SAC / Potential NCAA D2 Football Playoff Teams

[Eagle74]

D2 Football Playoffs will be here before we know it. Three teams presently have the edge on the field, but things could change in the upcoming weeks.


Lenoir Rhyne..........6-0

Wingate...................6-0

Carson Newman.....5-1

UNCP.......................3-3

Mars Hill..................3-3

Newberry.................2-4

Limestone...............2-4

Tusculum................1-5

UVA-Wise................1-5

Catawba..................1-5

[BearsLRU]

I don't think anyone out of the top 3 can make it at this point, and I think the top 3 will.

[Chuck Bitner]

I have some thoughts on the current state of the playoff picture in this week's column, which will be published shortly. The top three are all good candidates for the post season. LR and Wingate are obviously in a great position, but there are five games left so a lot can change. Carson-Newman should have pretty good SOS by the end of the season and the win over West Florida could be worth a lot, depending on how the rest of their season plays out. It could be possible for the Eagles to make in at 8-2 even if they are not able to beat LR this weekend. A win for Carson-Newman this week would make things very interesting.

Its worth keeping an eye on the CIAA over the next few weeks, especially in the north division. Bowie State, Virginia State and Virginia Union are all contenders and all still have to play each other. Fayetteville State is the clear favorite in the south division. It will definitely help the SAC teams that the league finished 7-0 against CIAA teams this year. The GSC is also very interesting. Valdosta is still in control but has difficult games left to play. West Florida is 4-1 but all other GSC teams have at least two losses already.

[77 Bear]

[BearsLRU]

Some observations on the 3 playoff contenders.

Carson Newman seems to always find ways to turn it over in big games. They'll have to fix this if they expect to win the SAC in the future. They can still make the playoffs but cannot afford a let down the rest of the year. I think this team can do it, but as I've said before it would not shock me if they did lose to someone later on.

Wingate is a good team and will likely finish undefeated or with 1 loss. That said, I think they've looked vulnerable recently, allowing sub-par competition to rack up points. I'm not as worried about them beating us as I was to begin the season.

Lenoir Rhyne still isn't playing up to their full potential yet. They may not have to for awhile, but eventually we'll run into a team as good or better than us and will have to play at our best, specifically on defense. I know statistically we've done well, but there have been plays we clearly didn't try on, and on the other side when the defense reads the play we just run it anyways, rather than trying to check down or throwing it away, leading to turnovers.

[Chuck Bitner]

At this point, both Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate are nearly sure bets for the playoffs. Wingate is the only team on the schedule that can beat LR unless something really fell apart in Hickory. At worst, the Bears finish 10-1. Wingate has Newberry and Mars Hill in the last two weeks of the season and those could be tough games. Newberry is slowly getting better and Mars Hill has proven they can move the ball on anyone. Wingate will have to earn it in both of those contests.

Looking outside the SAC, things are very interesting in the GSC. Valdosta (7-0) and West Florida (5-1) are the only teams that have fewer than three losses. The GSC typically has three or four teams worthy of playoffs, but this year it may only be two.

[BearsLRU]

Feeling is mutual from Wingate's side. LR has been looking vulnerable against half decent opponents. Wingate hasn't played to their potential, and has played backups to help create depth... good luck this week.

Not sure what games you've been watching. Wingate barley beat Catawba and Tusculum with their starters in. I'd be pretty worried about how you're going to score in this matchup, Wingate's D is good enough to slow LR down but we're getting into the 20s at the very least, I wouldn't be confident Wingate will do that.

[Bearhof]

At this point I see two GSC teams three SAC teams and B.S. one more from somewhere.

[Inkblot]

It wouldn't be surprising to see the SIAC get one in, likely via earned access. Other than that, perhaps Virginia Union or Virginia State.

[Chuck Bitner]

A lot can change, but the CIAA has multiple teams that look like good playoff candidates right now. Things always seen to get crazy in the SIAC but as of now, Albany State, Fort Valley and Miles all look like solid teams.

[Bulldog89]

Not sure what games you've been watching. Wingate barley beat Catawba and Tusculum with their starters in. I'd be pretty worried about how you're going to score in this matchup, Wingate's D is good enough to slow LR down but we're getting into the 20s at the very least, I wouldn't be confident Wingate will do that.

Bad officiating really hurt Wingate against Tusc. 2 easy touchdowns were dropped as well. Against Catawba, WU statistically dominated and just didn't finish drives. They were in the red zone several times and made some costly mistakes that kept the game close. Many starters were not playing against Cat either with some injuries to Peoples and Mucklevene, which are their main contributers.

[Eagle74]

The SIAC has Miles sitting at 6-1 with a weak remaining schedule, and Fort Valley State and Albany State (2 good teams) play each other in their scheduled last game, so there's a slight possibility they could get 2 teams into the playoffs.


The CIAA has Bowie State 7-0 going up against 6-1 Virginia Union this weekend, and if Virginia Union takes the win, the CIAA too would potentially have 2 possible contenders for the playoffs.

The GSC has an undefeated 7-0 Valdosta State, along with a 5-1 West Florida, and even though both Delta State and West Georgia presently set at 4-3, they play each other next week, and the winner of that game's overall SOS would be through the roof, so with that fitting heavily into the playoff selection equation, the GSC has a slight chance of getting 3 schools into the Playoffs.

With that being said, the LR vs Wingate game looms large, along with the Bulldogs performance in their remaining schedule for a good chance for the SAC to have 2 guaranteed playoff contenders this year. Any slip up could really change things. Unfortunately, even if 4-2 CN wins out, it looks as though the SOS this year isn't quite strong enough to get them into the Playoffs (but the Eagles have had a very good season).

I don't believe 'earned access' will come into play this year, but then again, things could change in the remaining weeks.

[BearsLRU]

it looks as though the SOS this year isn't quite strong enough to get them into the Playoffs (but the Eagles have had a very good season).

I think it would be ridiculous if a 2 loss CN team didn't get in over a 3 loss GSC team this year, assuming there are any 3 loss GSC teams. We'll see how West Florida does the remainder of the year. I also think a 2 loss CN should get in over a one loss Bowie team who hasn't played anyone and would in this scenario have a loss to, at best Virginia Union, lets not forget the SAC swept the CIAA. I could see Miles getting in but two teams from the SIAC would REALLY surprise me.

Bad officiating really hurt Wingate against Tusc. 2 easy touchdowns were dropped as well. Against Catawba, WU statistically dominated and just didn't finish drives. They were in the red zone several times and made some costly mistakes that kept the game close. Many starters were not playing against Cat either with some injuries to Peoples and Mucklevene, which are their main contributers.

That's basically my point though. Wingate is going to struggle to sustain and finish drives against LR, which will be the best defense they've seen in the last two years. LR beat Tusc by double digits and had two TDs called back on terrible calls. I just don't know how Wingate can score enough points to win, they'll need a +2 advantage in the turnover margin in my opinion.

[LegalRam]

The SIAC has Miles sitting at 6-1 with a weak remaining schedule, and Fort Valley State and Albany State (2 good teams) play each other in their scheduled last game, so there's a slight possibility they could get 2 teams into the playoffs.


The CIAA has Bowie State 7-0 going up against 6-1 Virginia Union this weekend, and if Virginia Union takes the win, the CIAA too would potentially have 2 possible contenders for the playoffs.

The GSC has an undefeated 7-0 Valdosta State, along with a 5-1 West Florida, and even though both Delta State and West Georgia presently set at 4-3, they play each other next week, and the winner of that game's overall SOS would be through the roof, so with that fitting heavily into the playoff selection equation, the GSC has a slight chance of getting 3 schools into the Playoffs.

With that being said, the LR vs Wingate game looms large, along with the Bulldogs performance in their remaining schedule for a good chance for the SAC to have 2 guaranteed playoff contenders this year. Any slip up could really change things. Unfortunately, even if 4-2 CN wins out, it looks as though the SOS this year isn't quite strong enough to get them into the Playoffs (but the Eagles have had a very good season).

I don't believe 'earned access' will come into play this year, but then again, things could change in the remaining weeks.

VA State and Fayetteville State are also still in the mix. If VA State wins out they will have an 8-1 D2 record and potentially could play in the CIAA championship game and end up with a 9-1 D2 record. If FSU were to win out (which I highly doubt will happen) they would have a 10-1 D2 record.

[Bearhof]

CN has a good sos In beating WF and playing LR and Wingate as well. If they win out there in as a six or seven.