CALIFORNIA (Nov. 14) – The California University of Pennsylvania football team will learn if it receives a berth to the NCAA Playoffs today, Sunday, Nov. 14, via a live web stream.
The NCAA Division II Football Selection Show is scheduled to stream at 5 p.m. The top-seven teams in the final Super Region One rankings released this evening will receive at-large berths to the NCAA Playoffs, as none of the four conference champions in the region receive an automatic qualifier. However, 'earned access' may play a pivotal role in the selections to the NCAA Playoffs this year.
The Vulcans (9-1) were slotted seventh in the latest regional rankings after suffering their lone loss of the regular season on the road to a nationally-ranked opponent in Week 10. Cal U closed the regular season yesterday with a 24-9 victory at Bloomsburg while battling slippery conditions throughout the contest. The 10 opponents for Cal U this season have posted a combined 45-63 overall record (.417) and five teams posted at least five victories. The 'no contest' against Clarion actually benefits the Vulcans, as the winless season by the Golden Eagles doesn't factor into the selection criteria of opponent winning percentage (OWP) and opponents' opponent winning percentage (OOWP).
Super Region One figures to see little change in the rankings, as eight of the 10 teams in last week's rankings posted victories yesterday. Top-ranked Kutztown (10-1) claimed its first PSAC Championship in a decade with a 38-32 win over sixth-seeded Slippery Rock (9-2). Second-ranked Shepherd rolled to a 55-0 victory against Clarion, while third-seeded Notre Dame (Ohio) (10-1) cruised to a 72-7 win versus Alderson Broaddus to claim a share of fourth-consecutive Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championship. Fourth-ranked New Haven (Conn.) (9-1) posted a 34-20 victory at Franklin Pierce (N.H.) to earn an outright Northeast-10 (NE-10) Championship and fifth-seeded Bentley (Mass.) (9-1) rebounded from its loss last week with a 48-23 win against Assumption (Mass.).
Eighth-ranked Shippensburg (9-2) rallied in the fourth quarter for a 17-13 victory over Mercyhurst. The Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) featured a regular-season finale with the remaining two regionally-ranked teams, as 10th-seeded Findlay (8-3) captured its first league title since 1997 with a 26-21 win over ninth-ranked Tiffin (8-3).
In all likelihood, Cal U, Slippery Rock (52-65 OWP / .444 OOWP) and the two G-MAC programs are vying for the last two remaining positions in the NCAA Playoffs. G-MAC Champion Findley (65-54 / .546) and Tiffin (60-58 / .508) may potentially benefit from 'earned access' which states that if any conference in a Super Region doesn't have one of the top-seven teams but does have a team ranked eighth or ninth, that they may move up to the seventh slot and bump the team that previously held the position.
The Vulcans are looking to possibly return to the NCAA Playoffs for the first time since back-to-back appearances in 2016 and 2017.
