Congrats to Mount Union. Nice to have a different champion for once. 🙂 But seriously, I don’t mind if the same team wins a couple titles in a row, as long as the season is competitive and the title isn’t a forgone conclusion.
We’ve had years like that.
First thought goes out to the johnny-come-lately Whitewater posters on this blog. Welcome to Division III reality. It takes more than one hand to count the number of schools’ posters who have come in, talked a big game, then had to either slink away or eat crow. But don’t worry, there’s a long list: Wheaton, Wabash, Widener, Rowan, St. John’s (though that one goes both ways).
Second to those who insisted the national title game was played two weeks ago. ‘Nuff said. Don’t count your chickens before the eggs are laid. This is exactly why covering Division III and ranking teams is so difficult.
Third: Can you imagine this team with two more years of Pierre Garcon and three more of Nate Kmic? In our pregame interview I asked coach Larry Kehres if we were seeing the emergence of the next Chuck Moore or Dan Pugh and he pointed out, of course, that those guys did it for four years. In retrospect, however, I think we’ll be able to look back in a couple years and agree about the breakout.
Fourth: Still thinking about the chicken, Stone Station! Yum!
Also, I enjoyed covering sideline reports for the broadcast today (archive links on the front for those who want to listen in). Good perspective on the game. Thanks to Matt Barnhart of Bridgewaterfootball.com for covering the opposite sideline for me so we could get the latest on both sides.
Good to see the NCAA’s chief executive, Dr. Myles Brand, watching the game from the sidelines. We were able to interview him early in the third quarter for those who want to check it out.
As always, play in the Stagg Bowl would have changed our All-American team. But like everyone else, we lock them in and release them beforehand.
Our broadcasters upstairs correctly noted the downfield blocking by the offensive line on Kmic’s 15-yard touchdown run But I feel I should point out that Garcon was down there as well paving the way.
It was great to see officiating not be an issue. The officials clearly got the three calls right that resulted in the game being stopped for review. But it was fun from the field to see the video board and how the replays shown affected the fans, especially on the non-touchdown catch by Garcon — the play was called out of bounds. First replay comes up and is not particularly conclusive to the layman, Mount Union fans roar. Play is stopped. I call upstairs to Gordon Mann, our producer, and let him know it is absolutely out of bounds. Second replay comes up and shows us nothing new. Finally, the definitive replay shows Garcon indeed got his foot down out of bounds and the Whitewater side roars. I enjoyed the element added to the game and hope fans did too.
Now, on to the Aztec Bowl. Thanks to Wes Hostetler for making us look good with his performance as both a defensive back and a return man, echoing our naming him an All-American at both spots earlier in the day. Elsewhere, lots of good performances came from our picks … just not from the quarterbacks. Ouch.
We throw it open, but don’t forget to come back for more coverage this week and in future weeks as we continue to wrap up the Stagg Bowl and the 2005 Division III football season with Keith McMillan’s year in review column.
Mount has an excellent freshman class this year. To mention a couple in addition to Kmic, they have a tailback from FL who was 2nd on the depth chart until game 9–about same size as Beaver. The punter is the 3rd string QB–an all-state lefty who throws the football like Freddy Couples swings a golf club and he is a very good runner. They take a big hit to graduation on the DL but there are some Sophs ready for their turn and they have a truckload of DBs and LBs to fill any any holes there.
Looking forward to next year more so than usual.
Agree that the replay was an excellent call by the NCAA. It should alleviate the whining and complaining from all but the worst about any suspect calls.
thought the broadcast was excellent…the NFL should get replays done that quickly…loved the way Kehres was on his players about proper conduct…(worked for the most part)…PLAY THE GAME ON FIELDTURF…(or go further south)
is it too early to talk repeat???
Congratulations MT. UNION PURPLE RAIDERS!!!
Blah….Blah… National Championship two weeks ago…. Remember people, you have to play the game…. And when it is all said and done it was the MT. UNION PURPLE RAIDERS as the champions…
Next time WW people should be more respectful… Way too much trash talking at the tailgate… I got trashtalk mugged in the line for the port-o-potty…. just walking around…. in line to get into stadium… And you should talk to your student body about the “F-U” “M-U” chants… very disrespectful as a football fan.
But I guess that is how things go…. It just seemed that WW people were just way too cocky…. I did see one of the people after the game and respectfully wished him a safe 14 hr drive home…
CONGRATULATIONS MOUNT UNION PURPLE RAIDERS!!!!
#8 IS JUST AS GREAT!!!!
Thanks for letting me help out Pat. It was a lot of fun, even though I almost ate it twice in that mud.
Couple immediate thoughts from being on the MUC sideline…
I liked how Larry Kehres allowed his younger coaches to most of the coaching. Not sure if he has done that since he started coaching, or it began over the last couple years, but it shows Kehres sees value in mentoring his former players to they can one day work the sidelines as HC.
I also thought Nate Kmic was a class act by thanking each of his offensive lineman by tapping them on the head and saying “thanks for blocking” after each of his three touchdowns. I know he isn’t the only back that does that, but I could tell he meant it. Kmic doesn’t seem like the kind of person who, over the next three years, will soke in the success as all his doing when comes to him.
Pierre Garcon – when you see him in person – looks like a Division I-A athlete. His arms and legs were huge, neither of which slowed him down or kept him from making playstation-type moves in getting YAC. Garcon has a bright future … beyond MUC.
And lastly, Mount Union’s defense. I mean wow. I couldn’t find a weakness, and clearly UW-Whitewater’s offense couldn’t either. Holding the Warhawks to zero points in the second and third quarters won the game. And I remember the defensive coordinator telling his troops once they came off the field in the second quarter, “If they don’t score, they can’t win.”
Again, I had an excellent time and appreciated the invite by the D3football.com staff to man the sidelines for them.
And boy was “Stone Station” hopping, with the 75 bbq chicken quarters being eaten in about 15 minutes by the Whitewater fans – and a handful of Mount Union ones. Big thanks for Bo (a.k.a. Llamaguy) and John (a.k.a. Skoaltrain) for putting on the whole tailgate. And no joke, “Stone Station” actually won the 94.9 Star Country NTelos “Tailgate of the Day.” Clearly deserved, yes, but just ironic seeing how there were 10 or so BC fans there and 4000+ Mount Union and Whitewater ones.
Oh my……so much for the unbeatable machine, huh? And whats with the 65-7 whitewater whitewashing that was supposed to occur? This should be a lesson as to why the games are played! Don’t underestimated the OAC, dont undersestimate Ohio football in general……some of the best in the country! I believe this victory started in the parking lot…..First, we won the tailgating aspect and then we won yet another national championship……Nice work Raiders players and fans in maintaining your composure with all the trash talking going on….It was bad! UWW had a whole lot to say the entire game….right up to about the last minute or so that is!!! But seriously, I hope that UWW takes a little more humble approach in the future, and I wish them the best of luck next year, cuz we may just see this match-up all over again!!!! That’d be just fine with me….I’ll be there!
I ran into Bob Reade at an Augie game against UW Platteville, I think it was. Said to him, “looks like it’s Linfield now.” He said something to the effect that Mt. Union would be back, with their great program. What does one notice about the greatest teams in just about any sport? Less talking, more DOING. Augie in the 80’s, Mount Union in the 90’s and beyond. Quiet, well disciplined teams.
Did anyone get the final attendance of the 2005 Stagg Bowl?? I seemed pretty full, but hard to put a count to it. Usually it is announced at the game, but I didn’t notice it.
First of all, congratulations to the Raiders on a great victory and season.
As a Warhawk fan, the loss was disappointing but the season has been a huge success for a team picked to finish second in its own conference. The team graduates only five seniors I believe so the future looks promising. The experience gained by playing five games against top competition in the postseason is invaluable, as is the media exposure which should help immensely in recruiting. Hopefully this season has gotten the ball rolling on Whitewater’s goal to be seen by recruits as a respected perennial power like Mt. Union.
I can’t wait for next season!
Pat,
Your point about crow-eating posters is well made. Regardless of the outcome, those who post the kind of braggadocio we’ve all read are engaging in testosterone-fueled chest thumping and trash talk, none of which is sportsmanlike when accompanied by derisive and uncomplimentary statements about the opposition. While it may be relatively harmless in this forum, it more than likely is their choice of communication styles utilized at games
You mentioned several schools whose supporters have done such in the past. Not to suggest that Wabash supporters are above it (I’ve personally witnessed and read about such incidents at games), but I don’t recall seeing any blogs of the extreme kind we saw during this post-season. Were you referring to past playoff seasons or games during this year’s regular season (e.g., the Monon Bell game)? This is my first year to participate in Daily Dose, so I may have missed some of the postings to which you refer. Just wondering.
Pat,
Didn’t you say in your blog entry on the 10th of Dec:
“It’s hard to keep from pondering that if the NCAA had put UW-Whitewater in the North and Lakeland in the West (remember, Whitewater is closer geographically to the rest of the North bracket than Lakeland is!) then we could have seen UW-Whitewater/Mount Union today and UW-Whitewater/Linfield next week.”
Maybe you were also one of “those” who stated that the championship game was played at Linfield?
Regardless, Mount got the job done and put doubters (like myself) to rest for another season. While there were some outstanding offensive performances for Mount the MVP of that game was the D-Line and LB’s of Mount Union. They made Jacobs uncomfortable, took away their sprint out passing game, and just made it a long day for him.
Salem has to update the field or they should move the final. If they would have had any additional moisture on Saturday, it would have been unplayable.
Well what a great game! Congrats to Mt. Union and their entire program. What they continue to accomplish is amazing! Also congrats to all the WW players as well, this is all about the kids and all their hard work! They all deserved to be apart of this experience! UWW fans (many of you but not all) I really think you got what you deserved, a loss to shut you up!! When looking at the players it is a shame anyone had to lose but it is clear that when looking at the fans, I am so happy to see that Mt. Union came out on top. One that thing…….Dear iknowitall…….you don’t know %#$*!
Salem does so many things right, but I agree with the field assessment. It looks as though Salem Stadium has started to renovate – they added an elevator this year.
The 1-AA championship in 2004 was basically on an unplayable field. This year, fieldturf was installed. I’d have to think that Salem will strongly consider it after the condition in 2005…it was playable, and didn’t cause any major issues in the game, but it was a drawback. Knowing Salem, I expect a change to be made.
Regarding FieldTurf — I think that is a foregone conclusion in Salem. The city has been upgrading the stadium slowly but surely over the past few years and I am sure turf is coming. First started talking about that a couple years ago.
Attendance: 4,619.
Unfortunately we could not make the trip to Salem this year – prior commitments. The game was terrific on tv though and it was nice to see ESPN send one of their better broadcast teams – Bill Curry does a nice job of pointing out some of the more subtle aspects of the game. I was saddened to hear however, that there seemed to have been too much trash talk and poor sportsmanship involved. I have pretty much given up on the pro’s because of this and while still a big Buckeye fan, I’m close to shutting out the big-time college game too. I get to Alliance for 3 or 4 games each season because I really enjoy seeing young men playing the game the right way, simply because of their love for the game. The wholesome atmosphere and good cheer on both sides make for a wonderful day watching excellent football. It seems a shame some among yesterday’s crowd denied the rest that enjoyment. Congratulations to Coach Kehres and his coaches/players on another championship year.
Congrats to two teams who deserved to be there and played their hearts out. When all was said and done, I have to believe that it was the experience factor which propelled MUC over Whitewater.
I was sitting in my hotel room Saturday morning, I read an article in which one of the WW players was asked about the experience so far. He said something to the affect of ‘I think that it’s finally set in that we are playing for a national championship’ At that point, I knew that Whitewater would lose this one.
Did anyone else notice a point in the second quarter where it seemed as if the adreniline wore off, leaving the Warhawks tired? It was at that point where MUC started to control the game at all levels. Whitewater regained their energy in the 4th quarter, but by then it was a bit late. The defense had spent too much time on the field, allowing Kmic to spring his 95 yard run.
I also don’t know why we didn’t attempt field goals in the redzones rather than going for it on 4th down. But, that’s a coaching issue.
I also saw plenty of times when the QB had a receiver wide open 5-7 yards down the field, but he opted to toss to Lyczinski 20 to 25 yards down. But, that’s a players issue.
A fan issue is something I know a thing or two about. First off, please don’t accuse WW fans of being crass and rude in one breath and then tell a blogger that they “don’t know %#$*!”. You can’t have it both ways.
I will say, however, that Wisconsin fans are not the most polite in the world. It’s usually accompanied by heavy drinking and is in general, an embarrassment to the state. As a former Wisconsinite, I can say that when the Badgers came to NC for a game this fall, some of my friends also remarked about the same issues regarding the trash talking by the Badger fans against the Tarheel’s fans. Let’s not pretend that MUC is completely innocent, though, either. Wisconsin is just a little over the top.
One thing I can say for sure is that if MUC comes back to the Stagg Bowl, their band should wear uniforms. They were clearly outclassed.
Maybe this is just me, but I love natural grass. I was at the game I don’t think it was unplayable. Unplayable would have been a mud hole, and it was far from that. I beleieve that torn-up grassy sod is what pure, that way it was supposed to be played football is all about….and congrats Raiders once again!
what a game. rematch next year is def a possiblility with the young talent each has
however, after watching the muc-capital game 2 weeks before it is hard for me to not say that the championship was won 2 weeks ago on a cold afternoon in alliance. gotta give the oac some love
“It takes more than one hand to count the number of schools’ posters who have come in, talked a big game, then had to either slink away or eat crow. But don’t worry, there’s a long list: Wheaton, Wabash, Widener, Rowan, St. John’s (though that one goes both ways).”
pat, if it takes more than one hand how come you only listed 5? and i cannot begin to believe the five you have listed are even close to the worst offenders. maybe it was a W theme but this blanket assessment seems far from accurate, especially for you.
I agree with those who think MUC had the coaching edge in this one, I think it was definately a factor in the game. MUC seemed to be mixing their plays up nicely, and UWW didn’t seem to loosen things up until they were down by 3 TDs. Also, how much “what-if-ing” is UWW going to do this off season? I can think of 4 major ones. A dropped TD at the goal line (and how big does that look when you lose by 1 score). No points with 4 tries within the 10 yard line (field goal, anyone?). A WR behind the coverage in the endzone and the QB throws it a foot too short and into the arms of the DB. And then, someone (one of the D-lineman) deciding to try and arm tackle Kmic at the line of scrimmage. Rather than no gain it turns into a 96 yard TD.
MUC made the big plays in the above situations, as well as other points in the game. That’s why the Purple Raiders have been the champs 8 of the last 13 years.
I have personally observed all of those schools’ fans (and players and parents, perhaps that will jog your memory as to the school I know you are trying to dispute).
Want more names? We could get them for you.
oh yes, the parents thing is what made me remember. well, that was what? 4 yrs ago? i agree, that was pretty bad. but that was one bad poster, not a whole school. certaiinly there are more widespread examples than that. if i was making a list i would put only 1 or two of the 5 schools you mentioned in the list.
… and a player.
Pat,
So I’m still wondering about the bloggers from Wabash. Again, I’m not familiar with any examples from this year, my first on the Daily Dose.
And since Wabash didn’t play Mount Union this year, that should be some indication that I’m talking about a previous season. 🙂
Got it. Thanks for the clarification. I wasn’t aware you were talking only about Mt. Union opponents, given there were a number of bloggers from various playoff teams this year who fit the description of big talk and no results.
Wow, if any of our fans popped off about MUC in 2002, they don’t know diddly.
You know you can complain about fans all you want and how little class they have. but a team you left off of their was Mt. Union. Your right alot of Whitewater fans (i.e. alot of students) don’t show alot of class at games. but nobody claimed we did. In talking to people who have seen Mt. Union play they told me that Mt. Union fans were some of the classyist fans around. I didn’t see it. I saw alot of Mt. Union fans rubbing their win in our faces. I would understand to rub it in the faces of those people who trash talked. but not everybody. now I can’t say people in whitewater wouldn’t have done the same but I can say that I am disappointed and have not problem saying that Mt. Union fans were the worst fans that we have come across this year. Congrats to both teams. Im looking forward to Dec. 16 2006 when they meet again.
For the record, I was talking merely about people posting to this site, whether on the message board or the blog. Game day behavior is a different thing entirely and needs to be dealt with by the proper authorities. We blogged about this a couple weeks ago and the point remains. Every crowd has its bad apples, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be tolerated.
My son just finished his football career at Mount Union. He played his last game after 14 years of organized football. This is the definition of bittersweet. Through the grace of God and many hour of hard work, he goes out a winner.
I want to thank D3football.com for the many different aspects of D3football that you don’t see by just following “your team”. This site offers so many insights it is amazing.
I want to thank Ric for the information on the purple raiders.Great site, lots of work, great dedication.
I want to thank LK and the whole coaching staff at Mount Union. Sorry fellas, no matter what you hear, they care. Academics are first at Mount. NCAC, toot your horn and pound your chest. Do what ever you want These kids work hard in the classroom. They are students first. LK demands this.
All teams have their less than desirable fans. But Whitewater fans took the cake. I am sure most are good people who love to see their kids excel. But the profanities I heard from the fans directed at Mount fans and players were way above anything I heard except for Cleveland stadium. I am sorry about that.
Someone else noted that man for man Whitewater was the better team. But the sum of the parts!!!!
Thanks for the input from all the fans, it has been a great year,a great ride.
Most of all, Thank you son. I pray that some day you can get half the joy from your children that you have given your mother and I. You are the poster child for D3. Too small to play. Too tough not to.
God bless all. Have a safe and Happy Holiday.
OK SOAP BOX OFFICIALLY CLOSED
daraiders,
God bless you and your family. What a wonderful tribute to your son. I couldn’t help but think of the movie Rudy when I read your description of him.
The academic expectations Coach K has for his student-athletes is indeed shared among most DIII programs, and my prayer is that the emphasis on academics continues.
pat, it is definately worth noting that trash talk posting is not limited to 5-6 or even 10 schools. and muc posters have their share as well.
A reminder that the topic is trash-talking of one specific type against one specific school, Mount Union College. You might not like that some fans put your school on the list but it is definitely accurate.
PCole,
I disagree. Trash talking is just that…talking trash. Just because some team wins doesn’t mean that they are exempt from the label of “talking trash”. Bragging rights is one thing and MUC has definately earned it, but trash talking is completely different.
Furthermore, I think that your calling out of various schools and their posters on d3football.com is in rather poor taste. I’m not even saying that as a WW fan. Had I been a Rowan, St. Johns, Wabash etc. fan, I’d be pretty upset right now. You’re basically telling the fans of those schools that they shouldn’t even support their own team, since afterall…MUC is just going to win it all, right? If UWW would have won, would you have told the MUC posters to eat crow or refer to them as people who slink away? Doubtful.
UWW still has earned national championships in Baseball, Women’s Volleyball and Wheelchair Basketball. Schools around the nation can stake similar claims in other sports. There’s a lot of pride in their schools and rightfully so. For you to tell them that they should eat crow and slink away for defending their men and women is unreasonable and an unfair judgement of the students in these schools.
A few things about the game on Saturday,
1. I was in the student section, and the profanities, were taken care of, and we stopped. As far as individual profanities, I don’t know what happened, so on behalf of UWW, I apologize. But don’t think it was just us doin bad things at the game.
2. As far as the playing surface, I talked to a few players and they said that, in a word, it was bad. I realize that there was a big ice storm on wed, night, so considering, it seemed like they did a pretty darn good job, hats off to the field guys.
I look forward to a rematch next year, and another nice 14 hour drive down there.
Congrats to MUC on a fine season, but also great job hawks on the best season in school history!
Never asked them to slink away, just reported what previous groups of johnny-come-lately fans have done. But they should take their medicine, definitely. If that involves eating crow, hey, I can’t argue with that. Into every life a little crow must fall, even at Mount Union.
But not this year. Welcome, as I said, to Division III reality.
Nate Kmic’s run on Chris Berman’s Top 23.5 plays on Sports Center. Bonus points to Berman for pronouncing Berezowitz right. Deduction for pronouncing Kmic’s name wrong.
“You might not like that some fans put your school on the list but it is definitely accurate. ”
i wasn’t aware that was a fan poll. looks like just one person’s opinion to me.
Sigh.
THE ACTIONS of some fans put your school on the list. Must you argue every point?
Good grief! So much “to do” on this issue. Trash talking exist at every college in the US. I’m going to really go out on a limb here and say that at every one of these schools the trash talking has crossed the line of good taste at one point or other. The problem is that every generation feels like they have to outdo the previous on the “outrageous scale”. Remember when the Beatles were every parents nightmare. Now, PM has to do half times shows because some in the current generation can’t be trusted to not bare their breast or drop an F bomb on prime time TV. Throw in a little booze and away we go.
As for Saturday, I made the rounds in the parking lot and saw mostly people having a good time responsibly. I only heard two incidents of vulgarity/trash talk all day and both came from 20 somethings that probably had a BAC higher than the antifreeze level in my truck. Yea, lets blame it on those dastardly kids! And BTW, they both were dressed in purple. Perhaps someone else saw them too. 🙂
I am in no way making light of this issue as I try to inject a little humor. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with cheering for your team or maybe even a little harmless ribbing of an opposing school. Problem is, once you open that door it is mightly easy to slide down the slippery slope. Vulgarity and personal attacks have no place in college (or any other level for that matter) athletics. Most people know when they have crossed that line. And remember that little verse that most people learn when they are 5 years old. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
So perhaps we don’t always talk about the hundreds and thousands of good, courteous people. My best moment of the weekend took place in a Bob Evans in Princeton WV on Saturday night. Totally unsolicted, my eight year old son went up to an older man in booth wearing a Whitewater hat, stuck out his hand, shook hands and said, “I’m sorry your team lost.” I’ve done one thing right in this life.
What a wonderful anecdote….Its nice to see that good sportsmanship still exists! On the other hand, this is once again turning into a spam site….Let’s talk football!
Congrats to my Raiders for doing it again, you make us alums proud. Congrats to WW for playing a great game and I might even say at times they looked to be the better team but couldn’t break the big play as often as Mt. did.
Where’s IknowNOTHING and SeanFULLOCRAP now…no where I guess but did we expect anything more from them?
D3 guys thanks as always for your continued coverage of our little part of the football world. If it wasn’t for this sight it would be real hard to stay connected.
Come on people! Iknowitall admitted he was wrong and manned up to it. It’s time to leave him alone and enjoy the win. SeanGOP isn’t going to do the same. He wasn’t even a fan of W-Whitewater. Both teams were awsome and both schools should be very proud of their programs.
Thanks for a great game boy’s!
When did Iknowitall admit he was wrong? Besides, he was laying it on thick last week…..I havent seen 1 single blog from him this week; good or bad? Not that I care, I just find it amusing……I do agree that everyone involved with Saturday’s game should be very proud of their teams….Talking with people who know very little about either team or DIII football, they keep commenting to me how exciting that game was and how much they enjoyed watching the Stagg Bowl…..Got some newly acquired Mount Union fans!!!!!The word is out-DIII football is the real deal!!!!! Way to go d3football.com and Salem, VA!
Check out the Immediate thoughts of the game. He admitted he was wrong about the outcome and gave The Raiders the credit they deserved.
Holy man. Maybe these blogs should just go away. That’ll solve a bunch of problems.
Just wanted to point something out about Kmic. I thought he was a great back. Besides the 95 yard run, he was held in check. I thought his hands hurt WW more than his feet (again, other than the 95 yarder). He came up with a few key first down catches out of the backfield, keeping their drives alive. He is going to be good.
As a WW fan, though, I’d still take Beaver any day of the week.
Congrats to both teams.
I was impressed with the MUC coach and how he handled his team.
In response to one of the “crazy” blog comments last week referring to “UWW division 1 athletes”:
In my opinion, I saw 1 on the UWW team- a linebacker, I think he was #47.
On the MUC side- I saw 3- obviously the wr, and 2 of the d-linemen.
I agree with the 3 D1 athletes for MUC, but you have to be kidding for UW. Only 1?
Don’t try to downgrade any of the players’ talent, give them the credit they deserve.
seventies- thanks for sharing that. that is certainly the spirit of the game!
I want to take a minute to compliment Mount Union DB coach Jeff Wojtowicz for getting the job done against UWW….His secondary could have arguably been the difference maker in the game….They stepped up when they needed to, and kept the UWW WR’s to a relatively quiet game…Not only that, but he’s a quality human being, and a class act….Great job Coach Woj!!!!!