FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[Li'l Giant]

How is a team that has won 27 of 28 games against its league not ranked? Fairly simple -- the NCAC isn't a very strong football conference.

Pretty much my thought exactly.

For all that June talk, Wes, we haven't fared well against you guys, or in the playoffs. The inertia from our conference wins can't withstand that. I think the voters here have stopped giving Wabash (or whoever the NCAC favorite may be) the benefit of the doubt. It's not entirely undeserved.

I just hope this team can prove the poll wrong. Is it September yet? 

[D3_DPUFan]

Response to the Danny poster who withdrew his "Silence" post sometime yesterday,  It is not nearly as quiet as Blackstock after mid-November.   

Good one! And I rescind my withdrawl. 

Just for the sake of shaking the fruit out of the tree a little bit, I notice that a certain somebody has been omitted.

Wes, the silence to your post is deafening. 

Pre-season polls are just that "pre-season polls"  I don't think you see too many, if any, Wabash folk getting too excited about them.

And thanks for providing some comic relief in your post as well! 

[D3_DPUFan]

If memory serves, our esteemed D3football.com publisher has a pretty heavy hand in the USA Today poll.  Pat's eyewitness account of Wabash and DePauw is not going to play favorably for Wabash.  We can sit back and say "oh it was just one game and wasn't representative" all we want, but the fact remains that on the day he saw our teams play, Wabash looked like garbage and DePauw looked every bit a playoff team...and not just a playoff team but one very capable of advancing a round or two.  Couple that with Wabash's 30-point drubbing at home against Wheaton, and the taste left in the pollster's mouth really isn't very good. 

Probably a pretty fair assesment. Pat got the eyewitness account and I've got to believe is as knowledgable as anyone on matters of DIII FB, probably more so, and some of that is based on actually watching games. I've posted before my curiosity at how the preseason polls in TSN and Lindy's are put together with little (if any?) first hand knowledge (attending games or watching tape). At any rate, I think the sentiment in your last paragraph is shared by many in gold and black and red and white...

But it's just a poll.  It will be interesting to see if Wabash uses these polls and conversations as a source of motivation.  It'll be interesting to see if how DePauw handles their first exposure to high national expectations.  2009 looks like a lot of fun to me.   

[DPU3619]

I wasn't really trying to criticize the poll.  Heck, I think it's a riot.  Guess it does sound like I was poo-pooing it, in hindsight.  It'd be hard for me to leave Wabash out, but I see where your coming from.  Was just trying to stir these fellers out of a little mid-summer slumber.   

Although, I do agree about Millsaps.  They do have the similar conference record over the past couple years, but they are breaking in a new quarterback and have to replace 6 players on defense who were at least honorable mention all-SCAC, including all 4 members of the secondary. 

[bashbrother]

My comments had nothing to do with the poll.  it simply had to do with a comment.   I actually would prefer not being in any polls in pre-season.   It can create a expectation that can sometime mess with the heads of these young student athletes.  (Ie - when Wabash was ranked 3rd or 4th in pre-season in 2002 or 03. ) 

I think the Case and for that matter the Monmouth picks were in large part because these two teams have truly exceptional signal callers returning along with other key returners.   I support Pat's poll, in doing the "Season Preview" he and his staff are probably getting a pretty good view of the field.  Wabash losing pretty much its entire starting defensive line, has put some additional question marks on the view of the team going into the season.

Relax.

Respect is earned... Lets hope that Wabash can move forward in this regard this year.  They have somewhat been flatlined since 2005.  As others have said, we have gotten pretty good at winning the NCAC and winning 9 or 10 games a year, but outside of the conference and winning or making a 2nd round playoff game competitive is the next step.

[smedindy]

Agreed. Wabash ran up a gaudy record against some stiffs last year, and struggled when they played top competition. It could be said they may have been a 7-3 team had Witt been Witt and had Wooster played a better game.

However, 2009 is a new year, they're 0-0 and can beat anyone on their schedule. Last year's finish should only motivate the LG's.

[Pat Coleman]

I wasn't really trying to criticize the poll.  Heck, I think it's a riot.  Guess it does sound like I was poo-pooing it, in hindsight.  It'd be hard for me to leave Wabash out, but I see where your coming from.  Was just trying to stir these fellers out of a little mid-summer slumber.   

I didn't have a problem with it. Just giving my take, since I'm here to do so.

[wally_wabash]

Hope all you NCAC fans have a great Independence Day.  Fire up those grills! 

[blue4now]

Wally

CWRU has beaten UC and CMU on the road the last 2 yrs.  They arent the stiffs you may be referring to?  Widener was tough as well, and Wooster is always a rough go.

Basically CWRU has 19 starters returning including all the skill players (2 qb, 5 rb, 6 wr, 3 te).  The OL needs a tweak or two but plenty of backups saw considerable time.  The D lost a couple key performers as well but return a strong nucleus.

This is now a sr dominated team with 3 strong classes behind them.  We look forward to another Wabash mtg this fall.  We let the last one slip away.  26 seconds too long....

Go Case !!   Go Spartans!!!   Go Blue!!!!  [/color]

[raiderguy]

Mount Union will play WIAC Wisconsin Oshkosh in home and home series in 2010 & 2011.

Wooster dodges another bullet!

[wally_wabash]

Wally

CWRU has beaten UC and CMU on the road the last 2 yrs.  They arent the stiffs you may be referring to?  Widener was tough as well, and Wooster is always a rough go.

Basically CWRU has 19 starters returning including all the skill players (2 qb, 5 rb, 6 wr, 3 te).  The OL needs a tweak or two but plenty of backups saw considerable time.  The D lost a couple key performers as well but return a strong nucleus.

This is now a sr dominated team with 3 strong classes behind them.  We look forward to another Wabash mtg this fall.  We let the last one slip away.  26 seconds too long....

Go Case !!   Go Spartans!!!   Go Blue!!!!  [/color]

Wabash plays UC at Stagg this September.  I'll let you know if that's a rough game or not, but my spider sense isn't exactly tingling.  

CWRU's OWP ranked 192nd in 2008 (Wabash was 118) and 129 in 2007 (Wabash was 28).  Also noteworthy is that in 2007 only 8 CWRU opponents were regional...Gallaudet and St. Vincent (combined 2-16) didn't count on the OWP, so CWRU's schedule strength from 2007 is actually biased upward.  

The point is that CWRU isn't beating anybody of note either.  And given that our conferences are locked into playing games against each other, outside of the playoffs our teams really won't have the chance to branch out and try to get some of those marquee wins that they need to get.  

I have no doubt that CWRU is going to be good again this season.  I can't find a reason why your Spartans won't be going 10-0 again and hosting a first round game for the third straight season.  

[short]

I have no doubt that CWRU is going to be good again this season.  I can't find a reason why your Spartans won't be going 10-0 again and hosting a first round game for the third straight season. 

I can, WOOSTER!!!  I look for the Scots to have a breakout season in 2009!

[wally_wabash]

I have no doubt that CWRU is going to be good again this season.  I can't find a reason why your Spartans won't be going 10-0 again and hosting a first round game for the third straight season. 

I can, WOOSTER!!!  I look for the Scots to have a breakout season in 2009!

I know, I know...short's steam is on Wooster right now, but why would anybody think that CWRU playing with much the same team that has beaten Wooster each of the last two years is going to lose this year?  I'm not saying Wooster won't or can't win that game (Wooster is going to be good as well), but there's not a compelling reason to think that the Spartans shouldn't be favored to keep the fish stringer in 2009.

[Black n Gold]

Wally

I too may put my money on Woo this year as well (with Short). Things are looking very good for the boys and 8-2 is not an option. I see your reasoning in matchups and returning starters but there is something special brewing in Wooster and its gonna make for a great year. The D will be the backbone of this years squad.... 8)

[blue4now]

Wally,

good insight...  Good luck this fall.