September 18th, 2007 12:00am
Players and fans from Henderson State and Delta State decided they wanted to fight after last week's game and the Gulf South Conference reacted swiftly and decisively, handing down one game suspensions and two years probation to both head coaches.
Apparently, the only reason suspensions were not given to any players is because there is no video or photo evidence showing exactly who was involved in the brawl. So, conference commissioner Nate Salant did the only thing he could do, and that is suspend the coaches since they are ultimately responsible for the conduct of their teams on the field. I applaud Salant's decision.
The most disturbing part about this brawl is that fans were involved. Any time you have hyped up players in full football gear clashing with opposing fans, some of which may be under the influence of alcohol, it's not a good combination.
So this brings me to a point I've been meaning to bring up for quite some time now: I've become extremely alarmed at the conduct of the fans at many of the D-II games I have been to recently.
You see, being a media member gets me sideline access to the games I go to watch and I frequently take in entire games from that vantage point because there is nothing like being right down on the field to get a total feel for what is going on.
But, since it is so prevalent in college football for schools to put their student section behind the visitor's bench, I also hear all the taunting that comes from the fans in the stands.
To be certain, some of it is just good-natured stuff that goes on at almost any athletic event. But I have been at games where it crosses the line of being "in good fun" and becomes downright deplorable.
Example: I was at one game where individuals in the student section were taunting not the opposing players or coaches, but the opposing female trainers. Some of the things being said were so vulgar and disgusting it made my stomach turn. Officials from the visiting school were extremely upset and there was no security presence whatsoever to help handle the situation.
Delta State is now changing its policy to not allow its fans to sit behind the opposing bench during games unless it is absolutely necessary because of the size of the crowd. I think there are many other schools out there that should be doing something similar or, at the very least, increasing their security presence to help keep things under control. I have no doubt in my mind that we will see another incident like the one this past week in the future unless some of these schools take steps to correct the problem.
News and Notes from Around the Nation
-The CIAA is having a very bad year. We are just three weeks into the season and there is only one team in the league (Virginia Union at 3-0) that hasn't lost at least two games already. CIAA teams are also just 1-10 in non-conference match ups versus the SAC. Unless VUU can continue to win, we might not see a CIAA team in the playoffs this year.
-The stars appear to be aligning this season for the Hillsdale Chargers. Not only is Hillsdale off to its first 3-0 start in 15 years, but the Chargers also have the luxury of not having to play Grand Valley or Northwood this fall because of the GLIAC's rotating schedule. Behind the passing of quarterback Mark Nicolet (343 yards per game) the Chargers are averaging 50 points per contest. But HC is shaky at best defensively and there are several remaining opponents on the schedule with the ability to beat the Chargers on a given Saturday. Hillsdale is definitely a team to watch, but I could just as easily see this team lose five games as make the playoffs.
-I suspect that, by the end of the season, we may look back at Central Oklahoma's season-opening 27-17 win over Abilene Christian as one of the top upsets this year in D-II. Since that game, ACU has looked like a conference championship contender, going 2-0 including a beat down of FCS opponent Texas State. Meanwhile, UCO has lost two straight and has had tremendous problems scoring points.
-A lot has been made at Carson-Newman about the arrival of transfer receiver James Banks and the improvement in the Eagle offense. But the main reason C-N is 3-0 and a looking like a team that could go a long ways in the playoffs is defense. The Eagles have allowed just 18 rushing yards total in three games and opposing quarterbacks have not fared much better throwing the football. I have a feeling the Eagles will be a team to reckon with come playoff time.
-For the first time in four seasons, the WVIAC is a wide open race after Glenville State knocked off Shepherd last week, ending the Rams' 23 game conference winning streak. GSC and Shepherd will also have stiff competition from West Liberty State, who I feel might be the most complete team in the league this year. The Hilltoppers' biggest obstacle may be the schedule: they face GSC, Shepherd, and a solid Charleston team all on the road.
Game of the Week
Grand Valley (2-0) @ Michigan Tech (3-1)
Despite the fact that these two conference rivals have met for 13 consecutive seasons, this is the first time GVSU has visited Houghton since 2002 because of some quirks in the schedule. MTU is riding a nine game conference winning streak, the Huskies last loss coming against GVSU last year. GVSU has won 30 straight games overall.
The Huskies are on a high coming into this game, after freshman kicker Tyler Cattelino's 48-yard field goal on the last play of the game beat a ranked Northwood team last week. But the elation will most likely not last long this week for this reason: the all offense/ no defense approach that MTU has used so far this season will not work very well against a very complete GVSU team. The Lakers are just too good defensively to allow MTU quarterback Steve Short to lead his team up and down the field and the Laker offense will do more than enough to insure victory. Grand Valley 38 Michigan Tech 17.
Other Games of Note
Missouri Western (2-1) @ Pittsburg State (3-0)
Being down on the field watching Missouri Western play last week is making this game rather easy to predict for me. Clearly, the Griffons' major weakness is that they are soft up front defensively and that will be a major problem against a physical Gorilla offensive line that wants to pound the football.
MWSU does have enough talent on offense to move the football, but youth (quarterback Drew Newhart is just a freshman) and an improved PSU defense will insure that the Griffons don't score enough points to win. Pittsburg State 38 Missouri Western 23.
Central Missouri (2-1) @ Washburn (2-1)
There is not much love lost between these two programs, mainly due to the controversy surrounding the transfer of quarterback Toby Korrodi to UCM two years ago. Korrodi is now out of the picture, but WU did knock off UCM both years that he was under center.
The strength of Mules is clearly on the defensive side of the football and that gives them an advantage in this game. UCM is allowing just 18 rushing yards per game and has forced 10 turnovers already this season. Washburn quarterback Jordan Brill has not played very well so far and the fact that 13 different Ichabod players have already caught passes this season leads me to believe that WU is having trouble finding a go-to receiver. As long as UCM has its quarterback problems figured out (backup Stinson Dean had to come off the bench to jump-start the offense in last weeks' win) the Mules should win this game. Central Missouri 23 Washburn 17.
Valdosta State (2-0) @ Arkansas Tech (3-0)
After having the lightning storm wipe out an almost certain loss to Northwest Missouri in the season opener, the Wonderboys have taken advantage, rolling up three straight wins. But this week signifies the beginning of ATU's Murderer's Row portion of the schedule: they play three straight games against top 10 teams, starting with VSU.
I mentioned in last week's column that I think the Blazers look incredible and that spells trouble for ATU in this game. The Wonderboys have a pretty good defense and quarterback Cole Barthel is a playmaker. But VSU is loaded with playmakers and that will be too much for ATU to overcome. Valdosta State 42 Arkansas Tech 20.
Mailbag
[Q] So far it seems that D-2 has dominated the match-ups vs. FCS opponents. The Lone Star Conference is 2-1 and I've read of other schools across the country beating FCS schools. I was just curious to know the record across the board for those match-ups. And are there any specific games that are the most impressive? Dillon
[A] If you would have stated that top D-II teams have dominated against FCS opponents, you would be correct. The teams that make up our latest top 25 poll are 7-1 against FCS teams so far this season. But overall, D-II teams are just 9-31 against FCS schools for the year.
So, obviously, it is apparent that the better teams in our division are more than capable of competing and the fact that many former D-II teams have made rather seamless transitions to the FCS level in the recent years would seem to back that up.
Despite the fact that FCS schools can offer so many more scholarships (63 versus 36 in D-II), there are a few very good reasons why the top D-II programs can compete when the games are played. Since I tend to get several questions regarding this topic throughout the year, I want to take this opportunity to explain a few of the reasons why this is so:
1. Division I has higher academic standards. There are many players every year that are highly sought after recruits that end up at D-II schools because they don't meet the minimum requirements to play right away in D-I. Also, junior college transfers are required to have an associate's degree to participate in D-I but they do not need it to play D-II. So, every year D-II teams get an influx of top talent simply because that talent isn't allowed to play at a higher level.
2. Division I has a "clock" rule that allows an athlete five years from the time they originally enrolled in school to complete their athletic eligibility. But if an athlete withdraws from school for a period of time, that clock keeps ticking and they lose eligibility. In Division II, the "clock" only runs during the semesters (or quarters) that an athlete is a full-time student in school. Division II schools get quite a few talented players because of this rule (a couple of good examples: Northwest Missouri All-American tight end Mike Peterson and Carson-Newman receiver James Banks).
3. The strong D-II conference tend to be in areas of the country with very little (or weak) presence from FCS schools. The MIAA, GLIAC, and NCC are each in regions of the country where there isn't that much recruiting pressure from FCS schools. D-II football tends to be weaker in areas where there are powerful FCS conferences (the Colonial Athletic Conference and Gateway Conference being good examples).
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