FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[smedindy]

I don't lay the NCAC cluster-flop of scheduling this year on Kenyon. I tried to work out a balanced NCAC schedule this year and couldn't without eliminating non-conference games that were probably already locked in, or the UAA games which again were locked in. I tried counting UAA games as conference games but that could wind up with some interesting dynamics.

So I blame Earlham. Easy enough.

[smedindy]

Added a new poll. Did we do our pre-season prediction bat-around? At any rate, I asked us pundits to say who will finish FOURTH? Why fourth? Well, it's almost a given that Wabash / Witt will be 1-2 and almost consensus Wooster is 3rd. However, I wanted to see what we thought of the relative strength of Wooster and most of the others.

[bashbrother]

With the possibility (?) of schedule restructuring for Wabash.   What are the chances of us getting our bye later in the season.

I still believe that Wabash is not doing themselves a favor at taking the first week off.   

[wally_wabash]

I don't lay the NCAC cluster-flop of scheduling this year on Kenyon. I tried to work out a balanced NCAC schedule this year and couldn't without eliminating non-conference games that were probably already locked in, or the UAA games which again were locked in. I tried counting UAA games as conference games but that could wind up with some interesting dynamics.

So I blame Earlham. Easy enough.

Easy enough to blame Earlham, but given everything that doesn't make sense about this year's schedule (NCAC vs. NCAC in non-league games, the exclusion of DePauw for 2011) and the amount of time that the league had to fix these things (DPU was announced as a new member in June of LAST year), there was plenty of time for a group of what I assume are smart people to put together a 2011 schedule that fixes these problems.  Earlham jammed the league up last year, but this year's schedule could have been addressed 15 months ago. 

With the possibility (?) of schedule restructuring for Wabash.   What are the chances of us getting our bye later in the season.

I still believe that Wabash is not doing themselves a favor at taking the first week off.   

Agreed, but Wabash has never played week 1 for as long as I've been following for what I can only assume are non-football reasons.  Washington, Allegheny, and Wittenberg all have two weeks to prepare for their game against Wabash which makes those challenges just a little bit stiffer.  Wabash lost two games last year, both to teams that had an extra week to prepare.  Mid to late season off weeks matter. 

[smedindy]

Indeed, Wabash, to my knowledge, has never played in week one. In fact, once or twice, they had just nine game schedules and opened with Albion, who had played two games by the time Wabash faced them. I do think that the schedule limits Wabash's ability to 'think big' in its non-conference game (assuming it's a round robin). Instead of a Wabash / Wheaton scrimmage, how about a game? Why not test yourself and take the Little Giants to Alliance on the first week of the season. Yes, we'd probably get pounded, but half that stadium would be red again.

Can't off weeks disturb the rhythm and routine, though?

As far as the NCAC schedule, there are contracts, though, and they usually last two (or four) years. And you'd be jamming up some non-NCAC teams if you broke those contracts and could incur financial penalties or (probably worse) a bad reputation. D-1 schools can break these contracts by throwing money around. I think the UAA deal was a contractual deal and breaking that would be tough without repercussions and not just in football. It'd be tough to trust NCAC schools to schedule anything had they screwed up football schedules.

It's easier to move games around in hoops because there is more flexibility and more teams you can fill in with a game that are close.

That's not to say that scheduling NCAC teams for non-NCAC games isn't silly. It is. But without screwing over teams that could include Bethany, Westminster, Macalester (who smartly got Hiram to play a game where they 'meet in the middle' at Elmhurst!), Capital, Huntingdon, B-W and DPU's schedule this year, I don't think the NCAC could do much about it until the contracts expired. And maybe lingering contracts past 2011 season is the issue with posting an 'official' 2012 schedule.

[wally_wabash]

Maybe.  It just seems to me, that with 15 months (and that's giving the league the out that they couldn't think about the 2011 football schedule with DePauw until their membership was announced, which is bogus because they knew well before it was announced that it was going to happen) they could have figured something out.  Start by placing the games with non-league teams (don't want to violate contracts, for obvious reasons).  Then place the UAA games, which we are all still obligated to for this year.  Then, with what's left over, I can't believe that we couldn't have worked out a league schedule, particularly when you wipe off those non-league games vs. league opponents.  I've got two and a half hours until Breaking Bad.  I might play around with this. 

[Pat Coleman]

Indeed, Wabash, to my knowledge, has never played in week one. In fact, once or twice, they had just nine game schedules and opened with Albion, who had played two games by the time Wabash faced them. I do think that the schedule limits Wabash's ability to 'think big' in its non-conference game (assuming it's a round robin). Instead of a Wabash / Wheaton scrimmage, how about a game? Why not test yourself and take the Little Giants to Alliance on the first week of the season. Yes, we'd probably get pounded, but half that stadium would be red again.

Can't off weeks disturb the rhythm and routine, though?

As far as the NCAC schedule, there are contracts, though, and they usually last two (or four) years. And you'd be jamming up some non-NCAC teams if you broke those contracts and could incur financial penalties or (probably worse) a bad reputation. D-1 schools can break these contracts by throwing money around. I think the UAA deal was a contractual deal and breaking that would be tough without repercussions and not just in football. It'd be tough to trust NCAC schools to schedule anything had they screwed up football schedules.

It's easier to move games around in hoops because there is more flexibility and more teams you can fill in with a game that are close.

That's not to say that scheduling NCAC teams for non-NCAC games isn't silly. It is. But without screwing over teams that could include Bethany, Westminster, Macalester (who smartly got Hiram to play a game where they 'meet in the middle' at Elmhurst!), Capital, Huntingdon, B-W and DPU's schedule this year, I don't think the NCAC could do much about it until the contracts expired. And maybe lingering contracts past 2011 season is the issue with posting an 'official' 2012 schedule.

Conference certainly have integrated teams into their schedule on much less notice than that, most notably the PAC, which brought Thomas More into the conference in the spring and had them on the slate that fall. But that meant breaking a lot of contracts and ... well, we were publicly opposed to that. They thought they could get an AQ right away but they had to go through the waiting period.

It does seem as if this is a long wait for the NCAC.

[LGHistorian]

In 1980, Wabash did play in week 1...but it was because an opponent wanted out of their contract with Wabash.  I believe it was Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes) that asked out of their contract.  The game was supposed to be played Oct. 4 and left Wabash with only 8 games on their schedule.  Wabash was going through a short stretch where they were only scheduling 9 games.  Central (Iowa) agreed to play in week 1 and Coach Parrish and Wabash guaranteed them some extra money to get them to come to Crawfordsville.  Coach Parrish told me that he wanted to make sure they had to come to Wabash rather than taking the Little Giants to Iowa.  It was a one and done contract.

I also remember Coach Parrish was quoted in the local paper about the schedule change...he said something about Southwestern had an opportunity to pick up an opponent that they would be more competitive with (not Coach Parrish's exact quote...he was a bit more creative in his description of the contract cancellation.)

So, it took a broken contract for Wabash to play in week 1.  Also, it is my understanding that Wabash has some sort of policy in regards to football that they do not or won't allow scheduling in week 1.

I also know that when Coach Parrish was the head coach at Wabash he absolutely hated open dates.  His philosophy seemed to be that it threw the team out of sync or rhythm.  I guess that's why I feel the same way.  The influence of the NFL and their open dates being used as a time to prepare and heal up for the next opponent has convinced a great many people that you need one at the collegiate level.  Most coaches I have heard at the college and high school level claim it to be closer to  a distraction to their players when there is a disruption to the flow of practices and games.

[wally_wabash]

Bye weeks didn't seem to hinder Wittenberg or Washington last year.  Later in the season, say week 5 or later, I think the positives that a well coached team can take from an extra week to prepare outweigh the negative of being "idle". 

Anyway, I played around with the schedule, using all ten teams and not disturbing the UAA dates or dates already scheduled with other non-NCAC teams.  I took out any and all non-league games between league opponents and opened up those dates for scheduling.  I also wiped out DePauw's games vs. SCAC teams because if this were going to be an option, those games wouldn't exist.  I did keep their games vs. RHIT and Albion.  Because a couple of teams have four games scheduled between the UAA and other non-league opponents for 2011, I created a 6-game league schedule.  Magically, in about 90 minutes, I was able to create what I think is a pretty fair 6-game league schedule, and plant every game on the schedule around those fixed dates already mentioned.  Give me a bit and I'll format that table and get it posted here for your perusal. 

Alright, here's what I came up with.  I didn't specify home/away but that's probably trivial.  The point is that a schedule could have been made...I did this in a little over an hour.  Week's 1-11, top to bottom. everybody plays 6 leagues games.  Not everybody has 10 games, also something that could have been addressed 15 months ago.  It could have been worked out. 

ALL

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DEN

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DEP

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HIR

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KEN

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OBE

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OWU

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WAB

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WIT

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WOO

Bethany

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RHIT

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Westminster

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Capital

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BW

CMU

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Earlham

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KEN

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HIR

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WAB

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WIT

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OWU

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WAB

HIR

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Case

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CMU

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WOO

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CHI

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OWU

Case

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WIT

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WOO

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CMU

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OBE

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KEN

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CHI

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DEN

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DEP

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CHI

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Macalester

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Case

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CMU

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WAS

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Huntingdon

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WIT

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OBE

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KEN

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Case

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DEN

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WAB

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HIR

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OWU

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CHI

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ALL

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CMU

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Case

WOO

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WAB

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WIT

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OBE

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OWU

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HIR

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KEN

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DEN

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Albion

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WOO

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OWU

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OBE

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WIT

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WAB

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OBE

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KEN

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WAB

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OWU

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ALL

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HIR

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WOO

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WIT

[smedindy]

Thanks, Historian. I thought you may know of something, and I'm not surprised that it was under duress.

Wabash also has rules about Homecoming, and unlike many 'traditions' the Week 1 and the Homecoming dates are pretty much set as gospel.

Of course, I also thought Pitt / Penn State and Nebraska / Oklahoma were traditions that would never die. Alas...

[Li'l Giant]

Yeah, those open dates could have been filled in 15 months. Nice work.

[LGHistorian]

Well, the bye week for Washington and Wittenberg was very strategic.  Washington was getting ready for a nationally ranked opponent and Wittenberg was getting ready for a bitter rival...this is an intangible that can make a difference...which I know blows my theory to kingdom come.  But, if the bye week comes before a game against a team that does not fit either of those categories and possibly playing a winless team or a team that you just really don't have that much to get up for, complacency would be a problem...which is also a problem that can happen when you play 2 or 3 "big games" in a row and then play a second division team.

I, personally, think the lack of a bye week for Wabash is not that big of a deal now that the Little Giants are in a conference and since they play mostly the same schools every year there is a great wealth of background information on their opponents.

[wally_wabash]

I, personally, think the lack of a bye week for Wabash is not that big of a deal now that the Little Giants are in a conference and since they play mostly the same schools every year there is a great wealth of background information on their opponents.

If you've got two teams of relatively equal caliber who are equally familiar with one another because they play annually as conference opponents you expect those games to be relatively close give or take a few points based on who's got better seniors, who's playing at home, etc...things that swing back and forth every year.  So you've got two teams that are essentially equal.  Now give one of those two teams 13 days to prepare while the other gets six days.  That's twice as much film time, twice as many practices, twice as many reps against a dedicated scout team.  I think that's an enormous advantage.

[Bishopleftiesdad]

OWU has its football preview out:

http://bishops.owu.edu/2011-12/fb11ovr.html

"With key returnees in the offensive skill positions and defensive secondary, and a largely veteran offensive line, we will be an improved football team," Hollway said. "With our experience, we expect to increase our big-play potential, eliminate big plays defensively, and improve our level of consistency on offense and in special teams."

[wally_wabash]

Did we do our pre-season prediction bat-around?

We did not...I'll put mine out there.  I'm going to predict conference records and standings only here. 

1) Wabash (6-0) - Shocker here, I know.  Wabash has two tough games...opening at the Papp against Wooster and then obviously at home against Wittenberg.  I think the LGs have enough of a talent edge on the Scots to get through that game (looking for a solid revenge/eff you game from Wes) and then I like the LGs to hold serve at home against Wittenberg.  Those are really hard games though and could go either way. 

2) Witt (5-1) - Zoeller/McKee/Cooper...apparently Weber is back also.  The offense will be really good.  This team's success I think is going depend on how well the rebuilt o-line protects against the better teams on their schedule.  If you can't pressure Zoeller, better hope you can put up a 40-burger and win a shootout. 

t3) Wooster (4-2) - Curious to see how much improvement Barnes has made since November.  He's going to be the key for Wooster obviously.  Flagg (entering his 9th year at Wooster it seems) has some nice games, but if you look closely, when the competition level steps up his numbers are pretty pedestrian.  Barnes is the guy that makes this offense go.  I'm picking against Wooster in their two games against the W's because you can generally get some things going vertically against the Scot D and vertical is going to be a strength of their two best opponents.  That's a strength vs. a weakness, and I don't see enough verstality in the Scot O to beat good defenses.  They should overwhelm the rest of their league schedule. 

t3) Allegheny (4-2) - Allegheny and Wooster should be playing one another, but they aren't so we end up with a tie.  The Gators are going to be further behind Wit/Wab than Wooster is, but the Gators do have a tremendously favorable home schedule (they don't leave Meadville after 10/8...but no, this schedule is a-ok).  They are breaking in a new QB (even if they go with an upperclassman, he's got no game reps).  They may get a test from Denison on 10/15, but should be ok there. 

t5) Denison (3-3) - The Big Red should be better than Hiram, Kenyon, and Oberlin (all at home).  Their chance to get a winning league record and break into the top half of the standings will be at Allegheny (as noted previously). 

t5) OWU (3-3) - The Bishops have all three W's in September and I don't think they are ready to win those games yet.  If they don't start yanking experienced players after an 0-3 league start, they should be able to beat Kenyon, Oberlin, and Hiram to close the season. 

t7) Oberlin (1-5) - I have the Yeomen beating Hiram in September at home for their lone league win.  At a different point in the season I may pick them to beat OWU, but into November the attrition of 8 games generally hits Oberlin harder than teams with larger rosters. 

t7) Kenyon (1-5) - I also have Kenyon beating Hiram for their win.  I think Hiram takes a big hit with Rehor out. 

9) Hiram (0-6) - I think Rehor was going to have Hiram in the running for 2-3 wins this year, but he's hurt and Hiram has to find a new QB...again.  I may be downplaying the field renovation factor here, particularly in the home opener against Kenyon.  That game could swing either way...maybe hometurf advantage gets the Terriers over in week 2. 

So I guess my answer to the poll question is...nobody finishes fourth!