September 15th, 2023 9:00pm
Week Three in the PSAC is here. Again this week we will see teams from the East squaring up with teams from the West. Four teams in the East will be at home as well as four teams in the West will be the host. We still have three ranked teams from the PSAC in the D2Football.com Top 25 but there was some movement after last week’s action. #14 Slippery Rock, who won, moved up. #16 Shepherd, who also won, slid slightly. #22 IUP was the biggest mover, falling 10 spots after losing 13-12 last week to East Stroudsburg. Here is my PSAC Power Ranking heading into Week Three:
Here are this week’s matchups and my predictions for who will win each game:
Gannon (0-2, 0-0 PSAC West) at West Chester (1-1, 0-0 PSAC East) – 12 Noon
Gannon lost last week to Millersville 28-21. Gannon has never beaten West Chester.
West Chester lost last week to Slippery Rock 49-24. The Golden Rams are putting up over 450 yards a game on offense.
My Prediction: West Chester – The Golden Rams take this one in their home opener.
Mercyhurst (1-1, 0-0 PSAC West) at Kutztown (0-2, 0-0 PSAC East) -12 Noon
Mercyhurst beat Lock Haven last week 41-29. Mercyhurst lost to defending Division II National Champions, and currently number one ranked Ferris State, in their opener.
Kutztown lost last week to California (PA) 31-20. The Golden Bears were winning 20-7 at the half. This week will be their home opener.
My Prediction: Kutztown – This game is a must win for the Golden Bears before PSAC East play starts next week.
*PSAC GAME OF THE WEEK*
#16 Shepherd (2-0, 0-0 PSAC East) at California (PA) (1-0, 0-0 PSAC West) – 12 Noon
#16 Shepherd beat Edinboro 35-28 last week. The Rams had two players named PSAC East Athletes of the Week after the win over Edinboro. Quarterback Seth Morgan was named the PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week. He was 24 of 35 for 413 yards and two touchdowns. He is leading the PSAC in passing yards with 646 yards. Running back Malakai Brown was named PSAC East Special Teams Athlete of the Week for his work as a return specialist. Brown returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to help his team beat Edinboro.
California (PA) beat Kutztown last week 31-20. The Vulcans scored 24 unanswered points in the fourth quarter in the comeback win. Linebacker Ibrahim Sanogo was named both the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week and the D2Football.com National Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in last week’s victory. He had six tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks late in the fourth quarter to help secure the win for the Vulcans.
My Prediction: #16 Shepherd – The edge goes to the Rams but it would be no surprise if this is one is a fight to the finish.
Lock Haven (1-1, 0-0 PSAC East) at Clarion (1-1, 0-0 PSAC West)
Lock Haven lost last week to Mercyhurst 41-29. The Bald Eagles are averaging scoring over 33 points a game.
Clarion lost last week to Bloomsburg 21-7. Clarion is 51-16-1 all-time against Lock Haven.
My Prediction: Lock Haven – The Bald Eagles get the win on the road.
Seton Hill (1-1, 0-0 PSAC West) at East Stroudsburg (2-0, 0-0 PSAC East) – 1:05 PM
Seton Hill beat Shippensburg last week 28-23. It was the first time they beat Shippensburg in program history. Defensive back Demetri Whitehead was named the PSAC West Special Teams Athlete of the week. He had a blocked punt, a fumble recovery on a punt, and two tackles on special teams in the win.
East Stroudsburg beat then ranked #12 IUP 13-12. Last season the Warriors fell to IUP by a field goal at the end of the game, this season IUP didn’t get a field goal attempt off before the clock wore down to seal the win for East Stroudsburg. Two-time D2Football.com Elite 100 defensive end Deshawn McCarthy was named the PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week. He had eight tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks in the win over IUP.
My Prediction: East Stroudsburg – The Warriors keep rolling and go to 3-0 before entering PSAC East play next week.
Shippensburg (0-2, 0-0 PSAC East) at #22 IUP (1-01 0-0 PSAC West) -2 PM
Shippensburg lost last week to Seton Hill 28-23. The Raiders are already battling injuries early in the season.
#22 IUP lost last week to East Stroudsburg 13-12. The Crimson Hawks could not get the game winning field goal attempt off before time expired. Head coach Paul Tortorella is looking for his 50th career win at IUP in this game.
My Prediction: #22 IUP – The Crimson Hawks get back in the win column.
Edinboro (0-2, 0-0 PSAC West) at Bloomsburg (1-1, 0-0 PSAC East) – 2 PM
Edinboro lost to Shepherd last week 35-28. The defense forced three turnovers and the offense rushed for almost 200 yards in the loss.
Bloomsburg beat Clarion last week 21-7. The Huskies shut out Clarion in the second half to secure the win.
My Prediction: Edinboro – The Scots get into the win column this week.
Millersville (2-0, 0-0 PSAC East) at #14 Slippery Rock (2-0, 0-0 PSAC West) – 6 PM
Millersville beat Gannon last week 28-21. Millersville has kept the momentum going from the second half of last season to start the season undefeated heading into this weekend’s game.
#14 Slippery Rock beat West Chester last week 49-24. Quarterback Brayden Long was named the PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week in the victory, He was 19 of 24 for 312 yards with four touchdown passes.
My Prediction: #14 Slippery Rock – The Rock solidifies themselves as the team to beat in the PSAC heading into PSAC West action starting next week.
To start the season, I correctly picked the winner in 12 of the 15 non-league games played in Week One. Last week I was correct in four of the eight Crossover Games played to go to 16 out of 23 on the season.