FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[The_Bishop]

34-yard field goal by OWU is good!

WITT - 20
OWU - 13

13:57 left in the game.  C'mon, boys.

[The_Bishop]

camp & practice.....

Exactly.

[aueagle]

34 yards out and he hit it....he has the leg for 12 more yds....
This game is a lot closer than any of us thought......that 3 pts lost
could be huge....

[smedindy]

34 yards out and he hit it....he has the leg for 12 more yds....
This game is a lot closer than any of us thought......that 3 pts lost
could be huge....

I think going for it is the right call. If you get it, you get momentum. If you don't go for it you send a message to your offense that you trust them. Both good results.

[The_Bishop]

Witt strikes back again in a hurry.

WITT - 27
OWU - 13

11:58 left in the game.  Bummer.

[aueagle]

Can't give up the big play like that....
OWU needs to score quickly....Espo's stats have to be crazy

[aueagle]

No.......

[The_Bishop]

Witt likely ices it, offense just too much.

WITT - 33
OWU - 13

[aueagle]

Very good effort by OWU for 3 QTS.....
Espo had to throw 50 balls....but, what are the rushing numbers
I just think ya have to have better balance in an offenese.
Bishops are young...Witt radio team says about Wesleyan team,
"The nucleus is there".....The Skull stays in Springfield...
Bishops have to stay together....this is just the start of the meatgrinder.
GO BISHOPS

[aueagle]

51 balls by Espo...244 yds..
29 rushing...they said it was a good crowd
...Witt radio was impressed by Selby scoreboard

[wally_wabash]

Finally back from rural Ohio...here's what I saw today. 

- I think Wabash was extremely well prepared and ready to play.  There was some first game sloppiness, so no, it wasn't perfect.  But it was a pretty stout effort for a first game. 

- I thought the offense did ok today.  Then I went over the boxscore just a second ago and that's pretty unfair.  The offense did quite well today.  246 rush yards today (6.0 ypc...nice!) for the LG backfield.  The running backs each contributed (Hunt led on  yardage, Holmes and Rowe each had nice TD runs).  Here's one big thing...last year Chase took 46 yards of negative plays in this game.  Today he took one sack and lost just three yards.  It's huge for this offense to be in front of the chains, and eliminating those negative plays from last year shows a lot of growth.  17-35 on pass attempts is a lower percentage than you like see, but I think that'll get worked out as we go along.  Belton was a 65% passer last year, so you expect that percentage to go up as game speed becomes the norm.  Overall, Wabash banged out 25 first downs and 490 yards of offense.  The 19 points seems slight, but the offense really moved the ball well most of the day. 

- The defense, as I alluded to early, was awesome.  The Hard Hats allowed Wooster into the red zone just one time today, that came on a ball that should have been picked, slipped through some hands and wound up on McIntyre.  The LGs responded by forcing Flagg to fumble, and that also wound up on McIntyre in the end zone.  That all happened on Wooster's first possession.  The Scots didn't sniff the end zone for the rest of the day.  CJ Gum is still really good.  Nate Scola is good.  Those guys on the DL played really well today.  But seriously...Houston freaking Hodges.  Love what I saw from that kid today.  Wooster went at HH all day today without much success.  I think the LGs have a really good player on that corner right now. 

- Special teams...wait and see on the placekicking.  Missed the first PAT today which forced a 2-pt try later.  Thought the punters did fine.  Wes looks smooth in the return game...was hoping to see 84 break one off today, but it'll come eventually.  Punt block...just missed getting one in the end zone today.  That group will get theirs. 

Final thought here...19-7 doesn't look or sound all that impressive, but Wabash played well today.  Left a couple of scoring chances begging in the red zone and that 7 on the the other side was all about the ball bouncing Wooster's way on two straight plays.  The bottom line today, I think, is that Wabash went on the road to play a good team that had extra camp time and a real game under their belt, and got a conference win.  A win by any score today is a good thing.  Now the LGs get to make their game 1 to game 2 improvements, and we shall see where the season goes from there.  Great job over there today by this group.  WAF!

[wally_wabash]

Side note on Wooster...They are 0-2 and 0-1 in league play, but I think the Scots will be fine.  Barnes is awesome and most of what Wooster got today happened because Barnes got loose and kept plays alive.  CWRU will be a tester, but I'd not be the least bit surprised if Wooster is done dropping games until week 11...and who knows right now what could be riding on their game vs. Witt. 


Side side note on going for 4th and 9 from the 29...based on what I've seen in D-III I think MOST teams would go for it there.  It's generally not a matter of leg...most kids can kick it 42 or 45 yards or whatever.  Most don't reliably kick it between the posts from that distance.  Unless you're looking at an end of half or end of game situation (grumble, Havercamp, grumble) when the chance to score on one play is better with that field goal than it is with some hail mary type of play, then you're going to go for it.  In D-III, you just can't think a 40+ FG is a given. 

Unprecedented triple side note(s)!:
- 'Grats to Hiram on breaking in their new rug with a win today. 
- 'Grats to Allegheny for getting their, um, stuff together and putting it on CMU today.  Nice rebound. 
- 'Grats to DPU (send your thank you cards to Kean)...you guys officially have a window to the tournament.  All you have to do is not lose ever this season. 
- 'Grats to Denison for laying the wood to Earlham...just because. 

[smedindy]

What about the passes deflected at the line? Is that a concern?

[wally_wabash]

What about the passes deflected at the line? Is that a concern?

Maybe...we'll have to see.  There was some grumbling in the stands about that...and also about not tackling Barnes every time a white jersey got near him.  Here's the thing about that stuff: sometimes the other guys also have good players that make good plays.  Wooster's defensive line is pretty good and I give them credit for (Madden voice) gettin' their paws up there and knockin' it down.  They did well to jump out and disrupt a couple of the bubbles Wabash was setting up for Wes also.  Wooster gets some credit for those batted balls.  If Wabash goes through the next couple of weeks and they are seeing Belton's passes getting bounced backward 3-4 times every week, then it's a bigger deal, but I wouldn't freak out about it after one game. 

[smedindy]

Right. It is a small sample size against a good team. I am quite pleased about our backs. And how Wabash stepped up in the 2nd half.