The D3 guys coverage has fallen off in recent years, particularly the weekly podcasts. There are only two guys and they just can't cover it like they did due to their jobs. It's a shame, because it's still the only place to find general D3 baseball news.

Marietta did get hammered by the portal, but will still be a contender. Otterbein has POY Perebzak back but lost Quincel to graduation. Need to see who returns for Mount. They should be solid. Muskingum has speed and likes to play small ball but I don't think they have the pitching to win big that way.
BW has the best pitching top to bottom with Walker, Dolcemaschio and Heatherington all All OAC last year. While they lost their top two HR guys, they have three returning starters who were All Region in the last two years in Kolenich, Kilbane and Marousek, plus another All OAC starter in Ritlinger-Nirider. Add in two transfers each from Ohio U, Marietta and Wooster, a great freshmen class and they have depth all-around.

I expect BW and Marietta to be there at the end. Mount probably the third team and ONU, Muskingum and Otterbein fighting for final tourney spot.

Quote from: Dr. Acula on November 19, 2024, 10:45:10 AM

Quote from: J3FB2BB on November 18, 2024, 08:25:52 PM

Quote from: Captainred81 on November 18, 2024, 04:15:57 PMNext Mount will line up against Wheaton and Grove City.  Also an improved O North and BW could be competitive. 

A)  Mount Union will not fire a coach who hasn't lost a conference game in his tenure.  Also, in 5 years, he had Covid year, Stagg Bowl year, Semi final year early out year and this year.  All of that said, he has had success.  Not the same as we're all used to, but success nonetheless.

B)  I'm not a big fan of the likely rematch, but Mount has fared well against conference opponents in the past, and I don't expect anything different.  There were a lot of mistakes in the first game that could be corrected, mostly on defense. 

C)  I think the biggest issues with this team is execution and game plan.  The players and coaches need to stick to their assignments as drawn up.  Then if that is not working, adjustments need to be made.  I think sometimes the correct defense might be called, but missed tackles or missed coverages make it look worse than it is.  So, either simplify the coverage, or change completely it to make it smoother.  An overhaul is not needed, just some more consistency. 

D)  The Otterbein game stands out to me as an anomaly more than this game against Muskingum.  Muskingum has been a solid offense for several years now.  I think Mount was a little to high on the horse and got caught.

Ohio Northern was improved, not BW. They were not as successful offensively as the last two years overall and particularly vs the top 3. Their defense improved slightly this year, but they played a weak OOC opponent and the OAC was as weak as it's been in forever, yet they were destroyed by Marietta and MTU, unlike the prior two years and choked v JCU as always. They will not be competitive in any way next year.

Are you talking about BW here?  Listen, nobody dislikes BW more than me, but they did play Witt OOC.  That is not a weak OOC opponent even in a down year for Witt.  And it's certainly not Franklin or Hiram or some of the other OAC OOC foes.

Yes, I'm talking about BW. Witt is mediocre(5-4)at best but I guess I could've said "weaker" than BW's OOC opponent the last two years, MSJ a playoff team that BW had beat both years up until the last possession by MSJ.

My original point was that they will not be a competitive threat next year as their record is consistently "slightly above average" and it is not due to a lack of talent. I wish their AD was half as passionate about finding a new coach that can be competitive against the top teams as the Mount fans are on this board about replacing an undefeated coach.

Quote from: SPECIAL TEAMS STARTER on November 18, 2024, 09:16:59 PMAs Lee Corso used to say, "Not so fast my friend". ONU suffered injuries all season long at the QB position. They Started a 3rd unit freshman against Marietta. They were competitive against MTU into the 4th quarter. The starting QB got knocked out of the game against BW as he was crossing the goal line and fumbled through the enzone which ultimately cost them the game.


They have enhanced their facilities and this year Coach Fries has a full year to recruit. Maybe I am wrong but I think if they can stay healthy at the OB position they will surprise some people next year. Time will tell.

I agree with you about ONU. They are on the upswing. I was referring to BW as in decline and not being competitive next year with any of the top tier.

Quote from: Captainred81 on November 18, 2024, 04:15:57 PMNext Mount will line up against Wheaton and Grove City.  Also an improved O North and BW could be competitive. 

A)  Mount Union will not fire a coach who hasn't lost a conference game in his tenure.  Also, in 5 years, he had Covid year, Stagg Bowl year, Semi final year early out year and this year.  All of that said, he has had success.  Not the same as we're all used to, but success nonetheless.

B)  I'm not a big fan of the likely rematch, but Mount has fared well against conference opponents in the past, and I don't expect anything different.  There were a lot of mistakes in the first game that could be corrected, mostly on defense. 

C)  I think the biggest issues with this team is execution and game plan.  The players and coaches need to stick to their assignments as drawn up.  Then if that is not working, adjustments need to be made.  I think sometimes the correct defense might be called, but missed tackles or missed coverages make it look worse than it is.  So, either simplify the coverage, or change completely it to make it smoother.  An overhaul is not needed, just some more consistency. 

D)  The Otterbein game stands out to me as an anomaly more than this game against Muskingum.  Muskingum has been a solid offense for several years now.  I think Mount was a little to high on the horse and got caught.

Ohio Northern was improved, not BW. They were not as successful offensively as the last two years overall and particularly vs the top 3. Their defense improved slightly this year, but they played a weak OOC opponent and the OAC was as weak as it's been in forever, yet they were destroyed by Marietta and MTU, unlike the prior two years and choked v JCU as always. They will not be competitive in any way next year.

Will be interesting to see the final two spots in OAC tourney. Whoever gets last two spots after BW and OTT will need to win title to make playoffs (like JCU last year). Otterbein could get at large if BW wins tourney but they will also need to win it if BW doesn't because there will probably only be two teams from OAC and BW is likely secure.

Quote from: Captainred81 on November 14, 2022, 01:40:30 PM
A)  I try not to get ahead of myself when spitting out my opinions.  If I had my druthers Mount would win every game, every year by 100.  Fact is EVERYONE comes to play against Mount.  They bring their best.  Whether they have a shot at winning or not.
B)  BW is/was an underperforming team this year.  Alma was better than expected so that wasn't terrible.  They only lost to JCU by 4 and by 2 to Mount.  They are well coached, they have good athletes, and they always hit hard.  Ain't no shame in playing a close game with them
C)  We finished 10-0 for the 31st time (or something), we captured a #1 seed in the tourney, and probably home field as long as we win. 

Since this is basically the default MTU fan board, I hope there will be some honest reflection on CaptainRed81's thoughts as well as a few other's on here who put down their purple colored glasses. First a quick correction to the Captain's otherwise valid points. BW was underperforming on the year? They played for a share of the championship for the first time in over 20 years. Yes their offense struggled at times, particularly early in the year, but they have a tough defense and hung in for their offense to come back in 5 games where they were down by as many as double digits. They lost to undefeated and #25 Mt St Joes, after taking the lead late, on almost the exact type of fluke tipped ball as the Mount play, just not on the final play. They lost to JCU by 14, not 4, a game that was much closer than the 14. So to Captain Red's point they were a talented, somewhat inconsistent team that was two fluke plays from being 9-1 and most likely in the playoffs. Yeah, I know "if Ifs and Buts were candy and nuts".

But (speaking of buts), the fact is that the top teams in the OAC are not overwhelmed by Mount anymore. And certainly not the perennial top 25 powers either. Champions find a way and MTU did on Saturday, but it wasn't because of their superior coaching, talent or skill level. The "boink" was a once in a lifetime freak play, as admitted as much by Coach Kehres himself, who said and I'm paraphrasing - the single craziest play in his 55 years at Mount, mostly because the ball was so woefully under thrown (by at least 15 yards).  More telling though was the fact that after their opening drive TD, Mount never took control or was dominant on either side of the ball in the first half. BW was stout on D for the remainder of the half and hurt themselves with the late turnover and miscommunications on some third downs when they were otherwise moving the ball each series. In the second half, I was frankly shocked that Mount seemed to play not to lose. BW outplayed them on both offense and defense. BW probably should've had another TD earlier in the third after a long drive, when the ball sailed a little allowing the weak side safety to make a pick in the end zone. If you saw the game and are even somewhat honest, you would acknowledge that yes MTU had the edge statistically, but BW was the better team for most of the game. Mount has been great for 30 years and with that comes some luck. Enjoy it, but realize that nothing lasts forever and this is not the national dynasty it was. JCU and BW aren't dropping off in the near future and you should be glad that it should help make every team in the league stronger.

One final thought, you can take all the pot shots you want at BW fans, but the fact is that nobody in the conference has better fan support. Their attendance is double the next closest school. There were 4400 (supplemented by maybe a hundred MTU faithful) on Saturday in cold wet weather. Mount is 13 X national champs and can't average even 2,000 per game. But still a tad better than the Men Of Carroll. Where the hell are all these MOC? Certainly not at football games. BW has outdrawn JCU at Shula probably the last three times they've travelled over there. A ranked team, with a playoff chance on Senior Day and JCU had all of 1000 people show up. Winless Capital drew almost twice as many for their finale. Pathetic.

Good luck in the playoffs, I'm sincere and will root for the OAC champs, but Mount may need it after the first round.