RFC Summer Semester--Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Preview--NCAA Division II

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2011 Final Standings

Looking back: 2011 proved to be one of the most competitive seasons in the history of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), as eight of the league's 16 teams finished with at least seven or more wins, while four of those squads had at least eight wins.  

But it doesn't end there.  The top two teams in both divisions, East (Kutztown/C.W. Post) and West (California [Pa.]/Slippery Rock), finished tied for first place at 6-1 in conference to end the regular season, while two other teams (Bloomsburg/Indiana) finished at 5-2 in their respective divisional play.

In the end, though, only California and Kutztown managed to advance to the NCAA Division II playoffs.  Both teams were eliminated in the second round with losses to Winston-Salem State and New Haven, respectively.

Looking ahead: Expect another competitive race on both sides of the PSAC in 2012.

2012 Predicted Order of Finish (2011 overall record in parentheses)

East Division

1. Bloomsburg (9-2):  Two losses on back-to-back weekends (October 29 and November 5) proved very costly to the Huskies postseason hopes in 2011.   If they're to get back on top in the PSAC East in 2012, they must defeat either C.W. Post or Kutztown to get there, as well as back into the D-II playoff discussion.  Unlike last season, the Huskies must play against Kutztown and C.W. Post in succession in September, instead of late October/early November.

2. Kutztown (11-2):  The Golden Bears enter the 2012 season looking to not only win the PSAC East title for the third straight season, but also advance to the D-II playoffs for the third year in a row.  That's not to mention that they're also looking to defend their first-ever overall PSAC title that they won in 2011, a 21-14 win over Slippery Rock.  Still, KU faces a tough start to its season, as the Golden Bears will face California at home on September 8, before beginning divisional play at Bloomsburg the following week.


3. Shippensburg (7-4):  After a 3-4 start, the Red Raiders were red hot to finish the 2011 season, ending it with four straight wins, holding their opponents to average of 12.5 points in the process.  In 2012, however, Shippensburg faces a tough road to the top in the PSAC East, with the Red Raiders facing six teams that had winning records in 2011.


4. C.W. Post (7-4):  Despite a dismal 0-3 start, the Pioneers managed to finish 6-1 in PSAC East play last season, good enough to finish in a first-place tie with Kutztown.  That one loss in conference play, though, came to the Golden Bears, although the big highlight of 2011 came one week later, in the form of a 24-21 upset win over Bloomsburg a week later.  Now the big question heading into 2012 is can the Pioneers take that next step, and seriously challenge for the division title again, and maybe more?

5. West Chester (5-6):  The Golden Rams look to rebound after a disappointing 2011 campaign which saw them lose five of their six games by 10 or more points.  The program's last playoff appearance came in 2008. 


6. Millersville (3-8):  The Marauders hope to move up in the PSAC East after a 2-5 finish in divisional play last season.


7. East Stroudsburg (3-8):  The Warriors also hope to move forward after a rough 2011 season.


8. Cheyney (1-10):  The Wolves barely escaped with a 21-19 win over Lincoln (Pa.) in their season opener, but lost 10 in a row to close out 2011.


West Division

1. California (Pa.)--(10-3):  The Vulcans will shoot for an unprecedented sixth straight NCAA Division II playoff appearance, as well as their sixth straight 10-win season in 2012.  But it'll be anything but an easy start to it, as they play host to a Hillsdale team that finished 8-2 last season, followed by a tough tilt against defending PSAC champion Kutztown the following week.

2. Slippery Rock (8-3):  Despite a two-game losing streak to end last season, The Rock and its faithful still had something to cheer about, as the football program represented the West in the PSAC title game, giving eventual champion Kutztown all it could handle before losing, 21-14.  Fans at SRU are hoping 2012 will be the year their team hoists the PSAC championship trophy up in the air, and then some.


3. Indiana (Pa.)--(7-3):  If the last name of Cignetti doesn't sound familiar to both IUP and PSAC fans, it should.  That's because Curt Cignetti is entering his season as the Crimson Hawks head coach coming off one of the best seasons the program has had since his father Frank led it to a conference crown in 1986.  Now the challenge for the younger Cignetti will be to lead IUP to first postseason appearance since 2002.


4. Edinboro (7-4):  The Fighting Scots will look to rebound after ending the 2011 season with back-to-back losses.


5. Gannon (4-7):  The Golden Knights were outscored 277-219 in all 11 games of 2011.


6. Mercyhurst (4-7):  The Lakers are looking to bounce back after a disappointing 2011 season.  That followed an unlikely playoff run in 2010 in which they reached the D-II quarterfinals. 


7. Clarion (3-8):  A 34-20 season ending win over Millersville was the bright spot in a otherwise dismal campaign for the Golden Eagles.


8. Lock Haven (0-10):  Speaking of dismal, the Bald Eagles are long overdue for a win.  Their last victory came on the last day of 2007, November 10, to be exact.  Ironically, it came against Clarion, 17-14.  Since then, they've lost 42 straight games.