FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[bashbrother]

The back-loaded scheduling in the OAC, CCIW, WIAC and with Witt and Wabash playing late,  for this football fan,  this year has been stale, a little stale nationally thus far.   The Top 25,  aside from some great games in the MIAC and last weeks upset of Wesley by Rowan,   has been just exchanging teams by one or two spots depending on who they beat and by how bad on any given week.

Was this planned?   Is there a regional ranking benefit?   Could it be planned even if they wanted to?   Wally brought this up to me recently......  All I know is,  it's been kind of boring nationally.

Things get going a little bit this weekend,  with:

#10 Wheaton @ #20 IWU
#7 UWW @ #9 UW Oshkosh

Then the following week - 11/02

#1 Mount Union  @ #11 Heidelberg
#4 North Central @  #20 Illinois Wes.
#8 UW Platteville @ # 7 UW-Whitewater

Thus,  in the next two weeks,  the picture in the WIAC & CCIW will begin to get clearer. 

[wally_wabash]

The back-loaded scheduling in the OAC, CCIW, WIAC and with Witt and Wabash playing late,  for this football fan,  this year has been stale, a little stale nationally thus far.   The Top 25,  aside from some great games in the MIAC and last weeks upset of Wesley by Rowan,   has been just exchanging teams by one or two spots depending on who they beat and by how bad on any given week.

Was this planned?   Is there a regional ranking benefit?   Could it be planned even if they wanted to?   Wally brought this up to me recently......  All I know is,  it's been kind of boring nationally.

As a byproduct of things like winning six games by a score of 318-47, I have time to get all conspiracy with it...not that I think this is wrong in any kind of way...it's actually brilliant.  But the theory goes like this...

You get juice at the end of the year with the selection committee for just playing a regionally ranked team.  Not even beating them- just playing one is better than not playing one.  So let's say that the powers that be in the OAC looked into their crystal ball a year or two ago and decided that Mount Union, Heidelberg, and John Carroll were going to be good.  Why not protect them from each other until the end of the year?  If Heidelberg plays John Carroll and Mount Union in early October and loses both games, they never get regionally ranked and then whoever winds up as the 1-loss runner up loses their would-be win over a regionally ranked team and that could be the difference between being in and being out.  But if you don't have those teams play each other until the last three weeks of the year, and they don't screw up along the way, they all get regionally ranked before they take each other out (and ultimately knock one of the three out of the regional top 10 all together)...but as long as they were ranked at some point, they get credit for playing a regionally ranked opponent. 

Of course,  you need a crystal ball to know who is going to be good 2 years down the road when you set those schedules, but for leagues where you have a fairly traditional top 2-3 teams, it's not unreasonable to backload the schedule and then see it play out sort of how it is this year in several conferences.  So the question is, is it deliberate (to the extent that it can be) or is it all just a strange coincidence?  It would be interesting to know if those kinds of conversations happen at all when it's schedule making time. 

[ExTartanPlayer]

Interesting theory.

Re: the top 25 feeling stale, I don't think that's actually a lack of big games between conference rivals so much as a lack of big games between teams in leagues that most of you guys pay close attention to (the North Region).  Wesley-UMHB, while obviously a non-conference game, was early.  Salisbury-Wesley, same thing, although that game lost a little juice when Salisbury got upset in Week 1 by Christopher Newport.  Way out West, the SCIAC's big two (Redlands and Cal Lu) staged a mini-tournament with the NWC's big two (Linfield and Pac Lu), all teams that merited Top 25 consideration in the preseason.  If we look at conference games only: Linfield already played Pacific Lutheran (two best teams in NWC), Salisbury-St. John Fisher (probably didn't get as much national pub as it should have  - if Salisbury had beaten Wesley, that game would have been hyped more - but this was the two best teams in the East's best league, the Empire 8), Thomas More-W & J would generally be viewed as a PAC showdown (incredibly...Bethany is the only PAC team that currently controls their destiny), Johns Hopkins played the next-best-consistent Centennial Conference team in Muhlenberg, there have been several good NJAC and MAC matchups (to the point where virtually everyone in both conferences has a loss in-conference).

Point being, plenty of conferences have already had pretty big in-conference showdowns between top-25 teams or two of their top 3-4 contenders for their respective Pool A berth.  It just happens that the conferences "we" follow most closely - NCAC, CCIW, OAC, WIAC, being the beasts of the North Region plus the WIAC - haven't had any of theirs yet.

From a broad perspective - I agree that it makes sense to schedule your conference's traditional powers to meet later in the season rather than earlier.

Upon closer examination, I think it's just kind of fluky this year re: the CCIW, WIAC, and OAC's big matchups all falling late in the season.  The OAC couldn't have guessed a few years ago that John Carroll would emerge as the third wheel in the Mount/Heidelberg sweepstakes.  Maybe they did play the odds by putting traditional bottom feeders Musky, Marietta, and Wilmington early in the Mount Union schedule and hoping that whoever emerged from the middle (Heidelberg, ONU, B-W, Otterbein, and Carroll) would fall later in the Mount schedule.  Looking at the CCIW schedules over the last few years kinda shows the same thing.  North Central and Wheaton usually play late, same with IWU, but it's not like they're stacked in weeks 9-10-11 every year.

[wabndy]

You get juice at the end of the year with the selection committee for just playing a regionally ranked team. 

Before 2008, Wabash traditionally played Wittenberg in Week 7.  Since then, it's been played on week 10, usually with a conference championship on the line for one or both.  What preciptated the change?  Conference fluke scheduling?  The fact that, for Wabash at least, Week 7 usually fell on fall break?  I'd be shocked if the answer was not something to the effect of: this game usually has conference championship implications so it'd be better for both teams if we moved it to as late in the season as we can (week 10).  So there is at least one big game we are all very familiar with that has presumably been moved to the back of the schedule because of competitive reasons.

[sigma one]

Wally, that is so outandingly devious that it makes some sense--whether or not if it's true. 

I believe that the late scheduling of the Wabash/Wittenberg game is purposeful.  I have not looked at future schedules, but if the game continues to come late, it's got to be more calculated that the conference has set up what is likely to be a game for playoff entry.  There are pros and cons to a late loss in a conference that does not often get a second team into the tourney. 
         
     

[bashbrother]

Wasn't there two years in a row recently where Witt got a bye week before playing Wabash?  I always thought that was an interesting coincidence in scheduling... I think Depauw may have also had a bye or two...

[sigma one]

There's always been a little paranoia in Wabashland about some of the conference decisions, and even after a decade the sense (right or wrong) that Crawfordsville remains an outlier in ways other than geography.  Those off weeks for Witt just fanned the flames.  There's been a feeling (right or wrong--almost certainly wrong, but there have been several decisions that keep the feeling alive) that the original Ohio members receive some advantages.  Wabash is sometimes preceived as being too full of itself, and there is evidence for that.  A byproduct, to some degree, of being all male, for which athletes take more abuse than most of us would believe--in intolerable language.  Not to say that there is not some give and take, but the not infrequent slurs are another reason Wabash teams play with an edge.  This includes this year. 
     
       
         
     

[wabndy]

There's always been a little paranoia in Wabashland about some of the conference decisions, and even after a decade the sense (right or wrong) that Crawfordsville remains an outlier in ways other than geography. 

Three words:
ALL
SPORTS
TROPHY

In fairness, one of the founding principles of the NCAC is gender equity in sports.  The old ICAC (a conference Wabash was a charter member of) had a seperate trophy for men's and women's sports.  Wabash joined the NCAC with the caveat that we weren't going to get any breaks in the all-sports trophy department (split trophy, point multiplier, etc.).  The conference was at least kind enough to give us an asterisk, lest the causal observer glance at the final standings every year and think Wabash athletics ranked in the bottom third of the conference overall.

[wally_wabash]

Wally, that is so outandingly devious that it makes some sense--whether or not if it's true. 

I believe that the late scheduling of the Wabash/Wittenberg game is purposeful.  I have not looked at future schedules, but if the game continues to come late, it's got to be more calculated that the conference has set up what is likely to be a game for playoff entry.  There are pros and cons to a late loss in a conference that does not often get a second team into the tourney.  
         

This is such a great point.  Let's look at last year...Wabash played their way out of the tournament by losing that second game to Oberlin.  It killed Wabash to lose to a team that was 3-6 against the rest of its schedule but the effect was maginified by about 1000x because it happened in week 10.  Wabash got buried in the rankings and never had a shot at being discussed for at-large selection.  But what if....yes, what if we switched the dates for the Oberlin and Witt games?  Same results, different dates...what it means is that after a 3-2 start and shocking home losses to Allegheny and Oberlin, Wabash finishes the season like this:

W 34-14 @ WashU
W 30-0 vs. Wooster
W 28-0 @ OWU (regionally ranked team)
W 27-24 @ Witt (regionally ranked team)
W 23-0 vs. DePauw

So Wabash ends 8-2, on a five game win streak, with two RECENT wins vs. regional ranked opponents (how would you put Wabash behind OWU after a 28-0 win and no blemishes thereafter?  Answer: you wouldn't.).  So at that point Wabash carries a 0.540 SOS (good) and a 2-0 record against RROs and are probably in the hole behind Elmhurst and Heidelberg amongst North region at-large candidates.  Sitting there at the last selection with Concordia-Moorhead, Waynesburg, and Bridgewater State, I don't know if Wabash would have been selected instead of Bridgewater State, but it would have been an interesting conversation and Wabash certainly would have had a chance.  But they didn't because when you lose matters almost as much as who you lose to. 

So that's a longwinded way of saying that, yes, there are definite cons to setting up your likely league runner up with a loss in Week 10 as so many of the North region leagues are doing (probably not deliberately, but maybe) this year. 

Equally fascinating to me because I have an unhealthy appetite for the at-large process, is that because all of those teams in this region that are going to be in that at-large conversation are playing their AQ games in weeks 9, 10, and 11 (especially week 10), how is the RAC going to treat all of those teams that have to lose on the same day?  It's going to be interesting to see. 

[wally_wabash]

Wasn't there two years in a row recently where Witt got a bye week before playing Wabash?  I always thought that was an interesting coincidence in scheduling... I think Depauw may have also had a bye or two...

Yes. Witt had an off week before Wabash in 2010 and 2011.  The games were split.

DePauw did not. I think it was possible in the weird transition year DPU had in 2011, but they picked up a game in week 10 when it was all said and done. Albion I think it was.

[sigma one]

Wabash joined the NCAC with the full knowledge that there would be only one All-Sports award each year in accord with the conference's founding commitment to gender equity.  They went in satisfied that they would be in a constellation of schools of like purpose and quality, more or less.  Given the NCAC's gender-equal commitment, accepting Wabash as a conference member was actually generous because a few schools might have been expected to veto membership by a men's college.  We would all like to believe that Wabash's liberal arts focus, academic ranking, and Phi Beta Kappa chapter were important factors in the decision.  There are some Ohio schools (and also western Pa. schools) that would have liked to be in the conference as the league took in new members.
     Wabash knew what it was getting into:  a conference competitive nationally in most men's sports--and in most women's sports as well.  We focus on football here, not forgetting but not saying anything about national contenders (and, of course, there's swimming).  Wabash wanted this level of competiton and these kinds of schools to compete against. 
     So, I mentioned paranoia in C'ville.  That's a good way to keep going, us against the world.  Fantasy or not, it doesn't matter. It's the current manifestation of two historical Wabash mantras:  Did Wabash Win? and Wabash Always Fights. 
     (By the way, I overheard a couple of conference coaches at an indoor track meet a few years ago at Wabash.  They were looking at the big WABASH ALWAYS FIGHTS on the wall of the fieldhouse.  They agreed that the slogan was over the top, or barbaric, or something.  How could the word fight be part of a college's sports philosophy, they were saying).   I get it; I don't get it.
     
       
       
         

[smedindy]

The All-Sports trophy is small beer, really. It is interesting to see when talking about overall depth of the athletics program, especially to rebut those who think Sport A is the only sport you should concern yourself with and the rest are just non-relevant.

That's about it, though. A trophy. Wow.

[smedindy]

Wally, that is so outandingly devious that it makes some sense--whether or not if it's true. 

I believe that the late scheduling of the Wabash/Wittenberg game is purposeful.  I have not looked at future schedules, but if the game continues to come late, it's got to be more calculated that the conference has set up what is likely to be a game for playoff entry.  There are pros and cons to a late loss in a conference that does not often get a second team into the tourney.  
         

This is such a great point.  Let's look at last year...Wabash played their way out of the tournament by losing that second game to Oberlin.  It killed Wabash to lose to a team that was 3-6 against the rest of its schedule but the effect was maginified by about 1000x because it happened in week 10.  Wabash got buried in the rankings and never had a shot at being discussed for at-large selection.  But what if....yes, what if we switched the dates for the Oberlin and Witt games?  Same results, different dates...what it means is that after a 3-2 start and shocking home losses to Allegheny and Oberlin, Wabash finishes the season like this:

W 34-14 @ WashU
W 30-0 vs. Wooster
W 28-0 @ OWU (regionally ranked team)
W 27-24 @ Witt (regionally ranked team)
W 23-0 vs. DePauw

So Wabash ends 8-2, on a five game win streak, with two RECENT wins vs. regional ranked opponents (how would you put Wabash behind OWU after a 28-0 win and no blemishes thereafter?  Answer: you wouldn't.).  So at that point Wabash carries a 0.540 SOS (good) and a 2-0 record against RROs and are probably in the hole behind Elmhurst and Heidelberg amongst North region at-large candidates.  Sitting there at the last selection with Concordia-Moorhead, Waynesburg, and Bridgewater State, I don't know if Wabash would have been selected instead of Bridgewater State, but it would have been an interesting conversation and Wabash certainly would have had a chance.  But they didn't because when you lose matters almost as much as who you lose to. 

So that's a longwinded way of saying that, yes, there are definite cons to setting up your likely league runner up with a loss in Week 10 as so many of the North region leagues are doing (probably not deliberately, but maybe) this year. 

Equally fascinating to me because I have an unhealthy appetite for the at-large process, is that because all of those teams in this region that are going to be in that at-large conversation are playing their AQ games in weeks 9, 10, and 11 (especially week 10), how is the RAC going to treat all of those teams that have to lose on the same day?  It's going to be interesting to see.

I think that's the downfall - there's no time to sift and sort after those losses. They have to rank them quickly.

[bashbrother]

General NCAC Thoughts and Questions going into Saturday...

Allegheny @ DePauw -   After a big win for Depauw last week,  Does this week only keeps team confidence building?  Have the New Tigers have found their QB in Hunt?
Wabash @ Oberlin  -  Is this year's game going to be a little different?   I think Wabash remembers very well what happened at Hollett last year.   Does Wabash use this one to continue to get the passing game in shape?
Wittenberg @ Kenyon -   Kenyon with Wabash and Witt back to back... The Lords earn the "Tough Two Week Stretch" award for the year.   Does this one get ugly?
Ohio Wesleyan @ Hiram -   Is OWU is freefall this week mentally? OR Do they tighten their chinstraps and win like they should?  I am very impressed by Hiram's competitiveness in 2013.
Denison @ Wooster -   Battle for 3rd Place in the NCAC.....   I like the Big Red here.... but Barnes may have something to say about that.

[firstdown]

Sigma One - Wabash's mantras are important in sports and in life.  C P Porter is the embodiment of the WAF spirit.  The hours of recovery and rehab that CP put in are a testament to his spirit.  Given the determination that he has demonstrated, I anticipate that he will do well in meeting adversity and challenges in whatever life brings him.

The antithesis is the nutty parent in Fort Worth, Texas who has charged the football coach that beat his son's team 90 - 0 with bullying.  Aledo is undefeated and preparing for the playoffs.  The coach pulled his starters after 21 plays, asked for a running clock, and ran basic plays on offense and a basic defense.  .I have no doubt that the Aledo coach expects that his players play their best when they are on the field.  For him to tell his players to do anything else while they are on the field would be crazy and could expose his players and those on the other team to injury.  To whinny papa, if you don't like seeing you kid's team get beat, get him in the weight room and help his team get better.

I recall the first year that Wabash played Witt in the NCAC, they got beat pretty bad in rain delay game.  The next year Wbash played Witt close, but lost.  They next year (2002) Wabash defeated Witt both in the regular season and in the playoffs, and it has been great rivalry ever since.  It's that WAF thing again.

Finally, in the Aledo game, the players who are not first and second string saw a lot of playing time.  They were no doubt trying their best so that the coaching staff could see what they could in a game situation.  I can't imagine they would want the coaches to see them playing and taking it easy on the other team no matter circumstances.  When Wabash's defensive coordinator played high school, he was one of three sophomores that was on the varsity team (things were a bit different in those days), and with the team leading, he went into the first game in the third quarter, and promptly sacked the opposing quarterback two times.  Needless to say, when he got his opportunity, he showed his stuff to the coaching staff, and the rest is history.  He still holds the single season quarterback sack record of 15 1/2 at Wabash. It is that WAF thing again.