October 4th, 2011 12:00am
I took my eight-year old son and his friend with me to the Fall Classic at Arrowhead last Saturday. It was a beautiful fall day in Kansas City and an opportunity for those kids to see two of the best teams in D2 football do battle.
The problem was that the first half of the game was a stinker. Top-ranked Northwest Missouri State was rolling and Pittsburg State not only looked overmatched, but was compounding the issue by making critical mistakes. With a 28-6 halftime score in favor of the Bearcats, it looked as if the second half would be a matter of going through the motions.
Eight-year olds are pretty savvy these days, and the two I had with me had also sensed that there wasn't much left to see. The novelty of watching a game in an NFL stadium was wearing off, and on a beautiful Saturday afternoon there were better things for kids to do than watch the second half of a blowout. I suppose it didn't help that they also realized that they had nearly spent their concession allowance already. But that's another story.
Now as a parent, I'm always searching for ways to teach life's lessons to my kids. I'm sure many of the other parents out there reading this column can relate. Plus, as a columnist covering D2 football, I'm not leaving the game early. So I had to come up with a plan to appease kids that already had their hearts set on doing something else.
So that's when I decided to have a "teachable moment" about perseverance and broke out my spiel: "It's not over til it's over," I told them. "The PSU coaches will make some adjustments at halftime and have the Gorillas right back in the game. Northwest got all the breaks in the first half and things will surely change in the second. Anything can happen in 30 minutes of football."
Did I really believe everything I was telling them? Not really. I think the only folks in the entire stadium that thought the Gorillas still had a chance were in the PSU locker room. And being smart eight-year olds, they weren't really buying it either. But I was in a pinch. And I also agreed to up the ante on concession money just a bit. Hey, sometimes you have to do what you have to do.
Then it happened. PSU scored quickly on its opening drive of the second half and there was just a bit of a buzz in the stadium. When PSU safety Jason Peete returned an interception for a touchdown a few minutes later to cut the score to 28-20, the momentum had completely switched to the Gorillas.
Just when it appeared that the Bearcats were poised to retake control of the game by pushing the lead back to two scores late in the third quarter, they clanked a short field goal off the upright. PSU responded with a touchdown and 2-point conversion to tie the game early in the fourth and I no longer needed to do anything to keep those two eight-year olds focused on the game. They were on the edge of their seats right up through the end, when PSU's Chase McCoy kicked a 26-yard field goal as time expired gave the Gorillas an improbable 38-35 win, ending NWMSU's 49-game conference winning streak.
So, thanks to Pittsburg State and its incredible resilience, I was able to show to my son and his friend a real-life example of how incredibly important it is to keep plugging away no matter the odds that you face. I'm sure I will bring up this game as a reminder to my son many more times over the next several years.
Like I said in my column a few weeks ago, D2 football needs a strong Pittsburg State program. The Gorillas have passionate fans and a proud tradition that you just can't recreate someplace else. After a rough couple of years, this game should be a pretty good indicator that the Gorillas are indeed back.
There are two things that really struck me about Pittsburg State. One, senior quarterback Zac Dickey is a leader and he now seems capable of making enough throws to keep defenses honest and to take advantage of standout receiver John Brown's skills.
Secondly, this is best PSU defense I have seen in several years. Linebacker Nate Dreiling is a beast and Gorillas finally seem to have the athleticism on that side of the ball to match up with the talent D2's best offenses possess.
Analyzing Northwest's MIAA Winning Streak
Now that NWMSU's 49-game conference winning streak is over, I thought it would be interesting to take an in-depth look at it. I knew from memory that there were several close calls during the streak, but what I found was actually quite amazing.
13 of the Bearcats' wins during the streak were by seven points or less. Eight of the wins were by three points or fewer. Northwest's last four wins over Washburn were by a combined total of eight points! If you include playoff games, Northwest had a 54-game winning streak over MIAA opponents, with 15 one score wins and nine wins decided by a field goal or less.
Just some examples of close calls from individual games: Twice during the 2007 season alone (against Pittsburg State and Washburn) the Bearcats scored the winning touchdown on fourth down. They converted a must have 4th-and-10 on the game winning touchdown drive in the final minute to beat Pittsburg State in the 2008 playoffs. Last year they survived a 2-point conversion attempt by Washburn in the last minute to win by one, kicked a 45-yard field goal as time was expiring to beat Central Missouri by a point and came back from 17 points down in the second half to beat Missouri Western 28-24 in the playoffs.
The Bearcats have been great over the last six years, no doubt about that. But it is almost miraculous that the winning streak lasted this long with all of the close calls. For a comparison, I also analyzed Grand Valley's 45-game GLIAC winning streak that ended in 2009 and found that the Lakers never had a game decided by three points or fewer and just three games decided by a touchdown or less. It will certainly be interesting to see if Northwest can resume its winning ways against conference opponents or if the "hex" has been broken.
Random Thoughts from Last Week
-We are just five weeks into the season and only eleven unbeaten teams remain in all of D2: Winston-Salem State, Wayne State (MI), Humboldt State, North Alabama, Midwestern State, Pittsburg State, Washburn, Bloomsburg, CSU-Pueblo, Nebraska-Kearney and West Virginia Wesleyan. Outside of UNA, I don't think any of the other teams on that list were thought to be national title contenders coming into the season.
-The plan for the University of New Orleans to add football took a major step forward last week with the announcement that a Football Development Committee had been formed. Headlining the 16-member committee is former NFL quarterback Archie Manning. The goal is to have football in place by 2015.
-Kutztown standout quarterback Kevin Morton had the worst outing of his 25-start college career in his team's 49-7 loss to Shippensburg. Morton was sacked five times and threw four interceptions while passing for just 124 yards. His pass efficiency rating dropped from 175 to 152 in the process.
-Southwest Oklahoma State used a field goal on the game's final play to knock off rival Southeast Oklahoma State 20-17. It was SWOSU's first win over their rival in ten years and left the Bulldogs (4-1) with their best record to start a season since 2002. Bulldog free safety Clarence Laster picked off two passes in the game and already has six interceptions (including two returned for touchdowns) this season.
-When the GSC broke up, the Arkansas schools that were leaving the conference to join the GAC agreed to what amounts to a scheduling alliance with the remaining GSC schools for this season. Despite Arkansas-Monticello's shocking 23-9 win over Valdosta State last week, the GAC is just 2-9 in games versus GSC opponents. This will be good news for the GSC come playoff time and will really hurt the GAC.
-Harding is literally fumbling away its season. Despite leading the nation in rushing with their option offense (371 yards per game), the Bisons are just 2-3 because they have fumbled an incredible 24 times in five games, losing 12 of those fumbles. Harding fumbled seven times (losing five) in last week's loss to West Alabama.
-A pair of D2 kickers made five field goals on Saturday. Western State's Lloyd Tucker scored all of his team's points in a 15-14 win over previously unbeaten New Mexico Highlands, including the game winner from 27 yards out on the last play of the game. Missouri Western's Greg Zuerlien also made five field goals, including a 57-yarder.
-Carson-Newman fell to 2-3 overall and 0-3 in the SAC, losing 33-21 to Wingate. It marks the first time in 33 years that the Eagles have lost three straight conference games in a season and the first time since 1985 that C-N has been under .500 after five games.
-West Liberty (0-5) continued its disastrous 2011 season, losing 41-14 at Glenville State. The Hilltoppers have been outscored by a combined 91 points in their three conference losses. Keep in mind that this is a program that won 11 games and was a national quarterfinalist just two years ago.
-Rashaad Slowley rushed for 236 yards in the second half (288 total) to rally his Southern Connecticut State team from 14 points down to beat Assumption 38-24. This sets up the game of the year in the Northeast-10 this week between SCSU and New Haven on Friday night.
Top Games this Week
Colorado Mines (4-1) at CSU-Pueblo (5-0)
A national TV audience (CBS College Sports, 8 p.m. Eastern Thursday) will get to see two of the best teams in the RMAC do battle. Mines relies on the passing of standout quarterback Clay Garcia, but the Thunderwolves have been the more balanced team overall this season. CSU-Pueblo 31 Colorado Mines 23.
New Haven (4-1) at Southern Connecticut State (4-1)
A cross-rivalry combined with the fact that both teams are unbeaten against D2 competition make this one of the most anticipated games in Northeast-10 history. The Chargers feature the passing of Mike Osiecki (14 touchdown passes) while the Owls rely on the legs of Rashaad Slowley (770 rushing yards, 15 touchdowns). Both teams feature solid defenses so this should be a great game. Southern Connecticut State 28 New Haven 24.
Shepherd (4-1) at West Virginia Wesleyan (5-0)
Shepherd went from the possible favorite in all of Super Region One to being put in an almost must-win situation in this game after losing to Concord last week. This week they will have to contend with a WVWC team that features great quarterback play from Adam Neugebauer and one of the country's best defensive players in Jonas Celian (six sacks). It will not be easy. Shepherd 24 West Virginia Wesleyan 21.
Saginaw Valley (3-1) at Michigan Tech (4-1)
The Cardinals have a good offense, but just don't make enough plays defensively as evidenced by the fact that they have yet to intercept a pass this season. MTU is very good defensively and its balanced offense should control this game. Michigan Tech 27 Saginaw Valley 17.
Slippery Rock (4-1) at Edinboro (4-1)
Edinboro will try to rebound from being shut out by IUP and it will be difficult against an SRU team that allows just 195 yards per game. SRU also features a solid ground game and can position itself as the co-favorite (along with California) in the PSAC West Division by beat Edinboro. Slippery Rock 21 Edinboro 10.
Valdosta State (4-1) at Oauchita Baptist (3-1)
Both teams played poorly in losses last week, and both desperately need to win this game to keep playoff possibilities alive. The Tigers have holes defensively, but I'm not sure the Blazers are good enough offensively to take advantage. Oauchita Baptist 23 Valdosta State 20.
Minnesota State (4-1) at St. Cloud (4-1)
MSU has been very good on defense and balanced offensively, which are two characteristics good teams possess. I believe that SCSU has just a bit more talent overall but the Huskies need sophomore quarterback Philip Klaphake to start playing a bit more like he did as a freshman. St. Cloud State 21 Minnesota State 20.
Northwest Missouri State (4-1) at Central Missouri (4-1)
UCM really come together offensively over the past three weeks, racking up 141 total points. The problem for the Mules is that they are porous on defense and will be facing a NWMSU team that is loaded with playmakers and should come in focused after last week's loss. Northwest Missouri State 48 Central Missouri 30.
Mailbag
[Q] I know there are many players each year that transfer from D-I schools to D-II. But I don't know that I've ever heard of a player transferring the other way (from D-II to D-I). Is there a reason why?
Richard
[A] The rule that forces a player to sit out a year when transferring "up" is the biggest reason.
A player that would be good enough to transfer to a D-I school has most likely proven himself by performing well for at least a couple of years at the D-II level. So for a player to transfer, he would be leaving a program where he is star to sit out a year with no real guarantee of any playing time when he becomes eligible at the D-I school.
Plus, most incoming D2 recruits red-shirt as freshmen. Since D-I also has a "clock" rule that requires athletes to use up their eligibility in a continuous five year period once they enroll in college, a player that has red-shirted would also lose a year of eligibility in the transfer "up".
There are other factors as well, but those are the main ones. There are just far too many barriers in place for a D-II to D-I transfer to be much more than a rarity.
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