FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[bashbrother]

I am beginning to think that even I,  at my Beer weight of 240 (ish) lbs and the age of 44,  could run for at least 50 yards behind Wabash's offensive line.....hats off to them.    Klembara was awesome!

(15-20 carries...  If I got to the second level on any of the carries, I would have to stop and live to play another down.   )

[cave2bens]

Heck of a comeback by DePauw - Sansone for 200 yds on ground and 55 more on catches?  Great win and bloody good to see!

Great game in C'ville and coming out party for Klembara - just hope BashDad's projection come Witt week is off.

At my "beer weight" and the age of 61, I couldn't keep up with the o-line, much less find a hole...   

[bashbrother]

At my "beer weight" and the age of 61, I couldn't keep up with the o-line, much less find a hole... 

Classic!  Cheers!

[The_Bishop]

Congrats to DePauw today on a nice win over the Bishops.  DePauw was right there last year but 5 TO's pretty much did them in.

Can't put my finger on why OWU regressed the way they have this year.  Defense seems to really have lost its identity and maybe the outgoing seniors were satisfied with getting their chip last year and thought everyone except Wabash and Witt would just roll over for them.  OWU is going to be lucky to scratch out 6-4 this year and entering the post-Espinosa era could have a tough transition.

[Schwami]

Shootout in Springfield at the Half 

Witt  45
Woo  25

Only 3 more TDs in the 3rd Quarter:

Witt  59
Woo 32

Florence has tied the Witt school record for passing touchdowns in a game (5), and there is still a full quarter to go.

Apparently two Witt players were ejected for targeting earlier in the game . . .

[Mr. Ypsi]

It is now 66-32, and Reed Florence indeed got his 6th TD.

[cave2bens]

66-39, and neither defense is anything to "write home about."    Looks like UM-IU earlier today.

[Schwami]

Wittenberg  66
Wooster      39  Final

Reed Florence had 330 yards passing / 80 yards rushing, and set Witt school records for most passing touchdowns in a game (6) and total touchdowns in a game (7)

Should be a great battle for third place next Saturday in Wooster between the Scots and the Big Red!

[bashgiant]

So Wally, are we still looking at only one team from the NCAC making the tournament?

[wally_wabash]

So Wally, are we still looking at only one team from the NCAC making the tournament?

I think so.  While the Butler result all by itself doesn't factor into the selection criteria, I think the perception of Wittenberg changed because of that result and placed Witt behind the rest of the North region at-large pack.  They need a quality win to undo the damage that the Butler wipeout caused.  Of course, if they get that quality win (vs. Wabash), they'll win the league and won't need to worry about at-large selection. 

Wabash has the better chance at at-large selection, but I still wouldn't be confident.  A loss to Witt in week 10 is a bad time to lose and normally would sink Wabash completely (losing late in the season always hurts more than losing early).  The only saving grace (maybe) is that all of the other big games in the region also happen in weeks 10 and 11.  So should Wabash lose and fall into the at-large pool, they're doing so at the same time North Central or Wheaton loses...or Hiedleberg/John Carrol/Mount Union.  It'll be interesting to see how those teams are ranked in the regional rankings the week before 11/9 and then how the teams that lose are treated with respected to one another after 11/9's results.  Wabash should have a middle of the road SOS at that point, but a loss means zero quality wins and it may be a quality win that separates 1-loss Wabash from a 1-loss CCIW runner up and a 1-loss OAC runner up. 

So that's a long way of saying that I don't think Wittenberg has a realistic shot at an at-large selection and that Wabash has some shot, but I'm not super confident about it. 

[smedindy]

Hanover is playing better, which should pull up some of the factors for Wabash. But the HCAC is still a hot mess aside from Franklin (only one non-conference win) and the company Hanover keeps will hurt Wabash and the NCAC in general.

The really bad news is that John Carroll trounced St. Norbert (who is doing their thing, again, in their conference) so even though that's not in region, that could help in selection. I think NCAC fans need to root for Heidelberg to beat JCU, and the CCIW to have an upset.

[bashgiant]

So Wally, are we still looking at only one team from the NCAC making the tournament?

I think so.  While the Butler result all by itself doesn't factor into the selection criteria, I think the perception of Wittenberg changed because of that result and placed Witt behind the rest of the North region at-large pack.  They need a quality win to undo the damage that the Butler wipeout caused.  Of course, if they get that quality win (vs. Wabash), they'll win the league and won't need to worry about at-large selection. 

Wabash has the better chance at at-large selection, but I still wouldn't be confident.  A loss to Witt in week 10 is a bad time to lose and normally would sink Wabash completely (losing late in the season always hurts more than losing early).  The only saving grace (maybe) is that all of the other big games in the region also happen in weeks 10 and 11.  So should Wabash lose and fall into the at-large pool, they're doing so at the same time North Central or Wheaton loses...or Hiedleberg/John Carrol/Mount Union.  It'll be interesting to see how those teams are ranked in the regional rankings the week before 11/9 and then how the teams that lose are treated with respected to one another after 11/9's results.  Wabash should have a middle of the road SOS at that point, but a loss means zero quality wins and it may be a quality win that separates 1-loss Wabash from a 1-loss CCIW runner up and a 1-loss OAC runner up. 

So that's a long way of saying that I don't think Wittenberg has a realistic shot at an at-large selection and that Wabash has some shot, but I'm not super confident about it. 

Sounds good thank you! 

[HCAlum86]

Can anybody fill me in on what happened to OWU this weekend. Were they outplayed or just mentally not there?

I think this loss gives Hiram a real opportunity to have an upper-hand mentally going into this game. OWU came into this season with lofty aspirations; as they very well should have, with a QB at the helm with Espinonsa's prowess and proven skill players. Any deflated confidence will be needed for the Terriers to get this victory, as they will come into this game with a sense of confidence that they had not held previously, especially coming off a bye. No disrespect to OWU, as I have nothing but respect for the Bishops as they are normally a very entertaining team to watch, and an equally as hard to beat as they are fun to watch.

So, long story short, my question made brief: What was the cause of OWU's defeat and what tangible impact (if any) does everyone think it will have going into this week??

[ExTartanPlayer]

Can anybody fill me in on what happened to OWU this weekend. Were they outplayed or just mentally not there?

I think this loss gives Hiram a real opportunity to have an upper-hand mentally going into this game. OWU came into this season with lofty aspirations; as they very well should have, with a QB at the helm with Espinonsa's prowess and proven skill players. Any deflated confidence will be needed for the Terriers to get this victory, as they will come into this game with a sense of confidence that they had not held previously, especially coming off a bye. No disrespect to OWU, as I have nothing but respect for the Bishops as they are normally a very entertaining team to watch, and an equally as hard to beat as they are fun to watch.

So, long story short, my question made brief: What was the cause of OWU's defeat and what tangible impact (if any) does everyone think it will have going into this week??

The point that I've made before: OWU's 9-1 record last year tricked y'all into giving them some inflate expectations. Let's look at their three losses on the season this far:

1) Denison in overtime. They only beat Denison by 3 points last year. If we remove the teams' final records and just consider the result of last year's H2H matchup, it's not that shocking that they lost to Denison.

2) Wabash by a score of 38-13. Last year they lost to Wabash 28-0, and prevailing opinion is that this year's Wabash team is superior to last year's. Not totally shocking here, either.

3) DePauw by a score of 23-21, the loss that on the surface seems the most shocking...but even against last year's 2-8 DePauw team, they won 26-22.

Point being, with each OWU loss we have wondered whether they had some sort of breakdown or loss of focus...but I'll put forth another theory: they just aren't an elite team. They're a slightly-above-average NCAC team that put together a magical run last year and pulled out every close game they were in. This year some of those close games are going the other way.

HCAlum, I do think the Terriers have a puncher's chance against OWU, and you may well be correct that OWU's "mounting" losses in a season that they probably expected to go somewhat differently may start to affect the team mentally.  I wish I could remember where I read this, but I recall an interesting account of an underdog that pushed a heavily favored team to the very limit but came up just short. The coach of the favorite, addressing his team in the locker room after the game, told his players that the game ended up close because their opponent was more excited to play THEM than they were to play this "lesser" opponent. If Hiram comes to the game truly excited at the prospect of beating OWU while the Bishops bring a lackluster attitude because they've already got three losses and it's "just Hiram" a similar scenario could unfold.

Nothing against the Bishops here - just calling it as I see it!

[HCAlum86]

Can anybody fill me in on what happened to OWU this weekend. Were they outplayed or just mentally not there?

I think this loss gives Hiram a real opportunity to have an upper-hand mentally going into this game. OWU came into this season with lofty aspirations; as they very well should have, with a QB at the helm with Espinonsa's prowess and proven skill players. Any deflated confidence will be needed for the Terriers to get this victory, as they will come into this game with a sense of confidence that they had not held previously, especially coming off a bye. No disrespect to OWU, as I have nothing but respect for the Bishops as they are normally a very entertaining team to watch, and an equally as hard to beat as they are fun to watch.

So, long story short, my question made brief: What was the cause of OWU's defeat and what tangible impact (if any) does everyone think it will have going into this week??

The point that I've made before: OWU's 9-1 record last year tricked y'all into giving them some inflate expectations. Let's look at their three losses on the season this far:

1) Denison in overtime. They only beat Denison by 3 points last year. If we remove the teams' final records and just consider the result of last year's H2H matchup, it's not that shocking that they lost to Denison.

2) Wabash by a score of 38-13. Last year they lost to Wabash 28-0, and prevailing opinion is that this year's Wabash team is superior to last year's. Not totally shocking here, either.

3) DePauw by a score of 23-21, the loss that on the surface seems the most shocking...but even against last year's 2-8 DePauw team, they won 26-22.

Point being, with each OWU loss we have wondered whether they had some sort of breakdown or loss of focus...but I'll put forth another theory: they just aren't an elite team. They're a slightly-above-average NCAC team that put together a magical run last year and pulled out every close game they were in. This year some of those close games are going the other way.

HCAlum, I do think the Terriers have a puncher's chance against OWU, and you may well be correct that OWU's "mounting" losses in a season that they probably expected to go somewhat differently may start to affect the team mentally.  I wish I could remember where I read this, but I recall an interesting account of an underdog that pushed a heavily favored team to the very limit but came up just short. The coach of the favorite, addressing his team in the locker room after the game, told his players that the game ended up close because their opponent was more excited to play THEM than they were to play this "lesser" opponent. If Hiram comes to the game truly excited at the prospect of beating OWU while the Bishops bring a lackluster attitude because they've already got three losses and it's "just Hiram" a similar scenario could unfold.

Nothing against the Bishops here - just calling it as I see it!

Thanks! I just really hope our coaching staff, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, is able to put together an effective game-plan in stopping Espinosa. In two games I have seen him play against Hiram he had done an excellent job attacking the seams. What does give me confidence is that the Terriers have played very well this year on the defensive side of the ball under Price, PARTICULARLY in attacking more "lateral" routes, such as the bubble and tunnel screens OWU likes to run. If the Terriers can keep the vertical passing game in check I believe we have a very good shot at walking away with a W, assuming the offense will put up 24+ points, which I believe they will. Should be an interesting matchup! GO TERRIERS