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COLUMN: Bell or no Bell, DePauw football revival continues
CRAWFORDSVILLE -- Make no mistake about it, things remain downright ugly for the DePauw Tigers in the Monon Bell series.
Six straight losses.
DePauw hasn't had a lead over Wabash since the third quarter in 2009. That's 319 minutes and 17 seconds of game action since the Tigers led 13-12 in that affair.
The Little Giants have outscored the Tigers 209-50 during the streak.
The streak stretches across three head coaches (Robbie Long, Scott Srnka and Bill Lynch). Matt Walker defeated the Little Giants in his last game as the Tiger coach.
That's bad, folks.
But let's take a step back and forget about the Tigers' most hated rival for a minute.
When Coach Lynch returned to town two season ago, the program had pretty much hit rock bottom. After firing Long two games into the 2012 season, DePauw limped to a 2-8 record with Srnka as the interim coach.
Bringing back Lynch, with his successful one-year stint at Tiger coach in 2004 and his Division I pedigree, was universally applauded (except perhaps in Crawfordsville), but everyone said it would take time.
And so it was somewhat surprising that the Tigers found a way to claw out four wins in five games last year on their way to a 4-6 record.
It was even more surprising (at least outside the Tiger locker room) that the Tigers went 7-3 in 2014, setting up Saturday's matchup as the second-place game in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
Don't let Saturday's outcome ruin the entire season. DePauw had a darn good year. Lynch's rebuilding job appears to be a year ahead of schedule.
The Tigers scored 31.8 points per game in 2014, up from 21.4 in 2013 and 17.7 in 2012.
Likewise, the defense is looking much better, giving up a paltry 15.8 points per game this season, down from 24.2 in 2013 and 29.5 in 2012.
In two short seasons, DePauw has gone from being outscored by 12 points per game to outscoring them by 16.
DePauw actually scored more than twice as many points than it allowed in 2014 and that, my friends, is a very good year.
Even in the face of a stinging defeat, particularly for his seniors, Lynch reflected on the positive season on Saturday.
"It was a good year for us, to get to seven wins," Lynch said. "We had a couple of disappointing losses early and we got beat today."
The coach's point stands. Before Saturday, the Tigers were in every game in 2014, something they had not been able to say in a number of years.
"It was a good year. I'm very proud of them. I'm really proud of our seniors," Lynch said. "They always want to go out their last game with a win and certainly get the Bell back. But they had a lot to do with us kind of getting over the hump and having a winning season and kind of get us over the hump.
"The seniors were a very unselfish group," he continued. "Not all of them played. Not all of them started, but, to a man, they were all about the team and about DePauw football. So I'm really proud of those guys."
That senior class features only five starters, meaning the Tigers have quite a base to build upon in 2015. Lynch said the future begins with what the development of those coming back.
"The returning players need to get in the weight room and keep getting stronger," Lynch said. "They'll get better. It's a good group and they'll work hard at it.
"The staff, we need to get on the road recruiting and get that next class in here."
That last point may be the most important. Lynch and his staff need to find some speed. Getting back to Saturday's loss, there was one big difference in the game: Wabash's defensive speed. The Tiger defense looked like it belonged against the Little Giant offense, allowing just two touchdowns and two field goals. (The final Wabash TD coming on special teams.)
But the Wabash defense was a step quicker all day.
If Lynch and Co. can find a bit more speed, we could be having an entirely different conversation one year from today.
Before too long, they may even be ringing the Bell for ol' DePauw again.
Jared Jernagan is a 2003 graduate of Wabash College, so his faith in a DePauw resurgence should not be taken lightly.
The score was Wabash 27-3.