Millsaps gets chance to erase miracle finish
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I think the clip had been posted on YouTube or some similar site the first time I saw it. The play of course was the “Mississippi Miracle,” an ESPY nominated, 15-lateral play in which Trinity moved the ball 60 yards on the final play of the game to defeat Millsaps 28-24.
The play propelled the Tigers to yet another Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship, while Millsaps, who had seemed to break Trinity’s dominance of the SCAC a year earlier, was forced to share the title but sat home at playoff time.
The game featured the first match up between SCAC teams ranked in the Top 25. A year later, both teams are in a similar position, though this time both teams enter the contest undefeated at 7-0. The winner is likely to capture the SCAC crown once again this year. The loser will have to hope for an at large Pool C bid.
Millsaps, who has jumped seven places in the last two weeks to move to fifth in the nation, has won nine straight since that game. While Trinity, currently ranked 14th, puts a 36-game home SCAC winning streak on the line.
Though you’d probably be hard pressed to get Majors coach Mike DuBose and his team to admit it, that painful loss has probably provided all the motivation needed this season for Millsaps to get themselves another shot at the Tigers and the SCAC crown. They have beaten opponents by an average of just over 31 points a game in this year’s seven wins.
The Tigers, though not nearly as lauded as Millsaps this season, have been solid themselves winning by an average of 21 points behind a balanced offensive attack. However, the challenge for Trinity in this game may be keeping up with the Majors high powered spread offense that scoring more than 43 points a game.
The way that the Majors have been scoring points most likely makes them the favorite. Despite the lofty ranking, they still have a lot to prove coming into San Antonio to face their toughest opponent thus far. They are still in need of a signature win if they hope challenge for the top seed in the NCAA’s South Region come playoff time.
A win by Trinity would put the Tigers in consideration for a top regional seed also. They are likely to give Majors quarterback Juan Joseph his stiffest challenge to date. Trinity ranks first in the SCAC in pass defense (150 yards per game), and interceptions (15.)
The Majors have seven players who have caught ten or more passes, led by Eric Mcarty’s 42 receptions and eight touchdown grabs. Joseph has completed 65 percent of his passes for 21 touchdowns with only three interceptions. The senior signal caller is also the team’s leading rusher with 200 yards.
I’ll speculate on a few potential pitfalls for Millsaps, aside from a long bus ride from Jackson to San Antonio. Spread offenses sometimes struggle in the red zone where the yards get tougher as the field shrinks. But so far the Majors have been efficient scoring on 81 percent of their trips and scoring a touchdown on 30 of 43 opportunities.
Another challenge may be the pressure of playing in a tight game. The Majors have outscored opponents 180-27 in the first half, making most of their second half an exercise in getting the subs on the field. How will they execute under pressure in a close contest during the fourth quarter? How will the handle adversity when they haven’t had much this season?
The prescription for a Trinity victory will probably need to follow something close to the following: win the turnover battle, control the football with a solid run game and efficient passing game that converts on third down keeping the Major offense of the field.
The Tigers appear capable executing these tasks. The lead the SCAC in turnover margin (+12), time of possession (33:35) and third down conversions (51.8%.) However, their running game has taken a hit as running back Chris Baer, the SCAC leading rusher at 97.3 yards per game, sat out last week with an injury.
Fortunately for Trinity, they have good depth at the position as junior running back Al Furlow stepped in to post over 200 all-purpose yards and SCAC offensive player of the week honors in last week’s 27-13 victory over Sewanee. Furlow rushed for 161 yards on 20 carries and added 8 catches for 72 yards while scoring three touchdowns in all.
And don’t forget Tiger quarterback Bryant Wilson. It is he, not Joseph, who leads the SCAC in pass efficiency this season. He has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes to a veteran receiving corps led by Riley Curry. Wilson has passed for 1629 yards with 19 touchdowns and only five interceptions.
It’s interesting how the rest of the schedule shakes out in the SCAC this weekend. The teams vying for middle of the pack status all meet head-to-head while the teams hoping to stay out of the cellar also match up.
Austin has shaken off a 1-3 to win four straight games including last week’s 17-14 defensive battle over Rhodes. Senior corner Matt Finke led the way with two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick. Finke returned his second pick for a touchdown that provided the winning margin.
This week the “Roos” will host DePauw (5-2, 3-2) in game that could determine who finishes in third place. The Indiana Tigers have won two of three but wins over Birmingham-Southern and Colorado College, who have just one win between them have been less than impressive.
DePauw needed a massive fourth quarter comeback to defeat BSC and then needed overtime to finally put away Colorado College 37-34 last week. Both wins were at home sandwiched between was another disappointing loss to Trinity. This week they will travel to Texas looking to right the ship led by the dynamite passing combination of Spud Dick and Alex Koors.
Both Rhodes (3-4, 1-3) and Centre (4-3, 2-2) are fighting to finish with winning seasons. The Lynx will host the Colonels this weekend in Memphis with the conference’s top defense. Aside from a 49-2 loss to Millsaps, Rhodes has not given up more than 17 points in any game this year. Unfortunately, they haven’t scored that much either.
Centre, coming of a bye week, has won three of four games, with their only loss to Millsaps by a score of 46-26. Quarterback Tyler Osterman has been a dual threat in the air and with his legs.
Despite their dismal records both Birmingham-Southern (1-6) and Colorado College (0-6, 0-5) should put up an interesting battle to stay out of the virtual SCAC cellar. As mentioned earlier, both played DePauw tough recently.
UMHB loss has little effect on American Southwest race
Despite its 40-28 loss to NAIA Southern Oregon, Mary Hardin-Baylor still has the inside track in the to another America Southwest Conference title. However, the loss could affect their playoff seeding, especially since Southern Oregon lost to both No. 11 Willamette and Linfield earlier this season.
The loss dropped the Crusaders to No. 8 in the D3football.com Top 25. However, they look likely to win their last three as they travel to East Texas Baptist, who hasn’t beaten them in this decade. They then finish with Howard Payne and Sul Ross State. HPU is near the bottom of the ASC, but it was the Yellow Jackets who handed the Cru their last conference loss back in 2005.
Hardin-Simmons had to take a little pleasure in their archrivals upset loss. It was the Cowboys, now 7-1 after beating Sul Ross 55-10, who beat Linfield back in Week 2. With only the two-point loss to the Crusaders, HSU is looking like a lock for a Pool C bid.
The Cowboys travel to Texas Lutheran this weekend before finishing with McMurry next week. Hardin Simmons was in a similar situation back in 2005, when Texas Lutheran knocked them out of the playoffs with a 32-27 upset on the season’s final weekend. The Bulldogs (4-3, 3-2) have won three straight entering this weekend.
Pool B watch
With an automatic bid for the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference still a couple years off, the only way the winner of the conference can qualify for this year’s field of 32 is to grab one of three Pool B bids.
What is a Pool B bid you may ask?
Pool B bids are awarded to teams that are either independents or in a conference, like the SLIAC, that does not have a “Pool A” or automatic bid for their conference champion.
At this point two teams in the SLIAC, Huntingdon (7-0) and LaGrange (7-1) are in still in the hunt in Pool B. Neither team appears likely to lose this weekend as Huntingdon hosts winless Principia and LaGrange hosts Eureka (3-4.) This would set a couple of big games in the season’s final two weeks.
Huntingdon will face Hampden-Sydney (7-1), who until a recent loss to Catholic, was ranked as high as 18th in the nation. A win over a team that made the playoffs last season and will be battling for its own playoff life would go a long way in strengthening the Hawks’ Pool B resume. The Tigers defeated the Hawks 34-21 last year in Virginia.
Then, of course, Huntingdon and LaGrange meet on Nov. 15 in a game that could determine which team, if either, earns a trip to the playoffs.
Other teams in the running for a Pool B bid are undefeated Case Western Reserve, Wesley (5-1), Salisbury (7-1), Northwestern of Minn. (6-1) and Husson (5-2). Wesley and Salisbury play this weekend in what essentially comes down to an elimination game.
Regional Rankings
The regional rankings are coming out on Wednesday. The NCAA South Region playoff picture is looking pretty crowded at this point. I won’t even attempt to sort it out yet, but there this an interesting discussion going on over at the General Football section on Post Patterns. Check it out.
Around the South Top Five
1. Millsaps (7-0, 5-0 SCAC)
2. Mary Hardin-Baylor (6-1, 5-0 ASC)
3. Hardin-Simmons (7-1, 5-1 ASC)
4. Trinity (7-0, 4-0 SCAC)
5. Huntingdon (7-0, 5-0 SLIAC)
On the radar: LaGrange (7-1, 5-0 SLIAC), DePauw (5-2, 3-2 SCAC), Austin (5-3, 3-2 ASC)
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