Virginia Tech can win it all but likely needs some help

Sporting News, The, Oct 25, 1999 by Mark Blaudschun

The victory puts the Purple Raiders in the record book, surpassing Oklahoma's 47-game win streak, which had been the nation's longest.

And no, the difference in divisions doesn't mean an asterisk should be next to the record. Winning is winning, and when you've won 48 consecutive games, you deserve all of the accolades you receive. Although you might get an argument from, of all people, Mount Union coach Larry Kehres, whose winning percentage ranks first in college football history, ahead of No. 2 Knute Rockne and No. 3 Frank Leahy.

"Mount Union can't break Oklahoma's winning streak because they are Division I and we're Division III," says Kehres, whose 14-year coaching record is 144-16-3. "If you were a longtime Oklahoma person and heard some little school called Mount Union is breaking your record, you'd go, `What are you talking about?' I respect that."

Nice words from Kehres, who took the high road all week as the streak got some of the national attention it deserved.

But consider this. Mount Union has played on an even playing field, with no athletic scholarships for anyone. When Oklahoma compiled its winning streak from 1953-57, high-intensity programs such as the Sooners' could bring as many scholarship players as they wanted. Everyone was not equal. So in essence, the Sooners had an advantage Mount Union has not had.

Mount Union has not lost a game since a 20-17 defeat to Wisconsin-LaCrosse in the semifinals of the 1995 Division III playoffs. Which means no letdowns, no flat games. And it has done this going through a couple of recruiting classes. At times, the Purple Raiders have been lucky--they survived a 57-51 triple overtime win against John Carroll two weeks ago.

But they have not lost a game in almost four seasons--not four weeks or four months.

For that, Mount Union deserves its 15 minutes of fame and the record it has worked so hard to achieve. In typical fashion, Kehres tried to put everything in perspective. "When you win a national championship, it's more of a culminating event from a season of hard work. This is not quite that."

But it's not too shabby. --M.B.

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