By Keith McMillan
D3sports.com
After 72 years of football in the Midwest Conference, Cornell moved to the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after the 1997 season for, among other reasons, a greater challenge.
They got what they asked for.
In their first three seasons since the switch, the 1992 and 1995 Midwest Conference champions won just 10 of 30 IIAC games.
In 2001, the Rams’ steady rise has neared a peak. Cornell is 4-0 this year, including wins over three of the conference’s preseason favorites, the teams picked to finish first, second and fourth.
The surprise contenders from Mount Vernon, Iowa, knocked off Wartburg and Buena Vista in consecutive weeks before edging Simpson this past Saturday. Though the program is just 55 players deep, the Rams have made their way with an option quarterback willing to carry the ball 35 times, opportunistic defenders and a humble confidence.
"I think we realize that we’re an average team that’s playing well," said longtime head coach and 1965 Cornell graduate Steve Miller. "We realize that we could end up 4-6. We’re on that thin a thread."
Miller’s words may seem exaggerated, but he gives more than lip service to the ‘any team can win on any week’ mantra. Miller says his team isn’t deep or talented enough to overpower teams. Consequently, his kids keep playing and practicing hard because they never expect to coast to victory.
There may have been a time when Rams players did anticipate a cakewalk here and there. Cornell, along with St. Norbert and Ripon, is among the most successful Midwest Conference football programs of all-time. But when the school decided that a switch to the IIAC in all sports would be best for the 1,100-student school’s travel budget, competition level and visibility within the state, the early returns made it seem like Rams’ athletic programs had taken a giant step backward.
"It’s been a slow process to be honest," said Miller. "But nearly all of our programs are stronger now than they were the day they left the Midwest Conference."
Miller said school officials felt that Cornell was going to provide an outstanding academic program no matter where its athletes played. They felt that the IIAC competes on a national level in most sports, and that their joining the conference was a perfect match.
The early going was rough on the gridiron, as the outmanned Rams endured blowouts by scores of 64-8, 59-7, 50-8 and 44-0. The breaks never came in those seasons, but this year’s squad has grown from those experiences and put them into play on Saturdays.
The Rams’ formula?
Miller says his team has simply played four good games.
"I don’t think it’s rocket science really," he said. "We try to play good defense. We can’t turn the ball over… and we haven’t beaten ourselves in the kicking game. That’s really been the formula we’ve tried to establish."
Of course, any formula is strengthened by a solid main ingredient.
Sophomore quarterback Chris Lovely (left) qualifies as such for the Rams, leading a ground attack that has rushed for 333.5 yards per game and chalked up 31.5 points per outing. The option quarterback has carried 66 times for 424 yards in Cornell’s past two games, earning the IIAC’s player of the week award for both efforts. The quarterback also leads the conference in rushing at just under 160 yards per game.
"He’s really got outstanding quickness," said Miller. "Physically, he’s tough. Mentally, he’s tough. And he’s still just learning what to do back there."
Miller likes how fullback Jeremy Franz gives the Rams a quick inside presence on the option, enabling Lovely to attack the perimeter.
The Rams are also guided by a group of tackle-happy linebackers. Senior captain John Crane led the conference in tackles over the past two seasons and has 412 in his career. Junior Chet Knake is averaging 10 tackles per game and Brett Murdock is a big-play magnet. Murdock, another senior captain, has 10 tackles for losses, blocked a punt for a touchdown and has four sacks, including one in the end zone that caused a fumble and a Ram touchdown.
Miller also likes how Darryl Allen has played at noseguard.
Of the Rams’ six remaining IIAC opponents, only Coe and perennial power Central (which lost 17 starters from last season) had winning records last year. Does that mean Miller thinks his team can bring home some hardware the way they used to in the Midwest Conference?
Only if they stay healthy, he says, and even that isn’t a rock-solid guarantee.
"We’ve got a big mountain to climb in this league," he said. "There’s a long way to the end of the year."
If Miller keeps drilling that philosophy into his players’ heads, his team might just keep drilling its opponents.
Around the Nation
Joe Rydzewski received a little more than a hug after the Western Maryland tackle met his mother near the field after a 28-25 thriller over Muhlenberg. Rydzewski’s mother let the junior defensive tackle know that this game may be his last in 2001, as reported in The Carroll County Times. The Gaithersburg, Md., native and Army Reservist was to report for service on Monday with the 443rd Military Police Company.
Rydzewski checked in on D3football.com’s Centennial Conference message board to let folks know that his broken hand left him medically undeployable. He did ask that folks keep those who serving our country in their thoughts.
The Green Terror-Mules game was labeled as an overtime classic. The final five minutes of regulation featured three touchdowns. After a Muhlenberg field goal in overtime, Louis Wright took a screen pass 22 yards to victory, extending Western Maryland’s Centennial Conference win streak to 31 games.
Pacific Lutheran’s Dave Weller converted the Lutes’ first field goal attempt since 1998, a 36-game span between holds and follow-throughs. Weller, a sophomore end/kicker, made his field goal with 8:03 remaining in an eventual 31-20 win over Linfield. The Lutes’ last attempt, by the way, was a 32-yard miss in the 1998 opener at Cal Lutheran. The last make was a 37-yarder by Chris Maciejewski in a 52-10 victory over Puget Sound on Nov. 15, 1997.
More streaks from the lovely Pacific Northwest: Whitworth is the fourth title contender in as many seasons in the NWC. The Pirates are 3-0 for the first time since 1990 and have won 11 of 14.
Fourth-ranked Washington & Jefferson is unbeaten largely because its defense has given up just 38 points, an average of 9.5 per game. That’s a welcome change from last season, where teams scored 30 on them twice and Bridgewater (Va.) racked up 59 in a playoff game. Excluding that postseason game, the Presidents’ defense surrendered 19 points per game last year.
Mount Ida’s Mike Sweeney, in his second season at the Mustangs’ helm, received the New England Sports Writers Association Gold Helmet Award on Wednesday during a luncheon held at Harvard University. The award, usually given to a player, came after Mount Ida beat Utica 18-0 last Saturday for its first victory in 14 games dating to 1999.
Games to Watch
Buffalo State at No. 2 Rowan
A few years back, this was a prime East Region playoff matchup. Now the 1-4 Bengals, who might play the most ambitious schedule in Division III, will simply try to upset the Profs. Rowan could falter after edging TCNJ by one, but chances are that their brush with defeat got the Profs’ nose back to the grindstone.
No. 7 Bethel (Minn.) at St. Olaf
These two already reside at the top of the MIAC, but the Oles were quieted 20-0 by Augsburg last week. Bethel is the only MIAC team without a conference loss, and the Royals, who lead the conference in scoring offense, scoring defense, total offense, run defense and pass defense, plan to keep it that way.
Linfield at No. 9 Menlo
The Wildcats, following consecutive losses to NAIA power Southern Oregon and conference rival Pacific Lutheran will travel to Atherton, Calif., to fight for their playoff lives against unbeaten Menlo. The Oaks have scored 118 points in their last two games despite All-America quarterback Zamir Amin being injured. All Chris Smith did in his absence was make the Team of the Week in Week 4. Amin's status for Saturday is unknown.
TCNJ at No. 13 Union
The Lions, one point from being unbeaten after taking Rowan to the wire on Friday, get no break as they face the unbeaten Dutchmen, whose closest game was Saturday’s 17-point win over Alfred.
No. 15 Millikin at Wheaton
This is one of two CCIW power struggles which will leave two teams at 2-0 in the conference halfway through the year. The Big Blue used a 21-point second quarter to strike the Thunder 35-10 last year. Millikin is also averaging a 39.5 point margin of victory in its first four wins.
UW-Whitewater at No. 22 UW-Stevens Point
The Warhawks will try to rebound from a three-point loss to UW-River Falls against the Pointers, who beat UW-La Crosse 17-16, winning at La Crosse for the first time since 1962.
No. 14 John Carroll at Wilmington
Both teams enter at 2-1 in the OAC and 3-1 overall, and both losses came to conference opponents by a field goal. Ryan DeGeorge ran for four touchdowns in the Blue Streaks’ 44-21 win over Heidelberg and Tony Beiting filled in for injured quarterback Tom Arth by throwing for 259 yards and rushing for a touchdown. The Quakers, meanwhile, need this win, with Mount Union and Ohio Northern still ahead.
No. 11 Augustana (Ill.) at Illinois Wesleyan
The Vikings are chugging, outscoring opponents 204-26 on their way to a 4-0 mark. The Titans went 9-1 last year and beat Augustana, who also lost to Millikin and Wheaton in 2000. The CCIW title race will look clearer after this weekend’s games.
Brockport State No. 19 Ithaca
Two New York State powerhouses do battle with just one setback (Brockport’s 35-13 loss to Montclair State) between them. Since neither is aligned with a conference, this game could have a major effect on at least one pool B bid.
Springfield at No. 25 Western Connecticut
The Pride, last year’s playoff representative from the Freedom Football Conference, visit the 1999 playoff representative. Though the Pride is just 1-2 overall while the Colonials are unbeaten after three games, both are 1-0 in the conference and should decide the automatic berth favorite on Saturday.
Trinity (Texas) at Washington U.
Each team has already been in and out of the AFCA top 25 poll, and both are fighting to avoid their second loss. The Tigers are led by quarterback Roy Hampton, who has already thrown 19 touchdown passes against just five interceptions. The Tigers have won five straight in this inter-conference series, but most of the games have been close.
Frostburg State at Wesley
This, in effect, is often the ACFC championship game, although it was a lot more fun when there were seven teams in the conference and not four.
Also keep an eye on: No. 16 Hardin-Simmons at Mississippi College, St. John’s at Macalester, Augsburg at St. Thomas, Ursinus at Johns Hopkins, Hampden-Sydney at Emory & Henry, Defiance at Hanover.
