What have we learned?
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It was a down year for the ASC/SCAC and the South Region in general
Despite exciting stories at places like East Texas Baptist, Rose-Hulman, Rhodes (and Christopher Newport), this was not a banner year for the South, especially so for the SCAC and ASC. It didn’t help that the team with arguably the best chance to proceed in the region (Mary Hardin-Baylor) got left home by the selection committee. It also didn’t help that the same committee gave the 1st and 2nd seeds to teams which both ended up losing on their home field, in so doing forcing teams like Bridgewater and ETBU to endure the rigors of travel. All the models predicted that Mount Union would wallop anyone that came out of the region – and they were right.
Some of my fellow columnists have already used home victories over ASC/SCAC teams to show how much stronger their respective regions were. True this year, gentlemen, but I don’t know how big of a deal it was beating teams like underachieving Trinity (whose three losses were two more than most seasons) or Howard Payne (four losses this year, and they’ve never even been in the playoffs). Let’s see if you can do it again next year before claiming regional dominance, shall we?
Pool B/Pool C continues to fail
I’ll say it again: Drawing a distinction for teams in conferences ineligible for AQs is stupid. C’mon, NCAA, just take the next best teams.
“Strength of Schedule” is arbitrary and doesn’t work for football
When you have as few games to consider as Division III football, you really need a formula that doesn’t throw games out just because a team has the guts to take a 1,000-plus mile plane trip to play a quality opponent. Most of the ASC schools have nobody besides Trinity in region to play non-conference, so they end up playing a D-II opponent or going across country to find a D-III team besides Trinity (which regularly includes two ASC opponents as it is on its non-conference schedule) to play. Had UMHB’s win at Willamette been factored in, it’s likely they, not first-round loser Simpson, would have been the final Pool C team.
Mount Union can be defeated
Even though it took a “perfect storm” to do it, fans all across the region have to take heart that there’s someone out there who finally took it to the Purple Raiders in their second home in Salem. Unfortunately for those same fans, there’s only one John Gagliardi, and Blake Elliott has played his last game. MUC will no doubt come back next year as they did the last time they lost a game, and there are few teams in the nation who will have the luxury of the scouting report prepared for the Johnnies. In any case, congratulations to the Johnnies and Gagliardi; congratulations as well to the Purple Raiders who have set the standard for Division III football for so long (and may continue to do so).
In the meantime, the last team to defeat St. John’s was Trinity, who defeated the Johnnies 41-34 in last year’s semifinals.
Changes ...
East Texas Baptist, behind Ralph Harris’ concept of speed, speed, and more team speed, added itself to the list of teams which must be considered favorites in the annual ASC race. Only inexperience (and some extreme weather — extreme for Texans, anyway) kept the Tigers from advancing past the second round this year.
Rhodes surprised many with its defeat of not only a Pomona-Pitzer club which had defeated Trinity, but Trinity itself. It was the first time since 1992 that the Lynx had defeated the Tigers.
McMurry, after two years without an official win, was much more competitive this year. Only bad luck against Colorado College kept the Indians from a .500 season.
Farewell to:
Former DePauw head coach Nick Mourouzis, who holds the records for wins at DePauw. Unfortunately the Tigers could not play at the level most expected this season, and were out of the conference hunt early in the season.
UMHB quarterback Cody Fredenburg. During his four years, Fredenburg led his squad to a stellar 36-5 record. The five losses were two to Trinity (first round, 2001 and 2002), two to Hardin-Simmons (ASC champions both years), and the agonizing loss to ETBU in overtime this year. Fredenburg was a finalist for this year’s Gagliardi award — but despite a total of three regular-season losses in four years, the NCAA never awarded UMHB a home playoff game so they could save a few bucks on travel.
The SCAC loses two defensive stalwarts to graduation this year. Trinity’s defensive end Jarrod Smith was named first-team All-America to every squad I could find (five, including D3football.com’s), and Millsaps’ linebacker Matt O’Bryant probably would have been had he played for a team that won more than one game. Both will be missed by their respective institutions.
Next season?
It’s too early to do much looking ahead, but here are some of the early story lines that may be of interest next season:
Who will be the early favorite in the ASC? East Texas Baptist is losing a number of players, but most key players will be back. ETBU plays a lot of people during a game, so losses may not impact them as much as it would other teams. Hardin-Simmons will likely be in the hunt, Howard Payne will be if quarterback Adam King can return to 2002 form, and you can’t count out UMHB.
DePauw’s new head coach, Bill Lynch, comes to the school from Division I/II positions at Ball State and Butler. He will have some big-time talent to work with in All-America returner/All-SCAC wide receiver Jamarcus Shepard and quarterback Ross Weithoff, among others.
Maryville won a couple of games this year, snapping a long losing streak. The Fighting Scots in ’04 will have no fewer than four SCAC opponents on its schedule. Will they continue to show improvement?
Break up the SCAC? There have been reports that some schools in the SCAC, and especially Rose-Hulman, are considering changing their conference affiliation. If anything is to happen, we should know next year. Losing one member would cost the SCAC its Pool A bid, so if this does happen you might expect to see the SCAC go after a school such as the ASC’s Austin College to fill out the schedule.
Mary Hardin-Baylor loses a talented core, including the ASC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year. Fredenburg and safety Tony Salazar are just two of the players coach Pete Fredenburg will have to replace. Given the complexity inherent in the UMHB option attack, next year should be very interesting for the Crusader coaching staff.
Trinity is set to return all 11 starters on offense, including fifth-year eligible quarterback Dan DesPlaines and running back Matt Federle. Given that DesPlaines managed to rank in the top 10 nationally in passing efficiency in his first season running the offense, Trinity opponents should be prepared for high-scoring battles in 2004.
Texas Lutheran’s young team (a huge majority of this year’s starters were either first-year or sophomores) should continue to show improvement in 2004. The team played well despite a number of injuries at key positions this season, and while they won’t be in the upper echelon next year, they could spoil a team’s season.
Huntingdon had a tough first year, though it nearly surprised Averett in its first home game of the season. With another year under their belts next year, and more home games (only two were available this year), the Hawks should be in position to win a game or two in 2004.
Can Rhodes build on this season’s success to challenge for the SCAC championship? Quarterback Dan Swanstrom will be returning, as will many of the other Lynx.
Rose-Hulman, with its best record since 1995, could improve further on that next year.
And finally…
Like many of you, I have carped and complained about the job done by sports journalists probably since the time I was old enough to start caring about sports. Well, let me tell you — after having had the pleasure of doing this for a year, it’s a lot harder than it looks. And in Division III, it’s even harder. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all of the Sports Information Directors at the schools in the region. Without these folks — doing a thankless job, and remember, football is just ONE of the sports they are responsible for — it would be virtually impossible to being you any sort of decent coverage. So, no matter what team you support — go to your team’s Web site and drop ’em a line to say thanks.
And thanks to those of you who have read the column, and sent your comments in, during the season. It’s always good to share the passion that so many of us have about Division III sports. A recent article published in the Dallas Morning News, part of a series on “college athletics done right,” features one of the schools in the region and is worth your time. Slowly but surely the folks out in the mainstream media are discovering what we already know — that you can combine athletics with academics without having to compromise either. That’s what Division III should be all about. You can find the article here (registration free but required).
A very Happy New Year to all! Nine months and change to the start of ’04 ...