FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[wabco]

Vince ... thanks for the head up on Allegheny streamline.  I believe "YOU CAN DO IT!!" AGAINST wITT.

[Li'l Giant]

Yeah, Vince, this is a tough, tough, year for Gheny.

I liked the Gheny announcers. They are not homers. They give credit where it's due. It was not so bad not having the Wabash stream because these guys were good announcers.

[witt4ever]

"Holmes makes a huge difference to Witt!  Completely different team. "

Holmes is out for the rest of the season. He was injured in the 2nd qtr of the Wabash game.

His collarbone was broke again in the Wabash game but continued to play the 2nd half with the injury. That explains alot about the 2nd half performance of Wittenberg.

Geron Stokes started today against  OWU and threw for 3 TDs.

So really it comes down to defense for Wittenberg. If they get  back where they were in the '90's , they will be fine no matter who the quarterback is.

[BashBacker#16]

Witt4ever - sorry about that - that says a lot about Holmes' toughness.  Do you know if his hip was also hurt?  He was gimpy the entire 2nd half.  I wonder if it was the hit from Gardiner - it was on the Wabash website.  Sorry to hear that, great heart and great competitor.

Coach Creighton interview right now...post game.

[BashFan74]

BB -- you still listening?  What did CC have to say?

[BashBacker#16]

Really good interview...to summarize...

- We did not play to our potential today and because of that we did not have any fun
- our guys were flat today at the half (locker room) and looked like they did not play with as much emotion as they have had in previous games
- Denison is a very good football team that can beat us if we do not play our game
- He predicts our guys will remain focused on Denison and will not look ahead to DPU.  He maintained the goal is not complete yet and Denison is a huge piece of it.
- I think he did a good job of expressing his dissatisfaction but not beating down on the team.  The "fun" comment sums up a lot.
- He praised Gheny (a lot) and said they are a very good football team and credited their staff for maintaining their focus and effort.  He said if he is ever in that position that he hoped he could do an equal job.

All in all, good interview.  Bring on Denison...

[frank uible]

jdean: Although McKinley has Marion Motley, Massillon has Paul Brown - which means, in my judgment, Massillon has the better tradition. PB trumps everything in terms of tradition. The rest is merely recent history and current events.

[smedindy]

Actually, Vaughan missed the second XP. Not Finley. So back off of Chad a bit, OK? Still the kickers need help.

[jdean]

Frank:
Recent history 38, Massillon 8.

[wally_wabash]

NCAC scores:

Wabash 27
Allegheny 21

OWU 9
Witt 31

Oberlin 26
Denison 32

Hiram 17
Wooster 59

Kenyon and Earlham are apparently keeping their game a secret...which stinks because if Earlham wins, Wabash will have clinched the AQ.  Ergo, this score is pretty important. 

[Jammin]

Wabash can't hit an extra point if the season depends on it, but the Little Giants always seem able to count on Adrian Pynenberg (15 tackles! and a key sack), Aaron Selby (another game-clinching knock down), and Harbaugh (ho, hum 309 yards -- nuther day at the office). I figured Gheny would be game in the Swamp, even on a sunny day. The NCAC is pretty balanced folks, which is why for two weeks in a row I've wondered how Wabash could be +20 in the pick ems.

Hat's off to Eric Summers, who is having the kind of season you'd hope for a four-year starting senior. And Harbaugh seriously needs some --  dare I say -- All-Am recognition. Over 2,000 yards, 22 TDs, and only 3 Ints for an 8-0 team? Pretty sick numbers!

[jdean]

Kenyon.edu says they beat Earlham by 3 in OT.

[Li'l Giant]

Jammin,

Las Vegas lines aren't set based on the actual relative strength of the teams and I don't think Wally's are either. His spreads usually get pretty even bets.

Oh, and welcome aboard; it's good to see you here.

[Jammin]

Thanks, Li'l Giant.  Been lurking for years.

I know the spreads are whacked; just can't imagine picking Gheny or Witt over Wabash, but what else do you do when it's Wabash +20.5?

DePauw holds off Centre, so it would appear they'll come into the Bell 7-1. I caught part of the game on radio and Centre, now 6-3, dominated statistically, but couldn't overcome the three interceptions. At one point -- and this was hysterical -- a call apparently went against DePauw. The DPU radio commentator shouts: "What the hell is going on here? That's two bad calls in a row!"

Meanwhile: I loved Coach Creighton's post-game radio comments -- "It wasn't fun today." I suspect he'll have the Little Giants whipped into a frenzy for Denison -- Senior Day with a solid roster full of three- and four-year starters/contributors. Anybody remember Senior Day a couple of years ago? Yikes! Let's just hope Koeneman doesn't run any pass routes late.

Hoping for a huge crowd at Hollett to get the team ready for Bell. I suspect these last two games (Wittenberg, Allegheny) have made Wabash stronger in every way.

[wally_wabash]

I needed to bump up the spreads a little bit in order to make this thing a little more challenging...plus, the way Wabash had been clobbering everybody up until the Witt game, Wabash winning by 20-ish points wasn't that crazy.  Witt and Gheny were both very game for the contests and made them a little closer than they probably should have been. 

I think today's game was close almost entirely because of the INT Russ threw.  Wabash went from going in to take a 3-score lead to being in a dogfight in the span of three plays.  I have to think Wabash was going to cruise had they scored there. 

Fortunately, I don't think we can expect a repeat of Senior Day '03.  Denison sure as heck isn't Hiram...they'll be competitive this Saturday.