BELTON — In the first year of the 40 team playoff field, just two teams from the first round are preparing for a third-round game this week: Bethel (MN) and Mary Hardin-Baylor.
The road to winning even two playoff games as one of the bottom eight seeds is incredibly tough, something UMHB can certainly speak to. The Cru opened with a first round matchup at Trinity in an evenly-matched duel, followed by a second round contest last week at Hardin-Simmons, who was bracketed as the No. 1 seed in the 10-team quadrant and the No. 2 overall seed per the NCAA Power Index. UMHB’s odds of reaching Saturday’s third-round duel at Linfield was awfully slim entering the playoffs. But that’s why games aren’t played on paper.
UMHB now finds itself one victory away from the national quarterfinals and on the road yet again. The Crusaders have adopted a road warrior mentality, well aware that they will almost certainly be away from home each Saturday for as long as this playoff run goes.
Linfield is the third stop on the postseason journey for The Cru, the first out-of-state destination thus far within UMHB’s playoff slate. They’ve won in San Antonio. And they’ve won in Abilene. Now the focus is on winning in McMinnville, playing 2,073 miles away from Belton in what is projected to be a day of heavy rain on the West Coast.
“We need to be grabbing ahold of this and building on it,” UMHB head coach Larry Harmon said Monday. “We felt like we took a giant step against Trinity. Trinity is a great program and what Coach Urban has done there, getting that reestablished and being a power in Division III [is notable]. Going to their place and beating them there gave us a lot of confidence. That catapulted us to Abilene and being able to do what we did there Saturday.
“We’re going to need all of it because we’re going to go play a very talented Linfield team that is, in my opinion, even a step up from what we’ve been playing. It seems like everything is in place for us to keep getting better and have opportunities and prepare us for the path that we’ll be going on for the next week and the next week and the next week. The competition is getting better. The programs are more distinguished. We just need to keep learning and get better like we have the last two weeks.”
They have certainly done that, seemingly regaining the form they had on that memorable Wisconsin afternoon in Whitewater in the Week 3 win over the Warhawks. The defense, especially, is in top form, evidenced by the playoff stats alone. UMHB held HSU to just 13 points last Saturday, which tied for the second-lowest total of any second-round playoff team. Considering HSU averaged 35.5 points per game against The Cru entering the matchup, the defensive success was a pivotal factor in turning the game for UMHB. What made it even more impressive was the fact that HSU was within 20 yards of the end zone four times, yet scored just one touchdown. UMHB enters the third round tied for the nation’s lead in turnovers gained (33), and amongst all divisions of NCAA football, ranks second in that category.
And it’s not only the defense. The special teams unit has provided consistent contributions, whether it be Edwin Lopez’s kicking, the performance of the kickoff and punting units, or the returners. Da’marion Morris’ 61-yard punt return last week, for example, set up UMHB’s second touchdown of the first half, as The Cru jumped out to a 14-0 lead.
Offensively, UMHB has shown an ability to take time off the clock and extend drives, letting the rushing attack pave the way with passes coming more frequently as the drive unfolds. Quarterback Jake Wright is 29-of-40 passing for 297 yards in The Cru’s two playoff wins.
“I just think our team is getting closer and closer and closer and they’re really starting to believe that they have the potential and ability to go make their dreams come true,” Harmon said. They’re fighting hard and they don’t want this thing to end. That’s really where the confidence comes from.
“We feel like we’re very talented on defense, obviously. I think we have a very talented team that is starting to gel at the right time. We had our special teams take a big jump against Trinity, and we had a huge spark from our special teams at the beginning of the Hardin-Simmons game. All of this helps our confidence.”
Over the course of the regular season, UMHB found itself in several tight games. The season-opening loss at Bethel (TN) was a one-possession contest for all but the final 6:27. The ASC opener against ETBU saw UMHB trail, 28-27, with 10:57 left. The second meeting with HSU ended in an eight-point Crusader loss, though it didn’t have the same back-and-forth nature as the other two mentioned.
But in these playoffs, UMHB has become very familiar with finding itself looking at the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, needing a late score or a critical stop with the game hanging in the balance. It happened in almost an exact pattern against both Trinity and HSU; the Crusaders scored with just under two minutes left and the defense sealed the win with an interception. In both cases, the interception came from a linebacker with the last name of Hill; Dorien against Trinity, Durand against HSU.
“I think they have the belief that we can pull it out. And anytime you have success doing it, it just strengthens that belief that you are going to get it done. So you don’t panic. Usually that’s the difference between being successful in those situations or not. [When] you start getting kind of panicked, you start trying to speed things up, or try to do something that’s not quite what your job is. Then a mistake happens.
“You know, the time of the game and three minutes left in the fourth quarter, I don’t think that fazes us anymore. I think we’ve been battle tested and we know it’s a 60-minute game.”
It will take a full four-quarter performance to upend a Linfield team that is flying high, holding a 10-1 record after a perfect 7-0 run through Northwest Conference play. The Wildcats had the largest margin of victory of any second round winner last Saturday, dominating Texas Lutheran, 65-3.
The Wildcats are No. 9 in Division III in scoring offense (48.2 PPG) and lead the nation in red zone conversion rate, having scored on 94.7% of their trips inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. 44 of their 54 red zone scores have been touchdowns, split nearly evenly between passing and rushing (25 rush, 19 pass).
“The way the game is now, scores aren’t going to get bigger,” Harmon said. “It’s going to start getting tighter and tighter. You better be executing in all three phases. You’ve got to be able to, as I call it, ‘win ugly’. Not every game is going to be a blowout. This time of year, weather conditions start really factoring in when you go out the coast or up north. We’re going to have to preach ball security and create our own opportunities to put points on the board.”
There’s another dynamic involved too, with UMHB having the longest travel distance of any third round team. But while this is The Cru’s first flight of the postseason, it’s far from a new situation for this team, who flew to both Bethel (TN) and UW-Whitewater early in the regular season.
“I think it makes you familiar with it, so it’s not as big of a distraction as it [would be] if it’s the first time you’ve done it,” Harmon said, when asked how he thinks the previous This program has played a lot in the postseason, so we’re used to flying and I don’t see it being any kind of a distraction for us.”
Saturday’s matchup kicks off at 2 p.m. CT from McMinnville, Oregon. The game will be broadcasted live on ESPN+ and can also be heard over the airwaves on KMIL 105.1 FM.
