Football season is over at YSU

[Janko]

Extra Point - I-AA Playoffs: Pity the Penguins

By Matt Dougherty, The Sports Network

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - With 15 of the 16 selections completed, it looked like the I-AA selection committee might not throw a curveball at my playoff prognostications this year. Then Lafayette's name was called for a trip to Appalachian State, and I went searching for the reasons why the Leopards are in the field instead of Youngstown State.

The selection committee obviously didn't look at the The Sports Network poll, which had Youngstown State at No. 15 and Lafayette in the others receiving votes category. They didn't use last week's GPI, either, where Youngstown State came in at No. 13 and Lafayette was all the way down at No. 48. Youngstown State shared part of the Gateway Conference title, and the league was ranked No. 2 nationally in the GPI. Lafayette was a co-champion in the Patriot League, but the conference came in at No. 8 in the power rankings. Every computer ranking and every poll had the Penguins ahead of the Leopards. The newly released Sagarin ratings have Youngstown State at 109, and Lafayette all the way down at 168.

So we know the polls and computer rankings played no role in the playoff selections. And I've seen both the Penguins and the Leopards live in the past two weeks, so I know recent performance can't be a huge indicator. Youngstown State finished up its season by walloping then No. 12 Western Kentucky, 42-10, last week at Stambaugh Stadium. Lafayette scored a gritty, hard-fought, 23-19 comeback win at No. 12 Lehigh on Saturday. The Leopards showed their toughness and tenacity in the victory, but Youngstown State certainly exhibited the more dominating and playoff-worthy performance against teams that were ranked in the same position.

A closer look at the schedules shows pretty comparable resumes, but still gives an advantage to the Penguins. Both teams had plenty of wins against suspect competition. Lafayette beat Columbia, Fordham, Georgetown and Bucknell. Those four teams combined for a 9-34 record that included four losses to Mid-Major opponents. Youngstown State's slate included 0-11 Indiana State, 2-9 Northeastern and 1-10 Liberty. Even if that's a push, the quality of losses has to be to Youngstown State's advantage. The Penguins' defeats came on the road to I-A Pittsburgh and at I-AA playoff participants Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois. Lafayette lost to Colgate, Princeton and Harvard, with each defeat coming at home.

That leaves four solid wins for the Penguins and three good victories for the Leopards. Youngstown State defeated Missouri State (4-7), Western Illinois (5-6), Western Kentucky (6-5) and Illinois State (7-4) on its way to a 5-2 Gateway mark. The Leopards own wins against Holy Cross (6-5), Lehigh (8-3) and Richmond (8-3). That gives Lafayette it's first advantage in the comparison, with the win over Richmond as the best victory among the two teams.

But Lafayette's biggest edge was winning eight Division I games, while Youngstown State only won seven. Even though Youngstown State had a better record against I-AA competition (7-2 to 8-3), the Leopards were aided by fulfilling the criteria that rewards teams that play an all Division I schedule. And that's where the language needs a little tweaking.

Lafayette knocked off Marist, a Mid-Major team, 40-21, in the season opener while Youngstown State buried Division II Slippery Rock, 44-14. Like Lehigh a year ago, the Leopards used a Mid-Major victory to play an all Division I schedule and help get a playoff spot. If the committee continues to award teams that play Mid-Major opponents, someone left out of the field will deservedly scream east coast bias every year. 13 of the 22 Mid-Major teams play in the Northeast Conference or the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which means I- AA teams in the Northeast will have a much easier time filling an all Division I schedule than their counterparts around the country.

The committee did a great job last offseason, changing the emphasis of playoff selection from being in jeopardy with more than three losses to needing to notch at least seven Division I wins. If they add a stipulation to reward teams that play all scholarship or scholarship equivalency opponents, instead of just Division I opponents, we'll be one step closer to obtaining the fairest field possible.

So, for one day anyway, pity the Penguins. Youngstown State seemed to do enough to make the postseason field as an at-large entrant, but will now have to sit home and wonder what could have been on Thanksgiving weekend.

[jay]

The football season has ended for the YSU Penguins.  The team did not make the playoffs.