Jacob Lynn is the sports editor
for The DePauw. He is a sophomore
from St. Petersburg, Florida.
Saturday was a great win, the kind of opening-day victory that gives a team momentum as they begin the long grind of an 11-week college football season.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, a bye in week two could kill any momentum they had going into the NCAC opener against Wittenberg University next Saturday.
I’m not here saying that those 14 days between last weekend’s 31-13 route of Sewanee: The University of the South and the trip to Wittenberg are going to ruin DePauw’s season. However, I think it adds an extra challenge.
Bye weeks should come in the middle of the season, when a team needs a few days off from the weekly grind. It’s a good chance to let injuries heal and gives ample time to prepare for the next opponent.
It hasn’t been long enough for the Tigers to sustain many of those bumps and bruises. They haven’t even been practicing two months and they’ve only played one game so far.
That’s why the first bye weeks in the NFL don’t even come until week four, after teams have played three games.
Not only is it an additional challenge, but it also adds some health concerns for the players.
Recently the University of Florida and the University of Idaho opted to cancel instead of reschedule a game that was rained out. Both athletic directors said that playing 10 straight games would be harmful to their student-athletes.
Those were Division I monsters, some of who, could be playing on Sundays in a few years. They have top of the line trainers, dieticians and facilities. We’re DePauw, Welch is great, but we aren’t on that level.
The only upside to the bye is the competition when the Tigers take the field again in week three. DePauw head coach Bill Lynch and the rest of his staff could use some extra time to get ready for conference powerhouse and the 16th ranked team in the nation, Wittenberg.
The circumstances were almost identical when the Tigers met Wittenberg last season. The Tigers faced Sewanee to open the season before having another week two bye. DePauw returned to the field the following Saturday and were promptly destroyed 45-0 by Wittenberg.
That win was the start of a 10-game winning streak for the Tigers of Wittenberg that took them all the way to the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament.
So now it’s up to DePauw’s players. They will have had to have learned from last year’s experience and grow from that if they are to have any chance. However, this is an entirely different team than we saw last year at this time.
If the Tigers have any opportunity to shock the world and make a run at an NCAC title, they’ll have to show they can compete with teams like Wittenberg. Now they have a chance.
Before the season started, I said the Tigers weren’t ready to challenge giants like Wittenberg and I’m not going to change that opinion.
But I sure hope they prove me wrong.