FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[wally_wabash]

Am looking forward to seeing Espinoza go against the Wabash defense. He gets rid of the ball quickly and will be the best QB Wabash has faced all year.

Maybe...TBD.  Florence and Barnes are really excellent players.  Espinosa is not out of the mold that typically gives Wabash fits. 

Their receivers aren't fast but appear to run great routes and Espinoza throws to where the receivers will be. He just picked CM apart.

I watched a decent portion of the fourth quarter.  CMU was getting after Espinosa like he was wearing the red jersey in an intrasquad scrimmage.  Which is to say not at all.  Zero pressure.  1 sack in 65 pass attempts.  That's just not happening next Saturday. 

It is not going to be easy for Wabash to get to him.

On the contrary, it's not going to be easy for Espinosa to get away from Wabash's D.  The time he's used to having simply won't be there.  It happened to Ben Zoeller last year and he spent the afternoon choosing between taking sacks or throwing picks.  Ben Zoeller also had the best two WRs in Wittenberg history to throw to and he couldn't do it. 

So there's the challenge.  Find the blitzer(s) and block him(them). 

[Li'l Giant]

DePauw's barnstorming of our creampuff conference continues...they're now 0-4 in league play.  Final three games are @ Wooster, vs. Denison, @ Wabash.  Hiram may well have some company at 0-7.

I know it's petty but this will never stop being enjoyable to write or read.

[smedindy]

I'm sad that that the Terriers and New Tigers aren't playing this year, but next year, that'll definitely be the Pillow Fight of the Year!

[wally_wabash]

DePauw's barnstorming of our creampuff conference continues...they're now 0-4 in league play.  Final three games are @ Wooster, vs. Denison, @ Wabash.  Hiram may well have some company at 0-7.

I know it's petty but this will never stop being enjoyable to write or read.

23 months ago, DePauw was making their second consecutive playoff appearance.  Today, they are losing at home to Kenyon.  KENYON!  It's been an all-out implosion down there. 

[smedindy]

BTW, OWU may want to be ready for this:

Against Wooster today the Wabash defense had 10 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, 8 pass breakups, 3 QB hurries, a forced fumble and an INT. That's laying the lumber down.

[smedindy]

DePauw's barnstorming of our creampuff conference continues...they're now 0-4 in league play.  Final three games are @ Wooster, vs. Denison, @ Wabash.  Hiram may well have some company at 0-7.

I know it's petty but this will never stop being enjoyable to write or read.

23 months ago, DePauw was making their second consecutive playoff appearance.  Today, they are losing at home to Kenyon.  KENYON!  It's been an all-out implosion down there.

Kenyon was trying to give them the game too! They had four personal fouls (one offsetting) plus a PI in the 4th Q! Who knew they'd be the Lords of Thuggery?

[nike]

Watts and his staff are looking at game film now.  Wabash defense is great, no question, but OWU has gotten better as the year has progressed. Espinoza gets rid of the ball even if it means throwing it away. His receivers run quick routes.
Wabash should win, just don't think it will be by a huge margin.
Will be a good game and great atmosphere. OWU is putting up some great numbers as Wabash is on the ground.
Looked at the Witt-Allegheny score and trying to figure out how you lost to Allegheny, beat Witt in a great game and Witt stomps Allegheny.
Wabash will be favored for sure. But you got to play the game.  Good hot dogs if I remember.  Will there be room on the Wabash side?

[Wabash Hokie]

Am looking forward to seeing Espinoza go against the Wabash defense. He gets rid of the ball quickly and will be the best QB Wabash has faced all year.

Maybe...TBD.  Florence and Barnes are really excellent players.  Espinosa is not out of the mold that typically gives Wabash fits. 

Their receivers aren't fast but appear to run great routes and Espinoza throws to where the receivers will be. He just picked CM apart.

I watched a decent portion of the fourth quarter.  CMU was getting after Espinosa like he was wearing the red jersey in an intrasquad scrimmage.  Which is to say not at all.  Zero pressure.  1 sack in 65 pass attempts.  That's just not happening next Saturday. 

It is not going to be easy for Wabash to get to him.

On the contrary, it's not going to be easy for Espinosa to get away from Wabash's D.  The time he's used to having simply won't be there.  It happened to Ben Zoeller last year and he spent the afternoon choosing between taking sacks or throwing picks.  Ben Zoeller also had the best two WRs in Wittenberg history to throw to and he couldn't do it. 

So there's the challenge.  Find the blitzer(s) and block him(them).

Wally and others - I respectfully disagree with your confidence in Wabash's pass defense.  Allegheny exposed our weakness in defending quick passes (bubble screens and swing passes) into the flats and frustrated our D for much of the game.  We have continued to stuggle to successfully defend that pass this year - even Wash U was able to exploit that part of Wabash's defense.  Luckily, since Allegheny, we have not faced a quarterback that could successfully execute that throw on a consistent basis.  When Wabash blitzes, if OWU completes a quick toss to the outside (swing or bubble), we will be in a world of hurt - there is something about how our DBs rotate that teams seem to pick up and we have problems.  I was not able to watch either game today, so all I can rely on is what I have seen in the Wabash games to date.   I am looking forward to Saturday's game and I sincerely hope that Hammer dials up the right schemes for OWUs passing offense.

[aueagle]

This will be THE game for the new Bishops....the win over CMU was solid,
but now we play an elite program in the LG's. Soft schedule? New Uniforms?
Students are now talking football on campus? High school bands now play at halftime?
What-ever is going on in Delaware...it's more fun when you win. GO BISHOPS

[wally_wabash]

Wally and others - I respectfully disagree with your confidence in Wabash's pass defense.  Allegheny exposed our weakness in defending quick passes (bubble screens and swing passes) into the flats and frustrated our D for much of the game.  We have continued to stuggle to successfully defend that pass this year - even Wash U was able to exploit that part of Wabash's defense.  Luckily, since Allegheny, we have not faced a quarterback that could successfully execute that throw on a consistent basis.  When Wabash blitzes, if OWU completes a quick toss to the outside (swing or bubble), we will be in a world of hurt - there is something about how our DBs rotate that teams seem to pick up and we have problems.  I was not able to watch either game today, so all I can rely on is what I have seen in the Wabash games to date.   I am looking forward to Saturday's game and I sincerely hope that Hammer dials up the right schemes for OWUs passing offense.

Is the Allegheny game representative?  It would seem not.  Given the larger sample size, I think it's fairly apparent that what happened in that game was not representative of what how either Wabash or Allegheny will play. 

[smedindy]

That Allegheny / Wabash game is known in the parlance as an 'outlier'.

[Wabash Hokie]

Wally and others - I respectfully disagree with your confidence in Wabash's pass defense.  Allegheny exposed our weakness in defending quick passes (bubble screens and swing passes) into the flats and frustrated our D for much of the game.  We have continued to stuggle to successfully defend that pass this year - even Wash U was able to exploit that part of Wabash's defense.  Luckily, since Allegheny, we have not faced a quarterback that could successfully execute that throw on a consistent basis.  When Wabash blitzes, if OWU completes a quick toss to the outside (swing or bubble), we will be in a world of hurt - there is something about how our DBs rotate that teams seem to pick up and we have problems.  I was not able to watch either game today, so all I can rely on is what I have seen in the Wabash games to date.   I am looking forward to Saturday's game and I sincerely hope that Hammer dials up the right schemes for OWUs passing offense.

Is the Allegheny game representative?  It would seem not.  Given the larger sample size, I think it's fairly apparent that what happened in that game was not representative of what how either Wabash or Allegheny will play.

While the RESULTS are not representative, the inability of Wabash's defense to adequately defend that type of pass is ever-present, as seen again in the CMU game and the Wash U game;  Wabash is vulnerable to that type of passing game.  Should OWU prove to be proficient in executing those plays, Wabash will be challenged.  Do I think Wabash will win? Yes I do.  I think they will  roll OWU by more than 14 points (if I was to set the line).  While the CMU win was a good one for OWU, the Wabash defense is unlike anything they have seen to date. However, if OWU (like the Miami Dolphins against the 85 Bears) can hit short quick outs against Wabash, they will be hard to stop.

I would say that what was obvious from the Allegheny game was that the game plan was all wrong and Wabash did not adjust in time.  In a previous post, I expressed my opinion that Raeburn missed an opportunity to make a statement play late in the game and to use a phrase commonly found on this board "punted to win". Unlike in the Witt game when we went for a 4th and 1, Wabash declined the opportunity to make a play and suffered for it.

[smedindy]

The punt-to-win sentiment was overruled by the wind effects in that game against Allegheny. That turned all the strategy on its head. They punted on 4th and 1 on their own 38 against the wind. Now, I'd have said go for it most of the time in neutral conditions because of our defense and our o-line. However at that time, had they missed that 4th and 1, the Gators would have gotten the ball with a favorable wind and not needing many yards to get a FG attempt.

Wooster was throwing everything short Saturday and got clobbered. They averaged just 3.8 yards per attempt and rarely tried to stretch the field.

[Li'l Giant]

I was unable to watch the game against Wooster yesterday and anxiously await watching it on the Wabash youtube page. However, I wanted to say that I was very sad to learn that CP Porter was so seriously injured. Having had similar injuries and surgeries on both hips I know what kind of rehab road is ahead of him. I wish CP the best and hope he can make his way back to the field next year. WAF.

[wally_wabash]

While the RESULTS are not representative, the inability of Wabash's defense to adequately defend that type of pass is ever-present, as seen again in the CMU game and the Wash U game;  Wabash is vulnerable to that type of passing game.  Should OWU prove to be proficient in executing those plays, Wabash will be challenged.  Do I think Wabash will win? Yes I do.  I think they will  roll OWU by more than 14 points (if I was to set the line).  While the CMU win was a good one for OWU, the Wabash defense is unlike anything they have seen to date. However, if OWU (like the Miami Dolphins against the 85 Bears) can hit short quick outs against Wabash, they will be hard to stop.

I would say that what was obvious from the Allegheny game was that the game plan was all wrong and Wabash did not adjust in time.  In a previous post, I expressed my opinion that Raeburn missed an opportunity to make a statement play late in the game and to use a phrase commonly found on this board "punted to win". Unlike in the Witt game when we went for a 4th and 1, Wabash declined the opportunity to make a play and suffered for it.

CMU lost by 26 and WashU lost by 20.  WashU also sustained exactly one drive in the game against Wabash, and punted on 9 of 13 possessions.  I don't really see where this idea that Wabash is getting run up and down the field by everybody who runs a screen pass comes from.  It just isn't happening. 

Buresh scored a TD after an INT on a screen pass yesterday.  Wabash clearly isn't completely inept defending that play.