Games to watch in 2006
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(It's always nice to wander off subject in the first paragraph of your first column. Let's talk about the ten best games you'll see in the South Region this year.)
10. Trinity at Texas Lutheran, Sept. 9, 6 p.m.
Texas Lutheran’s coming off of a down year in 2005 after they surprised a lot of folks in 2004. Texas teams can always get a quality out-of-conference test with Trinity in state and the Bulldogs will get an idea of how good they are in this Week 2 match up.
9. Mary Hardin-Baylor at Christopher Newport, Sept. 9, 12 p.m.
UMHB heads to Virginia to take on one of five opponents who received votes in the D3football.com preseason Top 25 poll. I like to see the Cru playing established D-III programs like Newport and UW-Whitewater. Sometimes it's tough to tell how good UMHB really is because there isn’t a laundry list of quality opponents in the state. A win is good for the Cru’s national reputation.
8. Trinity (Texas) at Huntingdon, Oct. 7, 1:30 p.m.
This is actually one of ten incredibly important games for Huntingdon. As an independent they almost have to go undefeated to make it to the postseason and a win over Trinity would give them some quick national recognition. Of course, teams have been trying to make a name for themselves by trying to beat Trinity for the last 15 years. How’s that working out?
7. Howard Payne at Mary Hardin-Baylor, Nov. 11, 2 p.m.
Howard Payne beat the Crusaders 24-20 last year and used it to fuel a 7-3 finish and high hopes for 2006. Should both squads get past Hardin-Simmons this will likely be for the ASC crown, something Howard Payne has never won. Honestly, I don’t think Howard Payne will win it this year but what do I know? I’m a Houston Texans fan.
6. Mississippi College at Millsaps, Sept. 2, 7 p.m.
Probably the best rivalry name in all of Division III, the “Backyard Brawl” will make-or-break a season in the first week. Their last meeting, a 9-0 slugfest in 2004, probably (hopefully) won’t be duplicated thanks to a new offensive-minded staff at Millsaps.
5. Linfield at Hardin-Simmons, Sept. 16, 6 p.m.
Bad news for Division III fans is good news for the Hardin-Simmons Cowboys. Linfield quarterback Brett Elliott is gone and that means that Linfield has to establish a new identity as a national power. It probably won’t be in Abilene as the Cowboys seem to have something to prove in 2006.
4. UW-Whitewater at Mary Hardin-Baylor, Oct. 28, 1 p.m.
UMHB needs to win this game because of their loss to Wesley in the second round of the playoffs last season. UMHB lost 48-38 to the Wolverines, who were handed a 58-6 whitewashing by Whitewater in the semifinals. Unless UW-W is waaaay down or UMHB is waaaay up, this one is going to be phenomenal.
3. DePauw at Wabash, Nov. 11, 12:05
It’s the 113th edition of the Monon Bell rivalry and last time it was played in Crawfordsville they drew just over 11,500 people. Salem Stadium, the site of the annual Stagg Bowl, doesn’t hold that many people. Wabash won last year’s match up 17-14 and this year’s high drama will be in high definition as it will be televised on InHD.
2. DePauw at Trinity (Texas), Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m.
Co-champs a year ago these two finally get a chance to settle it on the field. Weather prevented a match up last year so DePauw fans have had a long time to think about this one.
Actually, it has a formula that’s tried and true: up-and-coming coach (Matt Walker) and his team (DePauw) against legendary veteran (Steve Mohr) and his crew (Trinity). Play this game in the middle of West Texas and have Jon Voigt give someone a cortisone injection in their knee and we’ve got ourselves the Varsity Blues sequel.
1. Hardin Simmons at Mary Hardin-Baylor, Oct. 7, 2 p.m.
Anyone else think it's comical that two schools that pride themselves on Christian education have student bodies that really don't like each other? Fortunately what makes this rivalry so good is the mutual respect for the other squad. When I was at UMHB, they didn't beat Hardin-Simmons once. Since finally getting over the hump in the fall of 2002, they’ve pretty much owned the Cowboys to the tune of five wins in the last six meetings. This is going to be Hardin-Simmons best shot in recent years (and maybe for years to come) thanks to the return of quarterback Jordan Neal. Three things are for sure in this game: Someone will score a lot of points, Neal will have big numbers and UMHB safety Josh Kubiak will hit someone really hard.
There are a lot of ASC games in that list but it’s tough to dispute. It’s a good conference with a couple of great teams. This is going to be another great season starting with the Backyard Brawl and ending when Mount Union beats someone for another NCAA crown.
I’m all for opinions (which I’ll probably disagree with) or tips (which I’ll probably ignore) so feel free to email me at callman@eaglgolf.com. See you next week.