Playing in the PSAC football championship game is a privilege.

This year, it’s also risky.

Slippery Rock (8-2) travels to Kutztown (9-1) for a 1 p.m. kickoff in the fourth annual clash between the PSAC West and PSAC East division champions.

In the prior three meetings, both participants advanced to the NCAA Division II national playoffs.

“The first year that one of these two teams doesn’t get in, we’ll have to re-evaluate the value of it,” SRU coach George Mihalik said of the PSAC title game.

Prepare to re-evaluate.

The Rock, coming off a 33-27 upset loss at Gannon, slipped from fifth to ninth in the Super Region One rankings. Kutztown, coming off a 52-14 thrashing of Bloomsburg, is ranked fifth.

The top-six teams in the rankings at the conclusion of play this week move on to the playoffs.

“If you lose the championship game, you should still go,” Kutztown coach Raymond Monica said. “If the loser of this game doesn’t get in, we may have to rethink it.

“They used to hold this game every year, then it disappeared. There has to be a reason why they got rid of it.”

The PSAC dropped its championship game after the 1987 season and brought it back in 2008. Since its return and including this year, seven teams have reached the title game.

“That shows the parity within this league,” PSAC commissioner Steve Murray said. “Our teams keep getting better and better.”

PSAC playoff contenders this season may be better off staying on the outside looking in at the state title game, however.

SRU and California (Pa.) have identical 8-2 records overall, 6-1 in the PSAC West. The Rock is in the title game because it defeated the Vulcans, 17-3, during the season.

California jumped from eighth to fourth in the region rankings this week after defeating Edinboro, 34-28. Because Cal is not in the title game, it plays East bottom-feeder Cheyney Saturday instead of once-beaten Kutztown.

Bloomsburg was unbeaten three weeks ago, but dropped its last two games. The Huskies still sit fourth in the region and play winless Lock Haven Saturday instead of West champion SRU.

California and Bloomsburg are likely to stay in the top six by defeating overmatched opponents come Saturday.

“What people overlook is the fact each team plays three cross-over games a year,” Murray said. “It’s the season as a whole that gets judged, not just the final game.

“Kutztown lost a bad game against Shippensburg (49-7) and Slippery Rock lost one at Gannon. Those games are affecting the region standings as much as this championship game will.”

Murray also said it is a false assumption that both participants in the state title game should go to the playoffs.

“C.W. Post could easily be the East champion right now. But with four losses, there’s no way it would go to the playoffs, even if they were in this game and won it.”

C.W. Post (6-4) was SRU’s originally scheduled final regular season opponent.

Super Region One consists of four conferences — the PSAC, WVIAC, Northern 10 and CIAA — while the other three Division II regions have three each.

“There are more teams in our region and I think that needs to be looked at,” Murray said. “The numbers are disproportionate.

“Maybe we should get a seventh playoff qualifier and a region with fewer teams get only five. We are addressing that with the NCAA.”

Murray recognizes there is some opposition to the PSAC title game among member coaches.

“I know there’s mixed feelings about it, but I’m pleased we have the game,” he said.