FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[bashbrother]

This is an amazing original photo from the gallery of today's game posted on the Wabash website sums up my feelings for the Man you have raised BD84....

Magic!   (click on the pic and enlarge and check out the ball of magic that appears on his hands as he is taking it into the endzone)  priceless photo.... perfect for the office, den,  man cave....... Wabash trophy case!  Bravo!

WAF!

[formerd3db]

Congratulations to Wabash players, coaches , fans and alums for the nice win today at the annual Monon Bell game.  Well done.  I see that the attendance was just over 8100, which is a great crowd, although obviously not as much as last year or recent years before when you were around 12,000.  I suppose, however, that was because DePauw has not done that well this year.  Nonetheless, I'll take 8000 people at a DIII game anytime!

Best wishes to Wabash as they head into the playoffs - except, of course, against our MIAA representative Albion if they and 'Bash end up playing each other!

[Geezer Citizen]

45-7 - DOMINATING DEFENSE!

Wes Anderson to the contrary not withstanding, I don't think Depauw shot itself in the foot so much, I think that Wabash did the shooting.

I was a bit disappointed int the Little Giant offense, especially in the passing game, but never mind, Wabash rings the bell for another year.

I am basking in the afterglow of anther huge Monon Bell victory. So now, on to the playoffs with a 10-0 record.

[smedindy]

d3db - Wabash can fit more into their stadium. It was an official sellout.

Thanks for the well-wishes though! I do think Albion will wind up with a Purple team, though...

[Mr. Ypsi]

d3db - Wabash can fit more into their stadium. It was an official sellout.

Thanks for the well-wishes though! I do think Albion will wind up with a Purple team, though...

Actually, unless Albion is shipped 'East' to face UMU, or Benedictine stays 'North' to face UWW, I think the Britons at the LGs is a very likely first-round game.  (If Albion and BU both stay 'North', I'd say Albion is 7, BU is 8.)

[smedindy]

Albion definitely has the SOS numbers. But that loss to DPU will sting. I'd love to have Albion face Wabash, though. Delayed payback for the 90's, when the Britons were always a tough cookie (and that's an understatement...)

[wally_wabash]

Albion definitely has the SOS numbers. But that loss to DPU will sting. I'd love to have Albion face Wabash, though. Delayed payback for the 90's, when the Britons were always a tough cookie (and that's an understatement...)

Was the '05 playoff dismantling not enough? 

If you're carrying 3 or 4 losses and don't live in Texas, you're playing the Raiders or the Warhawks.

[smedindy]

But Albion is just 6-2 in region with a very high SOS, compared to Benedictine's SOS amongst the dregs.

At any rate, it'll be interesting to see who gets the #1, and how they sort out #3 and #4 in the North.

[seinfeld]

I don't want to seem like I'm piling on Wooster when they are down, but the interest span anyone has in them probably ends tomorrow, so I better act quick. The fact that Wooster is off pretty much everyone's radar is a troubling sign going forward. I think expectations of them challenging for a conference title at the start of the season were off the mark (including the coach that gave them a #1 vote, which was not Schmitz, by the way). But with 17 starters back, a 4-6 season was not what anyone expected, especially since they played the exact same schedule as last year when they went 5-5. They also weren't expected to be outscored 66-14 in the third quarter, either.

My focus isn't on what happened this year, but what has happened over the last 11 years. I think the numbers I list below will come as a surprise to a lot of people, and demonstrate that Wooster has basically been a middle of the pack team in the NCAC for over a decade, with the exception of the three Tony Sutton years.

-- Wooster has only beaten four teams with a winning record since 2005, and those teams were all 6-4.

-- Since Schmitz became the head coach in 2000, Wooster has never beaten a team that has more than 7 wins in a season, and has only two wins against teams with 7 wins (Wabash 2003 and Wittenberg 2004).

-- Since 2005, Wooster is 4-24 against teams that finished that year with a winning record.

-- In games Tony Sutton played, Wooster and Schmitz were 25-5. In games without him, they are 47-35, and just 26-24 since 2007.

And to make matters worse for next year, their top runner (Flagg), pass catcher (Daniels), top defensive lineman (Terhune) and cornerback (Trout) all graduate. And assuming the usual attrition, will probably head into spring ball with only about 50 players. And if they aren't able to get more than 30 recruits, which is the number they've had the last two years, it's hard to see how anything is going to change in the near future.

It's too bad, since the addition of a new turf on the football field, along with the opening of a new recreation center in January, seems to have finally given Wooster a leg up in facilities. But so far it has not translated at all to recruiting.

[bashbrother]

Pat & Co.....  have posted their projected bracket on the home page.   Even though in the playoffs you need play tough games sooner or later,  their projected 1st round match-up with #21 Thomas More wasn't what i had in mind.       Albion or Benedictine.....was. 

http://www.d3football.com/playoffs/2011/projected-2011-fb-bracket.pdf

We shall see tomorrow.

WAF!

[Pat Coleman]

Agreed that one of the worst teams in the playoffs would be a nice first-round opponent but Wabash doesn't merit that, as far as I can tell.

[bashbrother]

Agreed that one of the worst teams in the playoffs would be a nice first-round opponent but Wabash doesn't merit that, as far as I can tell.

Fair point.   We will see tomorrow if Albion moves East.  Seems like a stretch moving them that far, but you guys know a heck of a lot more about what the NCAA might do....  Will be interesting and Wabash will be ready for whomever travels to C-Ville

[aueagle]

Congrats to the LG's for another Bell....Domination.
Seinfeld: At least COW isn't OWU....
Congrats to the Bishop Sr's....
Now...The Road to Salem

[wabco]

former 3db

Another reason for the lower attendance when the game is played at Dannieland is that; 1) they will not errect enough extra stands AND 2) they will not sell unpurchased tickets to Wabash ... even though the "allotment" of tickets to Wabash has been purchased and the demand is there.  They would rather have them empty.  Perhaps you saw the EMPTY stand in the endzone ... that was located within the "land of Dan" ... there were not enough motivated Dannites to purchase them and the Dannites would rather have it vacant than reorganize their Gestapo to allow the location go over to pacified area of Wabash and the tickets be sold to Little Giant supporters.  So it goes (often up is down ... there) for the "Occupiers of the Land of Dan".  Next year when/where the air is more enriched with confidence in and general trust in the freedom of the individual without a miriade of negative regulations, there will be the 12,000.

I am looking forward to Wabash charging Dannies $5 to park.  Give the money to the student budget.

Now back to regular programing and preparation for next Saturday (while he Dannite girls field hockey team gets their field back).

[wally world]

Albion definitely has the SOS numbers. But that loss to DPU will sting. I'd love to have Albion face Wabash, though. Delayed payback for the 90's, when the Britons were always a tough cookie (and that's an understatement...)

Yes, Albion was a beast in the early 90s when I was there.

But I would like the matchup just so Wabash could bust out my favorite cheer from those days...

Al-bi-on, Al-bi-on, Al-bi-on your girlfriend!