FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[D3_DPUFan]

On the plus side, there are very few coaches who could have inherited the 2005 Millsaps football team and turned it into a 2006 SCAC Championship team.  It's a fact that after 30 years of not being in the NCAA Playoffs, Millsaps has been 2 of the last 3 years and only the 2007 "College play of the year" prevented it from being 3 for 3.  The number of players participating are far higher than at any time in the past and Millsaps is playing a JV schedule for the first time ever.  And maybe most important of all, while growing the program and building this success, there is a tremendous sense of family about the team.  I understand if everyone thinks that just starry eyed BS from a Millsaps supporter, but my glasses aren't as rose-colored as some think regarding Millsaps sports.

Having said that, what are your thoughts on the 2009 edition of the Majors? Obviously it will be tough to replace #11, but overall, how do you see this year's team compared with last year?

[Tex]

Any TX Tiger fans out there that do facebook?  I started a fan group if you're interested.  http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=102436688830&ref=mf

[Ron Boerger]

Lordy, only a little more than a month until Kickoff 2009 is available.  I can't wait!!

[frank_ezelle]

On the plus side, there are very few coaches who could have inherited the 2005 Millsaps football team and turned it into a 2006 SCAC Championship team.  It's a fact that after 30 years of not being in the NCAA Playoffs, Millsaps has been 2 of the last 3 years and only the 2007 "College play of the year" prevented it from being 3 for 3.  The number of players participating are far higher than at any time in the past and Millsaps is playing a JV schedule for the first time ever.  And maybe most important of all, while growing the program and building this success, there is a tremendous sense of family about the team.  I understand if everyone thinks that just starry eyed BS from a Millsaps supporter, but my glasses aren't as rose-colored as some think regarding Millsaps sports.

Having said that, what are your thoughts on the 2009 edition of the Majors? Obviously it will be tough to replace #11, but overall, how do you see this year's team compared with last year?

D3_DPUFan--Giving a preview is a great way to get Millsaps fans irritated with me.  Honest opinions in a setting as passionate as college football have a tendency to rub someone the wrong way regardless of what a person says.  However, I'll give a big picture view of what I see in the Millsaps program overall and what I think that will mean for the 2009 season. 

I'll have to write this up as a word document and then cut and paste to the BB later today or this evening.  That way I can work on it a few minutes here and there while waiting on various reports to print and jobs to finish.  Also, for some reason my PC at work is having problems with this message board entry screen.  Since I didn't have problems  on the home PC, my guess is that some odd editing option has been turned on or off on my work computer.  It's very annoying.

[D3_DPUFan]

Sounds good, Frank...thank you.

[frank_ezelle]

While trying to compose a preview for the 2009 Millsaps football team, I was keenly aware of my lack of qualifications.  My knowledge of the sport is no more than that of a casual fan, and despite attending all of the Millsaps home games for the last 4 years, I really haven't had the opportunity to watch a game because of the photography.  On the other hand, sometimes a person can see a lot when they don't get fixated on the details:

For my preview of the Millsaps 2009 season, I have to go back to the 2005 season.  Millsaps won 24-23 in the 2005 season opener over Concordia-Selma.  The next win, and only other win in their 2-7 season, came 7 games later as they squeaked by Rhodes 30-29 in a battle to avoid the SCAC cellar.  Millsaps was outscored that year by a 315-155 margin.  The scoring margin for the first half was far worse at 178-66.  

That was the program Coach DuBose inherited when he was promoted to head coach in late spring of 2006.  At the start of the 2006 season DuBose said that he was going to put in a new defense and it wasn't going to be pretty for the first few games.  He was right as Millsaps went 0-3 and gave up 128 points.  Since those first 3 games, Millsaps has gone 19-1 in the SCAC and 26-4 overall.  Those 4 losses were the 2 in the NCAA playoffs, the Millsaps controversial game against MS College, and Trinity's "Miracle in Mississippi".  

That's not a fluke.  That's not a case of a guy inheriting a bunch of star players and getting an early boost because of great recruiting by the previous coach.  DuBose took a very bad team that had some talent but very little depth and in one year he turned them into conference champions.  In his second season, two poor decisions cost the team an undefeated regular season--using the 4th quarter of the MC game to give playing experience to the JV players and poor clock management that gave Trinity 2 seconds for one final play.  With lessons learned from year two, the third season was an undefeated regular season with the closest game being a 17-point victory.  I see a pattern.

Trying to predict the strength of Millsaps for 2009 really comes down to 2 options:

1)  Do you think about the departure of Juan Joseph and a group of 20 seniors/12 starters and come to the conclusion that Millsaps has to have a down year after such a loss to graduation ( the departures are included in this 2009 preview from the Millsaps website:  http://www.gomajors.com/news/2009/6/14/FB_0614092146.aspx )

2)  Or, do you think the team will be even stronger in 2009 because the first full recruiting class has now made it to their junior year, the JV program has had a couple of years to produce, and plenty of guys got lots of playing time in the big wins during 2008?  I'm leaning in this direction.

I have this gut feeling that Millsaps will be stronger in 2009 than they were in 2008.  Without knowing for sure who is coming back from last year's team and having no clue about how much help is coming from freshmen and transfers, this is really about my faith in the program.  I know someone is going to ask which flavor of Kool-aid I like, cherry or grape, but I'm just looking at the numbers of what has happened in the past and carrying those forward to the future.  That seems valid until Millsaps gets to the point of having 4 full recruiting classes on campus.

Well, that's my preview and I'm not sure if it's worth much.  With Millsaps starting off with MC, Belhaven, Austin, Trinity and DePauw, it won't take long to see how strong the Majors are in 2009.  And with Trinity and DePauw coming so early, it will be interesting to see just how Coach DuBose plays the MC and Belhaven games--I don't think he'll use the JV but I bet a lot of guys will see the field in those non-conference games. 

[rooski]

Spud will throw for a million yards in '09, and Trinity will be Trinity, but I can't help believe that the 2009 SCAC champion will still have to go through Milsaps. I agree with Frank that many non-starters returning for the Majors this season have gotten a lot of playing time past two seasons and valuable exposure to "big game" situations and will be pretty motivated to show that their team was/is more than just J.Joseph.

I'm not saying that MC cannot be challenged, but I don't think they will tumble from the top without a real fight.

Also, don't forget that each SCAC game will be even bigger this season because there will be ONLY 6 conference games this season without Colorado College and with Birmingham in it's final "provisional" season.

Will anyone "run the table"? Will someone "upset" a contender to throw a wrench in the works? This may be a very exciting fall.

[D3_DPUFan]

Spud will throw for a million yards in '09, and Trinity will be Trinity, but I can't help believe that the 2009 SCAC champion will still have to go through Milsaps. I agree with Frank that many non-starters returning for the Majors this season have gotten a lot of playing time past two seasons and valuable exposure to "big game" situations and will be pretty motivated to show that their team was/is more than just J.Joseph.

I'm not saying that MC cannot be challenged, but I don't think they will tumble from the top without a real fight.

Also, don't forget that each SCAC game will be even bigger this season because there will be ONLY 6 conference games this season without Colorado College and with Birmingham in it's final "provisional" season.

Will anyone "run the table"? Will someone "upset" a contender to throw a wrench in the works? This may be a very exciting fall.

I think your comments are right on, especially that this could

be a very exciting fall.

...Millsaps is losing alot, but they will be a very, very tough opponent for every team in the league. To me, the league will be tougher, top to bottom, than it was last year. While everybody talks about DePauw, Millsaps and  Trinity...add in Austin, Rhodes and and Centre and that presents a pretty challenging conference...especially when you factor in the travel and how some teams play especially tough at home. Should be fun!     

[TigerDad]

Since the SCAC website has been redesigned since last season (very nice, by the way), some folks may have some trouble locating past years' statistics ... here's some helpful links:

2008 SCAC Football Season Statistics home:
http://scacsports.com/sports/fball/2008-09/stats/confstat.htm

2008 SCAC Football Season Team & Conference Leaders Statistics:
http://scacsports.com/sports/fball/2008-09/stats/confldrs.htm

Previous years' stats are available starting from this Archives page:
http://scacsports.com/information/archives



I do agree with recent commentary that the 2009 season can be anybody's race to win (or lose) ... many fine athletes are returning from successful 2008 campaigns and many more will get their chance to step up and make a difference this year.

Hope to make most if not all of the TU games this year ... a rough start for the Texas Tigers with four consecutive road games in September at McMurry, TLU, Rhodes, and Millsaps.  Then, beginning in October, they finish the season with 4 of 6 at home.  If they can start strong and stay healthy, they will contend for the SCAC title again this year.  We shall see ...

Go TU.

[DPU3619]

...Millsaps is losing alot, but they will be a very, very tough opponent for every team in the league. To me, the league will be tougher, top to bottom, than it was last year. While everybody talks about DePauw, Millsaps and  Trinity...add in Austin, Rhodes and and Centre and that presents a pretty challenging conference...especially when you factor in the travel and how some teams play especially tough at home. Should be fun!     

I firmly believe that Sewanee is going to beat somebody they shouldn't this year.  That team is going in the right direction.  Robert Black knows what's going on up on the mountain, and they're going to surprise somebody who isn't ready to play. 

[D3_DPUFan]

I firmly believe that Sewanee is going to beat somebody they shouldn't this year.  That team is going in the right direction.  Robert Black knows what's going on up on the mountain, and they're going to surprise somebody who isn't ready to play.

Astute observation as usual, Wes. The Indiana Tigers will be hiking up the mountain in late September for a game that will probably be played in 80 degree heat and 90% humdity....they had better be prepared for a fight. 

[D3_DPUFan]

I know I've mentioned it before here, but the team that has impressed me the most in terms of elevating from a bottom dweller into a legitimate competitor is Austin...I think Ronnie Gage and the boys in Sherman have things headed in the right direction as well...

[D3_DPUFan]

I stumbled across a piece written on Juan Joseph from last November...interesting reading.


http://bleacherreport.com/articles/83842-a-tale-of-two-qbs-the-divergent-paths-of-ryan-perrilloux-and-juan-joseph/show_full

[Ralph Turner]

I stumbled across a piece written on Juan Joseph from last November...interesting reading.


http://bleacherreport.com/articles/83842-a-tale-of-two-qbs-the-divergent-paths-of-ryan-perrilloux-and-juan-joseph/show_full

On Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008, the Millsaps Majors will line up on Harper Davis Field in Jackson, Mississippi as the D3Football.com No. 4-ranked team in the nation, and the top seed in the Division III Football Tournament South Region.  They will field an offense that averages over 445 yards and 44 points per game.

And they will be led by a 6'1", 188-pound senior quarterback that has passed for 28 touchdowns, run for four more, and is eighth in the nation in total offense.  That quarterback is Juan Joseph.

Under the tutelage of former Alabama head coach Mike DuBose, Joseph has flourished in the spread offense run by Hal Mumme pupil John David Caffey.  Both Caffey and DuBose made it clear in a Clarion-Ledger piece in October of 2008 that "Juan could play for most anybody. He's what you want, especially in the spread offense."

Hal Mumme is the new McMurry Head Coach.

[DGPugh]

Ralph

Mumme 'lite it up' at Kentucky. i don't expect yall to run a wing T, a bone, or even the Ga Tech version of an option... i suspect yall might pass a little   

i remember him hauling that croud into Jordan-Hare... my they could move the ball, i would call him an offensive innovator (even by SEC standards)

keep the faith