Quote from: old scot on September 23, 2009, 08:30:50 PM
Wow!
       I get -Karma for making a true statement against Mount. You guys are tough. Maybe you are pushing me towards being a Raider hater. I guess we know who moderates the the OAC board.

old scot,

Read the recent post from "desertraider" to better appreciate the "moderating" that goes on here. Just one more embarassment to observe.

Someone tries to present a balanced perspective about a college football game - includes a legitimate question about MUC decision making - and the de minimis IQ crowd goes a little insane.

Quote from: skunks_sidekick on September 20, 2009, 11:36:54 AM
Thanks HSCoach......I was trying to be "nice" to the guy by calling him dude and silly.  If you know ANYTHING about LK and the Mount program, you know that he will bend over backwards to not rub a win in the opponents face.  So believe me when I tell you he certainly thought the game was still in doubt, hence the 4th down pass.  To suggest it was anything else but the correct call is...hmm..let's see.......IDIOTIC! 

Skunks,

You only further embarass yourself with another attempt at personal criticism and name calling. Frankly, I'm embarassed for you.

Quote from: skunks_sidekick on September 19, 2009, 10:10:10 PM
Reporting in.........Skunk, Jr. and I were there today.  

Whoever questioned the throw when it was 4th and whatever on the 35....ummm.....was Mount supposed to PUNT?  That is just silly dude......

That is all......carry on!

Skunks or "Dude" (whatever you prefer),

"Silly" - hardly, only you appear to be silly!

No, of course I didn't expect a punt on 4th and 6, up 24-10 from the opponents 35 with 2 minutes to play and ONU allowing the clock to run out by not using its TO's. Given MUC's long time class in winning, I would have expected another running play - a running play that based on the other carries in the second half likely would have netted a first down. What I wouldn't have expected was a play action pass for a 25 yard gain.

Enjoy the success of the MUC program - but the arrogance in your reply to my post is unbecoming!

To all the MUC posters avoiding classless comments like "dude" and "silly", I again commend and congratulate you for what is, as I said, an exceptional team with an other worldly defense!

Went to ONU/MUC game. ODAC poster is wrong - MUC is exceptional. Remember this is only the second game for MUC and they played a freshman QB on half the possessions. If someone is going to beat MUC come playoff time - they better have an offense unlike any I've seen in DIII for quite a few years.

MUC's line play was dominant - particularly in the second half. Yes, ONU's defense is very, very good (ask North Central), but MUC's defense is other worldly.

MUC's running game was very, very good - passing game not so good. The TD pass to Miller was a fluke as two Polar Bears collided - each could have easily intercepted the tipped pass. When they collided they tipped the ball even higher in the air and the 6'6" Miller caught it.

Lastly, why did MUC throw a 25 yard pass on 4th down and 6 up 24-10 from ONU's 35 yard line with 2 minutes to play? It felt a little bit like trying to rub it in - inconsistent with what I have seen from MUC in past years. And don't tell me, ONU could have stopped the 4th down, scored a long TD, recovered an onside kick, blah, blah ...

Give credit where due - ONU is very good, MUC is once again - exceptional!!

Anyone attending a game at JCU could easily understand how 7 players could foul out in one game - frankly, I am surprised 7 don't foul out almost every game!

JCU reminds me of the old Pat Reilly squads that fouled so much the officials began to look the other way lest a foul be called on every possession. Looks like the officials decided not to look the other way for one game.

For all DIII Fans ...

Jason Trusnik was activated by the NY Jets off the practice squad and is playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Very nice to see a DIII alum on Sunday afternoon!

I'm not an MUC alum or fan, but just an honest observer who has watched MUC play this season, as well as for many previous years.

I've been watching DIII football faithfully for 25 years since graduating from college myself. This year's MUC team is the best I have witnessed during the past quarter century - by far.

The only DIII team that can beat them in 2007 is nicknamed the Purple Raiders. MUC would have to have a turnover trainwreck and run into a team that played perfectly. I simply don't see that happening - anyone posting otherwise surely has not seen MUC play in person.

ONU does not open with Wilkes in 2008 - they open at North Central. NC comes to ONU in 2009.

After a drive saving face mask call against ONU on a QB sack, BW scores on a 1 yard run with 1 second remaining in the game to beat ONU 21-18.

Was at the ONU - Mt. Union butt kicking ...

I have to agree with l39eagle's comments about the running backs. To say that RJ Meadows is not as talented as three running backs at MUC reminds me of the silly comments on this Board about Stickley being better than Jason Trusnik. Duh ... Trusnik happens to be cashing NFL paychecks this year!   

There is no way to describe how thoroughly Mt. Union's offensive line dominated the defensive line of ONU. MUC's offensive lineman are big, fast and play to the whistle. They deal out punishment until the end of the whistle - just as O linemen should. There was no safety around any pile - a flying MUC O lineman was always present.

And MUC's defense is exceptional. The inside tackles are strong enough to clog the middle and the defensive ends fast and strong enough to ensure there is no room to run wide. It is hard for me to envision many DIII teams scoring on that defense.

The MUC running backs are outstanding. They are fast (Wray), quick (Morring) and Kmic is fast, quick and also very physically strong - but let's be serious here - they are running behind a line that would appear capable of competing at far higher levels than DIII.

But put that aside, Mt. Union is the best coached, the best prepared, fastest, deepest, most physicial team I have ever seen at the DIII level. In addition, with only small exceptions (mainly Morring), they showed total class and character while destroying a top #10 team on the road in front of 5,000+ hostile fans - without Garcon on the field save for a single punt block attempt. Now that might be what is most impressive!

To this, I offer my congratulations not just to the players and coaches, but also to the parents of the MUC players. They deserve some of the credit for the quality of those young men. Congratulations MUC parents!

I'll leave you with one final thought ... ONU completely destroyed Millikin. The game was 42-0 and ONU punished Millikin physically (similar to what MUC did to ONU yesterday). Wheaton (rated #5 nationally) beat Millikin a couple weeks later by 29-7 in a game that some Millikin fans thought was even closer than the score. Mt. Union will not only win the Stagg Bowl, this might be the best DIII team any of us will see for a long, long time. The only question, in my mind, is just how the history books will end up ranking this team - they are already #1 in mine.

Just returned from the JCU/ONU tussle.

JCU will beat some good teams this year. They are a quality squad with two good running backs (Gingrich and Stover). The QB (Petruziello) has a good arm - maybe too good as he threw three picks today - each resulting from throws where he thought he could zip one in there - only to have the DB make a play. Nevertheless, he is clearly a quality QB. ONU's blitz packages caused a lot of mayhem (10 sacks) and kept him from throwing the ball downfield but a couple times all game.

Although the spread was only 10 points, the game wasn't that close. Up 23-0 mid way through the 3rd quarter, ONU went to a soft defense and JCU proceeded to run the ball repeatedly between the tackles. The Bears seemed willinging to give up some chunks of yards so long as the clock continued to run.

Anyway, several observations:

1. JCU is a solid team. It appears they will handily beat the bottom half of the OAC, and should at least be considered a possibility to upset a team like BW or Capital.

2. JCU has an excellent running game. If they would have stayed with it in the first half, they could have given ONU some problems.

3. ONU is quite deep this year - far deeper than the last couple years. They played two deep at almost all positions except QB (Pankratz), LT (Hunter), C (Smith), RT (Dunnington) on offense, and MLB (Trusnik) and CB (Gunter) on defense.

4. Dean Paul has taken a page from the Larry Kehres school of recruting superior athletes. ONU's special teams' tackles are repeatedly made by non-starters - usually freshman and sophomores with speed. It seems so many DIII teams' special team tackles are made by their starters.

5. Is the MUC - Muskingum half time score amazing, or what???

Sterny & Mugsy,

Sorry for the unintended offense. By reasonably ranked, my only basis was Milikin was picked to tie for 5th in conference. I wasn't trying to imply that Millikin was the class of their league and certainly not trying to offend one of the top overall DIII sports conferences in the country!

Game Summary - ONU 42, Millikin 0

ONU came out a little flat - not unexpected for any team in their first game (save for MUC who comes out and scores 52 in the first quarter  ).

Millikin was unable to capitalize on ONU's struggles early, despite the ability to move the ball a bit thorugh the air. MC had no running game whatsoever, with few backs getting to the line of scrimmage prior to contact from multiple defenders. Millikin does have a fine wide receiver who made several tough catches and absorbed some severe punishment post catch (Katzmark).

ONU's O-line had trouble early opening holes - due in part to two strong D tackes at Millikin (Bailey & Hampton). As the game went on, ONU's superior size, depth and strength wore down the Big Blue. Meadows had several solid runs and Pankratz made a number of first rate throws to Delk. In the open field, Delk appeared too quick and fast for the MC secondary.

By mid Q3, ONU was playing all second and third string players at the skill positions on offense, but left in the starting O-line until 11 minutes left in the game to get them reps.

The game was delayed almost 1 1/2 hours with about 11 minutes to go in the 4th quarter due to lightning. Give Neibuhr credit, he could have packed the buses and gone home down 42 - 0 at the time. But he held out to finish and try and score. MC got close, but WR Hampton coughed up a fumble at the goal line after catching a short pass followed by a solid hit.

In summary, ONU had far too much speed, depth and size for MC. One could tell fairly early in the game that with the heat and humidity, the Bears would wear down MC in time. The superiority of the OAC relative to a reasonably ranked team from the CCIW was clear.

One final thought - freshman QB Simmons from ONU looked very, very good. He was poised, in control and his passing was extraordinarily accurate. The 44 yard TD run by Bogner was set up by an option pitch from Simmons that could be used in a training video. He is slight (listed at 170 pounds), but appears to have quite a future. All his reps came against MC's first team defense.

Game Summary - ONU 42, Millikin 0

ONU came out a little flat - not unexpected for any team in their first game (save for MUC who comes out and scores 52 in the first quarter  ).

Millikin was unable to capitalize on ONU's struggles early, despite the ability to move the ball a bit thorugh the air. MC had no running game whatsoever, with few backs getting to the line of scrimmage prior to contact from multiple defenders. Millikin does have a fine wide receiver who made several tough catches and absorbed some severe punishment post catch (Katzmark).

ONU's O-line had trouble early opening holes - due in part to two strong D tackes at Millikin (Bailey & Hampton). As the game went on, ONU's superior size, depth and strength wore down the Big Blue. Meadows had several solid runs and Pankratz made a number of first rate throws to Delk. In the open field, Delk appeared too quick and fast for the MC secondary.

By mid Q3, ONU was playing all second and third string players at the skill positions on offense, but left in the starting O-line until 11 minutes left in the game to get them reps.

The game was delayed almost 1 1/2 hours with about 11 minutes to go in the 4th quarter due to lightning. Give Neibuhr credit, he could have packed the buses and gone home down 42 - 0 at the time. But he held out to finish and try and score. MC got close, but WR Hampton coughed up a fumble at the goal line after catching a short pass followed by a solid hit.

In summary, ONU had far too much speed, depth and size for MC. One could tell fairly early in the game that with the heat and humidity, the Bears would wear down MC in time. The superiority of the OAC relative to a reasonably ranked team from the CCIW was clear.

One final thought - freshman QB Simmons from ONU looked very, very good. He was poised, in control and his passing was extraordinarily accurate. The 44 yard TD run by Bogner was set up by an option pitch from Simmons that could be used in a training video. He is slight (listed at 170 pounds), but appears to have quite a future. All his reps came against MC's first team defense.

RC is 100% correct on those silly 40 times at Capital. My oldest daughter is a DI level sprinter (100M and 200M) so I have a little expertise in this area (one of the few areas I'll claim to have either knowledge or expertise) ... :-)

The accepted standard to convert a hand-timed event to its automatically timed equivalent is to round up to the nearest tenth of a second -- and add .24 seconds. Thus, a hand timed 4.35 is actually a 4.64.

Additionally, most football 40's don't go on a starter's pistol but on the athlete's initial motion. The average reaction time among elite world class sprinters (from the gun to the moment they exert pressure on the starting block's electronic pads) is about .15 seconds; for a football player with little track experience it probably would be closer to .2. Thus, change that 4.64 to a 4.84 if you comparing football speed to a track sprinter.

Anyone running 4.4 or under in the real world has world class speed and is probably not being discussed in the context of DIII sports.