(STATS) – A conference getting four teams in the FCS playoffs was unheard of 15 years ago. Now, it’s become commonplace, particularly for the highly regarded Missouri Valley and Colonial Athletic Association.
A Southland Conference quartet could be set to join the party.
The most teams the SLC has sent to the playoffs was three, and that’s happened just twice since 2003. That year was the first time an FCS conference received four berths, and that was the MVFC, which has had at least that many in each of the past three seasons. So has CAA Football, which has had four or more playoff teams in nine different seasons.
The Big Sky appears likely to do it for the second straight season, currently with five teams among the top 15 in the STATS FCS Top 25, and the Southern Conference has a shot for that same repeat with four programs part of the latest STATS poll.
It might be hard to deny the Southland of four bids if it has four teams finish 9-2 or better, a very possible scenario considering they’re all done playing each other.
While fourth-ranked Central Arkansas and fifth-ranked Sam Houston State are virtual locks to make the playoffs, the question in the Southland is whether McNeese, Nicholls or both can make the field because they would likely need at-large bids. Central Arkansas should win the conference’s automatic bid, currently alone atop the Southland at 6-0 and with three significantly inferior opponents remaining.
“Not trying to slight anybody that’s left to play (Central Arkansas), but on paper, it looks like they won’t lose another one,” McNeese coach Lance Guidry said. “So you kinda realize that you’re not gonna win the conference. All that we can do is try to get to 7-2 because we can’t get to 9-2 right now.”
His Cowboys have a bit of an edge simply for name recognition, having won a record 14 Southland championships – seven since 2000 – and making two national title game appearances. Nicholls, meanwhile, hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2005 – the year of its only SLC title.
However, it’s the Colonels who have the edge on the field because they pulled off a 37-35 victory over McNeese to open the season. Plus, their only losses don’t dampen the resume. The only one to an FCS team was at defending conference champ Sam Houston, and the other was to SEC power Texas A&M, a game that was tied in the fourth quarter before Nicholls fell 24-14 at College Station on Sept. 9.
The only thing working against the Colonels is that their last three wins were decided by an average of 6.7 points against teams with a combined 5-19 record.
Coach Tim Rebowe, though, isn’t concerned with his team going out of its way to impress the FCS playoff selection committee.
“Style points, no, I don’t like that word and we don’t speak about it at all,” he said. “I just think at the end of the day, we wanna be 1-0 for the week. … I know a lot of the fans are looking at that and say they look at scores. We don’t look at scores, man. Every team is good. We just gotta get off the field after the game is over with a ‘W,’ and then we look forward to working on the next one.”
Rebowe’s team should not slip up this week at home against Houston Baptist, which is 0-6 in conference play. However, ending the regular season with road games against Stephen F. Austin and Southeastern Louisiana presents a bigger challenge.
McNeese has an easier path with home games against Southeastern Louisiana and Northwestern State before closing at Lamar, another team without a conference victory.
“We’ll try to get a win this week and then the following week and then the following, and just see what happens from there,” Guidry said. “But if you can complete the season with nine wins and two losses would be awesome, but we gotta get to seven wins first. So that’s what we’re shooting for.”
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