect that to give them an edge in this one. MSU-Moorhead 31 Southwest Minnesota State 24
Pittsburg State (2-1) at Fort Hays State (3-0)
FHSU finished 7-4 handed the Gorillas their only loss of the season last year so this appears to be a program on the rise. Both teams really want to run the football, but I give the Gorillas a slight edge because of their more advanced passing game. Pittsburg State 27 Fort Hays State 21
Mailbag
[Q] What are your thoughts on the quality of officiating in D2 football?
[A] It's not as good as it is in Division I for obvious reasons. D2 officials also don't have the benefit of instant replay to help overturn calls that are missed on the field. I also think some leagues tend to call a bit different game than others but it is more consistent than it used to be. Overall the officiating is pretty good at the D2 level but there is always room for improvement.
[Q] I know it's really early but I would like to know who you think the favorite is in each region.
[A] You are correct in that it is very early but I will give it a shot. Usually I feel we need to be about six games into the season before getting a feel as to who the real contenders are. Some leagues haven't even started conference play yet.
Super Region One: Slippery Rock (3-0) would be my early favorite. They have a couple of nice wins over East Stroudsburg and New Haven and they were dominant in each game. The SRU defense is very good and they run the ball at a 319 yards per game clip.
My other top contenders would be Gannon and Shepherd. Gannon is very explosive offensively but not as good as SRU on defense. Shepherd has a terrific defense and great quarterback play from Jeff Ziemba, but they have struggled to run the football so far this year, which is surprising coming from that program.
Super Region Two: West Georgia (3-0) is my favorite. They have looked really good in dominating teams they should beat. That 44-13 victory over Catawba in the season opener is starting to look like a real good win. UWG seems to be a more complete team than last season.
Delta State is also 3-0 and has a quality win over Texas A&M-Commerce. The Statesmen can score points in bunches but I'm not sure the defense is UWG quality. North Alabama is the other team I would watch for. They have only played two games so it's tough to really say where the Lions are at. All three of those teams are in the Gulf South so it will be interesting with conference play getting started.
Super Region Three: This one is tough because there are a few really good teams. I think I have to lean towards defending champ Minnesota State at this point. The Mavericks are outstanding defensively and have an effective running game. The passing attack is a work in progress but there is enough talent there that it should develop as the season wears on.
Sioux Falls is also right there as a contender. USF is very good offensively, but the Cougar defense is not as good as MSU and there are now a few injury issues that will test depth. Northwest Missouri State is a very young team but they had a confidence building comeback win over Central Missouri last week and the Bearcats always have talent.
Super Region Four: Ferris State has to be a heavy favorite after the huge win at Grand Valley State last week. 2014 Harlon Hill winner Jason Vander Laan is the best player in the division and as long as he stays healthy and the Bulldog defense does its job this team has a great shot to end up in Kansas City at the end of the year.
I don't think defending national champ CSU-Pueblo (2-1) can be left out of the conversation as the Thunderwolves have a tough defense and a great running game with Cameron McDondle. However, the Thunderwolves haven't gotten much production out of the quarterback spot and it will be tough to win this region without major improvement there.
Contact
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