South Region playoffs

[Bob.Gregg]

#1 Washington & Jefferson (10-0) vs. #8 North Carolina Wesleyan (8-2)
Drop-back quarterback (#1 efficiency rating) vs. running quarterback.
Perennial participant (116 years of football) vs. newcomer (4th season)
Bishops suffered losses to Wesley (34-31) and Widener (27-17), then won eight straight.


#4 Mary Hardin-Baylor (9-1) vs. #6 Trinity (9-1)
UMHB got whacked at UWW, then dropped to 4th in own region.
Tigers only loss to Rhodes in mid-season, and miracle win keeping Millsaps out.


#3 Muhlenberg (10-0) vs. #5 Salisbury (9-1)
Mules have allowed an average of 7.5 points a game, seven games of one score or less.
Seagulls only loss to Wesley, but have only played one other team (Albright) that was even within a local call of a playoff race.

#2 Wesley (9-1) vs. #7 Hampden-Sydney (8-2)
Wesley lost to Montclair State in mid-September, but owns wins over N.C. Wesleyan, Widener and Salisbury, all in the dance.
Hampden-Sydney lost the opener to Johns Hopkins, then won multiple shootouts since then.

[Carl Menist]

Following Coach DuBose's system, the system is that any Millsaps Major had better be ready to play whenever he steps on the field.  The "short term" setback was that the "third stringers" who "lost it" back in the Aug 2007 know that they had better be prepared in November 2008.  The "long term" benefit is the work ethic that his system puts into the culture of the DuBose's Majors' teams and how hard the 70th and the 80th player on the roster will work in the off-season.   The peer pressure by the half dozen friends of the star player on the star is that the star player has to work harder so as not to incur the wrath of his half-dozen friend who aren't as talented as he.

Ralph, I wish I could have summed up my comments that well back in early September.  Coach DuBose has clearly stated that he wants to build a program at Millsaps and I think he takes a long term approach in some of his decisions.  He said at last year's banquet for the Millsaps senior athletes that he would like to have at least 20-25 seniors leaving the program each year instead of the 6 he had in 2006.  The 2007 team has 12 seniors and with 22 juniors on the roster this season, there should be even more seniors on the 2008 team. 

The success at Millsaps over the last two seasons, 12-1 in the SCAC with an outright championship and a co-championship, makes people forget that these have been rebuilding years at Millsaps.  The 2005 team was 2-7 and those two wins were both 1-point victories.  It's reasonable to think that these two seasons have just been the groundwork for bigger and better things.

Frank.

Ralph ---

I agree with Frank's post and do thank you for your insight and willingness to share your time and knowledge as to the intricacies of football in Division III.

I hope that your insight into Coach Dubose system is on point and that the fruits of that system is the development of great teams in the future but more importantly, the continued development of fine young men who play for him.

[old ends]

Even thought Muhlenberg did not get to go East,, It will be interesting to see how far they get. Personnaly with their stats they have a good chance of getting a lot futher than most people think.

[OLine Coach]

Can one of the gurus tell me why Waynesburg got left out of pool C? 

They lost to W&J by 1 point.
They lost to Geneva in OT - a team with scholarship athletes - and a game that even if they had won would still give them a 7-1 regional record and would not have helped them.

Are they getting screwed by the selection committee or are they getting screwed because teams like geneva are on their probation period?

I may be wrong but wasn't there a team in there with a 2 loss in region record?

[Bob.Gregg]

OLine coach,

Waynesburg got left out of Pool C because:

They lost to W&J, period.
They lost to Geneva, period.

Waynesburg's losses were magnified by the fact that the Yellow Jackets OWP was ranked 186  !!!

And, yes, Eau Claire had two regional losses, as did Ithaca.

Waynesburg was bubble at best after losing to W&J.  Losing to Geneva, while not a primary criteria game, was a loss, and that meant it wasn't a WIN against a primary criteria opponent.

They say misery loves company:  Imagine being Whitworth...NWC conference champion (unbeaten in doing so), one in-region loss and that in week 1 to a team IN the tournament. And the Pirates OWP was 122!

Waynesburg doesn't have the credentials to make THIS field.  But, in my opinion, Ithaca and Eau Claire don't either.

[muledaddy]

 Old Ends,

There may be more than a grain of truth in those stats for the Mules.their out of
conference victories over  TCNJ (15-0 in game 1) and Union (34-0 in game 2)
begin to tell the tale..this mule can kick....defense is sharp...6 all conference
1st team defenders on board...a highly motivated, smart group, with a qb who finds a way to win (come from behind victories in 2 games, one making up a 17 pt deficit).
!st team all conference 1000 yd +running back,good pass receivers, all make for a very interesting Saturday...it can't come soon enough........GO MULES !!!!!!!!!

[Pat Coleman]

Yes. Beating Union (5-4) puts Muhlenberg in elite company.

[muledaddy]

Thanks Pat,

Humility is best served fresh.

[old ends]

Muldaddy..

Trust me, one of the first things I do is pull the stats.. Look at my Centennial Post and you will see that I even post them for other to read.

Not only is DeLuca over a 1M yds, in the conference, he also lead the conference in scoring. Santagato passed for almost 193.2 yds/game and he leads in passing efficiency at 162.6.

Plus the field is something Salisbury , I do not think, has seen the likes of before.

[muledaddy]

 Old Ends and Pat d(the Guru),

Our field is lovely, but different.We are scheduled to replace the surface as soon as this season is over, hopefullly not quite yet. Its harder than the average
schoolyard.

The significance of the opening 2 non conference games was that they both were shut outs, hinting at the defense being pretty good. The rest of the regular
season proved how good the defense was....holding some good  high yardage
teams, with good running attacks, to less than expected by all.

Can a Guru have Karma....will Gulls fly away over the sunset.....and how hard can a MULE KICK...these are the questions that  soon will be answered......

[Smith Reed]

Look for the NCW defense to be the cornerstone of anything generated
by the Bishops against W&J . The offense relies on adept play calling and
execution with wise decision making by their QB. If this is not there then the
Bishops are in for a long day. NCW has not faced an offense like W&J since
early in the season. They will be fully tested tomorrow. The Bishop defense is a
corp of proud young men and should be prepared for the challenge.

[muledaddy]

It's MULETIME.....sit back, relax, and let's if a bird that runs can outplay a mule that kicks,,,,,defense....

poise....defense....poise...bird turnovers(3 )...and lots of prayers get the MULES over Gulls.......the
good thing about a Mule is the bad thing about a mule....its a very stubborn animal...it will not be denied..
meanwhile...gulls are good for something......oh, yeah...they are annoying to beachfolk, helpful to fishermen, and are considered as pesky flying rats by most....GO MULES..........

[Pat Coleman]

Ballgame on the air tomorrow about 11:45 a.m. ET:
http://www.d3football.com/audio/

[yessir]

Good luck to NC Wesleyan. Beat W&J so I don't have to use my free plane tickets so soon.......GO CRU!!!

[Bob.Gregg]

Broadcast link for North Carolina Wesleyan at Washington & Jefferson:

http://www.wjpa.com/sports.htm

This is the W&J broadcast