FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[84]

Honestly, any game can be close. Just look at the Wabash/Allegheny game last year. When you're on the level of Wabash and Wittenberg everyone has you marked on the calendar and gives you their best game! Let's take it one game at a time bashdad 

[BashDad]

Honestly, any game can be close. Just look at the Wabash/Allegheny game last year. When you're on the level of Wabash and Wittenberg everyone has you marked on the calendar and gives you their best game! Let's take it one game at a time bashdad 

http://sportsdrone.com/

[bashbrother]

two d3 all-americans......love it

[ExTartanPlayer]

I have a question. When does the Carnegie Melon / Bash game become more than just another game against the UAA. Now? 'Cause they just won again. By a lot. They're gonna beat Depauw next week and show up in Crawfordsville undefeated and with an offense averaging close to 30ppg, a defense giving up a little over 10, and a stud QB (at least on paper; haven't watched him.)

A couple of disjointed thoughts from a 2007 CMU alum:

1) I went into this season expecting this to be the best CMU team since our 2006 playoff run.  The pieces looked to be in place for improvement: an experienced QB, two accomplished RB's, veteran offensive line, and a few playmakers returning on defense.

With that said: we've been distinctly mediocre for the last five seasons, so I didn't have HUGE hopes.  I just thought we'd be better this year, but I wasn't sure whether that would translate into "6-4 with a few competitive losses" or something better.

2) The QB is undersized (5'10") but throws a nice ball & makes good decisions.  He was a four-year starter at a quality HS program in the Pittsburgh area (Gateway) where it's very rare for a freshman to see the field; in truth, if he was 6-foot-2, he probably wouldn't be at CMU.  He's started from day one at CMU, so he's now got over 20 starts under his belt, and that's a big reason for the optimism on my part - we always have strong RB's and a decent OL, but often struggle to throw the ball.

My junior season (2006) produced a pair of 1,000 yard rushers and 1258 passing yards.  We went 11-1.
My senior season (2007) produced a pair of 1,000 yard rushers and 671 passing yards.  We went 7-4.

Our defense and running game was just as good in 2007, but with no passing game at all,we just had trouble putting enough points on the board against quality defenses (our losses came by scores of 27-26, 27-21, 21-10, 20-17 OT - in three of those four losses we had 36 passing yards or fewer).

This year, with a third-year starter at QB and a pair of WR's that have some deep speed, we actually have a passing game that opponents have to respect.  In two of our three wins we've had more passing yardage than rushing yardage - and while that might not seem like front-page news for most programs, it didn't happen once in my four years.  In 43 games!  Not once!

The passing game will never be our calling card, but through the first three games it's been VERY apparent that having WR's with deep speed and a QB that can deliver a few strikes per game has given our offense a whole different look.  Our offensive line didn't play well in the running game against Catholic, but it didn't matter because Kalkstein delivered a few big strikes in the passing game.  In the past, we'd have REALLY struggled to win that game with nothing on the ground; this year we won the game going away because of those deep balls.

3) Our three wins thus far have come against mediocre opposition, true, but nor is it truly awful competition (i.e. Hiram, Kenyon, OWU).  Over the last few seasons we've really beaten up on have-nots and gotten our tails kicked against anyone that finishes .500 or better.  Chicago was the only decent team we beat last year (our second-best win came against...Ohio Wesleyan? Ugh), and we LOST to both Allegheny and Catholic, so even winning those two games is a marked sign of improvement that we're actually winning games against someone better than Hiram.

Again, I'm not sure whether this translates into "We're good enough to go 6-4 and play some good teams tough" or something better than that, but it's been a very encouraging start, and I'd be lying if I said there weren't some memories of our 2006 playoff team kicking back up (although we're a LONG way from that discussion, especially with 'Bash on the schedule this year).  Nobody took us seriously for quite a while that season either, but the formula for each team was somewhat similar, and the momentum seemed to build in similar fashion.

Closing point:

I'm not stupid; nobody has to explain the different "tiers" of Division III competition to me.  I experienced it firsthand in 2006 when we won our first-round playoff game and then got our butts kicked up and down the field the next week by Wesley as their defensive ends ran circles around me (I'm pretty sure they could have counted to two Mississippi  before rushing and still beaten me around the corner for a sack).  So I am WELL aware that there's a long jump from CMU beating Allegheny and Catholic to CMU beating Wabash.  But I do think CMU has the personnel and experience to make it interesting this year.

If they do beat DePauw and make it to the 'Bash game at 4-0, that game will be very telling re: my question about whether we are "really" good this year or just a slight notch better than the last few.

[aueagle]

Good Luck to everyone today....and NO INJURIES!!!!
I liked the up-tempo & intensity of the Bishops last week,
but as everyone has noted, Oberlin is a different test for the Red & Black.
More than a "spark", as WW has stated? We'll see as this new era rolls on...
GO BISHOPS

[smedindy]

As I said earlier (I think), CMU may be the third biggest game on Wabash's schedule and second toughest team. Or something like that.

[Wabash Hokie]

I have a question. When does the Carnegie Melon / Bash game become more than just another game against the UAA. Now? 'Cause they just won again. By a lot. They're gonna beat Depauw next week and show up in Crawfordsville undefeated and with an offense averaging close to 30ppg, a defense giving up a little over 10, and a stud QB (at least on paper; haven't watched him.)

A couple of disjointed thoughts from a 2007 CMU alum:

1) I went into this season expecting this to be the best CMU team since our 2006 playoff run.  The pieces looked to be in place for improvement: an experienced QB, two accomplished RB's, veteran offensive line, and a few playmakers returning on defense.

With that said: we've been distinctly mediocre for the last five seasons, so I didn't have HUGE hopes.  I just thought we'd be better this year, but I wasn't sure whether that would translate into "6-4 with a few competitive losses" or something better.

2) The QB is undersized (5'10") but throws a nice ball & makes good decisions.  He was a four-year starter at a quality HS program in the Pittsburgh area (Gateway) where it's very rare for a freshman to see the field; in truth, if he was 6-foot-2, he probably wouldn't be at CMU.  He's started from day one at CMU, so he's now got over 20 starts under his belt, and that's a big reason for the optimism on my part - we always have strong RB's and a decent OL, but often struggle to throw the ball.

My junior season (2006) produced a pair of 1,000 yard rushers and 1258 passing yards.  We went 11-1.
My senior season (2007) produced a pair of 1,000 yard rushers and 671 passing yards.  We went 7-4.

Our defense and running game was just as good in 2007, but with no passing game at all,we just had trouble putting enough points on the board against quality defenses (our losses came by scores of 27-26, 27-21, 21-10, 20-17 OT - in three of those four losses we had 36 passing yards or fewer).

This year, with a third-year starter at QB and a pair of WR's that have some deep speed, we actually have a passing game that opponents have to respect.  In two of our three wins we've had more passing yardage than rushing yardage - and while that might not seem like front-page news for most programs, it didn't happen once in my four years.  In 43 games!  Not once!

The passing game will never be our calling card, but through the first three games it's been VERY apparent that having WR's with deep speed and a QB that can deliver a few strikes per game has given our offense a whole different look.  Our offensive line didn't play well in the running game against Catholic, but it didn't matter because Kalkstein delivered a few big strikes in the passing game.  In the past, we'd have REALLY struggled to win that game with nothing on the ground; this year we won the game going away because of those deep balls.

3) Our three wins thus far have come against mediocre opposition, true, but nor is it truly awful competition (i.e. Hiram, Kenyon, OWU).  Over the last few seasons we've really beaten up on have-nots and gotten our tails kicked against anyone that finishes .500 or better.  Chicago was the only decent team we beat last year (our second-best win came against...Ohio Wesleyan? Ugh), and we LOST to both Allegheny and Catholic, so even winning those two games is a marked sign of improvement that we're actually winning games against someone better than Hiram.

Again, I'm not sure whether this translates into "We're good enough to go 6-4 and play some good teams tough" or something better than that, but it's been a very encouraging start, and I'd be lying if I said there weren't some memories of our 2006 playoff team kicking back up (although we're a LONG way from that discussion, especially with 'Bash on the schedule this year).  Nobody took us seriously for quite a while that season either, but the formula for each team was somewhat similar, and the momentum seemed to build in similar fashion.

Closing point:

I'm not stupid; nobody has to explain the different "tiers" of Division III competition to me.  I experienced it firsthand in 2006 when we won our first-round playoff game and then got our butts kicked up and down the field the next week by Wesley as their defensive ends ran circles around me (I'm pretty sure they could have counted to two Mississippi  before rushing and still beaten me around the corner for a sack).  So I am WELL aware that there's a long jump from CMU beating Allegheny and Catholic to CMU beating Wabash.  But I do think CMU has the personnel and experience to make it interesting this year.

If they do beat DePauw and make it to the 'Bash game at 4-0, that game will be very telling re: my question about whether we are "really" good this year or just a slight notch better than the last few.

XTP:

Great post.  Hope the seaon continues to progress and we get to see a great game between Wabash and CMU in a few weeks. 

[BashBacker#16]

ExTartanPlayer,

Less the Uncle Rico parts of your post (trying to understand how 2007 and your teams are relevant to this year's CMU team) good info on this year's team.  It should make for a very good homecoming game at Bash where there will be a big crowd.  It could also be ER's 100th win as a head coach which is pretty cool.

Does anyone know the quality of the Denison video stream?  I'm hopeful it is good.  I'm looking forward to seeing an improved Bash team today and anxious to see some of our new playmakers emerge.

Nothing better than GAME DAY!  Wabash Always Fights!

[wally_wabash]

It's a home game for me today, so I'll be following along with the web gang this afternoon.  First, a couple of thoughts about today...

Wabash has a couple of obvious areas to improve.  The penalty thing I think will resolve itself.  I'll go ahead and go under (way under) 15-150 on that stat line today.  The running thing is a tad more sticky I think.  The hope is that through film and practice this week, the LGs have found some things that will significantly improve that area of the game.  However, if they still struggle, I'm not sure how long they keep grinding out 1-2 ypc and looking for a bailout on 3rd and long.  If it isn't working and working early today, it might be time to sling it all over the place.  It's one thing to work on it during a non-league game against Hanover, it's another to sacrifice possessions to it this week.  In the words of Walter Sobchak, "it's a league game, Smoke." 

Re: CMU...I'll port over what I posted on the UAA forum last week here:

I thought I'd give you a chance to crow before I commented.  An impressive win.  Allegheny appears to be the best team in the NCAC not called Wittenberg or Wabash.

We'll see.  They were pretty even with Wooster in week 1.  OWU did some good things on Saturday so they might emerge.  DePauw, if they can get any kind of decent QB play at all, really should occupy that third spot.  In any case, there's a Grand Canyon sized gap between Wabash/Witt and the next tier of teams in the league this year. 

That said, the Gators generally put up stiff resistance when Wabash plays out there, so the Tartan mauling of Allegheny did not go unnoticed here.  I'd not be surprised if CMU is the second best team Wabash plays in the regular season this year.  Ought to be an interesting game in C'ville in a few weeks.  Wittenberg will be on the horizon and preparing for CMU will be out of the ordinary as Wabash hasn't played a wing-t team since OWU more or less abandoned it a few years ago.  Wabash's focus and preparation will be tested that week.

CMU is on my radar for sure.  There's a lot of angles that make that game interesting, not the least of which is that Carnegie Mellon may very well be a pretty good team.  I think we could go back and forth on the semantics of what makes a game "big" or "important" or whatever else.  I think CMU may be the second best team Wabash sees in the regular season.  I also think the CMU game is probably about the 8th most important game on the schedule behind every one of the league games (those are all must-win).  Maybe 9th if you want to place a strong emphasis on regionality (I don't).  I'm sure we'll have a lot to discuss in a couple of weeks with respect to this game, especially if both teams hold serve until 9/29. 

[ExTartanPlayer]

Apologies for the Uncle Rico-ness; I thought the reference was relevant because a) 2006 was the last time CMU would have been good enough to bother Wabash and b) I though the juxtaposition of the stats from those consecutive seasons nicely illustrated a key point about this year's team: namely, that a CMU team with a decent passing game has potential to be more than the mediocre teams of the last few seasons.

Back in 2006, though, I could throw a pigskin a quarter mile.

[wally_wabash]

Kind of a bummer that there is no video on that Wesley/UMHB game.  That's a mammoth game that deserves some eyeballs. 

[bashbrother]

Denison stream looking like it is ready to show a football game... 

[bashbrother]

offense flat

[aueagle]

from Oberlin....Bishops kick 24 yarder....
Tied at 3...1st QT

[bashbrother]

CP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  2 carries 44 yards and a TD

Wabash 7
Denison 0

Start of 2nd