Will rigorous football schedule provide improved record?

Andrew Vanden Boogard, Staff Reporter

The UW-La Crosse Men’s Football Department will be attempting to accomplish something they have not done since their 2009 season: achieve a record at or above 0.500. The last three seasons, the Eagles have had a combined 10-20 record with Head Coach Joel Dettwiler at the helm, and have continually finished within the middle of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Mediocre, average, perhaps pedestrian, may be the best way to describe the Eagles’ past few seasons. Nonetheless, perhaps a silver lining can be found right in the heart of UW-L’s schedule.
By and large, the first four out of five games the Eagles play this year may prove to be the most trying of the season. Weeks two through five are undoubtedly the most difficult.
The Eagles second and third games of the season (both non-conference) feature two increasingly strong opponents. The University of St. Thomas, who continually dwarf the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), will challenge the Eagles in St. Paul, MN, on Sept. 13. The following week, University of Mary-Hardin Baylor, a Texas-based staple that has frequently challenged the Division III National Title, will travel to UW-L for a clash with the Eagles.
After resting on a much-needed bye week during Oktoberfest weekend, UW-L must then travel to Whitewater to play their first WIAC conference game against perennial powerhouse UW-Whitewater. The last game of the grueling stretch comes against UW-Oshkosh at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex on Oct. 11.
No doubt, the Eagles’ opening schedule is all of demanding, draining and exhausting. Yet, this strength of schedule may in fact be a blessing in disguise. With a scathingly difficult schedule, UW-L must attempt to weather the storm in hopes that they may prey on easier opponents in their final five games.
Even more so, Eagle fans, players and coaches alike can hope that facing more stiff competition may also raise its intensity of play and desire for improvement. Playing against teams that continually find themselves in the hunt for a WIAC crown, and some who regularly compete for a national title, perhaps the UW-L program can take this season to improve upon itself and, furthermore, see what it takes to take their program to the next level.