Ryan is driving and I’m posting from my phone as we streak along the highway in Wisconsin. Not heading to Whitewater, alas, though we will see them play. It’ll just be in the sport of basketball, in Stevens Point, Wis.
Here’s wishing some form of warmth to all at the games. And to you at home, good games to follow. Not much else to say, except that I will be keeping an eye on things courtside since my games don’t start until 2 et.
Floor is open.
bleedpurple: No serious person could ignore MUC’s history nor the impact that they’ve had on D-III Football…year in and year out they’ve been “in the hunt”…as has UWW…they’re both great progams. Now, having said that, don’t forget that UMHB has only been playing football since 1998….they are a very NEW program, compared to MUC and UWW. But, in that short period of time they’ve STARTED on a history of their own. They played for the national championship after just 6 years….and to get there, they beat the team that “couldn’t be beat”….at home!! I think you’ll find that UMHB has the highest respect for both of those programs….that doesn’t mean they can’t be “bold and bodacious” and have great confidence in themselves. If you don’t think you can win, maybe you shouldn’t suit up!!
Unbelievable…I give MUC a compliment and it’s not enough…I get slammed because I gave Wheaton 21 points.
Well, R24aider, to continuously repeat that MUC hasn’t allowed 21 points this year is not to say they won’t at all. I distinctly remember them giving up 21 at some point last season, now let’s see when was that….oh yeah the only time they gave up 21 last season was the last game of the year. Now I know it may be a stretch because only the mighty Otterbein Cardinals came close this season, and the last time Wheaton scored 21 in Alliance was 2002, but after scoring 104 points in the last two games it might be a bit of kick in the baggets to say they can’t score more than 10 on MUC. I realize MUC is good, if not great, but Wheaton probably deserves some props for what they’ve done thus far. One more thing, I predicted a 42-14 MUC win last week and it was 41-14…just as a side note.
Quite honestly, I think UMHB is playing as good, or better, than anyone in the country right now and will be the national champions when it’s all said and done, so put that in your pipe and smoke it with your 21 points…
GoScotties,
I am more of a cigar guy, but thanks for the suggestion. Great job on your amazing prediction last week, I hope you got a raise at work for you genious! I just made a confident statement regarding the Mount defense from seeing them play. I just think there will be a 30 pt difference. I sincerly hope not, the Mt. faithful were pumped when Mt. was only up by 7 to a great Cortland team. I would love Wheaton to come in and the game come down to the 4th quarter. Wheaton is one of the top 4 teams in the country right now and talking to one of Mounts d coaches two hours after the C game, he was in the second run of Wheaton tape, so I know Wheaton is good. Finally, you keep thinking, if Mount and UMHB meet we’ll see who’s the best.
It will be very interesting to watch how this final 4 plays out … but I will be especially interested to see how Wheaton stacks up against Mount. One last note for Franklin from me — A huge note of congratulations to Mike Leonard and the Grizzlies for providing an absolutely thrilling season and an unexpected run to the quarterfinals !! As a parent I could not be prouder that my son is associated with a first class program and had the chance of a lifetime to compete at this level. Thank you Mike.
For USee – I want to offer my opinion regarding your last notes about the Franklin-Wheaton game:
“Wheaton runs the ball for 220 yds and over 5 yds per carry. That is the story”
The real story was 2 HUGE plays by Ittersagen – a defensive td and a kick return td. Of the 220 rushing for Wheaton, almost half came in the 4th quarter. Yes, that kept Rupp off the field, but until that point, the Thunder did not run that well and they still led 38-21. Their offensive line did control the game almost throughout, but Franklin still outgained Wheaton in total yards 446-325, 85-68 in plays,29-21 in first downs, and held Wheaton to 3-10 on third down conversions. The difference ends up being BIG plays and TURNOVERS (isn’t that often the case in the playoffs ?), not necessarily the running game.
Good luck to the final 4 … all of these athletes make people proud to be associated with them – they are the best that college athletics has to offer !!
And one last time — GO GRIZ !! (Let’s reload in ’09)
R24aider – Alright, I got a little carried away there…just some friendly banter. My line of thinking is this: MUC seemingly winds up in this position every season so one might say that they are just as strong as they are in any other typical season. Meanwhile, aside from the fact that they are normally in the same region, Wheaton and Mount are meating for the first time in the semis. Thus, with some deductive reasoning, you might assume Wheaton is stronger this year than in years past when the two have met. That’s why I gave Wheaton a little more cred than others.
I understand that you are just being a confident fan…I apologize.
Truth be told, Wheaton’s strength is the run and that probably isn’t a good matchup for them with the MUC defense. I also wouldn’t expect them to get the turnovers they’ve gotten in the last two games. At the end of the day, they might not score at all. It is what it is…a prediction, a guess, a D3 football fan enjoying the post season.
FYI, I lost my job due to spending too much time on the internet…JK 🙂
Forget about R24aider and MUC for now. UWW is the defending national champs, and it is UWW who will be in Belton next week not the runner-up.
Remember, UWW (Beaver. UMHB held him to 66 yrds.) ran all over MUC in the Stagg last year. UWW is my focus because they are the champs and they will be in TX. MUC is what it is, but they still have a game to play and anything can happen. In 2004, UMHB 38-MUC 35, you can do it Wheaton!!!!
UWW fans, you must try the Shiner Bock beer made here in TX. I know you guys like beer up there.
For full disclosure, I am a UWW fan, so I want to first say how impressive it is that they have made it this far, given the massive amount of player turnover from last year’s team (many of those seniors played all 3 championship games). I know every team has turnover, but I have to believe UWW has lost the most in terms of skill postions, including defensive secondary.
That said, I agree with the posters that feel this team probably isn’t as good as teams of the past, leaving UMHB with a whole lot more reason to be confident. Seeing how UMHB has destoryed their last two playoff opponents, it’s hard to imagine any team could be playing better or have more confidence.
I felt last year’s schedule provided UWW with the advantage in playing MUC for the championship. Having to beat UMHB to get to the big game was as tough a challenge as you can get in preparation. I am hopeful that the types of teams UWW have played in the playoffs will help them vs. UMHB. Willamette was such a unique offense-maybe the defensive preparation will help UWW against UMHB?
I am not sure, but I thought I read that UMHB does some option? Do they pass much? In the games I saw UWW play, they seemed more susceptible to the pass than they did to the run.
Congratulations to the final four and all teams that made the playoffs. This is the best time of year.
Justin Beaver was asked after the Stagg last year, ‘who has the toughest defense you have played against. He replied “UMHB by far and it was UMHB that really prepared them to beat MUC. I just hope we can beat UWW this time, they are the champs and it will be close in Belton next week. With that here are my predictions this week. I faired pretty good last week, so here it is guys.
MUC 42 Wheaton 21
UMHB 21 UWW 17 (of course the score could be easily reversed) Yes, defense will rule the day!!!! Both of these teams play D.
Stagg
MUC 28 UMHB 14
Sarge, I don’t take issue with anything you said. UMHB deserves props for sure! And yes, they should enter any game they play with the expectation of winning.
Cru: Shiner Bock it is! Yes, we like beer!!
mikem17,
UMHB’s base offense is the option and they run it about 25 times a game and run another 20 times between the tackles, old school, but it works. Pass, 10 times a game maybe, but very effective because they pass out of the option. Teams are set up and when least expected the ball goes in the air and teams are not ready and a big play results.
This is good———–everyone is taking little jabs and it’s only Monday. Stats are great for discussing but it boils down to who shows up and who doesn’t. As I stated earlier, the game still has to be played, the players have to sweat and suit up. UWW has a great team and to lose the talent they had and still be just as good says a lot in itself BUT, the same could be said about UMHB as well—————-heck, they lost the defensive player of the year but it hasn’t stopped them from getting 13-14 sacks in 2 games. They lost their pre-season all american running back in the 2nd game—————hasn’t stopped their offense. SEE, just another stat. Let’s just wait for the smash mouth to do the talking, after all, that’s the way it should be.
UWW————–WELCOME TO TEXAS WITH A BIG YEEHAW! For all you northerners, that is a Texan’s way of showing excitement.
cru crushed: Well,….while I personally think it is a bit early to be predicting scores for the Stagg Bowl….I must say that I am disappointed in your prediction of the outcome!! IF UMHB is fortunate enough to get passed UWW and make it to the Stagg…..I think the UMHB bench will be the difference…..earlier posts spoke to ” teams playing a full 60 minutes”. UMHB does that and they do it with a lot of loss in efficiency….primarily because Coach Fredenburg has been able to develop such a deep bench…..(the “unexpected”….. but welcomed consequences of multiple injuries!!)
Obviously I meant ….”withOUT a lot of loss in efficiency” …it’s a bit early yet…
My predictions for this weekend are as follows:
MUC—-42
Wheaton—-10
Sorry Wheaton, couldn’t really give an educated guess on a closer score cause I really hadn’t heard that much about you guys this year. Just basing on MUC scores for the season————-again, it’s a stat thing BUT I am pulling for you——————–it gets old seeeing the same teams playing in the Stagg all the time.
UMHB—-27
UWW—17
Even though I don’t think this is the most talented bunch there has been at UMHB, they always seem to put it together and play as a team———–No one person stands out over anybody else and that is a good thing———–maybe the best thing for this group. They never give up and always play hard. Obviously UWW has a good team or they wouldn’t have made it this far but I think UMHB has the determination and grit to keep it going another week. I really had my doubts about UMHB last week before the W&J game but they proved me wrong——————–they completely destroyed a seemingly very talented team(at least on paper)—————-makes you stand back and wonder, How would MUC or UWW have fared against W&J. Good luck to both teams and I commend both on a great season no matter who wins.
I was not surprised to see MHB beat W&J, but I was surprised by the relative ease of it. I figured MHB would be too much over the course of 60 minutes and would pull away for a 3-4 TD win, but I never thought it would be complete domination. Especially when played in sunny Texas with W&J’s passing game. If I had to predict a final score for that one, I’d have gone with something like 56-31 in favor of MHB.
I think we know exactly how MUC would do against W&J since they’ve been scrimmaging each pre-season for quite a while. And it wouldn’t have been pretty for the Presidents. W&J has historically had some very good QB’s but they get absolutely get manhandled at the line of scrimmage in the Mount scrimmages and they have little toughness on defense.
This season’s scrimmage saw Kmic take the opening handoff 60+ yards untouched for a TD. It was his only carry that afternoon.
Sorry, but scrimmages don’t count. The D3 “experts”(nothing aginst you guys) had the W&J much closer—————not even myself imagined a blow-out of this proportion. WOO-HOO——————that was a spanking!
Not assuming that the Raiders will beat Wheaton, because as far as I’m concerned nothing this late in the playoffs is an automatic and Wheaton has played great football…and for that matter, UMHB still has to beat UWW, which they haven’t done for three years now…but I can’t help wanting MUC to get a piece of UMHB in the Stagg..Pretty funny if you think about it…The Buckeyes and the Longhorns are going to mix it up in DI, and MUC and UMHB might mix it up in DIII…Ohio and Texas just love them some football….
UMHB fans, should you make the trip to Salem…do you think playing in the cold,and I mean THE COLD, would affect your team at all…have they had to do it much or at all this season…Last years game in Virginia was an ice bowl….
I’ll make this my only post looking past this weekend…no good talking about “maybes” and “what ifs” before anyone has won anything…for all we know right now, it could be Wheaton and UWW….the only thing that matters is whats done on the field this Saturday…which is why I love DIII football…
Amen to that! Git er done!
I’m very concerned that UMHB has all they can handle with Whitewater. But, I am glad it won’t be on a frozen field this Saturday (although anything is possible with central Texas weather). The first quarter is all important for UMHB. We HAVE to be able to run the ball. We can NOT fall too far behind.
Let’s assume that the Raiders handle business this Saturday against Wheaton because, let’s face it – they do 99% of the time. I think either Whitewater or UMHB can give them a game. They are all hungry teams.
(Putting the cart ahead of the horse) – Can UMHB win on a frozen field against a monster like Mount Union? Youbetcha. Because of UMHB’s style of offense this year, I think they can score on any field. It’s all based on how the option is defended. This year, more than the past, UMHB has other running plays as well. If the defense cheats up, Saenz will throw when he needs to.
I agree – this isn’t the best team UMHB has had in the last five years by a long shot. But they are playing better the last three weeks than any of the teams we’ve had in the past. Hopefully they can put it together for a couple more weeks.
CaptainCru-
Point well taken regarding UMHB player turnover and depth.
I agree about not getting wrapped up in numbers-afterall, look at the stats MUC brought into last year’s Stagg. But the numbers are fun to look at anyway, it passes the time until the hitting starts.
I have to think UMHB would have a great shot at beating MUC if they get passed UWW. Although MUC took 2 of 3 from UWW, all the games were pretty close (relative to games MUC played to get to the Stagg). The UWW run defense will be an excellent test for UMHB. If they prove capable of beating UWW, then I believe we should all expect an excellent Stagg Bowl. Pound the rock against MUC and worry less about their O. The same holds true should UWW win. Like last year, beating UMHB would give UWW a big boost against MUC. I don’t mean to slight Wheaton, it’s just that they haven’t had to play the type of team they will see in MUC, so I am not confident they will fare all that well against them.
The weather station predicts 70 degress and sunny in Belton- wow! In reading the posts, it seems people feel the better weather will favor UMHB. I am not sure why unless they have a bunch of speed- UWW is not slow, and better weather may help them in their passing game, which is where they have been weak.
I just found out the game will be on NCAA.com, GREAT.
I agree, just a few more good weeks of solid UMHB football, they could win it all.
I figure its time to finally chime in. I played for UWW in the mid nineties. All solid teams, but none ever went anywhere. Sometime at the end of the decade our coach started to talk with Mount’s coach. Something changed in the program. I don’t know the small details, but now they win the close games and can play against anybody. Once they played and got crushed by MUC for a home and away series, they discovered how good you really needed to be. As long as they keep that up they will keep going to the playoffs.
This year UWW fielded a whole new team. They have several great wins against great teams that my teams would have lost to. No big stars out there now, just a system. I hope my boys can make it past UMHB. Every game has been tough as hell against them in the past but I seriously don’t think they ever see a team like this down south. Last year they were killing everyone they faced until they played the Warhawks.
Wartburg played well, called the perfect play against the defense that was played, and scored a couple good touchdowns that looked easy. They had ZERO running attack threat. UWW shut that down completely. 3 big passes that went long resulted in all their points. UMHB will have their hands full no doubt. I wish it was televised instead of the boring PRO games now that there is no good football on TV for a month until the LAME and meaningless Bowl games begin.
Hey, how about a headline here for UMHB on the front page. We have seen Wheaton, UWW and MUC so far, why not anything for UMHB?
Love these conversations. As an MUC grad living in Wiscoonsin and with a son who graduated from UW-Whitewater, our family has had a rather stressful but fun relationship these past three Stagg Bowls. My wife and I were at the rain/sleet/snow/freezing game last year, and though it’s hard to admit, Mount was outplayed. In our house, we say the Raiders got “Beavered.”
I love Div3 football, both the web site and the football itself. Give me a choice between the Wisconsin Badgers playing the Michigan Wolverines or the Purple Raiders playing the Warhawks, and I’ll take the latter every time. Every time! It’s football as it was meant to be played. We MUC grads do get a little cocky from time to time, but in our hearts we are deeply appreciative of coach Kehres and all the fine young men he has taken through the program. So of course we hope we make it again to the Stagg Bowl.
One quick question: Last year I really enjoyed watching the semifinal games on the Internet. Is this an option this year? We can always get the radio broadcast on WRMU in Alliance, but it is a whole lot more fun to see the game.
Thanks, and keep up the great work you all do with the D3football web site. And good luck to all the teams this Saturday. Yes, even Wheaton. What a job they’ve done this year!
There are still three days left until game day and we will have the UMHB feature later in the week. It says on the top story that more is to come, right?
Well, if it does it must be in fine print somewhere. Besides, when you are excited about the coming weekend, you tend not to pay attention to small print——————you usually look for the big BOLD letters.
I agree CaptainCru. I love Pat and the boys, but show the Cru article, already.
I think I have good news for you Warhawk fans! I’m almost positive that NCAA.com will have both games on for free on their video feed. That is to say, if you pull up the video screen, it says they will be there. I almost wish I was home to watch both games.
But, I’ll tough it out at the game instead.
Warhawkguard – I watched all of UMHB’s home games and the game against UWW in the playoffs. It’s true that we play a lot of under-talented teams and stomp them. That’s true of MOST good D3 teams (I mean…Mount Union doesn’t really face anybody all year either). But, we DO see some VERY talented (and BIG, and FAST, etc) teams. Hardin-Simmons would be in exactly the same spot as us if they got past us in the first round I think. They were big and fast and well coached. That’s what amazed me about Washington and Jefferson – The were fast and must have been well coached – but they were TINY. They looked like grocery baggers compared to our guys.
The big difference last year is the weather I think. If the field is frozen or slick, it makes our bread and butter play – the option – useless. It’s no secret. We need to be able to cut back against the blocks that get pushed down the line. Without that, we’re in trouble. This game Saturday will be played on field turf. We HAVE a passing game and if we get behind and we HAVE to use it, I think we can. But we’re in more trouble than if we don’t have to use it. I don’t think this will be a 17-6 type game like we saw last year.
If UWW can throw and UMHB can somehow run – it’s high scoring.