Sorry in advance if this is a stupid question but I've seen a ton of posts about UWO grey-shirting players this past week, and I can't tell if people are truly up-in-arms about it or if they're just being sarcastic/trolls... If it's the former, I confess to not quite quite understanding why it's such a big deal.

...clearly I'm new here.

If I'm not mistaken, JCU is the only common opponent that each of these teams have faced this year and based on the game summaries alone, it looks like JCU played both teams pretty close (although I'm sure that JCU week 1 vs. JCU week 10 were very different teams). At a brief glance, UWO had 345 yards of total offense and gave up 260 against JCU (Final Score 23-17 w/UWO winning), whereas M.U. had 334 and gave-up 202 (final score 31-27 in favor of M.U.).

Not sure what, if anything, that counts for but would seem to further push the narrative that it could/should be a close one this weekend. Would be curious if there is anyone on this board who attended both games and to hear their thoughts.

Quote from: merlecanlas on December 07, 2017, 07:00:00 PM

Quote from: WRMUalum13 on December 07, 2017, 06:04:43 PM
One stat that should bode very well for Mount Union is UWO's sacks per game. They rank 148th in NCAA and 7th in the WIAC. If Mount's QB, I'll call him Luke Fulford for now, has all day to throw it's not really going to matter if Mount's able to establish the running game or not. UWO will be forced to drop more players into coverage opening up the underneath routes and QB scrambles.

I just don't see UWO taking away the pass without getting a ton of pressure on the Mount QB, and statistically it doesn't look like UWO will be able to do that.

UWO plays a lot of weird defense.  Rush 2 or 3 and drop 8 or 9 into coverage.  Will they do that with Mount?  who knows.  But D'Luke Poorford might be better off taking off and getting 5 yards on the ground rather than forcing the ball into tight windows when that happens.

I think this is exactly correct. UWO has shown a lot of weird defensive packages throughout the year and generally hasn't made rushing the passer a huge focal point in their overall defensive scheme. Having said that, they've generally been pretty efficient in generating pressure on the QB when they try to do so. Now, whether or not that is a sound strategy against M.U. or whether or not they'll be able to do so when/if needed this upcoming weekend is a different story. All I'm saying is that looking at UWO's sacks per game during the regular season play isn't necessarily the most reliable gauge by which to measure their defense.

My uninformed guess is that we'll see UWO dropping a lot of guys back into coverage and try to force M.U.'s offense to beat them with the running game or to force their QB to complete a lot of throws into tight passing windows.

Quote from: hsbsballcoach7 on December 03, 2017, 03:14:14 PM
Btw, I'm looking forward to this game as much as the UWW game in Alliance in 2015! I'm confident our defense will play well enough, but I'm concerned about our offense sustaining long drives. UWO has a very disciplined defense that gets even tighter in the red zone and our running game isn't as great as it has been in the recent years. I'm guessing a 31-27 game with either team winning.

I'm just thinking if that 6 hour Salem drive seems long, a "8.5 hour drive" to Oshkosh would be miserable. I've been told it can take an extra hour depending on Chicago, right?

Hey hsbsballcoach7! I hope you choose to make the trek up to Oshkosh next weekend, and I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head as far as it concerns Chicago traffic. Would definitely recommend that you try to avoid driving through the city anytime between 3:30 and 7(ish) on Friday afternoon/evening. Having said that, it's a pretty easy trip once you've made past Chicago. Also, it is supposed to be a balmy 15-20(ish) degrees for the game on Saturday so be sure to dress/pack accordingly!

Based on some casual browsing of the interwebs, it sounds like Mount Union has a quick score, big-play offense that relies pretty heavily on the deep ball. I've come to realize that one must take D3 regular season statistics with a grain of salt, but it is hard not be impressed with the passing numbers your starting QB put-up this year.

What can you tell me about your defense? While Coach Cerroni is definitely a defensive minded head coach (he has almost no involvement in the offensive game-plan whatsoever), it is our offense that has carried the team this year. I'll be very curious to see what Mount Union does on the defensive side of the ball, as I feel like that could be the key to next weekend's game.

Just Confirmed: Next week's game between UWO & Mount Union will be held in Oshkosh.

Really appreciate all of the great/helpful responses! It's not often that I'm able to talk D3 football with people so discovering this board has been a very welcome development.

Having watched UWO's Stagg Bowl run last year, it has been fun seeing the team transition from one leaning primarily on its senior-heavy defense to one centered around its offense this year (not to say that last year's offense or this year's defense were/are sub-par). My biggest fears coming into this game are that:

1) Since the release of the bracket, it seems that a lot of UWO fans have been talking about how their 2nd round opponent was going to be a far more difficult challenge than their 3rd round opponent. Combine that with looking ahead to a prospective match-up against Mount Union in the semi-finals round, I worry about Wartburg being taken just a little too lightly by the UWO faithful.

2) Despite the generally high level of play all year, I worry about UWO's relative inexperience/youth on defense. Based on what i've read and been hearing about Wartburg's offense, they're not to be overlooked. The numbers their QB has put-up this year are particularly eye-popping. Luckily for UWO, Ceroni seems to be one of the better defensive minds in D3 football, so I'm hopeful that my anxiety is all for naught.

Having said that, I am expecting on Oshkosh to come-out on top this weekend against Wartburg. I think UWO's offense is too balanced and has too many weapons to keep contained for long. While the D is admittedly less experienced and not quite the rock-solid unit they were last year, they're still an extremely talented group. Moreover, I feel confident that the defense will be able to get more than enough stops against an offense that has had only a week's worth of preparation against the relatively unique (that's the impression I've been given) defensive scheme that Ceroni has implemented at UWO.

If what HansenRatings says is true about Wartburg selling-out to stop Hecker (& UWO's underrated stable of RBs behind him), I'm looking to see Kasper & Mentkowski have another big day. On defense, I'm excited to watch UWO's starting CB duo of  Rajon Hall and AJ Plewa against a seemingly formidable Wartburg passing offense.

Lastly, I feel obligated to mention that I've received a lot of positive feedback on the username. I regret to admit that it is not nearly as Wisconsin-centric nor original as what people seem to be giving me credit for...  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJHOnHhPH6s

Based on what you've seen of both Wartburg & Oshkosh, what are some of the areas of weakness in Oshkosh's team that you think Wartburg has the ability to exploit? I've had the opportunity to watch most of UWO's games this year so I feel like I have an idea but my opinion is admittedly pretty biased, combined with the fact that I haven't seen Wartburg (or any of the teams they've faced this year) play in-person.

Thanks for the insight! I have admittedly only been following D3 football for the past two or three years and admittedly, don't know follow anyone outside of the WIAC too closely. Since the brackets were released, pretty much everyone I've spoken with seemed to be under the assumption that the winner of the North Central/St. Johns game would prove to be the tougher game for UWO. I'm a pessimist though and worry that this could very easily be a let-down/overlooked game for UWO if they aren't careful. Not expecting them to lose but I figure on it being closer than people seem to be anticipating. Despite how well they've played this year (generally speaking), UWO's defense is still quite young and I very much worry about slip-ups.

Does anyone have any insight about how Wartburg's conference, the IIAC, is in general? I see that their QB posted some spectacular numbers this season but I confess to having absolutely no clue what the level of competition is like in that conference...

Hey hey IIAC fans! Oshkosh fan here who is hoping to talk about the game this weekend. I confess to knowing very little about Wartburg (or the IIAC in general) and am wondering what we can expect this weekend. Is anyone planning on making the trek up to Oshkosh for the game?