Snap judgments: These underdogs brought some bite

Sep 14, 2014
Chapman quarterback Michael Lahey was sacked six times Saturday night vs. Linfield.
Photo by Dan Harris, d3photography.com

It was clear this weekend that the underdogs wanted to show that they were as much bite as they were bark against the Top 25. In at least seven matchups, the scores weren’t separated by much in the third or fourth quarters.

Only one Top 25 team was upended by a lower-ranked opponent (then-No. 7 Bethel by No. 15 Wartburg), though Linfield, UW-Platteville, Johns Hopkins, Illinois Wesleyan and Hampden-Sydney got some pretty big scares. But it was two of D-III elites, UW-Whitewater and North Central, that really showed football is an all-out four-quarter game. Their outings against Franklin and St. Norbert, respectively, were close at halftime, only to see the underdogs get shut out in the second half and the big dogs skate to super-sized victories.

The three newest members of Division III were exciting to watch on Saturday.

• Southwestern, which restarted its program last fall, took the ball away from Sul Ross’ offense seven times, three of those thanks to the interceptions and fumble recovery of cornerback Nik Kelly. It was the program’s first win since 1950. I can’t help but consider comparisons to teams like LaGrange and Huntingdon, both now in the USA South, that had a rocky season or two as recent startups but soon enjoyed the feeling of eight- or nine-win seasons soon thereafter.

• Berry nearly earned its first (varsity) win since beginning play in 2013, pushing LaGrange into overtime but then failing on a two-point conversion, ending the game at 28-27. Berry’s quarterback, Dale Jackson, had 272 yards but was out-gunned by LaGrange’s Graham Craig, who had 374 yards. Each passed for four touchdowns and two interceptions. Most impressive is how the Vikings harnessed its defensive pressure, surely helping to keep the game within reach. Berry had 12 tackles for loss, including sacking Craig six times.

• Hendrix, the most successful of the new teams to date, broke open its game with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, including a pick-six. The Warriors won three games last year and already have two victories this season. I’m not sure that they’ll make the leap to an eight-win season quite yet, but five or six certainly isn’t unreasonable to foresee.

Even in losses, MIAA teams have been largely overperforming this season. They’ve held their own against ranked teams and power-conference teams that they may not have been expected to stack up against so well. And, most notably, they’re winning the kinds of games they should be winning if they want to gain some recognition. Albion, in particular, has been “rewarded” for its tough scheduling with an 0-2 record, but to lose by 11 to a good WIAC team and by seven to a ranked team is nothing to feel disappointed about. It will pay off in the long run.

Some odds and ends:

• Hampden-Sydney did a nice job expelling any demons that may have haunted them after last week’s loss to Wabash or last season’s low-scoring loss to Christopher Newport. Last year, Sydney got bested big time in the turnover battle by CNU; not so this year, as each team had two turnovers. That stat was surely a difference-maker in the outcome, with H-SC winning 35-30 over CNU.

• Staying with the ODAC for a moment, for the second week in a row, Guilford dealt a crushing blow to its opponent. Quakers quarterback Matt Pawlowski passed for 418 yards and six touchdowns in a 52-20 win against Methodist. Pawlowski’s yardage puts him near the top of D-III’s individual passing performances in this young season. Methodist’s Bryan Bing, featured in last week’s Around the Nation column, had a game-high 15 tackles.

• A year after Juniata’s surprising and amazing 7-4 season, the Eagles are again tearing through their prey. It’s always exciting to see a turnaround season amount to something more than a flash in the pan, and Juniata’s 2-0 start should be catching the attention of others in the Centennial. The guy to watch out for? That would be running back Ward Udinski, who has 196 yards and five touchdowns through these first two games.

• Not since 2002, when Brockport State advanced to the national quarterfinals, have the Golden Eagles gotten so much national attention. But Saturday’s 17-14 upending of Cortland State is the kind of thing that will get you such recognition. (From Cortland’s perspective, though, this is the second three-point loss in a row in unusual circumstances – a tough way to get the season shaking.)

• The E8 notched a couple of losses this week but largely kept intact its top-to-bottom dominance this season. The conference is the only one to ever send three teams to the playoffs in a single season – this might be another year to keep an eye on something like that happening. The E8 teams’ strengths of schedule are going to be impressive.

• Montclair State and Stevenson each needed a mere seven points to beat their respective opponents, marking the first times all season a team didn’t need to hit double digits to log a victory.

More on fallen Franklin alum Nick Schultz

Nick Schultz, a 2012 Franklin graduate and D3football.com All-American, was shot to death a little more than a week ago while on duty as a Merrillville, Ind., police officer. Around the Midwest columnist Clyde Hughes wrote about it in his column last week. 

Late Friday, Franklin alumnus and trustee Rafael Sanchez tweeted a picture of this billboard put up in Northwest Indiana.

He also noted in an earlier tweet that Franklin football players will be wearing a decal featuring Schultz’s No. 79 on their helmets for the rest of the season.

Division III is by far the largest division in the NCAA, but oftentimes, we show ourselves to have the tightest and most supportive community – especially in times of struggle and tragedy. One of Franklin’s own can also feel like one of Rowan’s own or Linfield’s own or Sewanee’s own.

At this level, we share so much, and there’s little doubt that Schultz took that bond and built upon it at the Merrillville Police Department.