D2Football.com SAC Column

The October surprise is already here.

In the form of Super Regional 2 Rankings. Of course, Super Regional 2 is the NCAA code word for Southeast Region.

Benedict is #9 in the region with a record of 3-3 while two loss Carson-Newman and Catawba are absent?

Surprise.

The South Atlantic Conference has three ranked teams in the top ten by way of Wingate at number two, Tusculum number five, and Newberry at sixth.

A new and fascinating change of the playoff system this season is the implementation of Earned Access.

Earned Access is the concept of all conferences getting a shot at the postseason. In 2007, if a team from conference X was in the top 10, and was the highest rated team from its conference, it would receive a berth into the postseason. Now, in 2008, Earned Access will only apply to those in the top 8 in the region, making the leap into the playoffs a little more difficult for "weaker" teams.

It should also be pointed out that the CIAA has been moved to Super Regional 1, which used to be known as the Northeast Region.

Week Six Recaps

Actual Score: Carson-Newman: 61 Mars Hill: 49
Timmy's Predicted Score: Carson-Newman: 38 Mars Hill: 28

Hope everyone took the "over" in this high-scoring affair, as defense was honestly optional.

1,076 yards were accounted for in Saturday's game (Give that statistician a Purple Heart), one penalty, and zero turnovers as well.

Carson-Newman running back Buck Wakefield went bonkers on the ground, taking nine handoffs for 154 yards and three touchdowns.

Alex Good had an equally impressive outing against Mars Hill, completing six of eight passes for 238 yards and four touchdowns.

Actual Score: Newberry: 33 Catawba: 14
Timmy's Predicted Score: Catawba: 21 Newberry: 10

Catawba quarterback Howard Williamson threw an interception on the game's first play from scrimmage that set the tone for Newberry's dominating defensive performance.

On the two rare occasions where the Indians did reach the end zone, Newberry rejected the extra points like Dikembe Mutombo swats away lay ups.

Four Catawba turnovers undoubtedly helped Newberry offensively, although Brandon Gantt's 94-yard touchdown hook up to Kelton Tindal was a thing of beauty in the third quarter.

Actual Score: Wingate: 44 Brevard: 13
Timmy's Predicted Score: Wingate: 42 Brevard: 10

Life without Kye Hamilton behind center for Brevard quickly spelled disaster, even when the name of your program is the Tornados.

All-SAC running back John Taylor did not suit up as well, and Wingate pounced on them early and often last Saturday.

The Bulldogs yielded just three completed passes, while Ed Doughty registered 2.5 sacks for conference's lone unbeaten team.

The dynamic rushing duo of Wingate's Nelson Woods (Make him an All-American) and Patrick Pinchinat combined for well over 200 yards and three scores.

Actual Score: Tusculum: 48 Lenoir-Rhyne: 19
Timmy's Predicted Score: Tusculum: 35 Lenoir-Rhyne: 14

Corey Russell is lighting the world on fire with his play thus far this season.

The All-SAC senior quarterback tossed for 375 yards and four devastating touchdowns in the Pioneer's route of Lenoir-Rhyne.

Tusculum also got some help in the running game behind Marcus Foster, who recorded 20 carries for 96 yards and a couple of scores.

Bear outside linebacker Scott Turbeville upped his season sack total to six quarterback pummels with two more sacks this weekend.

Week Seven Previews

My prediction record is now 26-10. Work with me people.

#22 Newberry (3-2, 2-0) at Mars Hill (3-3, 0-2)

October 11th 2:30 PM ET Weather Forecast: 73 degrees, few showers, 6 MPH wind, 30% chance of rain

What exactly is Newberry's reward for defeating both nationally ranked Carson-Newman and Catawba in back-to-back weekends?

A road trip to an upset Mars Hill team for their homecoming.

Newberry head coach Zak Willis must stress to his team that this opponent should not be taken lightly. Mars Hill is winning and losing based upon the long ball from quarterback Ricky Spradling. When the senior signal caller can connect with Tyrea Allen, the Lions can take out anybody in this conference.

The Scarlet and Gray defense concerned me with the deep pass to Catawba's Travis Landrum early in the first quarter last week. It is that type of play that will allow Mars Hill running backs George Washington and George Stripling to get the ground game going.

Newberry reminds me of, gasp, the 2005 Presbyterian team that rolled through the SAC. Of course, Newberry is loaded with more talent and speed than the Blue Hose could ever imagine. But the similarity between these two teams is that they are parasitic in nature. Coach Willis' team will be ready to pounce on the opponent's mistake. If the other team does a relatively good job of securing the football and not making big mistakes, they can beat Newberry. The only two that have done that are Valdosta State and Midwestern State.

The rest all fell victim to the Scarlet and Gray.

Brandon Gantt appears to be the man at quarterback for now because Eric McCollom, unfortunately, does not seem to be 100% after leg injuries.

Tharry Salley needs to help take pressure of the Newberry passing game by running the ball about 15 times. Whether he will be successful remains to be seen as Mars Hill is not afraid to blitz the middle, regardless of the down and distance.

This game really is a gamble and a toss up. This will not be an easy win for Newberry. This game will be won or lost based upon the success of Mars Hill's blitzes and long balls.

Newberry's speed will hurt Mars Hill in the end.

Newberry: 33 Mars Hill: 21

#16 Carson-Newman (3-2, 1-1) at Catawba (3-2, 1-1)

October 11th 7:00 PM ET Weather Forecast: 58 degrees, partly cloudy, 2 MPH wind, 20% chance of rain

The premiere conference game has arrived. The Cr?me de la Cr?me. Power against power.

The meaning of this game has shot its way to being all or nothing. After the release of the regional rankings, it is apparent that a three loss SAC team isn't going to get a chance at the postseason most likely.

At this point last year, both teams were undefeated and in the top ten by some polls. Now, both teams have two Division II losses at the midway point of the season.

Everybody is wondering how Catawba will react after playing terribly at Newberry last Saturday night.

Carson-Newman's offense is beginning to pick up steam after stumbling at Newberry as well two weeks ago. Quarterback Alex Good is a threat every time he is under center. Running backs Buck Wakefield and Ricky Harris present both speed and power troubles against Catawba's defense.

The Eagle passing game must get on track to beat the Indians' defense. Carson-Newman must make this game a track meet. This contest cannot be a grind it out defensive battle for a C-N victory.

Catawba's offensive strength is running the football. Senior running back Jamelle Cuthbertson is a home run threat every time he touches the football. He is known to routinely get 6-7 yards before he burns a defense for a 50 plus yard run.

The X factor in this game will be the Catawba passing game and Howard Williamson's status. Williamson is the starting quarterback for the Indians, but he did not take one snap in the second half against Newberry. It is believed that his throwing shoulder may still be giving him problems. Catawba coach Chip Hester has stated that he has a ton of confidence in backup Patrick Dennis.

Carson-Newman's secondary and overall pass defense has been questioned by the rest of the country after the North Alabama game in which the Lions threw for over 400 yards.

The only reason Catawba beat C-N last year was Brad Roach's golden arm caught fire much like previous Indian signal callers against the Eagles.

Catawba does not have that triggerman to take advantage of possible breakdowns.

Newberry's passing game was able to hit Catawba deep for a 94-yard pass play last week. The Eagles had six touchdowns that were 43 yards or longer last week against Mars Hill.

Catawba's defense will be on the field too much to stop C-N.

Carson-Newman: 42 Catawba: 17

Lenoir-Rhyne (3-3, 1-1) at #17 Wingate (6-0, 2-0)

October 11th 1:30 PM ET Weather Forecast: 77 degrees, few showers, 5 MPH wind, 30% chance of rain

Wingate is not ready to wake up from its dream season just yet.

The Bulldogs control their destiny to win the SAC title, go to the playoffs, and host a playoff game. Coach Joe Reich's team can realistically jump three more spots in the national polls if things work out the right way.

First, they must take care of Lenoir-Rhyne at home. The Bears are coming off a game in which they played better as a team than they did last year, but it still resulted in a blowout loss.

Can quarterback Justin Sanders and his option offense slice and dice the Wingate defense?

Well, Brevard tried 47 times and only got 13 points. The Tornadoes only threw eight passes. We will see nearly the same philosophy from LRU head coach Fred Goldsmith this week.

Lenoir-Rhyne wants to control the ball and keep Wingate's offense on the sidelines. The Bears will be able to score on a couple of possessions, more than likely early in the ball game.

It is important for Wingate to dump L-R early in the game. Quarterback JD Moore had some struggles against Brevard's defense last week, but he does face a pass defense that was torched by Tusculum.

As long as Bulldog tailback Nelson Woods gets his mandatory twenty touches, it won't matter if Moore throws a couple of picks.

L-R will run, run, and run on Saturday.

Turnovers will be the story in this game.

Wingate improves to 7-0 and vies to be in the top 10 nationally.

Wingate: 38 Lenoir-Rhyne: 17

Brevard (1-4, 0-2) at Tusculum (4-2, 1-1)

October 11th 1:30 PM ET Weather Forecast: 76 degrees, partly cloudy, 5 MPH wind, 20% chance of rain

It is amazing what two weeks can do.

Tusculum was essentially written out of the playoff picture with the emergence of Newberry as a true contender and Carson-Newman as, well, Carson-Newman.

The Pioneers had just lost to Wingate 37-33 and was feeling down about the two losses. But now, Tusculum is fifth in the region ahead of Newberry, and is in the driver's seat in this race. They get both Newberry and Carson-Newman at home.

Let's not count the chickens just yet though.

Well, they can this week. They are playing Brevard, but starting next week, that needs to stop.

It will be the Corey Russell air show this Saturday.

Brevard's defense was able to pick off Wingate's JD Moore two times last Saturday, but the Pioneers pass attack is much more lethal.

The star quarterback should throw for well over 300 yards on Saturday depending on playing time. Wide outs like Ryan Tallent, Jarrell NeSmith, Nate Binder, and Rashaad Carter will present Russell with opportunities for big plays.

For Brevard to win, which would be rival being the biggest upset in conference history, the Tornados need to be able to throw the ball. With Kye Hamilton's status being uncertain as of now for this week's game, it will be even tougher to establish the air waves.

That really is the story of Brevard this season.

Injuries.

Losing a star player like running back John Taylor has made a season that started off on a sour note that much tougher to endure.

This isn't the Brevard team that BC fans and coach Paul Hamilton envisioned just over a month ago.

BC, however, will plug away with running back Tyrone Arrington, who is playing like he was in 2006.

Tusculum's defense is too strong for a one-dimensional attack. Tusculum's offense will have its way with the Tornados.

Tusculum: 42 Brevard: 7