The younger Tanney threw no interceptions while going 21-of-31 for 109 yards in Monmouth’s season-opening 35-7 loss against 25th-ranked Wartburg on Sunday. That was a near match with Mitch Tanney’s turnover-free 20-of-30 day for 118 yards against St. John’s in the 2005 NCAA playoffs.

But, as college football analyst Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast, my friend." And Monmouth head coach Steve Bell agrees.

"They were a good football team, but this was nothing like the St. John’s game," said Bell.

Alex Tanney was pressured by Wartburg and was sacked three times, but that was nothing like the hurt St. John’s put on his older brother, who was sacked 13 times in his career finale.

"Wartburg was fast and they played hard, but Alex showed he wasn’t flustered by the competition level," said Bell. "That didn’t phase him. Did some of our youth get exposed? Sure it did. Wartburg is a veteran team and they exposed some of the things we hadn’t worked on well enough."

Bell said that Monmouth and other Midwest Conference teams are at a disadvantage because they are not allowed to have an intercollegiate preseason scrimmage.

"Some of this stuff could’ve been corrected if we’d had a preseason scrimmage," he said. "Against a good team like this, if you don’t know where you’re going all the time, you get tentative. I’m disappointed we couldn’t move the chains, but when players aren’t where they’re supposed to be, it’s hard to throw the ball. I’ll put that on me for not getting the things we needed to know taught well enough."

One thing that can also be put on Bell is the choice of opponent for the Scots’ lone non-conference game, but the eighth-year head coach said he wouldn’t have it any other way.

"I’m glad we played a team like that. I’m not happy with the way it ended, but it was a good

game for us to experience against a good opponent. What we’ll learn from this game far outweighs any negatives."

The biggest negative besides the final score was the yardage discrepancy. Wartburg was able to move the ball, especially on third down, on its way to 522 yards, while Monmouth converted just three third-down opportunities and gained only 142 yards.

Team positives from the game were Monmouth’s plus-four turnover edge and being flagged for only two penalties. Individually, punter Nate Palkovic earned the MWC Special Teams Performer of the Week honor, shattering Monmouth’s single-game record for punting yardage with 536. He averaged 44.7 yards on a record-tying 12 punts and also boomed two kickoffs an average of 64.5 yards.

"He kicked the hell out of the ball," said Bell, adding, "He sure had enough opportunities."

The Scots went three-and-out on their first seven possessions, racking up just 25 yards in the process. By the time Monmouth made a first down, Wartburg had scored three touchdowns, and the Knights would march 80 yards after the Scots’ eighth punt, capped by a seven-yard TD pass from Nick Yordi to Ryan Hoerner that made the halftime score 28-0. Yordi finished with 284 passing yards and three TDs, including another to Hoerner, who led all receivers with six grabs for 107 yards.

Monmouth’s statistical leaders were Jeff Davis, who rushed for 45 yards, and fullback Jess Miller, who had 24 receiving yards, including a 14-yard TD grab midway through the fourth quarter.

The Scots are now getting ready for their MWC opener against a Lawrence University team that is yet to play this season.

"We’ll be going off what they did last year, and they’ll be doing the same," said Bell of the scouting report.

A year ago, Bell said, Lawrence was a spread option team that ran a lot of plays out of the shotgun formation. Defensively, they ran a "very aggressive" 3-5 defense.

Returning All-MWC players for the Vikings include return specialist/defensive back Derek Micke, defensive linemen Matt Frelich and Jeremy Reider and linebacker Kevin Penza. Lawrence will again be quarterbacked by Eric Aspenson, who was the starter in 2005 before missing last season. Two years ago, Aspenson threw for 1,146 yards and 10 TDs and added 667 rushing yards and nine scores. Other LU returners include running back A.J. Walker (143 yards) and slot receiver Craig Ebert (210 yards).

Last fall, Monmouth ran for just under 300 yards en route to an easy 49-6 victory against Lawrence. Bell was happy with the game overall but did note that the Vikings threw for 242 yards, including a 99-yard score.

"We’re talented enough that if we do what we’re supposed to do, we can move the football and we can stop people," said Bell. "We’ve got to do a better job of not giving up ‘big chunk’ plays and of having some ‘big chunk’ plays on offense."