August 29th, 2000 12:00am
It's tough to win anything three straight times let alone a national football title. In Division II four teams tried it. Only North Alabama was successful. On September 2 Northwest Missouri begins its quest to become the second three-in-a-row winner of the title.
Although the Division II national championship has had several games that will be remembered for decades, last year's match between Northwest Missouri State and Carson-Newman ranks among the three best ever. It's tough to forget that four-overtime game
82 Northwest players, including 44 lettermen are back from the 1999 title squad - a nucleus that clearly has the ability to accomplish a three-peat.
Topping the list are running back David Jansen, receiver Tony Miles, quarterback Travis Miles, offensive tackle Andy Erpelding, linebacker Wes Simmons and fullback Tucker Woolsey.
Perhaps the player most looking forward to a third-straight title is defensive tackle Aaron Becker. Becker went into last season as a consensus All-American, but a torn ACL on the third day of fall camp put him on the sidelines for the entire 1999 season.
As usual, however, Northwest Missouri will have a difficult task merely getting out of its own conference. After opening at home against Nebraska-Omaha, the 2000 MIAA title and a potential playoff slot could be on the line in Northwest's third game of the season at home against Pittsburg State.
Who Could Stand in Northwest's Way?
But many others within the ranks of last season's playoff participants are looking forward to this season and a chance to be in Florence Alabama for the December 9 title game.
Carson-Newman, IUP, Slippery Rock, Shepherd, UC Davis, Western Washington, Catawba, all should be in playoff contention, but two non-participants in the 1999 tournament might be among the most intriguing teams in 2000.
NDSU Looks to Return to Glory Days
North Dakota State barely missed the 1999 playoffs. It should not miss them this year.
Twenty starters are back for the Bison including key skill positions like quarterback (Ryan Johnson) and running back (Lamar Gordon, a preseason All-America selection by D2football.com.). A good defense got a nice boost when Andrew LeClair transferred to NDSU from Kansas.
In addition to experience several others factors argue for putting NDSU high on the list of possible playoff or title contenders.
One of the key issues is the drop off in North Central contenders. This year's most challenging competition should come from South Dakota State. Neither North Dakota nor Northern Colorado should provide as tough a challenge to the Bison as they have in recent years.
When Bob Babich took the reins at NDSU he was handed a tall task. Rebuilding the legacy of supremacy of NDSU football was the challenge. But he wanted to do it his way including changing what had become the traditional offensive style of the Bison.
NDSU's record for the three years with Babich at the helm is a solid 25-9. But that's not good enough by NDSU criteria.
It's been eight years since the Bison have won the NCC title outright. Ten years have passed since the Bison won the national title. In a town where winning football games may be more important than eating regularly, this is not an acceptable situation.
The Bison came within three points of the tournament last season by losing a 41-39 November 6 contest to Northern Colorado. Down 28-3 the Bison roared back only to fall short of tying the game when with only 2:03 left in the game a two-point conversion try failed.
Babich knows the history at NDSU. He understands the need to bring title hopes back to Fargo. NDSU has been patient allowing Babich several recruiting years to rebuild after Rocky Hager's exit. 2000 seems to be the year when the wait should pay off.
NDSU statistically dominated opponents last year. It had a nearly 2-1 scoring margin, a nearly 2-1 rushing margin and a more than 12-3 margin in rushing touchdowns. It also had a passing edge over opponents by only by a very narrow margin. Many of the players who generated NDSU's impressive stats are back this fall.
The schedule makers looked favorably upon NDSU. The Bison have seven home games. Their only tough toad game is against Nebraska-Omaha.
If NDSU is to recapture the name Title Town, this appears to be the year to do it.
There also is something to prove for what might most appropriately be described as Division II's best-kept secret, the New Haven Chargers.
After their embarrassing, record setting loss to Northern Colorado three years ago in the championship game, the Chargers appear ready to make a run at the playoffs. A bigger question might be whether the D-II Northeast Region Committee is willing to let it.
New Haven may have the most difficult schedule in Division II. Playing as an independent makes scheduling a very difficult task. Last year New Haven had six road games. This year it has seven, although one of them is against cross-town foe Southern Connecticut.
The Chargers face I-AA UMass, Elon and Jackson State - all on the road. Gardner-Webb is another I-AA opponent on the road, but this is Gardner's first season in I-AA. New Haven also travels to IUP, a semifinalist last year and highly ranked preseason this fall.
In 1999 the Chargers opened with a 3-0 record but then suffered a ranking disaster by losing 42-12 to UC Davis at home. A 30-24 loss to Indianapolis and losses to I-AA Elon, South Florida and Jackson State sealed the Charger's playoff fate.
Last season's loss to Elon came late in a game New Haven appeared to have won. New Haven appeared ready to score a game-sealing score late in the contest, but a fumble by its running back was returned for a touchdown that gave Elon a last minute win.
At 5-5 New Haven rightfully was not in the 1999 tournament, but what if it had not fumbled in the Elon game and ended 6-4 with losses to I-AA South Florida and Jackson? How should the regional committee have treated it then? What if New Haven again loses to Jackson State and also loses to UMass and Elon and has only one D-II loss. Should it be in the tournament with a 6-4 record? Worse, what if loses to Gardner-Webb and is 5-5 again?
New Haven is trapped. It has no conference affiliation and couldn't get one if it tried. Regardless of how strong some D-II conferences claim to be each one has several teams in their ranks that annually become fodder for the rest of the conference. New Haven can't easily schedule easy wins. It also has to travel more than nearly anyone else in the Division, other than UC Davis, perhaps.
Conceding losses to I-AA teams, however, might be a mistake. New Haven this year returns with a veteran squad that learned last year it can play with good I-AA teams. Three-year started Jason Barnett at quarterback should provide the team with the leadership and experience needed to make its offense go. Elvert Eden at wide receiver could end up owning every pass receiving record at the school. Another good target for Barnett will be Ketric Barnes.
Steve Cedor at linebacker anchors an experienced defense. The only real holes in the New Haven lineup are in the secondary where losses of two cornerbacks and a free safety need to be overcome.
There is an old cliche in sports about playing up or down to match your competition. New Haven's fatal mistakes last year were the two losses to D-II teams it should have beaten. That can't happen again if the Chargers are to make the tournament.
But what if New Haven does not lose the games it should win but loses its I-AA games? Will the tournament committee be willing to look beyond those losses?
New Haven's athletic director, Deborah Chin, is on the Northeast Regional Committee, but she was last year, too. Last year her own team, however, did not give her much of an argument for including the Chargers when you consider the D-II loses. This year it could.
New Haven's fate could be sealed by September 16. If the Chargers come away from their opening three games (in order, West Chester, Clarion and IUP) no worse than 2-1 and assuming they don't do the unspeakable again by losing to either Central Washington, St. Joseph's or Southern Connecticut the Committee will have a difficult time excluding New Haven from the tournament. A record worse than at least 2-1 and the Chargers are done.
To be playing ball late in November, New Haven must start the season fully prepared (which we suspect was not the case last year) and be a much more disciplined team than it was in 1999.
D2football.com East Region writer, Bill Balint, picked Slippery Rock, IUP, Shepherd, and Northwood as his top four in the region. We can't argue with this order, but if the potential on New Haven's roster comes close to being realized, NH could easily edge out one of the other four.
Perhaps the toughest call this season is in the West. Significant loses due to graduation don't allow perennial playoff contender UC Davis its normal edge over the rest of the field. The Davis Aggies situation became even more complex with the arrest of two key players (see feature story elsewhere on this site). Western Washington will be geared for a run at its second-straight playoff participation, but graduation also hurt it somewhat.
Northeastern, Angelo State and Central Oklahoma should be in the playoff mix also.
In the midst of the national hunt for playoff spots there will be some soap-opera contests to intrigue fans this fall.
Chief among them is the territorial battle between Northwest Missouri and Pittsburg State. The winner of their meeting September 16 probably wins the MIAA title and a lock on a playoff spot.
One of the most interesting early games is the tussle between top-ranked North Dakota State and Texas A&M-Kingsville Thursday, August 31. Kingsville's program was shaken to the core when the NCAA sanctioned the team and the school for a long list of offenses. The team enters the 2000 campaign with a final NCAA ruling and penalties hanging over its head. It also comes into 2000 with a new coaching staff.
What About the Northeast, Greg?
There are things in Michigan to be settled, too.
Last year Ferris State shared the Great Lakes Intercollegiate crown with Northwood. After suffering what in our view was a season-ending loss in its opener to North Dakota State and failing to capitalize on chances at redemption late in the season, the Bulldogs backed into a tie with Northwood but were kept out of the tournament.
Ferris probably was unjustly treated in the NCAA rankings most of last year but did not win when it could have forced the playoff selection committee to include it in the final playoff mix.
Bringing back most of its 1999 team, Ferris hopes to fare better this season. Whether it does or not rests of how well its new, but somewhat seasoned, starting quarterback, Ryan Park, deals with his new role and how well new players at running back and wide receiver do.
For Ferris 2000 is a chance for it to show that 1999 was a big mistake by the tourney selection committee.
In the Northeast Region the top game probably is the Slippery Rock visit to IUP September 30.
Last year the two split their two games, but IUP won the critical one - a rematch in the playoffs that helped send IUP to the semifinal.
This is Slippery Rock's must-do season. Twenty-two senior veterans give the Rock the best chance in the school's history to make it deep into the playoffs. The match between IUP and the Rock will be a reprise of the previous contests of the last two years. The winner likely takes the PSAC West title and goes on to the playoffs. The loser might end up in Ferris' 1999 spot, hoping someone pulls off a miracle so they can back into the tourney.
Instead of backing into the tournament last year Northwood backed out of it with a late season 23-14 loss to Michigan Tech. This year's fortunes for the Northwood Timberwolves, however, look promising.
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