By Keith McMillan
D3sports.com

Frosty Westering is one of just 10 college coaches to reach the 300-win plateau, and only one of four who are active (the others are John Gagliardi, Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno).

Westering, the 75-year-old Pacific Lutheran head coach, will coach his final game on Saturday when PLU hosts 0-8 Puget Sound. 

Frosty's retirement has been lost in the fanfare surrounding Gagliardi passing Eddie Robinson to become the all-time winningest college coach. But much like Gagliardi, the eccentric Westering will leave behind a legacy far greater than he imagined when he first got into coaching.

At Pacific Lutheran's homecoming in October, the Tacoma, Wash., university celebrated 75 years of football. Thirty-one of those years have been with Westering at the helm, long enough for his son Scott and grandson Chad Johnson to join the coaching staff with him. But Westering really realized his legacy when dozens of former Lutes stayed after the homecoming game to share their experiences.

"About 65 of them went to the inner circle and shared what it was like when they were here," said Westering, who takes his players to the Oregon coast for a team building retreat before each season. "They were saying nothing changed but the model of the car."

Westering may be 75 and retiring, but he doesn't have any plans to retire his upbeat, positive attitude. In fact, in addition to visiting with 13 grandchildren, Westering plans to continue making goal-setting and team-building speaking engagements at Tacoma area businesses.

"We're in a putdown world," said Westering. "If you don't look at things from the upside, the downside will bring you down."

Westering is full of life philosophy, and the teams he coaches get a heavy dose of it. Many of his unique coaching practices came to light when the Lutes won five road games on the way to the 1999 national title.

Westering encourages his players to "play against their best self," which in brief means winning on the scoreboard is a result of a player achieving the goals he sets for himself. Following each game, win or lose, Westering's players participate in "afterglow," in which coaches and teammates enjoy each other's company and occasionally a song.

Following 9-point losses to Asuza Pacific, Linfield and Willamette, PLU won't get to send Westering out in the NCAA playoffs. But the coach does have a chance to earn his 305th victory before he exits into permananent afterglow.

DePauw's Nick Mourouzis (138-86-4 in 23 years with the Tigers) will also coach his last game, against Wabash in one of the nation's most storied and competitive rivalries. The Monon Bell series is tied 50-50-9, and what better way to send out a retiring coach than with a win over a longtime rival?

Conference check-up
Here’s Around the Nation’s latest look at which of the nation’s 27 conferences are pretty much wrapped up, and which have key games on Saturday. Automatic qualifier (Pool A/C) conferences marked with an asterisk:

Clinched
Empire 8 (Ithaca)
*IBC (Concordia-Wisconsin)
*Midwest (St. Norbert)
*FFC (Springfield)
*HCAC (Hanover)
*IIAC (Wartburg)
*MIAA (Hope)
*MIAC (St. John’s)
*NCAC (Allegheny)
NEFC Boyd (Curry)
NEFC Bogan (Westfield State)
NESCAC (Trinity, Conn.) 
*OAC (Mount Union)
*ODAC (Bridgewater)
*SCIAC (Redlands)
UAA (Washington U.)
*USAC (Christopher Newport)

In the bag, barring upset
*SCAC (Trinity, Texas)
*ASC (East Texas Baptist)
*MAC (Lycoming)

Conferences with key Nov. 15 games
ACFC – Frostburg State at Salisbury
*Centennial – Johns Hopkins at McDaniel
*CCIW – Wheaton at Augustana 
*NEFC – (Title game with AQ on the line) Curry vs. Westfield State at Worcester State
NJAC – Montclair State at Rowan
NWC – Linfield at Willamette
PAC – Westminster (Pa.) at Waynesburg
UCAA – Hobart at RPI
*WIAC – UW-Whitewater at UW-La Crosse

The most exciting races left are in Pennsylvania, where the MAC, PAC and Centennial are still up for grabs.
A three-way tie is possible in the PAC with a Westminster (Pa.) win over Waynesburg. How Saturday’s results relate to the conference title isn’t nearly as big a deal as how they affect possible playoff berths for Washington & Jefferson and Waynesburg 
Across the state, while Muhlenberg (5-1 in the Centennial) plays rival Moravian of the MAC, all eyes will be on the Johns Hopkins-McDaniel score. The Mules will be rooting for the Blue Jays, whom they beat. A Green Terror win would send a 6-4 McDaniel team into the playoffs as the Centennial representative, based on McDaniel’s 22-9 win over Muhlenberg Sept. 27, which would break a first-place tie 
In the MAC, Lycoming can seal a bid with a home victory over nearby rival Susquehanna, which shocked Lyco with a November win in 2000. If the Warriors fumble, the Wilkes-Kings winner will enter a tiebreaker with Delaware Valley and Lycoming, all of whom will have 7-2 conference records 
La Crosse again plays its regular-season finale with the WIAC’s AQ on the line. Last season the Eagles stopped UW-Stout a foot short on a two-point conversion at Stout. This year, they’ll host the Warhawks in an win-or-go-home game 
Curry beat Westfield 33-7 last week, but the two meet again in Division III’s only official conference title game.
RPI needs to beat Hobart to solidify its Pool B playoff spot more than it needs to win the UCAA 
If Willamette beats Linfield, both teams could make the playoffs in Pool B.
Montclair State’s only loss is to Springfield, who has clinched the FFC’s AQ, while Rowan beat USAC champion Christopher Newport, but has losses to TCNJ and Division III Southern Conn. State. The winner of this game should make the Pool B field, while the loser is left hoping 
Salisbury needs to beat Frostburg to hold onto its slim playoff chances
See National Game of the Week for Augustana/Wheaton.

Pool C watch
Pool C got quite interesting this week, as Hampden-Sydney hung 82 on Maryville in perhaps a last-ditch attempt to impress the playoff selection committee. Pool C is again broken down into three levels, based on how likely making the playoffs appears.

Likely:
Baldwin-Wallace: The Yellow Jackets’ only loss is 24-0 to three-time defending champion Mount Union, and no one else has played them close. They boast a win over NCAC champ Allegheny and are 12th on the Strength of Schedule index. Beat Otterbein and they’re in.

Wheaton: The nation’s No. 1 team in the SOS index, the 9-0 Thunder can lose at Augustana and steal a Pool C slot, while the Vikings take the CCIW AQ. They beat Hope, the MIAA playoff rep. Via Pool A or C, they’re in the playoffs.

Mary Hardin-Baylor: If the Crusaders, Hardin-Simmons and East Texas Baptist each win Saturday, UMHB will miss out on the AQ by one point. The ASC’s three-way tiebreaker is margin of victory in head to head games among the three; ETBU lost by six to HSU in OT but beat UMHB by seven in OT. UMHB also beat HSU by seven. It would help the Crusaders greatly if Willamette beats Linfield, because UMHB beat the Bearcats in Oregon on Sept. 13. Tied for 21st in SOS index.

Bethel: Only loss came by three to No. 2 St. John’s last week, and the Royals are 35th in the SOS index. They could be the odd team out if Wheaton loses, but they are a likely selection if the Thunder beats Augustana.

Should go to the playoffs, but probably won’t:
Simpson: The Storm is tied for 8th in the strength of schedule index with Lycoming, but they are ranked behind Bethel in the regional rankings, which give an indication of how the playoff selection committee might select teams. At 9-1 with just a loss to Wartburg, the Storm would be a deserving playoff participant, but must hope for a Wheaton win and a loss by either Baldwin-Wallace, Bethel or UMHB. Could also make the field without an upset, depending on how heavily the committee weighs the SOS index. Simpson cannot earn the IIAC AQ, even with a Wartburg loss to 5-4 Central 

Hampden-Sydney: The Tigers knew immediately after the last-minute loss to Bridgewater that their playoff hopes might be shot. The Eagles never stumbled on the way to locking up the ODAC AQ. With UMHB’s loss, the Tigers dropped one slot down the pecking order for Pool C. If they finish 9-1 and don’t get in, they’ll be the poster children for the need for Pool C expansion; however they’ll have their 56 SOS index rating to blame.

Muhlenberg: If McDaniel knocks off Johns Hopkins, the Mules will wish they’d played Christopher Newport in Hurricane Isabel, because a win over the Captains would boost their overall record, South Region record and SOS. It’s a shame that a win against Moravian won’t get them in via Pool C, though a loss would eliminate them. It’s either the CC championship by virtue of winning head-to-head tiebreaker with Johns Hopkins, or no NCAA playoffs by virtue of losing head-to-head tiebreaker with McDaniel.

Unlikely:
Johns Hopkins: A win against McDaniel won’t get them into the postseason, even though it would put them at 9-1. Like Hampden-Sydney, lost playoff chances when they lost their first conference game. Though SOS index (41) is better than some teams ranked above, I don’t see any scenario where the Blue Jays get in, even if they should. They are ranked 10th in the South Region, behind H-SC and HSU.

Adrian: The Bulldogs are currently 8-1 with a 33-7 loss to MIAA champ Hope, but their Pool C chances are hurt by a weak schedule not necessarily reflected in their SOS index of 31. Their out-of-conference Division III wins are against Heidelberg, Defiance and Franklin, who have a combined record of 6-21.

UW-La Crosse: A loss would be the Eagles’ second, so they either win the WIAC AQ or join the group below.

Two-loss teams: Augustana, Capital, Centre, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Concordia-Moorhead, Delaware Valley, Ferrum, Hardin-Simmons, John Carroll, Kings, Lakeland, Lycoming, Mass.-Dartmouth, Monmouth, Shenandoah, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Whitewater, Wilkes, Wittenberg, Wooster and Worcester State are all finished if they cannot win their AQ and have two losses to Division III teams. There are simply too many good candidates with one loss that need to be considered first, despite the difficult schedules several of these teams play. Many of them would make good playoff participants, but unfortunately the line has to be drawn somewhere.

If there were 32 teams …
The playoffs will expand to 32 teams for the 2005 season, and all of the expansion is expected to occur in Pool C, or at-large bids for runners-up in AQ conferences. While we can’t quite tell exactly how many conferences will have automatic qualifiers two years from now, assuming everything else was the same and there were seven Pool C bids this season, here are the teams we believe should be in this theoretical field, given a positive result this Saturday:

The seven: Baldwin-Wallace, UMHB, Bethel, Simpson, Hampden-Sydney, Johns Hopkins, Hardin-Simmons. I would take six one-loss teams and the Cowboys, who rise above the other two-loss teams because their second loss is an out-of-region game at UW-Stout. Several other teams could make a good case for that seventh spot, including Pool B teams, which will be considered with Pool C under the new system.

I also think the NESCAC should accept an AQ, in which case they would have sent Trinity (Conn.) in place of one of the above teams.

Acknowledging Pool B
We don’t want to forget Pool B. Several of the teams not mentioned in the playoff talk above are independents or members of non-AQ conferences. Fans of Pool B teams should follow their playoff chances through the Pool B power rankings and the Nov. 13 playoff projection elsewhere on the site.

The importance of schedule strength
In a recent newspaper article, a coach of one team who will finish with at least seven wins but will likely miss the playoffs talked about the difference in where his team was ranked in the AFCA poll and the D3football.com poll. The coach suggested in the article that perhaps D3football.com was biased against his team, since they were unranked in our poll while the coaches poll ranked them.

We at D3football.com believe it would severely damage our credibility to hold grudges against particular programs, among the many reasons we do our best to leave personal feelings out of rankings, polls and ratings. In the case of the poll, it would also be tough for one person to reflect his bias in the votes of 25 pollsters, who in our case are coaches, SIDs and members of the media.

However, the coach was onto something in his comments. We believe the D3football.com poll has become the most accurate reflection of the actual strength of teams because the voters take into account strength of schedule. Voters are asked to consider not only who a team has beaten and lost to, but who those teams have played as well.

How important is strength of schedule? Well, the Division III playoff selection committee uses a strength of schedule rating to help choose playoff teams. So in that sense, we believe it to be not only an accurate way to conduct a poll, but a relevant one as well.

However, there is something to be said for the “we can only beat the teams on our schedule” philosophy. Certainly any team that wins all of its games deserves to be ranked by season’s end and deserves to make the playoffs.

But there are cases where simply looking at a team’s record may not accurately reflect a team’s strength. An unbeaten team from a weaker conference may get pummeled in a game against a one- or two-loss team from the OAC, for example. Are we to believe 8-1 Adrian, who went 3-0 in out-of-conference games against three weak teams and beat an NAIA team, is better than John Carroll, which lost only to Baldwin-Wallace and Mount Union?

In this year’s playoff race, several teams’ strength of schedule has been called into question, including RPI, Hampden-Sydney, Johns Hopkins and Salisbury. On the flip side, several teams will get a boost due to strong schedules.

In Hopkins’ case, their coach said the Blue Jays have always scheduled schools that were similar academically. Which is to say that the Blue Jays aren’t going to change their ways, but they also understand how the system works. If they get left out of the playoffs even after going 9-1, I would not expect them to complain.

Surely, however, they’ll be disappointed. And some things are out of a coaches’ control when it comes to scheduling. Sometimes games are picked up years in advance, so a game that looks strong can be weak by the time it is played. There are also budget and travel concerns that play into who a team schedules when.

But using strength of schedule as a determining factor for playoff spots is how it should be. It will leave some teams with good records disappointed, but if those teams don’t like it, they’ll have to play better competition. If it were any other way, the system could be abused by someone who deliberately scheduled weak competition knowing overall record was the only criteria used in judging a team’s strength.

Certainly there are flaws in the current system, but at least Division III makes an effort to put its strongest teams in position to sort out the championship on the field.

Your questions
Around the Nation recently solicited your questions about the playoffs and other issues. Here are our answers:

Q: If Linfield, St. John’s, Wartburg and St. Norbert all finish unbeaten, who will get the top seed in the “West” bracket?
A: That’s a good question, because the South bracket may very well have zero undefeated teams in it, while the West has four. One will get a bye, and more will host in the second round, but two could be on the road then.

All four could certainly argue for a one seed, and two — No. 2-ranked St. John’s and No. 3 Linfield — could use past playoff performance to show they deserve a high seed. The only indication we have to break those ties is the committee’s regional ranking, which rank St. John’s, Linfield, Wartburg and St. Norbert 1-4. You can bet Redlands will play at Linfield in the first round for geographical reasons, unless Willamette gets into the field. That would leave Bethel to visit St. Norbert to avoid a game at MIAC rival St. John’s, and the WIAC champ to go to St. John’s. Assuming high seeds win, the second round games would be at St. John’s and Linfield.

Q: Can you tell us how the regional brackets are going to line up this year? North vs. South, East vs. West or how will they line up this year?
A: Pat’s got this one: “Actually, we don’t know. Since the change to the Pools setup in 1999, the committee no longer determines this in advance. We will all find out on Selection Sunday.”

Q: Keith, do you think if Mount Union wins the OAC, would the committee consider sending the runner-up in the OAC to another region to play like they did with John Carroll last year?
A: Sure, it’s a possibility. But the committee will pick the 28 teams, then make the best geographical matchups possible, they won’t move the OAC runner-up just to do it.

Q: The MAC has four really good teams this year, they have to take two into the playoffs Lycoming, Kings, Wilkes, Albright.
A: First, I’d put Delaware Valley in the argument before Albright, but to answer your question, there will not be a second MAC team in the playoffs this season. Two losses is too many when there are but three Pool C slots open for automatic qualifier conference runners-up.

Stats of the week
I’ve got two for you:

1) Trinity (Conn.) went 8-0 in the NESCAC, outscoring its opponents 248-30, a per-game average of 31-4. It’s too bad we won’t be able to see how good that team is compared to others in Division III, because of the conference’s choice not to participate in the football playoffs. We’ll give the Bantams a thumbs-up on a nice season nonetheless.

2) Moravian freshman Chris Jacoubs ran 51 times for 319 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-24 MAC loss to Albright. The tailback earned MAC player of the week honors for his effort, a Greyhound rushing record. If 50 carries becomes a habit for Jacoubs, a freshman, he might want to think about aligning himself with a physical therapy major or something.

National game of the week
No. 4 Wheaton at Augustana: There are several great games slated for this weekend, but only this one and Montclair State-Rowan have playoff implications that affect several teams besides the two playing. Wheaton could close out an unbeaten season with a win, while the Vikings, who started 0-2, could get into the playoffs via Pool A with a win.

Some other big games to keep an eye on: No. 3 Linfield at Willamette, UW-Whitewater at No. 8 UW-La Crosse, No. 18 Montclair State at No. 20 Rowan, Westminster (Pa.) at No. 21 Waynesburg

Rivalry games to watch: Cortland State at No. 14 Ithaca, No. 15 Hampden-Sydney at Randolph-Macon, Wabash at DePauw, Kings Point at Coast Guard.

Your thoughts 
Uncut, what readers think about the idea of a 32-team playoff field, the spirit of Division III football and more:

“I would like to see ATN consider the notion of a 32-team playoff field. I was just looking over your Pool C predictions and I think it’s somewhat sad that only three conference runner-ups can get into the post season while the national powerhouses get a bye week. Does Mount Union really need an extra week to prepare for a team that’s probably no better than most of the other teams in its own conference?

There are many great teams playing in really tough conferences who would blow away the AQ team from a lot of weaker conferences. I think that all the AQ conference champions deserve to at least play a postseason game, so the only way to get some other deserving teams in would be to expand the field by expanding Pool C (and possibly B).

Using the conference I follow as an example that’s convenient for me, the CCIW has the second best composite record in non-conference play among AQ conferences. First is the IIAC who were 8-1 in their one-week preseason, and the CCIW went 19-5. This does not take into account strength of schedule, but still, it seems to me that if Wheaton and Millikin finish 1-2 with no losses and one loss overall, they should both have a shot at proving themselves in the postseason. I’m sure fans of other strong (but not quite OAC) conferences would agree with me.”
— Submitted earlier in the year by Nate Brown, 25 of Plymouth, Minn.

“I’m a new ‘father’ to D3 football. I have a son who is a freshman football player at H-SC and I was at the game against Bridgewater. It was a tough loss for us but I heard many people say it was the most exciting football game they have EVER seen. I agree and I’ve been watching college football for a long time. Unfortunately, we were on the losing side.

I just wanted to e-mail you to tell you how much I enjoyed your article. It was very well written and I loved your capture of the quotes. My son has been lucky enough to make the travel squad as a freshman, so I’m going to all the away games as well as the home games hoping that he gets in the game (which he has in 3 out of the 5 games). 

I want to comment on how much I enjoy this level of football. This is my first experience at this level. I never really cared about D3 since I’m a VMI and UVA graduate (I played college basketball at VMI on scholarship). To me, ‘experiencing’ college football was sitting with 60,000 or so of my closest friends and needing binoculars to see the players. You don’t really know who they are except by a number and by stats on how well they perform. Unless you’re a parent, you probably never see them live and in person. But, I’m so impressed with D3 ball because you can get so much closer to the action. It’s great to watch kids play the game who do it because they love the game and not because they’re on some athletic scholarship which requires them to play or because they’re planning on playing in the pros and this is just a stepping stone. 

What I am most impressed with is how good these kids really are. But for the fact that they are a few inches too short or a few pounds too light or maybe a few split seconds too slow, they are every bit as good as the players in the other divisions. Conrad Singh is an outstanding receiver, as his numbers show, and J.D. Ricca has had outstanding passing games, i.e. about 475 yards at E&H. The speed and quickness of the defenses is also impressive. These kids are good! They really can play!

But mostly, these kids are real people. Parents, friends, alumni, and just about anybody go down on the field at the end of the games. The players talk to us, they’re polite, they even come to our tailgates after they finish showering. It’s just so much more personable than big time football. At last week’s game, it was a beautiful day. H-SC has a nice following of fans so there was a good turnout at E&H. When the game ended, fans from both sides of the stadium converged on the field. Everyone congratulated the players and the other fans. We sought out players from E&H who were high school mates of my son and played WITH him for 4 years of high school and now will play against him for 4 years of college. But, it seems like D3 football is just one big family, no matter who you play for. I know the H-SC-RMC rivalry is huge and one of the longest football rivalries in the nation. But, I don’t expect there to be any hard feelings, just good wholesome playing, no matter who wins.”
— Tim Gundlach

“As a former player, i think the spirit of D-3 football is many things. desire to play the game is one such idea. Since there are no real athletic scholarships, the desire to play is what motivates the players. Everyday these student-athletes work to achieve the same winning results as a Division I program. However, the d-3 athlete is not forced to stay on the team for fear of losing his scholarship money. Playing in front of less-than-packed stands, most of which are occupied by friends and family does not matter to the D-3 player. The love of football and the desire to continue playing the game that they love drives most, if not all of these special athletes. Most of the athletes that compete at this level will not move on to play professionally. We realize that everyday when we go to practice and play our games; however, when those few D-3 guys do make it to the big show, it’s a great feeling to be able to say, “yeah, I played against him.” In my opinion, that is the spirit of D-3 football. 
— Eric Rayko, Marietta College ’03

Follow-ups
“Hey Keith,
was just reading your article on D3...nice write-up. I noticed that you have Plymouth State as the record holder of most consecutive shutouts with six....RPI had 10 in 1911 (dont ask me how I know that)...
Anyways, here’s the link.
http://www.augenblick.org/rpi/f_02yr.html”

“Keith,
Thanks for the note about Tom Stetzer in last week’s article. Tom did surpass the 10,000-yard mark of offense, then had his career ended by a broken hand. So he finishes with 10,054 yards of total offense, of which 9,555 came through the air.

His replacement, freshman Brent Nelson, completed 36 of 60 for 440 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-35 loss at UW-Eau Claire.”
— Paul Erickson, UW-Platteville