Tigers 27-6 over Franklin in today's scrimmage.

Gold star for you.  Before the season started, Denison had the best offensive player in the league returning, they had cleared the "can we beat Witt" mental hurdle (answer: yes), and had a jillion returning starters.  It wasn't a stretch to see Denison being the chief challenger to Witt (who lost a jillion starters), if not the outright favorite.  So that was the call.  It made sense with the data that was available.  The last 14 days have not gone the way Denison wanted them to for sure.  That's sports.  It happens.  It also sucks that Denison drew a three week stretch of @Witt, @Wabash, vs. DPU.  Easily the worst possible string of games any team could draw (I mean I guess they could have also had to play at DPU).  Managing that schedule was always going to be tough.
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Forgive me, Your Excellency. Of course you're right. Things just haven't gone Denison's way. Their schedule beat them today (and last week and the week before). Meanwhile, DePauw has gotten all the breaks, like losing one of the most productive QBs in the nation and his backup.

Quote from: Old Gold Tiger on August 22, 2017, 04:00:48 PM
The rise of the Denison program in 2016 was impressive.  Kickoff gives them high marks ahead of both Wabash and DePauw.  Gebele is a marquee athlete at QB, for sure.  But their line play and overall physicality leave me wondering if they can be as competitive as touted.  An OK DePauw defense looked like the '85 Bears against them last season.  Denison will need to be stronger up front to beat 'bash and DePauw.

I won't pretend to be objective, but I do think the DePauw team preview is a bit unenthusiastic even if their conference ranking is fair relative to returning talent.  Everyone will say DPU lost QB Hunt, who accounted for so much of the offense, including all five touchdowns and 400 yards of offense in the Bell game.  But the program grows stronger with many other players around the QB and a solid O line.  Some very good young QBs are in camp, among them Chase Andries and Cam Haynes, who may see increased action as the season progresses.

I think the Wabash guys would agree that a Wabash preview that doesn't mention DePauw obviously misses a high priority in that camp right now, not to mention some surprising scrutiny / criticism of the head coach voiced on this board following last year's outcome.  Somewhat similar to DePauw, the QB situation will be interesting to follow in C-ville even if 'bash is not quite as QB-centered as DePauw has been.

Witt is the clear favorite.  No surprise there.

This pre-season post was pretty much blown up for not joining in the coronation of Gabele and Denison as the team to beat outside of Witt.  Thought it worth referencing now that Denison went 0-3 against the top tier of the league without once breaking 20 points.  The stretch saw Gabele average 139 yards passing while yielding 0 passing TDs, 5 interceptions and 2 fumbles lost.   DePauw beat them today with their third QB.  Don't get me wrong -- lot of respect for Denison and Coach Hatem, but the 2nd best team in the league they do not appear to be right now.

DePauw is fortunate to be 6-0 with a lot of injuries, including both OPOTW Labus and first-year Andries at QB.  But it obviously reflects the quality of the program Bill Lynch has built, and continues to build, across the roster.  Tough fall break matchup looming with Witt.

Injuries plaguing the Tigers. Down to third QB. Interesting to see how they respond to this adversity.

I thought this was a decent DePauw-produced video:

https://youtu.be/ssL80TrsJN4

Congrats, Matt Labus, NCAC Offensive Player of the Week.
17-22 for 303 yards, 5 TD, and a 267.96 passing efficiency rating.  Plus 11 carries for 50 yards.  His efficiency rating for the season is now 3rd in the nation.
http://depauwtigers.com/sports/fball/2017-18/releases/20170925nmjghi

Forgive me for changing the subject from the crisis of confidence in C-ville, but we've got a big league matchup in Denison vs. Witt this week. Some would say it's the conference championship this year. Will Denison make it two in a row over Witt?

The rise of the Denison program in 2016 was impressive.  Kickoff gives them high marks ahead of both Wabash and DePauw.  Gebele is a marquee athlete at QB, for sure.  But their line play and overall physicality leave me wondering if they can be as competitive as touted.  An OK DePauw defense looked like the '85 Bears against them last season.  Denison will need to be stronger up front to beat 'bash and DePauw.

I won't pretend to be objective, but I do think the DePauw team preview is a bit unenthusiastic even if their conference ranking is fair relative to returning talent.  Everyone will say DPU lost QB Hunt, who accounted for so much of the offense, including all five touchdowns and 400 yards of offense in the Bell game.  But the program grows stronger with many other players around the QB and a solid O line.  Some very good young QBs are in camp, among them Chase Andries and Cam Haynes, who may see increased action as the season progresses.

I think the Wabash guys would agree that a Wabash preview that doesn't mention DePauw obviously misses a high priority in that camp right now, not to mention some surprising scrutiny / criticism of the head coach voiced on this board following last year's outcome.  Somewhat similar to DePauw, the QB situation will be interesting to follow in C-ville even if 'bash is not quite as QB-centered as DePauw has been.

Witt is the clear favorite.  No surprise there.

DePauw's program continues to grow with 140 listed on the 2016 roster:

http://depauwtigers.com/sports/fball/2016-17/roster

Monday at 4:00.

DePauw's 2016 schedule opens with Mt. St. Joseph rather than Earlham.  Obviously a tougher test and better means of preparing for league play.

http://depauwtigers.com/sports/fball/2016-17/schedule

Quote from: wally_wabash on December 11, 2015, 03:07:39 PM
Wabash and DePauw bring back similar numbers and by all means should be playing Week 11 in C'ville for the league title.  If that doesn't happen, something went really wrong for one or both of those teams. 

I agree with the bullish outlook in Crawfordsville and for DePauw, but is there evidence to suggest Witt won't be a factor in the conference race?  My sense is they'll be hungry and motivated after a relatively disappointing season for that program.

Noticed both the Denison and OWU QB 1s did not play Saturday.  Anyone have scoop on this?  Will be a much more interesting league race if they're on the field, particularly for Denison.

DePauw game notes vs. Earlham:
http://depauwtigers.com/sports/fball/2015-16/files/DePauw_FB_notes_vs._Earlham.pdf

Sixty-three freshmen on the roster as the program aims to make another move forward in 2015.