September 26th, 2001 12:00am
It’s out.
The first official regional poll was released earlier this week. For the most part there were no huge surprises, but to no one's surprise, some fans think there are “glaring errors”. It should be noted, however, that this is the first poll. Many changes are likely in coming weeks.
The Midwest seems to have most of its list correct. The debate over whether North Dakota State belongs above Nebraska-Omaha (which is true in the D2football.com and the AFCA polls) or not. Fortunately this issue will be resolved on the field when the two teams meet in Fargo ND November 3, assuming, of course, that it is not settled by conference play before then.
The Northeast rankings appear reasonable, but there is one issue that regular season play unfortunately cannot resolve.
Grand Valley was slated to meet Northwood September 15, but the game was cancelled in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. Northwood had the best chance to unseat Grand Valley, but the game cannot be played.
Likewise the IUP-New Haven for the same weekend was cancelled. Both cancellations could have an impact on the playoffs.
Aside from the notion that all four teams have vested interests in the playoffs, if there are no upsets in coming weeks, Grand Valley will retain the top seed in the region, which would assure it of home field advantage throughout the playoffs. If (and it is a big if) IUP had gone to New Haven and won, it would have had a claim on the top spot, but now it has no way to claim that spot unless Grand Valley loses. The best it could hope to do, assuming Grand Valley wins out, is to be second in the region and get only a first round home game.
In both cases, assuming that the teams will go the rest of the way undefeated may be a great leap of faith. Based upon the schedules of the two teams Grand Valley has the better chance to do it, but there certainly will be some heated discussions if they both remain undefeated. Grand Valley already defeated its second most difficult competitor when it walked over Saginaw Valley 38-7 in game two.
New Haven was victimized by the cancellation also, particularly since it lost to North Dakota last weekend. As noted in this column last week, New Haven needs a win over a top-ranked D-II team to give it a shot at a tournament spot. A defeat of IUP would have gone a long way toward moving New Haven toward that position. But, that chance is gone. Based on its schedule it will take a major effort by New Haven and several losses by others to get the Chargers into postseason play.
The South Region is fine in the first three slots. Tuskegee's fourth spot ranking may be deserved by its on-field play, but as was stated in this column several weeks ago, Tuskegee's unwillingness to declare itself as a willing participant in the tournament taints poll status. The total absence of West Georgia and Central Arkansas from the list appears to be a major oversight. Both, however, can play their ways back into the group, but as has happened several times in recent years, coming from nowhere to the top four is difficult even if a team wins most of its remaining games.
The West seems fine as it is. The battle for slots two through four, however, will be interesting. And then there is the chance that one of UC Davis’ I-AA games could become a source of heated debate if the Aggies manage to lose one or more of them.
An interesting issue from last week’s play was Slippery Rock’s loss to Edinboro. A stiff ‘Boro defense and opportunistic unit overall allowed the Edinboro Scots to upend the clearly favored Rock unit. The consequence was that the for the first time in many years Rock played its way totally out of the regional rankings. But being totally missing from the poll is a mistake.
If you assume that the rankings should include the best teams in each of the regions, then the Rock should be in the Northeast mix. It may not have all the personnel it had the previous few years, but this year’s version is capable.
Could the team have been looking ahead to this weekend’s game with IUP? SRU’s coach, George Mihalik, did not think so.
An “inexperienced offensive line and inexperienced quarterback” were the major reasons Mihalik cited for the loss. He also cited “some confusion” on offense as another possible reason.
Although clearly the Edinboro loss was disappointing, Mihalik said he was, “shocked” at not being included in the top ten of the Northeast Region rankings.
That could change in a hurry if the Rock manages to beat IUP. According to Mihlalik SRU needs to “keep it close” and “not get into a shootout” if his unit is to beat the Indians. He credited IUP’s quarterback, Brian Eyerman, and his added experience plus increased depth at the receivers’ slots as reasons why this year’s IUP team is “a bit better” than last year’s playoff squad.
For the Rock this game could be the season. A win over IUP gets the Rock back into the Northeast Region playoff mix. A loss probably ends it chances for postseason play.
Although the Midwest rankings don’t look bad, Northwest Missouri is not in the top five – and it should not be – not yet anyway.
The Bearcats lost a tough battle in their opener on the road to Nebraska-Omaha. Since then they have won three games, crushing two in the process.
The rap on the ‘Cats is they are young and need to gain more experience. If so, then it appears the lessons experience teaches are being learning well. The ‘Cats will be tested soon. The “final” as some people might describe it, is only three weekends away when the ‘Cats meet Pittsburg State. The final regular season game against Emporia State also could be interesting and a potential stumbling spot regardless of how the ‘Cats do against the Gorillas.
And then there are the Javelinas at Texas A&M-Kingsville. Following a disastrous encounter with the rulemakers at the NCAA and a year of playoff prohibition, the Javelinas are back in their normal tournament-contending position. Based on what appears to be the probable level of competition they face in the Lone Star Conference, it is more than merely possible that the Javelinas again will be in postseason play and maybe at a better location than their current fourth spot in the West Region.
Usually fairly early in a season if not even before it starts, fans begin debating the relative merits of individual players. Some of the conversations focus on the prospects players have for winning the coveted Harlon Hill Award, but more often the discussions center on the chances players have to play in the NFL. At times participants in these discussions need a reality check.
Watching excellent performances from various athletes makes it easy to forget something critical when measuring the performances against NFL standards. The fact is these performances are in a D-II environment.
Like it or not, the reality is that, especially at “skill positions”, it is very difficult to equate individual performances to what the NFL wants. There is no doubt that many D-II players are superior athletes, but they probably fall short in one or more categories that led them into D-II uniforms and not D-I garb. Size often is the difference.
When you look through NFL rosters you find very few D-II players at skill positions. D-II’s representation is much greater on the offensive or defensive lines.
This year the hot debate is whether Dusty Bonner at Valdosta or J.T. O’Sullivan will be on an NFL roster next year or not. Both had memorable 2000 seasons. Both have started off this year well. But realistically this means very little.
Over the years very few D-II quarterbacks have ended up in the NFL. Several years ago Kevin Daft at UC Davis and Chris Greisen from Northwest Missouri State appeared to have the tools to play in the NFL. Daft is essentially gone from the NFL mix after spending time on several rosters. Greisen is still with the Arizona Cardinals, but in three seasons he has appeared briefly in only five games and thrown only 16 passes. Daft and Greisen appeared to have the best hopes of any quarterbacks in many years to play in the NFL yet those hopes have not become reality.
It was not many years before Daft and Greisen carried the D-II quarterback banner when another Valdosta quarterback, Lance Funderburk, was setting D-II passing records that still stand. After a brief appearance in an NFL training camp, Funderburk is now playing for the Carolina Cobras arena league team.
And then there is Brian Shay, one of the best players to ever wear a D-II uniform. If the size of someone’s heart were the criteria for playing in the NFL, Brian would be an All-Pro. It is instead his physical size and maybe a half-step in his gate that has him watching games on television and not playing.
There certainly are notable names from D-II schools playing in the NFL at skill positions, but you count them using the fingers of one hand.
This is not meant to be negative about the athletic ability of top-notch D-II players. As noted earlier many are excellent athletes who’s only failing may be not being big enough to withstand the pounding of the NFL. Their lack of size by no means diminishes their athletic ability, but it does diminish their NFL capabilities.
The focus on NFL potential to some degree is out of hand. Not playing in the NFL is not a mortal sin nor necessarily any indication of athletic inferiority. The funnel players go through narrows to a very small opening at the bottom – small enough to allow only a few to make it through to an NFL career. In our view too many fans focus on the NFL as a yardstick against which players’ worthiness is measured. It also sets up a lot of players for major needless disappointments.
To some extent D-II offers what few other NCAA levels do. It is the nearly ideal combination of highly competitive play with excellent athletes that sets the Division apart. The fact that many of its participants eventually do not wear NFL uniforms is not relevant.
In fact at this point in the season only one D-II skill position player, Lamar Gordon at North Dakota State, appears to have the magic combination to play regularly in the NFL. There are several defensive players who may don NFL gear next year, but they are a very small minority of the players who will be eligible for NFL play.
Forget the NFL. D-II athletes in many regards make watching football a much enjoyable experience than watching some of the highly paid crybabies playing on Sundays anyway.