By Don Stoner
Augsburg Sports Information Director
MINNEAPOLIS -- Who woulda thunk it?
At the beginning of the season, did anyone imagine that four of the favorites in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference race would be a combined 0-8? No, you didn't, either. Neither did a lot of small-college football fans around the Midwest.
Blame it on scheduling. The WIAC is known as one of the toughest football conferences in the nation, regardless of division. So tough that many other schools in the Midwest often refuse to play WIAC schools in their nonconference games.
So the WIAC has to either take to the road or ask opponents to take the long trip to America's Dairyland, most often against upper-division teams. UW-River Falls, the preseason favorite in the WIAC, lost its first two games to teams from the top conference in Division II, the North Central Conference -- falling at home to St. Cloud State 22-17 on Sept. 4 and at Augustana (S.Dak.) 21-7 last weekend.
UW-La Crosse dropped games to Division II schools Washburn (24-21, Sept. 4) at home and at Winona State (41-22, Sept.11), UW-Eau Claire fell at NAIA contender Tiffin (21-19, Sept. 4) and dropped a D-III playoff rematch at St. John's (40-28, Sept. 11), and UW-Whitewater lost at NAIA power Lambuth (39-16, Sept. 4) and to Division III contender Hardin-Simmons (25-7), No. 12 in the AFCA Top 25, at home Saturday. And it's out of the frying pan and into the fire for the Warhawks, as they travel to Bellingham, Wash., this Saturday to face Division II Western Washington.
The only team among the five preseason favorites to survive its first nonconference contest was UW-Stevens Point, which edged Division II contender Northern State 28-26 last Saturday as the Pointer defense stopped a late two-point conversion by NSU. This week, Stevens Point travels to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on Division I-AA contender Drake. And UW-Stout, which has been knocking on the door of WIAC prominence the last few seasons, opened its season with a 48-27 win against Division II Minnesota-Morris. Stout set a school single-game record in total offensive yardage with a 622 total yards effort (317 passing yards, 305 rushing yards).
And consider this fact -- after next weekend's play, at least one of the WIAC favorites will be 0-3 overall, as River Falls and La Crosse will square off Sept. 25 after each team takes a bye this week.
What's next? UW-Platteville and UW-Oshkosh going unbeaten? In the wild and wacky WIAC, anything can happen
Big weekend for IIAC
Even though it's still early in the season, this week is a huge one for the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Central (2-0) and Simpson (2-0), who have combined for 14 of the last 15 IIAC titles, square off in Indianola in a game that most followers of small-college football will keep a close eye on.
That is, if they're not in northwest Iowa, keeping an eye on another matchup of preseason IIAC title favorites, when Wartburg (1-0) travels to Storm Lake to take on Buena Vista (2-0).
How's that for scheduling? These two games will go a long way toward deciding the IIAC champion, plus the automatic berth in the Division III national playoffs. Consider that three IIAC teams are rated in the AFCA Top 25 -- Central is No. 4, Simpson is No. 19 and Wartburg No. 20. Plus, Buena Vista and Upper Iowa also received votes.
"That does surprise me," said Central coach Rich Kacmarynski. "Maybe that shows the respect coaches across the country have for our conference."
Last year, Central knocked off Simpson 45-24 en route to claiming the conference title. This year, two streaks could be broken -- Simpson will look to end Central's 16-game regular season winning streak while the Dutch will look to win in Indianola for the first time since 1994.
The game will also be a homecoming for Central QB Jeff Borgman, a native of Indianola who played on the same field in high school as he will play on Saturday. Borgman took over when Central starter Scott Koerselman was injured during the Dutch's 32-13 win over Loras.
Central doesn't pass much -- they are last in the conference in passing (118 yards total) -- and despite the loss of the starter, Central's coach still feels positive about the situation going into Saturday's game, saying that he feels "better about the quarterback situation than I have in two weeks."
As at Central, Wartburg and Buena Vista have gained their victories on the ground. Wartburg rushed for 264 yards while throwing for 227 in their lone win, two weeks ago against William Penn (51-16), while the Beavers are averaging 234.5 rushing yards per game in their two wins -- 17-7 against Upper Iowa (Sept. 4) and 38-14 against William Penn (Sept. 11).
"They're a team that likes to run the football," said Wartburg coach Rick Willis of this week's foe. "We have to control that. We cannot let them keep the ball away from our offense, and we have to be more opportunistic than we were in the first week."
Scots benefit from Irv Cross
At the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's preseason press conference in August, new Macalester athletic director Irv Cross was asked if he would lend his years of NFL and broadcasting experience to help resurrect the Scots' football fortunes. The Scots' coach, Dennis Czech, was quick to interject.
"Irv's a pretty busy guy. He has a lot to do, but we plan to utilize him as much as we can," said Czech, a second-year coach whose Scots finished 2-8 last year. "We want him to stop by our practices and offer his perspective on the game."
Cross played in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams before working for 22 years for CBS Television, most prominently as a member of the "NFL Today" studio show in the 1970s and 80s. After spending three years at Idaho State University as its AD, he moved to St. Paul in June to take the Macalester job. He said he will try to keep a "hands-off" perspective on things.
"I'll never second-guess what he does. I don't want to be looking over his shoulder," Cross said, adding as an aside, "Of course, I spent 11 years in the NFL as a defensive back, and he wants me to work with the receivers."
The Scots won in Cross' debut as the AD, as Aaron Quitmeyer threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns in Macalester's 35-21 win over Crown (Minn.). The job gets a little tougher this week, as Macalester travels to MIAC powerhouse St. John's.
Notes: UW-Stevens Point's Ian Plant had an interesting introduction to American football. The native of Hull, England, who played three years of professional soccer and high school cricket, performed all the kickoffs in the Pointers' win against Northern State. Plant joined the team late in preseason practices and literally was seeing his first American football game while he was doing the kickoffs. ... Augsburgplayed the first triple-overtime game in school victory in a 29-27 win at NAIA Mayville State (N.D.) in its season opener. Despite Augsburg's longtime reputation as a passing team, it was rushing and defense that gave the Auggies the victory. Augsburg rushed for 128 yards while passing for just 96 yards in rainy conditions, and the Auggie defense forced six turnovers, including three interceptions by DB Nate Loughran, a freshman playing in his first college football game. ... It took awhile, but Carleton coach Bob Sullivan finally picked up his 100th career victory when the Knights topped Northwestern-Roseville 21-14 on Saturday. Sullivan scored career win No. 99 in the fourth week of last season, but the Knights proceeded to lose the last six games of the year to finish 2-8. Sullivan is now 100-97 in his 21st season with the Knights.
This week's top games
Central at Simpson (1 p.m., Saturday, Indianola, Iowa) and Wartburg at Buena Vista are previewed above.
UW-Stevens Point (1-0) at Drake (2-0), 1 p.m., Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa
The Pointers travel to Iowa to take on a Division I-AA foe in Drake. The Bulldogs have been predicted to finish second in the Pioneer Football League this year after winning the league title in 1998, and scored their second win last week with a 47-3 win over NAIA school St. Ambrose. Drake topped Division II Morningside 21-17 in the first week. Meanwhile, Stevens Point has a six-game winning streak going after a 28-26 win against Division II Northern State (S.D.) last week.
Grinnell (0-1) at Beloit (1-0), 1:30 p.m., Saturday in Beloit, Wis.
It's another early-season showdown, as the top two teams from last year in the Midwest Conference meet on last year's runner-up's home turf. Grinnell, one of the few 10-0 teams to not make the D-III playoffs last year, was surprised in its season opener, 35-29 at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, while Beloit won at home 20-16 against Concordia (Wis.). Grinnell came back from a 21-7 deficit and five turnovers to take a lead in the fourth quarter to take a 29-21 lead, but couldn't hold it late. This season, Grinnell is again favored to win the Midwest Conference, while Ripon, Beloit and St. Norbert are also expected to contend.
Aurora (1-0) at Millikin (0-0), 1 p.m., Saturday in Decatur, Ill.
A nonconference meeting of two league titlists of a year ago, as defending Illini-Badger champ Aurora travels to CCIW champ Millikin. Millikin again has just nine games on its schedule in 1999, but returns 15 starters to a lineup that is favored to repeat as CCIW titlists and earn the coveted national tournament berth.
Bethel (1-0) at Concordia-Moorhead (0-1), 1 p.m., Saturday in Moorhead, Minn.
Concordia was embarrassed two weeks ago with a 44-7 loss to D-II crosstown rival Moorhead State, but a week's layoff may be key as the Cobbers host Bethel, one of the MIAC favorites this year. Bethel picked up a 59-21 win against NAIA Trinity International (Ill.) behind three TDs from wide receiver Eric Carlson. The Cobbers uncharacteristically gave up 463 yards of total offense to Moorhead State in its loss, a number which will have to be reduced if they plan to give the home fans their first win of the year.
