Baldwin — With most other nicknames associated with the color orange duly spoken for, coming up with a catchy sobriquet for the Baker University football team's defense won't come easily.
Yet after stifling the offenses of two teams ranked in the NAIA's top 15 on consecutive weeks, the BU defense is almost certainly deserving of being called something more than just good.
As the Wildcats (1-1) enter their homecoming game against unranked Graceland College (1-1) at 2 p.m. today at Liston Stadium, Baker boasts the No. 2-ranked defense in the NAIA.
Behind that defense, Baker hopes to snap a three-year losing streak against the Yellowjackets, who remain the only team in the Heart of America Athletic Conference that head coach John Frangoulis has not defeated during his tenure.
"We haven't gotten the job done against them the last three years," Frangoulis said. "They're definitely not going to be intimidated because they've had success against us. I'm sure they will come in very inspired and fired up to play.
In its corner, Baker has a defense that held Lindenwood University -- then ranked 11th -- to 158 yards total offense and eight first downs in a 14-13 BU victory last Saturday in St. Charles, Mo.
In two games, Baker's defensive unit has surrendered an average of 199.5 yards per game and held both of its opponents to less than 100 yards passing. Those numbers rank second only to Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
"It's a great honor, because our defense has played outstanding all season long," Frangoulis said of the rating. "What's special about this group of guys, is that it's a very balanced group. Last year we were dependent on two or three guys a lot, but this season all 11 guys are making plays every time out."
Making the achievement more significant is the fact that all this production, against two ranked teams, has come from a lineup that includes only two senior starters.
However, this week Baker's defense will be lining up across from one of the best running backs in the nation. Graceland's Herbert Goodman was a second-team all-conference selection last season when he ran for 925 yards in just seven games.
Goodman scorched the Wildcats for 127 yards last year as Graceland defeated Baker 38-26.
This season, Goodman is ranked fifth in the country with a 153-yards per game average and has scored five touchdowns.
"He is definitely a very good back," Frangoulis said. "He had an outstanding game against us last year, so we know what he can do coming into the game."
Offensively, Baker will continue to use the two-quarterback system introduced in the Lindenwood game. In that game, junior starter David Ewers alternated with junior Levi Schuck. Ewers passed for 97 yards and threw two interceptions, while Schuck completed three passes for 17 yards.
"I thought they both played well," Frangoulis said. "It's an interesting situation, because both of them add something different to our offense, and they both deserve to play. It's not something that disrupts our team because we've treated both of those guys as potential starters since the first day of practice."
Although Baker has outgained its opponents in consecutive weeks, Frangoulis said he is still looking for more consistency from his offense.
"We have a really young group, and they did a good job of coming through when they had to last week," Frangoulis said. "There are still some things we need to smooth out, but I feel like we're improving each week."
One thing Frangoulis knows his team cannot have is a letdown. In a wild HAAC -- where two of the conference's three ranked teams lost last week -- there are no easy victories.
"If nobody believed it at the beginning of the season, they believe it now," Frangoulis said.
Last week, No. 3-ranked Benedictine lost to William Jewell, 30-23, while perennial power Evangel needed overtime to defeat perennial doormat Culver-Stockton, 36-35. Missouri Valley defeated Graceland 39-35 in another close game.
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