Rita throws wrench into conference races
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Let’s start with the less complicated of the two conference scenarios. No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor’s game at Louisiana College was called off and will not be rescheduled per the conference office. This leaves UMHB, which has already defeated TLU, needing “only” to win out to claim the championship. If Hardin-Simmons wins out, it will claim the championship. Where things get interesting are if:
->Hardin-Simmons defeats UMHB, and
->Texas Lutheran defeats Hardin-Simmons
So, you have three teams with one loss in conference play, and go to the three-way tiebreakers, right? Wrong. Per the ASC office, “the conference will use won-loss percentage to determine the champion and order in the standings.” In this scenario, the winning percentage for TLU and HSU (8-1, .889) would be higher than that of UMHB (7-1, .875). Instead of a three-way tie, there would be a two-way tie between TLU and HSU.
The first tie breaker for a two-team tie is head-to-head results, so TLU would get the ASC’s Pool A bid. Co-champion HSU and third-place UMHB would have to fight it out for Pool C bids. I tend to think that both a 9-1 Hardin-Simmons and an 8-1 Mary Hardin-Baylor would get Pool C’s, but the NCAA has previously ignored two one-loss UMHB squads. With this year’s additional four Pool C bids, that should no longer be a concern.
With the ASC picture lined up, we can look at the mess the SCAC faces. Citing travel concerns, DePauw (1-1, 0-0 SCAC) called off Saturday’s game at No. 13 Trinity (3-0, 0-0). This was the smart thing to do; DePauw’s Friday flight from Memphis to San Antonio would have had to either fly over the top of Rita, or fly several hundred miles out of its way to avoid the cyclone’s effects. The conference office has not yet ruled out somehow getting this game in, despite the difficulties and cost involved in changing the schedule. Why? The answer lies in the conference’s tie-breaking process. The SCAC has but a single tie-breaker — head-to-head results — for a two-way tie. If Trinity and DePauw don’t meet, it is very possible that both could end up atop the conference standings with a 5-0 record — and with no way for the conference to select who gets the automatic bid to the playoffs.
The conference either has to rework the schedule so that all conference games can still be played (several interesting scenarios have already been posted on the SCAC Post Patterns board) or adopt a new tie-breaking process, presumably before this weekend’s games get underway. Another option for the SCAC would be to adapt some of the rules used in multi-team tiebreaker situations as secondary tiebreakers in the two-team case. The last word from the SCAC office was “we are looking at a couple of different options to reschedule,” and that tiebreakers were “on the board … for discussion.” A scenario in which an 8-1 DePauw is awarded the SCAC’s Pool A could represent the conference’s first real chance to get a Pool C bid, especially should Trinity go undefeated. Fairly or not, an 8-1 Trinity could face an uphill battle to get in. Stay tuned to D3football.com for further updates on the SCAC’s decision.
One of the other conference members could certainly render this discussion moot by defeating either Trinity and/or DePauw. Rose-Hulman (3-1) has looked strong with the exception of a 49-7 loss to Mount St. Joseph in Week 2. Last year’s two-headed quarterback experiment is history, and the Terre Haute faithful have been rewarded by an offensive unit averaging 45 points per game in its three wins. Elsewhere, Centre is having its best season in several years. None of its wins have been by more than 11, but 4-0 is 4-0. We’ll have a better gauge of Millsaps’ conference chances after this week’s game versus Huntingdon.
Elsewhere around the region …
Rita felt: No. 4 Hardin-Simmons (3-0, 2-0 ASC) and Mississippi College (0-2, 0-1) got their game in despite rains and wind courtesy of an ever eastward-turning Hurricane Rita. Slick conditions and 40-mph winds no doubt contributed to the Cowboys’ narrow 14-0 victory. Jordy Bernhard performed well under difficult conditions in his first career start for HSU, completing 18 of 28 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns. The Choctaws can take heart from holding HSU to its lowest output in nearly three years (since a 14-9 victory over McMurry on Nov. 9, 2002).
Quick hits
A few things that stood out this weekend:
->Good to see Wes Satterfield back on the field for Sewanee. The team, which had struggled in recent weeks, was down to its last quarterback after Satterfield’s replacement was injured two weeks ago. With Satterfield on the mend from a broken throwing hand, the Tigers (1-3) ambushed visiting Maryville (TN) 33-14. Satterfield, showing no lingering effects of his injury, ran for a career-best 156 yards and four touchdowns while adding 135 through the air. George Twitty added a touchdown with a 33-yard interception return. Sewanee’s 34 points were more than in the Tigers’ first three games combined. Maryville fell to 1-3.
->When does 0-2 mean more than 2-0? When you keep it close against Top 20 teams. Texas Lutheran proved that point by destroying visiting McMurry 41-20. The Bulldogs (1-2, 1-1 ASC) forced seven turnovers in the rout, and led 35-0 before pulling starter Sean Salinas early in the second half. Salinas hit Jason Trahan on a 95-yard pass for Texas Lutheran’s last score with the starters intact. McMurry quarterback Ty Sellers was intercepted three times and fumbled once, but still accounted for 396 yards of total offense. His 73-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter was the highlight of what otherwise was a long night for the up-and-coming Indians (2-1, 0-1 ASC). It’s a shame that Sellers is a senior; he is certainly making the most of his year in Division III.
->Charley Key’s five touchdowns led Rose-Hulman (3-1) to a 45-13 win at home over Oberlin (1-2). Quarterback Cameron Hummel added 178 yards through the air and a team-high 86 yards on five carries, one of which was a career-best 75-yard touchdown run. This marks the second time this season that Key scored five touchdowns in a single game. As you might expect, Key leads the conference in scoring (18.0 points/game); he also leads the SCAC in rushing (117.8) and all-purpose yardage (148.8).
->Centre (4-0, 1-0 SCAC) kept humming along, dealing visiting Washington & Lee (2-1) its first loss of the season. The Colonels held a 14-7 lead after a defensive-minded first half before the teams traded touchdowns on four consecutive possessions in the third quarter. With Centre scoring first, the Generals couldn’t get any closer than the final margin. Adam Blandford had 96 of the Colonels’ 260 ground yards, and Adam Clark tallied a season best seven catches for 135 yards.
->Surprises? Belhaven (1-2) dealt Millsaps (1-1) its first loss of the season, 30-13. I had hoped that an improved Majors squad could do better against their NAIA foe. The Majors will be happy to finally play a Division III team, Huntingdon, next week. Speaking of Huntingdon, the Hawks remained undefeated (3-0) with a narrow 16-10 win against Rhodes (1-2). The Lynx turned the ball over seven times (four times on downs and three turnovers) and lost despite out gaining their opponents by nearly 3-to-1 (418-156). Huntingdon has a better record against SCAC teams (2-0) than any actual SCAC members.
->No surprise: Howard Payne (1-2, 1-1) handed Sul Ross (2-1, 0-1) its first loss of the season, 38-16; East Texas Baptist (2-1, 2-0 ASC) got by Austin College (0-3, 0-2), 16-6.
Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about
Hardin-Simmons announced their 2006 schedule this week, and it’s notable for a number of reasons. First, it’s the first ASC schedule we’ve seen that takes into account Austin College’s departure to the SCAC. Second, and more important, Jimmie Keeling is stepping up the non-conference schedule even more than this year, when the Cowboys faced Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Sure, the Pointers are back in ’06, but HSU’s replacement for Austin College is … wait for it ... none other than defending champion Linfield. That’s no small step up and is a credit to both programs. Hardin-Simmons will return the favor in ’07 when it will travel to McMinville.
Über-quarterback Brett Elliott will be gone; even so, signing a team that might come into Abilene as the two-time defending champion takes a lot of guts. Wouldn’t it be nice if more teams, rather than dodging tough opponents in non-conference play, actually sought them out? Congratulations to the respective brain trusts in Abilene and McMinville for setting this up. I’ve already got 9/16/2006 circled on my calendar; that’s the date the Wildcats make their first visit to West Texas.
By the way, people keep popping up on the ASC chat board saying “Huh? Austin College is moving to the SCAC?” Get with the program, people; not only was it a headline article last May, but this makes four out of five weekly columns that it’s been mentioned here.
Odds and ends
While they certainly didn’t schedule it this way, Saturday will mark McMurry’s fourth straight game against a winless opponent. Barring a huge upset, the Indians will play five straight games against 0-for-2005 teams. Teams on McMurry’s schedule, with pre-game records and game results:
->Week 1: Menlo (0-0); @McMurry 40, Menlo 30
->Week 2: Austin College (0-1); @McMurry 33, Austin College 6
->Week 3: Texas Lutheran (0-2); @Texas Lutheran 41, McMurry 20
->Week 4: Louisiana College (0-2) @ McMurry
->Week 5: McMurry @ Mississippi College (0-3 unless it defeats UMHB)
South Region Game of the Week
Not much on the ol’ calendar this week. Huntingdon tries to stay undefeated against visiting Millsaps to keep the Pool B home fires burning. Trinity’s league-leading rushing defense (64.7 yards/game) faces off against Rose-Hulman’s league leading rushing attack (234.2 yards/game). East Texas Baptist will try to build on the momentum of two straight ASC wins at Sul Ross. The real “game of the week” will be the SCAC’s announcement regarding rescheduling or instituting a new tie-breaker.
South Region Top Five
1. Mary Hardin-Baylor (2-0, 1-0 ASC)
2. Hardin-Simmons (3-0, 2-0 ASC)
3. Trinity (3-0, 0-0 SCAC)
4. Centre (4-0, 1-0 SCAC)
5. DePauw (1-1, 0-0 SCAC)
Honorable mention: Texas Lutheran (1-2, 1-1 ASC), Huntingdon (3-0, 2-0 against SCAC teams), Rose-Hulman (3-1, 0-0 SCAC)
Next week
We’ll see what, if anything, the mailbox brings us. Questions, comments, and story ideas are always welcome at ron.boerger@d3football.com.