By Clyde Hughes
D3sports.com
One would seem to think the living is easy in central Indiana after Franklin College wrapped up its first automatic bid to the Division III playoffs with its 55-22 win over Defiance last week to capture at least a share of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference crown.
The Grizzlies (8-1, 6-0 in HCAC), now ranked No. 18 in the country, will be waiting on Sunday to find out whom they will play in the first round. There’s only one problem with this scenario.
Saturday.
Coach Mike Leonard said he pulled out a calendar during a team meeting Monday to illustrate his talk about the big picture. He talked about the possibilities of playing now through the Dec. 15 Stagg Bowl. (Obviously, they dream big in Franklin.) Leonard said the game Saturday against Hanover for the Victory Bell, is as big as the playoff game the following week, regardless who they play against and where it is played.
“Hanover is our big rivalry (game),” Leonard said. “No. 1, we want to win the outright conference championship. No. 2, we want to beat Hanover for the Victory Bell. That’s important to us. No. 3, it will help us in the seeding process for the playoffs. We want the win for those reasons in that order.”
Playoff seeding does mean a lot. Franklin only has to look at the team it’s trying to boot out of the top spot in the HCAC as a good example in Mount St. Joseph. The Lions were nationally ranked and sailed through the HCAC undefeated and looked poised to have a home playoff game.
Mount St. Joseph lost the final game of the season to traditional rival Thomas More in annual Bridge Bowl. Instead of a home game, the Lions were sent packing to nationally-ranked Wheaton and were beaten.
Despite the advantages of having a home playoff game, especially in a conference that has won just one playoff game since the current playoff format, Leonard says Saturday’s game means more than just playoff position.
“We’re excited to be in (the playoffs) but we’re going into it with the approach that we’ve been there before even though we’ve haven’t,” Leonard said. “I have as a coach when I coached at Hanover.
“I’ve been a Division III rep working playoff games the last four years because I wanted to know the atmosphere. I wanted to know the ins and outs and what goes on behind the scenes. I wanted to see up close and personal the teams that make it that far in the playoffs and kind of look at those teams and see what we have to do to improve.”
In that respect, Franklin has arrived. The Grizzlies only blemish is a two-point road loss to nationally ranked Wabash, a team it beat in overtime last year. Wabash has gone undefeated in nine games this season as well. Leonard said that game and series has been a measuring stick for his team.
“Last year’s game was tied and we won in overtime,” Leonard said. “This year, we would have been tied again if we would have made a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter. Wabash deserved everything that they’ve gotten and they have a great program over time. To be in two great battles with them over the last two years does give out guys a great deal of confidence. We just feel good to know that we’re in the hunt here.”
In January 2003, Leonard said he asked his players in his first team meeting to visualize what it would be like to beat Hanover the last game of the season and sit in a room on Sunday with its athletic director and school president and find out where they will play in the first round of the playoffs. Sunday, that will actually happen for the Grizzlies. Leonard said he doesn’t want them to forget about the bigger picture, starting with Hanover on Saturday.
Questions to be answered this week in CCIW
The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin is ending out like a season-ending cliffhanger soap opera. The leaders of the pack all season, nationally-ranked Wheaton (8-1, 5-1 CCIW), fell to Carthage 35-27 and now must fight off an eager Illinois Wesleyan team to hold on to share of the CCIW crown. It was the most points Wheaton had given up to a conference foe since a 35-26 loss to North Central in 2005.
Wheaton has the clearest route. If the Thunder win, they take the automatic bid, end of story. After that, it turns into a Hollywood who done it.
Illinois Wesleyan (6-3, 5-1), the team that came out of nowhere this season, is trying to hold onto its Cinderella slipper a little longer after a 23-7 loss to North Central to complete its improbable conference title run.
North Central (7-2, 5-1) will be rooting for Illinois Wesleyan to knock off the only team the Cardinals lost to this season in hopes they can share the title and grab the conference’s automatic bid.
Then, there is Carthage (7-2, 4-2) who has seemed to have crept up on everyone and with a win over North Central could get some strong playoff consideration as well.
In short, everyone has a motive this weekend.
Mount St. Joseph roots for Illinois Wesleyan
Mount St. Joseph’s non-conference win over Illinois Wesleyan didn’t seem that pivotal at the beginning of the season, but now the Lions may be rooting for the Titans as well. Mount St. Joseph, under coach Rod Huber, has another outstanding season, but with the loss to Franklin in HCAC play, is on the outside looking in looking for a Pool C at-large bid to make the playoffs.
What could play big for them is Illinois Wesleyan. If the Titans beat Wheaton and captures the share of the CCIW title, it could help Mount St. Joseph to be included.
