How do you spell
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'Mary-Hardin Baylor' spelled backwards is 'really darn good football team'
Well, that was fun. 47-14. Mary Hardin-Baylor gained 555 yards. Hardin-Simmons gained 223. Mary Hardin-Baylor ran for 351 yards. Hardin-Simmons ran for 35. Mary Hardin-Baylor ran 85 plays. Hardin-Simmons ran 57. I think you get the picture.
UMHB coach Pete Fredenberg said his team played great.
“I was extremely pleased with how we played, especially in the second half. Hardin-Simmons scored twice in the second quarter and got some momentum. We came out in the third quarter and took it away.”
Looking at the numbers for the Cowboys, they didn’t play all that poorly. In fact, I think they played fairly well. However, they could have had some more success running the football. Only 35 yards on 28 carries, but that isn’t how they make hay. They needed to throw the ball very well to have a chance. They were going to need huge successes from quarterback Justin Feaster to win. Feaster didn’t put up bad numbers: 17-for-29 for 188 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Those don’t look all that bad on their own. But, they weren’t the 350-plus yards through the air and four or five touchdowns that I thought they’d need to stay in the football game.
I’ll say this: Mary-Hardin Baylor is a great football team. Not just pretty good. They have truly become one of the elites at this level. They have the right recipe for success. Run the football often, and run it well. Play great defense. Fredenberg said that has been the plan all along.
“Obviously, that’s what we wanted to do when we started the program. We think it goes hand in hand. If you can run, it helps make both sides of the ball tougher. That’s what we prescribe,” he said. “The great thing is that we’ve been blessed with being able to recruit some running backs.”
How good are the Cru? Could they hang with Mount Union and UW-Whitewater? I can’t say that I know for sure. I think they’ve got a chance. Fredenberg wouldn’t say, either. He was quick to praise both programs.
“We have not achieved near the things that Whitewater and Mount Union have achieved. We’re just in our growing stages,” he said. “With the great job that (Mount Union head coach) Larry (Kehres) has done, there just isn’t anybody better. We learned an awful lot about Whitewater last year and what great athletes they have and a great job they done. It’s hard to compare. It’s a place we want to be. It’s why you play a team like Whitewater and hopefully get to play a team like Mount, to get your team to that same level.”
Pat Coleman and Keith McMillan had a nice take on this in Monday’s podcast. I’d recommend that to everybody who may be pining for something with a little more expertise.
We’re going to learn a lot about the top of the Top 25 in just a couple of weeks. No. 2 UMHB heads to No. 3 UW-Whitewater on the 27th. We’ll be able to see who stands where at that juncture.
As far as Hardin-Simmons is concerned, they are now out of the Top 25 at 2-3. They are all but officially eliminated from postseason play. I don’t think UMHB is going to lose twice more in the ASC. Call it a hunch. That said, I can’t place blame with the Cowboys for playing a tough schedule. They’re still one of the best teams in the South. Unfortunately for them, they won’t be able to showcase that in the postseason.
I admit, I chew my fingernails
... and after Saturday, I have none left. Do you ever get that sore feeling in your fingertips because you chewed them too much? I’m working through that after this weekend’s ballgames. Nearly every game in both conferences was close. I just get so nervous. I can’t help it.
In the ASC, ETBU needed an extra session to stay undefeated in conference play as they beat McMurry 19-12. Texas Lutheran and Howard Payne went over the century mark on the scoreboard with nearly 1,100 combined yards as the Bulldogs squeaked a 55-48 winner. Bryant Villa connected with Jerry Clouse with 20 seconds left for the game-winning score. Mississippi College gave back almost every bit of a 35-6 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but hung on to beat Louisana College 42-34.
In the SCAC, DePauw scored from 21 yards out on a Spud Dick connection to Bryan Mulligan with 44 seconds left to come back and win 28-24 at Birmingham-Southern. Austin beat Sewanee by just a field goal, 16-13. Millsaps did beat Centre by a wide margin, but entered the fourth up only 9-7 before reeling off 20 straight points. Trinity/Rhodes was close until late in the fourth while Rhodes dialed up three unanswered scores to pull away.
DePauw’s going to try it again
DePauw is going to try to beat Trinity for the first time on Saturday. They still have not accomplished that feat since joining the SCAC. It seems like it’s always something, too. For the sake of digging up past emotional trauma for myself and other DPU faithful reading this column, let us review the recent history.
2006: DePauw goes 2 for 6 in the red zone and turns it over five times. Somehow, they still lead 15-13 with 5 minutes left before Trinity scored 13 unanswered to win 26-15.
2005: DePauw couldn’t fly in to San Antonio because of Hurricane Rita. Trinity wins the tiebreak. They go to the dance.
2004: This one is probably the worst. DePauw led by 12 with 5:30 left. Trinity scores once. DePauw can’t run out the clock. Trinity gets the football and goes 80 yards on 11 plays. Dan DesPlaines finds Robert Kelner in the back of the end zone on fourth and goal from the 9-yard line with 10 seconds left. Trinity wins 29-28.
2003: Tied at 17 in the fourth quarter. DePauw punts from its own 25. The snap goes over punter Ross Wiethoff’s head and out of the back of the end zone for a safety. 19-17 Trinity. Following the ensuing kick, DesPlaines goes to Kolby Brailsford on the first play of the drive for a 69 yard touchdown. DPU scores a late TD, but can’t recover the onside kick. Trinity goes on to win 26-24.
So, after I've taken a short break to destroy all of the nice things in my apartment in a blind rage, I'm ready to talk. Because of the Trinity loss to Rhodes last week, any chance that DePauw had at earning the SCAC’s automatic qualifier is now essentially gone. DePauw’s best chance to earn it was to shoot for the three way tie. They needed to beat Trinity and then needed Trinity to beat Millsaps for that to occur. Since Trinity has a conference loss, no such tie can occur. Millsaps would have to lose twice for DePauw to earn the AQ, which seems awfully unlikely. Both DePauw and Trinity would now have to win out to have a chance at playoffs. Trinity can still win the AQ with a win at Millsaps, but can’t afford to lose again until then.
Before we go too much farther, I must touch briefly on what happened in Memphis. Undoubtedly the shock of the season so far is that Trinity played as poorly as they did in Memphis last weekend, losing 27-13. TU coach Steve Mohr said his team failed its first big road test.
“We knew (Rhodes) was a difficult place to play. We weren’t tested yet. Rhodes had played a little better competition than we had. That's not taking anything away from Birmingham (Southern) or Colorado (College). There’s a comfort level playing at home. We hadn’t been tested, especially on the road. We came right out of the gate and played our worst quarter in years. We had three turnovers and penalties,” Mohr said. “We had a chance in the third quarter, but couldn’t get the ball in the end zone. When you do that, you give a team a chance to hang around.”
So this Saturday will be a do-or-die for both teams. One team’s playoff hopes will stay alive and one team will be eliminated. I asked Mohr how he thought his team matched up with the other top tier teams in the conference:
“I don’t know where we’re at yet. I honestly don’t. It’s hard to gauge. Last week proved that we have got some weaknesses. One of them is playing on the road. It is a factor when you have to travel. When you look at who wins at home and who wins on the road, there’s a distinct advantage to playing at home, especially in our conference,” admitted Mohr. “It’ll be interesting to see how our kids rebound from this loss.”
I believe that DePauw will give you a different look than just about everybody in the conference. They’ll setup with a couple of tight ends, a fullback or two, and a bunch of only one or two wide reciever sets. Almost everybody in the SCAC runs some variation on the spread with a couple of exceptions (Austin and Centre among them). Does playing DePauw, who wants to line up and pound the football, change Mohr’s strategy any from any other week against the spread?
“They’re going to try to control the clock, run play action against you. We haven’t been very successful trying to line up and run the football. We’re going to go into it with the same game plan that we have every week. We’re just going to try to execute like we normally would.”
Last week in this column, I spoke about how good The Black Flag (Trinity’s defense, for those not familiar) has been. They had a little hiccup last week, but Mohr is still pleased with his defensive unit.
“Our kids have a lot of confidence. Our coaches do a great job,” he said. “Our kids do a good job of flying to the football.”
One complaint Mohr had was that he hadn’t seen the same turnover margin from his defense.
“We had some success and forced turnovers last year. We had 10 interceptions (at this point) in 2006. We have four in 2007. We want to try to win the turnover battle. We lost it on Saturday and lost the game.”
So here’s what is on the line. With a Trinity loss, Millsaps essentially clinches the automatic qualifier to the playoffs and Trinity is all but eliminated from going to the postseason. With a DePauw loss, any hope that DPU had of playoff contention is essentially gone. All that would be left would be to keep circling Nov. 10 on their calendars for the 114th Monon Bell Classic.
If DePauw is healthy, I expect another dandy in this rivalry. My brief keys to the game: DePauw is going to have to run the football well to win. They need to keep their defense on the sideline and win the time of possession. Trinity must force 3rd and long and get some pressure on quartebrack Spud Dick. If DePauw has to throw, and Trinity is able to force Dick into some bad throws, Mohr’s defense will have done it’s job.
One small programming note
Those of you who follow Division III football closely are likely familiar with Sul Ross State linebacker Mike Flynt’s story. The 59-year-old started at linebacker for the Lobos more than three decades ago before he was dismissed from the team before his senior year. He’s now back as a grad student and suiting up every Saturday. He sat down with Jim Rome on Rome is Burning on ESPN last week. You can see that interview right here.
Games worthy of opening that extra live stat/audio/video feed
12:00 CT: Trinity (Texas) at DePauw. See above. One of the last chances for both schools to get on board the train to the postseason before it leaves the station.
2:00 CT: East Texas Baptist at Hardin-Simmons. How many weeks is ETBU going to stay tied atop the ASC standings? ETBU will be facing their second quality opponent of the season, and they failed to score a single point against the first (Trinity).
Best of the week
Let's see who was good this week. Mississippi College running back Chris Blanton had a nice day at the office. 168 yards and five touchdowns on 27 carries in the win over Louisiana College. Howard Payne quarterback Jason Lovvorn went for 500 and five touchdowns on just 19-for-33 passing in the barnburner with Texas Lutheran. Colorado College receiver Chris Alisiani caught nine balls for 190 yards and three scores in their 44-14 win at Macalester. And a special shout-out to the kicking game this week: Mary Hardin-Baylor K/P Joel Munoz was 6-for-6 on extra points, hit a 28-yard field goal, and went over 43 yards per punt last week. Being only the punter might be a pretty boring job at UMHB. Good to see the kid is keeping himself busy by kicking, as well.
My ATR Top 5
1. No. 2 UMHB (5-0, 4-0) vs. Lousiana College
2. Millsaps (5-1, 4-0) at Sewanee
3. No. 19 Trinity (4-1, 1-1) at DePauw
4. Mississippi College (4-1, 3-1) at LaGrange
5. DePauw (2-1, 4-1) vs. Trinity
I've done a little flippity-flop this week. Millsaps up to No. 2 and Trinity down to No. 3. This week I'll get emails from the Trinity fans chewing me out instead of the Millsaps fans. Here's my logic. Both teams have a loss. Millsaps lost to a better football team. I put them No. 2 for that purpose. I still think they're fairly interchangeable. I think you could rank them either way. I've got to penalize Trinity for losing last week. I suppose that's the best way to do it. I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- I think Millsaps should be a Top 25 team.
Miss. College moves up to No. 4 with the Hardin-Simmons loss. I really don't know what to do here at the bottom. Hardin-Simmons may be better than either MC or DPU. HSU did beat MC, but it was close. I just don't know. I do have a hard time putting a team that's 2-3 in my Top 5, regardless of who they've played. I understand if you think they're the fourth best team in the region. Go right on ahead and put them in your Top 5. I won’t be upset. I probably won’t even argue with you. I just went a different direction.
I also could have put ETBU at No. 5. However, I said to myself, "Self, DePauw has one loss to a good football team. ETBU has two fairly ugly losses. Why don't you slide the old alma mater in there?" And I did. I don't like to think of this section as rocket science.
Medium for submitting responses
Hey, thanks for all the great feedback you folks sent last week. I sincerely appreciate it. Feel free to make me feel good about myself more often at your own leisure. Or chastise me because I'm not giving the school you follow a fair shake. That is also acceptable. If you choose that route, beware of impending lengthy e-mails in response and never-ending debate! You have been warned.
Contact me at wes.anderson@d3football.com with feedback of any nature including, but not limited to: queries (How are your fingertips feeling?), suggestions, recommendations, compliments, criticisms, disagreements, conflicts, quarrels, sticking points, differences of opinion, incongruities, or factual inaccuracies.