FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[DPU3619]

Ol' Hal is at it again.  D3 record 848 yards of offense for McMurry today.  Beat TLU 60-16.  QB Jake Mullin went 43-57 for 614 & 4 scores.  #teamoftheweek

Here's the box. 

EDIT: Here's the carnage from the mountain.  240 total yards.  6 of 20 on third down.  Kirtley 11-30 passing for 133 & 2 picks.  14 carries for 40.  Nice day for Armani Cato on the ground - 18 carries for 85.

Now averaging 12.8 ppg and 190 passing yds/game.  303 total yards of offense per & converting 41% of third downs.

[wally_wabash]

Around the league today....

- Wabash held off a feisty Oberlin team 37-23.  LG offense struggled mightily but were picked up by 16 points scored by the defense and special teams. 

- Witt took care of their business at Kenyon 45-7. 

- Allegheny and Denison looked like pretty equal teams coming in.  It played out that way with Allegheny scoring at the end of the game to get a 31-28 win. 

- Wooster fell behind WashU early and couldn't quite make up the early difference in a 24-20 loss. 

- Hiram was handled by CWRU 34-7.

- DePauw's struggles continued, losing at Sewanee 30-7. 

[BashDad]

What in the world, Chase Belton? Seriously? REALLY, Chase Belton?

[bashbrother]

A comment I have been wanting to share with this board for sometime:

In college sports, there are individual players that show flashes of brilliance or at least the potential of being superstars.  As fans, we look forward to watching as they gain more experience and develop from underclassman to upperclassman.   Many times, players do climb the ladder and improve with experience and  with every off season to reach their full expected potential by the time they reach their Junior and Senior seasons.   Sometimes, although, players hit a ceiling and do not get any better; either physically or being able to handle the game mentally.   It is not a given that college players get better from year to year.  Sometimes.... they even go backwards.   On some occasions, it has nothing to do with the game and can be outside distraction or friction of some kind with coaching staffs.   Look at Notre Dame.... how many Blue Chips have melted down up in South Bend in the past 10 years?

WAF!

[BashDad]

Well, that aint subtle.

[bashbrother]

BashDad..... has nothing to do with your post..... it is a general observation about "Reality" not always being what we, as fans,  think it is.   

[wally_wabash]

Look at Notre Dame.... how many Blue Chips have melted down up in South Bend in the past 10 years?

How many of those kids are "blue chips" because they get recruited by Notre Dame, whose fans just happen to buy more Athlon mags than anybody outside of the SEC?  If we're being generous, I think recruiting class grades are suspect.  If we're being honest, they're a cheap marketing ploy to get into the pockets of rabid fan bases that have unrealistic expectations. 

[bashbrother]

Look at Notre Dame.... how many Blue Chips have melted down up in South Bend in the past 10 years?

, I think recruiting class grades are suspect.  If we're being honest, they're a cheap marketing ploy to get into the pockets of rabid fan bases that have unrealistic expectations.

Totally agree with that.

[wabco]

Not too late to dust off that single wing book by Ken Keurfel.  Either that ... or ... it is spelled T . Y. L. E. R

[smedindy]

Oh, here we go again.

Oberlin had two 80-yard drives. That ain't on Belton.

A relatively healthy Oberlin gave Witt all it could handle for three quarters at Witt.

Oberlin ain't a bunch of putzes or Sissy Marys.

You want to rip a team apart? Toy with replacing the QB when they're 6-0.

The entire team needs to play better to win out the tough games and the rivalry game. Because even if DPU is heinous and moribund, they are dangerous because they have ONE thing to play for, and it's a big thing.

[wally_wabash]

Are we really going to do this all week again?  A lot of people had a bad game up there today, not just one. 

[wally_wabash]

The point is valid.  You don't go around playing musical quarterbacks when the team is winning.  You don't. 

In the fourth quarter, Oberlin with all of the momentum in the world, Belton led a drive that chewed up most of the clock and ended with a decisive touchdown.  He converted a key third down with a rush during that drive...avoided a three and out with that conversion.  When the team absolutely had to have it, he got it done.  The team is winning.  What more can you want?

[DPU3619]

I wouldn't pull him. I don't think it's the quarterback's fault. I think it's the scheme. 

I didn't watch today.  I couldn't get the feed to work, but everything else I've watched this year hasn't been him missing throws. They can't get open.  I said a couple weeks ago that if you make Wabash one dimensional, they're in trouble. 99 yards on 36 carries today?  Blech.  No wonder Belton couldn't complete a pass.

[wally_wabash]

It's time to put this nonsense to bed.  Belton and Burke split a lot of time last year.  Here's how they performed:

Belton: 106-163, 65.0%, 1435 yards, 13 TD, 6 INT, 157.9 PER
Burke: 70-134, 52.2%, 1016 yards, 9 TD, 5 INT, 130.6 PER

When they were playing last year basically as 1A and 1B, Belton had better numbers.  Higher completion percentage, better TD:INT ratio, higher efficiency.  There simply is no empirical evidence that says plugging in Burke makes Wabash's offense appreciably better. 

If it was obvious that Burke is better at quarterback for Wabash than Belton is, it's safe to assume that the guys that watch those two play every single day would know it.  How does that not make sense? 

[smedindy]

Ack! My bad. Didn't even mean to bring up anything political. Been reading a great book on that on my drive back from MN with my stuff and it was just in my head.

I do think it's nuts though to change QBs. And I wanted to be clever. Hoist by my own petard. And you'll just have to guess what it was about! HAH!

But I thought I saw Leyland waving in Aurelio Lopez just now...