(Editor's Note: The following is a story excerpt, written by Tom Miller, was published in today's edition of the Janesville Gazette
Adrian College is a prime example of what UW-Whitewater football teams have faced on a weekly basis for the past several seasons.
Every opponent enters the game primed to play its best against the best.
That will be the case when Adrian travels to Perkins Stadium for a noon season opener Saturday.
“It’s not every week you have an opportunity to play the best team in the nation, and it’s a great opportunity for (the players),” first-year Adrian coach Jim Deere told the Adrian Daily Telegram. “If you want to compete on a national scale, you’ve got to play national championship caliber of teams.”
Deere, who is described as “intense,” was promoted to head coach after spending 18 seasons as an Adrian assistant, most recently as defensive coordinator.
“He’s a super-competitive guy,” Adrian athletic director Mike Duffy told the Michigan newspaper. “He’d rather play games like this. ‘Where are we at? How do we stack up? What kind of recruiting do I have to do to be like Whitewater?’
“That’s the eventual goal. They’ve been there. They won the whole thing. You have to learn something from them.”
The Warhawks will be prepared to dish out a lesson. The defending NCAA Division III national champions are 42-3 in Lance Leipold’s three seasons as head coach, including two national titles.
The 2009 national championship team will be honored in pregame ceremonies.
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