Wartburg faces Division III giant

WAVERLY - Lance Leipold's accomplishments during his tenure as the Wisconsin-Whitewater head football coach are almost unfathomable.

The Warhawks have won nearly as many NCAA Division III championships (five) as they've lost total games (six) in his seven years.

Whitewater (12-0), which has became a nationally recognized name after ESPN's College Gameday featured it this season, hopes to even those numbers before Leipold departs for the University of Buffalo, where he was introduced earlier this week.

In the midst of the most successful season in program history, No. 5 Wartburg (12-0) looks at these Division III giants as another roadblock on its way to Salem, Va., and its goal of a national championship.

'Obviously part of that is playing the best teams in the country, so that was definitely a part of the discussion at the beginning of the season,” Wartburg preseason All-American left tackle Chris Brinkmeier said. 'We're right where we want to be.”

Wartburg head coach Rick Willis said the dynamic of what is now Leipold's final season at his alma mater could be a distraction or a rallying point for the Warhawks. Leipold himself is concerned.

'If there's one thing I'm disappointed about, I talk about avoiding distractions, unfortunately, in this situation I became one,” Leipold said in his weekly conference call. 'We're working to get past that as quickly as we can and get back on track here.”

Coming off two straight playoff wins against Top 20 Minnesota Conference opponents, the Knights are confident they can win any style of game.

'It's been definitely been pulling on the heart strings,” Brinkmeier said of the two wins that came down to the final minutes. 'A little more crazy than we've been used to this season.”

But this, the first game against a top-ranked opponent in school history, presents a scenario in which the biggest challenge is impossible to identify.

'Everything's gonna be a challenge,” said Willis, whose upstart 2008 Wartburg team was beaten, 34-17, by Whitewater in the program's only other quarterfinal appearance.

Whitewater quarterback Matt Behrendt (2,776 yards) ranks seventh in the nation in passing efficiency (174.0), one spot behind Wartburg's Logan Schrader (174.4), a Gagliardi Trophy semifinalist.

Schrader, who hasn't thrown an interception since Nov. 1, will face another Gagliardi Trophy semifinalist in Brady Grayvold, who has returned two of his seven picks for touchdowns.

Wartburg had two impressive road performances in last year's playoffs - a 41-7 win over No. 14 Illinois Wesleyan and 34-27 loss to No. 6 Bethel.

So although Whitewater has all the rings and Wartburg is looking for its first semifinal appearance, the Knights feel like they belong.

'It's hard to quantify how valuable that is,” Willis said. 'I think what you see is the teams that have success in the playoffs are the teams that have the same players going back in the playoffs year after year after year. Teams sort of learn how those games play out and how to function in those types of games.”