FB: Southern Athletic Association

[jknezek]

It looks OK, but the committee looks beyond just the W-L total and would look at Centre as "lost to South No. 3, defeated South No. 10." Obviously that still helps some, but not all games against regionally ranked opponents are equal.

Oh I agree wholeheartedly, but 1-1 still looks better than 0-1, even if the 1 win is the 10 South. I know quite well that no one criteria is the trump card. Centre's path is a longshot. But not completely hopeless, especially if Case loses.

[Ralph Turner]

I think that we can say that Trinity is back.

Coach Jerheme Urban has a good foundation for his program.

[Ron Boerger]

I think that we can say that Trinity is back.

Coach Jerheme Urban has a good foundation for his program.

Thanks, Ralph.  It was a shame they couldn't get past Berry yesterday but as usual under Coach Urban they gave it their all and on the road came closer than anyone else in the regular season.   Trinity returns a decent amount of talent next season but will need to replace a three-year starter at QB, both kicking specialists, linemen on both sides, among others.   

[albatross]

great showing by the SAA's top half in the regular season:

Centre, Trinity, and Hendrix all had strong finishes (in fact, Hendrix finished a school record 8-2 and still finished 3rd!).

highlights (conference strength-wise) in my mind include Berry's regional dominance, Hendrix's win over a good TLU team, Trinity defeating an eventual conference champion out West.

the collection of 3-7 at the bottom doesnt look too hot but you might consider the fact that a couple of those 3-7's (BSC and Sewanee) were projected to be worse. the league was more competitive than last year I think.

[BerryViking92]

Regular season thoughts:  So proud of the Berry players and staff.  Undefeated seasons are hard to come by.  Other than Austin and Sewanee our games weren't total blow outs... these guys found a way to win.  And the coaching staff gave a masters level lesson on clock management Saturday.  Truly masterful.  Great environment.  The place was packed, Steve Spurier was there (although on the visitors side), and the fly over at the end of the national anthem was so cool.  Hope the recruits were impressed.

Speaking of recruits, I got to Berry a little too early to meet my friend so I went in the Cage, thinking I would catch a bit of football on the TVs.  Instead, I found the recruits and their families gathered with the coaching staff.  So I listened to Coach K give his pitch and it was a good one.  I was ready to sign up and I got 4 years of eligibility left!

As for next year, graduation will hit rather hard.  We will lose some players that can't be replaced.  But we seem to have a winning tradition established.  Great academics, great campus, great facilities.  The future should be bright.  In the meantime, bring on Huntington.

As for the other SAA schools:

Centre really remains the ideal.  Good year after year.  Too bad they did not make the playoffs.

I think the situation at Hendrix is very similar to Berry.  They got the right coach and have played at a high level since day 1.  The all world QB is a sophomore, I think, so they will only get better.

Sewanee must be the most improved.  It would seem they made a good coaching hire as well.

Rhodes has to be the team that most under-performed.  I thought they would challenge for the championship, instead of only winning 4 games.  Birmingham Southern and Millsaps have some work to do, but both gave us their best shot and seem to be headed in the right direction.

Austin wasn't very good, but Trinity gave us all we wanted.

And my final SAA thought of the post:  Oglethorpe.  Why do we have Oglethorpe in the conference?  Without a football or softball team, it really seems they are not pulling their weight.

It was truly a great season.  Congrats to all the SAA players and coaches.

[jknezek]

Regular season thoughts:  So proud of the Berry players and staff.  Undefeated seasons are hard to come by.  Other than Austin and Sewanee our games weren't total blow outs... these guys found a way to win.  And the coaching staff gave a masters level lesson on clock management Saturday.  Truly masterful.  Great environment.  The place was packed, Steve Spurier was there (although on the visitors side), and the fly over at the end of the national anthem was so cool.  Hope the recruits were impressed.

Speaking of recruits, I got to Berry a little too early to meet my friend so I went in the Cage, thinking I would catch a bit of football on the TVs.  Instead, I found the recruits and their families gathered with the coaching staff.  So I listened to Coach K give his pitch and it was a good one.  I was ready to sign up and I got 4 years of eligibility left!

As for next year, graduation will hit rather hard.  We will lose some players that can't be replaced.  But we seem to have a winning tradition established.  Great academics, great campus, great facilities.  The future should be bright.  In the meantime, bring on Huntington.

As for the other SAA schools:

Centre really remains the ideal.  Good year after year.  Too bad they did not make the playoffs.

I think the situation at Hendrix is very similar to Berry.  They got the right coach and have played at a high level since day 1.  The all world QB is a sophomore, I think, so they will only get better.

Sewanee must be the most improved.  It would seem they might a good coaching hire as well.

Rhodes has to be the team that most under-performed.  I thought they would challenge for the championship, instead of only winning 4 games.  Birmingham Southern and Millsaps have some work to do, but both gave us their best shot and seem to be headed in the right direction.

Austin wasn't very good, but Trinity gave us all we wanted.

And my final SAA thought of the post:  Oglethorpe.  Why do we have Oglethorpe in the conference?  Without a football or softball team, it really seems they are not pulling their weight.

It was truly a great season.  Congrats to all the SAA players and coaches.

Ogelthorpe gave W&L all they could handle in the second round of the NCAA men's soccer tournament. 3-3 through 2 overtimes before W&L won in the 7th round of penalty kicks. Football isn't the only sport that matters at the DIII level. This isn't D1 where it's all about football and basketball revenue.

[Clark Kent]

Regular season thoughts:  So proud of the Berry players and staff.  Undefeated seasons are hard to come by.  Other than Austin and Sewanee our games weren't total blow outs... these guys found a way to win.  And the coaching staff gave a masters level lesson on clock management Saturday.  Truly masterful. 

I agree with most of all of what you say BerryViking92.  Next year the Vikings will return 6 starters on offense and only 3 on defense.  I do believe a lot of underclassmen saw playing time this year, so the cupboard isn't bare.  But we can't think about next year cause we still got work to do this year.  The team and coaches can't be satisfied and must continue to get better.  The teams coming up are better than any Berry has ever played.

The team did find ways to win, but often did not impress with their physicality.  The teams coming up will be physical and if the Vikes can't dish it out, they will go home.  With the skill players Berry has the run game should never get stuffed as it has at times this year.

I'd like to see the OC get the play in quicker.  Why go no huddle if you're not going up tempo.  They have a chance to wear down the defense, but don't.  Some times I'm sitting there saying "Get the play in.....get the play in....for gosh sakes please get the play in". 

And does Berry have any short-intermediate possession routes?  90% of the time on 3rd & 6 or 7 they fling the ball incomplete on fly routes 60 yards downfield, then punt.

But yes, a great year and excited about this Saturday...but not satisfied.  I think this team has the chance to be even better and be special.

[BerryCollegeFan]

I think that we can say that Trinity is back.

Coach Jerheme Urban has a good foundation for his program.

Thanks, Ralph.  It was a shame they couldn't get past Berry yesterday but as usual under Coach Urban they gave it their all and on the road came closer than anyone else in the regular season.   Trinity returns a decent amount of talent next season but will need to replace a three-year starter at QB, both kicking specialists, linemen on both sides, among others.

I heard several good comments Saturday evening about the sportsmanship and attitude of the Trinity players. Excellent young men who represent their school well.

[Ron Boerger]

I want to wish Berry well in their first NCAA D3 football playoff game.  Huntingdon is a solid team but one that offers Berry a good chance to get a win in its first playoff appearance, a rare thing.   

I also want to thank everyone for the discussion this season.  Having been in the wilds of "no real conference land" the last several years it's been great to see folks chatting about their teams and to have a conference championship that means something again.     

[BerryCollegeFan]

Regular season thoughts:  So proud of the Berry players and staff.  Undefeated seasons are hard to come by.  Other than Austin and Sewanee our games weren't total blow outs... these guys found a way to win.  And the coaching staff gave a masters level lesson on clock management Saturday.  Truly masterful. 

I agree with most of all of what you say BerryViking92.  Next year the Vikings will return 6 starters on offense and only 3 on defense.  I do believe a lot of underclassmen saw playing time this year, so the cupboard isn't bare.  But we can't think about next year cause we still got work to do this year.  The team and coaches can't be satisfied and must continue to get better.  The teams coming up are better than any Berry has ever played.

The team did find ways to win, but often did not impress with their physicality.  The teams coming up will be physical and if the Vikes can't dish it out, they will go home.  With the skill players Berry has the run game should never get stuffed as it has at times this year.

I'd like to see the OC get the play in quicker.  Why go no huddle if you're not going up tempo.  They have a chance to wear down the defense, but don't.  Some times I'm sitting there saying "Get the play in.....get the play in....for gosh sakes please get the play in". 

And does Berry have any short-intermediate possession routes?  90% of the time on 3rd & 6 or 7 they fling the ball incomplete on fly routes 60 yards downfield, then punt.

But yes, a great year and excited about this Saturday...but not satisfied.  I think this team has the chance to be even better and be special.

I believe at times this year the coaches did make an effort to play more of the underclassmen, especially in games that had a 2 score differential.  Sometimes I think it worked against the team, because the games became tighter than they should have been.

I also have noticed that a few times this season the lines have been noticeably smaller than the competition.  I have chalked this up to year 5 of a new program.  There are some fine D2 and NAIA programs in the state who are grabbing up some of the OL/DL talent.  Excited for the future of Berry football. 

This next week is important for them to take that next step.

[MUC57]

Hi Berry fans-

Just some thoughts from a Mount Union alumnus, albeit an old one (class of 1957).
Don't get too impatient about tearing up Dlll. The Purple Raiders started football in 1893. They won their first conference championship in 1985 and, therefore, their first playoff appearance. First national title didn't come until 1993. You won your conference in 5 years. Seems pretty good to me.
Ah, but I ramble. Hope this made some sense.
Good luck in the playoffs. Look forward to hearing more about Berry!

[albatross]

Ogelthorpe gave W&L all they could handle in the second round of the NCAA men's soccer tournament. 3-3 through 2 overtimes before W&L won in the 7th round of penalty kicks. Football isn't the only sport that matters at the DIII level. This isn't D1 where it's all about football and basketball revenue.

I might add that the Oglethorpe golf programs are excellent year in and year out. Nationally prominent, too.

[albatross]

I remember playing Huntingdon in the playoffs my junior year. It was clear then that the level of competition had been raised. In 2015, the conference wasn't as strong as it is now and the Hawks were a Top 25 team, but Huntingdon still recruits a high-caliber player to join a winning tradition. Oh, and we played a road game with some, shall we say, less than equitable facilities.

That said, Huntingdon will always be a great matchup for the SAA in the first round. They are a competitive team but a good Hendrix or Berry squad (I limit it to these two schools because of NCAA seeding likelihood - Centre and Trinity won't be going to bama in the playoffs typically) can go toe to toe with them, especially as the programs grow. We were tied at halftime and hung around for a decent bit. Coach Buck described that game as "one we probably shouldn't have won, but one we coulda won..."

I think a Huntingdon-SAA matchup provides for an exciting, regional game. Hoping for one this weekend!

[Hawks88]

Huntingdon to Centre is <500 miles so they could be bused to each other.

[BerryCollegeFan]

Hi Berry fans-

Just some thoughts from a Mount Union alumnus, albeit an old one (class of 1957).
Don't get too impatient about tearing up Dlll. The Purple Raiders started football in 1893. They won their first conference championship in 1985 and, therefore, their first playoff appearance. First national title didn't come until 1993. You won your conference in 5 years. Seems pretty good to me.
Ah, but I ramble. Hope this made some sense.
Good luck in the playoffs. Look forward to hearing more about Berry!

The Berry timetable is moving pretty quickly for sure.  Excited to be part of the ride.