FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[BashBacker#16]

Just curious but what are your thoughts on Wabash only moving up 1 spot in the top 25 with North Central and St Thomas losing?

[Li'l Giant]

I didn't think about Johns Hopkins passing us but it's not a bad result. They're pretty good.

[wabashcpa]

I think it's ok - play a little better at Denison, probably in Top 10.  John Carroll moved up 2, they appear to be pretty good.  Hobart moves up 2, know nothing about them, but they, Wabash, and Johns Hopkins are all bunched together pretty good at 9 thru 11, so whether Wabash is 9 or 11 doesn't matter much to me.  North Central losing helps Wabash regionally, just need to keep taking care of business, win out and hopefully get a home playoff game.  Long way to go.

[sigma one]

I'm not concerned that Wabash moves up only one slot.  The North Central and St Thomas losses were likely to teams that will be in their conference battles as the season progresses.  While coming off a late win v. Hiram, Allegheny can't reasonably be considered a strong opponent--though the magnitude of the result is a bit surprising.  This week Wabash v. Wooster, a more worthy opponent (though a big loser to W&J), will tell us more about Wabash's strength.  The Hampden-Sydney win was impressive, but H-SC still has a long way to go to negotiate success in their own conference.  Wabash needs to show that they can handle the Scots to convince voters that they belong in the top 10, and likely to handle Wtt later in the season as well.   

[smedindy]

It's rankings; good yakker fodder but ultimately meaningless. And Wabash can't play the 'we get no respect' card; we get plenty of national respect now.

There are a lot of teams of quality and distinction in the top 25 and ORV of D3.

John Carroll put the hurt on a Heidelberg team that toyed with Ohio Northern, a good squad, and then turned around and blasted Baldwin Wallace, another good one.

Johns Hopkins beat Muhlenberg, which many thought could upset the Blue Jays.

[jknezek]

Johns Hopkins beat Muhlenberg, which many thought could upset the Blue Jays.

I was all in on this last week. Killed me in my ODAC pick'em, and when I did my South Region Fan Poll there was a lot of egg to wipe off. Really thought JHU was beatable at Muhlenberg with the Muhles bringing back almost their entire team and killing teams leading up to the game. Just goes to show how hard that last step can be...

[Wabash Hokie]

Didn't stick around long enough to see Rice, but saw Putko miss enough open receivers to be of concern against a better opponent.  In fairness, the pass to Dickerson was sweet.

I did stick around long enough to see Rice.  He appears to be much more of a natural passer.  Good to know Wabash has a more than competent back-up at QB - too bad he is only one year behind Putko. 

The "better opponent" concern is valid but not much to do but hope that when push comes to shove, Putko will deliver. In mean time, I hope that Wabash continues to do well enough to get Rice some playing time.  With the frequency that Putko runs, he is going to absorb some hits and it will be good to be able to keep him from harms way once a game is well in hand.

[firstdown]

Hokie

Putko is a tough player and has spent a lot of time in the weight room so he is pretty durable.  Not unlike watching Andrew Luck running with the ball, it is somewhat nerve racking seeing the quarterback running with the ball.  It is a  pretty good insurance policy getting Conner Rice in the game and getting a fair bit of playing time.  It is also good to see Shamir Johnson and Richie Estrada getting work at running back.  Holmes and Zurek are crucial to the success of the LG's offense (ask the H-SC team about the impact of the Wabash  time of possession on the outcome of that game), as we saw last year, that keeping them with fresh legs for later in the season is very important. 

I am not as worried about the Putko's longer release time for a couple of reasons.  First, he is trying to minimize turnovers by not throwing into tight coverage, second the offensive line has been doing a good job giving him time, third he is a dangerous runner, and finally, with the exception of Hodges, he is working with essentially a new receiving corps. and getting the timing down pat takes a while  not only to get right but to engender confidence.   Drake Christen, a sophomore who converted from quarterback to receiver, is becoming a real go to guy for both Putko and Rice, and Dickerson had a nice 61 yard TD reception in the second quarter.  The key is for the quarterbacks and the receivers to have had enough work together to have the timing down cold.

[wally_wabash]

Hokie

Putko is a tough player and has spent a lot of time in the weight room so he is pretty durable.  Not unlike watching Andrew Luck running with the ball, it is somewhat nerve racking seeing the quarterback running with the ball.  It is a  pretty good insurance policy getting Conner Rice in the game and getting a fair bit of playing time.  It is also good to see Shamir Johnson and Richie Estrada getting work at running back.  Holmes and Zurek are crucial to the success of the LG's offense (ask the H-SC team about the impact of the Wabash  time of possession on the outcome of that game), as we saw last year, that keeping them with fresh legs for later in the season is very important. 

I am not as worried about the Putko's longer release time for a couple of reasons.  First, he is trying to minimize turnovers by not throwing into tight coverage, second the offensive line has been doing a good job giving him time, third he is a dangerous runner, and finally, with the exception of Hodges, he is working with essentially a new receiving corps. and getting the timing down pat takes a while  not only to get right but to engender confidence.  Drake Christen, a sophomore who converted from quarterback to receiver, is becoming a real go to guy for both Putko and Rice, and Dickerson had a nice 61 yard TD reception in the second quarter.  The key is for the quarterbacks and the receivers to have had enough work together to have the timing down cold.

Just thought I'd bring this one back  :

(Drake Christen...seriously, I think this guy is about to go bonkers). 

Ok, I've been a pretty staunch defender of Mr. Putko- and with that said, we can't do another game like Saturday.  8-16 with an horrendous interception in the end zone against a team where literally everything else Wabash wanted to do they did is a big, ugly bruise on what was an otherwise really good game for the team.  50% passing in this offense doesn't cut it.  That's too many plays of nothing.  I don't think I'm saying anything groundbreaking or revelatory here.  Be accurate. Take care of the ball.  That's all we ask the QB to do here (there's a separate conversation about whether or not we could/should put more on the QB, but that seems to be a waning tactic in today's college football where literally everything is check with the sideline pre snap).  I hate to be critical like that because I'm very much a product-justifies-the-means kind of guy, but if Wabash is going to win the league (not to mention this week) 50% passing and red zone turnovers won't get it done.  Those are the kinds of inefficiencies and critical mistakes that lead to things like North Central losing to UWSP. 

[wally_wabash]

John Carroll opponents have converted four first downs.  Total.  In three games.  Goodness gracious. 

[sigma one]

Wally, I was confused, and then I thought, do you mean that through the first 3 games, John Carroll's opponents have converted 4 third-down opportunities into a first down?   Yes, that's amazing.

[wally_wabash]

Wally, I was confused, and then I thought, do you mean that through the first 3 games, John Carroll's opponents have converted 4 third-down opportunities into a first down?   Yes, that's amazing.

I was in such awe that I messed that up. Yes, JCUs opponents have converted just four third downs.

[bashbrother]

Having watched the Top Tier of D3 For over 13 years now,  the 5 or so teams in this group have all shared common traits, almost every year.

1. Great defense - check
2. Solid running game - check
3. A Passing game that can make the plays that need to be made when their running game stalls against significant opponents.

Wabash still has time this year to develop #3. 

WAF!

[sigma one]

Today on Around the Horn Woody Paige's departing comment when he was eliminated was about his time at Wabash last weekend.  Paige, a Lambda Chi at the University of Tennessee, spent time signing copies of his new book at the Wabash Lambda Chi house.  His comments today included a thank you to Wabash for its hospitality, and he mentioned that it was fun to see the combination of academic and athletic success.  You can look it up!

[wabndy]

Today on Around the Horn Woody Paige's departing comment when he was eliminated was about his time at Wabash last weekend.  Paige, a Lambda Chi at the University of Tennessee, spent time signing copies of his new book at the Wabash Lambda Chi house.  His comments today included a thank you to Wabash for its hospitality, and he mentioned that it was fun to see the combination of academic and athletic success.  You can look it up!

Very cool.  Thanks for the heads up.  You can find the audio here:  http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=11614327
Its at 18:30