September 15th, 2009 12:00am
A bigger, faster, stronger team. Combine that with a superior game plan, and it meant another win for the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats over their rival, Pittsburg State.
Bearcat domination in this series is becoming old hat. The Bearcats have won six straight and 13 of the last 16 against the Gorillas. Even with as strong as the Gorillas had started the season, I could almost sense it as I stood on the PSU sideline during the opening minutes of the game: the Gorillas didn't seem to have the confidence that they could play with Northwest, and it showed as the Bearcats opened up a 23-0 first half lead.
Pittsburg State is still a very good team. The Gorillas could very well have a repeat of last season, where they ran the table after losing at Arrowhead Stadium to Northwest and got a second shot at the Bearcats in the postseason.
But at Pittsburg State expectations are higher than playing second fiddle to another team and just hoping to get another shot at them in the playoffs. The Gorillas took the MIAA and Division II by storm when they joined both 20 year ago, and PSU's rabid fan base expects to win conference titles and contend for national championships on a yearly basis.
Northwest has stolen the limelight from PSU over the past dozen years and until Pittsburg State can figure out a way to turn the tables on the Bearcats and regain the upper hand in this series, the Gorillas will have to continue to deal with the frustration of watching their main rival make deep playoff runs while they watch from home.
I don't think that having the city invaded by Bearcat green each December is quite what Pittsburg had in mind when it put in a bid to host future national championship games.
Winston-Salem State moving back to Division II
WSSU announced on Friday that it was abandoning its transition to D-I and returning to D-II effective next school year. Chancellor Donald Reaves cited a lack of financial resources as the reason for the change. The school was apparently unable to get the financial support in place over the past four years of the provisional D-I process and had run up a deficit of $1.8 million over the last school year.
The good news for WSSU is apparently the CIAA is willing to bring the school back with open arms. D-II has looked at reducing or eliminating the reclassification period for any institution that wants to move down from D-I, but there is no framework in place at this point, so we don't know exactly when the Rams will be eligible for postseason play in this division again.
Unfortunately, this whole mess could have been avoided had some common sense been used in the first place. WSSU is a public, regional institution with around 6,000 students. Schools with that profile belong in D-II, not D-I. Why the previous administration thought that moving to D-I was a good idea is beyond me. I think Reaves deserves credit for having the guts to make a decision that he will certainly take heat for.
News, Notes and Thoughts from around the Country in Week Three
- In a surprising personnel move, East Central head coach Tim McCarty has switched Marcus Johnson-- the two time LSC North offensive player of the year-- from quarterback to wide receiver. The Tigers have scored just one touchdown through the first three weeks of the season.
- "Their front seven is real physical and very fast. They're the best we've seen so far this year and hopefully we don't see any better." That was West Texas A&M head coach Don Carthel told the Amarillo Globe News in reference to Central Washington's defense after the Wildcats drubbed the 0-3 Buffaloes, 34-10. Keep in mind that the Buffaloes have also played Grand Valley State.
- A big deal was made of California landing transfer quarterback Josh Portis this off season, but so far he has not worked out like Virginia transfer Kevin McCabe did last year. Portis is completing just 47 percent of his pass attempts and the Vulcans are averaging just 289 yards of offense through three games.
- I mentioned Concord's surprising start last week, and the Mountain Lions did it again, running their record to 3-0 by beating West Virginia Wesleyan 35-26 on Saturday. Sophomore wide receiver Thomas Mayo is off to an incredible start with 570 receiving yards and seven touchdown receptions already this season. Unfortunately, starting quarterback Zack Grossi was lost to a knee injury in the third quarter against WVWC.
- Henderson State senior quarterback Roch Charpentier is leaving the team due to personal reasons, according to the press release issued by HSU. Charpentier had started two of the three games this season for the Reddies and leaves the program as the school's all-time leader in passing yards (4512) and touchdown passes (43). Redshirt freshman Nathan Nall, who quarterbacked the team when the Reddies nearly upset McNeese State two weeks ago, takes over as the starter.
- Delta State atoned for a poor season opening performance by pounding Arkansas-Monticello last week, 42-3. The Statesmen racked up 636 yards of total offense in the game and appear to have the ship righted as they play host to Harding this week.
- Eastern New Mexico quarterback JJ Harp continued his assault on the record books in his team's 49-47 loss to Southeastern Oklahoma State. Harp said NCAA records with 94 pass attempts, 64 completions, and 767 passing yards. Harp has already thrown for 1700 yards this season.
- Looking for a dark horse team to follow that has quietly been flying under the radar? Try Midwestern State. The Mustangs have a dominant defense and quarterback Zack Eskridge has been outstanding thus far. This team will make some noise in the LSC South before the season is over.
- I'm not one for moral victories, but Southwest Minnesota State's 34-27 loss to defending champion Minnesota-Duluth was a huge step in the right direction for a long-suffering program. Junior college transfer Ryan Ratekin has been sensational at quarterback and the Mustangs (3-0 overall) just may pull off an upset or two in the tough NSIC South.
Top Games this Week
Southern Connecticut State (1-2) at American International (2-0)
These two teams split two games in the regular season last year and there is good reason to believe that this year's contest will be the key game in the Northeast 10 conference race.
AIC quarterback Rob Parent is having another terrific season, but I think the combination of SCSU's defense and running game make the Owls the favorite. Southern Connecticut State 27 American Internation 21.
UNC-Pembroke (3-0) at Carson-Newman (1-2)
The Braves picked up a signature win last week in knocking off Wingate last week, and now they will shoot even higher in taking on Carson-Newman.
UNCP has been very good defensively, but the Eagles' veer is a different animal. The Braves will have to control the ball on offense and hope for a few C-N mistakes to make it two straight over SAC foes. Carson-Newman 30 UNC-Pembroke 20.
Concord (3-0) at Charleston (3-0)
The knee injury that Concord quarterback Zack Grossi suffered last week really makes this an impossible situation for the Mountain Lions, but the game still deserves mention as these are the only two undefeated teams left in the WVIAC.
I expect that DaRante Hunter and the Charleston ground game will be in total control of this game. Charleston 35 Concord 17.
Nebraska-Omaha (2-1) at Northwest Missouri State (2-1)
UNO is not a great offensive team, and I question whether the Mavericks can move the ball much against the Bearcats.
That said, UNO has a pretty good defense and the Mavs could potentially stay in the game if they can put pressure on Blake Bolles and force some mistakes. It would take a very off day by the Bearcats, however, for UNO to pull the upset. Northwest Missouri State 31 Nebraska-Omaha 14.
Pittsburg State (2-1) at Central Missouri (3-0)
UCM's Eric Czerniewski is a terrific quarterback and if the Gorillas don't make more plays defensively than they did last week, the Mules will be right in this game.
But the Mules also have a questionable defense, which is exactly what PSU needs to regain confidence after being humbled at Arrowhead last week. Pittsburg State 38 Central Missouri 24.
Washburn (3-0) at Missouri Western (3-0)
This game is huge because I believe the winner will be right in the mix for a playoff berth. Both offenses have been prolific thus far, but neither team has faced an opponent as good as what they will see this week, either.
I have to give a slight edge to the Ichabods simply because I'm a bit more sold on their defense at this point than I am the Griffons'. Washburn 30 Missouri Western 27.
Wayne State (3-0) at Minnesota State (3-0)
These two teams shared the NSIC South title last season and both made the playoffs, so this is obviously a huge early season game for both teams.
The Wildcats have been the more impressive team thus far and with Silas Fluellen leading the way at quarterback, the Mavericks will have their hands full. If WSC has a weakness it is run defense, so expect MSU to try to win this game on the ground in a contest that could go either way. Minnesota State 20 Wayne State 19.
Augustana (3-0) at Minnesota-Duluth (2-1)
The Bulldogs pounded the Vikings 40-10 last season on their way to the national title, and I'm sure wanting to atone for that one-sided defeat will be on the minds of the Viking players and coaches this week.
Augie is good enough both offensively and defensively to be right in this game. If the Vikings can slow down Isaac Odim and win the turnover battle, they stand a chance of upsetting the Bulldogs, but it will be a tall order. Minnesota-Duluth 27 Augustana 23.
Mailbag
[Q] As an alumnus of West Texas A&M University and a faculty member at Oklahoma Panhandle State University, I am struck by the vast difference in resources between these and other institutions within NCAA Division II. With this in mind, my question is:
As the NAIA continues to lose membership and NCAA Division II continues to grow, is there (or should there be) any discussion about creating a category between NCAA Division III and NCAA Division II?
Really what I am asking is will there ever be a league between Division III with no scholarships, and Division II with a max of 36 scholarships to encompass the smaller schools with far fewer resources?
Brent
[A] Three years ago, Division II looked at sub-dividing into two football classifications-- one at the current scholarship max of 36 and the other at 18. I wrote a story on it at the time for the D-II championship game program and I remember thinking leading up to the vote at the NCAA convention that the idea may have legs. The measure was defeated resoundingly-- by more than a two to one margin.
The PSAC has always been one of the major proponents of scholarship reductions and was behind the split, but since then, the league has lifted its self-imposed scholarship limitations. Never say never, but I think it is quite unlikely that subdividing D-II in the sport of football will come up again anytime soon.
Division III looked at splitting its entire division about a year ago and creating a Division IV. But a "D-IV" would have been created for the highly selective academic schools, i.e. those that sponsor many sports, wanted reduced sports seasons and postseason play, etc. So even if a D-III split had happened, it wouldn't have been much of an attraction for a typical D-II school because neither of the new divisions would have featured athletic aid.
The NAIA has no doubt been struggling, but is far from collapsing. The NAIA has lost many schools to the NCAA, but has also quietly added schools to maintain numbers. The problem, of course, is that the NAIA is losing prominent schools like the University of Sioux Falls and Ohio Dominican and adding small Bible colleges and junior colleges to take their place. The NCAA and NAIA have been talking about ways to cooperate on some issues (like possibly allowing the NAIA to use the NCAA's eligibility clearinghouse) but there is no indication whatsoever that this will lead to the two organizations combining. I would also estimate that at least half of all NAIA schools fall short of the minimum number of sports required to be an NCAA member, which makes any sort of combination even more unlikely.
So, to cut to the chase and answer your question, I think it is very unlikely that there will be any sort of interim division added between D-II and D-III, mainly for the reasons I outlined above.
But there is one other major reason why creating a new division to encompass parts of two others would be very difficult: the NCAA's federated structure. Division's I, II, and III are run independent of each other, basically like three separate entities. It would be very difficult logistically for parts of two divisions to come together and form something new. A split of one division (like what D-III considered) is far more likely.
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