FB: Southern Athletic Association

[jknezek]

Factoid of the day...

Alabama's 52 points surrendered to Tennessee last Saturday was the most allowed by a Crimson Tide team since 1907 when Sewanee poured 54 on Bama.

Tip of the hat to D3Playbook.com

Awesome stat. I always enjoy the random conversations where I get to tell people that Sewanee was a founding member of the SEC.

Been looking forward to our game at your house this weekend for a few years now.  Your campus has been one I've been waiting to see.  How's the tailgating scene on campus?  Good places to set up?

Sewanee has a good spot for tailgating, although it's been a few years since I was there. They are pretty good about parking you in the field a few hundred yards past the stadium and you can set up there. That's where W&L's alumni tailgate sets up every other year (though I missed this year sadly). If you catch one of those nice days on the Mountain, it's a beautiful campus. Stadium is cool, at least the home side. Old stone stands that have been there forever. Inside the athletic center next to the field there's a lot of cool history about Sewanee's early football, including the historic 1899 team. Worth peaking around in there, especially if it's raining.

And that's the only problem I ever really have with Sewanee... the darn weather. It seems like it always rains when I'm there. Between college and seeing games  since moving to Birmingham, I bet I've been to Sewanee about ten times. I think it didn't pour on me twice. But those two times? Gorgeous campus, gorgeous views. Students can even get a little rowdy sometimes, which I find fun and amusing because they haven't taken it too far. But I remember leaving once or twice, with a W&L Trident on the hood of my car, and getting yelled and cursed at by guys in plaid kilts.

I like passionate, slightly or more drunk, college kids yelling at the opponents fans... it is part of college football to me so long as that's where it stays. Plus I admire their perseverance since the football On the Mountain more often than not leaves something to be desired...

[awadelewis]

Factoid of the day...

Alabama's 52 points surrendered to Tennessee last Saturday was the most allowed by a Crimson Tide team since 1907 when Sewanee poured 54 on Bama.

Tip of the hat to D3Playbook.com

Awesome stat. I always enjoy the random conversations where I get to tell people that Sewanee was a founding member of the SEC.

Been looking forward to our game at your house this weekend for a few years now.  Your campus has been one I've been waiting to see.  How's the tailgating scene on campus?  Good places to set up?

Sewanee has a good spot for tailgating, although it's been a few years since I was there. They are pretty good about parking you in the field a few hundred yards past the stadium and you can set up there. That's where W&L's alumni tailgate sets up every other year (though I missed this year sadly). If you catch one of those nice days on the Mountain, it's a beautiful campus. Stadium is cool, at least the home side. Old stone stands that have been there forever. Inside the athletic center next to the field there's a lot of cool history about Sewanee's early football, including the historic 1899 team. Worth peaking around in there, especially if it's raining.

And that's the only problem I ever really have with Sewanee... the darn weather. It seems like it always rains when I'm there. Between college and seeing games  since moving to Birmingham, I bet I've been to Sewanee about ten times. I think it didn't pour on me twice. But those two times? Gorgeous campus, gorgeous views. Students can even get a little rowdy sometimes, which I find fun and amusing because they haven't taken it too far. But I remember leaving once or twice, with a W&L Trident on the hood of my car, and getting yelled and cursed at by guys in plaid kilts.

I like passionate, slightly or more drunk, college kids yelling at the opponents fans... it is part of college football to me so long as that's where it stays. Plus I admire their perseverance since the football On the Mountain more often than not leaves something to be desired...

The weather will be interesting this weekend as it's the one night game in this year's home schedule for us.    Current forecast for game time is mostly cloudy with temperatures in the low 60s dropping into the upper 40s fairly quickly.   Good chance for a classic Sewanee fog.

Game day information can be found at https://sewaneetigers.com/sports/2021/9/16/2021-football-gameday-information.aspx.  A recent change is that the grass lot behind the home stands has been opened for tailgating on a first come-first serve basis and a $20 fee.  The grass field jknezek mentioned is described as the "Gold Lot"  in the game day information.  It's over by our practice fields and baseball stadium.  Do buy from the concession stand as the proceeds help support our local Habitat for Humanity organization.

If you're coming to the Mountain, the best accommodation option is the Sewanee Inn, which is the conference hotel on campus.  It's bloody expensive, tho'.  Otherwise, out of the Monteagle hotels, I've been recommending the Quality Inn as it's the best run of the options out that way (about a 10 minute drive from campus).    There are a couple of upscale options out that way as well that have good reputations but are outside the range my pocketbook can handle.

For dining,  Shenanigans and The Blue Chair are campus options.    The Inn has good restaurants in the main building and the golf shop.  There's a new French bisto-style place opened in the Village (almost makes me sound like I'm an episode of that old spy drama called "The Prisoner") that has gotten some good press.   Papa Ron's in Monteagle is a decent red-sauce Italian and steak place.  For the really fancy meal, the High Point Restaurant is the place to go in Monteagle (very good rep).

The last couple of years of less than stellar performance (even for our teams) has sapped a lot of the student support for the team.    Good chance you'll see more people on the visitor side than in the home stands.

[Ron Boerger]

For the three people who see this, sorry for not posting a review/preview last week, but with that said ...

News and notes from the SAA office:

Offensive PotW:  Jacob Wood / Hendrix / Sr. / Bee Branch, Ark.
Accounting for five touchdowns; three in the air and two more on the ground, Wood led Hendrix to a convincing 48-21 win over Sewanee. The senior threw for 346 yards with touchdown strikes of seven yards, 42 yards and 15 yards to highlight a 23-for-28 day passing. Wood plunged into the endzone from a yard out for the first score of the game and later added a three-yard rushing TD to cap off a 99-yard drive in the second quarter.

Defensive PotW: Ezra Gore / Trinity / Sr. / McKinney, Texas
Gore had a pick-six in the middle of the third quarter to seal-up Trinity's sixth-straight win and keep the Tigers perfect on the season. The senior tallied two solo tackles from his DB spot on the day, including one for a three-yard loss. His 21-yard interception return pushed the score to 38-0, later resulting in a 45-0 Trinity shutout at Rhodes.

Special Teams PotW:  Blake Lin / Trinity / So. / Tyler, Texas
Lin put up big numbers in the kicking game in Trinity's shutout of Rhodes. The sophomore was a perfect 6-for-6 in PAT's and drilled a season-best 34-yard field goal early in the second quarter. His eight kickoffs traveled a total of 467 yards, averaging 58.4 yards per boot.

Notes:

• SAA road teams (Trinity, Berry) won two games while home teams Hendrix and Birmingham-Southern both posted victories. Berry spoiled Centre's homecoming with a blocked PAT in overtime to escape Danville with a 31-30 victory. BSC (28-0) over Millsaps and Trinity (45-0) over Rhodes both posted shutouts.
• Trinity is one of just 21 unbeaten teams left in NCAA Division III.
• Trinity is 34th in the nation in passing offense, throwing for 278.2 yard a game.
• Trinity ranked 15th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 10.7 points a game. The Tigers have Division III's fifth ranked rushing defense, surrendering only 34.2 yards on the ground.
• Millsaps has lost just two turnovers this season, the sixth best mark in the nation.
• Tucker Horn (Trinity) ranks eighth in the nation in completion percentage (72 percent) and 37th in total offense, accounting for 265.3 yards a game.
• Zach Ford (BSC) leads the nation in field goal percentage, hitting 6-for-6 with a long of 42 yards. Teammate Aidan Hood is sixth nationally in punting with 42.4 yards per kick.
• Michael McGhee (Sewanee) is eighth in Division III with 7.5 yards per carry.
• Armon Wells of Centre is 64th in the nation with nine tackles a game.
• In the Polls; Trinity checked in at No. 7 in the D3football.com poll and No. 6 in the coaches poll. BSC received votes in both ranking.

This week's schedule:

Centre (4-2, 2-1 SAA) at Hendrix (2-4, 1-2 SAA), 1:00pm CDT
Colonels, coming off a disheartening Homecoming loss, will attempt to stay in the SAA race in a game they should win, but the Warriors have shown signs of life recently and play much better at home than they do on the road.  Hendrix QB Jacob Wood is coming off the best performance of his career (23-28 for 3 TDs, 346 yards in addition to 2 rushing TDs vs. Sewanee) and hopes to make what could be his last Senior Day a memorable one.

Berry (4-2, 2-1 SAA) at #7/#6 Trinity (6-0, 3-0), 1:00pm CDT
Another must-win for a visiting team as the Vikings hope to continue the momentum that started in the fourth quarter at Centre last week, when they scored three TDs in the final 10:53 (one with five seconds left) to send the game into OT, and climaxed when Elohim Hull blocked what would have been the Colonels' OT-tying PAT to stun the Homecoming faithful.   Less clear is whether the visitors will start Gavin Gray or Blake Hembree at QB; Gray was the starter in the first four games but Hembree, who struggled to a 13-30, 161 yard/2 TD performance against Centre, has seen all the action the last two weeks.  Berry, with a season-high 221 yards rushing last week, has had an effective ground game most of the season, but against a Tiger rushing defense allowing less than 50 yards per game will likely have to have success in the air to pull off the upset. Trinity will be observing their version of homecoming ("Alumni Weekend") which could give the Vikings the chance to send a big crowd home unhappy for the second week running.

Rhodes (2-4, 0-3 SAA) at Millsaps (3-3, 2-1 SAA), 5:30pm CDT
Quick, name a team still in the SAA race?  If you said Millsaps, you'd be right as the Majors still only have one conference loss, though the 28-0 shutout against B-SC last week probably is a solid indicator of their chances of remaining in that category much longer after this week.   Rhodes is coming off a somnolescent performance at home against Trinity, haven't scored in nine-plus quarters while being outscored 86-0, and may not win another game this season.

Birmingham-Southern (4-2, 2-1 SAA) at Sewanee (2-4, 0-3 SAA), 7:00pm CDT
Most weeks I talk about Sewanee getting their first SAA win of the '20s - this is not one of them.  Panthers are still hoping for a long shot Pool C bid; we'll get an inkling if they show up in the initial NCAA regional rankings next week, though those will probably be of the nearly useless alphabetical variety the NCAA favors for such things. 

[Ron Boerger]

From discussion in today's In the (D3FB) Huddle podcast, it sounds like Berry's Gavin Gray is out for the season.

[Ron Boerger]

Looks like it's going to be quite windy this afternoon in San Antonio (I can already hear it blowing outside in Austin) which will have an impact on the passing and kicking games.  Going into the wind (going left to right on your monitor) is going to be a challenge.  Temperatures will also going to be warm as it'll push 90 by the end of the game with fairly high humidity and sunny conditions. 

Interesting factoid of the week:  In their short (four game) history, neither Berry or Trinity have won on their home field.   The visitors won in San Antonio in 2019 (14-10) and 2017 (24-21) while Trinity won in Mt. Berry in 2021 (27-6) and 2018 (21-17). 

[BSCpanthers]

Looks like it's going to be quite windy this afternoon in San Antonio (I can already hear it blowing outside in Austin) which will have an impact on the passing and kicking games.  Going into the wind (going left to right on your monitor) is going to be a challenge.  Temperatures will also going to be warm as it'll push 90 by the end of the game with fairly high humidity and sunny conditions. 

Interesting factoid of the week:  In their short (four game) history, neither Berry or Trinity have won on their home field.   The visitors won in San Antonio in 2019 (14-10) and 2017 (24-21) while Trinity won in Mt. Berry in 2021 (27-6) and 2018 (21-17).

GO VIKINGS!!!!  Really need a win from you guys today.

[tigerguy]

14-7 Trinity at the half. Berry having good success against Trinity's stout run defense. But also getting helped by two questionable calls by the refs: one on an interception by a Berry CB in the end zone when he looked out of bounds, and the second at the end of the half on an extremely clear fumble by Berry's RB that was called down.

Trinity's offense continues to look "meh," although this week they are without their 2nd and 3rd best receivers. We'll see what adjustments are made at half.

[tigerguy]

21-14 Final in SA. Trinity's D clamped down in the second half, but Berry blocked a Trinity field goal and returned it for a TD early in the 3rd which kept the score close. Trinity put up 375 yards on the day, but it didn't seem it. I know we haven't been at full strength on offense all year, but we shouldn't look this flat.

On the plus side, Trinity's addition of a drone to its broadcast is fantastic and creates a perspective I don't think any other D3 team offers. If they tweak some of the lighting settings to account for the reflection off of the field during day-games, it would look near-professional. Too bad there aren't any remaining night games because I would love to see it at night. Really love the strides the broadcast has made the last few years - the production now probably rivals any of the top D3 broadcasts out there.

[D3Navy]

21-14 Final in SA. Trinity's D clamped down in the second half, but Berry blocked a Trinity field goal and returned it for a TD early in the 3rd which kept the score close. Trinity put up 375 yards on the day, but it didn't seem it. I know we haven't been at full strength on offense all year, but we shouldn't look this flat.

On the plus side, Trinity's addition of a drone to its broadcast is fantastic and creates a perspective I don't think any other D3 team offers. If they tweak some of the lighting settings to account for the reflection off of the field during day-games, it would look near-professional. Too bad there aren't any remaining night games because I would love to see it at night. Really love the strides the broadcast has made the last few years - the production now probably rivals any of the top D3 broadcasts out there.

Echo all said above about the game.  Would like to see some more creative play-calling.  Seemed very one-dimensional, particularly the run game today.

Agree as well on the broadcast.  It appeared there was a point of contention about the drone in the first quarter and play was stopped for maybe five minutes.  It might have been something else, but the drone continued to operate.

One request to anyone who can address it: the PA system is WAY too loud.  It's hard to talk to the person next to you in the stands when the music is playing.  It's extremely disruptive.

Hoping everyone can get healthy and TU hits stride soon!

[tigerguy]

21-14 Final in SA. Trinity's D clamped down in the second half, but Berry blocked a Trinity field goal and returned it for a TD early in the 3rd which kept the score close. Trinity put up 375 yards on the day, but it didn't seem it. I know we haven't been at full strength on offense all year, but we shouldn't look this flat.

On the plus side, Trinity's addition of a drone to its broadcast is fantastic and creates a perspective I don't think any other D3 team offers. If they tweak some of the lighting settings to account for the reflection off of the field during day-games, it would look near-professional. Too bad there aren't any remaining night games because I would love to see it at night. Really love the strides the broadcast has made the last few years - the production now probably rivals any of the top D3 broadcasts out there.

Agree as well on the broadcast.  It appeared there was a point of contention about the drone in the first quarter and play was stopped for maybe five minutes.  It might have been something else, but the drone continued to operate.

Think this actually had something to do with Berry's communication system going down temporarily. But if it was for some reason about the drone, would hope Trinity informed Berry's staff before-hand they intended to use it for the broadcast. But can't really see any complaint about it - D1/Pro teams have cameras flying overhead all game.

[awadelewis]

It's 7-3 B-SC on the Mountain.  Hoping, but not expecting, B-SC's first drive isn't the way things are going to go the rest of the game as they pretty much slammed it in on our defense.

We've been using a drone for a couple of years for getting game video.   Better solution than using the man-lift we used in the past.     Using that video in the broadcast stream requires being able to do a multi-cam setup which is a bit more complicated than what I see in most places.   Neat idea tho'.

[Ron Boerger]

Not sure where they found the team playing today, but Rhodes has risen from the dead to lead Millsaps 24-7 early-mid Q4 in Jackson.

UW-Platteville upset #3 UW-Whitewater today which should make HSU's case for a Pool C stronger.  HSU could head to San Antonio for the first round if they and Trinity win out (and UW-P gets and stays regionally ranked)

[awadelewis]

The predicted beat-down has finally started on The Mountain as B-SC goes up 44-3 after an incredibly silly decision on our QB's part leads to an INT by a defensive lineman. 

[Ron Boerger]

O hell, I thought UWP only had two losses; they have three.  Gonna be hard to get in the regional rankings even if they don't lose again.

[BSCpanthers]

My visit to the Mountain, first off, Sewanee has a beautiful campus, without a doubt.  We travels out entire team for this one, and I think we had more players than Sewanee had fans in the stands.  Sewanee's best player may be their punter, that kid could boom the ball.  We had a slow start on offense, but scored three quick TD's to start the second half to put it away and finally got some younger guys to get some playing time.  Something we haven't been able to do this season as our offense has sputtered to put other teams away that should have been. 

I needed Berry to beat Trinity, and unfortunately they came up a TD short.  Now need some help in the ASC and around the country to get a Pool C bid into the playoffs.  But right now the guys have to keep that dream alive and keep themselves in that position. 

With all of Sewanee's football history, and I get you guys are a very tough academic school, how do you not field a team of more than, what, 45 kids???  I realize D3 is "what it is" but can y'all not put a little more effort into it???