Lance Leipold finds himself in uncharted territory among college football coaches. Daily Jefferson County Union photo

After UW-Whitewater defeated UW-Eau Claire 52-3 at Carson Park on Saturday, head coach Lance Leipold addressed his team on the field.

He covered a number of topics, but left out one about himself. So defensive coordinator Brian Borland spoke up.

Borland informed the players that Leipold had just made NCAA history, securing his 100th career victory in just his 106th game.

“I knew he wouldn’t bring that up,” Borland said. “But I think that’s a heck of an accomplishment for a guy. I just thought he needs to be recognized for that.

“To be the fastest coach in NCAA history to get to 100 wins, that’s well, that’s pretty rare air up there.”

At 100-6 overall in seven-plus seasons at UW-W, Leipold broke the previous mark of 100 wins in 108 games, held by Gil Dobie.

Dobie coached North Dakota Agricultural College – now North Dakota State – to an 8-0 record in two seasons. The he coached nine undefeated seasons at Washington, going 58-0-3, before he went 18-3 in three years at Navy. He moved to Cornell (N.Y.) and during the 1922 season he improved to 100-5-3 to set the previous record.

“It’s about the team and these are team victories,” Leipold said after the Warhawks bettered their record to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the WIAC. “These (wins) are about a philosophy that the players have embraced. It’s about retaining excellent coaches and attracting excellent coaches that have done the job with our players. And our players being coachable and playing at high level.”

“He’s so humble (but) it’s awesome,” UW-W quarterback Matt Behrendt said. “We’re so proud of him.”

Other coaches who reached 100 wins in a short amount of time include George Woodruff (100-9), Bud Wilkinson (100-8-3), Fielding Yost (100-10-4), Knute Rockne (100-12-5), Urban Meyer (100-18) and Larry Kehres (100-16-3).

Leipold knew the milestone was approaching, but did not want his personal record to take away from the Warhawks’ goal of winning the WIAC championship and returning to the playoffs.

“It’s a win during the season. And what it can’t be is a distraction in the middle of the season,” Leipold said.

“They got to go out and play for what we have to do for this season — not for a coach’s all-time record,” he added. “I don’t think that’s how we got where we’re at, and I hope we never do it that way.”

Leipold kept the possible record quiet, but Behrendt and defensive back Brady Grayvold got wind of it when a local television station came to campus earlier in the week to record a news segment.

“When I was done with my interview, Matt said ‘Hey, you never told us,’ ” Leipold said. “They didn’t know.”

While he remains focused on the season’s goals, Leipold’s predecessor Bob Berezowitz is impressed by the record.

“I think he has just done a tremendous job coming in and continuing where (the program) was and making it better,” said Berezowitz, whose career record of 158-7-4 is second all-time at UW-W to Forrest Perkins’ mark of 190-88-8. “There are so many things that he has done to continue to improve the program.

“With the conference being as strong as it is, it’s just a remarkable feat,” he added. “The thing that he’s been able to do more than anything else is keep the players level-headed throughout this whole thing.”

Berezowitz, who Leipold played quarterback for from 1983 to 1986, said coaches do not have time to appreciate milestones and records as they happen. But he believes achievements like this will sink in later.

“When he steps back when he’s done — whenever that is — he will look back and just realize what an accomplishment he achieved in a very short period of time,” Berezowitz said. “And this will be the first of many.”

Under Leipold’s watch, UW-Whitewater has won five national championships and six WIAC titles. He has a 29-1 record in the postseason. His only playoff loss came in the 2008 Stagg Bowl.

Leipold guided the Warhawks to 46 consecutive wins from 2009 to 2012, winning three national championships along the way. Currently, UW-Whitewater is on a 23-game winning streak – the second longest streak among all levels of the NCAA – dating back to the final two games of the 2012 season.

“I knew he’d be successful,” Berezowitz said. “I don’t know if I ever thought he’d be that successful that quickly.”

Leipold said his record victory has been beneficial for the football team as well as the university. Leipold’s 100th victory was covered by various local, regional and national media outlets.

“I think anytime our university gets any type of positive publicity, I think it’s something that we should all be proud of,” Leipold said. “I appreciate the support that our administration gives us and understands the vision that we’ve been trying to do in the program.”

Leipold will try for win No. 101 Saturday during the Warhawks’ homecoming tilt with fellow WIAC unbeaten UW-Oshkosh.

Pacific shocks PLU

Pacific upset No. 18 Pacific Lutheran, 31-28, as Jakob Lawrence caught an 18-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter. Then the Boxers’ defense held PLU twice to seal the win.

“This is a big win, there’s no way around it. There’s part of me that says that it’s just another football game, but it’s not,” Pacific head coach Keith Buckley in a news release. “It’s a win over a top-20 team. It’s a win against a team that’s always in the playoff discussion and the conference championship discussion. It is a big win and we’re excited for it. It was one of those close, gritty games that we were finally on the right side of.”

The win signifies Pacific’s first win over a ranked team since reinstating football in 2010. The Boxers snapped a 17-game losing streak to the Lutes dating back to 1973. Pacific’s previous win over PLU came in 1972 during Frosty Westering’s first year as head coach.

The Boxers improve to 3-2 overall. Their 3-0 record in the Northwest Conference is the program’s best start. Pacific will try to keep its momentum going at George Fox this weekend.

The rest of the West

In a battle of ranked teams, No. 14 UW-Platteville controlled the game early and defeated No. 13 UW-Stevens Point, 31-13. The Pioneers took a 24-0 lead at halftime behind a pair of Andy Puccini touchdowns. He finished with 122 yards on the ground. … Gustavus Adolphus was poised to tie the game in the fourth quarter when an extra point was blocked and St. John’s Trevor Warner returned it 98 yards for two points. The No. 22 Johnnies went on to win the MIAC matchup 29-19 as Sam Sura rushed for 204 yards and two scores. … Joe Sutton caught four touchdown passes and Northwestern (Minn.) scored 21-unanswered points to rally by visiting Greenville, 35-28. Sutton caught his fourth touchdown with 18 seconds left in the game to give the Eagles their first win over Greenville since 2009. He finished with 102 yards on eight receptions. … Iowa Wesleyan scored the first 21 points and the last 16 in a 37-21 win over Westminster (Mo.). Caleb Huss threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores to lead the Tigers. Iowa Wesleyan’s win coupled with a Northwestern win over Greenville puts those teams in a three-way tie one game back of UMAC leading St. Scholastica. … No. 6 Wartburg’s defense registered 11 tackles for a loss, including a couple of sacks, in a 42-9 win over Dubuque. … Chapman gave Occidental its first SCIAC loss, 59-21. The Panthers out-rushed Occidental, 343-45, and remained atop the league standings. … Willamette scored 45 unanswered points, including 28 points in the second quarter, defeating Lewis and Clark, 45-7. Ryan Knowlton completed 14-of-19 passes, threw three touchdowns and ran for a score to pace the Bearcats. … Bobby Brown threw four touchdown passes, leading Buena Vista to its fourth straight win. The Beavers remained unbeaten in IIAC play with a 48-41 win over Luther. … Redlands forced four turnovers and took care of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 31-7. … In the most intriguing non-conference matchup of the week, No. 11 Bethel had its way with Chicago, 52-21. Erik Peterson threw five touchdown passes as the Royals handed Chicago its first loss of the season.

Number of the week

59 — as in the number of consecutive winning seasons recorded by Linfield. The Wildcats improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the Northwest Conference with a 65-13 win over Whitworth at Maxwell Field, guaranteeing the team a winning record. Linfield’s streak of winning seasons began in 1956 and features an overall record of 453-116-10 during that span. The Wildcats’ 59 straight winning seasons is the all-time record at any level of college football.

Florida State has the second-longest active streak with 37 consecutive winning seasons. Notre Dame, Harvard and Central all posted 42 consecutive winning seasons, tied for second all-time.

Rank ’em

Ten teams represent the West Region in this week’s Top 25 poll.

UW-Whitewater received 24 first place votes and is ranked No. 1 for another week. Likewise, both Linfield and Wartburg stayed put at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively. Bethel remained ranked No. 11.

UW-Platteville rose one spot to No. 13 while UW-Stevens Point fell six places to No. 19.

The MIAC trio of Concordia-Moorhead, St. John’s and St. Thomas checks in at Nos. 20, 21 and 22, respectively. All three are one place higher than a week ago.

Chapman entered this week’s poll, as the No. 25 team. The Panthers spot was made available when former No. 18 Pacific Lutheran fell out of the poll.

Willamette (13) and Gustavus Adolphus (2) received votes this week.

Looking ahead

No. 22 St. Thomas plays at No. 11 Bethel Saturday. The two teams have combined to win the last four MIAC titles. The defending champion Royals are looking to stay unbeaten in conference play.

No. 25 Chapman will try to keep its SCIAC record spotless at Cal Lutheran.

Northwestern (Minn.) plays at Westminster (Mo.) as both teams try to keep pace in the top half of the UMAC. St. Scholasitca will try to stay undefeated when Eureka visits Duluth.

Loras plays at Simpson as both teams seek their first IIAC victory of the year. Elsewhere in the league, No. 6 Wartburg plays at rival Luther.

No. 19 UW-Stevens Point will try to bounce back from its first loss when UW-La Crosse visits Goerke Park. UW-Eau Claire plays at UW-River Falls as both programs look for their first WIAC win.

Willamette will take on Northwest Conference rival Pacific Lutheran in Tacoma.

Be heard

Do you have a story idea for the Around the West column? Contact me about approaching milestones, broken records, break-out players or any other storylines in the West. Or just drop me a note and let me know what you like or don’t about the column. All ideas and feedback are welcome. Email me at josh.smith@d3sports.com or follow me on Twitter at @DU_Josh_Smith.