Time to ring the Bell
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The Monon Bell game is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most important three hours of a calendar year for every DePauw and Wabash player, coach, student, and parent. I’d say the same for many alums of both programs. This Saturday, DePauw and Wabash meet for the 114th time at Blackstock Stadium in Greencastle. They’ve played this series to a 53-51-9 mark (in favor of Wabash) to this juncture.
First, let me say that I believe there are three rivalries that are the cream of the crop, so to speak, in Division III football: Williams/Amherst, Cortland State/Ithaca, and DePauw/Wabash, not necessarily in that order. They all share the same feelings and the same atmosphere. Forget the records and forget who is still playing next week. Nothing else matters except one more year of bragging rights and one more year worth of memories.
These two schools are separated by only 29 miles on U.S. Route 231, yet, at the same time, could not possibly be farther from each other. Wabash is an all-men’s school. DePauw is co-ed (thankfully). They play in different conferences. The hate is inexplicably strong. The stereotypes one holds for the other are rather offensive. (You don’t want to know. I promise.)
Yet, the unique thing is what they hold in common with one another. It’s something only they know and they can understand. The final Saturday of every season, the teams and 10,000-plus of their closest friends get together 53 1/3 yards from each other to go to war with everything imaginable on the line. Does that paint a good enough picture? On to the game itself, then.
Wabash is 9-0 and the ninth-ranked team in the country. DePauw is 7-2, with losses to Millsaps and Trinity. The problem that some of the DePauw faithful are pointing to is that Wabash hasn’t exactly seen the stiffest competition this year. The Little Giants had a great opening day win at home against HCAC champ Franklin, but they lost quarterback Dustin Huff on an onside kick recovery late in that game. He hasn’t played a snap since.
The NCAC has not played their best football this season (9-19 in non-conference games), and most Wabash fans would probably agree with that. DePauw is welcome to gripe about that all they like, but this is the third straight year that such a thing has been said. DePauw hasn’t won the Monon Bell in three years. If there is an argument that the SCAC is a stronger conference, DePauw has to start winning this game for it to hold any water.
Sophomore Kyle Hudson has stepped in as the Wabash quarterback after the Huff injury and has played very admirably, completing 128 of his 175 passes for 1710 yards with 17 touchdowns and five interceptions in the nine games he has played in. But, a problem that plagued DePauw last year may be a problem for Wabash this year. This will be Hudson’s first action in a Monon Bell game. That is a factor that must always accounted for. You can attend the game as a senior in high school. You can hold the clipboard for a season or two on the sideline, but until you’re out there, it just isn’t the same. So, with that said, how does one prepare for such a game?
“The big thing about this game is that it’s foolish to pretend like it’s any other game. It’s just not,” said DePauw coach Matt Walker, a 1999 DePauw alum who played in this game. “It’s one of the advantages of the game and playing in it and being a part of it. It’s such a special and unique atmosphere. You have to use all the extra energy and emotion and buzz on campus the right way. Don’t get distracted and use it to prepare. It’s going be different. You know that. If we can prepare that much harder because we have all that energy and buzz, when that whistle blows, we’ll be ready.”
One thing about these two teams is that they both do one thing very well. DePauw will try to run it with Jeremiah Marks and Wabash will throw with Hudson. There aren’t many surprises there. Add in to that the familiarly with the opposition, and everybody knows what’s coming.
“They know what’s coming. We know what’s coming. It won’t be a big surprise. You know what each other is bringing to the table and you just have to execute it,” said Walker. “We won’t surprise anybody with Jeremiah Marks as our running back. We are going to try to be balanced. We will use the run to set up the throw game and be solid on defense.”
Walker also said the Tigers know what to prepare for.
“When you watch them on film, they have very sound and organized attacks on both sides. They play extremely hard. One of their big things is that every play you’re getting great effort from every guy. They’re a system team and they have great coaching. They’re an ‘out-execute team.’ They try to get their players to out-execute you in every aspect. They try to play harder than you,” said Walker. “We aren’t too different in terms of philosophy. We both have similar kids with similar talent levels. (Both teams) have smart kids, good coaches, good programs and good tradition.”
The key for DePauw will be how well they defend the pass. They allowed 475 passing yards to Millsaps and 476 yards against Trinity, the SCAC’s two best passing offenses. Wabash enters play on Saturday as a more efficient passing attack than either of those schools. Walker says they’ve went back to basics defensively.
“Clearly we played really well early. Then we struggled for a while and now we’ve given up six points in the last two weeks. We had a recommitment and a refocus. Some of our defensive leaders have rallied and gotten everybody back on board,” admitted Walker. “We are not going to change anything. We have to stop the run and make them one dimensional. We also need to get some pressure on the quarterback. Doing those things with our normal stuff is the plan. We’re not going to reinvent the wheel. We won’t come out of our coverages a lot with blitzes. We’re old school and that’s what we do. (Both teams) are. We’re not gimmicky. We just try to execute our game plan.”
So the stage is set for 114th time. The thing about this rivalry is that trends are fairly abbreviated. DePauw won five in a row between 1996-2000. Wabash has since won five of six. DePauw has not won this game at home since a 21-7 victory in 1999. This rivalry has been so close over time that large runs just do not occur. If history is any indication, and I like to think that it is in such a rivalry game, the Wabash trend is nearly due to expire.
DePauw has to play their best football to win. They must run the football against a Wabash run defense that has not been as sharp against the run as they have in past years. DPU must contain Hudson and put pressure on him. Despite being just a sophomore, he is primed to be the next great Wabash quarterback in a lineage of exceptional play-callers over the last decade. The Old Gold must get after him and force bad throws.
For Wabash, it all starts with stopping Marks. They’ve had success in slowing him down in the last two Monon Bell games, and that has result in wins for the Little Giants. If he gets loose, DePauw will be controlling the football, the field position, and the time of possession. Those are things they all need to win.
One other thing to remember, this game typically features one key play. One play can change the entire complexion of the game. In 2006, Spud Dick took a late safety with DePauw down by seven. DPU went on to lose 23-20. They scored a late touchdown and missed the extra point. Without that safety, things may unfold differently. Heck, DPU may go for two and the win there. I wouldn’t put that past Matt Walker. The safety eliminated any such chance.
In 2005, Wabash quarterback Russ Harbaugh was ruled down on a might have been/might not have been fumble that led to a Wabash touchdown. They won 17-14. In 2004, Brendan Berigan picked off Harbaugh and returned it to the 1-yard line. Jason Murphy punched in what would be the winning score for DePauw as they won 14-7. 2001’s key play was the last play of the game. Wabash quarterback Jake Knott threw a Hail Mary that was tipped by Ryan Short inside the five and caught in the end zone by Kurt Casper. Wabash won 27-21. I could go on and on. In conclusion, my thoughts are that this game will be close and that whoever has the key play go their way will win this football game.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch …
UMHB rolled against ETBU by a 72-7 count on Saturday to wrap up the ASC championship. They rushed for more than 400 yards. They averaged almost 8 yards per carry. You know, the usual things. They now go to Howard Payne this weekend while keeping their eye on the SCAC scoreboard to see how Trinity fares at Austin. That will tell them everything they need to know about who they will likely oppose in Belton next week.
While Millsaps is playing Birmingham-Southern this week, it doesn’t count as a conference game due to the Panthers still having provisional status. The Majors are done with conference games. If Trinity wins, they are in. If Trinity loses, Millsaps is in. It’s fairly likely that either result would see the SCAC winner going to Belton next week. The only question that remains is where the Crusaders will be seeded. They will likely get at least two games at home. Will they get a third? Or will they have to go to Dover, DE to see the Wesley Wolverines at some point? We’ll learn that this weekend.
One thing to be of note of regarding the Trinity/Austin game: it will be played in Sherman. For those holding out hope of a Austin win, Trinity has been more vulnerable away from San Antonio in the last decade. Austin has also had two weeks to prepare for TU. The question will be how well TU can handle the modified double wing offense that Austin runs. DePauw held the Kangaroos to six points, Millsaps held them to 10, and Rhodes held them to 13. If Austin can move the football, they may have a chance. They did not in this game last year, losing 34-7 after amassing only 148 rushing yards. They’ll have to run the ball exceptionally to have a chance on Saturday.
We’ll have more on UMHB and their eventual opponent in next week’s Around the South Playoff Super Extra Huge Bonanza. Stay tuned for that.
Games worthy of opening that Live Stat/Video/Audio feed
12:00 CST: 114th Monon Bell Classic: Wabash at DePauw. You’ve got plenty of ways to access this one. The game is broadcast on HDNet, if you happen to get that channel. WGRE and Wabash both have radio and there will be live stats, as well. Check it out. Also, shoot me an email if you’re going to be in attendance and want to give me food and/or beer at your tailgate! I’m just saying…
1:00 CST: Trinity (Texas) at Austin. Millsaps fans everywhere have their fingers crossed. I think it’s safe to say that Majors fans have never rooted so hard for a marsupial.
1:00 CST: Sewanee at Rhodes. I’m a sucker for rivalry games. This one is for the highly coveted Orgill Cup. Just indulge me once in a while, please.
Best of the Week
Hardin-Simmons running back Quinton Jones leads us off this week. His 12 carries resulted in 255 yards (21.2 yards per carry) and four touchdowns in the Cowboys’ 63-34 win at home against TLU. Millsaps quarterback Juan Joseph went for five touchdowns on 27-for-40 passing for 346 in Millsaps’ 68-6 win at home at Colorado College. Talk about a surprising result there. CC turned it over six times and allowed 669 yards of Millsaps offense. Yikes. Included in that was 305 rushing yards. Millsaps did that without a single player going over 100 yards. Also on the offense side, Mississippi College receiver Jake Allen caught just seven balls for 205 yards and three scores in the Choctaws’ 31-10 win over HPU.
Defensively this week, Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Jared Freeman tallied 11 tackles, two sacks, and forced a fumble in the Crusaders’ big win against ETBU. Centre’s Tyler Moody rung up 15 tackles with a fumble recovery in the loss at Trinity.
ATR Top 5
1. No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor (8-1, 7-0) at Howard Payne
2. No. 13 Trinity (8-1, 5-1) at Austin
3. Millsaps (7-2, 6-1) vs. Birmingham-Southern
4. Mississippi College (7-2, 5-2) at Sul Ross State
5. DePauw (7-2, 5-2) at No. 9 Wabash
Everybody won last week. I didn’t get any complaints. I think we’ll just leave it the same.
Medium for submitting response
Contact me at wes.anderson@d3football.com with feedback of any nature including, but not limited to: queries, suggestions, recommendations, compliments, criticisms (behave, Wabash fans), disagreements, conflicts, quarrels, sticking points, differences of opinion, incongruities, or factual inaccuracies.