[wsm]

NCAA DII postseason bracket leaves out Savannah State, jumped in rankings by Lenoir-Rhyne

Nathan Dominitz
Savannah Morning News


The Savannah State football team's season is over after the Tigers, with one of their best records in years, were left out of the NCAA Division II postseason on Sunday.

The Tigers came into the weekend ranked No. 8 in Super Region Two, with the top seven teams in each of the four regions nationally advancing to the playoffs for 28 berths total. SSU was idle this weekend after 10 straight weeks of games, but hoped the 8-2 overall record and 5-1 mark in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was impressive enough for the top seven.

Mars Hill, No. 6 in the most recent region ranking, fell to 8-3 with a 26-19 loss to Wingate on Saturday, likely creating an opening in the top seven.

When the NCAA DII selection show Sunday revealed the region's bracket, previous No. 9 Lenoir-Rhyne (8-2) was the new seventh seed.

"Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, (but) I'm not on the committee," Quinn said. "The biggest thing is I think we had a good enough resume at 8-2. We were an 8-2 team ahead of Lenoir-Rhyne and then they picked the 8-2 Lenoir-Rhyne team over us that was behind us in the rankings.

"I'm grateful for the year we had. I'm disappointed we didn't get in. I think we should have been in. I'm sure there are a bunch of other coaches that feel the same way I do."

Savannah State held a watch party for the 5 p.m. Sunday selection show with players, coaches, staff and families. Quinn said everyone was excited and having a good time until the bracket was revealed.

"It was a lot of fun up until the announcement, then it was like a funeral at that point," he said.

He thanked the seniors for their contributions of the past, and then talked with the underclassmen about the program's future. But this season also must have been dissected in discussions.

Lenoir-Rhyne has won six straight games, and has wins over Mars Hill 31-16 and Wingate 31-6. The losses were at current No. 6 seed Newberry, a 9-2 team, 28-21; and at UVA Wise, a 5-6 team, 35-28.

Quinn credited Lenoir-Rhyne for successfully campaigning to make the DII playoffs.

"They've got a good reputation. We're an up-and-comer," he said. "The committee said our league (SIAC) is not as worthy as the SAC 8 (South Atlantic Conference) is to be in the playoffs."

Savannah State's two losses were in the season opener at No. 1 seed Valdosta State, a 9-1 team, 53-7; and at No. 4 seed Albany State, a 10-1 team, 30-0 on Oct. 23.

"Obviously, our losses were factored heavier than our wins were," Quinn said.

Albany State went on to win the East Division ahead of SSU and a berth in the league championship game Saturday, when it beat Miles 31-0. 

Valdosta State (9-1), which was No. 2 in the most recent AFCA coaches national poll, earned the bye as the region's top seed despite losing Saturday at West Florida. No. 2 Bowie State (10-1) will host Lenoir-Rhyne (8-2); and No. 3 and defending national champion West Florida (9-1) will host Newberry (9-2). VSU will host the winner of 2 vs. 7 on Nov. 27.

Newberry and Lenoir-Rhyne represent the South Atlantic Conference, Albany State the SIAC.

"Obviously, our league is not held in high enough regard yet," Quinn said. "We had some other good wins. For whatever reason, those weren't taken into consideration. We weren't given the opportunity to get into the playoffs, so obviously (we're) disappointed. I'm new to this process, our team is. We've got to find a way to win nine or 10 games instead of eight to make sure we get in this time next year."

Now Savannah State is in the conversation when the committee meets each week to rank the region's teams.

"It's baby steps," Quinn said. "I'm not big on moral victories. You're either in or out. We're outside looking in, so that's bittersweet. I felt like we have a good enough football team that we can compete with anybody if we played well. Obviously, in our two losses we played poorly. We needed to win the Albany State game to get in."

Playing Valdosta State, a perennial power and one of the top teams in the national rankings all season, toughened SSU's strength of schedule. Quinn said an in-state opponent from a powerful conference like the Gulf South is a better strategy than scheduling an FCS program, as zero consideration is given to by the committee to games outside of DII.

"We played the best team (Valdosta) in America according to everybody; we picked the hardest one," Quinn said. "We've got to be smart in who we schedule. We've got to play those guys in the regular season or playoffs at some point — them and West Florida and West Georgia."

Quinn also has long argued that the SIAC allow teams to play an 11-game schedule, giving all of them one more chance to add a victory.

SSU has felt on the other side of SIAC decisions such as in 2019, when it went 7-3 overall and 5-0 in the league to win the East Division but did not play for the SIAC title. League members had voted before the season that because SSU was transitioning to DII and not eligible for the playoffs, should it happen to win the division, another team would represent the East.

The SIAC canceled the 2020 fall sports season because of the COVID-19 pandemic when SSU figured to have a strong team returning.   

"The biggest thing we've got to do is win," Quinn said. "The other stuff is out of our hands. Obviously, it's been disappointing the decisions over the last couple of years that went against us. I give our guys credit. Our team's been competing and finding a way to win.

"We've got to just keep winning and force it where people can't keep us out of things. For the committee to not pick us, that was their decision. We've just got to come back with a better body of work next time. We've also got to know how to work our end of it to make sure we're highlighted and we're in the forefront of people's minds to be selected like some other schools were."

Nathan Dominitz is the Sports Content Editor of the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com. Email him at ndominitz@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @NathanDominitz

https://www.savannahnow.com/story/sports/college/football/2021/11/14/savannah-state-tigers-not-selected-ncaa-division-ii-playoffs/8619210002/

[Ram55]

I have been saying that they would let only two HBCUs in regardless to what is right. The other five spots is for them.

[Jay_Thomas]

I have been saying that they would let only two HBCUs in regardless to what is right. The other five spots is for them.

And we usually have the only 2 hbcus playing each other in the first round too.

[SSUTigerFan]

While I am disappointed for the players, I can see how Lenoir Rhyne would jump leap us.  Losing the way we did to Valdosta and  Albany, I can understand the decision.  Let that be a motivation for next year and lobby the SIAC to play 11 games for out of conference games.  Am I making any sense?

[FunCkMaster]

I have been saying that they would let only two HBCUs in regardless to what is right. The other five spots is for them.

And we usually have the only 2 hbcus playing each other in the first round too.

I hear you JT. But in a weird way, I wanted Savannah St to make it so that they would have had to make the trip to Bowie. I would love to have see that matchup.

[FunCkMaster]

While I am disappointed for the players, I can see how Lenoir Rhyne would jump leap us.  Losing the way we did to Valdosta and  Albany, I can understand the decision.  Let that be a motivation for next year and lobby the SIAC to play 11 games for out of conference games.  Am I making any sense?

Yes you are, total sense. I couldn't be mad at the reasoning either. Had SSU come to play for either one of those games they lost and won one of them, I don't think that type of article would have been written. We'd be talking about you guys making a trip up to Maryland possibly.

You can't make it close with the cast of characters who make these decisions, you have to make it so you take it out of their hands.

[thatd@mnYOGI]

Hmm...11 games isn't needed. Winning more games isn't the issue. Winning the games and scheduling IS the issue. That's why a few our alumni has been against playing Florida A&M the past few years. It does nothing for our strength of schedule and the payout isn't that great. I'd rather us play a Valdosta State or any of the other Gulf South or South Atlantic teams.

that's all...

[VSUTrojanFan]

I can totally see LR jumping Savannah St as the SAC is a better conference than the SIAC. Coach campaigning on getting in and they didn't win their division to play for the conference championship. Where I disagree with Ram55 is that if FSU would have beaten BSU, there probably would have been 2 CIAA schools in. BSU losing would not have dropped them out of the top 7 as that would have been their first loss to a D2 school. I said it in 2019 when CN came to Bowie and won, I would not be surprised if LR came to BSU and won Saturday.

[Que82]

While I am disappointed for the players, I can see how Lenoir Rhyne would jump leap us.  Losing the way we did to Valdosta and  Albany, I can understand the decision.  Let that be a motivation for next year and lobby the SIAC to play 11 games for out of conference games.  Am I making any sense?

I don't believe losing to ranked schools hurt you.  It actually helped your SOS.  You would have gotten in had you played and won the championship game.  I keep telling y'all an idle school, especially an HBCU, will not advance over schools still playing games under normal conditions.  That is why I made the restaurant comment.

[Que82]

I can totally see LR jumping Savannah St as the SAC is a better conference than the SIAC. Coach campaigning on getting in and they didn't win their division to play for the conference championship. Where I disagree with Ram55 is that if FSU would have beaten BSU, there probably would have been 2 CIAA schools in. BSU losing would not have dropped them out of the top 7 as that would have been their first loss to a D2 school. I said it in 2019 when CN came to Bowie and won, I would not be surprised if LR came to BSU and won Saturday.

With this ^^^ I agree. The CIAA overall was too weak to give FSU enough SOS to make the playoffs even if they had won the CG IMHO.  Almost every team that FSU played this year has a losing record. When 4 teams in your 12 team conference only has one win, it will hardly propel you into the playoffs.

[Warpaint]

I have been saying that they would let only two HBCUs in regardless to what is right. The other five spots is for them.

And we usually have the only 2 hbcus playing each other in the first round too.

HBCUs have the deck stacked against them, but your comment isn't true.  I don't know how long ago you are talking about, but at least sincee 2000 two HCBUs have not met in the first round of the playoffs.  From 09-16 the CIAA and SIAC weren't even in the same Super Region, so it wasn't even possible for them to meet in the first round.  Since the CIAA being back in SR2 there hasn't been a CIAA v. SIAC matchup in the playoffs. 

In 2010 when the SIAC got two teams in those teams didn't meet in the first round.  And in 2011, 2015, and 2017 when the CIAA got two teams in those teams didn't meet in the first round.

[Professor]

Really wish the CIAA could get back into Region 1

[ncsiacfan]

I doubt seriously that Lenoir-Rhyne campaigned to be selected. Their strength of schedule including their loses was enough. Nor should there be any rule changes. Teams choose to play classics, they choose their non conference opponents. This was the first year that the Morehouse schedule, including new member Edward Waters was not entirely schools from the SIAC. We opened the season with two ranked DII teams, West Alabama and West Georgia. I hope that we keep those two teams. They are nearby and it makes sense. With our old schedule, we could have possibly finished 6-4 instead of 4-6. We are only going to get better by playing better teams. Nor did we have a spring season. I am looking forward to next year already.

[Ram55]

Its going to be hard for any team to make it to the National Championship game in the same region as the Gulf South. That conference has been a power for many years.

[CIAA-FAN]

I doubt seriously that Lenoir-Rhyne campaigned to be selected. Their strength of schedule including their loses was enough. Nor should there be any rule changes. Teams choose to play classics, they choose their non conference opponents. This was the first year that the Morehouse schedule, including new member Edward Waters was not entirely schools from the SIAC. We opened the season with two ranked DII teams, West Alabama and West Georgia. I hope that we keep those two teams. They are nearby and it makes sense. With our old schedule, we could have possibly finished 6-4 instead of 4-6. We are only going to get better by playing better teams. Nor did we have a spring season. I am looking forward to next year already.

I AGREE WITH THIS ASSESSSMENT 100%.  YOU ONLY GET BETTER BY PLAYING BETTER COMPETITION.   THIS IS A LESSON THE REST OF THE CIAA IS GOING TO HAVE TO LEARN.   I KNEW THAT FSU's RECORD WAS MORE THAN SUSPECT.  THEIR OFFENSE WAS TOTALLY DOMINATED IN THE CIAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BY THE BOWIE DEFENSE.   


WE PLAYED THREE NON-CIAA GAMES THIS YEAR.  WINNING 2 OF 3.   THE SOLE BSU LOSS WAS TO A D-1 TEAM AND THE TWO BSU NON-CONFERENCE WINS WERE AGAINST STRONG D2 TEAMS, ONE OF WHICH IS IN THE TOURNAMENT WITH BSU BEING THEIR SOLE LOSS.  COMPARE OUR SOS SCHEDULE AGAINST THAT OF FSU. 
WAS ANYONE REALLY SURPRISED AT THE CIAA CHSAMPIONSHIP OUTCOME?

MY ONLY SURPRISE WAS AT HOW CLOSE THE FINAL SCORE WAS.  FSU WAS DETERMINED NOT TO TAKE A THIRD CIAA CHAMPIONSHIP LOSS AND FOUGHT HARD, BUT TO NO AVAIL.