October 14th, 2014 12:00am
In all of my years of covering D2 Football I don't know that I have ever written anything about Fort Lewis College. The Skyhawks haven't given me much to write about: they have consistently been at or near the bottom of the RMAC and have had only two winning seasons going back to 1985. The football program was established at the school in 1963 and the school season record for wins is, get this, seven. Of the 12 head coaches in the history of the program only one has left with a winning record, and barely.
So when I saw on our scoreboard last Saturday that the Skyhawks had defeated second-ranked CSU-Pueblo 23-22, I did a double take. And then a triple take. I even went out to the individual web sites of the two schools to verify that the score was correct. Every week there are upsets and every year there are a few real head scratchers, but I don't know if I have ever been more shocked by a football score than this one.
Coming into the game CSU-Pueblo had won 42 straight regular season games and 34 straight in the RMAC. Just a few weeks ago I wrote about how the Thunderwolves were finally a program ready to challenge for a national title after they had thrashed a ranked FCS team in Sam Houston State. Surely Fort Lewis, a 1-4 team with previous blowout losses to Black Hills State and New Mexico Highlands, would be no match for the Thunderwolves.
But somehow the Skyhawks won the game, and really upset the apple cart in D2 football in the process. The Thunderwolves return home this week to play a strong Chadron State that will be equally hungry for the upset. CSU-Pueblo also still has Colorado Mines on the schedule and the Orediggers have been impressive. What once looked like a national-championship type season suddenly looks very shaky at CSUP.
For Fort Lewis, the situation couldn't have been scripted much better. Fresh off the big upset win, the Skyhawks now get to host Colorado Mines on Thursday night on national TV in the CBS Sports D2 game of the week. I will be honest: just a few days ago I would have considered this game unwatchable. Now I will be tuning in just to see if Fort Lewis can pull off the unthinkable two weeks in a row.
Observations from Around the Country
-In another big surprise, William Jewell rallied from a 17-0 halftime deficit to ruin Truman State's homecoming, 21-17. WJC is now tied atop the GLVC standings with Indianapolis as both teams are 3-0 in the league. The Cardinals appear to be turning the corner after winning just three games combined in their first two years on the league.
-Texas A&M-Kingsville fired head coach David Calloway and replaced him with him on an interim basis with assistant Jaime Martinez. It's not often you see a D2 school part ways with a coach during the season, but things were going so badly in Kingsville that this probably had to happen. The Javelinas (1-5) were embarrassed 80-14 by Tarleton State last week.
-In their first year of play in the GLVC after moving from the MIAA, both Lincoln (MO) and Southwest Baptist are 1-4 in the conference. Just think how ugly it would be for these two programs if they were still in the MIAA.
-Azusa Pacific running back Terrell Watson became the first 1,000-yard rusher this season in all of college football with 208 yards on the ground in his team's 55-21 win over Humboldt State. The Cougars really turned the tables on HSU as the Lumberjacks won 30-10 last month when these two teams played, limiting Watson to 51 rushing yards in the process. The second game is also much bigger for another reason: it counts in the conference standing while the first match up was a non-conference game.
-Valdosta State showed that they are still in control of their rivalry with West Georgia as they smacked the Wolves 40-6 last week. The Blazers (3-2) have now played four ranked teams and will have the softer part of their schedule in the second half of the year. An 8-2 record should be good enough to get a playoff berth and I think the Blazers are going to get there.
-Michigan Tech moved to 5-0 with a 21-6 win at Northwood last week. The Huskies have done it with solid defense and have prevailed in close games. MTU has four of its final five games at home, but it won't be easy Grand Valley and Ferris State up next on the schedule.
Top Games this Week
IUP (5-1) at California (5-1)
This should be quite a game as these two teams are rivals and both need to win to stay in the PSAC and playoff races. The Vulcans are much more explosive offensively, but the Crimson Hawks have the stingier defense. I think California has a slight edge… as long as they take care of the football. California 28 IUP 23
Ferris State (6-0) at Ohio Dominican (6-0)
I believe these are clearly the two best teams in the GLIAC so this is the game of the year in the conference. ODU hasn't lost a regular season game since 2012 and the Panthers are a veteran team led by senior quarterback Mark Miller. But as I mentioned last week, FSU quarterback Jason Vander Laan is a special talent. I think he gives the Bulldogs a slight advantage. Ferris State 31 Ohio Dominican 24
Delta State (5-0) at West Georgia (5-1)
UWG was embarrassed by rival Valdosta State last week, a game that appears to show that the Wolves aren't quite ready to contend with the elite teams in the GSC. So far this season DSU has been the class of the league and their strength (stopping the run) matches up very well with what UWG does offensively. Delta State 35 West Georgia 18
North Alabama (5-0) at Florida Tech (4-2)
The Panthers recovered nicely from their first D2 loss of the year to Delta State by beating West Alabama on the road last Saturday. The Lions, however, are a tough match up for the young Panthers with the way UNA plays defense and can run the football. North Alabama 31 Florida Tech 20
Pittsburg State (5-1) at Northwest Missouri State (6-0)
For the first time since 2001 the regular season game between these two rivals will be played on campus. These two teams might have the best defenses in all of D2, but Northwest is much more explosive offensively. The Gorillas will have to play a perfect game to keep it close. Northwest Missouri State 27 Pittsburg State 10
Chadron State (4-2) at CSU-Pueblo (5-1)
Both teams have one RMAC and D2 loss so this game is huge in both the playoff and conference race. Although CSU-Pueblo has won five straight in the series, the Eagles have played them very tough during that stretch with the last two games in Pueblo being decided in overtime. The Thunderwolves have had some surprising struggles on the offensive side of the ball the last few weeks so I think CSC has to be a slight favorite. Chadron State 28 Colorado State-Pueblo 24
Ouachita Baptist (5-0) at Harding (5-0)
Expect the clock to keep moving in this one as both teams love to run the football. Harding should have the advantage as they are stingier on defense with just five trips inside their red zone allowed all season. Harding 27 Ouachita Baptist 17
West Texas A&M (4-2) at Texas A&M-Commerce (5-1)
Even though there have been just four weeks of conference play, these are the only two teams in the LSC that don't have two or more conference losses. These two teams play very similar styles with their pass-first offenses, so I expect a high-scoring game. WTAMU has improved quite a bit over the last month and I expect this to be a close game, but the Lions seem to have some magical working this year. Texas A&M-Commerce 45 West Texas A&M 42
Mailbag
[Q] In your opinion is Super Region Three the strongest region and who would be your favorite to win it?
Jason
[A] Yes, I think SR3 is undoubtedly the strongest of them all. If I had to rank the four regions I would have them in this order: SR3, SR2, SR4, SR1.
Northwest Missouri State is by far the team to beat in SR3 and in the country. There are several other solid teams in the region as well, but this is a case of the Bearcats just being "that good." I can't see any team in D2 being able to move the ball well enough against the Northwest defense to beat them.
Minnesota State would have to be the top challenger to NWMSU in the region. The Mavericks are a very solid team but after watching them last week against Winona State I don't feel they are a huge threat. In fact, I think the 2012 and 2013 MSU teams were better.
Contact
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