You know what the Tressel teams would do in this situation the vast majority of the time? Win BOTH games and finish 9-3/6-2. I know Tressel has not been HC since 2000, but he raised the bar for YSU football, and that is now the measuring stick for teams and coaches.
I'm not sure Tressel could duplicate what took place from 89-2000 if it were possible to go back to that time period. YSU got alot of breaks and had luck on their side much of the time. Then again, a well used quote among those in sports is "luck is what happens when preperation meets opportunity".
We all got annoyed at times by "Tressel Ball". It was far from exciting, and at times it was sooooooooooooooo conservative. But, the vast majority of the time, YSU had more points at the end of the game than the opponent. The same was true of TOSU in the 10 years Tress was HC. And, Tressel coached teams almost always got better as the season went on. The same cannot be said of teams coached by Heacock or Wolford, with the possible exception of 2006.
Tressel teams often found ways to blow 1 game per year, but they also made up for the flub with multiple good wins and by winning often in November and December.
YSU holds their playoff fate in their own hands. And, as was pointed out, they can still win the MVFC auto-bid. Alot has to happen for YSU to win the MVFC, but the part YSU controls is winning the next 2 games. Win the nest 2 games, and YSU is in the playoffs, and has the possibility to be one of the 8 seeded teams. Go 1-1, and they are yet again on "the bubble", and that brings things such as the OOC schedule, the loss to WIU, possibility of being 4th place in the MFVC into play.
There has not been a season since YSU joined 1AA/FCS that they were given the screws by the playoff committee when on the bubble. The 96 team was 8-3, but 3 of the wins were over teams from D2. The 01 team was 8-3, but had 2 wins over D2 teams. YSU also lost at home to WKU when 6-1/4-1 and WKU was 5-2/2-1.
In 95, YSU finished 8-3, but lost back-to-back at UNI and SIU. YSU started the season 7-1/4-0, then finished 1-2 in the final 3 games. They also had a win over a D2 team and lost 41-0 at PITT.
Last years team sealed their fate by losing the final 3 games in a row. Win 1 of the 3, and YSU would have been in the playoffs and playing at home for their first game.
I think the MVFC will get 3 teams for sure, with the possibility of 4 or 5. YSU still controls their own destiny. Go 1-1 or 0-2 the next 2 weeks, and their playoff fate goes into the hands of the selection committee.
