FB: Southern Athletic Association

[Ron Boerger]

Some interesting games in this, the next-to-last weekend before SAA play gets underway.

• #16 UW-Oshkosh (1-1) at Millsaps (1-1) - Majors coming off win against McMurry but will be hard pressed to keep up with the Titans
• #4 UW-Whitewater (1-1) at RV Berry (2-0) - Should give us an early indication if the Vikings will be a factor in the SAA race
• Westminister (MO) (0-2) at Sewanee (1-1) - Blue Jays, who have scored a total of six points in two games, should give Tigers an excellent shot at win #2 in 2022
• Hendrix (1-1) at Howard Payne (1-1) in Prosper, TX - Yellow Jackets put up 59 in a win at TLU and narrowly lost at George Fox, Hendrix trying to recover from a 52-7 destruction at the hands of Wash U.
• Texas Lutheran (0-1) at #7 Trinity (2-0) - After giving up 610 yards in their only game against HPU (with nearly 500 through the air), can the Bulldogs do any better against Trinity?  They do have the luxury of having seen the Tigers in a scrimmage in Week 0.

[brewhawk]

Berry looks tough trailing 14-3  at half.  Defense looks tired, let's see how much it affects them in the 2nd half. UWW looks flat as if they just spent 14 hrs on a bus.

Pound the rock!

[Ron Boerger]

Berry hanging tough against the UW-W run and drove to the UW-W 4 after the Warhawks had missed a short FG.  Unfortunately three straight incomplete passes resulted in a turnover on downs.   17-3 UW-W mid Q4.

[tigerguy]

Wasn't able to catch the UWW/Berry game but purely from the score, it looked like Berry put up a decent fight. Any post-game comments from anybody able to catch it?

[brewhawk]

Wasn't able to catch the UWW/Berry game but purely from the score, it looked like Berry put up a decent fight. Any post-game comments from anybody able to catch it?

Berry was a quality opponent, but I don't think the game was as close as the scoreboard said. I think UWW was playing not to lose, instead of running score up.

Also, note to announcers, please do your research when you allude to the reason you lost is because UWW is a state school. They aren't even the biggest in their conference, let alone D3. UWW hasn't won the championship since (checking notes ) 2014 and small private schools have won since. The past  Also alluded to state schools have more advantages than Berry (Bull****). Georgia has more potential recruits than anywhere and not UWW fault they can't keep them.

Hats off to Berry for scheduling this game. Hope they learned from it and what they need to do to get to the next level.

[awadelewis]

Some interesting games in this, the next-to-last weekend before SAA play gets underway.

• Westminister (MO) (0-2) at Sewanee (1-1) - Blue Jays, who have scored a total of six points in two games, should give Tigers an excellent shot at win #2 in 2022

Sewanee 41 - Westminster 6.    Went pretty much as expected.

Also, note to announcers, please do your research when you allude to the reason you lost is because UWW is a state school. They aren't even the biggest in their conference, let alone D3. UWW hasn't won the championship since (checking notes ) 2014 and small private schools have won since. The past  Also alluded to state schools have more advantages than Berry (Bull****). Georgia has more potential recruits than anywhere and not UWW fault they can't keep them.

Very true.   Berry has drawn well both academically and athletically from the Atlanta area schools.   Strong football in that area from the big high schools down into the smaller private high schools.

[Cowboy2]

Wasn't able to catch the UWW/Berry game but purely from the score, it looked like Berry put up a decent fight. Any post-game comments from anybody able to catch it?

Berry was a quality opponent, but I don't think the game was as close as the scoreboard said. I think UWW was playing not to lose, instead of running score up.

Also, note to announcers, please do your research when you allude to the reason you lost is because UWW is a state school. They aren't even the biggest in their conference, let alone D3. UWW hasn't won the championship since (checking notes ) 2014 and small private schools have won since. The past  Also alluded to state schools have more advantages than Berry (Bull****). Georgia has more potential recruits than anywhere and not UWW fault they can't keep them.

Hats off to Berry for scheduling this game. Hope they learned from it and what they need to do to get to the next level.

Watched all but one series (1st after halftime). Berry has a stout defense! They also have some very talented skill players on offense...the few times they were able to get into space showed. It amazed me how well they did defending the run. UWW converted a ton of 3rd downs to extend drives and overtime wore Berry down. I actually think the game was closer than the score reflected due to poor offensive plays from both sides. UWW connected on a couple long broken Pass plays where as Berry didnt. To me that proved to be the only difference...outside the visual size difference of UWWs OL and better QB play at times.

Yes,, I agree UWW didn't look like machine their fans are used to seeing, but Berry did a great job in responding to their loss to UWW last year. You can tell they're making strides and scheduling the UWWs will help the team grow.

Looking back I think Berry was 0-4 in the red zone. UWW missed two FGs. Both teams each had a fumble and interception that killed drives. Berry may not have won the stat sheet but they were still always in the game thanks to the defense. Even at the end of the game.

All in all it was a slow game. Berry played to win and lost by going for it on 4th downs or playing the field position battle. UWW played to not lose and we're getting stuffed in the backfield majority of the game. I think Berry opened a lot of people's eyes today.

I hope the players that left the game didn't suffer any sever injuries.

[brewhawk]

Wasn't able to catch the UWW/Berry game but purely from the score, it looked like Berry put up a decent fight. Any post-game comments from anybody able to catch it?

Berry was a quality opponent, but I don't think the game was as close as the scoreboard said. I think UWW was playing not to lose, instead of running score up.

Also, note to announcers, please do your research when you allude to the reason you lost is because UWW is a state school. They aren't even the biggest in their conference, let alone D3. UWW hasn't won the championship since (checking notes ) 2014 and small private schools have won since. The past  Also alluded to state schools have more advantages than Berry (Bull****). Georgia has more potential recruits than anywhere and not UWW fault they can't keep them.

Hats off to Berry for scheduling this game. Hope they learned from it and what they need to do to get to the next level.

Watched all but one series (1st after halftime). Berry has a stout defense! They also have some very talented skill players on offense...the few times they were able to get into space showed. It amazed me how well they did defending the run. UWW converted a ton of 3rd downs to extend drives and overtime wore Berry down. I actually think the game was closer than the score reflected due to poor offensive plays from both sides. UWW connected on a couple long broken Pass plays where as Berry didnt. To me that proved to be the only difference...outside the visual size difference of UWWs OL and better QB play at times.

Yes,, I agree UWW didn't look like machine their fans are used to seeing, but Berry did a great job in responding to their loss to UWW last year. You can tell they're making strides and scheduling the UWWs will help the team grow.

Looking back I think Berry was 0-4 in the red zone. UWW missed two FGs. Both teams each had a fumble and interception that killed drives. Berry may not have won the stat sheet but they were still always in the game thanks to the defense. Even at the end of the game.

All in all it was a slow game. Berry played to win and lost by going for it on 4th downs or playing the field position battle. UWW played to not lose and we're getting stuffed in the backfield majority of the game. I think Berry opened a lot of people's eyes today.

I hope the players that left the game didn't suffer any sever injuries.

I don't think you're far off cowboy. Berry is a good team, watching UWW like I do, they played. It to lose.  Berry is a good team no doubt. They proved it today that they can pester a top 5 team. But the big thing that stands out to me is 3.  Couldn't score when they needed to. Berry is a playoff team but can they get out of the first round....maybe.

[brewhawk]

Wasn't able to catch the UWW/Berry game but purely from the score, it looked like Berry put up a decent fight. Any post-game comments from anybody able to catch it?

Berry was a quality opponent, but I don't think the game was as close as the scoreboard said. I think UWW was playing not to lose, instead of running score up.

Also, note to announcers, please do your research when you allude to the reason you lost is because UWW is a state school. They aren't even the biggest in their conference, let alone D3. UWW hasn't won the championship since (checking notes ) 2014 and small private schools have won since. The past  Also alluded to state schools have more advantages than Berry (Bull****). Georgia has more potential recruits than anywhere and not UWW fault they can't keep them.

Hats off to Berry for scheduling this game. Hope they learned from it and what they need to do to get to the next level.

Watched all but one series (1st after halftime). Berry has a stout defense! They also have some very talented skill players on offense...the few times they were able to get into space showed. It amazed me how well they did defending the run. UWW converted a ton of 3rd downs to extend drives and overtime wore Berry down. I actually think the game was closer than the score reflected due to poor offensive plays from both sides. UWW connected on a couple long broken Pass plays where as Berry didnt. To me that proved to be the only difference...outside the visual size difference of UWWs OL and better QB play at times.

Yes,, I agree UWW didn't look like machine their fans are used to seeing, but Berry did a great job in responding to their loss to UWW last year. You can tell they're making strides and scheduling the UWWs will help the team grow.

Looking back I think Berry was 0-4 in the red zone. UWW missed two FGs. Both teams each had a fumble and interception that killed drives. Berry may not have won the stat sheet but they were still always in the game thanks to the defense. Even at the end of the game.

All in all it was a slow game. Berry played to win and lost by going for it on 4th downs or playing the field position battle. UWW played to not lose and we're getting stuffed in the backfield majority of the game. I think Berry opened a lot of people's eyes today.

I hope the players that left the game didn't suffer any sever injuries.

I don't think you're far off cowboy. Berry is a good team, watching UWW like I do, they played it not to lose.  Berry is a good team no doubt. They proved it today that they can pester a top 5 team. But the big thing that stands out to me is 3.  Couldn't score when they needed to. Berry is a playoff team but can they get out of the first round....maybe.

[tigerguy]

The bizarre INTs continue for Horn. Forcing it when he absolutely doesn't need to. Has now matched his INT total from last year through three games this season.

[bleedpurple]

Wasn't able to catch the UWW/Berry game but purely from the score, it looked like Berry put up a decent fight. Any post-game comments from anybody able to catch it?

Berry was a quality opponent, but I don't think the game was as close as the scoreboard said. I think UWW was playing not to lose, instead of running score up.

Also, note to announcers, please do your research when you allude to the reason you lost is because UWW is a state school. They aren't even the biggest in their conference, let alone D3. UWW hasn't won the championship since (checking notes ) 2014 and small private schools have won since. The past  Also alluded to state schools have more advantages than Berry (Bull****). Georgia has more potential recruits than anywhere and not UWW fault they can't keep them.

Hats off to Berry for scheduling this game. Hope they learned from it and what they need to do to get to the next level.

Watched all but one series (1st after halftime). Berry has a stout defense! They also have some very talented skill players on offense...the few times they were able to get into space showed. It amazed me how well they did defending the run. UWW converted a ton of 3rd downs to extend drives and overtime wore Berry down. I actually think the game was closer than the score reflected due to poor offensive plays from both sides. UWW connected on a couple long broken Pass plays where as Berry didnt. To me that proved to be the only difference...outside the visual size difference of UWWs OL and better QB play at times.

Yes,, I agree UWW didn't look like machine their fans are used to seeing, but Berry did a great job in responding to their loss to UWW last year. You can tell they're making strides and scheduling the UWWs will help the team grow.

Looking back I think Berry was 0-4 in the red zone. UWW missed two FGs. Both teams each had a fumble and interception that killed drives. Berry may not have won the stat sheet but they were still always in the game thanks to the defense. Even at the end of the game.

All in all it was a slow game. Berry played to win and lost by going for it on 4th downs or playing the field position battle. UWW played to not lose and we're getting stuffed in the backfield majority of the game. I think Berry opened a lot of people's eyes today.

I hope the players that left the game didn't suffer any sever injuries.

I agree with you on most of this post. A couple of comments on the bolded sections.  First, what do you mean by "long broken pass plays". I'm not sure what that means because they most certainly weren't broken coverages. It was a case of our guys beating their guys deep.  Berry played downhill and packed the line all afternoon. I do believe it's true that too often we didn't execute well enough to take advantage of that. It was a good strategy because it negated our run game for the most part. However, the cost of packing people in can be vulnerability on the back end. We have the QB and WRs to make people pay for doing that.

As far as "being in the game" until the end, that is a matter of perspective. As a Berry fan, there was hope because they were only down by a couple of scores.  As a UW-W fan, you really didn't worry about them scoring on you, even if they were in the red zone, so it was a matter of focusing on whether we would "only" win 17-3 or whether we could add a score or two to make the result more resounding. I'm guessing that after UW-W went up 14-0 at no point did any UW-W fans have any concerns about losing the game. It was just a matter if the offense would kick it into gear and turn it into a blowout.  Credit to Berry that they did not. I was really impressed with their quickness and athleticism on both offense and defense.

Otherwise, I agree with this post. Berry deserves a ton of credit. I will be rooting for them, not just this year, but beyond.  Anyone who will schedule a Top 5 program with the idea of getting better deserves a lot of credit. Beautiful campus and really nice people down there.

Good luck the rest of the way!

[Ron Boerger]

Thoughts after yesterday's results:

• Millsaps - no shame in losing to #16 UW-Oshkosh; probably one of the mid-pack team in the conference this year. 
• Berry - will be a factor in the SAA this season with a much improved performance against UW-W compared to last season.
• Sewanee - really good against bad teams which is a big improvement over recent seasons.  They should pick up a couple of SAA wins, possibly more.  Three W's in conference play would tie 2018 for the most since 2005 and five W's overall would tie the 2011 and 2005 squads for the best record since 2000.
• Hendrix - ugh.  Giving up 119 points in two games, even to decent if not quite top 25 teams, doesn't bode well for success.  They have two weeks to prepare for Trinity who they get in Conway.
• Trinity - put up 52 on TLU but the passing game has yet to cook like it did last season.  Two TDs off returns by the electric BJ Stewart and a block by the punting special teams unit that led to a one-play, 15-yard TD drive resulted in nearly half the points scored before garbage time, and the season-high 205 yards on the ground nearly matched the 225 through the air.  The defense is still stout - especially on the ground.  Two weeks to make some tweaks and hopefully get #1 target Austin Bertness back on the field.

[Ron Boerger]

The latest D3football.com Top 25 is out.  One voter gave #7 Trinity a first place vote (!) - not only the first it has *ever* received since the poll was initiated in 2003, but the first time a team ranked as low as #7 ever received a first-place vote (#6 Hardin-Simmons also got one, also the first time a #6 team received one) - [edit] h/t to Pat for pointing all that out on Twitter.   And no, I don't have a vote, and as much as I love my guys wouldn't put them as #1 this week if I did. 

(RV) Berry actually picked up 4 points despite the loss; one reason I love the D3football.com voters is they actually think about their votes instead of slamming a team that loses to a higher-ranked opponent.  Centre is the only other SAA school to receive a (single) vote. 

[Ralph Turner]

The latest D3football.com Top 25 is out.  One voter gave #7 Trinity a first place vote (!) - not only the first it has *ever* received since the poll was initiated in 2003, but the first time a team ranked as low as #7 ever received a first-place vote (#6 Hardin-Simmons also got one, also the first time a #6 team received one) - [edit] h/t to Pat for pointing all that out on Twitter.   And no, I don't have a vote, and as much as I love my guys wouldn't put them as #1 this week if I did. 

(RV) Berry actually picked up 4 points despite the loss; one reason I love the D3football.com voters is they actually think about their votes instead of slamming a team that loses to a higher-ranked opponent.  Centre is the only other SAA school to receive a (single) vote.

If Wheaton IL beats NCC in 2 weeks, then that vote makes sense.

[Cowboy2]

If* they do, then Wheaton will need to receive a couple votes as well...with a (-1) OT loss - first game and on the road....