EC's season a puzzler
Special to D3football.com Among the things Division III football fans want to know: What is a Blugold, and what are they doing among the blue bloods in the second round of the playoffs? The answer to the first question is a bit murky, with the most likely being a mix of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s colors — blue and gold. The answer to the second question is easier to deduce, once you get past the fact Eau Claire — generally considered the last team to get into the 32-team playoff field — ranked last in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with 290.5 yards of offense per game and was outgained by 60 yards per contest. “Defensively, we played well all year, and the special teams made some big plays with some blocked kicks to keep us in games,” said second-year Blugolds coach Todd Glaser, the WIAC’s coach of the year. “Another big thing is turnover margin.” No, turnover margin is the big thing. The Blugolds (9-2) forced 32 of them during the regular season and f our mo re during a 24-20 victory over previously undefeated St. Norbert College last week to advance to Saturday’s second-round playoff game at ninth-ranked Bethel (10-1). Their 36 takeaways are tied for sixth in Division III and their 23 interceptions are tied for fifth. “We take the ball away from people and capitalize on some of those field positions,” said Glaser, the former Blugolds defensive lineman and defensive coordinator who was coach at Marietta College for three seasons. The turnovers — along with nine blocked kicks and seven touchdowns from the defense and special teams — are just part of the Blugolds’ remarkable story. Start with them being picked to finish seventh in the eight-team WIAC. Continue with a season-ending injury to junior quarterback Kyle Paulson, who started all 10 games as a sophomore. That injury led to a revolving door at quarterback that led to Glaser turning to, of all people, his punter. When the season started, senior Mitch Schaeuble wasn’t even on the quarterback depth chart. But, due to injuries and ineffective play at the position, Glaser handed the keys of the offense to Schaeuble after a 27-0 loss to UW-Whitewater in the WIAC opener. In his first game, a 21-20 victory over UW-Oshkosh, Schaeuble hit 17 of 27 passes for a whopping 348 yards with two long touchdowns. Schaeuble hasn’t always been so accurate, but he’s excelled at making big plays. He’s completing just 46.9 percent of his passes, but his 83 completions have gone for 1,404 yards — 16.9 yards per connection — with 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. “He’s done a great job,” Glaser said. “We knew he had a great arm, but there’s more to playing quarterback than having a great arm. He’s a clutch player, and he did it at times when there was a lot of heat on him. I attribute that to him being a punter. He’s been in pressure situations and done well.” In his seven starts, Schaeuble is 6-1. Only one of those seven games was decided by more than seven points, including wins by one, two, three and four points. The three-point win came in the regular-season finale, a 17-14 triumph over UW-Stout. With the Blugolds trailing 14-10 and their playoff hopes in dire jeopardy, Schaeuble guided a 10-play, 54-yard scoring drive in the final 4 minutes. Still, even with a 6-1 record in the powerful WIAC, the Blugolds’ playoff berth caught Glaser by surprise. Asked if he expected to be one of the seven at-large teams, Glaser flatly said, “No.” “We were hoping,” he continued. “We knew we were in a great conference and thought we had the right to be in there, but it’s a tough field.” With all of those close games, it should have come as no surprise the Blugolds found a way to keep their season alive last week at St. Norbert. Still, Schaeuble authored another chapter in an amazing story when he led the offense onto the field with 1:37 remaining and staring at a 20-17 deficit. Schaeuble was experiencing vision problems and could barely see out of his right eye, but that didn’t stop him from leading the winning 61-yard drive, punctuated by a 28-yard pass to Chris Hull with 46 seconds to go. “It was pretty crazy,” Glaser said. “All of our games in conference have been extremely close. We wish they weren’t, but it’s a good conference. The kids persevere and wait until the last whistle is blown to stop playing.” Few people expect Eau Claire to beat Bethel, but few people expected the Blugolds to get into the playoffs, much less win a game, when the season kicked off. The Blugolds’ chances will be even slimmer if Schaeuble can’t play — Glaser called him “day to day.” “They’re real similar,” Glaser said when asked to compare Bethel to second-ranked Whitewater. “Obviously, they are very good at running the ball, and they’re great on defense and special teams. If we make mistakes, they’ll capitalize. So, in that regard, they’re very similar.” | |
| Permalink | Nov 23, 2007 | |
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