FB: American Southwest Conference

[Bill McCabe]

What a great defensive game.  I didn't anticipate the offenses being held without a TD.  The d-line was outstanding for UWW, particularly #95 (sorry I don't know his name).  From the first play UMHB could not block him.  I'm not sure I've ever seen a more dominating performance by a DT.  The punter for UWW was great.  He kept the Cru backed up time after time.

Two key plays for UMHB were the INT before half.  That was an outstanding INT.  The fumble in the 3rd quarter stopped the momentum the Cru had to start the 3rd quarter.

As usual, the UMHB defense was awesome.  I hope there is a rematch somewhere down the road!!

[Kelly Boggs]

If the NCAA penalizes UMHB very much for this loss come playoff time, they will absolutely guarantee we will not see these kind of match-ups in the future. Why schedule a ranked non-conference opponent if you are going to pay the price for a "good" loss - if there is such a thing - come playoff time.

I would classify UMHB's loss to UWW as a "good" loss. One play, the first play of the game, was the difference. No "ifing" or "butting" here. The CRU had its opportunities to win the game and did not capitalize. Whitewater's defense stepped up when it needed to. It was one of the most entertaining and exciting 7-3 games I have ever witnessed.

Go Purple CRUsh, one game at a time into the playoffs.

[Bill McCabe]

UMHBalum-n-Catland,  I just checked the QOWI index and it has HSU 10th with a 11.143.  UMHB is tied for 11th with an 11.000.  Wesley has the highest QOWI in the South.  Will this make HSU a higher seed than UMHB?  It would appear they would be battling for the 2nd and 3rd seed.  If UMHB finishes 3rd, would they perhaps play Trinity in the 1st round?

[SRDAD]

 Ok let me get this straight..Sully plays "THE most prolific offense in the country(I'm assuming D-3) who buy the sound of it has hits its stride, is packed with Seniors, and is in the stride of its program, and someone should be faulted for wanting to beat them? I would have loved to see HSU fall at homecoming, just to quiet the spectators here. I think we're lucky to be in a tough conference, with top ranked teams, it developes character(for some).
  But one thing is for certain, boys, my son will graduate without thousands in loans, with as good a state education as you can get, and he will have developed skills and character by tough competition, not just by winning, and Alpine will play the rest of the games believing they will win, which as far as I know is still legal.
  P.S. There goes my Karma.

[baddog]

SRdad --
1. Who faulted anyone for wanting to win? I searched through the posts and found nothing. Maybe I missed it.
2. The post said HSU had "one of the most prolific."
3. What's wrong with the spectators making noise? Or is it wrong for HSU fans to want their team to win?
4. ". . . as good a state education as you can get"? Seriously, no put down to the Alpine school, but you cannot compare the quality of education at SRSU with that at UT or A&M! Sure, you can, but not favorably.

[Zmotion10 out on 2]

SRDAD...yes -1 for you!  I have no idea what you are talking about. 

Why the student loan comments?  My son is one that will have them (loans), but the benefits of playing football on a championship caliber team for 4 years and getting a CHRISTIAN education is priceless.

My thoughts on the game: Sully played hard throughout the game.  They never gave up and I loved that the coach went for it on 4th down.  They had a lot of size!! SR97 you are one of them.  I liked the play of the defense ends.  It was hard to gage the offense after the QB went down.  Hate to see anyone get hurt.  I think this game was one to show exactly where the line is between the top two teams and the rest of the pack.  HSU & UMHB are both teams that are as good as there are in D3.  I think with the games between WW & Linfield our top two teams are right there. BTW I was not one to applaud the UMHB loss upon announcement at the game.  I was hoping for a win for the Cru--I even picked them in the pick em contest.

Sullivan Ross played hard and has some good athletes.  A respectable team.  However HSU's offense is a juggernaut and it showed yesterday.

[Ralph Turner]

Ok let me get this straight..Sully plays "THE most prolific offense in the country(I'm assuming D-3) who buy the sound of it has hits its stride, is packed with Seniors, and is in the stride of its program, and someone should be faulted for wanting to beat them? I would have loved to see HSU fall at homecoming, just to quiet the spectators here. I think we're lucky to be in a tough conference, with top ranked teams, it developes character(for some).
  But one thing is for certain, boys, my son will graduate without thousands in loans, with as good a state education as you can get, and he will have developed skills and character by tough competition, not just by winning, and Alpine will play the rest of the games believing they will win, which as far as I know is still legal.
  P.S. There goes my Karma.

SRDad, please stay around the board a little longer and encourage your fans to post.

SRSU has had its most successful season in a decade.  It must have been tough seeing your starting QB go down.  Most of us thought that the only way that SRSU would win was to shoot it out with the Cowboys.  As hard as the SRSU defense tried, they could not keep HSU off the scoreboard.

IMHO, the best thing that SRSU (and any ASC team) can do is to schedule in-region D3 opponents.  They are few and far between out here.  We need the boosts that winning non-conference records against other D3 competition can provide.

Congratulations to your son for graduating.  I am happy that he found a college that was right for him.

[hpudad]

Just got home from last nights HPU / LC game.  This game was a tale of two halfs.  HPU look great in the first half, playing the type of football that the team has been capable of all season.   HPU took the opening Kick Off 89 yards for a touch down.  HPU recovered a LC fumble on their first series and Adam Johnson hit Chris Jackson with a long TD pass for a quick 14 point lead.  HPU moved the ball well and was up by 3 scores, I think, at the half. 

HPU came out the second half and had a difficult time.  They had some turnovers and had some difficulity in moving the ball. 

If HPU plays to their potential I think they are competitive with anyone in the ASC.  Hopefully they can build on this game and the first half.  HPU is a young team and are playing a lot of Freshmen.  That has made the learning curve steep this year and they have taken their lumps.  I hope that HPU has a lot of players return for their next season.  The experienced gained from this season will pay off.

Go Jackets!!!!   

[kickhoe]

I was really interested in how the new D3 Poll would look today.....even though UMHB has 2 losses, I wasn't sure how they would end up compared to HSU's 1 loss.  A very interesting dynamic!!!   

[kickhoe]

I'll take the 120, but I don't know about the win Roll Eyes

The O looked good today for HSU.  Sully had no answer for... well anyone!  Jordan looked sharp. The run game was looking pretty good.  Sully saw a lot of different looks.  The D scares me though.  They're a bit inconsistent and sully was able to hit some big plays in the passing game early and run it up the middle.  If HSU doesn't fix the interior, the playoffs cold be painful.

I think Sully's QB is likely done.  I don't know what the injury was, but when he got tackled, his knee**** the ground flat with his weight and the lineman on top.  He came out on crutches after the half.  The backup didn't look so good.

A positive for Sully, they have some youth, maybe this will be a turn around year for them.

mhb8904,
I agree you with you about the HSU defense....I think they are pretty soft.....I've been to 2 games this season (ETBU and SR) and HSU has started off pretty weak.  I think HSU has been lucky to have played some mediocre teams and the defense can get away with that kind of play.  Come playoff time, there is no room for slow starts.  They have to come out and dominate!!!

[calhsu]

Well after all these years I finally got to see the Cowboys play at home.   I was more than impressed.  SR didn't come to town thinking about losing.  I was in the same hotel with SRU and thought the guys carried themselves with a lot of confidence.  In fact at time in the first quarter I was concerned.  To say that they adjusted would be to say the least.
It was my 30  year reunion and HSU has come a long way baby.  SRDAD you might be surprised at the number of scholarship that a school like HSU gives. 

I loved the reaction of the crowd when they announced that MHB score.

[D3ASC]

What was the reaction? you cant say that and leave us hanging

[WLCALUM83]

Great game in Belton today.  Both teams were very evenly matched and played fantastic defense.  The DT #95 Ryan Kleppe was great all day.  When he wasn't making a tackle he was definitely causing a disruption on the line.  The punter for the Warhawks also did an outstanding job.  I hope that UMHB can learn from the film, particularly on offense (oh and maybe on that return...it was a great run).  I think the Cru will take the steps needed to learn from this game and improve. Hopefully these two great teams will meet again in the playoffs.  Looks like if the Cru wins out it may be time for some more 'Road Dogs'.  And Kubiak did a great job, and Kub I want the same thing for you this year that we came so close to achieving my senior year.  You worked hard that year for your seniors.  Keep getting those guys fired up to work that heard for you and the other seniors this year.  The Cru, undoubtedly will grow and be ready to unleash on teams for the rest of the year. Go Cru!

Sorry to hear Mary Hardin-Baylor lost. It was a bit lower scoring than I would have expected. I'll give you guys this, you did a good job persuading me to change my tune on my pick! 

[Josh Bowerman]

Ok let me get this straight..Sully plays "THE most prolific offense in the country(I'm assuming D-3) who buy the sound of it has hits its stride, is packed with Seniors, and is in the stride of its program, and someone should be faulted for wanting to beat them? I would have loved to see HSU fall at homecoming, just to quiet the spectators here. I think we're lucky to be in a tough conference, with top ranked teams, it developes character(for some).
  But one thing is for certain, boys, my son will graduate without thousands in loans, with as good a state education as you can get, and he will have developed skills and character by tough competition, not just by winning, and Alpine will play the rest of the games believing they will win, which as far as I know is still legal.
  P.S. There goes my Karma.

Nobody is faulting you for wanting to beat HSU--that's what I'd expect.  But you or your fans making comments that "they can't believe they're losing to HSU.  The Cowboys aren't that good" is just plain stupid.  The Lobos have had a really nice season--one that very few outside of Alpine would have ever guessed possible.  They should be commended for their accomplishments.  However, comments like the above do nothing but minimize that effort and those accomplishments.  It's called sour grapes, and that's what it sounds like when those comments are thrown around after you lose by 42 to a "not very good" team.

[kickhoe]

What was the reaction? you cant say that and leave us hanging

The HSU fans all cheered when the score was announced.  Apparently, some people had a problem with the cheering.  I think it was more due to the rivalry rather than sour grapes.