FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[reality check]

...also, wooster ran the ball pretty well when they wanted to, which is another concern.

Stat line from Wabash @ Wooster, Oct. 15, 2005: 

Wooster: 37 yards rushing, 23 rushing attempts. 

Schafer had a 16 yard run and Sheppard had a 24 yard run.  That's 30 of Wooster's 37 yards on just two carries.  21 more rushing attempts for a grand total of 7 yards doesn't really reflect the idea that Wooster ran well when they wanted to.  Wabash also made 11 tackles for loss and 3 sacks against Wooster, so the D-line was doing something right. 

Let's keep our facts straight, please. 

I'm just a lowly OAC guy Wally but my math tells me you might want to recalculate.  It only helps prove the point you are trying to make...

[smedindy]

Wabco -

That's a Runge-ism??? News to me!

(PA announcer slowly slinks away...all of his work for 20 years gone on deaf ears....)

[smedindy]

Rabbi -

I think Wabash's run D proved their mettle against DePauw, as they held them well under their rushing average. And it wasn't just because Marks was ill - if you saw the line play our D-Line was pushing their O-Line out of the way.

[oldguy]

"That's alright, that's OK, you're gonna work for us someday"

Wooster fans used to always chant that when we would beat them.  Thats what you call a loser's chant.  Goes back to the whole, "we lost because we are a tougher school academically" argument.  Its just garbage.


I hope Wabash plays Capital.  This way we can truly gauge how "down" the NCAC was and if Witt was truly a 5-5 team, or if they just didn't play to their ability.  A lot of questions could be answered if that game were to be played.

[WallyFS4]

 

Wabco -

That's a Runge-ism??? News to me!

(PA announcer slowly slinks away...all of his work for 20 years gone on deaf ears....)

Smed,

Check the ego at the door.  People see Tom at the home and away games doing it.  Are you that fragile?  Just be proud someone thinks it is part of tradition.  As always.


WABASH ALWAYS FIGHTS![/size][/font]

[smedindy]

Wally -

I was being funny! I probably should have added  or something. yeesh!

(I though the paren comment would tip off that it was a funny...)

[fijidoc]

Why does Wabash have to beat Capital to prove anything about the conference?  If NCC beats Capital and Wabash beats NCC wouldn't that prove the same point as well?

[fijidoc]

another classic Wabash cheer:

Free beer in the end zone! Go team, go!

[HScoach]

oldguy:  I would love to see a Cap/Wabash match-up as it would definitely answer a lot of the NCAC vs OAC stuff.  The problem with predicting this I'm not sure Cap is going to get by NCC.  And if Wabash is the "legit #1 seed" that the NCAC thinks they are, then Wabash should have no trouble with an #8 seeded 7-3 Albion team

If the Wabash/Cap game occurs and Cap wins, then it doesn't say a whole lot for the NCAC as a team that lost 2 OAC games beat the NCAC's undefeated champion.  If Wabash beats Cap, then it means that Wabash is at a level near the top of the OAC, and it's just the rest of the NCAC that sucks.  If Wabash can win the North Region, especially beating MUC in Round 3, then the NCAC's best is better than the OAC's best in 2005, and the rest of the NCAC sucks.  

The re-occuring theme for me is that that the biggest difference between the NCAC and OAC is the teams right below the champ.  If the middle of the NCAC is really 5-5 Witt and 3-7 Gheny, how do you honestly compare that to the middle of the OAC which is 8-2 Capital, 8-2 ONU, 7-3 JCU and 7-3 Otterbein.  The bottom of both conferences suck as Hiram and Heidelburg are barely decent high school teams.  

The only question in my mind is whether the NCAC champ (Wabash) has closed the gap on the OAC champ (MUC).  Recent history ('00 thru '04) says there is a huge difference between  the two.  While in the 90's, the NCAC champs (Witt and Allegheny) were even with MUC and could have easily won some of those playoff games.

Maybe I'm wrong, and the next couple weeks will make it very clear, but I seriously doubt the NCAC's best would finish higher than 3rd in the OAC.



And on the subject of Wabash being a legit #1 seed.  My reasoning there is that any legit #1 seed should make the Regional Final game at the very least.  And a true #1 should be in a position to COMPETE for the Regional Title.  They don't have to win it, but they better be close.  If Wabash wins the first 2 games, then I was wrong.

[gobash]

One of my favorite cheers...usually gets a chuckle or two from the crowd:

2-4-6-8
the ref sucks!

[oldguy]

HSCoach,

Yes, if Cap loses and Wabash beats NCC, then the same questions would be answered. 

Regardless of how bad you think the NCAC is, that game will still answer a lot of questions in regards to whether Witt and Allegheny were as bad as their records showed.  And whether or not Cap was truly 50+ points better than Witt.

[BashDad]

hscoach:

The thing that rankles is that you have already answered in your own mind what you say is your "main question."  As you say, in two weeks we'll all have a more definitive answer.  That's why we have playoffs, isn't it? 

[wally_wabash]

lancer-

Look at the stats from Witt's first three games.  They were positively awful, particularly on defense which had nothing to do with their injured quarterback.  Absolutely awful.  Then they had a bye week, three gimmes, and apparently that was enough to get them turned around.  I saw the Witt/Wabash game and Witt didn't play like a .500 team on that day.  Allegheny didn't play like a sub .500 team either.  You can say that 5-5 and 3-7 are exactly what they look like, but the truth in this case lies a little bit below the surface.  Did Witt look like a .500 team when they beat Wooster 45-0?  I didn't see that game because I was busy watching Wabash cement a conference championship that day, but I'm curious about how bad you thought Witt looked like that day?  Sometimes 5-5 isn't as bad as 5-5 seems.  

rabbi-

If you thought that running out of the I would have worked for Wooster, why didn't you send a singing telegram down to Coach Schmitz and let him know?  Apparently he thought differently.  One can't speculate that Team A could have run on Team B despite how overwhelmingly the statistics say otherwise if only they had run a completely different style of offense than the one they did run.  I suppose the other three teams on Wabash's schedule that didn't get to 50 yards rushing should have just run everything out of the I too?  

[bashbrother]

The great thing about DIII football is that there are playoffs.

The great thing about the DIII playoffs is that someone will be right and someone will be wrong for every game and that the best team will usually make it through the brackets and take home a championship.

Let me just say, that I would not like to play Gheny tomorrow.  In the 2nd half of the Wabash game they found themselves and became winners.  The games they had lost all season were very close and a play here or play there would have changed the outcome. 

So everyone can say what they wish about Wabash not playing any quality..... we will find out soon enough on Saturday.   Actually, I consider Depauw being very good.  I believe they would have taken Trinity this year, but we will never know.

[BashDad]

A good post in response to both lancer and rabbi, Wally.
The Woo folks are, of course, looking for immediate fixes.  Good luck--Woo should be, and will be (eventually), back at the top.  But, I hazard to say, it will not be next year.
Obviously, you saw what I saw in Bashs' games against both Witt and Allegheny.  No matter their records in '05, both of these programs have the talent, coaching, and the grit to succeed.  Even Wabash, with all they are graduating, will need to suck it up if we are to stay at the top next year.  Just my thoughts.