Category Archives: General

Triple Take: Stagg Bowl XL

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Photos by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com

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It’s not the two teams we’re used to, but it’s still a purple party.

This is the St. Thomas football team’s first trip to Salem, and though Mount Union is a fixture there, the players on this squad have never gotten to hoist the Walnut and Bronze.

The game is Friday night and under the lights in Virginia. Pat Coleman, Keith McMillan and Ryan Tipps are joined by a few extra voices for the final Triple Take of the season. Last week’s TT post had a whopping 94 comments, which was awesome. Chime in in the comments area below, and be sure to use the #d3fb hashtag (as well as #stagg) if you’re posting about the game on Twitter.

The Stagg Bowl is being broadcast at 7 p.m. Friday on ESPNU. Put the TV on mute and listen to the better/more accurate/more insightful broadcast that Coleman and McMillan will provide, and be sure to catch Tipps and Frank Rossi during the pregame show, which includes the unveiling of the D3football.com All-America team. And after the Stagg Bowl, there’ll be a postgame show as well as writeups on both the winning and losing teams.

Pat and Keith also gave their pregame thoughts (kept it under 10 minutes!):

On to our picks:

Pat Coleman, D3football.com executive editor and publisher
Mount Union 35, St. Thomas 17
I don’t know how many points experience is worth in a Stagg Bowl, and I don’t know how many points playing Mount Union for the first time is worth. I know they are both generally worth something, though I know they count for something. Sometimes, though, I look at a game featuring Mount Union and can’t envision a scenario in which the Purple Raiders can lose. That’s not the case here. St. Thomas has the talent and speed on defense to limit the Mount Union running game, at least from its running backs. The question in my mind is whether they can contain Mount Union quarterback Kevin Burke when he pulls it down and runs. The other thing St. Thomas will need to do is get enough pressure up front to not give Burke time to find his receivers. The problem is, he’s got multiple top receiver options to throw to, and the odds of the Tommies back seven covering all those guys and containing the run just seem long to me. On the reverse side, St. Thomas has a lot of good receivers but no great receiver as of yet. They have a pretty good freshman running back with good field vision and an offensive line that has been successful this season but is also pretty young. They also have a quarterback who is of similar style to the one Mount Union sees every day in practice. In my mind, it adds up to a Mount Union win. Perhaps not one in which St. Thomas gets blown off the field, but a win nonetheless.

Keith McMillan, D3football.com managing editor and national columnist
Mount Union 27, St. Thomas 13
The only thing I think I think about this game, having picked a few coaches’ brains here in Salem, is that we aren’t primed for an offensive shootout. Sure it’s a short week prep-wise, and at least one of the teams was practicing this week before its game plan was finished. Mount Union and St. Thomas are each built on outstanding defenses and great O-lines, so as you watch the game, you’ll have to break your normal habit of following the ball, and watch from the lines out if you want to figure out what’s really happening. That’s my plan, and I expect to see two defenses making it hard on the other to run the ball, which means the matchups on the outside might be the only place where an offense can gain a consistent advantage. If Junior Collins, Chris Denton, Julius Moore and Shannon Stewart outplay their counterparts in the St. Thomas secondary, and Kevin Burke is his usual self, Mount Union takes home championship No. 11.

Ryan Tipps, D3football.com senior editor and former mid-Atlantic columnist
Mount Union 34, St. Thomas 17
This year is four years in the making for this group of Purple Raiders seniors. No other team has lost three Stagg Bowls in a row, and it’s not likely a team will lose four in a row any time soon. A few weeks ago, a Mount fan on the message boards (apologies, I forget who) noted that for many years, the Purple Raiders were so offense-heavy that they were able to win games despite the holes they had on defense. Now, in turn, they’re winning because of the defense. I agree. Though Mount has been at the top of my ballot all year, I saw a lingering question mark because the run game was so unclear. And national championship teams have typically been led by the iconic names like Kmic, Beaver and Coppage. Mount didn’t have that feature coming into the season — but that didn’t matter. The surprise emergence of Kevin Burke, the stellar downfield threats, and most of all, the defense have made the Purple Raiders into a championship team – even if the mold breaks tradition. To be sure, St. Thomas is not exactly the neat little packet of expectations this season either. In the first week of Triple Take, I wondered aloud how a team could graduate its starting quarterback and All-Americans at running back and wide receiver and still expect to be able to hang with the best. The Tommies showed just how to make that happen, and they’ve certainly earned their way to Salem. But they are newcomers on Mount Union’s “other” home turf. It’ll be interesting for a quarter and maybe even at the half, but the Purple Raiders will pour it on after the break.

Frank Rossi, D3football.com broadcaster
Mount Union 34, St. Thomas 21
I actually believe these teams present a great matchup under normal circumstances with balance and depth that are second-to-none in Division III. With that said, there is no way to “practice” for Stagg Bowl week in Salem. The pomp and circumstance of the Gagliardi Trophy dinner, the “Spotlight on Champions” dinner, the interviews and the travel itself can take a newcomer by surprise — including yours truly four years ago when I first partook in all of the above. The Raiders are used to these aspects of the game; the Tommies are not. When kickoff comes Friday, I foresee some flatness in St. Thomas because of this first-time encounter with such a whirlwind week — and that’s a no-no when playing against a team that plays from ahead as well as any team in the land. An attempted UST rally falls short, and the Mount wins going away, avoiding the mistakes from six days earlier.

Adam Turer, D3football.com mid-Atlantic columnist
Mount Union 38, St. Thomas 20
The Purple Raiders are on a mission and appear more focused than any team we’ve seen in recent years. More importantly, they are playing with a confidence that allowed them to rally from 14 down in the fourth quarter last week in their first true late-game test. If this team can defeat Mary Hardin-Baylor despite five turnovers, I don’t see how St. Thomas or any other team in the country can beat them. Kevin Burke is wise beyond his years and benefits from a veteran offensive line and wide receivers. The running back committee has been steadily improving and just needs to take better care of the football this week. St. Thomas has its own overachieving sophomore quarterback in Matt O’Connell. The Tommies also have a formidable defense that will be capable of slowing the Purple Raiders in the early going. I expect a low halftime score with most of the points put up in the second half, once each offensive line wears down the opposing defense. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Tommies defense rise to the challenge early in the game and set up an early score, giving St. Thomas the early lead. I just don’t see a defense led by seniors Charles Dieuseul and Nick Driskill allowing this opportunity to slip away. Chris Denton will be a factor on special teams for Mount Union. I don’t expect him to break a big return, but I expect his presence to force St. Thomas into short directional punts and give Mount Union the advantage in field position. Mount Union’s senior class will finally get its ring, capping off an already enjoyable season for head coach Larry Kehres. The Purple Raiders will reward their head coach for trusting in his players by bringing the Walnut & Bronze back to Alliance.

Jeffrey Zupanic, Mount Union beat writer for the Alliance Review
Mount Union 49, St. Thomas 14
The numbers suggest that picking Mount Union is the safe way to go in 2012. First, there’s the possibility of this year’s seniors being the first class since 1989 not to win a national championship ring, and they are far too talented for that to happen. Secondly, it is still mind-blowing to know that Mount Union turned the ball over five times and had two other possession end without points (bad snap on third down and unsuccessful fake punt) yet still scored 48 points in a national semifinal game against the No. 2 team in the country. The defense was as stout as it has been all year despite giving up the 35 points to UMHB (all of which came off turnovers). The Purple Raiders allowed 165 yards on those four possessions (one was a pick-six) while giving up just 110 yards to the Crusaders on their other 12 possessions. Lastly, there’s the “getting to know Mount Union” factor as I like to call it. Since 1992, the Purple Raiders are 29-2 against first-time opponents in the postseason — UW-LaCrosse in 1992 and Mary Hardin-Baylor in 2004 are the lone winners — and in that span they have scored 50+ points 12 times while giving up less than 10 points 12 times. Teams usually have not fared well against Mount Union the first time they play them with just 2 teams keeping the final margin within single digits (Trinity in 1998 and Bridgewater in 2001). This Mount Union team has been playing on a different level — even by Mount Union standards — all season long. They need just 14 points to become the most prolific offensive team in NCAA history (breaking the record set by the 2007 Purple Raiders). The Purple Raiders explosive offense will be celebrating under the exploding fireworks on Friday night.

Ross Schreck, Tommiemedia.com sports editor
Mount Union 21 St. Thomas 13
This season, St. Thomas has had to overcome numerous adversities. Whether it was the improbable 11-point come from behind victory with four minutes to go at UW-Eau Claire, or overcoming myriad injuries, this Tommie team has answered every question its been asked. The toughest question, however, is this Friday. Having covered this team since day one, St. Thomas’ success is predicated upon its defense’s ability to thwart the opposition’s running game and forcing opposing offenses out of their normal grooves. The key to Friday’s game boils down to the Tommies’ ability to slow down the prolific Mount Union offense and create turnovers. Last weekend, the Purple Raiders were uncharacteristically poor holding on to the football, giving up five turnovers to UMHB. The Tommie offense feeds off the momentum created by its defense and its special teams — just ask Elmhurst and UW-Oshkosh. Offensively, St. Thomas must stick to its solid running game and dominate time of possession. Although I do believe this game will be competitive, and after watching three Purple Raider games from different points in the year, Mount Union’s offense will likely prove too strong for the Tommie defense. Still, this is a very young Tommie team and the experience they receive from this trip to the national championship will prove immeasurable for years to come.

Around the Nation Podcast: Stagg Bowl XL preview

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The crowd had something to get excited about in Alliance.
Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com

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A Salem regular and a Salem newbie will meet Friday night for the 2012 Division III football national championship, as No. 1 Mount Union will face No. 4 St. Thomas in yet another matchup of purple programs. Could St. Thomas someday be a Purple Power? Shoot, can St. Thomas even beat Mount Union this week? Pat Coleman and Keith McMillan discuss in this week’s Around the Nation podcast.

They each talk about what they saw in Saturday’s semifinals, and in fact, Keith gets to turn the tables on Pat and ask the questions for once. Why is this St. Thomas team more successful than the ones preceding it, despite what seems like less star power? Did Kevin Burke perform well under pressure against Mary Hardin-Baylor? Was Nate Wara affected by the broken pinky finger? What’s next for UMHB? Plus, a lot of talk about the two head coaches and a sales pitch to get fans to come to Salem.

•Updated bracket, playoff features

(Disclaimer: Although the podcast is sponsored by the City of Salem this year, that’s not part of the advertising agreement. If you remember past year’s podcasts, we did the same thing then, too!)

We talk about that and more (Gagliardi Trophy favorites, anyone?) in this week’s Around the Nation Podcast, sponsored by the City of Salem, hosts of Stagg Bowl XL. Tickets on sale now!

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You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in iTunes. You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast

D3reports postgame show

Here’s this week’s D3football.com reports, highlight packages and postgame interviews.

Also, the Mount Union postgame news conference (audio only).

And this week’s photo galleries from our friends at d3photography.com:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Triple Take: One more until Salem

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Chris Denton
It’s going to take some great defense to keep Mount Union in check.
Photo by Dan Poel, d3photography.com

The winners this weekend will earn the opportunity to compete for the Walnut and Bronze in Salem.

The left side of the bracket, with UW-Oshkosh and St. Thomas, will yield a winner who has never before played on Division III’s biggest stage. On the right side, the Top 25 poll’s first- and second-place teams square off, and both Mount Union and Mary Hardin-Baylor are on familiar ground.

Saturday builds to the football finale that will take place at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14. Pat, Keith and Ryan bring you their projections for who will play in Stagg Bowl XL – and by how big of a margin they’ll get there.

No. 5 UW-Oshkosh at No. 4 St. Thomas

Ryan’s take: UW-Oshkosh 24, St. Thomas 21 Here are two teams that were absolutely blazing beasts with their performances last week — but in very different ways. St. Thomas decimated a Hobart team that came in holding all the right cards to match up well against the Tommies. That’s a tip of the hat to the winner, who proved that games aren’t won on paper but rather on the field. Can you even remember a team that posted 200 rushing yards on Hobart? UST is the first to do it since September. And farther out west, it’s no secret that I’d hitched my wagon to Linfield since before the season started, and the fact that UW-O battled back from a 21-6 halftime deficit to push overtime and then earn the win gets tremendous respect in my book. Rushing, passing, Nate Wara-ing — the Titans we able to do it all against a great Linfield team. I realize I’m spending this whole post gushing on the teams without really saying why I’m going with Oshkosh. Fact is, I’m impressed with the foundation that both these teams have built, and it’ll be fun watching them go head to head on Saturday. But the Titans will be a little better at holding in check what the Tommies throw their way.
Keith’s take: UW-Oshkosh 28, St. Thomas 21: In all honesty, who the heck knows what’s going to happen here? Isn’t not knowing part of the fun? St. Thomas probably surges to an early double-digit lead, and UW-Oshkosh storms back, wears the Tommies down and continues its magical run towards the Stagg Bowl. That would make sense, the WIAC champ back in Salem, just with the Titans playing the role of the Warhawks. It would be rather depressing for the Tommies to have the season end in this round in back-to-back seasons, so I’m betting St. Thomas sees this as their chance to break through. The matchup to watch is when the Tommies’ defense is on the field against the UW-Oshkosh offense. What a chess match that’ll be, if you read this week’s feature about the Tommies’ success getting off the field on third downs, and how they have a thick playbook capable of giving multiple looks to an offense. The Titans’ offense is a combination of confusion, tempo and power, and all season it’s both worn teams down, and caught them at one point or another out of place for big plays. UST opened up with two WIAC teams, and is familiar with this level of competition from MIAC play and by beating a CCIW team in Round 2. I haven’t done any detailed video study of the teams’ tendencies, so don’t go getting your panties in a wad over the pick (although that’s more for the fans of the other game; I got zero complaints for picking against the Tommies last week, and zero taunts for missing the margin by 41 points). It’s an educated guess. And I don’t really care if it’s right or wrong. On Saturday, I’ll be enjoying the moment and the chance to see someone new earn a shot at a Stagg Bowl. If you’re thinking about how the D3football.com guys missed the picks instead of doing the same, you’re cheating yourself. This is the high-water mark for whichever program wins, so soak up every second of it. Even if it’s not another Titans come-from-behind victory.
Pat’s take: St. Thomas 27, UW-Oshkosh 21. Neither of these is a one-man team, so the nicks and bruises of a regular season shouldn’t have as much impact as they would on teams that were eliminated earlier in the bracket. Wara is about as indispensable a player as there is in this game, though. On the other side of the ball, probably Ryan Stefaniak, who is the heart and soul of that defense. On the St. Thomas offense, perhaps Logan Marks (and I’ll explain more in a minute) and on the defense, I like how Chinni Oji has been playing at safety. Oji first made a big impact on the Tommie defense when he replaced a classmate at corner a couple of seasons ago, and now he’s making his presence felt at safety. About Marks — sure, Matt O’Connell is the guy with the ball in his hands all the time, but Kyler Anderson has done well when given playing time, and the drop-off might not be so bad. But without Marks at tight end, you go to Matt Allen, and then the Tommies’ two-tight end sets would see a dramatic difference. If St. Thomas comes out as fast as it did last week and UW-Oshkosh as slow as it did the first two weekends of the tournament, it may not be this close.

No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor at No. 1 Mount Union

Ryan’s take: Mount Union 35, Mary Hardin-Baylor 28. Over several years of doing Triple Take, I’ve picked against Mount at times, and it’s often cost me. And this decision was not an easy one, because UMHB will be the toughest test of the season for Mount. By all accounts, this matchup could be more competitive than the Stagg Bowl itself. I’m going with the Purple Raiders because, despite all that the Cru has going for them, they haven’t always been able to protect their end zone as well as they should. Twenty points from teams like Louisiana College or Franklin easily translates to 35 (or more) from The Machine. Of course, the Crusaders’ offense has averaged more than 55 points over the past six games, and it will be interesting to see if the Sultans of Shutouts are able to stop the Texas threat. Both teams, on both sides of the ball, are packed with playmakers, but more importantly, have such great supporting casts that there is little question that either team would be an ideal representative of Division III in Salem. This is not a pick against UMHB, but rather one in favor of Mount Union. None of these players have tasted Stagg Bowl success, and there’s no doubt they’ll leave every last bit of themselves on the field.
Keith’s take: Mount Union 37, Mary Hardin-Baylor 30. I don’t think there’s anything groundbreaking to say here. People from UMHB are saying this is the best Cru team in history, and people from Mount Union are putting this team alongside the great Purple Raiders squads. While I think both sides can be right, only one team is going to Salem — a quirk that’s on those who set up the brackets. Each team is going to be the best team the other has played this season, and champions need to overcome intense challenges to solidify their greatness. Excuse the hyperbole, but think of it like this: Would Ali have been Ali without Frazier? Each of these teams is capable of going down alongside the great champions, and the signature victory would help define it. So how can it happen? Nobody can match Mount Union’s team speed, although UMHB could come close. Mount Union hasn’t faced a quarterback like LiDarral Bailey, who’s got speed with the ball in his hands and touch when he lets it go. But Kevin Burke has shown that skill set as well, so Javicz Jones and the UMHB defense has to be able to deal with a QB who can keep it on a read option, or toss it over defenders’ heads if Jasper Collins or somebody gets a step on a DB. Truthfully, this game will probably be decided along the lines, and I give Mount Union the edge there. If UMHB is able to muscle up like it did in 2004, it’d send shockwaves through the D-III world. But if you think about it, that’s the way UW-Whitewater beats the Purple Raiders too. Last week showed me that this Mount Union team is not just better than last year’s team by a lot. They sure make it look like they are ready to take their place in Purple Raiders history, but they’ll need to go through the best team the rest of D-III has to offer, one whose talent might be on their level in the way UW-Whitewater teams have been, to seal the deal. I’m going with the safe pick, and hope, no matter who wins, we see a semifinal to remember.
Pat’s take: Mount Union 38, Mary Hardin-Baylor 20. I think that Mary Hardin-Baylor has faced some pretty good offenses this year, certainly better offenses than Mount Union has seen. The UMHB defense has been tested. And sometimes it’s failed a bit. If Hardin-Simmons can score 32 on UMHB, how many can Mount Union score? I figure at least a few more. Mary Hardin-Baylor won’t be intimidated in this game, unlike most Mount Union opponents, but confidence alone will not be enough to win. UMHB had its two worst running days (by yards per carry) against Wesley and won’t find it easier to run the ball on Mount Union. Now, here’s where it might turn in UMHB’s favor: The Cru have had to play its starters well into the fourth quarter a few times this season, including this past week. If the game remains close, Mary Hardin-Baylor has the ability to wear opponents down. And as I’ve mentioned all season, the Cru has a credible passing game, perhaps even a really good passing game. Maybe not as good as Widener, but with a running game to take some of the pressure off, Bailey should have some time to work. And of course, the ability to pull the ball down and take off. That’s how UMHB could win.