Can Johnson C. Smith Still Make the 2024 Division II Playoffs?

After an 8-0 start, Johnson C. Smith football lost the final two games of the regular season and got knocked out of the CIAA championship game. 

But the Golden Bulls’ hopes of making the NCAA Division II playoffs may not be dashed after all. 

JCSU is listed seventh in the latest D2 Super Region 2 rankings, released Monday afternoon by the playoff selection committee. Seven teams from each of the four regions will make the 28-team D2 field. 

The Bulls (8-2) appear two spots ahead of CIAA co-regular season champion Virginia Union (7-2) in the Super Region rankings. Virginia State (7-2), the other team playing in Saturday’s CIAA title game, is not ranked at all. Instead, Winston-Salem State (7-2 against D2 competition) occupies the 10th slot in Super Region 2. 

The committee seems to value Johnson C. Smith’s overall resume and an early season 21-16 win over Virginia Union favorably at this point, despite the losses to Fayetteville State (4-5) and Livingstone (6-4) the past two weekends. JCSU also beat Virginia State 21-17 in early October. 

The Bulldogs’ 2024 slate included a win over Tuskegee (5-5, 5-3), the fifth place team in the SIAC, as well as a head-to-head win at Winston-Salem State.

“Even though they lost their last two … they still have really good credentials,” Chuck Bitner, a national columnist for D2Football.com, said during Sunday night’s Inside D2 Football podcast. “They have five wins against teams that are over .500 … It leans towards that they should be up there.”

Winston-Salem State likely ranks ahead of Virginia State because the Rams also beat VSU in head-to-head action, 15-14, in September – the same weekend that JCSU beat Virginia Union. Virginia State beat VUU this past Saturday to squeeze Johnson C. Smith out of the CIAA title game.

The selection committee is not bound to pick conference champions. All berths are considered at large.

In 2022, for example, Mars Hill and Newberry played in the South Atlantic championship game. But Wingate and Limestone made the playoffs, with Wingate winning two rounds to make the quarterfinals.

Wingate Bulldogs Fall to Second in Super Region 2 Rankings

Valdosta State (9-0) jumped ahead of Wingate (8-1) for the top spot in Super Region 2. The Bulldogs were on top last week, boasting a more favorable strength of schedule and two wins over top 25 opponents. 

Wingate will play Carson-Newman (8-1) in Saturday’s South Atlantic Conference title game. Carson-Newman beat the Bulldogs in September and currently sit in fourth in the Super Region 2 rankings.

Lenoir-Rhyne (8-2) remains in the hunt for a playoff spot, sitting in fifth place. The Bears won the region a year ago on its way to the D2 semifinals.

The rest of Super Region 2 includes West Alabama (8-1) in third, Miles (8-1) in sixth and West Florida (6-1 vs. D2) in eighth. Valdosta State will play West Florida in the Gulf South Conference title game on Saturday. 

A West Florida win could be detrimental to teams like Johnson C. Smith making the final bracket, which will be released after this weekend’s slate of games. Clark losing to Miles in the SIAC championship, on the other hand, could help the chances of the CIAA teams and Lenoir-Rhyne. 

“Probably everybody except Wingate really wants Valdosta State to beat West Florida,” Bitner said. “All these other teams don’t want West Florida to have a claim to make this bracket.”

Wingate, Lenoir-Rhyne Remain In National Rankings

Wingate, which blanked Newberry 38-0 on Saturday, held firm at No. 18 in the latest D2Football.com national rankings. The Bulldogs moved up one spot to No. 23 in the coaches poll. 

Lenoir-Rhyne, which returned two interceptions for TDs against Catawba in a 33-14 victory, isn’t ranked in the D2Football.com poll but jumped one spot to No. 20 with the coaches. 

Ferris State (D2Football.com) and Valdosta State (coaches) lead the national rankings this week.