October 24th, 2017 12:00am
Ferris State senior Reggie Bell is among the most talented quarterbacks in D2, but he is not a serious candidate for the Harlon Hill trophy this year. Injuries have derailed his senior season, and having missed four games already, Bell isn’t going to be able to put up the numbers required to get much consideration for the award.
Bell, however, returned to the lineup against rival Grand Valley State last Saturday and delivered the type of performance that will be remembered by Bulldog fans for years to come. Despite clearly being hobbled by his injury and having to leave the game for a series in the 4th quarter, Bell was there for his team when it mattered most. He scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with just 15 seconds remaining, capping a 60-yard drive to give the Bulldogs a 28-27 victory over their archrivals. For the game Bell passed for 229 yards and rushed for 91 more, despite being nowhere near 100% health.
The rivalry aside, this game was vitally important from a playoff qualification standpoint. Both teams entered the game with a loss, with both realizing that a second loss means teetering on the edge of making the postseason. The game had a playoff intensity to it with so much on the line.
FSU now sits in a great position to qualify for the playoffs. The Bulldogs have Northwood, Davenport and Michigan Tech remaining on the schedule and FSU will be heavily favored in all three games. If the Bulldogs can get Bell healthy then they should be a major factor in the playoffs.
While Grand Valley isn’t in an ideal position, I still think the Lakers control their own destiny. If they win out, they will capture a share of the GLIAC title and I think they will end up in the playoff field, albeit as a low seed. The big challenge here is that GVSU absolutely must win at Ashland (7-1) in two weeks, and that game is probably a tossup for the Lakers at best. AU is the third team from the GLIAC that is very good this year.
Regional Rankings Released
The first set of regional rankings were released on Monday. As I have always cautioned in the past, the rankings have a great deal of moving parts with three weeks remaining, so I wouldn’t read too much into them. I will take a deeper dive into everything as we get closer to the end of the regular season.
News and Notes
-Henderson State lost its homecoming game 24-16 to East Central last Saturday. The loss dropped the Reddies to 4-4 on the season, including 0-4 in home games. HSU has been a consistent contender in the GAC over the last several years, so this season has been a bit of a disappointment. The fact that HSU is having a bit of an off year is what makes the following even more remarkable: The Reddies have won 30 away games in a row, dating back to the 2011 season. The last time HSU dropped a road game was when they lost 28-3 at D-I South Alabama on 10/29/2011. Over that same period HSU has been 23-12 at home.
-Humboldt State senior running back Ja’Quan Gardner was a Harlon Hill finalist in 2015, when he ran for 2266 yards and 25 touchdowns. After a bit of down year in 2016, Gardner is really starting to get going again this year: He has rushed for 508 yards and eight touchdowns in the last two weeks alone. For his career Gardner has rushed for 5345 yards and 66 touchdowns.
-In all of Super Region Two, just four teams remain that have less than two losses. In SR4, there are still nine teams with less than two losses. It will be very interesting to see how the playoff fields shake out in these two regions.
-Gannon’s Mark Jones continues to lead the nation in rushing, with a remarkable 1711 yards through eight games. His season LOW is 150 yards against Shippensburg early in the season. It will be very interesting to see how Jones does this week against an Indiana defense that allows just 81 yards per game on the ground.
Top Games this Week
Minnesota-Duluth (6-2) at Bemidji State (6-2)
Although the playoffs appear to be a long shot for both of these teams, the NSIC North Division title is on the line in this game, so there is a lot to play for. UMD has traditionally been one of the top rushing teams in the country but has strayed from that formula this year, instead relying on the arms of young quarterbacks Ben Everhart and John Larson to move the football. Despite having just the two losses, I thought BSU was a playoff team coming into this season but the Beavers struggled a bit early. They have come on as the season has progressed and with a more balanced offense, I think BSU is the favorite in this one.
Bemidji State 30 Minnesota-Duluth 24
Winona State (8-0) at Minnesota State (8-0)
This looks like the game of the year in the NSIC. WSU has gotten to this point with an efficient offense and an opportunistic defense- the Warriors have forced 23 turnovers this year, including 15 interceptions. They will be tasked with trying to slow down a Maverick running game that averages 326 yards per game on the ground. I think the powerful MSU rushing attack gives them an advantage, although star running back Nate Gunn (1115 rushing yards) went down with an injury last week and his status is uncertain. Even if Gunn isn’t able to go, I give the Mavericks the edge.
Minnesota State 31 Winona State 23
Shippensburg (7-1) at Kutztown (6-2)
Statistically Shippensburg has the top defense in the PSAC this year. The Red Raiders allow just 260 yards and 12 points per game and have already shut out three opponents. However, that defense was exposed a bit in a loss to West Chester three weeks ago and will be tested against Kutztown and Bloomsburg these next two weeks. Kutztown is no slouch either defensively and both teams have done a great job in the turnover margin department (SU is +14 and KU +12).
Despite being on the road, I am going to give the Red Raiders a slight edge because they have a few more weapons offensively. However, the two quarterbacks- Ryan Zapoticky for SU and Collin DiGalbo for KU- are both very effective dual threat player so this should be an entertaining game.
Shippensburg 31 Kutztown 30
West Florida (5-2) at West Alabama (6-2)
It’s very hard not to be impressed by the rapid rise of UWF. In just their second season as a varsity program, the Argonauts find themselves right in the thick of the conference race in one of D2’s best leagues. UWA is coming off its first D2 loss (41-39 at Florida Tech) and the Tigers will be hungry to get back on track. UWF quarterback Mike Beaudry has thrown just four interceptions in 203 pass attempts and for the Argos to have a chance he will have to play an error free game against a defense that has 23 sacks and has forced 21 turnovers.
West Alabama 34 West Florida 23
Mailbag
[Q] As an ex-DII Football player, I would like to consider myself a die-hard DII Football fan. I would rather watch DII than DI or NFL. My friends think that I am nuts, but I love watching young men play football only because they love playing football. No sneaker deals, no full ride-scholarships, no all you can eat until you cant eat anymore money. I know you feel the same way and the effort that you have put into your blog over the years has been very enjoyable and appreciated.
So why knock the MIAA for playing an insular conference schedule? Many of the best teams in DII do not have a single non-conference opponent (Minnesota State or Sioux Falls) or, perhaps, one (Grand Valley State and Ferris State). I think it’s about geography and economics. I am pretty certain that most DII football program*s budgets do not reflect a surplus.
Even though some schools have come into the MIAA and some have left, I believe the MIAA has always been a 12-school conference and, yes, my recollection is that prior to the most recent alignment, the schools did play one non-conference game, which usually was the first game of the year. So, is playing one non-conference game a year out of 11 games that big a deal? What is the argument supporting the need to do that? I am pretty familiar with the MIAA and would suggest that Northwest Missouri State, Central Missouri State, Washburn, Fort Hays State, Pittsburgh State and Missouri Western are not exactly DII light-weights. Both Lindenwood and Central OK have shown some merit this year. Whom, therefore, should an MIAA school play its one non-conference game a year against?
[A] To clarify, Brandon Misener filled in for me last week so it was he who had the opinion that the MIAA’s scheduling is a bad idea. However, I feel the same way he does.
The MIAA sits right in the middle of the country and is surrounded by other D2 leagues. There is no reason- other than laziness- that MIAA schools couldn’t schedule at least one non-conference game every year.
The insular scheduling has spread to some of the surrounding conferences because of what the MIAA has done. Former NSIC commissioner Butch Raymond told me a few years ago that the main reason his conference decided to go with a similar scheduling model is because they wouldn’t have the MIAA teams to play.
I think the main argument for having non-conference games is to help with the playoff selection process each year. How can anyone really determine which league might be stronger each year if there aren’t any non-conference games?
The other argument I would have is that good non-conference games simply create interest in the game. Northwest Missouri used to have some great battles with LSC teams. I remember going to see Danny Woodhead and Chadron State visiting Washburn a few years ago. Those were very compelling early-season matchups that we no longer get to see.
The D3 NESCAC is the only other league in college football that I am aware of that follows a similar scheduling model. If playing non-conference games was such a huge budget drain, wouldn’t most of the D3 and NAIA schools (who presumably have lower budgets than D2 schools) have transitioned to insular scheduling by now as well?
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