COLUMN: Rooting for Little Giants this week might help Tigers

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Through eight games, the Wabash football team is 8-0 and ranked No. 13 in the D3football.com poll. They Little Giants also sit tied at the top of the North Coast Athletic Conference standings with Wittenberg, their opponent this week.

The winner this week clinches the league and earns an automatic berth in the playoffs. It wouldn't be the worst thing for the DePauw to face a less-than motivated rival during the Monon game next week.

The Tigers have improved significantly since the start of the season, shoring up holes in the secondary to play consistent defense and taking care of the ball while going for big plays on offense.

But they're not quite on the level of Wabash, a dominant team that has scored at least 38 points in all but one game and never allowed more than 14.

The Little Giants will surely be ready for DePauw either way, but if they already have the conference in the bag, and the playoffs looming, maybe they'll prepare at 95 percent of their peak instead of 100.

Small things make big differences in rivalry games. Last season the Tigers were thoroughly dominated in Crawfordsville, getting shutout and managed to get into Wabash territory just one time, but it ended as only a three-possession game.

Had the right two little plays gone differently, the result might have swung completely.

DePauw is a better team this year than last and the players no doubt want to see their opponent at its peak. That's what makes competition so fun.

Yet earning a slight edge in motivation, and starting with the slight edge of home field, might make the difference on that decisive fourth-and-1 as the clock ticks down.

Because they're, at best, a .500 team this season and they have no shot at the playoffs, the Monon means everything to the Tigers. That game is the season.

Wabash is better than that. They have bigger goals. Win this week, and the Little Giants' sights are on the playoffs instead of the game in front of them.

With a loss to Witternberg, Wabash will come back even more motivated next week, fighting for an at-large spot in the playoffs since their postseason would no longer be guaranteed.

Adding that motivation to the rivalry fuel could be too much for DePauw to overcome. Coming off an emotional high and coasting toward the postseason might be just what the Tigers need.

So when Wabash hosts Wittenberg on Sunday, despite the blasphemy of the idea, maybe think about considering being OK with the Little Giants win.

Plus wouldn't it be cooler if the DePauw knocked Wabash out of the ranks of the unbeaten? The Tigers would be the Little Giant slayers.

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