Regional Rankings

INDIANAPOLIS – The Slippery Rock University football team was ranked No. 5 in Super Region One when the NCAA Division II Football Committee unveiled the first ranked order list of Super Regional rankings Monday.
 
The Super Region rankings are the only rankings that matter when it comes to determining which seven teams from each of the four Super Regions will make the NCAA Playoffs. The committee will announce one more set of updated rankings next Monday, Nov. 7, and will unveil the final rankings with the announcement of the playoff field Sunday, Nov. 13.
 
There are multiple factors taken into consideration to determine the playoff fields, including in-region winning percentage, winning percentage against Division II opponents, weighted strength of schedule, head-to-head competition, results against common opponents, results against teams above .500, results against ranked teams and the NCAA performance indicator. More information on the process is available HERE.
 
Super Region One is the largest Super Region and includes 47 total teams from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, the Mountain East Conference, the Northeast 10 Conference and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, along with two independent schools (Post and Bluefield State).
 
Despite owning the second-best record in the region and being one of just two teams in the region with eight Division II wins this fall, Slippery Rock finds itself ranked fifth this week in large part due to multiple strength of schedule anchors. SRU has one "high quality win" on its schedule with a 40-14 victory over Gannon, which just knocked off IUP last week, but The Rock only have two other wins against teams over .500 in West Chester and California (Pa.), which are both 5-4. SRU's other five wins all came against teams that are 3-6 or worse, which anchor the strength of schedule.
 
Undefeated Shepherd, which is the only ranked team with a lower weighted strength of schedule than SRU, sits atop this week's rankings with a 9-0 record against Division II teams. A pair of teams that lost last week for the first time this season occupy the second and third spots with No. 2 going to Ashland and No. 3 going to Indiana (Pa.). They both stayed high in the rankings thanks to their respective strengths of schedule, with Ashland at .519 and IUP at .513. The fourth spot currently belongs to Assumption, with a 6-1 record against Division II teams. The Greyhounds are ranked above SRU despite having two less wins because of a .526 strength of schedule, the second highest among the ranked teams.
 
Slippery Rock sits fifth at 8-1 against DII competition and is the lowest ranked one-loss team currently because of a .496 strength of schedule. Notre Dame (Ohio) owns the highest strength of schedule in the region at .541 to lead the two-loss teams at No. 6 with a 7-2 record. The bubble spot this week is occupied by Gannon at 7-2, while positions 8-10 are New Haven (6-2), Bentley (6-2) and Concord (7-2).
 
There are still multiple games on the schedule over the next two weeks that will significantly impact the final rankings, including the PSAC title game and what currently is a week 11 game between Kutztown and Slippery Rock. Kutztown was left out of this week's rankings, but is almost certainly No. 11 this week and still very much alive in the playoff hunt.
 
Wins by SRU in each of the next two weeks would guarantee The Rock of a fourth straight NCAA playoff berth, while a loss in either of the next two weeks will put SRU in an uncomfortable position near the bubble.
 
Slippery Rock will look to continue its playoff push when Edinboro visits Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Rock can lock up at least a share of a fourth straight PSAC West title with a victory. SRU will celebrate military members and first responders at the game with all veterans and active duty military and all retired and current first responders receiving free admission.
 
SUPER REGION ONE RANKINGS
Oct. 31, 2022

Rank	School	Conf.	DII W-L	SOS*
1	Shepherd	PSAC	9-0	.490
2	Ashland	GMAC	7-1	.519
3	Indiana (Pa.)	PSAC	7-1	.513
4	Assumption	NE10	6-1	.526
5	SLIPPERY ROCK	PSAC	8-1	.496
6	Notre Dame (Ohio)	MEC	7-2	.541
7	Gannon	PSAC	7-2	.509
8	New Haven	NE10	6-2	.499
9	Bentley	NE10	6-2	.511
10	Concord	MEC	7-2	.506

* Weighted strength of schedule combines opponents' winning percentage and the winning percentage of each school's opponents' opponents.




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