For the PSAC, it's put up or shut up time.

I've watched the last few days as fans of several PSAC, Northeast 10 and CIAA schools attack each other for their schools' perceived strength (or lack of) as the playoffs rolled into the second week. A lot of those debates can be answered Saturday when California takes on Winston-Salem State and Kutztown visits New Haven.

If the Vulcans and Golden Bears meet in next week's Super Region One final, then I suppose the fans of the CIAA and Northeast 10 will have to eat some crow and look ahead to basketball season. If not, the PSAC has some 'splaining to do.


No. 5 California (10-2) at No. 1 Winston-Salem State (11-0)

If Kutztown quarterback Kevin Morton were healthy, I wouldn't write the following sentence, but since he's still nursing a sprained knee, I feel comfortable in suggestion that the winner of this game will win the region.

California is the hottest team in the region, coming off a 44-0 beatdown of Elizabeth City State in the first round. The Vulcans have not had any hiccups since their loss to Slippery Rock, and they seemed to have taken drastic steps to get better every week. The Vulcans did very little wrong in sending home ECSU, which, on paper, was one of the six best teams in the region. The knock on California is that the Vulcans are their own worst enemy. They still haven't shown up for their opener against St. Cloud State, and they killed themselves with stupid penalties against Slippery Rock. They're capable of looking like a championship contender or of laying an egg. And without head coach John Luckhardt (kidney stones), it will be interesting to see how the Vulcans react.

Winston-Salem State is also a hot team, but then again, the undefeated Rams have been hot all season. They're also well-rested, having received a bye week in the first round. WSSU has the best offense (43.5 ppg.) and best defense (15.3 ppg.) in the CIAA, and have had only three games decided by single digits (one of which was against Elizabeth City State). The problem with Winston-Salem State is that the Rams really haven't played much of a schedule. The Rams boast two wins over ECSU, but California's thrashing of the Vikings last week makes WSSU's two wins (22-17 and 38-18) seem unimpressive. Otherwise, WSSU has a handful of blowout wins over some weak competition in a weak league.

Bottom line: WSSU is a pretty good team. But California is firing on all cylinders right now.
Prediction: California, 35-12.


No. 3 Kutztown (11-1) at No. 2 New Haven (11-1)

This is the battle of two teams that have gone all season without getting much respect. The winner will have a huge task on its hands next week.

The thing I like about Kutztown is the play of its defense. The Golden Bears have given up about 19 points a game this season, the 17th-best average in the country, which shows Kutztown is more than a lightning-quick offense. They've only given up 42 points the last four weeks, which is pretty good considering it has been against West Chester, Bloomsburg, Slippery Rock and Concord, all of whom have pretty decent offenses. But all year long, the Golden Bears have played second fiddle to teams like Bloomsburg, California and Slippery Rock in terms of respect. The concern, obviously, is at quarterback. Marshall Vogel looked like a diamond in the rough when he stepped into the PSAC championship game and earned MVP honors when Kutztown beat Slippery Rock without the injured Morton. But last week against Concord, he was only 6 of 15 for 88 yards. New Haven's defense is good, but not great, and the Chargers are only 106th in the country against the pass, but if Morton doesn't play, the Golden Bears are going to struggle to score.

New Haven is the best team in the Northeast 10, which is like winning an ugly kid contest. The Chargers rolled through the NE10 with little trouble, and their only loss came to William & Mary, a I-AA school. But New Haven has scored points at an alarming rate (42.9 ppg., the fifth-best in the country) and seems to be playing its best ball of the year, with its last two wins coming by a combined score of 122-23. The knock on the Chargers is the same as WSSU, that it is the big fish in a little pond. The Chargers ventured out of the NE10 three times, with mixed results. Their loss to William & Mary was understandable, as was their easy win over St. Augustine. And they opened the year with a 35-32 overtime win against West Chester, a middle-of-the-pack PSAC team, which makes a lot of people scratch their heads.

Bottom line: The pressure is on Vogel after last week's sub-par performance.
Prediction: New Haven, 27-10.

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