FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[cave2bens]

North Central gets their second loss as well... might be quite a few teams in the 2 loss category by next Sunday.

[wally_wabash]

If Wally is right and Wabash can sneak in there's little doubt Wabash would be on the road the entire time.

Yeah, there won't be any home games happening.  Not unless some equally bizarre things happen in the first round or two of the tournament. 

North Central gets their second loss as well... might be quite a few teams in the 2 loss category by next Sunday.

I'm trying to sort through the CCIW stuff in my head.  At first I was thinking that it isn't good for Wabash if North Central loses that league's bid.  But now I just don't know.  Because Elmhurst still has just the one loss and would be certain to be ahead of Wabash if they finish that way and don't get an AQ.  If Elmhurst gets beat, that sends Wheaton as the AQ which leaves NCC and Elmhurst as two loss teams.  I think Wabash would be ahead of Elmhurst in the rankings.  I don't know about NCC...that's the thing.  Wabash looks better per the criteria and SHOULD be ahead of NCC, but that didn't happen last week.  It probably won't happen this week either even though it should.  Plus, with Wheaton now getting that big win today, they only have two losses and are now in the mix as well.  The North region just got all kinds of messy and I'm not totally sure how to sort it out just yet.  I am working on it though...need to dig into the math a little bit more here and see what's what. 

[smedindy]

There are a lot of messes everywhere. The East is a bit messy thanks to the cancellations that cancelled key games for Rowan and Widener.

[sigma one]

As always, I appreciate Wally's analysis.  Always good to keep hope alive.  I'm going to be heretical though.  Despite those big victories over Wittenberg and Ohio Wesleyan, I am not sure whether Wabash belongs in the playoffs this year.  If they are selected because of some weird constellation of factors, good for them.  If not, we shouldn't shed too many tears.  It will be painful to watch one, maybe two, teams, you have beaten on their own fields go on. But losing to two  + or - .500 teams on your own plastic turf is no receipe for having a significant season.  Maybe it's just that I've developed high standards. 
     So, congratulations to a fine Oberlin team on a game well managed, well played, and played with purpose.  It appeared that from the beginning they believed they could stay with Wabash.  And they did, and more, despite Wabash's scoring on their first possession.
    For the Little Giants, now the season's success (most probably) depends on next week, and even more so than in recent years.  The seniors can accomplish a rare 4-peat.  After the disappointment of senior day, they must go after that, and so should the underclassmen who have played with them.  Then let the chips fall.
    Welcome back ScotLass.  good to hear from you again. 

[nike]

Wabash had a lot of offense numbers wise today. Was it just problems in the red zone like OWU had last week?  Also noticed that Belton had decent passing numbers but only 7 carries. Holmes is even better when defenses have to worry about Belton's running. The option reads that have been so effective in prior games.  Were there any of those today or just straight handoffs to Holmes?
Was Oberlin that good on defense or was it as simple as has been suggested--that Wabash just was not ready to play an agressive and inspired game today?
Is Witt a lock now to go to the dance? 
Come on Oberlin. Two in a row!

[wabndy]

With one game left to go in the season I really think it can be said that the overall quality of the NCAC has taken a very positive step this year. Will be interesting to see if this carries over to full round robin next year.

Credit really goes to Oberlin. I'm sure they watched the OWU result and saw that grinding it out against Wabash was not going to work. It almost looked like Wabash just expected the 45ish yeomen to just tire out and quit by the third quarter. A few big plays (that double pass for a TD was a thing of beauty) and that was it. I kept saying, isn't this the team that scored three gutsy touchdowns in the 4th quarter against north central? Clearly, the answer is no. If the team that played today takes the field next week, I will not be surprised to see the monon bell making a drive down 231 late Saturday afternoon.

[ohiofan1954]

wow , interesting reading all the comments here. After watching Wabash last week I would have never thought it possible. I was originally going to see the kenyon-wooster game today and I am kicking myself that I chose another game instead of what seems to have been a very exciting game. Second straight year I have done that the first week in November.

[The_Bishop]

Been on my back for the past couple of days sicker than a dog.  Mother-in-law in town breaks her ankle in 2 places yesterday in my son's room and has to go to the ER.  Foggy from all the meds I've been on.  Just perused the NCAC board.  Where am I?  What is going on?

Seriously.  Seriously?

[bashbrother]

Really, is anybody going to help me out here? Why would you mess with a defense that just shutout OWU and Wooster not to mention was one of the best if not the best defense in the confrence.

The entire team was off...  but Oberlin took a bunch of notes from the OWU game...   they caught us in "Cover 2" with the swing pass and took it to the house... (the play OWU ran like 40 times - until we started playing cover 4) ....   the half-back pass... capitalized on our aggressiveness and being short passed to death (Actually a brilliant play against our defense that was set-up by CMU and OWU)

The crazy every defensive lineman standing scheme didn't seem to do much...  We also played some press man (it seemed like) today etc.   They exploited the seams well.... and made sure the ball was out quickly. (negated our ability to get pressure on Mandell)  It was the perfect storm against an anemic offense.   Speaking of the offense.... "0" zone reads today, (as far as I could see)  As Bashdad mentioned,  it seemed they were trying to protect Chase and keep him healthy for Bell & playoffs... coaching miscalculation.  With hard crashing ends like Eaton, you would have thought that play would have been effective.    Chase is a much better QB (winner) when you put him in the game and get his adrenaline going....  He switches on the magic.

Anyway, it is over now... on to Bell.  Depauw to Hell... We Keep the Bell.

[smedindy]

Holmes was hurt and was being worked on quite a bit by the trainers, Mash.

Witjes is one of the best offensive players in the conference and Mandel is a good QB that had a great day. Their defense is also much better than one would say. One wonders what they could do if they had a full-sized roster.

[nike]

Sounds like the offense played like they played against Allegheny. Was Wabash out coached or players just did not play well or a combination of both?

[smedindy]

There were some questionable coaching calls but the execution in crucial situations was poor and the team made a lot of mistakes. Bad snaps and penalties...killers.

[Li'l Giant]

Maybe we should wear the road unis this week. 

[DagarmanSpartan]

This may be the biggest win in Oberlin's history as a Division III member, and is easily the upset of the year.

My own CWRU Spartans will now have to look at our win over Oberlin as one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing season.

With the loss of most of our defense and our starting QB...............I'm now legitimately worried that our nearly three decade long win streak against the Yeoman could come to an end next year.

Great job Obies!

[aueagle]

Wake-up call for the LG's...
Separation between OWU and Top Tier is still there...
NOT playing Witt hurts Bishops (in Springfield Nov 2, 2013)...
Hope you feel better The_Bishop...Flu shot..mom-in-law stays at hotel, beer, it all works for me!!!!
I've had a down season, but with ScotLass back, I've got my game back....
GO BISHOPS