by Tom Froemming
Issue date: 11/14/06 Section: Mens Sports
Judging by the game-time temperature Saturday, it appeared as though the Minnesota State offense was going to have to make some adjustments.
Sure enough, despite the temperature being between 21 and 13 degrees throughout the game, MSU still lined up five wide receivers and threw the ball all over the field against Western Washington. In fact, senior quarterback Ben King threw a school-record 62 times, racking up 335 yards and three touchdowns in the process. While King and his receivers deserve credit for their performances, you're not going to win many games when it's that cold and you get out gained on the ground 219-34.
The Mavericks lost due to multiple short drives that plagued them in the second half. After MSU tied the score at 21 with 9:50 left in the third quarter, its offense lost rhythm. From there on, WWU ran 40 plays and ate 15:49 off the clock while MSU ran half as many plays and took just 6:52 off the clock. MSU's defense wore down and WWU took advantage, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal the game.
While King had a special season, throwing for more than 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns, a team needs to be able to run and control the ball to win in the North Central Conference. Just look at the numbers.
The three NCC schools advancing to the Division II National Tournament - Nebraska-Omaha, South Dakota and North Dakota - were also the three top rushing teams in conference play. MSU ranked seventh of nine teams with 56.9 yards per game in its eight conference games. The two teams MSU out rushed were St. Cloud State (57.2 rushing yards per game), who finished 1-7 in the NCC, and UMD (56.6 rushing yards per game), who managed a 4-4 NCC record despite being the worst rushing team in the conference.
If you take away MSU's Oct. 14 game against UMD in which King sat and MSU ran for 265 yards, the Mavericks averaged just 33 rushing yards per game. That's not going to get the job done.
MSU's offense was fun to watch this season, but head coach Jeff Jamrog and offensive coordinator Dan Ragsdale need to find a back and feed him the ball next season. Quarterback Ryan Fick looks like he'll turn into a solid player in the future and the sure-handed Bryan Dalton returns, but when the Mavs went 6-5 two years ago under Jamrog, they won handing the ball off to Sean Treasure.
Tom Froemming is the Reporter Editor in Chief
