FB: American Southwest Conference

[Ralph Turner]

Secord left after 1999 and took some talent with him.

Ridlehoover got sick in about 2000-01.

The 0-for seasons occurred in 2002 and 2003.

The underclassmen and recruits from that time frame are missing in 2002 and 2003.

We had a mini-bump in 2003 only to fall back in 2004, when he was replaced.

[Bill McCabe]

From what I saw, the McMurry teams just weren't very good.  When Coach Mumme arrived, things definitely turned around.

[Ralph Turner]

From what I saw, the McMurry teams just weren't very good.  When Coach Mumme arrived, things definitely turned around.

From 2001 onward, they were not very good.

The late 1990's were Top 40, IMHO, to HSU being Top 10, and there being very little distance between #15 and #40.

[crufootball]

From what I saw, the McMurry teams just weren't very good.  When Coach Mumme arrived, things definitely turned around.

From 2001 onward, they were not very good.

The late 1990's were Top 40, IMHO, to HSU being Top 10, and there being very little distance between #15 and #40.

How much difference would you say is the distance is between 15 and 40 now?

[Bill McCabe]

I saw McMurry for the first time in 2003.  They are much, much better.  I think next weeks game against HSU is huge for them.  I thought they might win last year and I was a bit surprised by the final score.  A win against HSU is a program maker.  Just like it was for UMHB when they beat HSU for the first time. 

[Ralph Turner]

From what I saw, the McMurry teams just weren't very good.  When Coach Mumme arrived, things definitely turned around.

From 2001 onward, they were not very good.

The late 1990's were Top 40, IMHO, to HSU being Top 10, and there being very little distance between #15 and #40.

How much difference would you say is the distance is between 15 and 40 now?

IMHO, about a touchdown on a neutral field.

[crufootball]

I saw McMurry for the first time in 2003.  They are much, much better.  I think next weeks game against HSU is huge for them.  I thought they might win last year and I was a bit surprised by the final score.  A win against HSU is a program maker.  Just like it was for UMHB when they beat HSU for the first time. 

Speaking of HSU and McM, is there any talk of playing against each other in football after the Warhawks make the jump to D2?

BTW I guess the Cru is offically back to the I-formation since on the 2 deep this week it list a full back and not a half back.

[ExTartanPlayer]

How much difference would you say is the distance is between 15 and 40 now?

It's hard to say what the distance is from #15 to #40 because so much of it depends on matchups and exactly who is playing who.  Heck, #14 Salisbury just beat a very respectable Alfred team (ranked #23 at the time) by a score of 69-0.

If you look at the teams currently ranked around #15 in the D3 poll (Del Val, Salisbury, Illinois Wesleyan, Wheaton, Redlands) and compare them to the bottom of the "receiving votes" crowd (Birmingham-Southern, Dubuque, St. John Fisher, Huntingdon) you might see some games that came down to the wire and some where the higher-ranked team won by 35. 

I think Division III really falls into a couple tiers, much like ATN broke the conferences down by tiers a few weeks ago.  Yes, there's a little overlap between these, they aren't meant to be perfect, and they generally reflect the past three years or so (rather than long-past success, although I tried to take that into account).

Championship Material: UWW, UMU

NCAA Semifinal Material: Wesley, UMHB, Linfield, St. Thomas, North Central

Wesley and UMHB are almost on their own tier because of their consistency in reaching the NCAA semis and quarters almost every year, but I think that the other three teams here have demonstrated strong consistency and the potential dominance to move "up" a level. I wanted to just write "CCIW champ" and "MIAC champ" and you could make a case to include Wheaton or Bethel here based on recent playoff success, but I think St. Thomas and NCC have stood out RECENTLY (although Illinois Wesleyan could put a big hurt on NCC's playoff chances next week).

Top 20-ish Material: Now we get to teams like Salisbury, Bethel, St. Olaf, Wabash, Del Val, Cal Lutheran, Salisbury, Illinois Wesleyan, and the occasional WIAC/OAC runner-up that manages to go 9-1 with a Purple Power loss.  They are strong enough to play with the teams up one level, but seldom can rise to the occasion and actually BEAT one of them.

From there, you drop down one more level to what I'll call Top 40-ish Material.  Most of these teams are either a) consistent winners from relatively weak conferences (think Trine, Franklin, Trinity) or b) teams that are "upper-middle-class" of very strong conferences (Baldwin-Wallace, Hardin-Simmons being two examples).  The WIAC teams could almost ALL fall into this category, but the conference is so balanced (other than UWW) that the teams tend to beat up on each other & have a tough time making the playoffs; it's worth noting that the last non-UMU team to beat UWW was UW-Stevens Point in 2008 (in a year that UWW made the national title game).

[umhb2001]

Seems to me that the point McCabe and umhb2001 are making is that the type offense has little to do with it -- if crukid is correct:
"The second team QB threw a TD with 30 seconds left, it was his first and only drive of the game. Mullin threw his 4th TD pass of the game with 6 minutes left and a 30 point lead." It could be that the 2nd string QB needs experience with the same offense (if that will be what they do in seasons/games to come).
Under head coach Keenum McM was pulling that kind of stuff back in 1999 with having Braxton Shaver in the game very late and with a several td lead. That came back to bite them. Big time. As for this year's McM and their future - we will see.
In any case, to have a record in sight for a player and to sub -- even under those circumstances -- may be tougher than some of us recognize.

Yeah, what I'm saying is that if that is your offense and you are running it with the backups, fine, but don't run your #1 QB out there like that. 1)It's a slap in the face to the other team. 2) You run the risk of getting him hurt.

[umhb2001]

Oh, but here's one more thing as well. I don't mean to harp on this, but this is what I see.

It seems as though McM is trying to just run in the face of all other ASC teams, as if their move to the next level means they are better, so they are going to do anything on their way out the door. Running up  scores or not giving handshakes at the end of games seems to be the norm, and I don't think that is what the people at that institution want. I wouldn't want that. As an alum, I would write a letter. UMHB has, as I can remember, never had their #1 RB in the game running when up big. There were times with Quincy Daniels that he took maybe two balls in the 2nd half and then never played again due to the score. To me, that is respecting the game and your opponent.

[mcmfan]

My guess is that the issue is the Pool C bid.  You never know how good you have to look compared to the other teams competing for the positions to get in.  It seems to me there was one year maybe a decade ago when everyone thought HSU should get a bid, but they didn't.  So I suppose you try to overachieve just to be on the safe side, not because you're trying to humiliate the other team.

[umhb2001]

Cru O looked great today, and the big stat...not INT's! Lidarral Bailey was good enough when he had to be and didn't turn it over. The running game looks really strong as well.

The ETBU O was amazing, and Harris is legit. Guy had me scared. He is slippery up the gut when he runs, like a  Tasmanian devil out there spinning everywhere. But, the team made some changes at the half and put the clamps down in the second frame.

Things should play out nicely for the Cru.

[mcmfan]

Any comments/complaints about HSU running up the score?  They just beat TLU by a bigger margin than McMurry did! 

[umhb2001]

Any comments/complaints about HSU running up the score?  They just beat TLU by a bigger margin than McMurry did! 

Haven't heard or seen anything. If it was the 2nd and 3rd string doing it running the O, that's how it is. If it was #1 O, then that's a problem, same as my previous statements.

[roocru]

Any comments/complaints about HSU running up the score?  They just beat TLU by a bigger margin than McMurry did! 

Haven't heard or seen anything. If it was the 2nd and 3rd string doing it running the O, that's how it is. If it was #1 O, then that's a problem, same as my previous statements.

I spoke to some TLU people tonight at my son's game in San Antonio. TLU has eight defensive starters injured or out due to injuries.  Anyone would have a hard time defensively missing that many top players!