CIAA, SIAC title tunes; "Let's do it again"
The most improbable and exciting CIAA regular season in quite some time came to a fitting close Saturday.
Six teams went into Saturday's games with the possibility of reaching this Saturday's 1 p.m. league title game in Durham, N.C. When it was all said and done, Bowie State (8-2, 5-2) from the East and North Carolina Central (9-1, 6-1) from the West got all the right bounces and breaks to emerge from the crowded fields with their respective division titles and set up a rematch for Saturday's championship finale. NCCU beat Bowie State 38-19 in a Sept. 24 showdown in Durham when both teams were undefeated at 4-0.
Bowie State went into Petersburg, Va.,
Saturday and got a 27-17 victory over Virginia
State, who could have won the title outright with a win. That gave
Mike Lynn's BSU troops at least a tie for the division
lead. But when St. Paul's won at Shaw
21-14, the division crown was their's alone.
NCCU had a different task. Rod Broadway's troops had to defeat winless Johnson C. Smith which they did easily, 34-14 and then hope that Winston-Salem State could knock off St. Augustine's, the only team to defeat the Eagles this year. That's just what the Rams did, handing the Falcons a stunning 35-33 defeat that handed the West Division title to the Eagles.
Beyond the CIAA title, Saturday's Championship Game in Durham will have serious implications for the Div. II playoffs. Currently NCCU is fourth in the Southeast Region, St. Aug's (8-2) is ninth and Bowie State tenth. A Bowie State win could present many possibilities. Six teams from the region will make the 24-team playoff field.
The way the 'Earned Access' process that governs playoff berths is structured, if a CIAA team is not in the top six of next week's final poll then the conference must have a team in the top ten to receive a berth. With the current rankings, it appears certain that a CIAA team will be in the top ten but it's certainly not clear who that may be or who will be the highest ranked though NCCU certainly has the edge regardless of Saturday's outcome.
SIAC
Albany State (7-1, 7-1) and Fort Valley State
(7-2, 7-1) stage their traditional season-ending battle
in Columbus, Ga., Saturday (2 p.m.) with the SIAC
title and a Div. II playoff berth again on the line.
An Albany State win gives the title outright to the Golden Rams and ensures another playoff berth for James "Mike" White's troops. A win by John Morgan's Wildcats would create a tie with Tuskegee, if the Golden Tigers down Kentucky State Saturday. Since Tuskegee has the head-to-head advantage over FVSU, so only an FVSU win and TU loss would give the title to the Wildcats.
As far as the playoffs are concerned, Albany State is currently fourth in the Southeast Region and FVSU is seventh. The winner of Saturday's game will likely be the highest ranked SIAC team in the region and get the berth. Tuskegee is ineligible for the playoffs.
SWAC
Grambling QB Bruce Eugene's seven TD passes Saturday in the G-Men's 58-21 rout of Texas Southern Saturday clinched the West Division title for Melvin Spears' Tigers (6-1, 6-0). But it may take a while before they know who will represent the East in the Dec. 10 SWAC Championship Game.
That's because Alabama A&M (6-2, 4-2) injected some intrigue into that division's race with a 31-28 win over defending champion Alabama State Saturday before a crowd of 68,738 at the 64th Magic City Classic in Birmingham. Alabama State must now win one of its remaining SWAC games, a tough one this Saturday at home vs. the G-Men or Nov. 12 at Mississippi Valley State, to claim the title. To stay alive for the division crown, A&M has to defeat Jackson State at home in Huntsville this Saturday, and go on the road to defeat Alcorn State on Nov. 12 and Prairie View on Nov. 19.
MEAC
Hampton (8-0, 6-0) was idle last week and stayed at No. 3 in the Sports Network NCAA Div. I-AA national poll despite getting 25 first-place votes, up from 13 the previous week. Furman (7-1) is first this week with 61 first-place votes, 7-1 New Hampshire is second with 25 first-place votes. Previous No. 1 Western Kentucky lost to Southern Illinois.
A Pirates win in either of their final two games, Saturday at Bethune-Cookman or Nov. 12 at home vs. Florida A&M, or a loss by South Carolina State (6-2, 4-1) in either of its final three games, gives the Pirates their second straight MEAC crown and I-AA playoff berth.
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