November 28th, 2001 12:00am
What’s that line about on any given Saturday?
Was it the lack of grass? How about the noise? These and numerous other reasons were quickly offered after Pitt State’s 38-0 defeat by North Dakota. The one reason that did not seem to get enough attention was that the better team won – easily.
North Dakota won this game in style. The only offensive category it did not dominate was kickoff returns, but then it had only two, the game opening kickoff and one following a third period safety. Pitt State had the unenviable opportunity to return six kickoffs following UND scores.
About the only disappointing aspect of the game from UND’s standpoint was the attendance. 8222 out of the 12,500 available seats were occupied. In addition to missing the sound beating of MIAA champ, Pitt State, those not attending did not get to see a new NCAA playoff field goal record set by UND’s Cameron Peterka. Peterka booted a 59-yard shot seconds before the end of the first half.
UND added to the notion that defense wins championships. It’s “D” totally dominated Pitt State. Domination is the right word, too. How else do you describe a defense held Pitt State to minus 19 yards rushing? By doing so UND took Pitt State’s primary offensive weapon away and left it to do something it has not done well all season, which is throw the ball. On this score Pitt State’s quarterback Neal Philpot did not do too badly, throwing for 151 desperation yards. His completion ratio, however, was only 40.7%, and he was picked off twice and sacked three times. Essentially Pitt State was never in this game. This was the first shutout of Pitt State in 19 years. Perhaps a bigger embarrassment than the shutout was that Pitt State lost to UND by a larger margin than Winona did a week earlier. The “lowly” Winona unit lost to UND by a 42-28 score.
If you can imagine it, someone out-passed UC Davis’ quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan and lost.
Tarleton State’s Steve Kelly was 26 for 49 for 332 yards, but he threw only one TD pass. J.T. O’Sullivan threw for 252 yards.
Third down conversions made a major difference in this game. Tarleton only managed to convert two of its 13 third-down tries while Davis was 8 for 11.
The game was a real battle through three quarters. After being tied at the intermission Davis took a four-point lead into the final period before breaking the game open. Following a Tarleton score and a two-point conversion only three points separated the two teams with about eleven and a half minutes remaining in the game. Nineteen seconds later Glenn Adriatico ended it by returning Tarleton’s kickoff 65 yards for the final tally of the game.
This given Saturday was not Tarleton State’s best, but the way this game went suggested that if the two teams met again it would be no sure thing to assume the outcome would be the same. This game ended with Tarleton notching the second most victories in school history and ending the year as co-champions of the Lone Star Conference.
Normally if a team loses its starting quarterback this late in the season it is in serious trouble. Losing its backup normally would suggest packing up the gear and waiting for next year. Last week, however, Grand Valley dug deeper into its depth chart, pulled out its third string quarterback and moved on to a post a three-point win over Saginaw Valley.
In one regard this game was a notable switch from normal for Grand Valley. Usually Grand Valley dominates the passing statistics, but in this game Saginaw had a 213-136 edge in the air. The difference, however, was that three of 22 passing attempts ended in the end zone.
Behind 17-13 at the half Grand Valley brought in third string quarterback Ryan Brady. With 9:44 left in the third quarter, Brady hit Phil
Condon for an 11 yard touchdown and gave the Lakers a lead they would not relinquish. After SVSU fumbled a Laker punt, Brady hit wideout David Kircus for a 38-yard touchdown, his third score of the day, which gave the Lakers a 27-17 lead. The Cardinals quarterback Matt LeFleur then scored with a minute remaining in the quarter. The extra point was blocked by Kircus making the score 27-23 entering the fourth.
The defenses battled for much of the final quarter until Ryan Brady ended a 10 play, 4:53 drive with a three-yard touchdown run to give the Lakers a 33-23 lead. The Cardinals scored with 3:27 left but Grand Valley ran out the clock to end up with the 33-30 victory. Reggie Spearmon led the Lakers ground game with 113 yards and Ryan Brady added 88 yards as GVSU gained 276 yards rushing. Wojciechowski threw for 77 yards and two touchdowns and Brady added 59 yards through the air and two TD strikes. Kircus led the Laker receivers with four catches for 73 yards and three touchdowns.
And now there are four. Getting down to two will be tough.
UC Davis travels to Grand Forks to play on an artificial surface indoors. Although the venue and playing surface will be somewhat foreign to the Aggies, they might be just what Davis needs to make its second trip to the title game. Nineteen years ago the Aggies faced Southwest Texas State for the national title when the game was played in McAllen Texas. The Aggies went home 34-9 losers.
This game is an interesting contrast in styles. Although the Aggies’ stats suggest they have an edge over the North Dakota Sioux, Davis’ massive stats have not translated into a massive scoring edge over opponents relative to what the Sioux have done. Davis has outscored its opponents by a 488-272 margin while the Sioux have outscored their opposition by a 444-167 margin.
Davis may have solved one of its perennial problems regarding crippling mistakes. Last week against Tarleton State the Aggies were assessed only 24 penalty yards. It will take another relatively penalty-free outing for the Aggies to win this weekend.
Although the Aggies’ reputation is as a passing team, finding yardage through the air will not be as easy this week as it has been. North Dakota has allowed only 1904 yards through the air, which is nearly half what Davis was able to gain against its previous competition. Interestingly although the Sioux have rushed nearly 14 percent more times that Davis, the Aggies have scored nearly 58 percent more touchdowns rushing than North Dakota has. It is also interesting to note that despite its passing reputation, Davis has scored only two more touchdowns passing than North Dakota.
If there is a meaningful edge in this game it could be the Davis’ ability to convert third and fourth down situations into first downs. Davis has converted more than 50 percent of both 3rd and 4th down situations. North Dakota has converted 70 percent of its fourth-down situations, but that’s only seven for ten. The more important stat is third down conversions, which occur much more frequently, in which Davis holds a big lead.
The simple way to look at this game is to think it will be a game where North Dakota will prevail if it stops J.T O’Sullivan’s passing or Davis will win if it can play nose to nose with North Dakota in the trenches. Both views dramatically oversimplify this game. Clearly there are style differences between the two squads, but neither team will be able to focus on stopping only one aspect of the other’s game. This game could be the most interesting contest among the major teams this entire season.
Catawba’s visit to Grand Valley has some similarities to the Davis-ND game, but the contrasts in style are not as strong.
With Curt Anes sidelined Grand Valley loses one of its most valuable weapons. Another week of preparation for its two backup quarterbacks should help Grand Valley, but it may not help enough.
Aside from Grand Valley’s obvious passing threat, the biggest thing Catawba has to fear is that it will not be able to repeat last week’s fortuitous outing against Valdosta.
Catawba tied the game with only eight seconds remaining in regulation and then won it with a three-pointer in overtime. Catawba was trampled in nearly every offensive category but managed to take advantage of its opportunities. A critical Valdosta fumble in the first period probably was the difference in the game. Valdosta had moved to Catawba’s four-yard line when it turned the ball over. This and an interception of a Dusty Bonner pass on Valdosta’s own 16 that ended in a Catawba score were the game-deciding plays.
Although Michigan weather at this time of the year can be rough, the forecast suggests weather will not be quite the issue it might otherwise be. Rain is in the forecast, which might give Grand Valley a slight edge.
If Curt Anes was in the lineup it would be easy to suggest that Grand Valley will be the winner. But he will not be. The big question is whether Grand Valley has had enough time to get everyone in its passing game on the same page. It would be a major surprise if one week was enough.
Catawba last week proved that in this time of one-and-done, any of the four teams playing this weekend is capable of putting together a winning effort, which makes predicting winners a silly exercise. Of the two contests, however, the UC Davis-North Dakota battle likely will be the more interesting.
We now have the names of the Harlon Hill final three. They are Curt Anes from Grand Valley, Dusty Bonner at Valdosta and Josh Ranek from South Dakota State.
Last week we made it abundantly clear that we favor Ranek. This view has not changed, but the decision is not in our hands. The Harlon Hill committee will make the final determination. The winner will be announced at the Harlon Hill Award banquet Friday, December 7, the eve of the championship game.
What I write now will have no bearing on the outcome of the Harlon Hill decision, and therefore I feel less constrained in mentioning Ranek’s name one more time.
The selection of the Harlon Hill Award winner is not supposed to consider a player’s entire career. It instead is supposed to only look at the current year’s performance. Using this as the main guiding point, Ranek probably does not get the nod for the award.
But how do you not reward one of the Division’s top long-term performers? Last season Ranek lost out to Dusty Bonner. If indeed Bonner is so vastly superior to Ranek then perhaps it is justifiable to consider Bonner ahead of Ranek again this season. But he is not. Don’t believe me. Ask NFL scouts.
Josh Ranek has been one of the poster boys for D-II football. Being a good kid, however, does not automatically qualify anyone for an award, but when you combine throw everything into the mix, including performance, Ranek ranks as one of the best in the Division all-time at his position, which is no small feat considering the list of excellent running backs that have played D-II ball over the years.
There is no sense going over Ranek’s contribution to his team and D-II football. It would, however, be a major oversight for him not to receive tangible recognition of his achievements. Anes has another year to win the award. Bonner already has won it. Ranek has not received the recognition he deserves.
There would be no better time than right now to correct this error.