Bernell DorroughIt has been a difficult season for the Washington University football team. The Bears are just 2-4 and have endured more than their fair share of heartbreaking losses. But thanks to the unique conference schedule used by the United Athletic Association, the Bears still have a chance at redemption.
The Bears only play four conference games this year, and all come at the end of their schedule. So despite the team’s performance to date, they can still become the third team in UAA history to win the title three years running. The Bears were already voted by the conference’s coaches’ poll as the favorite to win, which gives the team plenty of hope for the rest of the season.
The quest for the three-peat begins this Saturday when the University of Chicago comes to Francis Field for the annual UAA opener between the two teams, with the winner getting to keep the Founder’s Cup. The Founder’s Cup commemorates the first game ever played between two UAA schools, which was a 17-15 win for the Bears over the Maroons in 1987.
“This is a great football game for us to be playing right now,” said head coach Larry Kindbom. “We’re excited about the relationship and the rivalry that we have with the University of Chicago. This game has decided the UAA championship the last five years, so it’s big for us, and we hope we can measure up to the task.”
Lucky for the Bears, there are several indications that they can get a win in front of the parents on Saturday. The team is 9-4 when they open conference play, and last year they dismantled Chicago 38-17 behind four touchdown passes from now-departed quarterback Nathan Szep.
The team that wins the game will likely be the one whose running attack is the most successful. In this area particularly, the Bears look to have an advantage. Senior running back Matt Plotke comes to the field on Saturday after his best game of the season against nationally-ranked Trinity, as he rushed for 83 yards on 21 carries. In addition, Chicago’s run defense is hurting badly after allowing John Samples of Pomona-Pitzer to rack up 256 yards and four touchdowns last weekend in a 38-21 loss.
The Maroons will also have their hands full trying to keep the Bears’ aerial attack in check. Junior quarterback Adam Meranda has done an excellent job engineering the offense, helping the Bears pass for 246 yards per game, which ranks 30th in Division III.
Meranda’s stats aren’t hurt by the fact that one of the University’s all-time best receivers is waiting at the other end of the field. Just a sophomore, wide-out Brad Duesing is already tearing through the Bears’ record book. So far this season, he has caught 47 passes for 718 yards and six touchdowns. After the game against Trinity, Duesing stood at fourth on the list for career receptions and sixth on the career receiving yards ranking. Remarkably, despite the turmoil at the quarterback position, he has avoided the sophomore slump in a big way, with 7.8 catches per game so far this year (ninth in Division III) and 119.7 receiving yards per game (eleventh).
With conference play looming, the Bears need to have a great late-season run to avoid entering some new territory. The team has not had a 2-5 start since back in 1992, and they also have not finished below the .500 mark since that year. Additionally, the Bears have a 10-year streak going in which they have had a winning season, a record which will end if the team loses any of its remaining four games.
Despite the difficult non-conference season the Bears have had, they have the chance to seize a second wind against Chicago. With a packed house on hand at Francis Field and an opportunity to win another UAA title, the Bears need to finally prove themselves as a team, or they may go down as a disappointment.