Monthly Archives: September 2005

Looking ahead to Saturday

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Looking ahead to Saturday? You bet. This should be a good one — not only for the games Keith McMillan and I are attending but the other games on the schedule as well.

Keith and I fly out today to Chicago and will see UW-Eau Claire at UW-Whitewater in the afternoon, Wheaton at North Central at night. All four of these teams are already on my ballot (not in the order the rest of the voters have, however), so I’m looking forward to seeing in person where they might stack up.

But even without those games it should be a good day of football.

Game that won’t live up to previous years: Bridgewater at Hampden-Sydney. This game should still be pretty good, it’s just that the last time Hampden-Sydney hosted, it came down to the wire. We urge all attending this game to cheer responsibly. First team to make a defensive stop wins.

Game that will be close but shouldn’t be: Guilford at Greensboro. These city rivals are about on the same level but Greensboro hasn’t shown much this season and Guilford has to be worried about where its next win is coming from.

Game that should be close but won’t be: No. 25 Whitworth at Eastern Oregon. Remember when EOU was in Division III? Yeah, it wasn’t that long ago. But Whitworth should be able to win this one handily.

Retired Trophy Game of the Week: RPI at Coast Guard. RPI will take the Shot Glass home for good. Yet another rivalry that Coast Guard is abandoning in dropping its program down from the Liberty League to the New England Football Conference. No more Mug, no more Shot Glass, and now the Secretary’s Cup is going to be played in September? Scratch that off the list of key rivalry games.

First to seven wins: Franklin and Marshall has scored nine points per game, Muhlenberg 16.7, and even that is inflated by the 30 points against The College of New Jersey, some of which were gift-wrapped. Last year, 15-10 F&M.

Top 25 upset waiting to happen: No. 16 Carthage. They need to find that offense, and fast. The trip to Millikin is not an easy one and neither is the opponent.

Getting off the schneid: Best shot, I think, is Massachusetts Maritime breaking its eight-game losing streak, traveling to Framingham State.

Off the hype machine: Remember what a big deal Christopher Newport/Shenandoah was last season? Hmm, not so much right now. Not only are both teams down from last season, it’s not even definite they are the top two teams in the USAC, as Ferrum already has put Shenandoah away.

Now that’s a schedule

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Earlier this week, Hardin-Simmons announced its 2006 schedule, which includes the current defending national champion, Linfield. UW-Stevens Point remains on the schedule as well.

It’s as if someone finally gets it. This is the kind of game the automatic bid era was supposed to bring about from the get-go. The conference schedule is paramount, so why not test yourself out of conference and see what you’re made of? But games like this are still rather rare. Capital plays Wittenberg, Christopher Newport plays Rowan, Mary Hardin-Baylor has played Willamette the past two years, but non-conference games between two national contenders? There should be more of them.

How great would these games be? How about Ithaca and Rowan? Trinity (Texas) and either of the top two ASC teams? Washington and Jefferson against Mount Union?

Let’s step up and test ourselves. The access for at-large teams will never be better than it is right now. The field will likely never expand beyond 32 teams, and as more schools join Division III, it will only get harder to get into the playoffs in the future. Mount Union shouldn’t have to travel 500 miles to find a game.

Insider: An early look at Augie

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Dear reader:

We’ve asked a few Division III players to join our blog and give us an inside look into life in Division III football. Allow us to re-introduce Augustana wingback J.J. McDowell, who originally wrote for us as a junior last season in Around the Midwest:

J.J. McDowellThe newborn 2005 season has already presented my teammates and I with a few significant experiences. Before we even had the chance to take the field against an opponent we lost senior captain Chris Studer to a broken arm. Chris is the type of player/person that every coach yearns to have on his roster. For three years he has put nothing less than one hundred percent into every off-season workout and every practice without a single complaint. Then his senior year rolls around, and his hard work and commitment finally earn him the opportunity to show what he is capable of doing on Saturday afternoons, but after one play, it is all taken away from him after an awkward landing after a reception. Unfortunately, Chris will miss the rest of the season, but he still hasn’t complained nor has he missed a single practice. He may not be strapping it up with us on Saturdays, but because of what he means to his teammates and this program, he remains to be a staple on the 2005 Augie football team.

Heading into week four after a bye week, with a record of 1-1, we hosted the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in front of our 1985 National Championship team. The defense came up with a stop on the opening drive, and we responded with a 92 yard drive resulting in seven points. A long interception return by defensive back Travis Shea, and a blocked punt by junior Aaron Call sparked the offensive ground attack and the momentum carried throughout the entire game. Though we walked away with a strong effort and a 45- 14 victory, we lost starting center, sophomore Donnie Gelsomino to yet, another broken limb. During the first half, at the end of a running play, a series of screams could be heard throughout Ericson field. I was ahead of the play so when I turned around I found Donnie, a kid who had worked so hard to earn a starting spot, lying there holding his leg up as his foot awkwardly hung with no support. Donnie suffered a broken leg, but just like Chris, will continue to be an essential part of this team.

Looking beyond our misfortunes, it was nice to get a big win in front of the 1985 National Championship team. One of my roommates who does not participate in football has an uncle who was on the ‘85 team, and after the game a bunch of alumni were at my house and I had the opportunity to talk to them for a while. It was fun swapping stories because many of the drills in practice and coaches they had are still around today. We shared quite a few laughs and I got to meet Brad Price, one of the greatest running backs Augie football has ever seen. It was enlightening to hear stories of the past and see their faces light up when talking of the championships or cracking a joke on a former teammate.

Next week we meet up with North Park University (3-0) for our second home game in a row. No matter what previous seasons North Park has had, running backs coach, Tom Schmulbach was quick to point out that they are currently leading the conference in rushing defense. That is all he needed to say, these Vikings will be ready for the challenge.