FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[shepherd]

Wabash got one hell of a draw.

Agree.  I'm really excited about the path that Wabash has.  That's not me looking past anybody (Franklin).  No easy games in the tournament.  But- I like Wabash's position here.

I like the draw, but it sure won't be easy.  Potentially requires wins against 4 of the 5 top ranked teams in D3 to close the deal.  How awesome would that be?

Definitely not easy. But UW-W is--compared to the other top dogs--absolutely the most vulnerable. And Wartburg is a big ol question mark to me. Their status at #5 seems more to do with a pre-season-ranked-team not losing, and less to do with anyone's real enthusiastic "Wartburg is awesome, y'all."

Anyway, this is the first time ever I've looked at a Wabash quadrant and checked off each game as competive, competitive.... comptetive!

IMHO:
Wartburg is a legit # 5.
The offensive line is very tall quick and strong.  The best O-line in d3 and I dont think its even close.  They have St Johns speed and match strength with anybody.  Its an O-line that is mostly 6'4-6'5".  I am hoping to see them play UWW to see what happens on the line.  They make for a defensive coordinators nightmare.  If you cant deal with the lines speed your in trouble big time.

[Wabash Hokie]

Obviously we're splitting hairs when it comes to round 2, but I have much more confidence in Wabash round 1 than Witt.  Franklin at home is a good draw for the Little Giants.  Plus it's just plain fun.

Yeah I am excited to see the crowd for that one

Wonder if there is a need for the temporary stands from the Bell Game.  Anyone know if they have already been taken down? 

[formerd3db]

Am I the only one that thought Centre and MIT really got the short end of the stick??

Am I the only one that thought Centre and MIT really got the short end of the stick??

Well, MIT is playing Husson and the committee chair just told us that MIT didn't file to host, hence their road trip to Maine. 

Centre was on the outside looking in on as of Wednesday, so I think being in at all is a plus.  Definitely a tough draw for Centre, but there aren't a lot of easy games in the field after you plug the "best worst team available" teams in to the top seeds for round one.  I look at it as an opportunity for Centre to validate their 10-0 season.

This is all kind of neat, though from a historical standpoint, when you consider Centre's history of that great win against the top ranked Harvard team back in the 1920's and also that MIT didn't start football again until a few years ago after dropping the sport way back in 1900.

[sigma one]

It takes almost two weeks to construct the temporary stands at Wabash.  It does not take quite that long to take them down, but given the cold temps predicted for this week I'd be surprised if they were not still there on Saturday.
     I'm supposing that they will not be absolutely necessary this week despite the two in-state teams.  Playoff crowds are not generally as large as crowds for traditional rivalries.  Wabash seats about 5000 in Hollett, and that should be enough.  When Wabash and Franklin played years ago, the crowds were large, but not so large that both Franklin and Wabash could not accommodate them.  Additionally, some Wabash students will have left campus for Thanksgiving. 
     The atmosphere, nonetheless, will be electric with so many Indiana players on both rosters.

[Pat Coleman]

Who did Adrian anger? Lisle is within a bus ride to Alliance...

Agreed.  Overall I like the bracket, but with some quibbles.  And (8-2) Adrian instead of (6-4) Benedictine going to Alliance is probably my #1 complaint.  The MIAA is not exactly a power conference, but they are almost certainly better than the NACC.

They easily could have flipped Adrian and Benedictine.

They did a few years ago. Was a waste of money if you ask me, to have Albion go to Whitewater to get drilled and have Benedictine go to Mount Union and get drilled when they could have done the same thing in their own time zone.

[smedindy]

Yeah but Wheaton's not Whitewater...

[Mr. Ypsi]

Yeah but Wheaton's not Whitewater...

True, but either Benedictine or Adrian would be drilled by either Wheaton or Mount, and the bus drives between the closer pairs are probably 100s of dollars cheaper than the further pairs.  Nonetheless, I think Adrian got screwed.

[nike]

Congrats to Hiram.
Witt and Wabash, represent!!
Richard Barnes, when the freshman QB who is given your starting position for the last couple games thanks you publicly for your help and friendship in an awkward situation, that speaks volumes as to your character. Has been a pleasure watching you these past 4+ years.

[wally_wabash]

Franklin has the 200th ranked defense in Division III.

[smedindy]

Don't know if anyone saw this on this busy day, but this is extremely sad:

http://www.d3football.com/notables/2014/11/linfield-player-parker-moore-killed

The kid was from Washington State and some of our CWU players knew him and a couple were teammates with him in HS. I read some of the coverage from the Oregonian and it was just random and puzzling. The guy who killed him had no ties to Linfield at all.

[FishHack76]

Franklin and 'Bash ... I think someone at the NCAA was daydreaming about old TNT shows. 

[GRIZ_BACKER]

Wabash got one hell of a draw.

Agree.  I'm really excited about the path that Wabash has.  That's not me looking past anybody (Franklin).  No easy games in the tournament.  But- I like Wabash's position here.

I like the draw, but it sure won't be easy.  Potentially requires wins against 4 of the 5 top ranked teams in D3 to close the deal.  How awesome would that be?

Definitely not easy. But UW-W is--compared to the other top dogs--absolutely the most vulnerable. And Wartburg is a big ol question mark to me. Their status at #5 seems more to do with a pre-season-ranked-team not losing, and less to do with anyone's real enthusiastic "Wartburg is awesome, y'all."

Anyway, this is the first time ever I've looked at a Wabash quadrant and checked off each game as competive, competitive.... comptetive!

Vulnerable to who?  The two years Bash has been away from playoff football has tainted your reality.  The 4/5 slot when UWW, UHMB, or Mount is concerned is the death slot.  Don't kid yourself about UWW.

[wallyworld12]

GRIZ_BACKER, the inferior education they offer in Franktucky must leave you with an inability to comprehend what you read.  No one seems to be saying that Wabash beats UWW in a cake walk.  Rather, they suggest, appropriately, that they appear vulnerable. 

[GRIZ_BACKER]

GRIZ_BACKER, the inferior education they offer in Franktucky must leave you with an inability to comprehend what you read.  No one seems to be saying that Wabash beats UWW in a cake walk.  Rather, they suggest, appropriately, that they appear vulnerable.

I must be slow and don't understand the empirical data that suggests UWW is vulnerable to Wabash? Already talking about the second round and you haven't even played the first.  We will see on Saturday.  Glad the GRIZ will be able to help Bash tune themselves up. 

[wallyworld12]

I don't know what those words mean.  I think you just opened your mouth and words fell out and you were fortunate enough that they appear to form sentences. 

Some posts suggested, from their qualitative reports of seeing UWW in action, that they appear vulnerable.  Not necessarily vulnerable to Wabash, but vulnerable.

People look forward when they release brackets.  Millions of dollars each year are wagered on the NCAA tournament.  That entire process is based on looking forward to the next round.  Please explain why this is something hard to understand?

I'm excited for Saturday.  I am sick and tired of reading about the Franklin football team each Sunday in the Indianapolis Star.  I trust Wabash will leave no doubt as to whom is the superior football program in Indiana.