A midseason look at the races
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IIAC
Favorite: Central has once again maintained its hold on the top spot in the IIAC battling through injury and back-to-back overtime victories. Tim Connell has been the ultimate leader from the quarterback position. The defense is stingy allowing just 8.6 points per game. Throw in a strong special teams led by punter Brant VerMeer and his 41-yard average and the Dutch appear to have the complete package.
Disappointment: Luther has performed well the past two years finishing at 5-3, including a victory over Wartburg last season. They were picked by the IIAC coaches to finish fourth this season but the Norse are struggling at 0-4. The loss of power house running back Tyler Sherden has hurt this team. Close losses (six points) to Wartburg and Central have hurt this teams psyche.
The Big One: Nov. 4, Central at Coe
Last season Coe won a close one at Central 17-14 and the two teams went on to finish co-champions of the conference. This year the showdown will come at the end of the season. The catch this year is that Coe already has a loss on the year to upstart Loras. Another loss to Central would likely zap their chances at a repeat as conference champion. A Coe win could lead to another log jam at the top of the conference. When the two teams meet look for them to grind it out with Neil Suckow leading the way for Coe and Vance Schuring carrying the load for the Dutch.
MIAC
Favorite: With a relatively easy disposal of the formerly undefeated St. Olaf Oles, St. John's moves into the top spot as the clear favorite in the MIAC. Quarterback Alex Kofoed's gutsy 300-plus-yard performance with a thumb injury against St. Olaf proved his leadership. The defense continues to improve and the offense can hurt you on the ground or through the air. If Kofoed can return to 100% and avoid further injury, the Johnnies will ride him to the conference championship and a return to the playoffs.
Disappointment: Concordia-Moorhead has been an absolute mystery this year seemingly playing to its level of competition rather than the consistent smash mouth football that made them conference champs in 2004. After consecutive losses to open the season, the Cobbers had the Johnnies down 10-0 in the fourth before giving up two late touchdowns to lose 14-12. They have followed that up with two wins, however, in less than convincing fashion. They needed overtime to dispose of conference doormat Augsburg and tallied a less-than-impressive 21-3 victory against Hamline. They have yet to find a replacement for back-to-back MVP quarterback Brian Schumacher and have been forced to experiment with three different guys. The running game is still there for the Cobbers but the swagger from two successful years is sorely missing.
The Big One: Nov. 11, Bethel at St. John's
There could be shades of 2003 with this game, however, without the all-time collegiate coaching wins record at stake. Bethel lost 29-26 in 2003 in the last regular season conference game to lose the conference. If the Royals can shake the memory of a bad loss to Carleton and continue to play their stingy defense, they could find themselves playing for a share of the MIAC crown again in 2006. The offense will need to develop a better passing attack and rely less heavily on running back Phil Porta. Bethel's defense, which allows a league leading 7.8 points per game, will determine how far this Royals squad can go.
NWC
Favorite: Even after the 2-2 start, Linfield still gets favorite status. They haven't lost in the NWC since 2001 but will likely get more pressure this year than those in recent memory as Whitworth has a very strong team. However, with drubbings of Willamette and Puget Sound, the Wildcats have shown the 0-2 start was a fluke. With Trevor Scharer taking the reins at quarterback and Travis Masters being a special teams spark, the Wildcats look poised for another run through the NWC.
Disappointment: Willamette is sitting at 1-4 with blowout losses to Gustavus Adolphus, Western Oregon and Linfield. Their lone win is against Menlo by a touchdown in the Oaks' inaugural season in the NWC. Willamette was picked to finish third in the NWC in the coaches preseason poll and still could but the talent drop off after Linfield and Whitworth is enormous.
The Big One: Nov. 4, Whitworth at Linfield
This game will decide the NWC and it should be a doozy. Two high-powered offenses clash with Linfield looking to show they are not ready to pass the NWC torch just yet. Quarterback Joel Clark leads the best Whitworth team in recent memory. With a solid running game and a passing attack as good as any in the nation, Whitworth feels it is their year. Linfield has figured out their quarterback issues and are starting to hit on all cylinders hanging 42 points per game over the last two games. This game has the making for an instant classic. Send the defenses home as this will be a real shootout.
SCIAC
Favorite: Cal Lutheran may feel like it has a claim to the favorite title but Occidental gets the nod after back-to-back trips to the playoffs. The Tigers have followed quarterback Andy Collins lead and rolled to their 21st consecutive regular season win last week over Redlands. The defense has come together to replace the void left by MVP Mike Bryant. The only factor playing against Occidental and other SCIAC teams is their weak schedules. Very few have played solid NWC teams or traveled to the Midwest to challenge a WIAC opponent as several NWC teams have done over the past years. Occidental's win at Concordia in 2004 shows they can play with the Midwest teams but this is a new squad in 2006. Time will tell how far they go.
Disappointment: Redlands is plummeting after winning the SCIAC title back-to-back in 2002-03. Sitting at 0-4, the Bulldogs have at least played three Top 25 teams in Whitworth, Trinity (Texas) and Occidental. They should be able to salvage the rest of their SCIAC schedule but this team is clearly not the cream of the SCIAC crop as it was in the early '00s.
The Big One: Oct. 28, Occidental at Cal Lutheran
Cal Lutheran has won 18 of its last 19 with the only loss coming to Occidental last season 41-9. The Kingsmen felt betrayed when they didn't make the playoffs in 2005 with a one loss record. Their schedule strength hurt them in that regard. They need to get a win over Occidental this year if they want to get into the playoffs. A one loss record in 2006 won't look any better than it did season. This game should be a phenomenal battle as two of the best quarterbacks in the country square off in Occidental's Andy Collins and Cal Lutheran's Danny Jones. Look this to be a high scoring affair and the winner to take the conference as no other teams appear ready or able to make a run at the crown.
WIAC
Favorite: UW-Whitewater has held on firmly to its No. 2 ranking all season and should make another strong run into the playoffs. Quarterback Justin Jacobs can beat you through the air and running back Justin Beaver is a workhorse on the ground. Derek Stanley has emerged over the past 12 months as a strong threat at receiver. The Warhawks have played well to this point but now reach the meat of their schedule with games against top 10 teams UW-La Crosse and Mary Hardin-Baylor. Strong performances in these games will determine if Whitewater is poised to return to the Stagg Bowl.
Disappointment: Picked to finish third in the WIAC in the preseason coaches poll, UW-Stout has been bit by the late collapse bug having lost three in a row in the final three minutes of the game. The Blue Devils should be able to figure things out and close out games in the future but it may be too late to compete for the conference title.
The Big One: Oct. 14, UW-La Crosse at UW-Whitewater
This matchup between Top 6 teams should be a classic WIAC grind it out battle. Both teams enter undefeated and looking to get an early leg up on conference title implications. Whitewater won on the road last season 29-23.
Travis Masters the kick return
Linfield kick return specialist Travis Masters has been a spark plug for the Wildcats special teams all season. He returned a Puget Sound kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown on Saturday in helping Linfield to a 42-17 victory. Masters totaled 150 kickoff return yards on the day notching his second 90-plus yard return for a touchdown on the season. He returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in the opener vs. Western Oregon. Masters is averaging 39 yards per return on eight opportunities.
Oops, Oops, Oops, Oops
UW-La Crosse picked up a 28-21 victory over UW-Platteville on Saturday but it didn't look good to start. The Eagles turned the ball over on their first four possessions including two interceptions by quarterback John Schumann and two fumbles by running back Corey Geldernick. UW-Platteville was only able to squeeze seven points out of those turnovers. Schumann redeemed himself throwing three touchdowns including the game winner with 2:40 remaining in the game.
Beaver boots it
Buena Vista kicker Chris Kemmerer sealed the Beavers' second consecutive IIAC win with a 34-yard field goal with 41 seconds remaining to down Simpson 15-14. The Beavers scored 15 unanswered points and Kemmerer launched a 74-yard punt was instrumental in getting the Beavers good field position for his eventual 20 yard field goal. Later in the game, Kemmerer boomed a 64-yard punt that Simpson fumbled on the one yard line and Buena Vista recovered. Kemmerer finished the day 3-3 on field goals from 20, 22 and 34 yards and launched nine punts for a 42.9 yard average.
The Buena Vista coaching staff credits his development in part to the addition of D3football.com All-American Carlos Martínez to the coaching staff. Martínez, a former Beaver kicker, has spent the past three seasons in the Arena Football League. After missing his first two field goals of the year, Kemmerer has made eight of his last nine attempts.
Close but no cigar
It's been said close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Being close has been no consolation for UW-Stout. The Blue Devils lost their third in a row on Saturday by a combined total of seven points. They lost in overtime to Whitworth in Week 4 after giving up a touchdown pass with three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Last week a touchdown pass by UW-Platteville with 3:08 remaining sealed a four point loss for the Blue Devils. On Saturday, UW-Stout gave up a seven yard run to UW-Oshkosh with 13 seconds remaining in losing 23-21.
One-liners
• UW-Whitewater running back Travis Reuland had three one yard rushing touchdowns on the day in the Warhawks 31-13 victory.
• The Pacific Lutheran defense spent 43:22 on the field Saturday and only gave up 19 points to the high-powered Whitworth offense in a 19-7 loss.
• While entering the game undefeated the past two years, St. Olaf has been outscored by St. John's 100-30.
• Central freshman Nathan Craft scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 4-yard run to beat Luther 19-13 in overtime.
• Whitworth has opened the season 5-0 for only the second time since 1960.
• Bethel held Gustavus Adolphus to 88 yards total offense.
Game to watch
No. 6 UW-La Crosse at No. 2 UW-Whitewater, Whitewater, Wis., 1 p.m.: This could be the game of the year in the West Region. Take a look above for a breakdown of the game.
Remember, I am always interested in your ideas for stories. I'm bound to miss something covering five conferences and a handful of independents. Have a story idea? E-mail me at adam.johnson@d3football.com.