If you haven't seen it in person, you should.

The roll that Mount Union is on right now is a sight to behold. The numbers — 34 straight wins, 72 Ohio Athletic Conference wins in a row, 80 regular season games without a loss and 88 wins in their last 89 games — are unreal. No other run in our generation is quite like it. Even John Wooden's UCLA teams and the 1950s and 60s Boston Celtics would tip their hats to such success.

Love 'em, hate 'em or just wish they would let someone else win a national championship once in a while, you have to respect the empire Larry Kehres has built in the small town of Alliance, Ohio.

So how do they do it? 

They'll tell you themselves there's no magic secret.

But having seen them a half-dozen times, including last Saturday against John Carroll, there are some things that stand out.

Mount Union's teams are always precise and well-prepared. They must be a coaches' dream: no yelling before game time, not a whole lot of trash talk. Just quiet confidence.

They have good personnel, but not the best ever in Division III. But since the first time I saw them up close in 1997, I've noticed the same things: Their routes are run crisply and cleanly. Their defenses are disguised perfectly. And most of all, when they need a clutch play, they always make it.

I'm on record saying these teams are not invincible, and they aren't. The difference between them (six national championships in nine years) and us lies first in clutch performance. They never let the other team make the big play.

St. John's had them on the ropes in Stagg Bowl XVIII, and Mount Union responded with an 11-play, 65-yard drive complete with a 13-yard pass on third-and-7 and 5-yard run on third-and-3. They won on a field goal with one second left.

They came back the next season and eked out another three-point win in the Stagg Bowl, 30-27 over Bridgewater.

In four games against John Carroll prior to Saturday, the Blue Streaks have led in each game. Mount Union rallied to win 33-30 last season and overcame a 22-21 late third-quarter deficit to win 41-31 in 2000. The game went to triple overtime in 1999, a 57-51 Mount Union win, and the Purple Raiders rallied from a 14-0 deficit and scored the decisive TD with 3:11 left to win 21-14 the year before.

Rowan, the only program to beat the Purple Raiders since UW-La Crosse in the 1995 semifinals, has had the Purple Raiders down in the second half of two Stagg Bowls. Mount Union has had two-point, four-point and five-point playoff wins.

In D3football.com's trips to Alliance, we always manage to chat with a few longtime observers of the program. Those that think the Purple Raiders could have easily lost several of those games (one said if Bridgewater had five more minutes, they'd be the current national champions) would probably want to remain nameless. Besides, the fact remains that Mount Union keeps on winning.

The Purple Raiders' 54-game win streak, snapped by Rowan in the 1999 NCAA semifinals, is the longest in the history of college football. Since 1990, the program is the winningest in all of college football (154-7-1), and is 105-1 in regular-season play since 1992. Kehres, in his 17th year as head coach, has a .909 winning percentage.

It's all a delight for the football-happy residents of northeast Ohio, where you can spot people walking on the street with Mount Union gear on, where radio stations give away tickets to Youngstown State games and where the John Carroll bus driver asks you what time Ohio State kicks off in the middle of his team's game.

It's a place where, if you're lucky, someone will tell you a few stories about how obsessive Kehres is about the finer points of the game, even when it comes to the Purple Raiders' JV team. Or where, on game day, someone will pass you through the long line of fans and family waiting to get into the pre-game brunch that fills the school's cafeteria.

Someday the run come to an end, like Augustana's mid-1980s dynasty did. Maybe a new dynasty will dawn, maybe no one will ever match the Purple Raiders. But with all of the little things that can go wrong for a team in a football game, it's simply amazing how often Mount Union makes everything go right. They're precise, prepared, and they come through in the clutch.

Some are tired of hearing about these Purple Raiders, and some might be tired of writing about them.

But it won't stop until Mount Union gets tired of winning.

Beyond the Numbers

SPEAKING OF DOMINATION: Washington & Jefferson is looking to nab its 16th Presidents Athletic Conference championship in 17 seasons on Saturday. The R.J. Bowers-led Grove City won the conference title in 1997. The Wolverines were also the last PAC team to defeat the Presidents, who have won 19 consecutive conference games.

With a win over Wartburg on Saturday, Central can clinch its 42nd straight winning season. Linfield recently assured itself of a 47th consecutive winning campaign, and Central's feat would put both in good company. Only Harvard, from 1881-1923 and Notre Dame from 1889-1932 have been such winners. Princeton, from 1876-1916, is third on the list at 41. Nebraska can tie that mark with its 41st winning season in a row this year.

BLOCK PARTIES: Sewanee sophomore Don Rodgers blocked three Andy English punts, two in the final four minutes of the game, and fellow sophomore Nate Murphy returned all three blocked punts for touchdowns in a 36-31 win over Rhodes. It marked only the fourth time one player has blocked three punts in a game over the last 23 seasons, and there are no records to suggest anyone has ever returned three blocked punts for scores in one game.

The College of New Jersey defensive back Jeremy Julio has five blocked kicks in five games this season. The NCAA does not tally blocked kick leaders or other statistics, but surely Julio would be among the nation's leaders.


FIRST TIME: No. 5 Mary Hardin-Baylor, after its big win over Howard Payne, is in sole possession of first place in the American Southwest Conference for the first time in the five-year history of the program. Its ranking is also its highest ever. Head coach Pete Fredenburg, who once coached at Baylor, LSU and Louisiana Tech, helped launch the program, which has used the fields of nearby Belton High as it has grown. Quarterback Cody Fredenburg leads the Crusaders with more than 200 yards of total offense per game.


CENTENNIAL CLUB: Union and RPI's Dutchman's Shoes game earlier this year pushed those rivals into the small group of teams who have played each other 100 times. Amherst and Williams (116) lead the list, while Lawrence-Ripon (101) and Wesleyan-Trinity, Conn. (also 101) recently joined the club. But Saturday's game between UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stevens point marks the first time two non-private colleges have reached 100 games played against each other.

After Stevens Point won the first game in 1896 40-0, Oshkosh came back two weeks later and won 22-6. According to Stevens Point SID Jim Strick, the game may have also marked one of football's first controversies. Stevens Point accused Oshkosh of using a student from the University of Chicago (then coached by all-time great Amos Alonzo Stagg) who was in town visiting friends. "[T]he visit was conveniently arranged for the Oshkosh eleven, it seems," wrote the Pointer student newspaper.


BREAK TIME: Head-to-head usually settles two-way ties, but what happens when three teams finish atop the division with equal records, both overall and against each other? It could happen in the IIAC, MAC, Centennial, NCAC and ASC this season, just to name a few. 

That's when those conferences break out the complicated tiebreaker formulas. For example, here is what the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference uses to break ties that determine the NCAA automatic qualifier: 

"1. Which team won in their head to head competition?

2. How the tied teams fared against next team in conference standings. Continue down in the conference standings until the tie is broken.

3. Number of conference wins by the conference opponents you defeated. Team whose opponents had the highest number of wins breaks the tie.

4. Number of conference wins by the conference opponents you lost to. Team whose opponents had the highest number of wins breaks the tie.

5. Total winning percentage by non-conference opponents.

6. The team which has not gone to the NCAA Football Playoffs for the longest period of time (Big 10 Rose Bowl Rule).

7. Rankings from the AFCA Division III National Poll.

8. Blind Draw. One lot shall be marked AQ and all others will be blank. The draw will be conducted by the conference Commissioner and SID at the Heartland Conference Office. The draw will be made in alphabetical order of the tied schools. A coach or representative from each school involved may attend the drawing."


MAC-DADDIES: If you haven't heard of MacMurray — this is the one from Illinois — now might be a good time to take note. The Highlanders have won 15 consecutive regular-season games and 17 of their last 18. 

This from a school that has had football for less than 20 years. MacMurray played its first season in 1985, long after many other small colleges in the midwest took to the gridiron. 

"The decision was made by then president B.G. Stephens primarily as an enrollment enhancer but also to balance the enrollment by gender," said Director of Athletics Dr. Bob Gay. MacMurray needed more male students, and football would help recruit more. 

During the first 11 seasons, the Highlanders struggled to a 43-62 record. In 1995, head coach Bob Frey inherited the program and went 3-7 in his first season at the helm. Since his inaugural season, he's put together an 50-17 record, and brought him five conference championships and the school's first-ever postseason appearance. 

Frey got it done with a lot of hard work. The coach and his staff still can be seen on Fridays painting the field, and at 8:00 a.m. Saturday mornings setting up the press box. He is still the recruiting coordinator, chief fundraiser, and arranges all of his team's travel plans. 

"A lot of the credit goes to the jobs our assistant coaches have done," says Frey. "I hired Steve Bell and he stayed here five years before taking the head job at Monmouth College. (Assistant head coach) Brandon McCray has been with me for six years and together we still do everything the same way we did it when I took over."

Now, MacMurray is preparing to open a brand new football stadium on campus. Since its inception, the program has played about a half mile off campus. The new facility, which will be named Freesen Field in honor of lifetime trustee Bob Freesen and his wife Deb, will feature new stadium seating for 1000 people and a press box on the home side. Visitor seating for 400 will be moved to the site from the present field. 

With a 6-0 start this season and the excitement surrounding MacMurray, the Highlanders could be the next big name in small college football. But to make the playoffs they'll have to get past Concordia (Wis.) in what is shaping up to be the Illini-Badger Conference title game Nov. 9. 

Games to Watch

No. 1 Mount Union (6-0) at Capital (5-1): Pardon the pun, but if anyone left on the schedule is going to mount a challenge to the Purple Raiders, it's these purple Crusaders. Both are 5-0 in the OAC, but Capital's wins have come against the conference's weaker half. Their final four opponents have a combined record of 18-6, but if they catch Mount Union napping, it won't matter to us how they finish the season.

No. 4 Trinty, Texas (6-0) at Centre (5-2): The Colonels fell against SCAC rivals Sewanee and Millsaps this month, and they might not be much of a challenge for the Tigers. But they did stun them 25-21 in 2000, on a touchdown with 37 seconds left. The Centre win snapped a 35-game regular-season win streak for Trinty, ranked No. 2 in the nation at the time. 

No. 6 St. John's (6-1) at Concordia-Moorhead (5-2): Second-year coach Terry Horan will need to work his best magic yet to get the Cobbers past the Johnnies, which last happened in 1990. The teams' records are misleading, because both are 5-0 in the MIAC, with one loss to a WIAC team. The Cobbers are coming off a loss to UW-Stout, but can take control of the MIAC with a win. Johnnies average nearly 44 points per game, Concordia-Moorhead allows less than 200 yards per game.

Anderson (4-2) at No. 7 Hanover (6-0): Panthers host Heartland's defending co-champions, the Ravens, still powered by last season's conference MVP, quarterback Joel Steele (306 yards per game, 18 TD, 6 interceptions). Anderson, one of three teams unbeaten in HCAC play, can brush aside an out-of-conference win over Capital and a 65-7 loss to Milikin. Hanover, a 1999 and 2000 playoff participant, can prove that it's back to form after a 5-5 season. 

Menlo (3-3) at No. 8 Linfield (5-0): A nice out-of-conference challenge for Northwest Conference leader. An out-of-conference shutout loss to Southern Oregon last season cost the Wildcats, left out of the playoffs at 7-2. That's not good news for the Oaks, who haven't played in two weeks and have already lost to the NWC's Willamette and Whitworth.

Ripon (5-2) at No. 9 St. Norbert (7-0): Even though they have been to the playoffs in the three seasons Division III has used the 28-team format, without winning a postseason contest, the Green Knights are finally getting respect from the AFCA pollsters. So it's test time… the winningest program in Midwest Conference history visits DePere for homecoming. Ripon and St. Norbert usually battle it out in this conference, but surprise contender Lake Forest is hanging tough. Ripon needs the win to stay in the title hunt.

No. 11 Augustana (4-1) at Milikin (5-1): For the second time in three weeks, four of the CCIW's mightiest get together to hash things out. The Big Blue suffered a big home loss against Wheaton two weeks ago, and the Vikings' visit is a chance to get it right. If Augustana takes care of business and later finds out that Illinois Wesleyan has beaten Wheaton, first place in the conference has a home in Rock Island.

Waynesburg (4-2) at No. 14 Washington & Jefferson (5-1): The last PAC challenger steps into the ring with perennial title winner W&J, a Pool B playoff hopeful. With a win, the Presidents clinch the conference crown.

No. 20 Salisbury (6-0) vs. Newport News (5-2): The annual Khedive Oyster Bowl features different teams each year; last year fans at Hampton, Va.'s Darling Stadium got Christopher Newport's dramatic 14-11 win over Ferrum, the one that sent the first-year program to the NCAA playoffs. In the 53rd annual game they'll get the nation's top rushing offense (378 yards per game) and one of its top surprises in Salisbury.

Kings Point (5-2) at No. 24 Western Connecticut (5-1): Springfield would still need to stumble twice in its final two Freedom conference games for either of these teams to jump ahead in the race for the automatic qualifier, but a loss pretty much eliminates either team from playoff contention. 

Central (5-1) at Wartburg (5-1): Among the IIAC's three teams tied at 5-1, Central has already beaten Coe 21-20 and Wartburg lost to Coe, 21-13. A Wartburg win would set the table for a three-way tie at the end of the season. Wartburg's 31-7 victory last season was the worst any team had beaten perennial champion Central since 1992. Central rushes for 210 yards per game, Wartburg allows 56.

Wheaton (5-1) at Illinois Wesleyan (5-1): This is the other half of the CCIW's second crucial Saturday. The Thunder try to remain unbeaten in conference play; The Titans lost to Augustana two weeks ago. Wheaton leads the series 23-22-2, but had won four straight before last season's 31-13 IWU win.

Hartwick (5-1) at RPI (4-1): Rensselaer's two-week old loss to rival Union must still be fresh in the players' memories, since the Engineers have not played since. They get Empire 8 stud Hartwick to battle with, and both of these teams are fighting to remain Pool B contenders. The Hawks are riding a four-game win streak. 

UW-La Crosse (4-2) at UW-Whitewater (3-3): The Eagles are 3-0 in WIAC play; the losses have come to IWU and I-AA Drake. With 5-1 Eau Claire and 5-1 Stout ahead, a win at 13,500-seat Perkins Stadium is a must for La Crosse. Yet, we shouldn't expect anyone to pull away in this conference race.

Claremont Mudd-Scripps (5-0) at Occidental (4-1): A Stags win not only puts them front and center in the SCIAC race, but keeps them in the playoff hunt. No conference team has been to the NCAA playoffs since La Verne in 1994. 

Case Western (4-2) at Washington U. (3-4): One team will be left unbeaten in the four-team UAA after this week. Case is still the NCAA's No. 2 offense, behind Trinity and ahead of Linfield.

Also keep an eye on: Emory & Henry at No. 2 Bridgewater, No. 12 Wittenberg at Ohio Wesleyan, No. 16 UW-Stout at UW-River Falls, No. 17 UW-Eau Claire at UW-Platteville, Johns Hopkins at Randolph-Macon, Moravian at Wilkes, Benedictine at Concordia (Wis.), DePauw at Millsaps, PLU at Lewis & Clark.

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