QBs Joe Collins of John Carroll, Mount Union's Braxton Plunk among nation's elite with OAC showdown looming

Nov. 2—With Joe Collins on one sideline, and Braxton Plunk on the other, it's difficult to ignore the mouth-watering quarterback matchup that's about to play out Nov. 4 at Don Shula Stadium.

It will be two of the nation's elite quarterbacks in Division III showing off their right arms when No. 2-ranked Mount Union (8-0, 7-0) visits No. 13-ranked John Carroll (7-1, 7-0) in what will be the unofficial Ohio Athletic Conference championship game.

The winner earns a share of the OAC title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

With the way Collins and Plunk have performed this season — and if Mother Nature cooperates (temperature at game time is expected to be in the 50s with clouds) — the football could be flying all afternoon.

The opposition has done little to slow down Collins or Plunk through eight games, and the QBs' numbers are strikingly similar.

—Collins has completed 140 of 191 passes for a 73.3 completion percentage (fourth among all QBs in D-III) for 2,062 yards, which leads the OAC. He's thrown 24 touchdowns (also first in the OAC) against just three interceptions. His passing efficiency of 202.31 ranks third nationally in D-III, and his yards per attempt of 10.80 is fourth.

—Plunk isn't far behind. The Mount QB is 143 of 196 (73.0 percent, fourth behind Collins in D-III) for 1,819 yards, 22 TD passes and three interceptions. His passing efficiency of 184.90 is 11th nationally, and his yards per attempt of 9.28 is 19th nationally.

Combined, Collins and Plunk are completing 73.1 percent of their passes for 3,881 yards and have thrown 46 TDs against just six interceptions.

It's reasonable to think there will be more points scored than in the 10-7 win Mount posted against JCU in 1994. Blue Streaks coach Jeff Behrman remembers that game well.

"I threw a touchdown against them once, that was kind of cool. In that end zone there," said Behrman following his team's practice Nov. 1 while pointing to the east end zone.

That 1994 JCU-Mount result resulted in a three-way tie for the OAC title among JCU, Mount and Baldwin Wallace that season. With overtime, there won't be a tie. The winner Nov. 4 takes it all, and the QB who plays the best has an excellent shot of leading his team to victory. Obviously, Behrman hopes it's Collins who's standing tall mid-afternoon on Nov. 4.

"He's been super focused the way he prepares week in and week out," said Behrman about Collins. "That's the expectation, that he prepares like that. His teammates expect that. He's certainly come out and executed on Saturdays."

As for Plunk, Behrman knows exactly what to expect from the Purple Raiders' experienced signal-caller who led his team to a runner-up finish in the 2022 NCAA D-III playoffs.

"He's really, really efficient," said Behrman on Plunk.

Mount's offense is averaging 509 yards (266 passing, 243 rushing) and 52.3 points per game. Explosive is the operative word for the Purple Raiders on offense. Preventing Mount from big plays will be a big factor, said Behrman.

"You've got to make them work and strain and sweat to get everything they're going to get," he said. "Can't give up the quick scores. That's what they've done to teams. One-play drive, two-play drive, three-play drive."

The best way to offset a quick-strike offense is for the opposing offense to control the ball. JCU has done a solid job of that with an average time of possession each game of 32 minutes, 53 seconds. Collins has shown the ability to go deep at times but can also dink and dunk with short passes with the best of them.

"He's very smart with the ball," said JCU's leading wide receiver Brennan Fugh, who has 34 receptions for 605 yards and nine TDs. "He takes his time with (film) study. He's really into the playbook, which shows on the field. His dedication to the game rubs off on all of us for sure."

Scoring on Mount's defense — which is allowing a little more than 3 points per game and has four shutouts — is always a challenge but last season in a 34-28 defeat in Alliance, JCU proved it could move the ball with its four TDs.

Running back Mason Sullivan of Kirtland had a breakout game with his first 100-yard game of his college career. Collins proved he was ready for the moment as well with 215 passing yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. With a team that's averaging more than 50 points a game, the Blue Streaks will likely need to score more than the 28 they put on the scoreboard in 2022 to come away with an upset victory.

"I think we can score with anyone," said Collins. "(Mount has) one of the best defenses in the country. They're legit but so are we. We think we can go toe to toe with any defense in the country."

Mount Union at John Carroll

When: 1:30 p.m., Nov. 4

Where: Don Shula Stadium

Records: Mount 8-0, 7-0 OAC; JCU 7-1, 7-0 OAC

Rankings (D3football.com): Mount No. 2; JCU No. 13

Radio: WJCU-FM 88.7

For the record: The winner claims a share of the OAC title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs.