Mount Union won the Division III football championship this afternoon for the 10th time.

Some will say this is a bad thing for Division III football, but I'm not one of them, and I've been following the sport very closely for more than a decade. When it gets to the point that the Purple Raiders are so far head and shoulders above everyone else that you can't possibly conceive of anyone outside of Alliance, Ohio, winning the championship, then that's bad.

In the end, Mount Union's 31-26 victory against Wis.-Whitewater in Stagg Bowl XXXVI may well come off to outsiders as another march toward destiny. But really, it was anything but.

Mount Union did jump out to a 14-0 lead. And a 31-13 lead. But the Warhawks didn't give up, even though they're young, and even though they were facing the dominant force in the sport for the past 16 years. Whitewater scored twice in the fourth quarter, putting together 12-play and 14-play drives, but was left with so little time that they had to attempt an onside kick with 1:12 left, but failed.

Larry Kehres put it well in the postgame news conference: "I'm proud of Division III football today when two teams can compete like that with very few turnovers, very few penalties and very few mistakes."

For Whitewater, I believe this game solidifies them as a No. 1-A, or a team that is right on Mount Union's level in Division III football. They've been right here for four years and they are very young this season. There is just one starter leaving the Warhawks on the defensive side, and while that's linebacker Jace Rindahl, the D3football.com Defensive Player of the Year, that means there are a lot of starters coming back.

If you're looking to find an alternative, any alternative, to these two teams meeting again, it's probably best to look at the American Southwest Conference. Mary Hardin-Baylor has shown an ability to reload in recent years and should have running back Quincy Daniels back from his season-ending knee injury. Hardin-Simmons has been able to reload on offense and has quarterback Justin Feaster returning as well.

Mount Union defensive back Drew McClain picked off a tipped pass and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown, putting Whitewater down 31-13. The clock is rolling.

The Purple Raiders aren't quite ready to lock in their 10th Walnut and Bronze, but it's getting close.

There aren't many games in Division III that have instant replay review -- in fact, just the Stagg Bowl, since 2005. But here they just overturned a call on the field and it helped UW-Whitewater kicker Jeff Schebler to a 31-yard field goal. That cuts the lead to 24-13 late in the third quarter.

Whitewater got the ball first coming out for the third quarter but was unable to capitalize, as Jeff Schebler missed a 40-yard field goal. It's his second miss of the afternoon.

Sorry I'm not saying more -- also calling play-by-play for NCAA.com so it's hard to multitask!

Nate Kmic, the all-time leading rusher in NCAA history, has been controlled through the first 30 minutes. However, Cecil Shorts has not been. The Mount Union wide receiver burned Troney Shumpert and Jeremy Diebert for long touchdown catches on the Purple Raiders' first two drives to help the nine-time national champions to an early 14-0 lead.

Kmic has just 37 yards on 14 carries at the half.

It's 24-10 Mount Union at the half.

The teams and fans are warming up here in Salem, Va., as we get ready for Stagg Bowl XXXVI, and after a week in which Saturday's forecast looked gloomy, it appears we've lucked out.

An hour before game time, the temperature is 54 degrees and we're expecting a little more as we get to our 11 a.m. kickoff. It's been dry all day, winds yesterday dried everything out and we have just a hint of a breeze.

Salem Stadium went to artificial turf two years ago, so the field will be in great shape regardless, but now the ball will stay dry, passing games will have ideal conditions and there won't be any excuses.

Keith McMillan (who gets the photo credit above, by the way) and I are calling the game on the NCAA.com audio stream along with Frank Rossi. Our pregame crew has been on the air since 9 a.m. ET. We're anticipating a great game.

No real late-breaking news to report, though we're watching Mount Union cornerback Ryan Renbarger, who might have just one or two big hits left in his shoulder. Levell Coppage, the freshman running back for UW-Whitewater, won't start but will get carries and is available. Whether he can cut on his injured knee, which is his strength, is the question.

SALEM, Va. -- At the Division III level, you can play up to 15 games in a season, thanks to 10 regular-season games and five rounds of playoffs for teams who make the Stagg Bowl.

Though both UW-Whitewater and Mount Union have reached the Stagg Bowl each of the past four years, only one player appears to have played in the first 59 games: UW-Whitewater linebacker Jace Rindahl. Saturday's game will be his 20th extra game, and he's thankful for the extra opportunities.

"Ending my career in Salem is the only way I want to end it," Rindahl said after Friday's walkthrough at Salem Stadium.

"It's pretty special, it's something to look back on. I feel very fortunate to be able to play that many games. Even some luck has come into play with that because you have to stay healthy. To be able to be on four good teams and be able to play 15 games in each season is incredible.

"I think it's something to say about our program at Whitewater how they can consistently win and consistently recruit great athletes to come there and play. To be able to play in that and end your senior year in Salem in the national championship game is a dream come true."

SALEM, Va. -- Saturday marks the 36th playing of the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, and the fourth in a row between the same two teams, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Mount Union College.

Despite that, this really never gets old. Sure, it's the same schools, which means tons of purple descending on this town in the Roanoke Valley of southwestern Virginia, but the teams aren't really the same year after year.

UW-Whitewater hasn't even had the same coach for its four trips here -- Lance Leipold took over the team before the 2007 season, replacing longtime coach Bob Berezowitz, who retired. Mount Union returns just two players on offense who started last year's game. One of the other nine, Pierre Garcon, plays for the Indianapolis Colts after being one of two Division III football players drafted by the NFL. Whitewater's star running back, Justin Beaver, was a senior last year and had a tremendous game in Whitewater's 31-21 victory. In fact, 27 of the 52 players who are expected to dress tomorrow for Leipold's Warhawks were not on the game day roster last December.

Stagg Bowl weekend has turned into a multi-day event over the 16 years it has been here in Salem. On Thursday night, Mount Union quarterback Greg Micheli was honored as the recipient of the Gagliardi Trophy, Division III football's top honor which takes academics and community service into account as well as prowess on the football field. Micheli has a 3.84 GPA and is a double major in math and physics. And he's on track to break the Division III career record for passing efficiency, so he's a very well-rounded student-athlete.

Friday afternoon there is a luncheon honoring both teams, where the coaches and a player from each team give a short talk. There's an excellent highlight video, the local dignitaries come out and parents and fans fill the Salem Civic Center floor to the tune of about 400 people.

Although we have the early time slot (11 a.m. ET, ESPN2) this year, there will still be a great tailgating scene on Saturday out at the stadium. Fans come from all over Division III, not just Mount Union (Alliance, Ohio) and Whitewater (which is in southeastern Wisconsin). A group of fans from Bridgewater College, which is about 100 miles up I-81 from here, have come down year after year after their Eagles nearly upset Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl in 2001, and they have brought their tailgating expertise to the event. And their smoker. And a lot of chicken!

I'll be writing again later in the weekend.