D-III Spreadsheet: (Excel2003, 433 kb)

D-III Game of the Week:
There can be only one option here. Unranked and unbeaten Concordia-Moorhead traveled to #10 Bethel (MN) to sort out their differences, and settled into a brisk defensive struggle which found the Cobbers leading 14-7 late in the fourth quarter.  Concordia had scored at the end of the first half on a one-yard run by Brent Baune on fourth-and-goal.  Bethel later tied the score on a one-yard Jesse Phenow run, but the Cobbers regained the lead with nine minutes to play on a 40-yard hookup from Griffin Neal to Chris Gilson. Bethel had the ball late and drove desperately, but were facing third-and-10 from the Concordia 17 with only one second remaining.  Dropping back to try and connect on one final pass, Bethel QB Erik Peterson was stripped of the ball, and Concordia recovered the fumble and ran it back the other way for the win…

…except for one small problem. When the ball came loose, Concordia players — thinking it had been an imcomplete pass, not a fumble — crossed the sideline into the field of play to begin celebrating. Because they did so before the play was blown dead, a live-ball unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was called, which meant that Bethel not only retained possession, but got the yardage from the original line of scrimmage and an untimed down. From the nine, Peterson connected with Jay Hilbrands on a fade in the end zone, and Bethel trailed 14-13.

Royals’ coach Steve Johnson decided to take advantage of the chaos and the shocked frustration of the Cobber players and opted to go for two to win the game outright rather than settling for overtime. Peterson hit Mitch Hallstrom on a swing pass to the outside, and Hallstrom angled into the end zone for the conversion and the stunning victory.

It was a heartbreaker for the Cobbers, who never trailed in the game until after time had already expired, and who learned a pretty severe lesson in discipline. The loss cost Concordia an almost certain move into the top 25, a continued chance at an unbeaten season, and — if Bethel can upset Saint Thomas in what’s likely to be this week’s game of the week, an outcome which is certainly possible — any shot at all of capturing this year’s MIAC title, which means they probably cost themselves a playoff berth in the process.  Bethel, meanwhile, heads to Saint Thomas feeling like they may be on a course with destiny.
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D-III Spreadsheet: (Excel2003, 428 kb)

D-III Games of the Week:
There was one huge game of massive import on Saturday, but three other top-20 teams wandered headlong into danger and got more than they bargained for.  (Well, if we’re being honest, four did, but one got blown out so they just don’t belong in this section, do they?)

In Platteville, #4 Wisconsin-Whitewater and #13 Wisconsin-Platteville clashed in the only meeting between ranked teams this week.  The Warhawks were in deep, deep trouble early as they fell behind 14-0 midway through the first quarter on two John Kelly touchdown passes, on a short toss to Trevor Whitehead and a 78-yard strike to Aaron Loferski.  The last time Whitewater had been down by 14 was in the 2008 Stagg Bowl, which just happened to be the last game they lost before being upset by Buffalo State two weeks ago.  It would be another 11 minutes before the scoreboard changed, but after Kelly went down with an injury, Whitewater would score ten points in four minutes on a 28-yard Eric Kindler field goal (set up by a Mykaell Bratchett interception off Pioneer backup QB Bryce Corrigan) and a 3-yard pass from Lee Brekke to Derric Junakin to pull within 14-10 at the half (again set up by a Corrigan miscue as Andrew Keister picked him off).
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The Spreadsheet: (Excel2003, 385 kb)

If This Was Division I, You’d Have Been Watching:
Imagine, if you will, that last weekend had featured Oregon at LSU, Michigan State at Oklahoma, and you heard Alabama was only beating TCU 3-0 with two minutes to play.  That’s what happened in Division III last weekend.

D-III Game of the Week:
When the Warhawks of Wisconsin-Whitewater scored on a 21-yard Eric Kindler field goal with 2:58 to go in the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead over lightly-regarded Buffalo State, most people started writing their “Whitewater wins 48th straight game” stories.  After all, Whitewater’s defense had absolutely refused to allow Washington (MO) to get on the board in the season opener, and surely the offense had to open up.

Almost 46 minutes later, Kindler hit a 29-yarder with only 1:35 left.  Of course, by that time everyone covering the game had started a secondary file, one with a completely different narrative, just in case.  Why?  Because that field goal made it 6-0, and Buffalo State had been banging on the door most of the second half.  In the third quarter, Nate Benoit missed a 38-yard field goal which would have tied the game, and a Casey Kacz fumble at the Whitewater 13 had ended the Bengals’ first drive of the fourth quarter.

Buffalo State took over on their own 25, and immediately Kacz hit Sherman Nelson for a 14-yard gain.  Two incompletions, a false start, and a sack later, the Bengals were facing 4th-and-19 from their own 30, and, well… here.

That was a hook-and-lateral from Kacz to Ryan Carney, then Rich Pete, then Brooks Estarfaa for 34 yards.  Not shown in between that and the touchdown pass: an 8-yard run by Kacz, an incompletion, a 33-yard strike to Manny Brooks, and two more incompletions before Kacz found Carney for the game-tying score.  When Nate Benoit split the uprights with the PAT and only three seconds remained on the clock, Twitter exploded.  Whitewater’s Lee Brekke uncorked a desperation heave — 57 yards in the air — after the kickoff, but when Chris Hall came down with the interception at his own 10-yard line, pandemonium struck.  Whitewater had fallen for the first time since Mount Union defeated them in the 2008 Stagg Bowl, and it was only their second regular-season loss to a D-III school since 2004.  Meanwhile, Buffalo State — a team nobody considered better than third or fourth in their own conference — finds themselves ranked #19, for now.

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D-III Spreadsheet: (Excel2003, 380kb)

D-III Game of the Week:
There was only going to be one real option for the game of the week this week, as #3 Wesley (DE) visited #6 Salisbury.  Salisbury opened with a drive into Wesley territory, but Brian Snell picked off a Dan Griffin pass at the 26.  Wesley then marched downfield, scoring on a Justin Sottilare pass to Ryan Gerlitz.  Salisbury responded with a long drive which died on a dropped pass on 4th and 6 at the Wesley 14 as the quarter ended.  After a trade of punts, Salisbury again threatened when Sottilare was picked off by Greg Stanton, but even starting at the Wolverines’ 32, Salisbury couldn’t manage a first down.  Wesley then burned eight minutes off the clock, reaching the Sea Gulls’ 14; Sottilare threw another interception, this one snagged by Matt McMurdo in the end zone for a touchback.  The half ended with Wesley up 7-0.

Wesley began the second half by chewing up half of the third quarter on a drive which culminated in a 23-yard Dan Tryon field goal after Salisbury held on first and goal from the three.  Salisbury responded quickly, picking up 45 yards on three plays; unfortunately, the end of the third play was a Ross Flanigan fumble at the Wesley 28, recovered by the Wolverines at their own 16.  Wesley had to punt, but forced yet another turnover near midfield when Griffin was picked off by Sean Hopkins just into the fourth quarter.  Wesley drive, but turned the ball over on downs at Salisbury’s 19.  The Sea Gulls finally got on the board three and a half minutes later when Griffin hit Juma Richards with a 19-yard strike with 6:10 left.  Four minutes later, however, Askia Jahad scored on his second of two fifteen-yard runs on the drive, putting the game out of reach.  With no time left, Griffin was picked for the third time, Hopkins’ second interception of the game, at the Wesley one-yard line.

It was somewhat ugly, obviously.  Despite the relative success of the Salisbury rushing attack, Griffin shouldn’t have been throwing as much as he was; last week he only attempted six passes in the Gulls’ win over Christopher Newport.  Salisbury’s strength is the option game, and they managed 232 yards on the ground against the Wolverines, 138 credited to Flanigan.  Griffin was 9/16 with three interceptions, and that just wasn’t going to cut it.  However, the fact that Griffin needed that many attempts was a testament to the Wesley defense, which continually forced
long-yardage passing downs.  The drive chart tells the story; four key drives ended on 3rd or 4th and long with two interceptions, a sack, and an incompletion.

Wesley wasn’t the only team showing strong defense, though.  Although the Wolverines managed 260 yards in the air, Salisbury was effective in making most of those yards meaningless, and Wesley’s usually potent ground game was limited to 105 yards, 98 of them on the legs of Askia Jahad.

Wesley, of course, is playing a schedule that would make an SEC fan blush in shame.  After knocking off the sixth-ranked team in the nation, they now get to host the fourth-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders.  The following week, it’s 2-0 Louisiana; the week after, it’s 18th-ranked Birmingham-Southern.  They’ve also got a date with unranked but potent Huntingdon down the line.  If there’s any team poised to break the Whitewater-Mount Union stranglehold, it’s right here.

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Tags: d3