INDIANAPOLIS – If college football season ended Monday, Carson-Newman would be playoff bound.
Carson-Newman clocked in in fifth in the second iteration of the region rankings, released by the NCAA Monday afternoon.
The listing is the second of three region rankings that the NCAA publicizes leading up to the NCAA playoffs. The rankings are the official poll utilized by the NCAA in the championship selection process and will continue to be released each week by the NCAA Division II Football Committee up to the NCAA Championship selections on Nov. 17.
Carson-Newman is in Super Region II, which is comprised of the South Atlantic Conference, Gulf Couth Conference, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The Eagles own a win over the number one team in the region rankings, the Wingate Bulldogs, who are 7-1. West Alabama checks in at number two, also with a 7-1 record. Valdosta State is third – the lone unbeaten team in the Super Region. The Blazers have a .457 strength of schedule the lowest of all the teams in the top 10.
Johnson C. Smith sits in front of C-N in fourth.
Carson-Newman has strong metrics. The Eagles RPI is 27.00, putting C-N with the fourth-highest mark among the teams ranked. Wingate has the highest mark in the region at 28.125. West Alabama and Johnson C. Smith are the other two teams with RPIs north of 27.
Carson-Newman's strength of schedule is .551. The Eagles have the fifth-toughest SOS among the teams in the region rankings behind Wingate (.591), Lenoir-Rhyne (.573), Winston-Salem State (.559) and West Alabama (.556).
Virginia Union and Winston-Salem State round out the top seven – the teams in position for the playoffs. However, the SIAC's Miles is in ninth, which would insert them into the field via earned access. A team can get in via earned access, which awards the final spot in the seven-team regional bracket to the highest ranked team from a conference, IF said team is in the top nine of the regional rankings, but not in the top seven.
Lenoir-Rhyne sits in eighth, while West Florida is 10th.
Carson-Newman takes on Tusculum in the second-oldest rivalry game in the State of Tennessee Saturday from Pioneer Field at 1 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at noon with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
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SUPER REGION TWO |
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|
1 |
Wingate |
7-1 |
7-1 |
|
2 |
West Alabama |
7-1 |
7-1 |
|
3 |
Valdosta State |
8-0 |
8-0 |
|
4 |
Johnson C. Smith |
8-1 |
8-1 |
|
5 |
Carson-Newman |
7-1 |
6-1 |
|
6 |
Virginia Union |
7-1 |
7-1 |
|
7 |
Winston-Salem State |
6-2 |
5-2 |
|
8 |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
7-2 |
6-2 |
|
9 |
Miles |
7-1 |
7-1 |
|
10 |
West Florida |
6-2 |
5-1 |
