dpodoll68
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Just some random facts I stumbled across while doing research today:
Kill and Kelly were opposing coaches in Division II, both in the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (MIFC), from 1994-1998. Each were in their first head coaching job (Kill was hired by Saginaw Valley St. in 1994 at age 32, while Kelly was hired by Grand Valley St. in 1991 at age 28), and they played some tight games in their 5 years as opposing head coaches:
1994 - SVSU 20 @ GVSU 27
1995 - GVSU 21 @ SVSU 24
1996 - SVSU 6 @ GVSU 17
1997 - GVSU 27 @ SVSU 30
1998 - SVSU 36 @ GVSU 37
This means that Kill is 2-3 against Kelly, with the home team winning each game, and 3 of the 5 decided by a FG or less. What's also important to remember is that GVSU was a very strong program before Kelly showed up (and continued to be extremely dominant after he left), while SVSU was quite pedestrian before Kill came along (where he finished his tenure with consecutive 9-2 records), and have regressed to slightly less pedestrian after his departure. Though they continue to play GVSU annually (both are now in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Football Conference (GLIAC)), SVSU generally gets handled by 30 or more points in most games between the two.
How many people involved in the conference in 1998 could've imagined that both coaches, scarcely more than a decade later, would be BCS head coaches? Pretty mind-boggling, if you think about it. And perhaps their shared history (and mutual respect, presumably) could lead to a home-and-home series with Notre Dame in the near future?
Kill and Kelly were opposing coaches in Division II, both in the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (MIFC), from 1994-1998. Each were in their first head coaching job (Kill was hired by Saginaw Valley St. in 1994 at age 32, while Kelly was hired by Grand Valley St. in 1991 at age 28), and they played some tight games in their 5 years as opposing head coaches:
1994 - SVSU 20 @ GVSU 27
1995 - GVSU 21 @ SVSU 24
1996 - SVSU 6 @ GVSU 17
1997 - GVSU 27 @ SVSU 30
1998 - SVSU 36 @ GVSU 37
This means that Kill is 2-3 against Kelly, with the home team winning each game, and 3 of the 5 decided by a FG or less. What's also important to remember is that GVSU was a very strong program before Kelly showed up (and continued to be extremely dominant after he left), while SVSU was quite pedestrian before Kill came along (where he finished his tenure with consecutive 9-2 records), and have regressed to slightly less pedestrian after his departure. Though they continue to play GVSU annually (both are now in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Football Conference (GLIAC)), SVSU generally gets handled by 30 or more points in most games between the two.
How many people involved in the conference in 1998 could've imagined that both coaches, scarcely more than a decade later, would be BCS head coaches? Pretty mind-boggling, if you think about it. And perhaps their shared history (and mutual respect, presumably) could lead to a home-and-home series with Notre Dame in the near future?
