FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[bashgiant]

Wally

If you Google the name followed by the word football, it will generally refer you to Hudl which will have video clips, and to Maxpreps which will have the various statistics.  I looked at a few last night, and there are exciting players among the group of new players coming in.

Hard to tell a whole lot from highlight videos 1) Videos are from a 4 year period and generally there best plays 2) Is the competition top notch or below average in the highlight clips? You can take an average player and make him or her look like a superstar with highlights from over a four year period and below average competition. Anyway, I am sure Wabash did a fine job of recruiting and will be bringing in some young studs to fill the few holes that they have this year. I'm thinking if everybody can stay healthy this year Wabash could have a team that could make a really strong run for the crown this year. Saw a couple of the Ohio boys at the gym and they looked like they have been working really hard in the weight room this summer. Pumped and primed and ready for some hard hitting, smash mouth, spine tingling football. Can't get here quick enough!!!

GO BASH!!!

Bash Giant - the highlights on Hudl are by year, e.g 2013 - 2014.  Hard to tell a whole lot for the reasons that you cite.  Nonetheless, there are still 30 days until the LG's are on the field.  Getting a sample of the new guys helps pass the days.

No doubt about getting a sample done plenty of that this summer.

[wally_wabash]

Wow. This game Sept 6 is going to be fun. Wally most of what you said could be applied to HSC as well. All-Americans back at QB and WR, leading rusher, all conference TE, 7 starters on offense return ALL seniors.  Offensive line is the question mark for HSC too -replacing 4 starters. Defense loses all-American LB but his replacement is a stud. 8 total starters on D return - 7 are seniors and 5 are 2013 all conference players. Kicking game will be great. In an odd circumstance before last season both the kicker and punter were injured. The kicker was all-conference in 2012. Both return this fall as well as last year's punter and last year's kickoff guy.  My prediction is HSC 7-0 10-0. So Wally one of us going to be wrong.

There's a really, really short list of teams that I would consider a favorite to win in Crawfordsville against the 2014 Little Giants (or at least my mental picture of the 2014 Little Giants).  I'm under no allusion that H-SC can't win this game.  They're plenty good enough to win.  I just wouldn't call them a favorite. 

I can't wait for the Triple Take on this one. 

[tigerfanalso]

Agreed, home team has the advantage. HSC needs to play over their heads to beat a good Wabash team on the road.
Either way, should be an entertaining game and a great experience for our guys to travel to play a really well respected program.
Even if HSC gets beat, the experience will help prepare them for the tough odac schedule and hopefully post season.

[wally_wabash]

Agreed, home team has the advantage. HSC needs to play over their heads to beat a good Wabash team on the road.Either way, should be an entertaining game and a great experience for our guys to travel to play a really well respected program.
Even if HSC gets beat, the experience will help prepare them for the tough odac schedule and hopefully post season.

That's the other extreme...I don't think that's the case either.  H-SC doesn't have to do anything outside of their ability to win this game.  They've got the talent.  I don't see H-SC as a super huge underdog here. 

[jknezek]

Agreed, home team has the advantage. HSC needs to play over their heads to beat a good Wabash team on the road.Either way, should be an entertaining game and a great experience for our guys to travel to play a really well respected program.
Even if HSC gets beat, the experience will help prepare them for the tough odac schedule and hopefully post season.

That's the other extreme...I don't think that's the case either.  H-SC doesn't have to do anything outside of their ability to win this game.  They've got the talent.  I don't see H-SC as a super huge underdog here.

5-10 points, mostly home field for Wabash is my guess. But it is the first game. Always the possibility to go pear shaped...

[tigerfanalso]

Wally

How can you make that statement if you've not seen HSC play ? I think you're correct BUT I don't know that I am.

We'll host you guys next year and I hope you can make the trip and join us at our tailgate(s).

[wally_wabash]

Wally

How can you make that statement if you've not seen HSC play ? I think you're correct BUT I don't know that I am.

We'll host you guys next year and I hope you can make the trip and join us at our tailgate(s).

Bad teams don't play in the second weekend of the tournament.  Even mediocre teams don't play in the second weekend.  So, while I haven't been immersed in Hampden-Sydney football, I think I've got a reasonable expectation of the quality of team that is coming to the Hollett on 9/6.  I'm pretty confident in saying that H-SC will be the best team Wabash plays in the regular season (and the reverse is probably the same). 

5-10 points, mostly home field for Wabash is my guess. But it is the first game. Always the possibility to go pear shaped...

Bingo.  Strange stuff can happen in the first game.  You can never ever tell how ready anybody is going to be in week 1.  I'm really glad that Wabash's game 1 is also H-SC's game 1.  I'd be seriously wary if H-SC had a game in before coming to Wabash. 

[Dr. Acula]

I applaud HS and Wabash for playing in the opener. We have a bunch of snoozefests for the top OAC teams so I'm jealous.  What a fun way to kick off your season.  Throw in my well documented love for the Wabash video feed quality and I may put that game on the TV instead of driving to WV to watch Mount play "name the score" on Bethany.   

[tigerfanalso]

Wally

You are too logical !!!

Probably best opening game for the two schools, ever. Several years back we opened with Salisbury (2 year contract) and beat them both times, since that time HSC has not had a very competitive opening game, in fact all have been boring(like most are). 

[wally_wabash]

Wally

You are too logical !!!

Probably best opening game for the two schools, ever. Several years back we opened with Salisbury (2 year contract) and beat them both times, since that time HSC has not had a very competitive opening game, in fact all have been boring(like most are).

That's a tough call.  Wabash's openers with Franklin in 2006 and 2007 were very good.  In 1999 Wabash opened with a ridiculously good ONU team. They were the best team I've seen Wabash play in person in the regular season.  And then just a touch before my time, Wabash opened with Albion in 1994 which was a national championship year for the Britons.  But this game is the first really good opener in a while for Wabash for sure. 

[ExTartanPlayer]

Probably best opening game for the two schools, ever.

That's a tough call.  Wabash's openers with Franklin in 2006 and 2007 were very good.  In 1999 Wabash opened with a ridiculously good ONU team. They were the best team I've seen Wabash play in person in the regular season.  And then just a touch before my time, Wabash opened with Albion in 1994 which was a national championship year for the Britons.  But this game is the first really good opener in a while for Wabash for sure.

Depends how you define "best" - I think you could argue that this matchup is "better" than most of those in the sense that both teams come into the season with similarly lofty expectations.  1994 is admittedly well before my time and before the easily-checkable archives of d3football.com begin recording.  In 1999, since Wabash went 5-5, I have to assume was not really predicted to be a banner year for the LG's, so while it may have been a very "tough" opener because of ONU's quality, I don't think its profile is all that similar to this year's matchup.  Likewise, the 2006 Franklin-Wabash game wasn't exactly one that you would have tabbed before the season as a "big" opener because Franklin had been rather mediocre for several years entering that season (their 5-5 finish in 2005 was the best they'd recorded in several seasons).

I think the 2007 Franklin-Wabash opener had a pretty similar profile to this year's matchup, as Wabash was coming off an 8-2 season that included a close loss to Franklin, while the Grizzlies were coming off a 9-1 season with the sole loss a 21-14 blemish against MSJ that left them as the odd team out in Pool C, meaning that both teams had concluded the prior season as one of those knocking-on-the-door, fringes-of-the-top-25 level teams.  Just for kicks, I went and checked the 2007 preseason poll: Wabash was #23, Franklin was #32.

This year we've got a 9-1 Wabash team that was the odd team out in Pool C vs. a 9-3 Hampden-Sydney team that rightfully carries high expectations but was also a bit of a high-ceiling, low-floor enigma.  The preseason polls have Wabash at #16 and HSC at #21.  If HSC's performance at Linfield was an indicator of things to come, this may well be the best matchup in terms of both overall quality and "closeness" of the teams' ability. 

[wally_wabash]

Those are good points about the quality of both sides.  The ONU game in 1999 was my first football game that I covered when I wrote for the paper at Wabash...I didn't pick up on it at the time, but my pregame interview with Coach Carlson was littered with a lot of stuff that I now immediately recognize as a coach telling me that we're in way over our head in this one.  But, the significance of that 1999 ONU game is that it was the first game as freshman for the class of guys that launched Wabash football into what it is now...they went 5-5 in their first year and finished by winning 19 of their last 20, with the one loss a quarterfinal defeat to Mount Union.  Pretty good four-year progression there.  Knott fumbled his first collegiate snap in that ONU game and I think ended with five turnovers.  Things would get better for him. 

[DadofBashWarrior..]

Wally

How can you make that statement if you've not seen HSC play ? I think you're correct BUT I don't know that I am.

We'll host you guys next year and I hope you can make the trip and join us at our tailgate(s).

Have already penciled in the trip next season to HS...then the following week in the outer banks...With kids back to school the banks will be less crowded...

Looking forward to a great matchup.

And...what may be "too logical" for some...is "perfectly" logical to others.

[tigerfanalso]

Contact before you arrive next September and I'll give you directions to our tailgate. You will enjoy and we'll enjoy hosting.
September is the prefect month to visit the outer banks, unless a nasty hurrican shows up at the same time !!!!

[Li'l Giant]

I would really like to make the trip to HS next year. I was admitted to both schools. Would make for a fun time.