By Clyde Hughes
D3sports.com
St. Norbert an underdog? Don't try telling that to Monmouth coach Steve Bell. He's not having one syllable of it.
Yes, Monmouth comes into its annual Midwest Conference showdown with St. Norbert ranked No. 12 in the country. Yes, Monmouth beat Coach Jim Purtill's squad last year 31-22 at St. Norbert with many of those players back from last season. Yes, the Fightin' Scots quarterback Alex Tanney is playing with a hot hand, completing a little over 70 percent of his passes this season.
And yes, it's Monmouth's homecoming. But that doesn't exactly mean the Fightin' Scots are the favorites. Right, coach?
"You've been talking to coach Purtill," Bell said with a laugh when asked this week about the "favorites" tag. "In my opinion, it's a 50-50 game. I feel both of our football teams are talented, but one over the other is coach-speak. This is a game that's going to come down to which team can perform better at that time and fight through adversity. Both teams have been too good recently to say one is an underdog and one is a top dog. I don't buy into that one."
Fair enough, coach. But there is no getting around that the Midwest Conference title -- at least mathematically will not be won or lost with this game -- will have indelible ramifications for the winner and the loser. Bell, for one, said he hasn't tried to hide that fact from his players.
"First of all, you don't sugarcoat it and say it's just another game because kids are smarter than that and they'll see right through it," Bell said. "They know this one has ramifications and they understand what it is. The nice thing about it is that we've been through this before against Ripon and St. Norbert last year and the playoffs. They know how to handle these situations and handle the emotions."
Here are the facts as we know them. St. Norbert has won eight of the last 10 Midwest Conference titles, but have split the title with Monmouth the last four seasons (2-2), including the Fightin' Scots win at DePere, Wis. in 2008.
Both teams roll into this game with a head of steam, 5-0 and 4-0 in MWC play. St. Norbert has already dispatched one ranked opponent, No. 17 Wartburg 42-35 in overtime back on Sept. 5.
Bell said he is concerned about controlling St. Norbert quarterback Rob Berger, who has thrown for nearly 1,000 yards and has gained another 174 on the ground this year. Berger has thrown for 11 touchdown passes, six of those to wideout Jeremy Gezella.
"St. Norbert is very good and they have a really good active quarterback,' Bell said. "Mr. Berger is very active we can't afford to let him bust off any long runs against us. We have to play sound assignment football. They will try the vertical passing game against us but we have to be ready. The Gezella kid is very good. We can't afford of making the big mistake against them."
Monmouth has its own talented signal caller in junior Alex Tanney, who has been impressive so far this season. While completing 70.5 percent of his passes (136 for 193, 1 interception), he has thrown for 1,525 yards and 18 touchdowns. Bell said he could play better.
"Alex is a pretty level-headed kid," Bell said. "Things don't have to be said more than once with him. He has higher expectations for himself than I ever would. He's a very competitive kid. Game to game, there are different things he can improve on, but I'm happy at where he's at. He's still got a year-and-a-half to tap out his ability."
Monmouth's two-headed monster at running back, Caleb Pratt (93 yards per game) and Clay Bricker (70.2 per game) has added some punch to the Scots lineup. Add Nick Law's 37.7 yards per game average, and it could be a difference maker in the game.
"If we had one kid, he would we be well over 100 yards a game," Bell said. "We have three extremely talented kids back there. We'd rather have healthy and fresh than warm legs at the end of the game. I think it makes us two dimensional so everybody can't focus on Alex all the time."
Defense was the biggest question mark for Monmouth this season, but those seems to be answered with younger players. Bell said he was particularly pleased with the play of linebackers Adam Hoste, who leads the team in tackles (34 total), and Cory Bishop, along with defensive back Luke Reschke.
"I could mention a number of other kids as well," Bell said. "You know that they are talented, but can they step into a role quickly and play at a level you expect. They have done just that."
Monmouth has come into the season with high expectations and Saturday's game against their rival could be another step in fulfilling those lofty goals.
Stretching the field
Two of the teams one would expect to be competitive in the Northern Athletics Conference, Concordia (Wis.) and Lakeland earned their first wins of the season last week, both in conference play. This week, they will square off against the other two winners of conference games to see who will get an early leg up in league play. Concordia (Wis.) gets Benedictine (2-2 overall) at home while Lakeland is at home against Wisconsin Lutheran (2-2 overall). Wisconsin Lutheran beat the conference's last unbeaten Concordia (Ill.) in the NATHC opener last week.
• With all the talk surrounding nationally ranked Wheaton (No. 4) and North Central (No. 14) in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, Illinois Wesleyan seems to be quietly flying under the radar. The Titans opened CCIW play with an impressive 42-16 road victory against previously unbeaten Carthage. Illinois Wesleyan gets Millikin this week before facing its toughest challenge to date on the road against 3-1 Augustana.