Loras (2-7, 2-5) at Luther (4-5, 3-4)
Kickoff -- Noon at Carlson Stadium, Decorah
Radio -- WDBQ-AM 1490. "Duhawk Game Day," with Tom Gregory and Jon Denham, hits air at 11:30 a.m.
Last year -- Vaughn Gesing threw for three touchdowns as the Duhawks wrapped a 6-4 season with a 34-29 victory at the Rock Bowl.
Outlook -- Today is last call for a Loras senior class that's been sweating, bleeding and bonding like brothers for four years. Kicker Taylor Buhmeyer figures the reality of the end will hit him sometime down the road.
"It's definitely hard. I don't know if I've taken it in," Buhmeyer said. "It may not be until next week when it settles in."
This lost season has been as fun as two-a-days in a driving rain storm for Loras, which is trying to avoid its second 2-8 season in three years. Buhmeyer has had a fine season, drilling 6 of 6 field goal attempts. But with the Duhawks inadvertently sabotaging themselves with turnovers all year (a league-worst 28), Buhmeyer's calls to action have been few and far between. He's itching to get a chance to determine today's game, which matches the Iowa Conference's least prolific offenses.
"You have to keep your focus," said Buhmeyer, of the mentality kickers need to convert. "When you lose that focus, that's when you miss a kick."
The Duhawks' non-threatening running game is producing just 65 yards per Saturday, meaning the offensive weight will again be on quarterback Gesing (seven touchdowns versus 16 interceptions) and the Loras passing game. The Loras offensive line has an all-points bulletin out on Norse linebacker Kyle McGivney, a ball hawk who has made 127 stops in nine games.
"He's all over the field," Duhawks coach Steve Osterberger said. "He runs very well and has a nose for the football. He reads plays very well. We have to realize where he's at at all times."
The teams' are mirror images of each other in their offensive struggles. Luther quarterback Chris Reynolds is completing just 51 percent of his passes, but his option ability (494 yards, six touchdowns) makes him a multi-dimensional threat.
A win won't be an absolute painkiller for Loras, but it would be morphine and a lasting memory for a black and blue team.
"I don't want to say (a win) would erase it, but it would ease the pain of this season," Buhmeyer said.
Dubuque (4-5, 3-4) at Buena Vista (4-5, 3-4)
Kickoff -- Noon at J. Leslie Rollins Stadium, Storm Lake
Radio -- WVRE-FM 101.1.
Last year -- Matt Pearey ran for two TDs as the Beavers survived three lost fumbles to stuff the Spartans, 20-3.
Outlook -- The season has seen more ups and downs than a staircase. But a victory today at one of the IIAC's toughest road venues would seal a .500 season, a three-game improvement for the Spartans over their 2008 win total and a fine start to the Stan Zweifel era on University Avenue.
The trick for UD here is simple: Protect Colton Hansen, making the final start of a fine career, as if he's the president. Hansen has been the IIAC's top passing playmaker, with 2,277 yards and 20 touchdowns. Beaver linebacker Brian Bode (80 tackles, 3.5 sacks) will be among the defenders hunting Hansen. In the secondary, BV corner Jared Boysen has broken up a league-best 12 passes with three interceptions.
Buena Vista sacked Hansen five times last year and roped the Spartans to 91 rushing yards. This Beavers' defense is the IIAC's No. 2 outfit, yielding just 18 points per week. Ball control will be imperative for UD, which is averaging just 27 minutes of possession time.
The Spartans' Michael Zweifel leads NCAA Division III in receptions per game (11.22) and receiving yards per game (146.44). With 78 catches and 1,032 yards in IIAC games, Zweifel is within reach of the league records of 83 and 1,182 established by UD's Matt Plummer in 1996.
Clete Campbell
UW-Stevens Point (6-3, 5-1) at UW-Platteville (3-6, 1-5)
Kickoff -- 1 p.m.
Radio -- WPVL-FM 107.1
Last year -- Stevens Point won, 3-0.
Outlook -- After a 3-2 start, the Pioneers have lost four straight, two in gut-wrenching fashion and then last week in a lopsided affair at UW-River Falls.
Bouncing back in the season finale at home against the Pointers will be no small task. They bring to Platteville the top passing combination in the WIAC: quarterback Jared Beckwith leads the league in passing yards, averaging 256.1 per game, and receiver Jared Jenkins leads the league in receptions (78), receiving yards (1,179) and receiving touchdowns (12).
Point is also strong defensively. Linebacker John Jones and safety Joe Mleziva are ranked second and third in the league in total tackles, and defensive end Matt Lunder leads the league in tackles for loss.
UW-P's defense is good enough to pull off the upset. It's the league's lowest-ranked offense that needs to get into the end zone.
Note -- This preview capsule mistakenly ran last weekend. The TH regrets the error.
Erin Murphy
