September 20th, 2011 12:00am
This is my eighth season writing for this site, and I have been following D2 football for a heck of a lot longer than that. I can't remember anything quite as chaotic as what we witnessed last weekend.
Five of the top eight teams in our poll lost, including the top two teams. Grand Valley dropped a second straight game, getting the Lakers (1-2) off to their poorest start in 11 years. On the other hand, New Mexico Highlands shocked Colorado Mines, leaving the Cowboys with a 3-0 record-- their best start to a season in 43 years.
And it wasn't just the games on the field that were odd. Western New Mexico had its team bus catch fire and burn up on Friday on the way to face Fort Lewis. Thankfully no one was hurt, but the Mustangs lost all of their equipment and were left scrambling to replace everything in time for the game, which they won 26-17.
Disasters aside, seasons like this one make D2 football a great deal of fun to follow. Here's to more "chaos" in 2011.
Random Thoughts from Last Week
-Nebraska-Kearney had another huge offensive day (649 yards total offense) in a 52-10 win over Colorado Mesa. UNK now has 1973 yards through three games. In case you're wondering if this offensive explosion is related to a lack of competition, the Lopers also put up 700 yards on the same Wayne State team that shut out Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday. I'd say the Lopers are for real.
-The inaugural Lone Star Football Festival at Cowboys Stadium would have to be considered a success after it drew nearly 25,000 fans for the three-game event. North Alabama beat Abilene Christian 23-17 in the highest profile game but I think both teams are capable of playing better football than they did on Saturday.
-Our two preseason All-America quarterbacks are off to slow starts this season. Abilene Christian's Mitchell Gale has already thrown more interceptions in two games (four) than he did all of last year. Tusculum's Bo Cordell has thrown just three touchdown passes to go with five interceptions and is down almost 100 pass yards a game from last year. Cordell also broke a bone in his foot last week and will likely miss some playing time.
-Northeastern State and Central Oklahoma are a combined 1-7 right now. Both programs had better get things turned around fast with MIAA membership starting next year.
-From 1978 to 2009 Carson-Newman owned a 32-game winning streak over Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bears have now beaten the Eagles two straight years after a 20-7 win on Saturday.
-The conventional wisdom is that stopping the run is a great way to win football games. That theory isn't working at Catawba this year. The Indians are giving up a measly 23 yards per game on the ground (best in the country) but are 0-3 because of a pitiful offense that has scored just 21 total points in three games.
-In addition to Catawba, the list of winless teams still includes Augustana, Fort Valley, Shaw, West Liberty, Central Washington, Tuskegee and Tarleton State. Wow.
-I don't usually bring up games played against teams outside of D2 simply because they mean next to nothing when it comes to deciding who makes the playoffs. But New Haven took the fourth ranked FCS team in the country (William & Mary) to the wire before losing 13-10. Impressive.
-I mentioned New Mexico Highlands and its 3-0 start, but I didn't mention the fact that the Cowboys have done it despite committing an incredible 59 penalties in those three games. Southern Cal and Louisville transfer Jordan Campbell has been a huge addition to the Cowboys. Campbell was one of the top recruits in the country coming out of high school and it definitely shows as he has been a one-man wrecking crew for NMHU. Not only does Campbell have 11.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions from his natural linebacker position, but he is also the team's short yardage back and handled the punting duties last week.
WVIAC Slipping?
Two years ago, I noted in this column that the WVIAC was rapidly becoming a very solid D2 conference. My reasoning was that Seton Hill reached the playoffs in 2008, West Liberty reached the 2009 playoffs, and Charleston was an up and coming program that just missed out on the postseason in both 2008 and 2009. The league was becoming more than just Shepherd and actually developing some balance.
But fast-forward to this year, and the conference appears to be faltering. Seton Hill (0-3) has regressed to the point where, honestly, the Griffins may be one of the worst 10 teams in all of D2. West Liberty is 0-3 and appears to have run out of momentum after the graduation of standout quarterback Zach Amedro. Charleston is also 0-3 and appears to be going backwards after the retirement of coach Tony DeMeo. Glenville State is not the program it was just a few years ago either.
So, the WVIAC is back to having a very dominant Shepherd, a solid up-and-coming program in West Virginia Wesleyan, and seven other teams that just aren't very good this year. This is not a good situation and I hope that 2011 is just a blip on the radar and this league can get back on track. A healthy D2 needs leagues like the WVIAC to see continuous improvement, not take one step forward and two steps back.
Analyzing Minnesota-Duluth
Wayne State put an end to UMD's 31-game conference winning streak, beating the Bulldogs 7-0. The game's only points were scored on a blocked punt. It was also just UMD's third loss overall in its last 47 games.
I know it's shocking to see a team that has been as dominant as the Bulldogs have been lose in this fashion. But, this is the bottom line: UMD is not nearly the team it has been over the last three seasons.
Defensively, the Bulldogs are still pretty darn good. Safeties Cameron Harper and Cody Eich may be the best tandem at that position in D2, and outside linebackers Derrick Zappa and Rob Huberty are all-conference type players. But, the Bulldogs don't have an upperclassman in the rotation on the defensive line and they don't have near the talent at inside linebacker as they have had in the past. This is still a very good defense, however, albeit not as dominant as what we've seen from UMD over the past three years.
Offensively, the Bulldogs return their entire offensive line and quarterback Chase Vogler from last year's championship team, which is great. The problem is the incredible lack of experience everywhere else. Due to injury problems, UMD's top two running backs right now are freshmen, and leading receiver Zach Zweifel is a true freshman. The Bulldogs haven't thrown a touchdown pass to a wide receiver this season. Vogler is the perfect quarterback for UMD's run based offensive system when it works, but he's not the kind of quarterback that defenses will necessarily fear because of his passing ability.
Overall, UMD has just 11 seniors on its roster making this a rebuilding year. Bob Nielson does such a good job directing this program that I won't rule out the Bulldogs getting to the playoffs, but this will not be another national championship season.
Top Games this Week
Missouri Western (2-1) at Washburn (3-0)
Washburn had to come from behind to put away Missouri Southern last week, but I still believe the Ichabods are the best team in the MIAA not named Northwest Missouri. Washburn 31 Missouri Western 21.
Indianapolis (2-1) at Michigan Tech (2-1)
The GLIAC now appears to be a wide-open conference and both of these teams are still in the race. It's a long trip from Indianapolis to Houghton, MI and the Huskies will be ornery after not performing well last week in a loss to Wayne State. Michigan Tech 24 Indianapolis 20.
St. Cloud (2-1) at Mary (2-1)
SCSU's loss to Winona State combined with Mary's mild upset win over Augustana suddenly makes this a very interesting game. Despite having to go on the road, the Huskies should have enough talent and depth to win this game. St. Cloud State 27 Mary 17.
Angelo State (3-0) at Abilene Christian (1-1)
ASU is off to a fine start, but hasn't seen a team or a defense as talented as what ACU presents. Mitchell Gale and the ACU offense has yet to get untracked and I think this is the week they start playing to their potential. Abilene Christian 35 Angelo State 21.
Northern Michigan (3-0) at Ashland (2-1)
Ashland has played a total of seven overtimes over the past two weeks, so the Eagles have got to be feeling the effects of so many extra plays. NMU has the edge due to fielding a better defense and a very good quarterback in Carter Kopach. Northern Michigan 30 Ashland 21.
Minnesota-Duluth (2-1) at Bemidji State (3-0)
Needless to say, this game is huge for both programs. The Beavers are a mirror image of UMD in many ways: a very solid 3-4 defense and a run-first ball control offense. I do think the BSU is very capable of winning this game, but with the Bulldogs in an early season must win situation they will find a way. Minnesota-Duluth 20 Bemidji State 17.
North Greenville (2-1) at Mars Hill (2-1)
Both teams are unbeaten against D2 competition, with NGC looking particularly impressive thus far. MHC can be a tough place to play however, and standout running back Jonas Randolph gives the Mountain Lions a slight edge. Mars Hill 30 North Greenville 27.
Harding (2-1) at North Alabama (3-0)
The Bisons upset UNA 29-28 in the final regular season game last year. I'm sure the Lions have revenge on their mind, but they are also looking at a natural letdown after knocking off Abilene Christian at Cowboys Stadium last week. Also, the Lions have been just OK defensively so far, and will be facing a Bisons option offense that gave them fits last season. I think UNA will win somehow, but it won't be easy. North Alabama 27 Harding 21.
Texas A&M Kingsville (2-1) at Midwestern State (2-0)
Despite having a very good defense, TAMUK just doesn't score a lot of points and that could be a problem against an MSU team that has scored 104 points through two games. The Javelinas also can't afford to start 0-2 in the LSC. Texas A&M-Kingsville 28 Midwestern State 23.
Mailbag
[Q] What's the problem at Grand Valley and is there a chance they can turn it around this year?
Bruce
[A] The Lakers' problems are on the defensive side of the ball. GVSU is allowing 408 yards per game and has a pass efficiency defense rating of 151, which is 133rd in all of D2. The run defense is above average and the Lakers have been putting pressure on the quarterback (11 sacks) so apparently there is a pass coverage issue in the back end of the defense.
Certainly the absence of two key players has been a major blow. Starting cornerback Chris Huley is out with an arm injury (his return status is unknown) and standout safety Zach Breen is serving a suspension and is due to return to action on October 8th. These were two seniors in the secondary that GVSU was counting on and neither has seen the field yet. But despite the absence of Huley and Breen, the Lakers do have some experienced players at both linebacker and in the secondary, so for GV to be giving up this many yards and points is a bit puzzling.
As far as a turnaround, I expect it to happen. GVSU has five of its last eight games at home, including all of the tough opponents with the exception of Northern Michigan. The Lakers should pick up wins the next two weeks (against Findlay and Tiffin) and then get Breen back in the lineup, which will be huge.
Even with the rough start, I still think Grand Valley is one of the most talented teams in D2 and the chances are better than 50-50 that the Lakers win out and reach the playoffs for an 11th consecutive year.
Contact Me
Feel free to contact me with any comments or criticisms or if you have a question you'd like answered in the Mailbag.