Nov. 13, 2008

 

A Brief Look Inside: Report #10 | Complete PDF Version

Page 1.............. Winningest Teams of the 2000s

........................... Cris Reisert Record Watch

........................... Game of the Week: #4 Morningside at #2 Sioux Falls

Page 2-3.......... Conference Championships on the Line NEW!

........................... Games to Watch; Streaks

........................... Carroll’s (Mont.) Legacy: More Wins Than Oklahoma

Page 4.............. Hank Biesiot: Chasing History

........................... What is the Toughest Conference?

........................... Useful Nuggets in 2008

Page 5.............. 100 Coaching Wins

Page 6.............. New Home for Championship

........................... 2008 VSN First Down Classic

Page 7.............. Latest Top 25 Coaches’ Poll (Nov. 10)

Page 8.............. Postseason Dominance in the 2000s

Page 9.............. Active Coaching Lists

Page 10............ National Players of the Week

Page 11............ National Individual Statistical Leaders

Page 12-15...... Composite Schedule: Aug. 23 - Nov. 15

Page 16-18...... Week-By-Week Top 25 Polls

Page 19............ Conference Breakdown: Key games remaining NEW!

2008 Rawlings-NAIA Football Season Report #10

In the final regular season weekend in NAIA football, there will be five conference champions to be decided. Just as important is the battle of all 92 teams to qualify for the 2008 Football Championship Series, which begins the following weekend (Nov. 22). The official 16-team Championship Series field will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 16. The Championship Series culminates in the Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship in Rome, Ga., on Dec. 20 and televised live on CBS College Sports.

 

There are still six undefeated teams in the country - the top six in the latest Coaches’ Top 25 poll (Nov. 10). No. 1 Carroll (Mont.) tops the list and finishes the regular season with a perfect 11-0 record and 26 straight wins. No. 2 Sioux Falls (S.D.) is next and will be severely tested this Saturday (Nov. 15) in the NAIA Game of the Week against No. 4 Morningside (Iowa), another undefeated team. The other teams without a loss are No. 3 St. Francis (Ind.) No. 5 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and No. 6 Friends (Kan.). Interestingly enough, no more than four programs total have finished the regular season with an unblemished record in 13 years. Six teams were perfect during the 1995 regular season.

 

Besides Sioux Falls and Morningside, St. Francis perhaps has the toughest test to keep its perfect record intact. St. Francis travels to No. 18 St. Xavier (Ill.) with first-place on the line in the Mid-States Football Association - Mideast Division. MidAmerica Nazarene looks to go 10-0 on the year with a visit to winless Culver-Stockton (Mo.) on Saturday. Already with at least a share of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship, Friends travels to St. Mary (Kan.), who is at .500 (4-4) on the year.

 

Cris Reisert Record Watch:

After setting two NAIA career passing records last weekend, Ohio Dominican senior quarterback Cris Reisert has a shot this Saturday (Nov. 15) at the national career total offense record. He needs 317 yards of total offense to break the all-time mark of 13,979 yards, set by Carroll’s Tyler Emmert (2002-05) - Cris stands with 13,663 yards. The Panthers travel to No. 13 Malone (Ohio) with their hopes of postseason play on the line.

 

Against Urbana (Ohio) last weekend (Nov. 8), Cris broke the all-time national record for touchdown passes. He now stands with 117 and broke the record of Mark Weekly (1990-93) at Pacific Lutheran (Calif.). He also is the new record-holder for career passing yards breaking the old mark set by Kirk Baumgartner (1986-89) of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Cris stands with 13,174 passing yards.

 

For perspective, in all divisions of the NCAA, Cris ranks in the Top 20 in total career touchdown tosses and passing yards. Jimmy Terwilliger of East Stroudsburg (NCAA Division III) and Justin Peery of Westminster (Mo.) (NCAA Division III) each had 148 career touchdown throws. For passing yards, Timmy Chang of Hawaii finished his career with 17,072 yards.

 

On Oct. 11, he set the NAIA career mark for completions with 31 against St. Xavier (Ill.). His 1,125 career completions has bettered the old record accomplished by Carroll’s (Mont.) Tyler Emmert from 2002-05. The Archbishop Moeller High School (Ohio) graduate smashed Detroit Lions and former Central Washington quarterback Jon Kitna’s single-season passing mark of 4,944 last year -- Reisert went for 5,434 yards.

 

Through nine games in 2008, Reisert is 262-for-385 (.681) for 2,813 yards and 25 passing touchdowns against just five interceptions. He has tossed for at least 300 yards and four touchdowns in four of his games this year.

 

Conference Breakdown:

Five of the 10 conference championships will be played out this weekend in the final regular season weekend. Here is a breakdown of the conferences.

 

In the Central States Football League, Langston leads Bacone and Northwestern Oklahoma State by one game. On Saturday (Nov. 15), Langston hosts Bacone. If Langston wins, it will be the outright conference champion. If Bacone wins, there will be a three-way tie for first and the conference tie-breaking criteria will be put into place.

 

In the Dakota Athletic Conference, Dickinson State (N.D.) won the outright conference crown by taking down Minot State 28-21 last Saturday (Nov. 8). The championship was DSU’s fifth overall and first since 2005.

 

Carroll, winners of 26 straight games and nine consecutive Frontier Conference Championships, has already secured the 2008 crown. They will more than likely be the No. 1 team heading into the Championship Series.

 

In the Great Plains Athletic Conference, the NAIA Game of the Week between No. 2 Sioux Falls and No. 4 Morningside will determine the conference champion. Both enter the contest with a 9-0 league record. Both teams have either won or shared the conference title going back to the 2001 season.

 

The Heart of America Athletic Conference saw MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) rise out of the pack of teams, securing the title with a 42-41 double-overtime home win against No. 15 Baker last Saturday (Nov. 8).

 

Friends (Kan.) claimed the title in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship after a 41-7 road win at Bethel (Kan.) last Saturday (Nov. 8). It was the second straight championship and ninth overall for FU.

 

In the Mid-South Conference (East), league-leader Cumberlands (Ky.) turned away second-place Virginia-Wise last Saturday (Nov. 8) after a 56-37 win. That victory wrapped up its second overall title.

 

In the Mid-South Conference (West), three teams are in the running for the championship. Undefeated in conference play, Lambuth (Tenn.) travels to Cumberland (Tenn.), who is tied for second place with Shorter (Ga.). If Lambuth wins, it wins the conference outright. If Cumberland takes down Lambuth, there will be a three-way tie for first, which would put into effect the conference tie-breaking criteria.

 

Saturday’s (Nov. 15) game between St. Xavier (Ill.) and St. Francis (Ind.) will determine the Mid-States Football Association Mideast Division champion. USF enters with a spotless 9-0 record overall and 5-0 in circuit play while SXU is 4-1 in the league. With a 5-1 mark in the Midwest Division, St. Ambrose (Iowa) is in great position to win the conference championship. However, William Penn (Iowa) is tied for the league lead and plays second-place Quincy (Ill.) on Saturday while 4-2 McKendree (Ill.) takes on Iowa Wesleyan. There is a possibility of a 4-way tie for first-place.

 

Game of the Week:

• No. 4 Morningside (Iowa (9-0) at No. 2 Sioux Falls (9-0) • Nov. 15 • 12 p.m. CST • Sioux Falls, S.D. • Bob Young Field | Live Internet Broadcast

Some information courtesy of Sioux Falls and Morningside SID

The Great Plains Athletic Conference Championship will be played for on Saturday as No. 4 Morningside (Iowa) invades Bob Young Field to take on No. 2 Sioux Falls (S.D.). The game has several story lines including the 32-game winning streak for Sioux Falls against GPAC opposition. The last team to beat USF in conference play was Morningside back on Oct. 15, 2005. Overall, USF has won 72 of its last 73 conference games. The Cougars are also riding a 31-game home winning streak after a 19-0 win over No. 8 Northwestern (Nov. 1).

 

The Cougars upended the Mustangs, 34-28, in Sioux City, Iowa last year. In 2005, the Mustangs ended USF’s 36-game GPAC winning streak with a 27-26 victory. Overall, USF holds a 6-3 series edge.

 

If any team wants to mirror a program defensively, turn no further than Sioux Falls. Defensively, the Cougars have pitched six shut-outs (two away from the national record) and have forced two opponents into negative yardage of total offense. USF ranks No. 1 in all major national defensive statistical categories including total defense (86.4 ypg), scoring defense (2.9 ppg), rush defense (7.3 ypg) and pass defense (791. ypg). From the passing standpoint, USF has surrendered just three touchdowns while picking off 10 passes. Three defensive backs each have two interceptions to lead the Cougars.

 

Lorenzo Brown is a dual-threat quarterback for USF. He has posted totals of 1,641 yards through the air and 355 on the ground. Overall he has scored 26 touchdowns (17 passing, 9 rushing). Ryan Lowmiller rushes for nearly 80 yards per game and has found the end zone 10 times in 2008.

 

Ian Gilworth engineers the Mustang offense. Thus far, he has thrown for 32 touchdowns (3.5 per game) against just two interceptions. Blake Anderson and Beau Kidlow create a dangerous receiving tandem, having caught a combined 93 passes for 1,303 yards and 21 touchdowns. Jake Peterson leads the ground attack, rushing for 556 yards and 10 touchdowns.

 

Defensively, Morningside ranks in the Top 10 in scoring defense giving up just 10.0 points per contest and 239 yards of offense. Defensive back Ryan Oetken is first in the country with an average of 0.8 interceptions per game for a total of eight picks on the year. He has also forced two fumbles. Marshall Tuttle leads his team with 5.5 sacks.

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