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| Bethel had a hard time getting Joey Kidder the ball in space last season, but he has scored 15 touchdowns through eight games with new quarterback Cooper Drews, new offensive coordinator Colin Duling and new head coach Mike McElroy. Photo by Caleb Williams, d3photography.com |
By Greg Thomas
D3football.com
This season has marked a new era for Bethel Royals football. After 35 seasons with Steve Johnson at the helm, the head coach's headset was passed to Mike McElroy. McElroy's first MIAC game could not have been more challenging: The Royals opened conference play against now third-ranked St. John’s, and lost 45-20 to the Johnnies.
That defeat could have signaled that 2024 would be a transition year for the Royals, but Bethel’s response has been to win their next five games by a combined score of 301-15.
McElroy’s first season has come with a lot of change, including the hiring of offensive coordinator Colin Duling.
“You know, in fall camp, you kind of never know what you’ve got,” McElroy says. “You’ve got a veteran defense, and a lot of guys returning and then had to replace a bunch of offensive linemen, a new quarterback, and a brand-new system. So, there are always questions like, ‘Who are we? What are we? How good can we be?’ that you ask in the beginning.”
Those questions have been answered in a big way. Bethel’s offense has exploded this season, ranking No. 5 in Division III in scoring, averaging 52.6 points per game. They’re also 15th in total offense, at 486.3 yards per game. The Royals have evolved into one of the most potent offenses in the country, powered by record-setting seasons by quarterback Cooper Drews and fifth-year wide receiver Joey Kidder.
McElroy has been happy with the progress of the team as they enter a crucial final two weeks of the regular season. “Eight games in now we have a feel for our identity, who we are, we feel encouraged about the progress that we've made. Obviously, there’s still work to do,” McElroy said.
One of the keys to Bethel's offensive surge has been the play of Drews. The sophomore signal-caller, who transferred from St. John’s over the summer, has exceeded expectations in 2024 by setting a Bethel single-season record for touchdown passes at 30. “We knew Cooper had the arm talent to make a lot of throws. We could tell he was going to be pretty good even in fall camp,” McElroy says. “It's been fun to see. I don't know if I saw (the record) coming, but it's been fun to watch him really grow. He’s just such a competitor and a guy who wants to be really good with how he prepares and how he practices. It's just been fun to see him really kind of grow up into a leadership role here.”
For Kidder, the transition to a new offensive system has been an exciting, albeit challenging, process. After spending three years in the same system, adapting to the new playbook and language under Duling required an adjustment. “It’s definitely been interesting,” Kidder says. “Obviously, being in the same system for the last few years [the new system] brings challenges, but Coach Duling has brought a great energy to it. It's been super exciting to get in the mix and be involved.”
Kidder credits the play of Drews and Duling for making the transition smoother: “Cooper has been great as quarterback, and both he and Coach Duling are really motivated people and they want to get the best out of our offense. There have definitely been challenges with learning new things, adapting to new knowledge, and the whole scheme, but Coach Duling laid it out in a way that’s been easy for us to get used to. Now, we’re just focused on mastering it and performing our best on Saturdays.”
Kidder has been performing well on Saturdays for his entire career. He is the most accomplished wide receiver in Bethel history as he holds the school’s all-time records for receiving yards (3,339) and receiving touchdowns (41). He is also second in career receptions, just five behind the school record of 217.
As a player who has experienced both the Johnson and McElroy eras at Bethel, Kidder is uniquely positioned to reflect on the transition. “It’s interesting to really think about it like that,” Kidder says. “I’ve been really blessed to be in a spot where they trust me with the football and allow me to make plays, and I think that’s a credit to Coach Johnson, with all his years of knowledge and experience. He knew exactly what needed to be done to get guys in the right spot.”
Kidder credits the foundation laid under Johnson for his development, as well as the leadership of former All-America quarterback Jaren Roste. Now, as a fifth-year senior, Kidder is embracing his role as a leader. “Being the young guy and trusting in the system was a blessing, but now I’m trying to lean into the leadership role and get guys behind me, especially with Cooper [Drews] starting his first true season as quarterback. It’s been fun watching him grow.”
With the MIAC’s divisional structure, Bethel has the opportunity to earn a second chance to face St. John’s in the Week 11 MIAC championship game and earn the MIAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA playoff. Neither McElroy or Kidder are looking too far ahead. Their focus is on the upcoming challenge against Skyline Division co-leaders Concordia-Moorhead. “It’s going to be a great game,” Kidder says. “That’s exactly what college football is about — two good teams clashing and seeing who will rise to the occasion. Once this week fully gets going, we’ll have some guys ready to get after it.”
McElroy concurs, emphasizing the importance of handling business this week before looking ahead. “Obviously, the coach-speak this week is we’ve got a big game against Concordia,” McElroy says. “We’ve got to go up there and play a tough opponent at their place. They’re physical, they’re playing really well, and almost beat the Johnnies a few weeks ago.”
While a potential rematch with St. John’s is on the horizon, McElroy is making sure his team doesn’t look past Concordia. “For us, it’s about reminding our guys that next week doesn’t matter if we don’t handle business here. For that to be a fun game, we’ve got to really dial in this week on the road in a tough environment.” With so much at stake, McElroy is focused on keeping the team locked in and ready for the challenge in front of them.
With the winner of this week’s game advancing to the MIAC championship, which holds the key to the postseason, Bethel is treating this matchup as a playoff game. In fact, the Royals have been in playoff mode for several weeks now, with every game carrying added weight. “We’ve told our guys we’ve been in playoff mode for about the last three weeks,” McElroy says. “It’s been fun to see the guys respond to that, and hopefully they’ll answer the call again this week.”
A Requiem for the Criteria
Traditionally, this week’s Around The Nation space has been reserved for diving into the first published regional rankings of the season (whether they were actually ranked or not), and taking our first real deep dive into the playoff picture. That column is not necessary this year. Pat and I went through some playoff selection 101 in this week’s Around The Nation podcast and I won’t rehash all of that here. I do have a history with the previous selection criteria, however. My earliest official contributions to D3football.com came around this time of year about 12 years ago and was related to breaking down the playoff picture and forecasting which teams were in line for playoff selection. Our old criteria — win percentage, results versus regionally ranked opponents, strength of schedule (as meagerly as it was measured), results against common opponents — all retired now in favor of the NCAA Power Index (NPI). I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some nostalgia pangs from trying to read those tea leaves each November.
Is NPI better than the previous selection method? The jury is still out. NPI has the advantage of a much higher margin for error when selecting at-large teams. Our old methods allowed us to select as few as four at-large teams. The pressure to pick the very best four was immense. NPI gets to pick 12 at-large teams in the expanded field. Advantage NPI — it’s going to be hard for NPI to miss including a true national title contender.
NPI has also made regional rankings moot. One one hand, regional competition has long been central to Division III, but we’ve seen in recent years that unequal depth within regions can have significant impacts on selection. The ninth best team in Region 2 might be better than the sixth or seventh best team in Region 4, but not count as a ranked opponent. NPI is regionally agnostic, which should better serve regions that have a deep bench of quality teams. This is a win for a national tournament.
Where selection will be essentially instantaneous once all of November 16’s games are concluded, Around the Nation is optimistic that time saved during selection will lead to stronger bracket construction. As D3football.com produces mock brackets each year on the eve of Selection Sunday, we can attest to the difficulty of building brackets that both meet NCAA’s guidelines and maintain balance in a short period of time. Every minute counts, and we can hope that those extra minutes produce strong brackets.
It’s too early to say if NPI is better than the old system or not. Around the Nation is content to see what the first pass of this system produces. In the meantime, we bid one final adieu to our old friends SOS, RRO, head-to-head, OWP, OOWP, all of the gang in the primary criteria. We see you. It was real. Secondary criteria! You were always there for us if we needed you. Now go — join your old friend Quality of Wins Index in the selection criteria of yesteryear. We’re not sorry that our time is over, we’re lucky that it happened in the first place.
Seven ways to Saturday
Whether you need to recap the week that was or get ready for the week to come, D3football.com is your daily source for fresh Division III football content. We’re bringing the content seven ways to Saturday.
Sunday: New Top 25 Poll
Monday: Around The Nation podcast. Pat Coleman and Greg Thomas recap the weekend that was and preview the weekend to come in Division III football.
Tuesday: Team of the Week Honors
Wednesday: Features columns
Thursday: Around the Nation Column
Friday: Quick Hits featuring our panel’s predictions and insights into the weekend’s games
Saturday: Game Day! The D3football.com Scoreboard has all of your links for stats and broadcasts.
I’d like to thank ...
Special thanks to Bethel’s Mike McElroy and Joey Kidder for spending time with Around The Nation this week. Additional thanks to Austin Lagesse, Director of Athletic Communications at Bethel for coordinating our conversations this week!
Read options?
There’s nothing small about small college football. Division III is home to 240 teams, and many thousands of student-athletes and coaches. There are so many more stories out there than I can find on my own. Please share your stories that make Division III football so special for all of us! Reach out to me at greg.thomas@d3sports.com or on X @wallywabash to share your stories.
