D2 rankings due; SIAC battle looms
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
The first NCAA Div. II football regional rankings of 2006 will take place next week, on Monday Oct. 9. Those results are usually released on the following day, Tuesday, Oct. 10, and will be available on-line at http://ncaasports.com/football/mens/polls/polls/divii.
There are four regions nationally in Div. II and each has an Advisory Committee that ranks teams in the region each week through the final regional ranking which is to be conducted on Sunday, Nov. 12.
At the end of the regular season, six teams from each region will be awarded spots in the 24-team Div. II playoff field using a formula called "Earned Access." The process went into effect in 2005 and, among other provisions such as won-loss record, strength of schedule and head-to-head competition, awards a playoff berth to each conference that has a team in the final top ten of that region. According to the NCAA guidelines, the Advisory Committee makes its recommendations to the Div. II Football Committee which makes the final selection of the 24-team field.
The two historically black Div. II athletic conferences, the CIAA and SIAC, are in the Southeast Region along with the South Atlantic and Gulf South Conferences.
This year, the CIAA is struggling in out-of-conference competition. It has a 1-11 record against SAC teams with its only win North Carolina Central's 38-16 decision over Lenoir-Rhyne.
At 5-0, undefeated NCCU is currently the only CIAA team in any of the Div. II national rankings. NCCU was ranked 11th last week in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) national poll and should move up. The Eagles are sixth in this week's D2football.com. Neither poll however has particular bearing on the regional rankings.
The Eagles embark on the third leg of a four-week road trip when they travel to nearby Raleigh to take on CIAA West Division foe, St. Augustine's (1-4, 1-2) Saturday. The Eagles have been successful in the first two games of what was likely viewed as their toughest stretch of the season. They won at I-AA and SWAC member Southern 27-20 two weekends ago and travelled to Bowie State for a 2005 CIAA title game rematch and prevailed 35-13 this past weekend.
NCCU freshman QB Stadford Brown has been sterling for the Eagles on offense while the Eagle defense is giving up just 12.2 points per game. Brown leads the CIAA in passing yardage (229 ypg.) and has 11 TD tosses and only three interceptions.
St. Aug's, who ended NCCU's five-game winning streak to open the season a year ago, had perhaps its worst performance of the season last week in a 49-0 blowout loss to Elizabeth City State. The other West Division matchup has Livingstone (1-5, 1-2) hosting surprising Johnson C. Smith (4-1, 2-1).
Speaking of the ECSU Vikings, head coach Waverly Tillar's team has surged to the top of the CIAA East Division standings and carries the momentum of its dominating performance vs. St. Aug's into its match at home against winless Division rival Virginia State (0-5, 0-2). Also in the East Division, Virginia Union (3-2, 1-1) has its homecoming in Richmond vs. St. Paul's (2-3, 1-1) and Shaw (2-3, 1-1) hosts Bowie State (2-3, 0-2).
Unheralded Lane out of the SIAC is also undefeated at 6-0 and is currently tied for the SIAC lead at 3-0 with defending champion Albany State (3-2) and Miles (4-1). But Lane has yet to crack into any national rankings. That's primarily because the Dragons have defeated teams that have a combined won-lost record of 7-26 headed into this week's game at Kentucky State (3-2), the first team with a winning record they have faced this season.
While the Dragons have a slim chance at breaking into the national and regional rankings, they do have a shot at sneaking into the SIAC championship picture. Lane does not play defending SIAC champ Albany State this season and its season-ending date with Tuskegee does not count on the SIAC ledger. A game to watch for Lane, other than the KSU matchup Saturday, is next Saturday's (Oct. 14) date with Miles (4-1, 3-0).
Miles has defeated Tuskegee and Fort Valley State and takes its shot at three-time defending SIAC champ Albany State in perhaps the week's top game. Also, Tuskegee (3-2, 3-1) has its traditional showdown with Morehouse in Columbus, Ga., and Stillman (1-4, 0-4) hosts Fort Valley State (2-4, 1-2).
The challengers to defending champ Hampton (5-0, 4-0) in the MEAC are slowly falling away. Each team other than the Pirates has suffered a loss in conference play. Hampton took care of Delaware State 29-14 Saturday while Bethune-Cookman was upset by Morgan State, 28-14. Hampton hits the road Saturday for a non-conference date at the Circle City Classic in Indianapolis with Central State (0-2). DelState (2-2, 1-1) and B-CC (3-2, 2-1) get to take out their frustrations on each other, and perhaps stage an MEAC title-elimination bout, when they meet in Daytona Beach. South Carolina State (1-3, 1-1) tries to right its sinking ship when it entertains Norfolk State (3-1, 1-1), a team seemingly headed in a different direction. NC A&T (0-4, 0-2) looks for its first win of the season at home vs. Morgan State (3-2, 2-1) and Howard is at Winston-Salem State for the Rams' homecoming.
In the SWAC, Prairie View (2-2, 1-2) and Alcorn State (1-3, 0-2) battle live Thursday nite in Texas on ESPNU, Alabama State (2-3, 2-2) and Jackson State (3-1, 2-0) stage their East Division tussle in Mobile, Al., live on CSTV Saturday. Also Saturday, Southern (3-2, 2-1) tries to knock off its second straight Alabama team as it travels to Huntsville to face the A&M Bulldogs (3-1, 2-1) and Grambling State (1-3, 1-1) travels to Mississippi to face the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils (3-2, 2-2).
© 2006 Azeez Communications, Inc.