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January 4th, 2008, 01:31 AM
The CSN Way: Whew, 2007
Charles Burton, CSN Columnist
The 2007 season began -- and ended -- with historic achievements. Conference by conference, here’s a look back at the “year that was” in FCS football. The champions, the games of the year, the highest moments, the biggest disappointments, the best players and the unsung heroes, the "what if's" and the peeks forward. Whew, 2007!
Gateway Football Conference
Champions: Northern Iowa Panthers
Game of the Year: October 13th, Northern Iowa 30, Southern Illinois 24.
A battle of unbeaten teams, the Panthers packing the UNI-Dome and playing like champions – but the Salukis would mount a furious rally and would have a shot at winning the game with four seconds left – and after four laterals, Southern Illinois wideout Alan Turner would come six yards away from tying, after just barely getting knocked out of bounds by Chris Parsons. UNI would end up with an unbeaten regular season (their first unbeaten regular season since 1960 and first ever Gateway team finishing unblemished), while Southern Illinois would have only one loss on the year.
Highest Moment: Southern Illinois’ run through the playoffs.
Head coach Jerry Kill – in his last games before accepting the job at Northern Illinois – had a magical run in the playoffs with wins over rival Eastern Illinois (30-11) and perennial power UMass (34-27). Quarterback Nick Hill, runningback John Randle and linebacker Chauncey Mixon showed how good they were. The 20-17 setback to Delaware ended up being coach Kill’s last game for the Salukis – he’s a great coach and by all accounts a good person. He will be missed.
Biggest Disappointment: Illinois State.
Admittedly, the Redbirds played a brutal schedule including FBS Missouri, North Dakota State, and three playoff teams. But despite some bright spots, the Redbirds started off the year with a thud with a 27-24 loss to non-scholarship Drake of the Pioneer Football League and never really recovered. (As a result, the Redbirds became the first full-scholarship team to lose to a Division I non-scholarship team in history.)
Player of the Year: Northern Iowa quarterback Eric Sanders.
A 75% completion percentage? Yes – in 13 games, he completed 75% of his passes for 2,842 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also only had six interceptions – averaging less than one every two games. Say this about Sanders – the kid had nerves of steel.
Unsung Player of the Year: Youngstown State linebacker James Terry.
Lost in the history-making in the rest of the Gateway was the solid play of Terry, with 65 tackles, 5 ½ sacks, and 9 quarterback hurries. Gateway offensive coordinators will be happy to see the back of him.
What If: Youngstown State had made their 13-0 lead over Northern Iowa hold up?
The team that had the best chance of upsetting the Panthers’ run at history was the Penguins, who simply couldn’t hold onto their lead going into the fourth quarter. Had they done so, they would have stood an excellent chance at going 8-3 and making the playoffs – and who knows how well they might have done?
A Peek Towards 2008:
Western Illinois and Missouri State had some nice wins in 2007 with some very young teams – the Leathernecks have superstar runningback Herb Donaldson and stud kicker Taylor Rowan returning, while freshman quarterback Cody Kirby on the Bears should continue his improvement next year. Look for one or both to be in the middle of things next year. Another big question: will North Dakota State and South Dakota State jump in and become title contenders right away?
READ MORE... http://www.collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=89669
Charles Burton, CSN Columnist
The 2007 season began -- and ended -- with historic achievements. Conference by conference, here’s a look back at the “year that was” in FCS football. The champions, the games of the year, the highest moments, the biggest disappointments, the best players and the unsung heroes, the "what if's" and the peeks forward. Whew, 2007!
Gateway Football Conference
Champions: Northern Iowa Panthers
Game of the Year: October 13th, Northern Iowa 30, Southern Illinois 24.
A battle of unbeaten teams, the Panthers packing the UNI-Dome and playing like champions – but the Salukis would mount a furious rally and would have a shot at winning the game with four seconds left – and after four laterals, Southern Illinois wideout Alan Turner would come six yards away from tying, after just barely getting knocked out of bounds by Chris Parsons. UNI would end up with an unbeaten regular season (their first unbeaten regular season since 1960 and first ever Gateway team finishing unblemished), while Southern Illinois would have only one loss on the year.
Highest Moment: Southern Illinois’ run through the playoffs.
Head coach Jerry Kill – in his last games before accepting the job at Northern Illinois – had a magical run in the playoffs with wins over rival Eastern Illinois (30-11) and perennial power UMass (34-27). Quarterback Nick Hill, runningback John Randle and linebacker Chauncey Mixon showed how good they were. The 20-17 setback to Delaware ended up being coach Kill’s last game for the Salukis – he’s a great coach and by all accounts a good person. He will be missed.
Biggest Disappointment: Illinois State.
Admittedly, the Redbirds played a brutal schedule including FBS Missouri, North Dakota State, and three playoff teams. But despite some bright spots, the Redbirds started off the year with a thud with a 27-24 loss to non-scholarship Drake of the Pioneer Football League and never really recovered. (As a result, the Redbirds became the first full-scholarship team to lose to a Division I non-scholarship team in history.)
Player of the Year: Northern Iowa quarterback Eric Sanders.
A 75% completion percentage? Yes – in 13 games, he completed 75% of his passes for 2,842 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also only had six interceptions – averaging less than one every two games. Say this about Sanders – the kid had nerves of steel.
Unsung Player of the Year: Youngstown State linebacker James Terry.
Lost in the history-making in the rest of the Gateway was the solid play of Terry, with 65 tackles, 5 ½ sacks, and 9 quarterback hurries. Gateway offensive coordinators will be happy to see the back of him.
What If: Youngstown State had made their 13-0 lead over Northern Iowa hold up?
The team that had the best chance of upsetting the Panthers’ run at history was the Penguins, who simply couldn’t hold onto their lead going into the fourth quarter. Had they done so, they would have stood an excellent chance at going 8-3 and making the playoffs – and who knows how well they might have done?
A Peek Towards 2008:
Western Illinois and Missouri State had some nice wins in 2007 with some very young teams – the Leathernecks have superstar runningback Herb Donaldson and stud kicker Taylor Rowan returning, while freshman quarterback Cody Kirby on the Bears should continue his improvement next year. Look for one or both to be in the middle of things next year. Another big question: will North Dakota State and South Dakota State jump in and become title contenders right away?
READ MORE... http://www.collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=89669