FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[Pat Coleman]

Tired. More later.
Not as many people as I thought might be there.  Never really sensed any excitement about the game from OWU fans. Just another game.
Got to mix in the run, no matter what.  Am sure a few good running backs will be at OWU next year. Never seen that many passes or yards with no points.  Ever. Never seen that many passes, period.
You Wabash guys know your stuff. Half time adjustments and not much time to go deep for Espinosa. But they really didn't look deep much at all.
Holmes is very good, but Belton the straw that stirs the drink.
Wrapped up POY that he should have gotten last year.  The first two TD passes were absolutely perfectly thrown. And his play action kept OWU defenders chasing and tackling him when Holmes was already past the line of scrimmage with the ball.
At the game you simply cannot put your head down or look away. No jumbotron instant replay. Do any d3 fields have replay scoreboards.
Pat Coleman, you called it!

Thanks.

There are a bunch of videoboards in D-III. Not sure which ones have replay capabilities but I know UW-Platteville, UW-Whitewater and St. Thomas do because I've seen them this year.

[smedindy]

Witt now up 38-20 on Denison with eight minutes to go. Denison has 34 minutes of possession compared to 18 for Witt. Matters not.

Final 45-27 Wittenberg.

[cave2bens]

And yet again, Wally's spreads have allowed me to take it in the shorts.  On second thought, at this age, any shot in the shorts isn't necessarily bad... 

[wally_wabash]

Some thoughts on Wabash/OWU...

I was thoroughly impressed with the Bishop defense today, which wasn't unexpected.  We've been saying it for years in here; OWU more often than not  has one of the best defenses in the league.  Today was not different, especially in the first half.  Wabash had a very difficult time stringing together first downs in the first half and the two forced turnovers helped a lot there.  The INT by Sheetz was restaurant quality.  The defensive front harassed Belton most of the day and sacked him five times.  It was a good showing by OWU's defense.  There is the matter of the big plays...obviously, Wabash saw something in the first half that they could try to exploit and did.  And after the two big bombs, OWU's defense seemed to deflate a bit which led to Holmes breaking loose for some big gainers in the second half. 

I was also thoroughly impressed with the pace of OWU's offense.  That's not exactly the tempo that I've seen them run with when I've watched them this year, but on a couple of occasions (at least) they caught Wabash before Wabash's DL could get their hands in the dirt.  It was lightning fast and through that first half I was developing concern that the pace would really grind down Wabash's defense.  But then something weird happened...I think that tempo caught up to OWU's offense before it caught up to Wabash's defense.  Espinosa felt a lot more heat in that second half as Wabash's interior linemen were starting to blow up the pocket over and over.  It looked, to me anyway, like OWU outpaced themselves a bit. 

There was also the matter of balance and how that affects the red zone.  We identified this as a potential obstacle for OWU and it was today.  On the first possession they got all way down inside the 1 and were turned away.  When you're so pass heavy and always out of the shotgun or pistol or whatever firearm is trendy, it can be tough to get that half yard on the goal line.  Later in the game, OWU brought in a whole huge jumbo package on a 3rd and short...where was that on the 4th and G?  Maybe they didn't want Wabash to match the substitutions, but if you need half a yard and have a jumbo package to get it on the 40 yard line, why not use it at the goal line?  OWU's two other red zone opportunities resulted in an INT on a tipped pass (happens when the field gets congested) and blocked field goal attempt. 

For Wabash, you have to start by raving about the defense.  The defense got punched in the mouth a bit on the first drive, but they only got better and better as the game went along (partly due to my belief that OWU tired as the game got into the second half noted above).  But that defense bowed up on the goal line when they had to.  They got OWU stopped on the other trips deep into LG territory and got the shutout.  We can talk offense all we want (we will in a second), but if your defense allows zero points, you're probably going to win. 

Zero points in a half isn't common for a Wabash offense, but it happened in the first half today.  I thought OWU's defense had an awful lot to do with that.  Wabash had a couple of penalties that didn't help, field position was a problem, two turnovers on good drives hurt as well.  There had to be a hole somewhere though and Wabash found it in the second half with the deep ball.  Great throws by Belton on those plays, great protection to let those plays happen, and great speed by Houston and Hildebrand to get behind the secondary in such a hurry.  With the defense loosened up, Holmes got going in earnest and wound up with a career high day and may have pushed himself to the top of the rushing leaderboard in the league.  BashDad floated the idea of Holmes as an OPOY this year and it definitely merits conversation.  Holmes has been outstanding for six straight weeks now.

In all this was a great win for Wabash against a really good team.  Now there are two home games left for Wabash to finish out this regular season.  Two wins to go to get another conference championship and two wins to go to get back into the postseason tournament (yes bashbro, it's very difficult to see 9-1 Wabash NOT getting in one way or the other). 

[nike]

Agree with all you have said, except for talk about Holmes as POY. It may merit consideration, but as you said in your analysis, it was the long TD passes that loosened up OWU's defense, along with good half time adjustments.
Both are Wabash players, but do not think POY is close at this point.
Belton is a tremendous leader and QB and deserves POY hands down. And not based on his stellar career at Wabash, but I am saying that because if what he has done for you this year. Seems like he has been your QB forever.
BTW,  Holmes is a big kid. No wonder he runs over so many people. He is much bigger than I imagined.

[sigma one]

Quite a contest today.  I wrote earlier in the week that if OWU trailed in the 2nd half the Wabash record for passes and completions by an opponent might be in jeopardy.  The record for passes in a game still stands:76.  But one QB threw 72 of those passes.  Espinosa threw 75X today.  The old completion record was 39 by Spud Dick of DePauw.  Espinosa completed 52 passes today!  That 52 might stand for a while, or until OWU comes to Wabash next year. 
     But no points.  Wabash confines (f that's the word for  over 400 yds.) the passing game largely to the center of the field.  After a 13 play opening drive and a failed one-yard run, OWU reaches the OWU 47 (punt), W 24 (missed field goal, good distance wide right), W 19 (interception), W 48 (punt), OWU 27 (punt), OWU 43 (punt), OWU 44 (end of half. 
     Second half:  to the W 13 (blocked FG), OWU 28 (punt), W 39 (punt on 4th and 4--a decision that could be debated, but OK), W 45 (punt), W 40 (sack on 4th down), W 45 (interception, on 1st down after a good KO return), OWU (43, end of game).
     One possession inside the red zone in the first half after the initial drive, and a missed FG from just outside.  One possession into the red zone--the first possession of the half--in the 2nd half;  blocked FG.  After that nothing inside the W 40. 
     Others have commented on the red zone woes of the Bishops.  But to see that many passing yards was 1. amazing 2. confounding 3. perhaps the biggest frustration Bishop coaches and players could imagine.
     Kudos to Ohio Wesleyan on a well-played game.  Kudos to Wabash for remembering how to win in the second half.  Not North Central, but impressive nonetheless.     

[BayernFan]

How do NCAC tiebreakers work?

Does wabash have the head to head tiebreaker over Witt and OWU?

What about vs Kenyon?

[Wabash Hokie]

In the event of a Kenyon/Wabash/Witt 6-1 tie at the top...

Here are the tiebreaks again, as published in 2010:
1- H2H
2- Results vs. other NCAC opponents in descending order (I believe this has to be amongst common opponents)
3- Fewest conference away losses
4- Highest preseason power ranking
5- Team with the longest conference winning streak

1- H2H is inconclusive since Wabash and Witt did not play Kenyon
2- There is but one common opponent that provides clarity: Allegheny.  Witt and Kenyon beat Allegheny, Wabash did not.  Wabash is eliminated.  We go to a Witt/Kenyon tiebreak.

1- No H2H result.
2- Results against all other common opponents are equal.  We go on.
3- Wittenberg has zero conference away losses.  Kenyon has one (at OWU).  Witt wins the AQ. 

If the aim is to get as many NCAC teams in as possible, this is the best scenario (OWU finishing 9-1 would be even better) because Wabash looks good in Pool C right now.  Witt and OWU are getting help (thank you to Trinity for beating Millsaps), but the lack of wins against RROs will hurt.  Will have to see where they wind up with SOS as well...we know it won't be favorable against some strong 2-loss teams that are out there. 

And this isn't Earlham's fault anymore.  The league was using these wildly unbalanced schedules before Earlham left.  The last two years worth of scheduling with the non-league games against league teams was a byproduct of Earlham's sudden departure.  This year's schedule is built as it would have been before they left.

Here you go BayernFan - Wally has provided a detailed assessment based on the known (at least previously published) NCAC tiebreaker model.

[Wabash Hokie]

I may get lost in the four way tie, though. H2H has to be common vs. everyone so OWU and Kenyon missing games with Wabash and Witt screws that up.

Common opponents would be Allegheny again, which knocks out Wabash. So it's Kenyon, Witt and OWU then.

No H2H thanks to both missing Witt.
Common opponents would be Allegheny.
Kenyon with one away loss. Out.

Witt vs. OWU.
No H2H
Common opponents even, both lost to Wabash.
Both lost to Wabash, at home, no road losses.
Power ranking would go to Witt, right?

BayernFan - should OWU win out and tie for Conference championship, here is Wally's breakdown.  Looks like Witt is in the driver's seat in that scenario.

[Li'l Giant]

Quick question for the OWU folks: Does OWU archive the game broadcasts somewhere or put them on YouTube? I wasn't able to watch the game yesterday and was hoping they archived.

[BashDad]

You can see OWU's highlights (ish) here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xya5Yhn9n6E&feature=plcp

It's worth a look for Wabash fans, if nothing else for the odd tone of the thing. It's like a eulogy.

"Goodnight, screen pass. Goodbye, crossing route. Goodnight, dump off." Just mutter that to yourself over and over as you watch it. It's funny.

[Li'l Giant]

Gracias, BashDad. By the way, your 28 point margin of victory prediction turned out to be correct even if the final score was off a bit.

Quick edit:

I love the use of the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack. OWU has a lot to play for still. Not sure why they would use these highlights to wax elegiac.

[cave2bens]

You can see OWU's highlights (ish) here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xya5Yhn9n6E&feature=plcp

Thanks for posting the link, Sir!  Laughing so hard I may have to include a box of Depends on the Sunday shopping list.     You're right Li'l Giant, and appreciate your recall where that reel was used.

[Li'l Giant]

You can see OWU's highlights (ish) here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xya5Yhn9n6E&feature=plcp

Thanks for posting the link, Sir!  Laughing so hard I may have to include a box of Depends on the Sunday shopping list.     You're right Li'l Giant, and appreciate your recall where that reel was used.

You can take my analysis with an enormous grain of salt because I'm not an award winning filmmaker like some folks on this board (nuttin' but love BashDad). But when I view that clip I don't see anything resembling "highlights" or even any kind of representation of the narrative of the game.

Honestly, I'm not trying to make fun of the clip. It was clearly well made. And I can totally understand why on their highlight reel on their YouTube channel they can present the highlights however they wish and why they wouldn't want to highlight the Wabash scoring. Or even show the score.

But, is the point of the highlights to give someone an even semi-accurate idea of how the game progressed? Because if it is, I don't get that from those highlights. I don't even get that there is an outcome. To me this looks like the Wabash/OWU football game is going to continue forever, in some never-ending battle of forces where there are only small temporal outcomes but not a permanent one. Kind of like Roadrunner/Coyote cartoons.

[ohiofan1954]

had a chance yesterday to catch the games at owu and denison. Wabash sure looks good and Wittenberg looks to sloppy for this late in the season. Great to see how far Ohio Wesleyan has come but come on you have to learn to run a little bit. Dink and dunk will only go so far as it did yesterday. Everyone where I was sitting also had a pretty good idea that Wabash would go deep on the last play of the third quarter, it was their last play with the wind. You would think one of the coaches might have thought the same thing. Too be fair though Wabash looks good. This was my first chance to see them this year and I am looking forward to a possible rematch with the machine in the playoffs. I posted some pics from the game including the game winning catch on the d3 facebook page. Good luck to all the top 4 the rest of the way.