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COLUMN: Tigers need to be perfect to pull of Monon upset of Little Giants
Wabash has a better football team than DePauw this year. They score more points on offense, they surrender fewer points on defense and they win almost every week.
But Saturday's game isn't about matchups and it's not played in an aggregated Excel file. That's a good thing for the Tigers.
"They're very good on both sides of the ball and they kick it well. They've got the whole package," DPU coach Bill Lynch said. "So that's the problem."
Knowing the problem is the first step to finding the solution. Teachers make up the tests. They know the problems. Wabash, winners of the last four Monon Bell Classics, is the teacher.
Students find the solution.
How do you beat a team that is bigger, better and faster?
Let's start with faster. The Tigers need to make the Little Giants start slow and get out to an early lead. DPU has weapons to score, but not to come back.
They'll get a little help with the fast start. Junior Houston Hodges, the Little Giants' leading receiver and No. 3 corner, is suspended for the first half after getting ejected last week.
To top fast, you need to get out fast yourself.
Overcoming better is a little trickier, and takes the whole game.
"We've got to find a way to stay on the field on offense," Lynch said. "If we're three and out and they get the ball, that's when they get the lead and that's when their defense can really hold their ears back and come after you."
Sustaining drives is a tough task, and it's one that Lynch has been dreading since he took the job. It's too tough to sustain drives at this level, he says often.
They've gotten better. Senior Armani Cato rushed for more than 100 yards last and the Tigers' lead back, senior Nikko Sansone, should return Saturday from a shoulder injury to help the running game and catch short passes.
Anything that keeps drives alive and keeps the clock moving, giving the better opponent fewer chances to score, is to DPU's benefit.
Bigger is trickier. The Tigers' offensive line is talented but it's young. They start three sophomores, a freshman and a junior. Wabash has six upperclassmen in its front seven. They've had more time to do what it takes to get big, and to learn how to use that size.
The Tigers have one weapon the Wallies won't be able to match. They've got a titan to take on the Little Giants. They've got Barrytron.
Senior wide receiver Barry Flynn is 6-5. The Wabash starting corners are 5-9. That makes the open passing window for freshman quarterback Matt Hunt nearly a foot bigger.
The formula is the next step to solving a problem, and DPU has that. Get ahead, work the clock and when all else fails, throw it up to Flynn.
There's still one more step. Students can have the questions figured out and the formula conceived, but to ace a test, a college kid must study.
DPU has been doing that all year. If the Monon Bell Classic is the final exam, and every game is test, the Wabash film is on every quiz.
"You can't stay away from it because you play in the same conference," Lynch said. "When I was here the last time, we weren't in the same conference so it was easier to avoid because you never saw their tape. You see their tape every week now.
"As the year goes on, if you're preparing for Denison or Oberlin or Kenyon or whoever it is, if they had played them the film jumps out in front of you. You can't hide from it."
The offensive coaches see the Wabash offense every week, same for the defense. Throughout the year, as DPU defensive coordinator Jay Hood looks at the offenses he'll face that week, he shares with Tigers' offensive staff what Little Giants do.
The Tigers have done everything they can to get ready for this week. They have a problem, formula and they know the solution.
That's why they'll win. After Saturday's game, the Monon Bell will belong to DePauw.