FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[FerricMajor82]

The reporter from the Clarion-Ledger has clearly missed the ball.  The Backyard Brawl is a huge game.  In its first year since the hiatus, there was probably close to 10,000 people in attendance.  Of course, such a huge number was dwarfed by an even larger stadium in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum which seemed to swallow-up the DIII crowd. 
Worth note, the visiting team has won every game since the hiatus.  Even the games at Veterans Memorial Coliseum were won by the visiting team (the team wearing white). 
Also, Millsaps will be wearing new uniforms tonight.  They will be New Balance uniforms, and will be the second unifrom change in the past five years. 
I'm predicting a little bit closer game than Frank.  Millsaps' defense needs to step up big.  I'm sure the Offense will do their part.
Millsaps 31, Choctaws 30 (30???  I don't know, maybe they have a PAT blocked or something).

[Boo Radley]

Interesting comment about BSC, Pat.  They have certainly been a strong addition to the SCAC.  But as you indicated, the facts of such a rare transition to D3 from D1 can really get confused.  For example, BSC has the same academic profile and size.  As a Phi Beta Kappa institution, they haven't seen their test scores go down over the years and they still remain the strongest academic institution in the state of Alabama with the highest scores.  They are the only top tier nationally ranked liberal arts college in the state.  Samford has done very well, but they aren't in the same ranking group or academic category as Rhodes, Sewanee, Southwestern or BSC, or the SCAC in general.  I believe the only dip in BSC's enrollment occurred when they decided to go from D1 to D3 and the reports say that was planned for.  With the highest freshman enrollment in their history, up 55% this year, and a football squad of over 120, one would have to say they knew what they were doing.  And their discount rate for their D1 athletes was 92%.  It is now reported at half that for almost twice as many D3 athletes and the average GPA and scores haven't dropped in the slightest.  Sounds pretty profitable and academically sound.

Alabama was a ripe market for this program.  Doesn't matter how many college football programs there are in the state.  There weren't any D3 national liberal arts programs in the state.  All of these students were leaving and going to other SCAC and national colleges if they wanted to play sports.  BSC just captured a large chunk of this market.  And I agree, there probably isn't a better coaching staff at D3.  Joey Jones was a real catch.  Based on the early scrimmages, they may surprise a lot of people this year.

[Josh Bowerman]

Just a reminder to all the returning parents and players, and a "head's-up" for all new players and parents...

I cover several SCAC and ASC games each year as a staff photographer for d3football.com.  This weekend, I'll be covering the Austin College/SWAG contest in Sherman.

The images from the game will be posted on this site by the end of the weekend (I hope--I'm promising things that aren't totally in my control), and will be available for purchase.  The proceeds from these sales benefit this site (and d3hoops.com and d3baseball.com). 

I hope that you'll check the shots out, and will consider supporting the site through purchasing one or two.  I also hope that you'll stop by and say "hello" if you're at the game--it's always nice to meet fellow DIII fans.  I'll be the guy in the floppy hat roving the the sidelines with camera and big lens in tow. 

I'm always available for special requests, so if any players or parents from AC/SWAG have any, please don't hesitate to send me a private message via these message boards or email me at jbowerman@austincollege.edu.

[historymajor]

Millsaps loses backyard brawl to MS College 27-26...  led at one time 20-3.... 0-1...

[Pat Coleman]

More importantly, what's the status of Juan Joseph? He left and did not return.

[Ron Boerger]

Nothing on either MC website and doubt there will be anything known in time for press in the Clarion-Ledger.   Maybe Frank can help us out.  Hopefully the injury was minor. 

EDIT ... Millsaps has a stub which says nothing about any injury.

[Just_that_kid]

Juan is fine. In case you weren't at the game, or simply didn't notice, Millsaps' 2nd and 3rd team units (offensively and defensively) played the majority of the second half, including most of the third and the entire fourth quarters. MC's starters remained in the game until the end.

[golden_dome]

Nothing on either MC website and doubt there will be anything known in time for press in the Clarion-Ledger.   Maybe Frank can help us out.  Hopefully the injury was minor. 

EDIT ... Millsaps has a stub which says nothing about any injury.

The game ran late tonight so it was a scramble getting things online. I did not see Joseph get injured so I would hate to speculate but I don't think it was serious from what I was told. He had a great game.

[MajorAlum80]

Juan is fine. In case you weren't at the game, or simply didn't notice, Millsaps' 2nd and 3rd team units (offensively and defensively) played the majority of the second half, including most of the third and the entire fourth quarters. MC's starters remained in the game until the end.

For anyone that read that post, it is not an exaggeration.  The second strings played the entire fourth quarter, even on MC's final drive to take the lead.

I have been watching football for 40 years (played at Millsaps in 79 and 80) and not much shocks me anymore....but this did.  I only make it to a few games, so I will not speculate on the reasons that this was done because I am hardly on the "inside."

Let me say this though, Millsaps is dangerous.  The first team defense was outstanding and dominated a talented MC offense.  The offense looked shaky (missed two opportunities in the red zone) but is loaded with talent.  Kicking is a major concern (two missed PAT's and a missed FG).   

[Chronological Order]

Juan is fine. I was at the game. The first string team looked great. They built up a 26-6 lead until in the mid 3rd quarter Coach Dubose put the 2nd and 3rd string players in the game for good. I believe that was his plan the whole time because throughout the first three quarters he would take them out for a series here and there. Dubose likes to look at things with the big picture in mind. Although they lost, they were able to show dominance with their first stringers and he was able to get a lot of his freshmen into the game to get some quick experience before they roll into the SCAC schedule. This was also all without starting tail back, starting X-receiver, and starting strong safety to make sure that they are completely healthy before the conference schedule. The positive out of the game was that the Millsaps defense only gave up 3 points in the first half compared to 35 in last years contest.

[Just_that_kid]

Chrono: I entirely agree with you right up until the "offense looks shaky" comment. the offense that millsaps runs is hit or miss. there generally aren't too many, extremely long drives. millsaps had over 250 yards in the air and had scored 26 points by half. multiply by two. that's an extremely good night. and the starters didn't even play the whole first half.
it was an extremely good game, and you are 100% right on the "bigger picture." younger players got the chance to play a game when something was on the line, and not when the team was up by 40. invaluable experience.

[Ron Boerger]

Giving your 2's and 3's a chance to get playing time in game conditions:  good
Losing the game because your 2's and 3's stayed in the entire 4th q:  bad

So let's say Millsaps wins out - 9-1 is a very good season.  But somewhere down the road in the playoffs they will have to play someone 10-0 and thanks to the loss will have to hit the road to do it.   Harder on the players, harder on the home fans, the great majority of whom will not be able to hop on a plane at short notice. 

Anyway, I do look forward to seeing the Majors in person in Sherman in two weeks.

[frank_ezelle]

The best way I can describe the game is to compare it to the 3rd exhibition game for an NFL team--at least from the Millsaps side.  The starters played the first half and a series or two in the third, and then they were done for the night.  As a Millsaps fan, I actually have no problem with the plan, but I might be pretty ticked off about it if I were an MC player or coach.  It's one thing to get beat by your rival and quite another for them to "tank" the game because they have bigger fish to fry.

Maybe "tank" is the wrong word because I'm sure the Millsaps coaches were doing all they could to win the game while using the 2nd and 3rd team.  The only thing they didn't do was reinsert any of the 1st string in an effort to hold on to the win.  In many ways it was just like last year when DuBose installed a defensive scheme at the first of the year that was difficult enough to lead to some blowout losses early on and effective enough to lead to an SCAC title later in the year.  Non-conference games are used to get ready for conference games--I don't think it would fly at Alabama, but this isn't the big business of D1 sports.

Maybe I've just had one too many drinks of the Mike DuBose Kool-Aide, but here are some pros to offset the con mentioned by Ron:
--Millsaps saw what they needed to see from their starters.  While Millsaps and MC both fumbled away a good scoring opportunity in the first half, the 17 point halftime difference was a good reflection of the two teams.  If it was a conference game, the final score would probably have been around 35-10.
--Reports say that Juan Joseph was injured and I'm not sure if that is correct, but Millsaps lessen the chance of a key injury by not having key players playing much of the 2nd half.
--Millsaps played 74 players and most got a good bit of playing time.  These guys just went through a couple of weeks of 100 degree practices and they were rewarded with some playing time while helping build depth, something the 2006 team was lacking.
--And finally, I think Coach DuBose clearly demonstrated to the players just how high his goals are for the team, basically saying that a win over a local rival isn't significant compared to his goals of making the program a national program.  I'm sure he has told the players this many times, but his actions last night spoke much louder than words. 

I'm sure there are some Millsaps fans who are upset that Millsaps gave away the game.  All I can say to them is remember last year and how well that worked out for the team.  I'm also sure that some board members will read this and just think it is a Millsaps fan trying to put a positive spin on a crushing defeat.  I understand how you would feel that way--I've never seen a coach take this kind of approach, especially against a big rival.  It was an odd way to open what seems to be a very promising season.

[Ron Boerger]

Here's one other con:

If Millsaps does NOT win the SCAC, they will have virtually no chance to get a Pool C bid at a best possible record of 8-2.  They may very well win out and make this moot, but it's still an interesting situation.  Unlike the pros, there is no 'preseason' when it comes to which games count and which do not when you select Pool C teams, unless you play an out-of-region or non D3 team.

Here is the Clarion-Ledger writeup on the game, which mentions an injury to Joseph but goes into no further details.

[frank_ezelle]

Ron, I'm going to guess that the plan behind last night's game was to give Millsaps the best chance possible at winning the automatic bid instead of keeping hopes alive for an at-large.  I would say that the at-large possibility is null at this point, and it would have been only slightly better than null if they finished second in the SCAC.

Another negative is simply having lost to a rival school in a game you could have easily won.  That won't sit well with some folks and I doubt that DuBose really cares as long as his players and coaches understand and see the big picture.  I'm not saying that last night was the right or wrong approach to take.  It certainly was an approach that very few coaches would use and therefore it is something that many would disagree with.  I happen to believe that Mike DuBose knows more about football and this team than I do, and in an odd way, his willingness to take this approach gets me excited about the future rather than depressed over last night's results.