Wisconsin-Whitewater and Mount Union to Meet in NCAA Division III Football Championship Game for the Sixth Straight Year

The University of Wisconsin--Whitewater Warhawks and Mount Union (Alliance, Ohio) Purple Raiders will meet in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl for the 2010 NCAA Division III football championship. If that sounds familiar, it's because these two schools are meeting in the Stagg Bowl for the sixth straight year. Wisconsin--Whitewater defeated Wesley College on the road in Dover, Delaware 27-7 December 11th, while Mount Union beat Bethel (Minnesota) in Alliance 34-14 to advance to the Stagg Bowl.

Wisconsin Whitewater is the defending NCAA Division III football champion, and won the title in 2007 as well. Mount Union defeated Whitewater in the Stagg Bowl in 2005, 2006, and 2008. All told, Mount Union has won the championship ten times since 1993. The Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl will be played in Salem, Virginia December 18th at 3:30 P.M. Eastern. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Both teams have identical 14-0 records. Whitewater currently has the nation's longest winning streak in college football, with 29 in a row. The Warhawks last loss was to Mount Union in the 2008 Stagg Bowl.

Whitewater and Mount Union have been numbers 1 and 2 in the Division III football polls all year. It was somewhat surprising that when the Division III Tournament brackets were released, Whitewater was a number 2 seed in the North Central Region. The NCAA determines the seedings in part based on strength of schedule. Whitewater played two NAIA schools, and those games did not figure in the strength of schedule calculations. With their success over the last few years, the Warhawks have had trouble finding willing non conference opponents. The number 2 seeding meant Whitewater played its last two playoff games on the road. It didn't matter; besides beating Wesley, the Warhawks defeated North Central in Naperville, Illinois 20-10 on December 4th.

Bethel took an early 7-0 lead on Mount Union in their game, but the Purple Raiders ran off 34 unanswered points to clinch the victory. Quarterback Matt Piloto three for 335 yards and four touchdowns for Mount Union. He's the backup quarterback, too; starter Neal Seaman left the game in the first quarter with a leg injury. Seaman threw for almost 3200 yards in 2010.

Mount Union's leading rusher is sophomore Jeremy Murray, who ran for 1591 yards and 20 touchdowns. Senior Cecil Shorts had 1106 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns. The defense allowed more than 14 points just once all sesaon.

Whitewater running back Levell Coppage rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the Warhawks' win over Wesley. Coppage, a junior, has rushed for over 1800 yards and scored 22 touchdowns. The ground attack is three pronged: senior Antwan Anderson rushed for 785 yards and six touchdowns, and senior Booker Stanley added 684 yards and seven touchdowns. Whitewater's defense allowed less than 50 yards rushing per game; Wesley was held to -7 rushing yards.

For a look at the Whitewater--Mount Union Stagg Bowls, follow this link.
For more about UW-Whitewater running back Booker Stanley, follow this link.

Sources:

D3Football.com

Mount Union Athletics Football Web Page

University of Wisconsin--Whitewater Warhawks Football Web Page

UW-Whitewater finds itself in an odd place--seeded No. 2 Madison.com