September 12th, 2013 12:00am
The first week of the season is always very interesting for D2 fans. The many non-conference match ups give us an idea of where some conferences might fall in the pecking order this season. As I have stressed in the past, early season non-conference results can also make a big difference when determining which leagues get the most teams into the post-season field.
We also spend an entire off-season trying to determine just how good many teams will be and the first week of play starts to provide some clues as to where we were right or wrong. With so much to digest, I will dive right into my observations from around the county from last week:
- UNC-Pembroke*s 25-21 win over Winston-Salem State on Thursday night had a lot of things going for it. The packed stadium at Pembroke looked good on national TV and the game was close and entertaining throughout. The problem was both teams looked very sloppy with a lot of mistakes. WSSU appears to have the talent to be very good again this year, but they must get more consistent play from new starting quarterback Anthony Carrothers and correct their abysmal special teams play.
- My preseason selection of IUP as a national championship favorite is not looking too good right now. The Crimson Hawks struggled to a 30-20 win over Southern Connecticut State, giving up 378 yards in the process. With the talent they have I expected IUP to be much stronger than this and it will be interesting to see if they pick it up in the next couple weeks.
- On the other hand, my preseason prediction of Kevin Rodgers for Harlon Hill is looking very good after week one. All Rodgers did last week is throw for 468 yards and six touchdowns as his team put 84 points on the board in beating Southern Nazarene. If he stays healthy, Rodgers is going to have a huge year.
- On the opposite end of the spectrum was Zach Zulli, the 2012 Harlon Hill winner from Shippensburg. Zulli was just 13-27 for 140 yards passing with two interceptions his team*s 31-0 loss to Shepherd. Ouch. By the way, watch out for Shepherd: the Ram defense appears to be for real.
- One team that appears to have taken a huge step backward this season is New Haven. The two-time defending Northeast 10 champions were blown out by West Chester in their opener last weekend. This apparent step back by the Chargers really opens up the conference race in the Northeast 10.
- It is tough to count a team out after just one game, but Winona State*s colossal second half collapse in their 34-27 overtime loss to Bemidji State is something that could haunt them the rest of the season. The Warriors were completely dominating the game with a 27-6 lead going into the fourth quarter. But starting quarterback John Teigland left the game with an injury and the wheels completely came off, with BSU scoring two quick touchdowns on Warrior turnovers to get back in the game. The Warriors have a tough contest with St. Cloud State this week and with Teigland*s status unknown, WSU could be in trouble from a playoff standpoint.
- Northwest Missouri State did a nice job of taking Saginaw Valley star receiver Jeff Janis out of the game, but that was not the biggest factor in the Bearcats* 45-24 win. Two touchdown returns on blocked kicks gave the Bearcats a 35-17 halftime lead in a game that should have been much tighter at the half. The Cardinals have a great passing game, but their defense and special teams do not appear to be strong enough to put them among the nation*s elite teams.
- The big question for defending national champion Valdosta State was its completely rebuilt offensive line. The new unit certainly did its job in game one as they did not allow a sack and allowed the VSU offense to average 7.6 yards per play for the game. The big test will not come until October 10 against West Alabama, so that will give this unit another month to gel. We already know that the Blazers have a championship quality defense and skill position talent.
- All eyes should be on AT&T Stadium in Dallas this weekend as this will be the epicenter for the top D2 games including Chadron State taking on West Texas A&M, Colorado State- Pueblo versus Angelo State and Tarleton State versus Midwestern State in the Lone Star Football Festival.
Two New Programs Coming to the Gulf South
Last week the University of West Florida finally made it official: The Argos will start a D2 football program in 2016. This move by UWF has been long anticipated and this program should be a great addition to the league. UWF is in prime recruiting territory and appears to have the resources to build a very competitive program quickly. This program will be a great addition to D2 Football.
Also, Mississippi College won its appeal and will be able to move forward in its planned transition to Division II. MC had applied to move up from Division III but had originally had its application denied until that decision was reversed last week. The Choctaws were actually a former member of the GSC and won the 1989 football national championship, which was later vacated due to NCAA violations. MC left the GSC and moved to D-III in the mid 90*s.
I do not feel MC has the same upside in football as UWF, but they do provide a badly needed regional rival for Delta State in addition to bringing back some history to the league. MC is also slated to be a full D2 member in 2016.
You have to give GSC Commissioner Nate Salant a tremendous amount of credit for rebuilding this conference that looked in rough shape after the Arkansas schools left two years ago. With the addition of these two new programs, the league will be back up to nine football members in 2016 and will be much better from a geographical standpoint with two programs in Mississippi, two in Alabama, two in Florida and three in Georgia. The GSC has obviously continued to produce national championship caliber teams over the years, but the league has not really had a cohesive group of schools that "fit" together since the early 90*s. By the end of this decade, the GSC once again looks to be a strong and stable league.
Top Games in Week Two
Chadron State (1-0) vs West Texas A&M (1-0)
National TV: CBS College Sports 8 PM EST Thursday night
I was really excited this summer when I saw this game on the national TV schedule. I am not as excited now after seeing how badly the Eagles struggled to stop Missouri S&T*s passing attack last week. Look for WTAMU quarterback Dustin Vaughan to have a big day. West Texas A&M 42 Chadron State 30
Carson-Newman (1-0) at Colorado Mines (1-0)
C-N plays its second straight interesting non-conference game. The Eagles took care of Wayne State (MI) last week and I expect their powerful veer offense to travel well to Colorado this week. The Orediggers, of course, love to throw the football and they should score some points but not enough to keep pace in this game. Carson-Newman 45 Colorado Mines 31
Tarleton State (0-0) at Midwestern State (0-0)
The Texans upset MSU in the opener last season, but the Mustangs still went on to make the playoffs while TSU finished 6-4. With just three returning starters on offense, MSU might be the underdog in this game. TSU returns two experienced quarterbacks along several other veteran players. Tarleton State 27 Midwestern State 20
Central Missouri (0-1) at Northwest Missouri State (1-0)
The Mules shocked Northwest early last season. Do not expect it to happen again. The Bearcats have more talent and experience and they will not overlook UCM after what happened last year. Northwest Missouri 38 Central Missouri 21
Missouri S&T (0-1) at Missouri Western (1-0)
Missouri S&T played surprisingly well in nearly knocking off a ranked Chadron State team last week. The Griffons have some talent and a good quarterback in senior Travis Partridge, but are still feeling their way as they break in a new offensive line. I expect this game to be closer than many might expect. Missouri Western 35 Missouri S&T 26
Winona State (0-1) at St. Cloud State (1-0)
WSU*s surprising loss to Bemidji State takes a bit of luster off this match up. But the Warriors have the talent to play with the Huskies and should play with desperation as they cannot afford to start 0-2. WSU standout quarterback John Teigland is expected to play after being knocked out of last weeks game and he will test a Husky defense that gave up a lot of yards last week against Southwest Minnesota State. Still, I think Phillip Klaphake and the SCSU offense will do just enough to pick up the win. St. Cloud State 31 Winona State 27
CSU-Pueblo (1-0) at Angelo State (1-0)
The Rams are trying to take the next step as a program and prove they belong with the LSC*s elite teams. The 5th-ranked Thunderwolves should come in full of confidence after knocking off FCS program Northern Colorado in their opener. The Rams ran for 377 yards last week so that has to be a concern for a young CSU-P defense. This should be an entertaining game. Colorado State Pueblo 38 Angelo State 30
Mailbag
[Q] What are your thoughts on the news that West Texas is being investigated by the NCAA?
John
[A] I don*t think much will come of it and this is why: the supposed violations were reported prior to and were apparently unrelated to Don Carthel*s firing. If they weren*t deemed serious enough by the University to part ways with Carthel when they were initially reported, then I am guessing they are pretty minor in nature.
Contact Me
Feel free to contact me with any comments or criticisms or if you have a question you would like answered in the Mailbag.