| David Bennett learned a valuable lesson two
seasons ago. The Catawba
College football coach watched his Indians parade into Jefferson City, Tenn. as the
fourth-ranked team nationally in Division II. Their mission: beat Carson-Newman, the No. 1
team in Division II.
Catawba scored first and then
Bennett watched in horror as the Eagles made diving catch after diving catch, scored 26
straight points and sent Catawba home a devastated football team.
“When we went up there and
didn’t win, we had players saying, ‘What do we have left to play for.’
“ said Bennett. “In years past, we tried to get all geared up.”
When Catawba made the trip today
to Carson-Newman, Bennett was singing another tune.
“We’re telling our guys
that it’s just one football game,” he said. “You play as well as you can
and let the chips fall where they may.
“This is not our
season.”
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As much as Bennett wants to
believe that and as much as he wants his players to believe that, many times in Division
II football, one game can be the season, especially if a team loses to Carson-Newman.
“I’ll tell you
what,” Bennett said. “Division IIis not a fair thing.”
Division IIhas decided that the
national playoffs will be equal representation. Four teams from each of the country’s
regions are chosen to make up the 16-team playoff field.
So naturally, there may be a team
that deserves to go but doesn’t because of the wacky format.
Bennett even went to the national
meeting and urged the committee to do things like Division 1-AA. Take the top 16 teams in
the nation to the playoffs.
“Some guy from Pennsylvania
stood up and said, “We’re not going to do that.”
That basically explains why the
South Atlantic Conference has never had two teams advance and why the CIAA champion
Livingstone Bears have not made the national playoffs, despite two straight CIAA
championships. Nothing is automatic.
“There’s probably always
going to be two teams from the Gulf South,” Bennett said. “And the SAC has one.
That leaves one team for two other conferences.
“The 5-6-7 team in our region
might beat a lot of teams but the NCAA saves money on Division II,” Bennett said.
“They’re not going to fly you around like a Division Ischool.”
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Bennett always raves about the
injustice of the Division II playoffs whenever it’s time to play Carson-Newman.
He’ll never forget 1996.
“We finished 6-1 in the
league and Carson-Newman finished 6-1 in the league. And we beat ’em head-to-head. In
our eyes, we should’ve gone to the playoffs. But Carson-Newman stayed ahead of us in
the polls and they went.
“Politics exist
everywhere.”
Even this year. Catawba is 4-0 and
has blasted each opponent. The defense is ranked among the nation’s leaders and the
offense has outscored the opponents 142-23. But when asked if Catawba should be ranked,
Bennett bellowed, “No! Carson-Newman’s AD is on the committee and he’s not
going to put us up too high. If we go up there and beat them, they’ll have to bump us
ahead of them. If we’re low and win, they stay ahead of us.”
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That probably sounds like sour
grapes to the Carson-Newman Eagles, who sit back like fat cats each and every year,
knowing one, or even two losses, won’t keep them out of the postseason. Their
tradition speaks for itself.
“They’re the Florida
State of our conference,” Bennett said.
The whole process irks the Catawba
coach. He has completely turned around a floundering program and wants his school in the
playoffs.
In 1994, during a 2-9 season, the
defense was horrid, giving up 60 points in three straight games.
A coaching change was necessary
and Bennett was called in.
“I can’t believe they
even wanted to interview me,” he chuckled. “If I had been in charge, I’d
have cleaned house after that fiasco.”
Bennett was asked what he could do
to keep fans in the stands after halftime.
“It’s simple,”
Bennett told the committee. “We can’t be down 42-0 at halftime.”
Two seasons later, he beat the No.
1 team in the nation — Carson-Newman.
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But it meant little. Bennett
realizes that the only want to get in the playoffs is to upset Carson-Newman again and
then avoid a loss to Presbyterian the next week.
So he is trying to forget about
the pressure.
“We’re not even
ranked,” he said. “Why should we feel pressure?”
Bennett is telling his team that
at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, a golden opportunity exists. It’s David vs. Goliath. Just go
out there, have fun and let it all hang out.
“You want to get recognition
for Catawba College and what better way than to beat the No. 1 team in the nation,”
he reasons.
As Bennett says, it’s just
one game.
But the way Division II handles
things, it has turned into a very important one.
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Ronnie Gallagher is the sports
editor of the Post. |
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