THE RFC MYC: Southern Athletic Association (SAA)-(NCAA Division III)

Southern Athletic Association (SAA)-(NCAA Division III)

Overview: The battle for the 2018 Southern Athletic Association (SAA) championship came down to the Berry College Vikings from Georgia, and the Centre College Colonels from Kentucky on September 22. When the smoke finally cleared, it was the visiting Vikings from the Peach State that emerged victorious, winning 38-35 in overtime. The victory over Centre helped propel Berry to its second straight NCAA Division III playoff as the automatic qualifier from the SAA. On the other hand, the tough loss to the Vikings not only proved to be the lone loss of the regular season for the Colonels but also sparked a six-game winning streak to close out the year, good enough for an at-large berth to the D-III playoffs. 

In the NCAA playoffs, both SAA representatives advanced to the second round with convincing wins in the first round. Berry shut out Maryville 31-0, while Centre crushed Washington & Jefferson 54-13. However, the season for both teams would come to an end on the second weekend of D-III playoff action, as the Vikings fell to eventual national champion Mary Hardin-Baylor, while the Colonels gave then-defending national champion turned eventual national runner-up Mount Union all it could handle before falling 51-35. Both teams finished the 2018 season at 10-2 overall.

So what does 2019 hold in store for the SAA? Well, expect Centre and Berry to be the teams to beat once again this fall, while third-place Trinity (Tex.)-(7-3 overall, 6-2 in the SAA) hopes that a season-ending four-game winning streak, which included an upset win over the Vikings to end 2018, will carry over into this season.

2018 SAA Football Final Standings

2019 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access to find the schedules)

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2019 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.

Austin

Berry 

Birmingham-Southern

Centre

Hendrix

Millsaps

Rhodes

Sewanee

Trinity (Tex.)

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