FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[smedindy]

What we can all agree on is that it's refreshing to have this dialogue for a big game (not named the Monon Bell). It's another reason why I lament the lack of Wittenberg posters.

[skunks_sidekick]

Ahhhhhh.......I see some things never change.   

There's BashDad doing what he does best.  Bashing some team, and then backing it up with his "stats", even when folks tell him that he is missing the point.

I think all the OWU people are saying this is a great year compared to recent history.  They are frickin' 7-0...PERIOD. 

It doesn't mean they are WITT/BASH material, but they are certainly OWU 2.0 at a minimum.  Give them a break dude.

Seriously......why don't you go back an argue ad naseum why Franklin will beat Mount, or at least give them a game. 

Geesh....   

[The_Bishop]

I think all the OWU people are saying this is a great year compared to recent history.  They are frickin' 7-0...PERIOD. 

It doesn't mean they are WITT/BASH material, but they are certainly OWU 2.0 at a minimum.  Give them a break dude.

Hear hear.

[Mr. Ypsi]

I plan to root for OWU this Saturday in their "Impossible Quest" - just to witness BashDad's head exploding!

[The_Bishop]

I plan to root for OWU this Saturday in their "Impossible Quest" - just to witness BashDad's head exploding!

Won't happen.  OWU gave up a TON of points against Hiram, had a kick off return for a TD against DePauw, has hard water in the locker room showers, and never plays well the second Saturday after a New Moon.

[NCAC4Life]

Bashdad, You have a great team. I am happy for you. But you are not Alabama.

Bash lost a game to Allegheny who despite your pleas to make it just go away and disappear, is a bad loss. OWU has no bad losses!

Last year Bash gave up 291 yards passing to OWU. Chase Belton ran for 55 yards and lost 54 yards. He got harassed by a "bad" defense all day. Your leading running back in the game averaged 3.9 yards per carry and gained a total of 55 yards. Yeah you won 28-7 at home but you played OWU 7-7 the last three quarters. The big difference in the game was a guy named Chamblee who had 103 yards in receptions and 93 yards in kick returns. Last time I looked he is gone.

These stats alone tell me that OWU is not the only one who might need to buckle up this week.

[BashDad]

Ahhhhhh.......I see some things never change.   

There's BashDad doing what he does best.  Bashing some team, and then backing it up with his "stats", even when folks tell him that he is missing the point.

I think all the OWU people are saying this is a great year compared to recent history.  They are frickin' 7-0...PERIOD. 

It doesn't mean they are WITT/BASH material, but they are certainly OWU 2.0 at a minimum.  Give them a break dude.

Seriously......why don't you go back an argue ad naseum why Franklin will beat Mount, or at least give them a game. 

Geesh....   

In my humble defense, most of my pre-season UMU chatter was based around Seaman, who, well, yeah....

[Blutarsky]

Of course OWU still won. It's Hiram, bless their hearts.

Even the worst teams in D-3 (the Maranatha Baptist, Misericordia, Anderson, Earlham, etc.) can find the end zone once against a good team, even a pretty good team. (Somehow, Misericordia scored seven against Lebanon Valley). Earlham scored 20 against Franklin who I guess has decided that foolishness of having points scored against them must stop. I wouldn't put much credence in Hiram scoring 24 against OWU since it was 34-7 before bench clearing time began, but I wouldn't put much credence in jumping out to a 34-7 lead over the Terriers either.

The issue to me is that OWU's taking advantage of a down NCAC (and UAA, honestly - because CWRU isn't so hot to trot) and a good schedule to have a great start. It's tremendous for them if they wind up 9-1 (which they easily could) but it's a shallow 9-1 that may not even be good enough for a "C" if it comes to that (though their SOS is better than Heidelberg or Widener). But let's not crown them, yet.

Heidelberg's strength of schedule will improve this week.......

[BashDad]

Yeah you won 28-7 at home but you played OWU 7-7 the last three quarters.

Wait. You're saying we won 28-7, and not only that, but Bash was up 21-0 before the first quarter expired, and I'm supposed to be worried that OWU has Wabash's number?

This is a thin argument.

[BashDad]

I plan to root for OWU this Saturday in their "Impossible Quest" - just to witness BashDad's head exploding!

Won't happen.  OWU gave up a TON of points against Hiram, had a kick off return for a TD against DePauw...

Yeah, exactly dude.

[wally_wabash]

Bashdad, You have a great team. I am happy for you. But you are not Alabama.

Nor is Mason Espinosa Matt Barkley. 

Bash lost a game to Allegheny who despite your pleas to make it just go away and disappear, is a bad loss. OWU has no bad losses!

True on both accounts.  It may be that OWU does not have a good win either.  I really need to know more about why Patrick Blanks touched the ball one time in that game.  That matters a lot to the context of OWU's result in Pittsburgh on Saturday.  If Blanks didn't play in that game, I'm not certain that OWU has played a team as good as Allegheny that they could have possibly lost to. 

Last year Bash gave up 291 yards passing to OWU.

80 on one play.  OWU got into the red zone twice (both after the game was in hand), scored zero points when they did get down there.  2-14 on 3rd downs.  Let's not pretend that OWU was slinging it all over the yard and marching up and down on Wabash last year. 

Chase Belton ran for 55 yards and lost 54 yards. He got harassed by a "bad" defense all day.

Chase doesn't need to run for 150 when he's busy ripping a defense for four TDs through the air.  This is important.  Mason Espinosa can only beat you with his right arm.  If that's not working, OWU is doomed.  Belton can beat you running or throwing...dealer's choice.  One last note...every fifth pass that Belton threw against OWU last year ended up being a touchdown.  Every fifth pass. 

Your leading running back in the game averaged 3.9 yards per carry and gained a total of 55 yards.

Wabash is running better than they were in game 2 of the 2011 season.  By a lot. 

Yeah you won 28-7 at home but you played OWU 7-7 the last three quarters.

Football games are four quarters, not three.

[smedindy]

Also, in BashDad's defense, Franklin DID score the only points thus far on the Mt. Union defensive ledger.

So, yeah...

[wally_wabash]

Of course OWU still won. It's Hiram, bless their hearts.

Even the worst teams in D-3 (the Maranatha Baptist, Misericordia, Anderson, Earlham, etc.) can find the end zone once against a good team, even a pretty good team. (Somehow, Misericordia scored seven against Lebanon Valley). Earlham scored 20 against Franklin who I guess has decided that foolishness of having points scored against them must stop. I wouldn't put much credence in Hiram scoring 24 against OWU since it was 34-7 before bench clearing time began, but I wouldn't put much credence in jumping out to a 34-7 lead over the Terriers either.

The issue to me is that OWU's taking advantage of a down NCAC (and UAA, honestly - because CWRU isn't so hot to trot) and a good schedule to have a great start. It's tremendous for them if they wind up 9-1 (which they easily could) but it's a shallow 9-1 that may not even be good enough for a "C" if it comes to that (though their SOS is better than Heidelberg or Widener). But let's not crown them, yet.

Heidelberg's strength of schedule will improve this week.......

Heidelberg's SOS will improve each of the next three weeks.  OWU's SOS will improve this week and next, then maybe not so much with the Wooster game.  CMU can help by beating Chicago and WUStl (the game against CWRU is a wash on their SOS since the CWRU is a common opponent).  Ultimately, I think Heidelberg winds up with a better SOS than OWU does.  OWU also has a better shot of not losing twice before the season ends, so there's that. 

[nike]

If Wabash had beaten Allegheny, this board would not be quite so heated.  But they lost.  If Ohio Weslyan had lost to Carnegie Mellon, again, there wouldn't be the cool posts that there have been the last couple days.  Wabash lost and Ohio Weslyan is undefeated.  So some Wabash faithful I say some are a bit unnerved.  And Ohio Weslyan posters are excited. And folks that root for other NCAC teams when big games happen.  Rightfully so.
No matter what happens this Saturday in Delaware Ohio, it has been a very good year for the NCAC.  Maybe not strength of schedule wise or nationally, or competitively outside the conference. But for the league as a whole and the excitement of new teams battling for the title(I am sorry, playing competitve ball this year) has been great.
Hope OWU is working to get the stands filled. Could and should be the largest attendance for an NCAC game in quite some time. 
I'd be giving tickets away.

[BashDad]

No matter what happens this Saturday in Delaware Ohio, it has been a very good year for the NCAC.   Maybe not strength of schedule wise or nationally, or competitively outside the conference.

What in the world are you talking about? So, like, just because?