Associated Press

Wisconsin-Whitewater's Antwan Anderson (24) dives into the end zone for a touchdown during the Warhawks' Division III football semifinal win over Linfield last Saturday. The victory put Whitewater in this weekend's Stagg Bowl at Salem Stadium.

They keep passing out 32 bids to the NCAA Division III football playoffs every year, but it's starting to look like a giant waste of time.

After all, when it comes to the title game, it seems that only two schools need apply.

For the fifth straight year, Mount Union and Wisconsin-Whitewater will square off in the Stagg Bowl at 11 a.m. Saturday at Salem Stadium.

"When I walk into the stadium ... and look down on the field [each year], the players on both those teams look so much bigger and faster than what we see in this area," Washington and Lee coach Frank Miriello said Monday.

Since the Division III playoffs debuted in 1973, only once before has a school advanced to the title game in five straight years. Augustana (Ill.) had such a run from 1982-86, winning four titles.

And now, two teams have a stranglehold on the game.

The Purple Raiders (14-0) of Alliance, Ohio, have beaten Whitewater (14-0) three of the past four years. The Warhawks beat Mount Union in the 2007 game.

Former Whitewater coach Bob "Berezowitz wanted to put us on the same playing field as Mount Union," said third-year coach Lance Leipold, a Whitewater graduate. "We've been able to do that by trying to do the things they do. They have been the measuring stick in Division III football.

"We probably needed to try to recruit a little more speed; I think we've been able to do that. ... We've made some facility improvements. That of course helps attract student-athletes."

Mount Union has reached the Stagg Bowl for the 13th time, and is seeking its 11th crown. Coach Larry Kehres' Purple Raiders have lost only four times this decade.

"They're at a different level," said Randolph-Macon coach Pedro Arruza, whose team lost to Mount Union in last year's playoffs. "If you're a kid in Ohio who's not going to go play Division I football, then you're going to go to Mount Union. That makes a big difference. If every kid in Virginia that wasn't going to go play at Virginia Tech, Virginia or one of the I-AAs came to Randolph-Macon, can you imagine how good we would be?"

Thanks to the Stagg Bowl being on national TV, non-Ohio players also know of Mount Union's tradition.

Receiver Pierre Garcon grew up in West Palm Beach Fla., and left Division III Norwich after his freshman season because he disliked the Vermont weather. He e-mailed Kehres about transferring to Mount Union because he had often seen the team on TV.

Garcon played in the Stagg Bowl from 2005-07. The second-year pro now starts for the Indianapolis Colts.

The Purple Raiders are so good that they have made it back to the Stagg Bowl minus two of last year's standouts.

Mount Union's previous four teams boasted NCAA career rushing leader Nate Kmic. The past three games also featured quarterback Greg Micheli, who was twice named the most outstanding player of the Stagg Bowl.

"Losing those two men was a big loss," Kehres said. "We had to kind of develop an identity."

Receiver Cecil Shorts III, who caught two touchdown passes in last year's Stagg Bowl, is back. But he might play quarterback Saturday.

Kurt Rocco, who has thrown for 3,543 yards this year, was knocked out of last weekend's semifinal win over Wesley after getting hit on his team's third possession. Backup Neal Seaman struggled, so Shorts -- a former QB -- took over as the signal-caller with his team up 10-7 late in the third quarter. Shorts ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns in the 24-7 win.

"Maybe the Colts can pick him up before Saturday," Leipold joked.

Kehres, who was mum Monday on Rocco's status, is 289-21-2 in 24 years at his alma mater.

"He's an unbelievably great coach," said Emory & Henry coach Don Montgomery, a former Mount Union assistant. "There's always a contingency plan."

Whitewater, a public college with 10,500 students, has the largest Division III stadium in the nation (13,000 seats). The state has only one football team above the Division III level -- Wisconsin of the Big Ten.

"The Wisconsin state schools, ... they have the in-state tuition," Arruza said of Whitewater and its intrastate Division III rivals. "There's either the University of Wisconsin ... or players are going to those schools. It almost is like they're competing at a different level than the rest of the Division III world."

The Warhawks missed the playoffs for seven straight years prior to their Stagg Bowl run.

Their program ascended thanks in part to standout running back Justin Beaver, who was part of the first three teams in this run.

Whitewater returned to the Stagg Bowl last year with three new offensive stars. Jeff Donovan (3,359 yards passing this year) and running backs Levell Coppage (1,996 yards rushing) and Antwan Anderson are back again this year.

"Jeff's ... got one of the better arms in Division III," Kehres said.

The Purple Raiders rank second in Division III in scoring offense (46.5 ppg), with Whitewater fourth (42.8 ppg). Mount Union ranks first in scoring defense (7.6 ppg), with Whitewater third (9.1 ppg).