October 17th, 2017 12:00am
Brandon Misener
D2Football.com Editor
I had the opportunity to travel to Truman State this past weekend to watch the Bulldogs host the #4 Grand Valley Lakers. Although the game was not competitive – the Lakers scored 42 points in the first half and coasted to a lightning-shortened 42-7 win.
GV quarterback Bart Williams seemingly went untouched in the pocket on his way to a perfect 15-for-15 first half. He accounted for 290 yards and threw three touchdowns.
One thing Grand Valley has done successfully, and this even dates back to the Chuck Martin days, is not overuse players simply to rack up meaningless statistics. In 2006, the Lakers seriously limited the rushing attempts of quarterback Cullen Finnerty until the playoffs, where they turned him loose. This allowed him to stay healthy and eventually will his team to the National Championship.
Star running back Marty Carter only carried the ball nine times in the entire football game. In fact, the most carries Carter has had in a single game was 17, which has happened twice.
The Lakers are getting healthier every day and if they are able to make the playoffs, the should be ready to roll and Carter should be ready to carry a huge load.
In spite of the result of the game and what has been a disappointing season, not everything is negative in Kirksville.
It is nice to see Truman commit to its football program. Not only was the turf brand new, the Bulldogs made some upgrades on their stadium. If anyone had been to their old stadium, they probably remember a press box that is one person deep with a catwalk behind the box to move about. The new Truman press box has hospitality suites at each side with plenty of space for radio, television, and print/internet members in middle.
One topic that I constantly had to field from administrators, media, and fans was that of the MIAA Football schedule. I had at least 10 people who knew me complain about the MIAA policy of conference-only games.
I have long complained about the policy, but thought I was a lone wolf. However, the general sentiment is that the MIAA should open up its schedule to accommodate non-conference games and its refusal to do so is not a good look for the conference.
News and Notes
- Speaking of a lighter workload, the Northeast10 schedule resumed last week after taking the previous week off. That is right, the entire conference did not play a single game on the week of October 7. While the regional rankings are not out yet, a cursory look at the records shows that Assumption (6-0), New Haven (5-1), and Bentley (4-2) are all potential playoff participants. It will be interesting to see if the week off helps one or more of these teams come playoff time.
- IUP gained control of the PSAC West race with a 34-17 win over Slippery Rock. The Rock jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the game, but IUP dominated the rest of the way. At 7-0, the Hawks might not face a team with a winning record until the final week of the season. This team could very well be the strongest SR1 team in recent memory and the PSAC team that might be able to wrestle control of the region out of the hands of Shepherd.
- West Alabama took control of the GSC race when a late touchdown propelled them to a 34-31 win over West Georgia. I listened to this game driving back from Kirksville. The spotty cell coverage in central Missouri forced me to switch back and forth between broadcasts. It was interesting to hear the different perspectives between the two broadcasts. The Tigers are undefeated against D2 teams, which means they will be treated like an undefeated team for playoff purposes.
- Upset of the week? That would seem to belong to Fort Lewis, who beat former #7 CSU-Pueblo 35-24 last week. The Skyhawks beat CSUP in 2014, the year the Thunderwolves won the National Championship (it was also the last time FLC played CSUP at home). It was only the third win of the year for FLC. It is the second loss of the season for Pueblo, after being upset by West Texas A&M earlier in the year.
- After starting the season 1-2, Minnesota Duluth has rattled off four straight wins. The only potential stumbling block for the Bulldogs is Bemidji State in two weeks. If Duluth can slip by BSU, they should finish the season 9-2 and be right on the cusp of playoff participation. It will be interesting to see how the early season losses to Sioux Falls and Minnesota State as well as the poor SOS of the NSIC North comes into play when the teams are selected.
Top Games This Week
Game of the Week
No. 4 Grand Valley (6-1, 5-0) v. No. 8 Ferris State (5-1, 4-1)
This is obviously the game of the week and is one of the best of the year.
The biggest question in this game is the status of Ferris State quarterback Reggie Bell. He was injured in week two of the season and has not played since. His presence would be a huge boost for the Bulldogs.
He threw for 343 yards and ran for 140 yards in the first meeting between the two teams last year, although he did not factor heavily into their playoff matchup because he was splitting reps at quarterback by that point.
In his absence this year, sophomore Travis Russell is completing only 52% of his passes for 144 yards per game.
Ferris coach Tony Annese might or might not have been playing coy when he told the Grand Rapids Press that he is legitimately unsure of the status of Bell.
As I mentioned before, the Lakers are getting healthy at the right time and they were able to go deep into their lineup last week at Truman State.
The playoff implications are huge. These two teams are, without a doubt, two of the best seven teams in an extremely strong Super Region 3. However, an upset loss by GV to Indianapolis to start the season and a Ferris loss to Ashland the week after Bell was hurt makes this almost a must-win game for both teams if they want to be in the playoffs.
A healthy Bell and his ability to run could make a huge impact in this game, but anything less tilts this game in favor of the Lakers.
Other Top Games
New Haven (5-1, 4-1) v. No. 16 Assumption (6-0, 5-0)
After a close game with Kutztown to open the season Kutzotwn has been rolling opponents. They will face their toughest competition of the season when New Haven shows up on Saturday. The only loss for the Chargers was a one-point loss to LIU Post.
The Assumption balance and dominance is impressive and the Greyhounds should prevail in this one, setting up an end of the season contest with Bentley as the only hurdle to the possible top seed in the SR1 playoffs.
Virginia Union (5-2, 4-0) v. Bowie State (6-1, 3-1)
There are obvious playoff implications for both teams.
Virginia State is 6-0, first place in the North Division, and could finish 10-0 with a victory in the CIAA championship game. Both of these teams are in the North and both trail VSU. At this point, a path to the championship game is not likely.
Essentially, with the poor records in the South Division, this game could end up deciding the second possible CIAA playoff participant.
No. 20 Central Missouri (5-2, 5-2) v. Washburn (5-2, 5-2)
The winner remains in the playoff hunt. The loser is likely eliminated. Both are very good football teams. Their region is extremely tough.
North Alabama (3-3) v. Central Washington (7-0, 5-0)
This will be a good litmus test to judge Central Washington and their chances should they make the playoffs. Even though UNA is an uncharacteristic 3-3, they are still a tough opponent. A win over UNA would also give the GNAC another out of conference win. It should help Humboldt State as well.
Southeastern Oklahoma (6-1, 6-1) v. Southern Arkansas (5-2, 5-2)
Southeastern is the only GAC school without multiple losses. If SAU is able to win, it could theoretically eliminate the conference from the playoffs.
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