Alright, since I made that last post, Miami scored another 16 points and sealed the game.
Also, the cynic in me wants to conclude that Tomlin didn't keep Whipple around for authoritative reasons. Whipple had been a successful head coach; Tomlin was 34. It's a little backwards. Meanwhile, no one would ever mistake Arians for a head coach.
Mark Whipple/Miami Update Thursday, September 17, 2009
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I only saw Whipple coach at UMass my freshman year, and fourth down in opponents territory, he always went for it. He never once kicked a field goal, unless it was 4th and 10 inside the red zone, and then it was a toss up. As a result I was under the impression that 1AA kickers must suck. But it wasn't that at all. It was Whipple's offenses were that good.
The team went 10-2 that year and won the conference title. They only losses were to 1A Kansas State and eventual National Champion Delaware @ Delaware in quadruple overtime.
I think he was good at more then just offense though. His team was disciplined. They never took stupid penalties. When Don Brown took over the next, it became rare to go a series without at least one. It's gotten better every year, but since Whip left the team is notorious for boneheaded mistakes.
Just as an aside, the team got screwed and although it tied the number 1 ranked Delaware for a the conference title, it had to go on the road for the first round of the playoffs to Colgate. That's the crappy part of 1AA playoffs. Homefield is determined not by record but by how much a team is willing to bid for it.
The UMass team almost met catastrophe on the way up due to a heavy snow storm which caused their bus to crash. Thankfully, everyone was ok. They got there 10 minutes before kickoff and lost, probably due to not being able to warm up, and also lack of focus. I can't imagine how tough it must have been to focus after the crash.
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