PFL Closure

[VULB#62]

I thought it would be good to quickly summarize the PFL season.

Valpo -- Moved up to third from the bottom with 1 victory.  Would have been next to last except USD vacated all their games. Only Morehead State gave up more points.  Even first year Stetson was ahead of us with 2 wins.  I don't count Mercer's 10 win season as a factor -- they were auditioning FCS scholarship players and will convert all their financial aid-based help to FB schoilarships for next year.

Butler will represent the PFL in the FCS playoffs and will play Tennesee State (OVC) @ Butler Bowl this Saturday -- ESPN3 has the TV coverage. That's a fair draw -- the OVC is not the CAA, Big Sky or the MVFC.  Still, they'll probably lose by 30.

Stetson and Mercer aside, Campbell, Davidson and Morehaed all had a new HFBC this season.  These three coaches produced a combined total of just 6 wins.  Noteworthy items:  Davidson didn't win a game and Morehead, playing 12 games, gave up well over 550 points in winning just three games. Campbell and Morehead each won 3.

[VUOR63]

I appreciate the rundown on the season.  Did I read that right that Butler gets a home game in the play-offs?  Are they seeded higher than their opponent? 

[VULB#62]

Yes -- TSU was the OVC at-large selection:

From the PFL site:

Butler, which won a share of the PFL title for the second consecutive year, becomes the first Pioneer Football League champion to appear in the Division I Football Championship after winning the league's tiebreaker. The Bulldogs will host OVC at-large selection Tennessee State in a 1 p.m., Saturday contest at the Butler Bowl.
     Butler's defense has been one of the nation's best at generating takeaways this season, ranking seventh nationally with 30 takeaways this season. The Bulldogs plus-0.9 turnover margin also ranks 10th nationally. Senior defensive back Sean Grady has a team-best four interceptions and is one of nine players to record an interception this season.
     Offensively, Butler is led by senior quarterback Matt Lancaster who has averaged 239.9 passing yards per game and 276.4 total offensive yards per game. He has thrown 19 touchdown passes and run for 12 touchdowns. Meanwhile, senior running back Trae Heeter leads the Bulldogs running game as the only PFL rusher to average 100-plus yards per game, finishing the season with 1,311 yards (109.2 ypg) and 13 touchdowns.
     Tennessee State finished second in the OVC race with a 6-2 conference mark and a 9-3 overall mark. The Tigers defense has been its hallmark in 2013, ranking sixth among FCS teams in pass efficiency defense (101.41 rating), ninth nationally in rushing defense (104.8 yards per game) and sixth in scoring defense (16.8 ppg).
Winner Advances: No. 2 national seed Eastern Illinois, the OVC regular-season champion, will host the second round contest.[/b]

[ml]

Only the top 8 teams get seeded.  The remaining teams are then paired geographically as much as possible.  Teams must submit a bid to host in advance of the pairings announcement.  The PFL set aside funds to assist our AQ in submitting a host bid.  It is very possible that Tennessee St did not submit a host bid.

[VULB#62]

Thanks ML -- Happy Thanksgiving. Hope the search goeth well.

[covufan]

Still, they'll probably lose by 30.

Good call!  Actual score 31 - 0.

[VULB#62]

2015 update on the PFL post season:

On November 28, PFL champ Dayton lost to Western Illinois (MVFC) in the first round of the 2015-16 playoffs 24-7.  Dayton drove inside the red zone 4 times in the first half and came up empty, but they were competitive.  Maybe the PFL is beginning to gradually rise in terms of talent, but it could just have been the matchup (mainly geographic in the first round). We will need a couple more years to see any legit trend.

Last season USD lost in the first round of the FCS playoffs 52-14 at Montana (Big Sky).

Butler lost the previous year 31-0 to Tennessee State (OVC) at Butler Bowl.

[VULB#62]

Some interesting stuff on the PFL fan Board (link below)

Some news about coaching changes and speculation that both Stetson and Campbell will go to the Big South and full FCs membership within 3 years.

http://pflfan.proboards.com/board/

I found this to be the most interesting.... note, this was published 12/1 and the JU situation hadn't been resolved yet


7 Questions for 2016
This would normally be the sort of thread someone would start around New Year's Day. But a lot is going on with the league right now, so ....
1. Does Jacksonville have a future in the PFL? JU has been thinking about a formal move to scholarship football, but has reportedly decided to "remain" nonscholarship. For now.

The Dolphins' status for 2016 remains a nagging question. It looks like they will still have players on athletic scholarship next season (the so-called leadership scholarship). According to a preseason 2015 article in the Florida Times-Union, "The 34 players who remain on leadership scholarship aid will have that honored through their time at JU." What's up with that? Will JU be endlessly ineligible for the league title? Will they be kicked out of the league? Or will their diminishing athletic aid simply be ignored?

2. What about Kerwin Bell? Contract talks are reportedly underway between Bell and JU. Here's a prediction: JU doesn't offer a Bell a raise, and Bell says goodbye. Bell's best players were recruited with money set aside for football players...I think he's seen the future at JU, and he doesn't like it. On the JU side, they would like to throttle back a bit...they've been paying Bell a lot of money to coach a purportedly nonscholarship team. And they might want to get rid of the most visible symbol of rules violations. That would be Bell.

3. Campbell humping it outta here? One newspaper says, "Athletic director Bob Roller sees an exciting future for Campbell football, one that includes scholarships for players, stadium expansion and a geographically kinder conference in which to compete." (a reference to long PFL roadtrips)

Where isn't a question. It's the Big South, where Campbell is already a member for other sports. The unknown is when.

4. Is Kam Bryant coming back for a sixth year? He has applied to the NCAA for an injury redshirt year, related to an injury during his freshman season at Appalachian State. Wouldn't he look good as a starting QB in the Big South?

5. When is Morehead State returning to Ohio Valley Conference football? No announcements yet, but the athletic director mentioned on a radio show that the Eagles are considering an OVC return. No doubt potential donors for stadium maintenance/improvements are whispering in his ear. Only a matter of time before they leave, I think.

Can you believe that Phil Simms' alma mater has played nonscholarship football for the last 20 years? 

6. Will Paul Nichols be back as Davidson's coach? Probably. The real question is why.

7. Lucky question seven is whether Drake and Butler can find success with new quarterbacks. Luck be a Bulldog.

[VU2624]

Thanks for the information on the PFL board.

The link didn't work so here is the link for the home page of the pfl fan board.

http://pflfan.proboards.com/board/1/pfl-board