CIAA Championship Weekend Preview

November 12th, 2026 2:00pm

The season ended for seven teams in the CIAA. For them, their attention turns to the big task of roster management.  There's already players running towards the transfer portal.  Groan. Boo. Hiss.  Its a reminder of life in the deuce, where the offseason feels like moving day for college campus or small cities looking for greener pastures.  To that effect, the CIAA transfer portal thread has been set up to keep track of all the moving parts.  I just hope that players realize that in the last two years of watching how things turn out in the CIAA that 50 percent of CIAA players who go into the portal do not play college football the next season.  A true buyer beware, your mileage my vary, go at your own peril type of moment.  

The other teams you ask - oh, the show goes on with them.  Those four teams are vying for playoff spots in Super Region 1:

* The winner of Assumption/Pace will get the Northeast 10 automatic bid. While not listed, the winner of West Liberty/Wheeling will get the Mountain East automatic bid.

Paths to the playoffs:

VUU – Win or lose, likely in.  A win should guarantee a home playoff spot. 

JCSU – Win and you get a playoff home game.  Losing imperils their chances of getting in to the third place winner, but one would think their NPI may not fall as much since VSU and FSU boosts their Quality Win Bonus (the amount added to their score because they defeat an opponent whose NPI is over 52)

FSU – A win really helps QWB, and a UNC-Pembroke win in the Conference Carolinas bowl would also help.  Also what would help – California losing, because the NE-10 and Mountain East have to get in. 

Virginia State – Winning against FSU also would big, but need more help even if Cal loses since Shepherd could get a small bump if they defeat IUP. 

This week’s games:

Friday Night Blitz – Virginia State vs Fayetteville State

The skinny: VSU faded down the stretch with losses to JCSU and VUU relegating them to Friday night.  FSU is yet again on a 5+ game win streak for the 7^th time of 10 years that Richard Hayes has been head coach.  VSU’s strength is the passing game, but the losses have come from above average defensive lines wrecking havoc and not providing QB RJ Matthews with enough time to push the ball downfield.   FSU’s defense is pretty good – it’s secondary includes Zyking Patillo and Christopher Bentley that have combined for 11 interceptions. On the defensive line, Osirus Rhodes has 10 sacks and has been disruptive all year.  On the flip side, FSU’s helter-skelter offense has tough times moving the ball, and operates best when QB Jamir Dismukes can sit back and toss the ball.  Both teams have serviceable, but not spectacular rushing attacks beyond the QB's rushes.

Advantage: Virginia State. FSU’s defense has quite the edge, but I think that VSU’s offense has enough mojo to get over the hump.  But close game in the fourth quarter does not bode well for VSU, and the Trojans' special teams is a major liability for them. Am I trying to talk myself out of this pick? 

Saturday Championship Game: Johnson C. Smith vs Virginia Union

This game features rather dynamic rushers, passers, and defenses.  Both offenses are run-first. VUU has RBs Ramon Brown with 816 rushing yards and Travon Tensley with 509 rushing yards. JCSU counters with Fabian Duncan with over 1,500 rushing yards on his own.  Both quarterbacks have had big moments in games, and can be rather efficient too.  The defenses are top three in stopping the run, and JCSU allows a little more through the air than VUU does.  VUU has the edge in the kicking game, particularly punting and returning kicks. 

The one thing that separates these two teams is the wide receiver corps.  VUU was a bit thin in that area last year and that gap reared its ugly head at the worst time.  The Panthers rebuilt that area with WRs Montrell Wright and Latrell Sutton. The twin towers have allowed VUU to play its natural style of stretching the field and release pressure off the running game. When teams keyed in on the running game, it was RJ Rosales’ ability to get the ball to those guys or TE Ben Haulmark that got them moving (looks at the Fayetteville State game as an example).  JCSU excelled in last year’s game when using this model (remember Biggie Proctor’s big day and how touchdowns were flying left and right?). JCSU’s WR Brian Lane is capable of a big game, and I think JCSU is going to need that. What JCSU cannot afford is another 30+ carry game out of Fabian Duncan because it allows them to be too predictable.       

Advantage: Virginia Union on the redemption tour. 

Next week, I hope to cover the all-conference selections and dive more into the playoff selections that will happen on Sunday.  As always, you can find me on Sunday nights on Inside D2Football at 8pm Eastern, and CIAA vs. Everybody on Wednesdays at 7pm Eastern during the season via your favorite streaming platform.