The conference follows the NFL mentality of scheduling rivals for the last regular season game as a way to keep interest high. Over the last three seasons, this setup has paid dividends. The CIAA South was the division that hosted a de facto division championship game on week 10 the last two years. This year, the focus shifts to the ultra-competitive North.

So what happened last week?

ECSU persevered despite being down 14-0 in the first quarter, and the final score, 24-21,was obtained by a single fourth quarter score by who else but ECSU QB Daquan Neal. Virginia State maintained pace in the North division championship sweepstakes by crushing a freefalling Chowan 49-21. The Trojans were lead yet again by RB Trenton Cannon, who scored three touchdowns in the effort. Bowie State continues to lead the division as the Bulldogs bulldozed The Lincoln Lions 41-23.

In the South, Winston-Salem State sewed up its sixth straight division championship by beating Shaw 30-23. Yes, you read that right. St. Aug was beaten by a wide receiver that had to play emergency QB from the start, and to a team that has been fewer rushing yards collectively than seven (!) running backs in this conference. Blech!

What does the playoff race look like now?

th. If you are serious about the playoffs, you want a 2 loss WSSU, and Bowie State or Virginia State in the Championship game. That scenario gives the conference its best opportunity to make the field. One key game this week that could affect the CIAA's playoff changes is in the PSAC as undefeated California (PA) and one loss Edinboro play. If Edinboro loses, this could flatten the playing field for the CIAA. Notre Dame (OH) out of the MEC last last Saturday and is now a 2-loss team that is ranked 8th regionally. I think that if both championhips participants are 2-loss teams then the winner would get enough of a schedule boost to get them to the 7th seed and no higher than that.

Who can win the CIAA North? Does anyone want to win the North?
You can find the eloquent breakdown here: http://theciaa.com/sports/fball/2016-17/releases/20161102vrpbrn.


Of course. Every game this week is a rivalry game of sorts.

ECSU is now facing a Bowie team that has their mental lapses on offense and defense but also remains a dangerous foe. Even in defeat, Bowie still scores north of 35 points a game.
The Virginia State at Virginia Union game should be rather entertaining. That last tidbit matters because both teams excel at stopping the run (VUU gives up 133 yards a game on the group, VSU gives up 98 yards). That seems to tilt the advantage to VUU, as VSU is very reliant on its run game to get them going.I like VSU in this game, moreso because I think either A. VUU is going to continuously start with bad field position and they have shown that they cant consistently drive the length of the field to score or B. Turnovers are going to rear their ugly heads.

Winston-Salem State travels to Fayetteville State in what looks like a reunion of sorts. The coaching staffs were probably split up now as it was in 2011 spring ball when everyone was working together (or playing) at WSSU. Now, you would think that everyone kinda knows what the other is thinking. That only adds intrigue to this game. WSSU enters into the game giving up 18 points a game going against a (yet again) one-dimensional Fayetteville State squad (rushing, as opposed to passing last year).If FSU cant get Stevie Green going, its going to be a long day.

The Commemorative Classic between Livingstone and Johnson C. Smith celebrates the oldest HBCU rivalry. This year features two teams struggling yet again to get their programs in gear. Livingstone has taken a major step back from the last couple of years, while JCSU is still trying, to get out of the ditch itself. Livingstone has seem to have found some consistency at QB with Freshman Xavier Longerbeam, who has shown some flashes of good play along with rookie mistakes.But make no mistake, the strength of this team is its run defense, led by LB DeMarcus Nolan and DL Amond Cox. JCSU is more of a passing team, as they are dead last in the conference at running the ball. All indications are that JCSU QB Harold Herbin will start this game, and that makes a big difference for this game. He can exploit the holes in the Blue Bears' pass defense. If he plays, JCSU will win this game. Without him, Livingstone will steal a W going into the offseason.

This year, the game is bubbed the Raleigh Classic and includes a sponsored trophy. This is a good move for this game, as it should give these two schools even more positive exposure. Both schools have had some struggles on the field, especially with scoring. My pick in this game is with Shaw, who has a much more productive offense and a secondary that can guard against what the Falcons may try to throw at them (pun intended).

Chowan plays Lincoln (PA) in the battle of the conference newbies. They had some success last week playing Bowie State, but it has lacked the scoring punch to keep up with its division mates. Its senior day in Murfeesboro, so I expect the likes of QB Randall Dixon, RB Tyree Lee, and WRs Tyrone Carter and Ryan Nolan to go out in style in what surely has been a disappointing second half of the season.