Game Day Central

ABILENE, Texas - Mary Hardin-Baylor head coach Pete Fredenberg brought football to the university in 1998. His first two years, the Crusaders combined for a 7-13 record including two losses to McMurry. However, since then, not only has UMHB run nine-straight wins over McMurry, but Fredenberg has led the Crusaders to a 102-18 record since 2000.

When the two teams kickoff at McMurry's Wilford Moore Stadium Saturday night a 6 p.m., McMurry will not only be looking for its first win against No. 5-ranked UMHB since 1999, but will be looking to be only the fifth team in the nine-member American Southwest Conference to defeat the Crusaders since 2000.

Hardin-Simmons beat the Crusaders in 2000, 2001, and 2004 while East Texas Baptist defeated UMHB in 2003, Howard Payne managed a win in 2005, and last year a loss to Mississippi College forced the Crusaders to share the ASC title for the first time since 2005 after winning four outright.

It's a tough task for McMurry, a program that has shown vast improvement since the arrival of head coach Hal Mumme prior to the 2009 season. Entering into last season, a 13-game losing streak was in order, and although McMurry took four-straight losses to begin 2009, the team rolled off four consecutive wins and finished the season with its best record since 2005 and more wins than the previous two seasons combined.

Last season against Mary Hardin-Baylor on Sept. 26, McMurry had the tough task of facing the No. 2-ranked Crusaders for its first conference game on the road in Belton. With the score just 14-0 at the half, the wheels came off for McMurry when UMHB scored three touchdowns in a span of less than six minutes during the third quarter. McMurry scored two points on a blocked extra-point return and followed with a touchdown and a missed two-point conversion before the Crusaders finished off its visitors 41-8.

Following that loss, McMurry went on its run defeating East Texas Baptist, Howard Payne, Sul Ross State and Texas Lutheran in consecutive weeks.

“I think last year we surprised some people because we got on a run in the middle of the season after a rocky start,” said Mumme. “Everybody had kind of given up on us, we don't have that luxury anymore; nobody's going to take us lightly.”

McMurry is off to a 2-0 start with wins over NAIA scholarship schools from the Central States Football League. McMurry began with a 41-6 win over Bacone College Sept. 4 on the road before Saturday's record-setting 64-0 win over Texas College in Abilene.

Though Mumme has been asked about the level of competition he's faced compared to going up against the No. 5 team in the nation Saturday in UMHB, he said he believes that all teams know that McMurry isn't a pushover anymore.

“You can't watch the film of Jake Mullin throwing seven touchdown passes and say we can slip by this one,” Mumme said. “They're going to come to play; they're a great program and that's what they do. We're trying to be a great program, so it will be a good challenge for us.”

After the defense's first shutout since 2006, sophomore defensive lineman Corey Hall said he thinks that McMurry will be competitive with the ASC powerhouse.

“I know we can do better than we actually did against Texas College,” said Hall who leads McMurry in tackles. “We've got improvement still, but we just have to practice hard and not go through the motions.”

UMHB trailed by 19 points Saturday to Wisconsin-La Crosse before rattling off 24-straight points to pick up the victory behind 242 rushing yards. The run game has been Mary Hardin-Baylor's bread and butter since the program began in 1998. And for McMurry, Mumme's Air Raid Offense which features a heavy passing attack that has already seen Mullin throw for 831 yards, 12 touchdowns and no interceptions in two games is McMurry's niche.

“I was talking to coach [Joe Lee] Dunn was telling me that he's looked back at all the Mary Hardin-Baylor film he could find and they just do the same things over and over again,” Mumme said. “That's what we're trying to do, do the same things over and over. Both of us know what the other is going to do, it's just going to be who is going to go out there and slug it out the best.”

Kickoff is at 6 p.m. and fans can watch live video and hear audio online at mcmurrysports.com/showcase. The game will also be broadcast locally on Fox Sports Radio 1560 AM KZQQ.