FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[BashDad]

I want a player's opinion.

[wally_wabash]

Smeds! The sky *is* falling! This is what that looks like!  You've SEEN the other version, no? C'mon, man.

The sky will have totally fallen when conference opponents do to us what St. Thomas and Whitewater have done to us in the playoffs. (Or what Wabash has done to DPU in 2010-2015. ) I'll take winning ugly as long as it's winning.

The gulf between figuring out how to get more competitive with the purples in the later rounds of the tournament and figuring out how to survive home games with mid-tier NCAC teams is massive.  So massive in fact that those things are mutually exclusive.  Your example here, actually, pretty accurately sums up the whole reason for alarm.  1.3 seasons ago, the LGs were #8 in the division and trying to figure out how to score a little more against the very tippy top teams and break into the semis.  Yesterday, they were trying to figure out how to score 20 against Hiram (who is still a team that gave up 40 to Earlham).  Yeah, Wabash is 3-0.  I'm happy Wabash is 3-0 vs 1-2 (which, if St. Joseph's was still a college is a thing that would have happened just now).  But this 3-0 isn't the same as the 3-0's that wind up playing December football.  That's the standard, right?  It should be.  A lot of people did a a lot of great stuff over the previous 15 years to get Wabash all the way up there in the top 25 every single season. 

No, I don't think 6-4 is cool. I do know that Denison and DPU have improved. I expected a tough slog in the NCAC this year, for everyone. I think the NCAC will have just one playoff team this year, because everyone else will have two losses.

I think it's disingenuous to treat 2017 NCAC as the new WIAC.  This ain't that.  Which teams in the top 10 right now would "slog" through the NCAC?  I'm as bullish on Denison as anybody.  Wooster is better.  DePauw has looked pretty good with their 73 new starters (maybe the biggest surprise in the league, tbh, if you're not counting Wabash playing pretty average ball).  But December teams aren't grinding through multiple games in the NCAC.  December teams take care of business against 90% of the league and then gird up for a full-grown-man, winner-take-all game against Wittenberg.  That is the thing that was inherited in 2016.  And in 1.3 seasons, Wabash is going a full 60 minutes with Hiram for the first time ever.  That's not normal.  That's why people are fired up.  Wabash can, and should, be doing better. 

[smedindy]

So is it a recruiting problem, a scheme problem, or a motivation problem?

I see a chasm at QB compared to the rest of the best teams in the league. Kennedy at Witt isn't expected to do that much, but he does 'that much' better than our QBs.

I think our guys are giving effort at QB, but the passing game is not good.

How did O'Connor look in camp? Any reason not to try him?

[BashDad]

So is it a recruiting problem, a scheme problem, or a motivation problem?

Yes

[HCAlum86]

Look, I get all of the following:

- Wabash appears to be on a downtrend or at best a plateau...
- There was likely an issue of motivation in playing a school you've dominated in the past...
- Wabash was the better team and should have won the game more handily....
- Your arch-rival took care of Hiram easily...

Having said that, I do believe Hiram ACTUALLY played very well - save some unwarranted penalties that I am more than embarrassed by. It might not hurt to give the Terriers some credit here...

[wally_wabash]

It might not hurt to give the Terriers some credit here...

That's fair.  Hiram did a lot of good things this weekend.  I thought Tucker made a lot of good plays.  CJ Maner was outstanding.  Danny Robinson had a really nice game.  Hiram's defense, particularly their pass rush was quite disruptive.  Hiram played really, really well. 

[Li'l Giant]

It might not hurt to give the Terriers some credit here...

You're right. Hiram played a good game. That Hiram team I saw is almost certainly the best team Hiram has fielded against Wabash. They showed no fear, played tough, and never gave up. If they don't play as well as they do, they're not leading going into the 4th quarter.

Apologies for any disrespect.

[HCAlum86]

^I've been on the board long enough to know everyone was well intentioned... it was just a little frustrating to see our program nearly pull off our biggest win in 20 years and then have everyone attribute it to the fall from grace.

Also, Wally, agreed about Maner. He's an absolute pleasure to watch.

Did anyone happen to catch Allegheny's game? I was very interested to see how they grow throughout the season.

[bashbrother]

Having said that, I do believe Hiram ACTUALLY played very well - save some unwarranted penalties that I am more than embarrassed by. It might not hurt to give the Terriers some credit here...

Yes,  they did play very well.    The toughness that your team is showing is what stands out to me.    Now,  sometimes a side effect to playing with more toughness is drawing bad penalties at times,   but for a program that has been pushed around for so so long, it is finally hitting back and is competitive....  and this is great!       

I really think Hiram has created great momentum in the program.... I look forward to seeing this continue. 

No disrespect intended.

[wally_wabash]

It's a great move by Coach Stanford to move Maner to wideout this year.  RB is a position of really good depth for Hiram and WR was a big need after last year's graduation exodus.  He's not just a body out there, he's made the transition quite well and he'll be the top target for Tucker this fall.  Really good player. 

[jknezek]

My favorite board to lurk on. Sure it's dominated by you Wabash guys, but as dominant fans go, you've got your heads on straight. While I made a crack about the angst, and I think it's probably got more than a little truth to it, the response to Hiram has been spot on.

And the Hiram guys, good job pointing it out. I didn't watch a ton of the game, probably about a quarter, but I was impressed with the Terriers showing a lot of grit. There was no backing down out there.

[83 Little Giant]

On the bright side, we had cool tailgating tents and super cool pre-game maps and parking instructions.  Where is the ticket booth though?

If only concerns about QB recruitment and offensive output could be as easily addressed.

The ticket booths (the old wooden telephone booth-sized windows) have gone the way of the Dodo.  Wabash is working its way from the 1950s into the digital world and is working through the expected kinks and generational pains of change - in this case from Depression era to Millennial.  Mobile ticketing has taken root but we still have a ticket "tent" near what is now the main gate behind the stadium for those who cannot or will not buy their tix online and for those who simply don't know that we have gone digital.  The communication about this change in ticketing has been a challenge but the experience the past three weeks has continually improved.  Probably more than you wanted to know but...

now back to the gnashing of teeth, the rending of sackcloth, and the sprinkling of ashes....

[wally_wabash]

That's really useful, 83LG.  The communications regarding mobile ticketing, new parking configurations, etc. has been clumsy to say the least going back to the Monon Bell game last fall.  Thanks for that info and clarification. 

[jamtod]

The ticket booths (the old wooden telephone booth-sized windows) have gone the way of the Dodo.  Wabash is working its way from the 1950s into the digital world and is working through the expected kinks and generational pains of change - in this case from Depression era to Millennial.  Mobile ticketing has taken root but we still have a ticket "tent" near what is now the main gate behind the stadium for those who cannot or will not buy their tix online and for those who simply don't know that we have gone digital.  The communication about this change in ticketing has been a challenge but the experience the past three weeks has continually improved.  Probably more than you wanted to know but...

now back to the gnashing of teeth, the rending of sackcloth, and the sprinkling of ashes....

I wonder what percentage of folks have/will shift to the online ticketing model. UST now has online ticketing available, but the interface is a bit clunky and I don't think there is an easy app option which would let me skip the ticket line. I'd be hesitant to buy my GA tickets in advance of the game as I'm generally bringing some combination of the 5 and 7 year old (and/or a friend of the kids) and I never know what kind of hiccups we are going to encounter coming up to gametime.

[HCAlum86]

It's a great move by Coach Stanford to move Maner to wideout this year.  RB is a position of really good depth for Hiram and WR was a big need after last year's graduation exodus.  He's not just a body out there, he's made the transition quite well and he'll be the top target for Tucker this fall.  Really good player.

Agreed, I think it was a great job of making sure he had the best players on the field. When Danny Robinson is returning from a 1st team all conference season, I think it was a great decision to ask CJ to put team before self and make the move to WR.

We still miss Burchett at LB badly, but that's a given for any LB of his caliber.