FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[BashBacker#16]

GoBash83,

I would email Tom Runge - I would bet there is for sure... 

BB16

[ExTartanPlayer]

I cannot wait to see the result of the Wabash/Wooster game - it will be interesting to see the Barnes vs. Wabash D.  I think one of the biggest strengths of our D is SPEED.  They can flat out fly and I really feel that is going to provide a lot of trouble for the Scots.  At the start of the season, who would have thought Houston Hodges wouldn't need to be used on the D side of the ball???  That is crazy.  Welcome Mr. Delon Pettiford!    

A couple of randoms:

- even though Allegheny is really struggling this year, I am a little surprised that Mason Zurek isn't getting more pub from the board and in general.  He looked great last week and I hope he continues stepping up each week.  I love the compliment of Stella and CP too.

- there is always discussion on this board about struggling programs, about programs trying to get things turned around, yadda yadda...  Being a Wabash guy, we really are pretty spoiled with the success we have had going back quite a ways.  I remember Coach Creighton going 7-3 (cough cough, someone was a Soph QB on that team) and it was as if we had a brutal, nightmarish year!  Since Coach Raeburn has been here, he's elevated the program even higher to where we have a year last year - go 8-2 and we're all miserable.  How about ER's record at Bash at 50-9!!  We are spoiled but I love it.

WAF

Re: Zurek, I think there's a bit of a "wait and see" element in the wake of Holmes' loss to injury, before overreacting and declaring Zurek the new Holmes (almost as a sign of respect to Holmes, if that makes any sense).  He has certainly posted quality numbers thus far.  And that Pettiford kid must be a heck of a stud.

Good points about the Wabash program.  My college program is not quite that strong, but my high school is; it is very easy to get spoiled by that level of success and forget that for every team who's that far on the winning side, there has to be an equal distribution of losses somewhere!  It is quite amazing to see a 50-9 coaching record.  May the success continue!

Another thing that impresses me about the collective of Wabash fans is that, as much as you guys want to win, you also want to see the rest of the league genuinely competitive.  You recognize that everyone beating a hopeless Hiram/Kenyon/Oberlin team by 50 is not good for the league, but having competitive teams that all can hit back, win a couple games, and maybe make even the good teams work hard for a quarter or two is good for the league as a whole.

[nike]

Barnes, Lane Named to D3football.com "Team of the Week"
Nice!

[Schwami]

Bashbro,

Not exactly a Denison poster, but Schwami will be at Deeds-Piper Saturday for Denison vs. DePauw --- will be interesting to see how both of these teams are coming along 

[sigma one]

What do we know, and what will we learn this weekend as the season reaches half way for some teams?  Allegheny/OWU:  seems like a no-brainer with Allegheny's troubles and the Bishops coming off an OT loss.  We know that 'Gheny is hurting, how far the slide?  OWU:   We know that they can't afford to lose another conference game, with both Wab and Wit still to come--the LGs next week.
     Kenyon/Oberlin:  Are the Lords the team that Earlham saw or the one that swamped Allegheny--which does not seem so shocking now?  At mid-season, is the Yoemen's thin roster beginning to have an affect?  They already got CWR; can they get Kenyon?
     Denison/DePauw:  the new tigers need a win.  They've lost by two and three points.  What is Denison's mood coming off the big upset of OWU?
     Hiram/Wittenberg:  yes, Hiram's better.  Anyone noticed they played with Blake at QB last week (20/35, 357 yards, 2TDs, 2INTs); once again no Partridge.  This week, should not matter.  Witt, two straight shutouts and going for three. 
     Wabash/Wooster:  BashBacker #16 has me for Lou Holtz, and I plead guilty--sort of.  To me, this is the league's best game this week.  (Denison/DePauw is interesting as well, if only to see what happens when DPU so badly needs a win and Denison is pumped up--or are they).  Three yrs. v. Wabash, Barnes:  0 TDs, 5 INTs.  Not many rushing yards.  Here's the Holtz part:  this year, his senior redemption?  No, I can't see them beating the Red.  I can see a ballgame, but willing to eat crow (again).
     

     
     

[BashBacker#16]

SigmaLou,

That's a fair post, I'll give you that one! 

I'm jacked for Saturday!

Wabash Always Fights!

[HCAlum86]

Can any Wabash posters tell me where a good place to stay overnight is within an hour of campus? Maybe even a casino for the wife?

[wabashcpa]

Hoosier Park in Anderson or Indiana Live in Shelbyville would be your closest casino options, with hotels closeby.  Both roughly an hour to 1:15 away from Crawfordsville.

[HCAlum86]

Hoosier Park in Anderson or Indiana Live in Shelbyville would be your closest casino options, with hotels closeby.  Both roughly an hour to 1:15 away from Crawfordsville.

Thank you very much! Chances are we will turn this into a trip to Butler on Friday, arrive late Friday night, then head to the game Saturday.

Would it be too much to get some inside information on some great cuisine on my way to campus?

[BashBacker#16]

HCalum86,

Where are you wanting to eat?  Indy?  Somewhere on the way from Indy to Crawfordsville?  Or in C-ville?

[BashBacker#16]

Btw:  no way is the MIAA nor the UAA better than the NCAC.  Even with a weak lower half, I would think Wabash/Witt would carry a lot more weight.  They would bury any of those teams in both conferences.  I don't have any secret formulas but that's my opinion.  When was the last time a team from the UAA or MIAA made any sort of run in the playoffs?

[Mr. Ypsi]

Btw:  no way is the MIAA nor the UAA better than the NCAC.  Even with a weak lower half, I would think Wabash/Witt would carry a lot more weight.  They would bury any of those teams in both conferences.  I don't have any secret formulas but that's my opinion.  When was the last time a team from the UAA or MIAA made any sort of run in the playoffs?

No big runs in a while, but Trine won a playoff game in both 2009 and 2010.  Albion had the ultimate run in 1994, winning the Stagg.

ATN re-ranked the conferences just today, with UAA #14, MIAA #18, and NCAC #20.

[ExTartanPlayer]

Btw:  no way is the MIAA nor the UAA better than the NCAC.  Even with a weak lower half, I would think Wabash/Witt would carry a lot more weight.  They would bury any of those teams in both conferences.  I don't have any secret formulas but that's my opinion.  When was the last time a team from the UAA or MIAA made any sort of run in the playoffs?

The UAA is kinda hard to place with only four teams. I understand your point that the top two teams in the NCAC would bury all four UAA teams but based on the last several seasons, all four UAA teams would beat the bottom half of the NCAC (although this year's Oberlin-Case result puts a dent in that argument). I know I am a bit of a homer for my conference (and I agree with you that the NCAC ranked 20th seems low with how good their top two teams are) but I do think the weakness of the league's lesser lights has to count for something.  You made a comment earlier about how, as a Bash guy, you've become a bit spoiled - in the same vein, your status as a Bash fan may have distorted your perspective of the NCAC-UAA matchups because you remember Bash generally beating the UAA teams they played.  Look how badly the UAA dominated NCAC teams outside of Wabash/Witt from 2008-2012 (I know it's meant to be a current ranking, but bear with me).  I know it's a personal preference and that's fine - the way I see it, I think the UAA gets credit for having four "decent" teams and no total lightweights (yes, I know Case got decked by Oberlin this year) while the NCAC's bottom half counteracts how good the top 2 teams are.  That might be changing based in what we've seen from Hiram and Kenyon this year, but it seems like 4 weeks hasn't been enough to undo four years of really atrocious play at the bottom of the NCAC.

Besides, it's all in fun

*Edit: I typed the above on my phone last night, now I'm at a computer.  After reviewing the conference rankings, the NCAC does look a little low to me.  Everyone has a bias towards the conference they're most familiar with, of course, but the ODAC seems ranked much higher than I'd expect (sure, the league is competitive and deep, but nobody's won a playoff game since 2005! that has to count for something!), as does the USAC (no playoff wins in five years; Christopher Newport has notched a few nice wins this year, though, and the addition of Huntingdon probably boosts this ranking), and I would probably have had the NCAC above both the PAC and MIAA (the MIAA has had a nice OOC season this year, sure, but we still don't have any evidence that their top teams match up with other conference's top teams).  I'm leaving the UAA out for a moment because I just can't figure how to compare a four-team conference to 8-10 team conferences.

[wally_wabash]

- even though Allegheny is really struggling this year, I am a little surprised that Mason Zurek isn't getting more pub from the board and in general.  He looked great last week and I hope he continues stepping up each week.  I love the compliment of Stella and CP too.

Fair point.  Mason had a great game on Saturday and is really stepping up.  I hope we get to see more and more CP as we go along here.  He's looked fantastic...fast, decisive.  Looks a lot like last year's CP as far as I can tell.  You know ER is going to run 45 times tomorrow so there are plenty of touches for everybody. 

[jknezek]

Everyone has a bias towards the conference they're most familiar with, of course, but the ODAC seems ranked much higher than I'd expect (sure, the league is competitive and deep, but nobody's won a playoff game since 2005! that has to count for something!), as does the USAC (no playoff wins in five years; Christopher Newport has notched a few nice wins this year, though, and the addition of Huntingdon

I think there are so many conferences from 8 through 20 or so that are just "u-pick" where you want to put them. The ODAC went 17-7 non conference this year, without having a losing record against any of the 7 conferences they faced. That's a pretty big sample size and, while I've been pretty critical about the ODAC's non-conf over on that board, with the exception of 2 games (Guilford losing to Methodist and Averett), the ODAC took care of business.

As for the ODAC not winning playoff games, it's gotten pretty sad. But when you are consistently a 6, 7, or 8 seed, it is tough sledding up hill. Since the end of Bridgewater's run, the ODAC has had only 2 home playoff games, so those teams haven't really been expected to win. Part of the reason they have such miserable seeding? The conference from top to almost bottom is extremely competitive. This year, six of the eight teams have a legitimate shot at winning the conference. It wouldn't surprise me to see a 5-2 in-conference champion shared a couple ways, with yet another 7 or 8 seed going somewhere unpleasant.

Being in a conference with an A, A-, and a whole bunch of C and D teams sure would make it easier to get those home playoff games, but it wouldn't be anywhere near as interesting a conference season.

Next year Wabash will get a chance to match up against H-SC. I'm looking forward to it, though if I were handicapping that game this year I'd call Wabash a 10 point favorite on the road and 14 at home.