Nov. 6, 2009

Written by Chad Waller | NAIA Director of Sports Information & Media Services   

Weekly Report No. 11 | Full PDF Release | 2009 Composite Schedule

• There are five games scheduled this weekend between Top 25 programs: No. 2 Carroll (Mont.) at No. 22 Eastern Oregon, No. 5 Lambuth (Tenn.) at No. 24 Georgetown (Ky.), No. 6 St. Xavier (Ill.) at No. 8 St. Francis (Ind.), No. 10 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) at No. 9 Missouri Valley and No. 25 St. Ambrose (Iowa) at No. 19 Grand View (Iowa). Please check page eight for the complete schedule of all games this weekend.

• For the first time ever, the pairings for the first round of the Football Championship Series will be telecast live, by College Fanz™ Sports Network, on Sunday, Nov. 15th beginning at 1:30 p.m. Central Time. Go to www.collegefanz.com to view the live, free broadcast. The First Round is scheduled to be played on Saturday, Nov. 21.

• As the season winds down with two regular season weekends remaining, track all the conference races and scores by going here.

• There have been 17 upsets thus far in the NAIA this season. See page seven for further details and the full list.

• There have been six rushers in the NAIA to hit the 1,000-yard mark this season, with Carlos Ross of Langston (Okla.) having the next best shot to crack the milestone -- he has 984 heading into the weekend. Two receivers have posted 1,000 receiving yards this season. Clarence Anderson of Ottawa (Kan.) is the next receiver close to topping 1,000 yards -- he has 991. Rocky Mountain’s (Mont.) Kasey Peters was the first NAIA signal caller to reach 3,000 yards this year as he has totaled 3,780 passing yards thus far (Nov. 3). Three others have hit the passing mark with Brad Robbins of UVa-Wise next in line (2,480).

• In all levels of college football (NCAA and NAIA), No. 1 Sioux Falls (S.D.) is tied with Mount Union College (Ohio) for the nation’s longest active winning streak at 23 straight. The Cougars’ recently had a win (Oct. 17) at NCAA Division I (Subdivision) member North Dakota. Mt. Union, a program in NCAA Division III, holds the NCAA’s two longest consecutive college football win streaks -- 55 from 2000-2003 and 54 from 1996-99. The longest NAIA streak stands at 42 straight accomplished by Texas A&I in the mid-70s. Most recently, No. 2 Carroll (Mont.) had a 28-game winning streak that spanned the 2006-08 seasons.

• Two coaches have now hit the 100-win mark this season at his respective school, Carl Poelker at McKendree (Ill.) and Jim Dennison at Walsh (Ohio). Poelker notched the century win as a Bearcat against Waldorf (Iowa) on Oct. 17. He sits with a 102-42 mark as a Bearcat. Overall, he is 190-81 in 28 years of coaching. On Oct. 3, coach Dennison at Walsh (Ohio) hit the 100-win mark at his school after a 63-12 defeat of Olivet Nazarene (Ill.). He stands 102-59 in his 15th year at Walsh and is 182-121-2 overall in 28 years of collegiate coaching.

• On Oct. 29, Beau Kildow of Morningside (Iowa) was announced as one of 16 finalists for the 2009 William V. Campbell Trophy (formerly known as the Draddy Trophy). That list includes all divisions of college football. The Awards Committee will select the winner at the annual awards dinner on Dec. 8. The criteria for the award involves academics, athletics and leadership. For more info, click here.

• So far in 2009 (Nov. 3), there have been 237 occurrences of a rusher gaining at least 100 yards, 99 times for a quarterback to throw for 300 or more yards and 280 times for a receiver to record at least 100 yards. Check out page four for further details.

• No. 1 Sioux Falls is riding the nation’s longest winning streak at 23 games. The Cougars have outscored their opponents 542-74 in a 9-0 start to the year and rank No. 1 nationally in three major team defensive statistical categories.

• The current top 10 teams in the Coaches’ Top 25 Poll are 84-3 on the year - No. 9 Missouri Valley and No. 10 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) each have one loss against No. 3 Lindenwood (Mo.) while No. 8 Saint Francis (Ind.) lost to NCAA Division II Missouri Science & Technology.

• The College Fanz Sports Network/NAIA “Game of the Week” features No. 10 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) at No. 9 Missouri Valley at 1:30 p.m. CST. MidAmerica stand 8-1 in the league, one game back of leader Lindenwood but .5 game ahead of Missouri Valley, who holds a 7-1 mark. Last year, MidAmerica Nazarene won by a 43-25 score. The streaming is live and free through the College Fanz Sports Network Website at www.collegefanz.com. Next week features the final regular season game between Azusa Pacific (Calif.) hosting Langston (Okla.). Check out page five for the entire schedule.

NAIA Game of the Week

No. 6 St. Xavier (Ill.) (10-0) at No. 8 St. Francis (Ind.) (7-1):

Nov. 7, Fort Wayne, Ind., 12:00 p.m. EDT, John M. D’Arcy Stadium

• St. Xavier is searching for its first Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League title, its first perfect regular season and its first win in the overall series with St. Francis. USF is 6-0 all-time against St. Xavier.

• Conversely, St. Francis has won nine of the last 10 MSFA titles and, since 2000, stands 111-13 (.895) overall. That win total is good for third among all NAIA teams this decade.

• Dating back to the 2001 season, St. Francis has won 56 straight home games.

• Both teams log an unblemished conference record with SXU at 6-0 and St. Francis at 5-0. This marks the final regular season game for St. Xavier while St. Francis is at Taylor (Ind.) on Nov. 14.

• Ranked as one of the top offenses in the country the last several years, St. Francis again checks in with a high-powered offense. The Cougars average a nation-high 532.9 yards of total offense and is ninth in scoring (41.4 ppg). All-purpose player Daniel Carter gives opposing defenses a handful as he averages over 175 all-purpose yards and has scored 15 touchdowns.

• St. Xavier is no slouch on offense averaging just under 50 points per game, good for fourth in the country and nearly 520 yards of offense. Quarterback Anthony Kropp engineers the attack tossing for 315.2 ypg and has thrown 35 touchdowns and only eight interceptions.

• It is a battle of the Cougars. Both schools sport the mascot and are a handful of successful programs with the Cougar association. No. 1 Sioux Falls (S.D.) and Azusa Pacific (Calif.) also sport the Cougar mascot.

• Both schools are searching for a postseason bid, one in which they are familiar with. St. Francis has participated in the last 10 Football Championship Series while St. Xavier has played in three of the last four.

Around the Top 25 This Week

• In the College Fanz / NAIA Game of the Week, No. 10 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) heads to Marshall, Mo., for a date with No. 9 Missouri Valley. Missouri Valley ranks No. 1 in the country in rushing defense (44.8 ypg) and is 7-0 when holding the opponent without a 100-yard rusher. Ashford Johnson, MidAmerica Nazarene’s leading rusher with 697 yards, has reached 100-plus yards twice this year. MNU won 45-23 last year and forced two turnovers including a 98-yard return of an interception for six points. Both teams look up in the conference standings at Lindenwood, a team that both schools have lost to this year.

• Trying to sweep the season series, No. 2 Carroll (Mont.) travels to No. 22 Eastern Oregon. On Oct. 3, Carroll won by a score of 37-17. The Fighting Saints have already clinched their 10th straight Frontier Conference Championship with a perfect 9-0 league mark. Carroll has won 32 straight conference games dating back to the 2006 season.

• No. 5 Lambuth (Tenn.) has been blowing out the competition with a 28-point margin of victory during its eight wins. The Eagles will be tested with a road game at No. 24 Georgetown (Ky.). During its up-and-down 5-3 season, Georgetown has not won more than two straight games.

• A surprise to many, No. 19 Grand View (Iowa) looks to remain undefeated in the tough Mid-States Football Association Midwest Division with a home game against No. 25 St. Ambrose (Iowa). Grand View, a team picked seventh in the eight-team Division, trails leader McKendree (Ill.) by .5 game. The league preseason favorite, St. Ambrose is searching to win its fourth game in the last five overall.

Notable Games in the Top 25 Last Week

• No. 6 Saint Xavier (Ill.) ran out to a 21-3 first-quarter lead and never looked back in the 34-17 win over No. 18 Walsh (Ohio) last Thursday. In doing so, SXU became the first college football team in the nation to reach the 10-win mark. Quarterback Anthony Kropp threw for 347 yards and had two scores. Walsh could only muster 193 yards of total offense against a St. Xavier defense ranked in the Top 10 in the NAIA.

• Extending its nation-long winning streak to 23 straight games, No. 1 Sioux Falls (S.D.) seemed to have no problem with No. 12 Northwestern (Iowa) 49-14. The Cougar offense reach 40-plus points for the eighth time this year. Northwestern went just 6-of-18 on combined third and fourth-down plays and tallied 226 yards of offense in the loss.

• No. 12 Cumberlands (Ky.) kept alive its hope of a Mid-South East Division Championship with a 21-6 win over No. 24 Campbellsville (Ky.). Both teams struggled to rack up the offensive yardage as there was a combined 410 yards of offense and 14 combined punts. The Patriots now face UVa-Wise this Saturday (Nov. 7) for the conference title -- both teams are tied at 4-1 in the conference.

• In a battle of the No. 1 versus the No. 2 in the Dakota Athletic Conference, No. 20 Dickinson State (N.D.) clinched at least a share of the league crown with a 28-13 victory over No. 17 Minot State (N.D.).

Are you Serious?

• The No. 1 Sioux Falls (S.D.) defense has been nothing but spectacular this season. Through a perfect 9-0 start (No. 3), the Cougars are ranked No. 1 nationally in total defense (169.2 ypg), passing defense (111.7 ypg) scoring defense (7.4 ppg) and second in rushing defense (57.6 ypg). The Cougars have allowed just seven touchdowns this year (4 passing, 3 rushing) through 36 quarters.

• This is a continuation of a record-breaking 2008 season. Setting a school record with seven shutouts in 2008 (in 14 games), USF was one shy of the national all-time record set back in 1989. Last year, Sioux Falls ranked first in all four major defensive categories (total, scoring, pass, rush).

• Since the start of the 2008 season (in 23 games), Sioux Falls has surrendered just 17 touchdowns (12 passing, 5 rushing). Just six opponents have reached 10 or more points and USF has held two opponents to negative yardage in total offense.

• During this streak of 23 games, all of which Sioux Falls has won, the Cougar offense has scored more points in the fourth quarter (168) than the opponent has scored total throughout the 23-game span (144).

• The defense has not surrendered an 100-yard rusher during the streak of 23 games. In fact, just two rushers have tipped 50 yards -- the best was 73 yards by Tyler Palm of Northwestern (Iowa) on Oct. 31, 2009. The last rusher to gain 100-plus yards was Carroll’s (Mont.) Gabe Le (115 yards) in the 2007 National Championship loss on Dec. 15. That also marked the last loss for USF.

Individual Milestones -- 2009 Season

• Through Nov. 2 games, there have been numerous individuals to accomplish single-game milestones. In some cases, a player may have hit the milestone more than once this season. There have been 237, 100-yard rushing games, 280, 100-yard receiving games and 99, 300-yard passing games.

• In rushing, Morningside’s (Iowa) Jake Peterson holds the single-game high with a school-record 284 total yards on 22 carries (12.9 ypc) and four touchdowns against Dana (Neb.) on Oct. 3. Overall, 17 rushers have hit for 200-plus yards and there have been 60 games of 150-yards or more.

• In receiving, Kevin Brooks of Southern Nazarene (Okla.) is No. 1 on the list with a 323-yard, 13-reception game (24.8 ypc) against Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) on Sept. 26. Overall, there are 10 receivers to post 200-plus yards and there are 60 games of 150-yards or more.

• In passing, Ethan Haller of Ottawa (Kan.) leads the list with 587 yards on 42-of-70 passing (60.0%) against McPherson (Kan.) on Sept. 19. He is one of four quarterbacks to go over 500 passing yards (both Haller and Kasey Peters of Rocky Mountain have accomplished the feat twice). Overall, there have been 21 occurrences when a quarterback hit for 400-plus yards.

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