TOWSON, Md. - Another year and another road finale to end the season. Ho-hum.
But, wait a minute. Can we finally mention the "p-word?" You can now say the words "postseason" or "playoffs" without getting a strange look from a fellow student, alum or football coach.
Let's face it. When Towson beat No. 11 Old Dominion and then No. 14 William & Mary in consecutive weeks on the road, the playoffs became less of a dream and more of a reality.
The win at No. 13 Maine could have put the Tigers over the top and this past Saturday's win over No. 7 New Hampshire probably cemented the deal. As head coach Rob Ambrose mentioned on Saturday night following the game after some guy who graduated in 1992 asked him about using those words, "If they don't let us in the playoffs, something is ridiculously wrong with the world.Yes, we're going to the playoffs."
Ambrose added, "It was a goal from the first day. It's a fact of life. You can't get there by focusing on that goal. There's a million little things that have to be taken care of and if you don't do them, you don't get there. These things have been taken care of by the players, staff, administration, support staff and kids, fans. This goes deeper than just players. It's awesome."
The rankings listed above are from the Sports Network/Fathead.com Top 25 Poll (media and sports information directors), which had Towson ranked 12th. The other credible poll is the FCS Top 25 Coaches poll, which also had Towson ranked 12th. Oddly, both polls also had Old Dominion at #11, while New Hampshire was ranked 7th in the Sports Network Poll and 10th in the Coaches Poll.
How did the teams ranked ahead of Towson perform this week? We know what happened to New Hampshire and Old Dominion defeated William & Mary on the road, 35-31. No. 4 Georgia Southern defeated No. 9 Wofford, 31-10, on the road. The biggest upset came as top-ranked North Dakota State lost at home to unranked Youngstown State, 27-24.
The bottom line for Towson football is that at 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the CAA, a victory this Saturday at Rhode Island would give them no worse than a share of their first championship in the program's 43 years of playing football and would clinch the first Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth in the program's history. Towson could also become the first school in NCAA history to reach the playoffs in Division I, II and III. The last time the Tigers were in the playoffs was at the D-II level in 1986.
The FCS playoff field, which features 20 teams, will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 10 a.m. on ESPNU. The first round is on Saturday, Nov. 26 and the second round will be on Saturday, Dec. 3. There are 20 playoff spots and half are filled by conference champions; the other half consists of at-large bids. Ten of the 14 FCS conferences receive automatic bids to the playoffs. The ten at-large selections are chosen by the FCS playoff committee, which is composed of several Athletic Directors from across the country.
The key to advancing in the playoffs is receiving a first round bye as the top 12 seeded teams are given first-round byes. The eight teams ranked 13-20 are placed in the first round usually based on geographic proximity. The top five teams receive 1-5 seeds even though the fifth seed will be paired up with the seven teams ranked 6-12. The top four seeds will play an opponent from the first-round “play-in” games.
Around the CAA
As for the CAA, with Maine defeating UMass by 32-21 at home, the Black Bears are now tied with the Tigers for first place at 6-1. UNH falls to 5-2 and is tied with Old Dominion. James Madison, which defeated Rhode Island this week at home, 31-13, and Delaware, which bested Richmond by 24-10 in Newark, are both tied at 4-3.
Let's look at some potential scenarios for the CAA title provided by CAAsports.com.
2011 CAA Football Automatic Qualifier/League Title Scenarios
-- A Maine win and a Towson loss will give Maine the outright title and the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division I National Championship.
-- A Towson win and a Maine loss will give Towson the outright title and the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division I National Championship.
-- A Maine win and a Towson win will give both teams a share of the league title, while Towson will earn CAA Football's automatic bid by way of the league's head-to-head tiebreaker ... Towson defeated Maine, 40-30, Nov. 5.
-- A Maine loss and a Towson loss will create a four-team share of the league title including Maine, New Hampshire, Old Dominion and Towson. Towson will earn CAA Football's automatic bid by way of its combined 3-0 record against all teams tied atop the league standings.
