October 18th, 2016 12:00am
Many football coaches will tell you that the difference between a good and a great football team is depth, especially at the key positions on the field.
It has become clear after last week that no team in the country has more depth at the quarterback position than the Shepherd Rams. With starter and Harlon Hill candidate Jeff Ziemba sidelined by what the school is calling an institutional issue, the Rams turned to junior backup Connor Jessop, who delivered with the biggest passing game in school history.
Jessop completed 22 of 28 passes for a school-record 480 yards and five touchdowns in leading the Rams to a 70-24 win over West Virginia State. Just for good measure, Jessop also added 65 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground. The Rams had 804 yards of total offense, also a school record.
If you remember, Jessop is the guy who came in cold off the bench against Grand Valley State in the national semifinals last year when Ziemba suffered an injury early in the game. Jessop completed 15 of 20 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns in that game, playing a major role in the 34-32 victory. He is clearly capable of performing at a high level on the biggest of stages.
Ziemba is a four-year starter and I am sure defensive coordinators around the MEC and in Super Region One cannot wait to see him go. But with Jessop waiting in the wings for his turn in the spotlight next season, it is not going to get any easier for opponents.
The quarterback situation at Shepherd is a great example of why winning programs tend to stay winning. When you have depth and can reload instead of rebuild, the wins just keep on coming.
Harlon Hill Race
With a month to go in the regular season, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the Harlon Hill favorites. In the preseason I mentioned that the following candidates were my favorites. It is time to take a look at how their seasons are going:
Ja*Quan Gardner JR RB Humboldt State: Gardner has had another nice year so far, with 669 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. The problem is he is not going to come close to the 2,266 yards he put up last year. The team around him is not as good due in large part to a rash of injuries. With several other running backs already over 1,000 rushing yards, Gardner would need some huge games to get back in contention.
Jeff Ziemba SR QB Shepherd: Ziemba has definitely put up the numbers, averaging 315 passing yards per game with a 185 pass efficiency rating. However, what does missing last week*s game mean for the rest of the season? I suspect we will find out soon.
Trey Heid SR QB Augustana: Heid has had a productive senior season, throwing for 2,180 yards and 24 touchdowns to go along with 467 rushing yards and four more touchdowns. He is second in the country in total offense. However, his pass efficiency rating is down from last year (159 compared to 171) and interceptions (7) have been a problem as well. The Vikings have some stat padding type games coming up in the next month, so I think Heid is definitely still a candidate.
Austin Ekeler SR RB Western State: To me, Ekeler is a front runner for the award at this point. He leads the nation in rushing with 1227 yards and has scored 15 total touchdowns. Ekeler will see a few porous defenses over the last month of the season which will give opportunity to continue to build impressive numbers. Barring injury, I think Ekeler will at least be a finalist this year.
Luke Papillion SR QB Sioux Falls: The 7-0 Cougars lead the nation in total offense. Papillion has racked up 692 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground making him a sure fire candidate right? Maybe not. He has had a rough year throwing the football, with nine interceptions against just 10 touchdown passes good for only a 124 pass efficiency rating.
Justin Dvorak SR QB Colorado Mines: Right now, I think Dvorak is my favorite to win the award. He leads the nation in passing yards (2,752), points responsible for (210) and total offense (2,936). He also has an outstanding pass efficiency rating of 171.
Bart Williams JR QB Grand Valley: Williams certainly has not had a bad season, but he simply has not had to do that much because the Lakers have been up big most of the time. His 164 passer rating, 1,681 passing yards and 14 touchdowns are good numbers, but do not quite compare to other top quarterbacks around the country.
These are a few additional candidates that have emerged this season:
Max Mickey JR RB Sioux Falls: Mickey has come out of nowhere to have a huge season. He has 1,033 rushing yards and has accounted for 12 total touchdowns, but it is his 10.2 yards per carry that make him a top candidate in my opinion.
Lenny Williams SO QB Indiana: Williams leads the nation in pass efficiency (194). He does not have huge numbers because his team has had several blowout wins, but he may be the most talented quarterback in the country and his 10 to 1 TD-INT ratio and nine rushing touchdowns deserve consideration.
Kyle Zimmerman SR QB Northwest Missouri: Zimmerman was off the radar because he was not even a starter last year. However, the season he is having is ridiculously good. Zimmerman has thrown 23 touchdown passes without an interception and has completed over 70% of his passes. He has a 182 pass efficiency rating as well. Being the quarterback on the top-ranked team in the country has to count for something as well right?
Marty Carter SO RB Grand Valley: Like his teammate Williams, Carter*s opportunities have been limited a bit by some blowout wins. But he still has 910 rushing yards and 12 total touchdowns. Watch for the Lakers to really turn Carter loose once the playoffs start.
Bill Brown SR WR Shepherd: I realize that only one WR- Pitt State*s Ronnie West in 1991- has ever won the award. But why not Brown this year? I believe he is the best receiver in the country in addition to being a legit candidate to have an NFL career. He has been remarkably consistent week to week with 766 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in just six games. Plus I bet the Rams really turn him loose in the postseason as well.
Conclusion: If you asked me to pick three finalists today, I would go with Dvorak, Ekeler and Zimmerman in that order. However, there is still a lot of football to be played so it will be fun to see how this plays out.
News and Notes
-It has been a bad year for the CIAA*s East Division. Winston-Salem State (5-2) is the only one of the six teams with more than two wins. It sounds crazy, but Fayetteville State (2-5) still has a legitimate shot of winning the division and appearing in the league title game.
-Nebraska-Kearney beat Central Oklahoma 47-32 to end a 17-game losing streak that dated to the end of the 2014 season. It was also the first win for head coach Josh Lamberson, who is attempting to rebuild the UNK program.
-West Georgia*s freefall continued last week. The Wolves gave up 28 second half points in a 30-7 loss to West Alabama. It was the third straight loss for UWG, which seems unbelievable considering that less than a month ago this team was ranked 2nd in our poll just three weeks ago it is easy to see where the problems lie: UWG has committed 22 turnovers already this season.
-There were some shocking offensive numbers coming out of Pittsburg State*s 55-47 win at Missouri Western. The two teams combined for over 1300 yards of offense and 55 first downs. These two programs usually field much more competitive defenses.
-The most entertaining conference to follow this year has to be the RMAC. With a month to go in the regular season seven of the eleven conference teams sit with two losses in the league. No team has less than two losses. Literally anything could happen over this last month. The only downside for the league is that it may be tough to get a team into the playoffs.
-The Cheyney Wolves broke their 43-game losing streak in the season opener, but things have not gone well since. The Wolves lost 76-0 to Shippensburg last week and they have allowed 61.5 points per game over their current six game losing streak.
-Mississippi College nearly pulled the upset of the season last week against Valdosta State. The Choctaws- winless against D2 opponents so far this year- took a fourth quarter lead against the Blazers but a blocked extra point allowed VSU to ultimately escape with a 42-41 win. Coming into the game VSU had been given a 97% chance of winning the game according to the Massey Predictions.
Top Games this Week
Fairmont State (7-0) at Virginia-Wise (5-2)
The last time Fairmont State started a season with seven straight wins was in 1967, when the Falcons went 11-0 and won the NAIA national title. UVA-Wise had won just five games total in the first three years in the MEC so the Cavaliers are in uncharted territory as well. The Falcons hang their hat on a defense that allows just 12.7 points per game. UVA-Wise has done well in close games but I do not think the Cavaliers will be able to muster enough offense in this one. Fairmont State 28 UVA-Wise 16
Bemidji State (6-1) at Minnesota-Duluth (6-1)
This is the game of the year in the NSIC*s North Division, with the division title and likely a playoff berth on the line. To me, this game centers on the health of BSU quarterback Jordan Hein, who has missed the last couple of games with an injury. If he is available, he will put pressure on the UMD*s porous pass defense. If not, then BSU is forced to stay more ground oriented, which plays to UMD*s strengths. BSU is capable of winning this game, but with the injuries and the fact that UMD has four-year starter Drew Bauer leading the way offensively, I will go with UMD at home. Minnesota Duluth 38 Bemidji State 30
Southern Arkansas (5-2) at Henderson State (6-1)
This was looking like a really, really big game… until SAU lost at Ouachita Baptist last week. The Muleriders are second in the GAC in both total offense and total defense so they are a formidable opponent capable of winning this game. However, HSU has been in many big games over the last five years or so and I expect them to find a way to prevail in this one. Henderson State 31 Southern Arkansas 27
Saginaw Valley (4-2) at Wayne State (6-1)
WSU is very quietly having a nice season, recovering from a week two loss to Ashland to win five straight. The Warriors are led by running back Romello Brown, who is having a tremendous season with 1,000 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns at a ridiculous 9.1 yards per attempt. The Cardinals are definitely an improved team over the 2015 version that went 1-10, but I think they will have their hands full this week. Wayne State 38 Saginaw Valley 24
Edinboro (6-1) at Slippery Rock (5-2)
Edinboro has had an amazing turnaround this season. Under the direction of new head coach Justin Lustig, the Scots have already guaranteed themselves a winning season after going 0-11 last year. They are also getting stronger as the season goes on, winning their last three games by a combined score of 148-47. SRU comes into this game on a downer after getting blown out by rival IUP last week and with an injury sidelining running back Shamar Greene, The Rock is vulnerable. Edinboro 34 Slippery Rock 27
Emporia State (6-1) at Pittsburg State (5-2)
The one fact that really jumps out to me about this game: PSU allows 474 yards and over 35 points per game! The Hornets are a little bit better defensively but certainly no juggernaut. Both offenses are capable of scoring points in bunches so the game probably comes down to turnovers. My gut tells me to go with the Gorillas at home. Pittsburg State 45 Emporia State 41
Mailbag
[Q] You mentioned only 30 teams comprise Super Region Two. It seems ridiculous that seven teams out of that region make the playoffs. Are there any remedies to fix this?
[A] Yes, it is ridiculous but help is on the way. Next year the regions will be realigned so that the overall number of schools in each will be similar. This is what the new regions will look like:
SR1: NE-10, PSAC, MEC, GMAC
SR2: CIAA, SAC, SIAC, GSC
SR3: GLIAC, GAC, GLVC, MIAA
SR4: NSIC, RMAC, LSC, GNAC
Contact
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