Top 10 national semifinals of the expanded playoff era |
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Also considered -> |
The playoffs first expanded in 1999, as we went from 16 teams to 28. The top four teams got a first-round bye. Many things were new.
One thing was not. Mount Union kept winning games, and kept winning them handily. Winners of three consecutive national titles in 1996, 1997 and 1998, the Purple Raiders were looking to make history with four consecutive perfect seasons.
Another familiar obstacle stood in their way: the Profs of Rowan University.
We have very small photos, no video highlights, not much to jazz up this page. Rowan beating Mount Union at Mount Union, 24-17 in overtime, lives generally only in the minds of those who were there, and maybe some lucky few who have game tapes, perhaps still on VHS. After intercepting a pass earlier in the game, Clinton Tabb came up with the big pass breakup in overtime, jarring the ball loose on a fourth-down pass attempt from Gary Smeck to Jason Richards that would have extended the Purple Raider drive.
When I was asked nearly 15 years ago to talk about the greatest Division III football game I had covered live, this was the game I had chosen. Since then, one or two may have surpassed it, but none of them were national semifinal games.
It didn't all work out badly for Mount Union. They have gone on to win nine more titles, and Rowan has yet to return to the Stagg Bowl.
Perhaps we did not choose your favorite semifinal from 1999 or beyond: Check out the following page for the other ones we considered, and feel free to leave your comments! Meanwhile, if you have video highlights or photos from this 1999 game and haven't burned them, please feel free to share.
– Patrick Coleman