Whoa. I was wrong.
Central Washington certainly got a wake up call. Dixie State's trip back home from
Alamosa, Colo., was I'm sure long and contemplative.
Like any coach will tell you, the games are behind both respective teams and on that note
my thoughts on them will be brief, especially with all five GNAC teams on the schedule
this week.
#6 Minnesota Duluth 35, #5 Central Washington 10
The score is a bit misleading, but I will say that Duluth looked very good. Stat-wise,
Central looked better in some areas (30 receptions and 303 yards by seven different
receivers compared to Duluth's D.J. Winfield netting seven of the nine total completions
by quarterback Chase Vogler). Central Washington shut down Harlon Hill candidate Isaac
Odim to 50 yards on 20 carries, but what made Odim, Vogler, Winfield and company so
dominant are the things that don't show up on the stat sheet. Play actions and
quarterback keepers for instance burned the Wildcats for 14 points. Wildcat drives that
stalled with two missed field goals for another. Credit a consistent Duluth defense
taking advantage of an inexperienced Wildcat offense for three picks, including a pick-6.
Duluth looks every bit of a team with the potential for a deep playoff run. Central
clearly has some stud athletes on their team, but my take-away from last Saturday is the
fact that despite the talent, despite the FBS and FCS experience, they haven't played
together for very long at all and I think that showed. Will CWU in October be much
improved? Easy answer: Yes.
Adams State 34, Dixie State 14
Adams State had two touchdowns on the board before Dixie found the end zone and ASC went
into the locker room at halftime up 27-7. But the stats behind that tell an even more
lopsided story. 23 rushing yards for the Red Storm to 195 for the Grizzlies. ASC had 381
yards in the air to Dixie's 167. Dixie completed 27% of their passes to Adams' 69%. Adams
also sacked Dixie's three signal callers six times.
Here are a few things that should
have evened the playing field: Adams had 13 penalties for 119 yards. Dixie's Mike
Langston punted for an average of nearly 47 yards per punt and his teammate Chris Aragon
had a 96-yard fumble recovery (GNAC record) for a score. Those things should have help
swing the momentum for Dixie, but they didn't.
For both Central Washington and Dixie State, this week brings an opportunity to even
the record at 1-1. Unfortunately, they're playing against each other. More on that in a
moment.
Let's take a look at the rest of the GNAC as we already previewed Central and Dixie last
week.
Western Oregon
The cupboard isn't bare at Western Oregon. Head coach Arne Ferguson has 11 starters
returning, plus all-star Demario Ballard who sat out last season. That should put some
concern on the faces of opposing teams in the GNAC.
But wait, wasn't WOU 5-5 last season and 3-3 in the GNAC? Well two of those losses were
non-leaguers to FCS squads and the other two were losses to Central Washington. However
in both games, Western Oregon had Central on the ropes (up 21-0 at halftime of the Battle
in Seattle) and a 14-point loss to the 'Cats that following month.
Long story short, Western Oregon needs to put more points on the board than last year's
19.2 point average (10 points lower than in 2008), while establishing a more consistent
running game, which at 94 yards per game was 50 yards per game fewer than in 2008 as well.
With Mississippi State transfer Josh Riddell gone as the quarterback, the pressure is on
6-foot, 200-pound senior AJ Robinson who has had virtually no playing time. But he'll
have a couple of options, including the 6-7, 220-pound receiver Ballard. However, the
talents of both Justin Ore (6-3, 200, 513 yards in 2009) and Trevor Gates (5-9, 180, 329
yards) will force teams to not just focus on Ballard.
Defensively, the return of decorated athletes Kalani Zoller and Caleb Singleton should
anchor a squad that was 15th in the country in rush defense last year (93.7 yards per
game). Initially, 6-foot-3, 275-pound linebacker JT Gilmore (who did not play last year)
was listed as a returner, but is not on the roster.
The 6-foot-4, 300 pound defensive lineman Zoller received GNAC and national recognition
for his 26 tackles and 3.5 tackles for losses. The 6-foot-4, 215 pound defensive back
Singleton received similar recognition in recording 83 tackles.
Humboldt State
Like Western Oregon, Humboldt State brings back plenty of firepower on both sides of the
ball that head coach Rob Smith really feels should turn some heads and turn some close
losses of 2009 into wins in 2010.
"We thought we established some momentum last year and this year we want to build on it,"
he said Wednesday.
Let's look at the facts: The Lumberjacks may have finished 5-5 on the year and 1-5 in
GNAC play, but the team led games going into the fourth quarter in eight of 10 games and
were tied with Central Washington at the fourth quarter mark in another game. In four of
the five losses, the deficit was a touchdown or less. There are no statistics that label
"almost" as a win, but interestingly enough that's a part of the team?s motto this year:
Almost is Over.
"We closed the gap from a couple years ago and that gap was significant," Smith said.
Simply put, now in his third year at the helm of HSU, Smith has set some non-negotiables
in not closing the gap, but creating a gap in the positive direction.
Plenty of that starts with the quarterbacks. Yes, plural, just like last year.
Junior Mike Proulx (5-11, 203) will start, but fellow junior Chris Bolt (6-5, 242) will
see action as the backup depending on the game plan.
"That holds true this year as well," Smith said of using a two quarterback system. "It's
a nice luxury to have."
Smith likes Proulx's decision making and pocket passing. But, he says, Bolt is bigger and
is better on the move, which could create problems for teams.
Proulx is one of a league-best 16 starters who return for the Lumberjacks. He'll take
snaps from GNAC first teamer Taylor Boggs (6-3, 303) who will protect him and make holes
for returning running back Daniel Wyatt (5-8, 178).
The receiving corps gets back Kevin Miles (5-8, 172) who was injured last year, but
caught 46 passes next year. Tight end Matt Devlin (6-3, 240) is a returning first teamer
as well.
Defensively, defensive backs Guy Ricciardulli (5-10, 204) and Elzie Gaston (5-10, 167)
combined for eight interceptions and the linebacking crew has plenty of returning
experience in the starters and reserves.
Simon Fraser
There might have been nights these past few months where Simon Fraser head coach Dave
Johnson has laid awake brimming with anticipation and excitement, coupled with a bit of
apprehension and anxiety. The Clan is basically a new team, in a new league, playing in a
different country. You can say Johnson and his staff are starting from scratch.
With the differing rules between the Canadian system and the NCAA, Johnson said 60
players off of the 2009 squad had exhausted their eligibility and couldn't play for this
year's team. "I know we have a huge challenge in front of us," he acknowledged on Tuesday.
But the positive side of that?
"The real positive side of that is at the end of the season, we will hardly graduate
anybody."
An immediate downfall is obviously putting a true freshman against a well-developed
senior on the line, for instance, but in recruiting the idea for immediate playing time
was a selling point to recruits, especially from the US.
"A lot of the Canadian kids weren't really big on that, only the studly Canadian kids got
excited about that but the American high school kids were all over it," Johnson said.
And despite the fact that Simon Fraser for the last few years has played football
dictated by Canadian rules, a large majority of its players know the American rules,
Johnson said. All high schools in British Columbia play American-rules football which
will shorten the learning curve of CIS rules to the NCAA format.
In chatting with coach Johnson, there's plenty more to discuss beyond football, but too
little room to tackle it this week.
At first glance, The Clan has a little size on both sides of the line, but the big
question is the depth. Quarterback Ryan Schwartz (6-3, 185) threw a grand total of four
passes last year, as he was third on the depth chart in 2009. Gabriel Ephard (5-10, 195)
rushed for 444 yards last year.
Defensively five starters return and the defensive line of Scott Puffer (6-4, 245, eight
tackles for loss), Dan Martin (6-2, 220, 32 tackles) and Justin Capicciotti (6-3, 240, 31
tackles) might look a bit undersized compared to the rest of the GNAC, but at least has
the playing experience at the next level.
At the end of the day, Central Washington is the team to beat, but taking a look at their
holes exposed last Saturday and combining that with the growth of the GNAC (particularly
the teams in Monmouth, Ore., and Arcata, Calif.) I think that no longer is this a one
horse league.
Game of the Week
Simon Fraser (3-4-1, 2009) vs. Western Oregon (5-5, 3-3 GNAC, 2009)
All eyes are on Burnaby, BC this week as fans and media want to see how well Simon Fraser
matches up with Western Oregon in the Clan?s first ever NCAA game.
Literally, all eyes will descend on SFU.
"Other teams, they've got their parents and friends and fan bases that travel with them,"
head coach Johnson said. "We've got a whole country watching this game. I'm not trying to
be arrogant, but I just got out of an interview with a French broadcast out of Quebec. We
had four different TV stations on our sidelines yesterday."
The Clan will take their licks this year and looking at stats and rosters, the Wolves
have a size and experience advantage going for them.
Western Oregon opens 2010 with a convincing "W", 31-10.
Humboldt State (5-5, 1-5 GNAC, 2009) at #25 FCS Cal Poly SLO (4-7, 1-3 Great West, 2009)
This is the season opener for both schools that didn't have the most stellar records for
2009, but both come into the season with big expectations.
Cal Poly brings back 11 on offense that started at least five games last year in addition
to the eight returners on the defensive side of the ball. Even more interesting is the
fact that the Cal Poly SLO Mustangs run the triple option, which isn?t seen too often.
Humboldt, of course, counters with their 16 returning starters, but head coach Smith
admitted preparing for an option attack, "is difficult," he said. "How well we adjust to
them is key to being able to limit their offense."
At the end of the day, though, Cal Poly SLO with a 35-21 victory
Dixie State (0-1, 0-0 GNAC) vs. #14 Central Washington (0-1, 0-0 GNAC)
Dixie rushed for 23 yards on the ground last week, and despite the fact that Central
yielded 162 yards to Duluth, the Wildcat front seven held "all-world" Odim to just 50
yards, which says something about the ground defense. Dixie also gave up six sacks, which
tells me a weak o-line, coupled with the Wildcats' stout d-line, can spell out a long day.
What Dixie does have going for them is the fact that the Red Storm is at home. That's a
bus ride, plane ride and bus ride to Dixie for Central which can take a toll on a team.
Dixie can play the Wildcats tough at home as well, taking the 'Cats to the brink before
losing in overtime in 2008 and staying within 14 points in 2009.
However, Central has too many machines on both sides of the ball (even though those
engines weren't firing on all cylinders last Saturday) for Dixie to overcome. I see the
Wildcats cruising 30-10.
Jon Guddat covers the Great Northwest Athletic Conference for D2football.com. Contact Jon
at jon.guddat@d2football.com with story ideas.
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