September 17th, 2013 12:00am
Fans often ask me why I never write about games between D2 and Division I FCS teams. I always tell them that the reason is simple: since those games have virtually no bearing on whether a D2 team makes the playoffs or earns a conference title, I would rather devote column space to the games that do matter.
That said; I am smart enough to know that these games are very important to the schools that are playing them. It is perfectly natural for a D2 team to want to knock off someone that plays at a higher level. D2 rosters are filled with players that may have been overlooked by D1 schools in recruiting and these types of games give those players a chance to prove that they can play.
So far this season, D2 schools have an 11-27 record against FCS competition. If you look back at past seasons, you will find this type of record to be pretty typical. Some of the more impressive performances by D2 schools this season in these games have actually been losses. West Alabama took a ranked McNeese State team to the wire last week before losing 44-42. North Alabama lost in double overtime to old Gulf South rival Jacksonville State. The top win by a D2 team over FCS this year was probably Colorado State-Pueblo defeating old D2 power Northern Colorado 41-36 two weeks ago.
Why do I bring this up now? For one, to publicly answer one of the most often asked questions I have had since I started writing this column. And two, to point out that D2*s level of success against FCS teams this year is pretty typical compared to past seasons. With non-conference play and games versus FCS teams generally out of the way, we can now move on to the part of the season that really counts: the race for conference and national titles.
The South Atlantic Conference drops its Scholarship Limit
The SAC announced this week that it has dropped its scholarship equivalency limit. The league had previously self imposed a limit of 25 equivalencies but will now allow the full 36.
The SAC becomes yet another league to do away with putting limitations on its programs. Remember, it was not that many years ago that the entire division voted on whether to have a second national championship playoff for the lesser funded schools. This is just another step away from that divisive period of time.
I think this could end up being a bigger deal for the SAC than it would be in most other D2 leagues for this reason: All of the schools in the SAC are private and each equivalency is worth more in real dollars than it would be at a public school.
The only pitfall might be if there are programs in the league that cannot afford to spend more money and there becomes a big disparity between the haves and have-not*s. In reading the press release from the conference, it does appear that some presidents were not in favor of lifting the limit, probably for that very reason. In my opinion, it is definitely a risk worth taking, however. How cool would it be to see a program like Carson-Newman back among the nation*s elite year after year like they were in the 90*s?
Observations from around the country last week:
-Is there going to be a quarterback controversy at Northwest Missouri? Senior starter Trevor Adams was benched in the first quarter against Central Missouri last week as the Bearcats struggled to move the football and fell behind 17-0. Sophomore Brady Bolles was inserted into the game and he led the NWMSU 28-24 comeback win, rushing for 82 yards and throwing for 191 in the process. If the name sounds familiar to D2 fans, it is because Bolles is the younger brother of Blake Bolles, who led the Bearcats to the 2009 national title.
-The South Atlantic Conference is off to a great start this season, going 9-2 so far against D2 opponents in non-conference games. Keep this in mind later in the season when it comes to playoff selection time. I am thinking that the SAC will get at least two teams in the playoffs.
-Southwest Minnesota State junior running back Tyler Tonderum rushed for an incredible 343 yards on 42 carries in leading the Mustangs to a 27-20 win over MSU-Moorhead. A little perspective on this: coming into the game - Tonderum had rushed for just 99 yards in his entire college career. As a program, SMSU has had just four backs eclipse 1,000 yards in school history.
-Just three years ago, Augustana appeared to be a program ready to rise to the upper tier of D2. Playing in the new Kirkeby-Over Stadium, the Vikings went 11-2 in 2010 including a 38-6 win over Grand Valley in the playoffs. But the Vikings have gone downhill since, winning just five games last year which led to the firing of head coach Mike Aldrich. Augie may have hit rock bottom with a bad 23-17 triple overtime loss to Minot State last week. It will be interesting to see if this program can rebound.
-Watch out for Washburn. The Ichabods have throttled their first two opponents by a combined score of 112-30 and they should be heavy favorites to win each of their next eight games leading up to an early November trip to Northwest Missouri.
Top Games this Week
Winston-Salem (1-1) at Tuskegee (2-0)
The top programs from the CIAA and SIAC meet in a very interesting non-conference game. Tuskegee has even decided to depart from their longstanding stance of not competing in the D2 playoffs citing WSSU*s success last season as a big motivating factor in that decision. The problem for Tuskegee is that they have been poor offensively this year and I do not see them hanging with the Rams for four quarters.
Winston-Salem State 27 Tuskegee 16
Ohio Dominican (2-0) at Northern Michigan (1-0)
I talked up ODU in my preseason column and they have not disappointed so far, including an impressive win over Hillsdale last week. NMU showed that they can score points, but ODU is more balanced.
Ohio Dominican 35 Northern Michigan 24
UNC-Pembroke (2-0) at Shaw (2-0)
UNCP continues its run through the CIAA portion of its schedule with its third straight opponent from that league in Shaw. The Bears have a balanced offense led by running back Marquise Grizzle that will give the Braves all they can handle.
UNC-Pembroke 31 Shaw 26
Minnesota State (2-0) at Minnesota-Duluth (2-0)
What a game. UMD dominated the NSIC from 2008-11, going undefeated in league play during those four years. MSU took the league title last season, going 13-1 and reaching the national semifinals. Both of these teams are loaded with veteran players but there is one glaring difference: The Mavericks have senior Jon Wolf under center while UMD has freshman Drew Bauer. It is tough to pick against the Bulldogs at home, but I think the experience advantage at quarterback tips the scales to MSU. Minnesota State 24 Minnesota-Duluth 19
St. Cloud (2-0) at Concordia-St. Paul (2-0)
The Huskies bring to this game a powerful offense that averages 470 yards and 39 points per game. The Concordia defense allows just 174 yards per game through the first two weeks. I expect Phillip Klaphake and the SCSU offense to make just enough plays to win the game. St. Cloud State 27 Concordia-St. Paul 17
Texas A&M-Commerce (2-0) at West Texas A&M (2-0)
Former WTAMU defensive coordinator Colby Carthel is now the head at TAMUC, which should give him an advantage in game planning for the very talented Buffalo offense. The Lions seemed to be much improved under Carthel, but they are not ready to compete with WTAMU… yet.
West Texas A&M 48 Texas A&M-Commerce 28
Tusculum (2-0) at North Greenville (2-0)
Tusculum was not picked to finish near the top of the SAC, but they do have senior quarterback Bo Cordell, who appears to have returned to the form he showed as a freshman, when he threw for 4657 yards and 38 touchdowns. NGC is trying to return to the form they showed in 2011, when they reached the national quarterfinals.
Tusculum 28 North Greenville 27
Mailbag
[Q] I wanted to ask you a question about this year*s race for the Harlon Hill Award. I completely agree that Henderson State*s QB Kevin Rodgers is an outstanding QB and should be up high on the list. I wanted to ask what WTAMU*s Dustin Vaughan would have to do this season to get the Harlon Hill Award?
Joseph
[A] There is no doubt Vaughan is outstanding, as he proved to everyone in leading the Buffalos to the come-from-behind victory over Chadron State on national TV. Vaughan is definitely on my short list of candidates for the Harlon Hill.
But the reason I go with Rodgers as my favorite is due to competition level. Rodgers will not see the same quality of defenses on a week in week out basis as Vaughan will. This will likely allow Rodgers to rack up video game type numbers. As the sports information directors that vote on the award have proven in the past, they seem to care more about statistics than level of competition.
For Vaughan to win the award, he will need to at least stay in the neighborhood of Rodgers statistically, which would probably mean he probably needs to throw for around 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in the regular season. With 825 passing yards and 7 touchdown passes already, those numbers are not out of the realm of possibility.
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