So I’m at my real job on Sunday, on the sports copy desk at USA Today, sitting not far from a Wisconsin native. Another editor stops by his desk. The Wisconsin native asks the other if he saw that UW-Whitewater won and would be headed back to the Stagg Bowl.
Some people here know me as a Division III football geek/guru (you make the call), but in this case, I was like a fly on the wall, listening to two casual fans’ honest opinions about Division III football.
“You see who won?”
“No, who?”
“Wisconsin-Whitewater. They’re going back to the championship to play Mount Union.”
“Oh. Now they’ll get killed.”
Normally, I’d butt in there, as most of us expect a pretty tight rematch between the Warhawks and Purple Raiders. But for some reason I kept listening.
“You’ll never guess who scored three touchdowns?”
“Who?”
“Derek Stanley. The guy who used to be a running back at Wisconsin (Madison), and beat up his girl and got kicked off the team. He must’ve ended up at Whitewater.”
‘Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?’ I thought to myself. ‘I didn’t know that. I’m supposed to know stuff like that about D3. I’ve never heard anyone say a negative word about Derek Stanley. And Whitewater doesn’t really seem like it would need to build with transfers with questionable pasts. And he’s a receiver, not a running back. I’m so confused.”
So eventually I spoke up. And we determined that it was BOOKER Stanley who was convicted in July of beating and choking a woman in his off-campus apartment. The running back was kicked off the team this offseason by new UW coach Bret Bielema, and according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in April, inquired about enrolling and playing for Whitewater.
The Warhawks already had a Stanley, thank you very much (not to mention some running back that appears to be holding down the starting job). As far as I know, DEREK is a model citizen.
A journalist always gets his facts straight … eventually.
The moral of the story, kids, is: You might learn a lot more about Mount Union and UW-Whitewater this week than you ever thought you would. But don’t believe everything you hear, and always consider your source.
Definitely keep this in mind as you read fans’ chit-chat about Saturday’s national championship game. 🙂
Have at it everybody:
that’s not smack UWW..thats what happened….
im just rattling stuff off…gettin’ too crazy…time to step away…
let’s just see how it turns out…glad the game is on ESPN…great exposure for both programs…i’m done…
If UWW was in the OAC, they would be like Capital has been the last 2 years and Ohio Norhern before that. A good team, in a great conference, that has to play Mount (maybe twice in 1 year). And once they make that last trek to alliance, well, they can hold their heads up high and say they had a good year.
Just having some fun guys, enjoying all the good sportsmanship.
I really enjoy all the “this is our year”, “UWW is hungrier”, “we have the talent”, “Garcon is hurt” etc. I do think you have to believe your team will win, or why play the game. As far as Garcon being hurt, as long as he can still be 10 yards ahead of the d-backs, I think he can make that catch 90% of the time. I’m just glad it’s his finger and not his leg.
(sigh) I miss the well thought out discussion.
Past tradition means nothing here. Its this group of players playing not guys from the past. MU is realing here. You cant just right the ship, winning in football needs to be progressive thing. I thought Jorris was the difference last year in the Stagg but he has fallen into LK’s doghouse. Kmic carried the team last week. UWW front 7 may be the best ever in Division 3, they will stop Kmic you can take that to the bank. UWW is on the right page now. Look for 200 plus game for Beaver. Who on MU can block Kleppe, he will be in backfield every play.
UWW carrys Coach off the field UWW 42 – MU 17.
Really, People, at this point, you just got to laugh!!!!
Let’s look at some facts.
Fact – Both teams are exceptional
Fact – One team has won championships at an incredible rate
Fact – Nate Kmic ran for 185 yards against UWW in last year’s Stagg Bowl.
Fact – On 2 more carries Justin Beaver had 60 less yards
Fact – Last years game was a blowout at one point and the final score is deceiving considering UWW last touchdown came with 2 seconds left on the clock.
Fact – Again, UWW is an exceptional team but they are still the team with something to prove and a monkey on their back. Look at their history vs. MUC
Fact – In the last 17 years only once has Mount Union lost by more than 17 points. Anyone who thinks/predicts that they will be blown out is blowing smoke.
Fact – Half of UWW yards came in the 4th quarter of the game last year when they were launching a desperation comeback. When the game was on the line in the second and third quarters the WW offense produced 232 yards on 52 plays.
Last years game was great only in the fact that UWW showed that they had tremendous heart in the 4th quarter. Personally, I think we’re in for a better overall game this year but don’t be surprised if the same characters drive MUC once again.
Addendum to the last post.
UWW had 52 plays for 232 yards from their SECOND possession of the game until the fourth quarter.
I’d like to bring this back to an analysis of the matchups in this game. I haven’t seen either team, outside of about 1.5 quarters of UWW-Wesley (until it got really ugly) and about 3 quarters of MUC-SJF on the webcasts.
Most people seem to agree that UWW needs to at least slow down Kmic to have a good chance at winning. If their linebackers are as fast as people say (it’s really hard to tell on a webcast), that will obviously help. But the line is also going to have to be exceptional. Obviously, Kleppe is an elite player, and I’m sure the rest of UWW’s line is also quite good. You don’t put up the defensive numbers they have without being outstanding.
Here’s my question: what is the best “type” of defensive line to combat MUC’s mammoth, and very good, offensive line? In the perfect world, i.e. the NFL, you have linemen who are both big and fast. There aren’t a ton of them at this level, though Kleppe seems to be an exception.
The MUC o-line was highly praised coming into the 2003 Stagg Bowl. They outweighed SJU’s d-line by extraordinarily large amounts. But the defensive line had a fantastic day. Jeremy Hood, who might have weighed 220, was beating MUC’s huge NFL prospect on many plays, making tackles for a loss and drawing holding penalties.
Do the Warhawks have a defensive line that matches up well with MUC’s offensive line? To me, that’s one of they keys to this game.
Roll Call
Who is coming to Salem to see the game in person?
Short comment from the road.
Sitting in O’Hare airport this afternoon.
In the span of two hours I saw 4 WW fans heading to Roanoke, another Mt Union alumni and a ONU alumni all talking football.
D3 is everywhere!
Raiderguy,
The roll call has been going on for about a week on the Stone Station thread on Post Patterns (under General Football, I believe)
Mainjack,
That’s what I like to hear. If you’ve traveled the whole state and you still say Front Page has the dopest wings in Va., then I’m there.
Looking back at last year’s game, it was 28-7 at one point, so I kind of remembered it as not as close as it looked.
But taking a closer look this week, I remembered that the pass to Pete Schmitt in the end zone which was ruled incomplete and upheld by replay would have tied it at 14 going into the half.
Kmic’s 95-yard TD early in the third broke it open, but UWW closed to 28-21 with 8:37 left.
Mount Union then took 12 plays to go 71 yards in 5:39 to ice the game, and they definitely earned it on that drive.
But considering one score separated the teams for that much of the 4th quarter, the tension was high and worthy of being painted as a good game, when you look back at it.
PBP and stats are on Mount’s site. I posted the link and tried the coding, but both ways it was so long it offset the whole blog.
Don’t count Garcon out. Same situation existed in 1993 Stagg Bowl as Ed Bubonics had a monster game at WR with a broken hand as MUC dumped Rowan for first title. Don’t be surprised if Jorris passes for over 300 yards.
It does sound like some MUC fans are fabricating a ‘no respect’ theme … I guess because they’re bored.
Granted, as I mentioned in the column, every year a team comes into the Stagg Bowl on high, and every year just about Mount sends them home.
But these teams have mutual respect for each other, and I think they’ve both earned it. Nobody with a clue is predicting a blowout, and I haven’t heard anyone from either team even hint at a lack of respect … and it sounds genuine, not like ‘well my coach told me don’t give them any bulletin board material.’
I have an e-mail in my inbox right now that takes issue with me calling Mount Union ‘goliath’ (as if that’s absurd) and claims that general opinion …
Well here, just read our exchange yourselves … (name omitted, in case the fella didn’t intend for this to go public)
As far as I know, replay is back.
And it didn’t hurt UWW last year. Three calls were reviewed, and the officials’ call was upheld each time.
Now the Blake Elliott call in ’03 … that was the most famous blown call in D3 that I can remember.
Great catch too. Kid was GOOD.
funny stuff, all. i’m surprised by some of the score predictions. these are two amazing defenses. i won’t be surprised if the total points is under 40, and closer to 30.
Yeah, I took my “official” prediction down 7 points on each side after I thought about it some more, and that occurred to me.
Capital, Baldwin-Wallace, Marietta, Ohio Northern, John Carroll, Otterbein, Wilmington, Muskingum, and Heidelberg take note Saturday on how to do it. You guys have only done it once in ten years I believe. Watch and learn how to do it. Rocky Pentello watch J Jacobs Saturday . How he handles pressure and carves up the secondary. I cant wait. Everyone will have to eat crow and say i was right Saturday night!!!!
Got to agree with buddy…Two great teams that will score, but both defenses will keep it close. I like the under 40
i agree that both teams have very solid d’s. however their offenses are waaay too good. its going to be a shoot out. combined near 55-60
Any coward can run his mouth. Just shows what a jerk is. It’s sad flush the johnnies can even post here with a name like that. I’m sure at the game he’s always one of those guys spending more time yelling at the other team than cheering on his own. And if Whitewater wins he’ll be gloating like a bigger jerk as if spouting off at the mouth actually means anything, and if Mount Union wins he will wither away into another stupid name. Reminds me of a lot of the Trinity posters in 2002. Too bad really, no place for it here, especially for what looks like the makings of a great game on Saturday.
Not sure Flush is one of those “guys.”
Don’t tell the Rowan fans that.
Like it or not, the Mount Union Purple Raiders ARE the Goliath of D3 football…PERIOD!! They will still be whether they win Saturday or not. UWW can put a chink in that armor by winning Saturday but one championship does not a Goliath make. But it’s a start. 🙂
Reading some of the posts makes me jealous that I won’t be able to attend this game. The game should be a a great one showcasing two great defenses along with two terrific RB’s. I watched Kmic last week and he seems to just get stronger as the game goes on. It certainly helps when running behind that great O-Line. Rushing for 371 yards is just mind boggling. I predict Kmic will have success as well on Saturday, and I predict MU defense to step up and play big. If there was a line on the game I think MU would be favored by 7. I think Kmic will be the leading rusher, and he will gain close to 200. As far as a difference maker in the game, I believe that will be LK and his coaching staff. Not only will he have the Raiders prepared for the game, he is incredible at making adjustments and exploiting the opponents weaknesses. It should be a great game and UWW has a great team with alot of talent, but MUC wins 24-10. GO RAIDERS!!
Pat: Oh yeah.
Although that wasn’t a blown call. That was cheating.
I was embarassed for myself and my column that week once I saw the end zone angle.
Ric,
I thought choosing a one-track-minded name like flush the johnnies was its own reward for this particular commenter. The name is pretty dated now, isn’t it? Talk about short-sighted. 🙂
Keith,
I disagree. The crew on the field blew the call, regardless of what might have happened in the booth with the clock.
I tend to agree w Raidernation. LK does it year after year with different strengths and players. He always seems to find a way to adjust during a game. He is the intangible that makes this dynasty stay on top. He’s had many D I offers but chooses to stay at Mount (unfortunately for all of D III)
It’s hard to say whether it’s going to be a shootout or a defensive battle, so let’s just go right in the middle.
i think this is the game where Whitewater is really going to feel the impact of not having Travis Reuland. He’s one of the best blocking/receiving fullbacks around and is a big part of why Beav got all those yards last season. I wouldn’t doubt if Whitewater scrapped the two-back backfield and just went with an extra TE this week.
I see Mount controlling the game until Schebler boots a 51 yarder to win!
I know the hype today is all about the Raiders and the Warhawks, especiallyin our family, where my wife and I are Mount Union grads (63 & 64) and our son is a UW-W graduate (92). As I’ve said in another thread (A Different Trip to Alliance), there will be no true loser in the game. These are possibly the two strongest and most talented D3 football teams ever to play the game, a deep testament to the skills of both coaches, each a fine human being as well as an extaordinary coach.
But as kicloff approaches, let’s also remember three teams that came within 4 points of being in Salem tomorrow. Capital had two losses this year, both to Mount Union, the second of which was by a mere 3 points. It really is a shame that Rocky Pentello never played in the Stagg Bowl. And don’t forget the game effort by UW-LaCrosse and the heartbreaking loss taken by St. John’s in Whitewater on successive weekends. My wife and I attended the Johnnies/Warhawk game, ,and but for an end zone interceptiong by Whitewater that was returned 80 years and eventually resulted in a UW-W touchdown, the Johnnies might be in Salem today. Each of those games was also decided by the slimmest of 3-point margins.
So hurray for Div 3. Congrats to my Purple Raiders and my son’s Warhawks; but also kudos to those other three wonderful teams and their players for giving us all some wonderful moments.
So go Raiders, but may neither team hang their heads after the game. And may the fine young men from Capital, UW-Lacrosse, and St. Johns watch the game and say to themselves, as my old football coach used to say after we lost yet another game, “We done good.”
Flush you are full of it man. You say that UWW moved the ball last year but couldn’t score when they got in the red zone? They got intot the red zone 5 times last year and scored touchdowns 4 times. I think they did well when they got there of course twice it was in garbage time.
Flush why is it so hard to realize someone can blow out the Raiders? Well maybe it is hard to understand how that could happen since it hasn’t happened in 15 years.
Joelmama, for the sake of getting facts right and backing my team, one score came at the end of the game. A 28-21 score with 7 minutes left….ended 35-28.
Either way, Flush the Johnnies is an idiot. Look Flush, there are a good number of people, actually that are giving Whitewater a chance to win, so if they do end up winning, there is no need to brag about your prediction because you aren’t the only one.
Now if Whitewater wins by a landslide (which more than likely will not happen), then you have all the right in the world to brag. Until then, shuttie.