September 26th, 2006 12:00am
How good is Chadron State?
It’s a question I’ve been fielding on a regular basis since the Eagles knocked off I-AA Montana State a couple of weeks ago.
I expect the speculation to further intensify after what CSC did to conference rival Colorado Mines on Saturday. The Eagles scored on their first nine possessions and a swarming defense limited the Orediggers to just three first downs and 28 yards of offense for the game. Danny Woodhead (the nation’s leading rusher with 845 yards so far) accounted for four scores and 188 total yards in limited work.
It would certainly appear at this point that Chadron State is the class of the RMAC and the Eagles likely won’t be tested much in conference play. But can the Eagles compete with an MIAA power come playoff time? Based on what we’ve seen so far, I’m guessing the answer is probably yes, but there is still a great deal of football to be played before we reach that point.
The other big news from last week’s play was Northwest Missouri cementing itself as the team to beat in the MIAA by squeaking out a 24-21 win over rival Missouri Western. The Bearcats and the Griffons both appear to be teams that will be participating in the postseason.
This week the action switches to the southeast part of the country, particularly in the South Atlantic Conference where there are a pair of big games. Unbeatens Carson-Newman and Newberry face off and Catawba will battle Mars Hill in another big SAC match up.
Winning Ugly
In today’s age of wide open football, it’s not often that a team with one of the most anemic offenses in all of college football has a winning record. But Pace (3-1) has managed to win despite being awful on offense. The Setters average just 136 yards of offense per game and 2.4 yards per play. But the Pace defense has recorded 16 sacks so far this season and forced an incredible 24 turnovers (six per game). Can they keep winning like this? Doubtful… the Setters face four of the better teams in the Northeast-10 over the next month.
Balance in the Northeast Region
Just five weeks into the regular season, Shepherd is the only team in the Northeast Region that is still unbeaten. The Northeast-10 and PSAC both appear to have wide open races this year (although I really like Bloomsburg in the PSAC East). I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see two or even three teams with three losses make the Northeast Region playoffs this fall.
Robbed
North Carolina Central traveled to Louisiana last Saturday and came away with a huge victory, beating I-AA Southern 27-20. But the celebration didn’t last long. NCCU returned to their locker room to find that it had been looted. Wallets, cell phones, even championship rings had been stolen. It’s simply unbelievable to me that a school would fail to secure the visiting locker room during a game. Hopefully the authorities can track down whoever is responsible and get some of the items returned to the players.
Undefeated Independents
Typically the D-II football teams that don’t belong to conferences are among the weakest in the division. But this year there are a pair of independents that are off to fast starts: Western Oregon and Tiffin. WOU is 4-0 and owns a big win over perennial D-II power Texas A&M-Kingsville while Tiffin is 5-0 with four of the wins against D-II teams.
The question then becomes: Could either of these teams make the postseason? I think it will be difficult… both teams play in the very deep Northwest Region and neither team even merits consideration unless they are unbeaten. WOU still has several tough games and Tiffin has at least two games (Hillsdale and St. Joseph’s) that would have to be considered tossups at best. It will be very interesting to see how long these two teams can keep up their strong play.
Game of the Week
Carson-Newman (4-0) @ Newberry (4-0)
This game is obviously intriguing because both teams are undefeated and are in the same conference. But to me, what really adds the flavor is the penthouse versus outhouse angle that this game has. C-N is a perennial power that finds itself in the playoffs and at the top of the SAC standings virtually every year. Newberry, on the other hand, has traditionally been a team that finishes near the bottom of the conference. The Indians haven’t beaten the Eagles since 1979.
But this Newberry team is different. It has D-I transfers like quarterback Josh Stepp and receiver Tymere Zimmerman that won’t be intimidated by anyone’s tradition. The Indians have the talent on offense to score some points against anyone that they play.
I think the key to this week’s game will be Newberry’s ability to slow down the vaunted C-N veer offense. Last year the Eagles ran wild on the Indian defense and racked up 541 yards and 41 points. But Newberry is better defensively this year and the Indian offense is capable of keeping them in the game if it’s a shootout.
They say to always "bet the streak" but I’m throwing my better judgment out the window this week and picking Newberry. Something tells me this is the Indians’ year for a lot of firsts. Newberry 32 Carson-Newman 31
Other Top Games
Catawba (3-0) @ Mars Hill (3-1)
Catawba shut out Mars Hill 31-0 last year and recorded 11 sacks in the process. But the Lions appear to be much improved on offense this season and should be capable of competing with the Indians. I think this will be a pretty decent game, but Catawba’s defensive strength and the fact they’ve had a bye week to prepare for MHC gives the Indians the edge. Catawba 24 Mars Hill 16
Northwood (4-0) @ Saginaw Valley (3-1)
This is an intense backyard rivalry - the two schools are just 20 minutes apart. The proximity plus the fact that both teams have been GLIAC powers over the past few years has fueled the rivalry. Last season the two teams played twice. SVSU won 9-7 in the season opener and again, 31-16 in the opening round of the playoffs. The Cardinals have also won four of the last five in the “Axe Bowl”.
I like Northwood to win this game for one reason: defense. The Timberwolves have been outstanding defensively so far this year while SVSU has struggled over the past couple of weeks. Rivalry games are usually close and exciting, and this game should be no different. Northwood 19 Saginaw Valley 17
Ferris State (3-1) @ Northern Michigan (2-1)
FSU pulled off the upset of Saginaw Valley two weeks ago and NMU nearly did the same last week. Both programs have been down for a few years but both also appear to once again be on the rise back to former prominence.
The two teams are lead by their quarterbacks, but the two players have vastly different styles. FSU’s C.J. VanWieren is his team’s leading rusher and has attempted just 39 passes this year. NMU’s Buddy Rivera is one of the top pure passers in the country (179 QB rating). The Bulldogs have the better defense, but it’s a long haul up to Marquette and I think the Wildcats will prevail at home. Northern Michigan 31 Ferris State 27
Winona State (3-1) @ Concordia-St. Paul (2-2)
Yes, both teams have had their struggles at the beginning of this season. But this contest has essentially served as the NSIC title game over the past three seasons and if someone from this conference is going to make the postseason this year, it will likely be the winner of this game.
Both of these teams have relied on offense over the past several seasons, but it’s been defense that has carried them this season. The Golden Bears had their 19-game home winning streak snapped earlier this season and I like the slightly more talented Warriors to win this game in St. Paul. Winona State 26 Concordia-St. Paul 17
Indiana (2-1) @ Edinboro (3-1)
Indiana’s disappointing loss to Millersville last week takes some of the luster off of this game. But this week marks the return of Lou Tepper to Edinboro - Tepper left the Fighting Scots in the off-season to take over as the head man at IUP. Not to mention that this game counts in the PSAC West standings. There is obviously plenty for both teams to play for and both will go into the game feeling they have something to prove.
I expect this to be a defensive, ball-control type game. Both teams will attempt to establish the run, and whoever can be more successful in doing so is likely to win. I give a slight edge to IUP because the talent of Chris Morgan (189 rushing yards per game) gives the Indians a big play threat that the Scots don’t have. Indiana 20 Edinboro 17
North Carolina Central (4-0) @ Bowie State (2-2)
BSU was expected to challenge for the CIAA crown this season, but those prospects took a major hit with a surprising 7-3 loss to Livingstone last week. Still, the Bulldogs are a pretty talented team with a very good defense and could give NCCU a run for their money.
But defending CIAA champ NCCU is coming off the big win over I-AA Southern and the Eagles appear to be clicking on all cylinders this year. Freshman quarterback Stadford Brown has been outstanding and he’ll be the difference maker in this game. North Carolina Central 28 Bowie State 12
Arkansas Tech (3-1) @ North Alabama (3-0)
ATU doesn’t have much time to regroup after last week’s whipping at Valdosta State and the schedule isn’t getting any easier. If the Wonder Boys are to stay in the game with UNA, they must move the football-- eight of ATU’s first nine possessions last week ended in punts. I think the Wonder Boys will do a better job of being competitive, but the Lions are just too good. North Alabama 37 Arkansas Tech 20
Mailbag
[Q] Which conference in D2 is the best?
Ryan
[A] The top four conferences in Division II are the GSC, GLIAC, NCC and MIAA. I don’t think you’ll get much argument from anyone-- those leagues are a cut above the others. As far as who is the best - it probably depends on what year it is, who you ask, and what your criteria are.
To me, the NCC is the deepest conference (meaning the bottom teams are usually pretty good), the GSC and MIAA are tough because they each have a couple of teams capable of competing for the national title each year, and the GLIAC is the conference on a major upswing right now.
It’s almost a guarantee that the 2006 national champion will come from one of these four leagues.
[Q] If you had to pick one current D-II quarterback to lead your team, who would it be?
Michael
[A]Grand Valley’s Cullen Finnerty. He’s 40-4 in his career as a starting quarterback, complete with two national titles. He’s not the best passer out there or the best runner, but time after time after time Finnerty has made the big plays in the big games to help his team win. There are many other very talented quarterbacks across the country, but none that have taken their teams to the heights that Finnerty has.
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