The Buckeyes aren’t the only Ohio college football team with a big game this weekend. While rivals Ohio State and Michigan face off in Columbus on Saturday, Mount Union University and John Carroll University will be battling it out in the Division III NCAA Tournament in Alliance.
Ideastream Public Media’s sports commentator Terry Pluto talked about the matchup between two teams with a lot to prove.
Mount Union is a Division III football powerhouse. They won 11 national titles under legendary coach Larry Kehres between 1986 and 2012. He was succeeded by his son, Vince Kehres, who won two titles during his seven seasons. After Vince left in 2020 to become defensive coordinator at the University of Toledo, Geoff Dart took over. Dart is Larry Kehres’s son-in-law.
“(Dart) was on his way up in the coaching ranks. He played at Mount Union and then coached there,” Pluto said. “And then he was at Western Kentucky, Division I, as an offensive line coach. And in 2016, he was diagnosed with brain cancer, had surgery, and then started coaching again in 2018. And he's been healthy since.”
Dart, who’s in his fifth season at Mount Union, is undefeated in the regular season.
“He's not won the Division III title, which sort of at Mount Union it’s like national title or nothing. It’s too bad that the standards are that high, but they haven't won a title since 2017, which feels like 70 years to them and not seven,” Pluto said.
Mount Union, which had a bye in the first round, hosts John Carroll University Saturday in the second round of the Division III tournament. John Carroll won its first-round game against Mount St. Joseph University, 52-7, last Saturday. The Blue Streaks started the season 0-2 and then won eight games in a row to earn an at-large bid to the tournament.
“This is the first time since 2018 that John Carroll's made the tournament,” Pluto said.
JCU is led by second-year coach Jeff Behrman. He played for the Blue Streaks, along with Athletic Director Brian Polian.
“They were on the same John Carroll team in the middle 90s and now they're together trying to take the program to another step,” Pluto said.
The key for John Carroll has been at quarterback with Bucknell University transfer Nick Semptimphelter.
“He was a backup quarterback some there, started a few games. He's a graduate student getting his MBA,” Pluto said.
While Division III cannot offer athletic scholarships, they do offer financial aid. Pluto said schools with strong graduate programs like John Carroll are finding success in attracting players who can continue playing and work toward a post-graduate degree.
While Pluto compares the matchup of the two schools to David vs. Goliath, he believes John Carroll has a chance to win.
“Mount Union’s had three tight (regular season) games this year. (They were) one-score games, but they won them all. One was over Muskingum, one was over Marietta, and one was over John Carroll,” Pluto said.
Mount Union beat John Carroll 37-31 at home on Sept. 21.
Saturday’s meeting will be the fourth time the schools have faced each other in the NCAA Playoffs, the most recent a decade ago in 2014 when the Purple Raiders won, 36-28, in the NCAA Quarterfinals.
“This is a huge game for both schools because while you can't give scholarships for athletics in Division III, you are allowed to recruit. Oftentimes, John Carroll and Mount Union are going after some of the same kids. So, the old bragging rights and it's just not all about what goes on Division I," Pluto said. "The Division III level, especially when you talk about schools this year like John Carroll and Mount Union, they're playing really good football and they're extremely well coached.”
