Some fake plants look better than others.
Sometimes you’ll see a vase of flowers or bowl of fruit and not be entirely sure whether it’s real or not. So you get a closer look, check for little plastic joints or “made in China†inscriptions on the leaves. Maybe you take a sniff to see if there’s an aroma. Sometimes you even have to touch the plant to know for sure. Then someone walks by and wonders why you’re fondling the plastic posies.
This week we get a closer look at some teams to see if they are real contenders for conference titles. We’ll look under the “leaves†of 3-0 Carleton as the Knights travels to MIAC master No. 4 St. John’s. We’ll give Mississippi College the whiff test as the 3-0 Choctaws head to Texas to play No. 5 Hardin-Simmons. We may even conspicuously brush Merchant Marine to see if the 3-1 Mariners can much up the Liberty League race against preseason favorite Union.
By the end of Saturday, we’ll know which of these teams are rooted in their conference races and which are just waxy fruit glossed up with early season wins. Moving away from weak allegories, here are some other thoughts…
Wish you were here: If I could be anywhere in the country on Saturday, it would be in Pella, Iowa for Central versus Wartburg.
The Central Dutch have very quietly moved up the Top 25 rankings. They were 18 in the preseason…then 17…16…14…and now 13. Perhaps just as quietly, the Wartburg Black Knights are undefeated and, as Keith McMillan points out in this week’s Around the Nation, are building confidence that they can win the IIAC again.
Don’t sleep on this one Howard Payne doesn’t play Hardin-Simmons or No. 12 Mary Hardin-Baylor for a couple weeks, but if the Yellow Jackets aren’t careful this week, those games won’t matter as much. I think Sul Ross State will make things interesting when they host HPU in Alpine, Texas. SRSU is 3-0 and coming off an emotional win over ETBU. Fear los Lobos. On the other hand…
Zzz: No. 1 Mount Union has beaten its opponents by a combined score of 197-21. Heidelberg hasn’t beaten anyone in approximately 113 weeks. This week they meet, in Alliance no less.
Most likely Top 25 team to lose: Central, who has the toughest test against Wartburg. Whitworth plays traditionally strong NAIA member Azusa Pacific, but the Cougars have lost two straight to WIAC teams, albeit very good ones in No. 2 Whitewater and No. 8 La Crosse.
Super Ridiculous Pick of the Week: Yes, Kalamazoo has averaged just six points against Adrian the past two years. Yes, Adrian is likely to be pretty feisty after last weekend’s 2OT loss dropped them to 1-2. Yes, the Bulldogs were preseason favorites in the MIAA. But K’zoo has lost both games by the same score (17-14) this year. They can’t lose by the same score three weeks in a row, right?
Kalamazoo 17 Adrian 14
Record thus far for these selections: 0-for-ever
And finally…
Slightly unique, though only slightly: The Blue Tigers of Lincoln (Mo.) travel to Millsaps
We are trying to get a handle on Union. Though the season still has lots of games left, we can’t help but sense that Union is out of synch without their star receiver. Kings Point took the Dutchmen to overtime last year. Union should be the favorite on Saturday. But they still have yet to make a statement. Their absence from the poll is reflective of this fact. Perhaps the good fortune of ’05 left Union overrated. Perhaps we are underestimating their effort against a good Rochester team, but their third down numbers were horrible. Until they really pounce on one of their opponents pre Hobart and RPI, we will continue scratching our heads.
How about the St. Lawrence Saints? How will they finish up this season?
Duke,
If you recall, Union was 7-0 last year and we really couldn’t get a handle on them, particularly after the Dutchmen pulled out back-to-back wins against F&M and lowly Coast Guard in the last 30 seconds. In game 8 they finally hit their stride against St. Lawrence and then took down 3 great teams in succession (Hobart, RPI and Ithaca), before going toe to toe with Rowan and losing.
As far as 3rd downs and overall execution on offense this year, there are two factors. The 4 graduating seniors from last years O-line were very good and experienced (combined 13 years of starting experience). That O-line usually controlled the LOS and was exceptional on 3rd downs (run or pass). Secondly, Angiletta is one of the best 3rd down receivers I have seen in D3. He can not be handled in man coverage, runs precise routes, catches everything thrown his way, and has gamebreaking moves and speed after catching the ball. I think if you go back and check you will see that a good percentage of Angiletta’s 99 catches last year were 3rd down receptions.
Having said that, I think Union will continue to battle for the next few weeks and hopefully keep on winning until (HOPEFULLY) Angiletta is ready to go in the big games at the end of the seson. If Angiletta gets back this year, it will be a completely different Union offense on the field. He is that good.
tlm,
Well said! You captured Union’s season perfectly. Do we think Angiletta has a realistic chance of returning? Union is obviously very vulnerable without him.
Duke,
You have posed the $64,000 question on Angiletta. I have no information on how his recovery is progressing. The early information out of Schenectady indicated 6 weeks. If that prognosis still holds he could possibly be back on the field at homecoming vs F&M, but there is no guarantee with a broken collarbone.
His collarbone was surgically repaired. Usually that means returning to play sooner then if left to heal on its own. IF he returns
For what it’s worth, Mississippi St QB, Michael Henig, who broke his collarbone in the 1st half of the South Carolina game August 31 on national TV, has returned to practice this week, 4 weeks after the injury. You just never know with broken collarbones.
texas1,
St. Lawrence will have a very good hockey team this year.
Good Luck to the Younger Mt. Union Football Players! You will most likely be in the game in the first quarter. Go Purple Raiders!
I think tlm has hit the nail on the head in regards to the dutchmen. I really thought that Union was going to be O.K. and come out strong this year, even without Angiletta. Yet this has not been the case. Angiletta is really that good and Union simply needs him to have a chance at beating the elite. I do however think the O-line has done a decent job for being so young.Graduation hurt and only time and experience will help the Dutchmen grow. I hope that time does not come to late. Also an observation; I think Marotti is almost unstoppable when he is not pressured to make a big play. Yet I feel he turns the ball over when plays are called for him to continually throw the ball down the field. Any comments on this? Why can Union not throw the ball under 15 yards? Maybe my observations are not that accurate, and I would never pretend to no more than the staff. This is just an observation and I was wondering if anyone sees the same, different or in between?
I’ve made the update to our schedule pages and posted in Notables, but a heads-up for ONU and Otterbein fans:
http://www.d3football.com/notables.php
I think the #24 CNU vs. Shenandoah game will be close. Its at night and on the road for the Captains. Shenandoah is not as bad as the 42-0 beating Ferrum put on them.
The Hornets have nothing to lose and CNU will not have their 5,000 plus fans behind them as they did vs. Mary-Hardin Baylor.
Still not enough though for Shenandoah. CNU 24 – Shenandoah 17.
I agree Shenandoah will not get whipped as badly as they did by Ferrum.
35CNU- 0Shenandoah. But no contest.
The game in Virginia to watch though is Ferrum at Averett. The BC-HSC game will not be like the past few years, HSC’s Defense still gives up way to many and their Offense is just not as good. Danville will be the place to be in VA for some D3 football.
I think other than
1) Home in Virginia with my wife and kids
2) In Minnesota with my friends and family
3) At Wartburg/Central
… then Trinity/Williams is the place I most want to be on Saturday. Looking forward to it.
And now I have to get to bed so I can get up to make the drive to Williamstown. 🙂
The Eastern Region games on my radar this week include –
Western Conn at Rowan – Rowan is the clear favorite, but this is a good test to see if Western Conn is good enough to give them a tough game, or if Rowan is truly overwhelming. We know what Rowan can do defensively. What will the offense look like against a quality NJAC opponent?
Ithaca at Brockport – An eastern region playoff spot could be on the line. I still say Brockport is the most overlooked team in the region, and is very dangerous. This game is a toss-up, and I like Brockport to pull it out.
Widener at Moravian – Widener is the only MAC team which can take down Wilkes this season in my opinion. They need a strong showing.
TCNJ at Montclair – Honestly I don’t think Montclair will have any problems. But I have to mention it because it is a great long time rivalry.
Texas 1 –
I like St Lawrence to finish either 5th or 6th in the LL. Much more competitive this season but still well below Union, and marginally worse than Rochester, Hobart, and RPI.
FYI Gordon Sul Ross State is 2-1, they were beat down by UMHB 45-2.
Cortland-
Good stuff.
One small correction, though. Wilkes beat Widener in week two on late field goal by Ryan Yurewicz. The last remaining big tests are Lycoming (October 7 @ Wilkes) and the regular season finale against resurgent King’s in the Mayor’s Cup.
And I agree on SLU. They seem to be improved, but I’m not sure they are at the level of the other four teams you mentioned. I guess we’ll know in a few hours.
Mount Union 59 – Heidelberg 7
UWW 45 – Eau Claire 0
UWW 28 – Eau Claire 14
Deep, deep conference. UWW will beat Mount Union for the National Championship (if Mount Union makes it that far).
Any team that wins the WIAC can contend for the title.
St. Johns has had one of the toughest schedules so far this year. I don’t care for the program that much, but I have to respect the fact they have beaten many very good teams already.
The CCIW better get its act together. My beloved Augustana must win the conference.
Whitewater Wins 34-0, on the road, against a fellow WIAC team that nearly won AT St. Johns….
Warhawks look ready for next week’s homecoming showdown with #8 LaCrosse… That should be the game of the week next week with the winner having the inside track to homefield to the Stagg Bowl…
Wesley beat Huntingdon 38-17 over 1100yrds total O for both teams
Open mouth…insert Foot….Ferrum just does not have the heart to win the conference this year. They have the players but for some reasons they are not playing.
Oh No -RunFerrum. Don’t talk about the heart in Ferrum. You yourself predicted a Ferrum win, because you were thinking with your heart and not your mind. Always remember the ol’e saying, “Hope is not a plan!”
Oh yeah….told ya so!
Well, the game I was interested in’s done, and it was great to watch. Baldwin-Wallace beat John Carroll 24-8. (Should’ve been 24-3, but JC went for it on 4th and 12 because they didn’t have a kicker. After seeing it firsthand (along with a rain delay >_>), I find Baldwin-Wallace to be pretty underrated, probably since they’re in a really tough division. They have a great runner in Brandon Hedges, a very physical secondary who popped loose about 5 passes. Their only real weakness is allowing some of the short yardage gains, as well as starting to slow down a bit in the 4th (which is why they’re not undefeated). They’re not Top 25 material quite yet, but don’t be surprised if they pop back in there (their tough games are all at home).
Gordon,
I haven’t had a chance to read the comments yet, but your opener nailed it all across the board. From Merchant Marine, Carleton and Miss. Coll. putting up some fights but ultimately not coming through to … well if you were at the stadium today looking for Mount Union-Heidelberg (not sure why you would be, but humor me) … then you really did catch some zzzzzs.
Nice work.
Hey,
I back the WIAC as much as anyone, and Whitewater looks pretty flawless so far (hopefully I can report from a little closer-up next week), but since we’re pulling out ole’ sayings:
How about: Those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it?
Let’s not go giving the WIAC a Stagg Bowl bid yet, and let’s certainly not mark them down for beating Mount Union.
Actually, you know what, you guys do you. Don’t let me stop your fun.
Well I think Ferrum is a much better team than the 1-3 start. The players just do not have the fight it takes to be a great team. They could easily be 4-0 and ranked by now. Now they have to hope someone can beat both CNU and Averett while winning out. A long shot at best. At least they have most the linemen and backs returning next year.