Football - NCAA Playoffs - Week 3
NCAA Playoffs - Week 3 Notes (pdf)
California and West Liberty, separated by just about an hour on I-70, will meet for the first time since 1993 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA playoffs on Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon on the West Liberty campus. The Vulcans will be looking for their third straight regional championship and trip to the NCAA semifinals and if they can do so, it will mark the sixth straight season that a PSAC representative will have represented the region in the NCAA semifinals. The last time that a PSAC team did not make the semifinals was in 2003.
PSAC Football - NCAA Playoffs Week 3 Notes - 11/25/09
Quick Hits
- This marks California’s third straight trip to the NCAA quarterfinals/regional championship game. This is also the Vulcans’ third straight appearance in the NCAA playoffs.
- The Vulcans are the two-time defending Super Region One champions and are shooting for their third straight appearance in the NCAA semifinals.
- The PSAC placed four teams in the NCAA playoffs this year for only the second time in history. The only other time was in 2004.
- The PSAC will end the season with two punters ranked in the top five in the country in average yards per punt. Shippensburg’s Kyler Ford and Slippery Rock’s Kyle Witman are currently ranked third and fourth in the country, respectively in average yards per punt.
- Several PSAC records were broken by Edinboro and QB Trevor Harris in last week’s loss to West Liberty.
- Among them were the single-game records for team passing yards (630), individual passing yards for Harris (630), pass attempts (76) and completions (50).
- The game also broke the PSAC record for combined points (147).
National Leaders
The PSAC has one individual and one team that is leading the country in various categories as of the latest NCAA statistical report. They are listed below.
- West Chester punt returner Kevin Garland leads the country in average punt return for the fifth straight week at 20.57 yards per return.
- Edinboro will end the year tied with three other teams for the national lead in fewest fumbles lost. The Fighting Scots have lost just three fumbles on the year.
PSAC in Non-Conference Action
The PSAC went 9-5 this year against Division II non-conference competition, and 9-6 overall. This is a large improvement over last year’s 6-9 overall non-conference record (6-8 vs. Division II opponents). Listed below is the conference and record breakdown of the PSAC’s non-conference opponents this year, followed by the PSAC’s record last year in non-conference action.
2009 - 9-6 overall (9-5 vs. Division II)
Northeast 10: 3-1 (Wins - IUP over Southern Connecticut State, Millersville over Assumption, Kutztown over St. Anselm; Losses - American International over C.W. Post)
WVIAC: 2-1 (Wins - Clarion over Fairmont State, Edinboro over West Liberty State; Losses - Shepherd over Shippensburg)
CIAA: 2-1 (Wins - East Stroudsburg over Virginia Union, Slippery Rock over Bowie State; Losses - Lincoln over Cheyney)
GLIAC: 1-2 (Wins - Bloomsburg over Ashland; Losses - Wayne State over Mercyhurst, Saginaw Valley State over California)
Independents: 1-0 (Gannon over Lake Erie)
Division I FCS (CAA): 0-1 (Losses - Delaware over West Chester)
2008 - 6-9 overall (6-8 vs. Division II)
WVIAC: 1-4 (Wins - Edinboro over West Liberty State; Losses - Fairmont State over Clarion, Glenville State over Lock Haven, Shepherd over Shippensburg, Seton Hill over Slippery Rock)
Northeast 10: 1-2 (Wins - Kutztown over St. Anselm; Losses - AIC over C.W. Post, Bentley over Millersville
GLIAC: 1-1 (Wins - Bloomsburg over Ashland; Losses - Wayne State over Mercyhurst)
CIAA: 1-1 (Wins - East Stroudsburg over Virginia Union; Losses - Bowie State over Cheyney)
Independent: 2-0 (Wins - Gannon over Lake Erie, California over Lake Erie)
Division I FCS (CAA): 0-1 (Losses - Delaware over West Chester)
Long Ones are Rare
Bloomsburg K Jon Koenig booted a career-long 50-yard field goal on September 19 in the Huskies’ win over Kutztown. It marked the third straight year that a PSAC kicker made a field goal from at least 50 yards but it also marked only the fifth FG made from 50+ yards in the PSAC in the last nine seasons dating back to 2000. Koenig and Millersville’s John Banzhof are the only active PSAC kickers that have made FGs from 50 yards or more. Listed below are the PSAC kickers that have made FGs from 50+ yards in this decade.
53 - Greg Knauss (East Stroudsburg) vs. IUP, 2007
53 - Sean McNicholas (Edinboro) vs. East Stroudsburg, 2000
52 - John Katsaouni (Slippery Rock) vs. Shippensburg, 2003
50 - John Banzhof (Millersville) vs. Bloomsburg, 2008
50 - Jon Koenig (Bloomsburg) vs. Kutztown, 2009
Streaks
There are a couple of streaks in the PSAC that teams will take into next season, some of which teams want to keep going, and others that teams want to break. California has a 20-game winning streak in PSAC West play, which it will take into next season with PSAC divisional play having wrapped up for the season.
On the opposite end, Cheyney will take a 23-game losing streak in PSAC East play into next season and the Wolves are also looking to break an overall 28-game losing streak. Lock Haven will take a 14-game losing streak in PSAC West play into next season and will have one more chance to break an overall 21-game losing streak.
PSAC Team Notes
California Vulcans
In a rematch of the PSAC Championship, Cal U earned a 26-21 victory over Shippensburg to advance to its third-straight NCAA Regional Championship…The Vulcans improve to 6-2 overall and 1-0 on the road in NCAA post-season play…Sr. WR A.J. Jackson broke the single-season school record for receiving yards (1,246) against the Red Raiders…Jackson now holds single-season marks for receptions (89), receiving yards and receiving touchdowns (15)…Cal U has now blocked six punts this year with three being returned for touchdowns…The Vulcans have won 11 of their last 13 games in the month of November dating back to 2005…Cal U will face West Liberty for the 20th time in the all-time series on Saturday and the first since 1993…Head coach John Luckhardt has posted 18 career wins in the NCAA Playoffs (Division II and III).
Edinboro Fighting Scots
Edinboro’s shootout with West Liberty produced a number of Division II playoff records...They included combined total yards (1,394) and yards passing (1,170)...Trevor Harris completed 50 of 76 passes for 630 yards, the yardage total a Division II playoff record, and all three figures school records. He tied the school record for touchdown passes in a game (5) and broke his own single-game total offense record with 647 yards…Harris, a Harlon Hill Trophy finalist for the second straight year, finished his career ranking fifth in Division II in career yards passing with 11,899 yards, and sixth in career total offense with 12,691 yards. Both figures are second all-time in the PSAC. He also moved into second place in career TD passes in the PSAC with 100. He finished with a PSAC record 966 completions, and is third in career pass attempts (1,464)…In two games against West Liberty, the top seed in Super Region One, Harris threw for 1,053 yards with 8 TDs…The big finish helped Harris break his own school record for passing yards in a season, as he finished with 3,304 yards. He became the first Edinboro quarterback to throw for at least 2,500 yards all four seasons, and also to throw for at least 20 TDs all four seasons…Gary Nolen’s 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown marked the first kickoff return for a score since 1999…Nolen and Marcus Johnson each caught 11 passes, one shy of the school record. Nolen had 315 all-purpose yards in all, the fourth-highest single-game total.
Shippensburg Red Raiders
Shippensburg earned its first outright divisional championship and first overall conference championship in 28 years...The Red Raiders scored at least 21 points in all 12 games this season, a feat never before achieved in 105 seasons of organized football at the university...SU set a new school record for season kickoff return yards with (1,111)...The Red Raiders came within six points of a new record for points scored in a season and within one touchdown of tying the school record for the most touchdowns scored in one season...Chad DiFebbo set the school record for passing touchdowns in a season (27) and the school record for total touchdowns by any player in one season (28)...DiFebbo threw at least one passing touchdown in 22 of his 23 career starts at quarterback for Shippensburg and tied a university record for the most consecutive games with a touchdown pass (14)...He finishes his tenure ranked second in school history for season passing yards (2.507) and is ranked fifth for career passing yards (4,597)...Mike Harris set the SU school record for career receptions (197), and the SU school record for most career games catching a touchdown pass (20)...He was just one receiving touchdown short of tying the school record (26)...Harris is just the 14th player in PSAC history and just the second Red Raider to compile at least 3,000 career receiving yards...Kyler Ford set a school record for career punts (245) and career punting yards (9,768)...he also set a new school record for points by a kicker in one season (77) and PATs in one season (47)...Kevin Herod ran for 727 yards this season, the most individual yards by one back since John Kuhn in 2004.
Game Preview
California (10-3, 7-0 PSAC West) at West Liberty (11-1, 8-0 WVIAC)
Nov. 28- 12:00 p.m.
West Liberty, W.Va.
Russek Field (4,000)
NCAA Playoffs - Quarterfinals/Regional Final
California Conference(PSAC)/NCAA Ranks
Scoring Offense: 34.3 - 1st/19th Rush Offense: 174.4 - 4th/40th
Scoring Defense: 19.2 - 3rd/23rd Rush Defense: 114.4 - 3rd/36th
Pass Offense: 220.3 - 4th/59th Total Offense: 394.7 - 6th/48th
Pass Defense: 183.4 - 9th/45th Total Defense: 297.8 - 4th/25th
West Liberty Conference (WVIAC)/NCAA Ranks
Scoring Offense: 48.3 - 1st/1st Rush Offense: 154.3 - 6th/59th
Scoring Defense: 30.6 - 5th/106th Rush Defense: 141.0 - 4th/79th
Pass Offense: 395.3 - 1st/2nd Total Offense: 549.7 - 1st/1st
Pass Defense: 254.3 - 9th/130th Total Defense: 395.3 - 7th/112th
Coaches
California: John Luckhardt (8th year; 204-64-2 career record; 67-27 at Cal)
West Liberty State: Roger Waialae (5th year; 39-17 career record)
What to Expect
This game will present perhaps the most interesting matchup of the year for both teams. West Liberty, which is coming off a record-setting performance in last week’s 84-63 win over Edinboro, has only been held under 30 points once this season, and the Hilltoppers have scored at least 40 points in their last four games, including two games of 60 or more. However, statistically, California will be the best defense that West Liberty has faced this year. The Hilltoppers, which have the nation’s high-scoring offense and also generates the most yards per game in the country in Division II, will also be the best offense that the Vulcans have faced this year. On the other side of the ball, Cal presents on offense that can also strike quickly, and the Hilltoppers give up almost as many points per game as the Vulcans score, all of which lead to what should be an intriguing and exciting matchup for the Super Region One championship. A big key to this game may be if one teams jumps out to a big lead. Although both offenses are capable of coming from behind and pass well, they are most effective when they not one-dimensional.
The Vulcans’ defense is ranked over 80 spots higher nationally in scoring than West Liberty’s, so it is highly probable they won’t be allowing the Hilltoppers to score over 80 points again. However, Cal has also given up some points in some games this year, so how well the Vulcans prepare and are able to slow down West Liberty’s high-flying offense will likely decide the game. The Vulcans have an outstanding rush defense, so slowing down RB Kevon Calhoun may prove to be a key to the game as well. Calhoun is basically West Liberty’s entire rushing attack, as the rusher with next-most carries has almost 150 fewer than him. How well Cal’s offense gets started and whether or not the Vulcans can jump out to an early lead may also help them neutralize West Liberty’s running game, forcing the Hilltoppers to throw the ball for the balance of the game. The Vulcans do have a pair of good cover corners led by Terrence Johnson, and they will need to make some stops of West Liberty’s potent wideouts, three of which are already over the 1,000-yard mark in receiving yards for the year.
Cal’s defense may be most effective if it doesn’t have to be out on the field in long periods, and keeping the ball out of West Liberty’s hands should also prove to be an effective defense. Accomplishing this may be made easier if the Vulcans are able to the time of possession battle and doing that will be made possible by the Vulcans having an effective running game, which Edinboro was not able to do last week. The combination of Freddie Bacco and Windell Brown will be a key, as if they are able to run effectively and make their average yards per carry of 5.0 and over, that will not only help the Vulcans maintain possession for a longer period of time, but it also should open things up for Cal’s potent passing game, which, although the numbers aren’t as lofty as West Liberty’s, can strike just as quickly. WR A.J. Jackson has set school records for receiving yards and receptions and he along with Terrance Moore and Chedrick Cherry all have big play potential. The Hilltoppers’ pass defense is one of the worst in Division II, so exploiting this matchup as well as maintaining an effective running game will be a key to Cal’s offensive attack.
Both teams have big-play potential on special teams. West Liberty’s Kashif Walls returned a kickoff for a touchdown last week and along with Eddie Hills, are two big-play threats. The Vulcans have one of the top kick return units in the country, led by Johnson and Cherry, as the Vulcans average 24.1 ypr on kickoffs as a team while West Liberty averages just 18.0 ypr despite having the potential for a long one. Cal also averages four more yards per return on punts than West Liberty, so how well the Vulcans are able to assert these statistical advantages on the Hilltoppers, if at all, may also play a big role in the game. Cal has used both of its kickers, Marc Domonkos and Kevin Hagerman, in its two playoff games, and they have combined to miss just six FGs and two PATs. West Liberty K Mike Blewett has also missed six FGs but also has missed seven PATs, something that could come into play in a close game.
Series/Game Notes
California holds an 11-8 lead in the all-time series with West Liberty...Although the two schools are located only about an hour apart, they have not met since the opening game of the 1993 season, a 43-32 Cal win at West Liberty...Cal won both games of a home-and-home series in 1992 and ‘93...Prior to that two-year span, the two teams had not met since 1961, which was West Liberty’s last win in the series...The Vulcans have won seven straight games against WVIAC opponents, with their last loss to a WVIAC foe coming vs. West Virginia Wesleyan in 2003...Cal has played a PSAC-high five games against nationally-ranked teams this year and has gone 3-2 in those games, including last week’s win over Shippensburg.