FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[nike]

On Ohio Wesleyan:
"Mason Espinosa has a great arm and can make all the throws. He's a big guy so he also sees the field well. We saw him as a freshman and he's gotten better and better every season — and he was already pretty good that first season. This will be the best passing game we will have faced defensively by far this season. This will be a tremendous test."

Raeburn's words, not mine.

[wabco]

Ahh ... Smeds, the Wormtounge of the NCAC Board.

Bishops:  just remember:  Grand Canyon ... that is what the Wabash Hard Hat D is going to make it look like.

[Wabash Hokie]

You guys are deep!  Very, very deep.  BashDad, always enjoy your posts, but lately you have taken this board to a new level.
Wabash will win, but OWU will quiet the naysayers with their play. My guess is the numbers of points both teams score will be suprising.
There you go.

I think Wabash needs a fact checker:

Crawfordsville, IN – Wabash College (6-1, 3-1 NCAC) will make its final road trip of the regular season on Saturday. The Little Giants head to Delaware, Ohio to play undefeated Ohio Wesleyan University (2-4, 1-2 NCAC). Kickoff at Selby Stadium (91,00) is set for 1:30 p.m.:

Yes - the Wabash game notes were not well edited this week - very unusual that our SID office let several errors and typos slip through this week.

[The_Bishop]

On Ohio Wesleyan:
"Mason Espinosa has a great arm and can make all the throws. He's a big guy so he also sees the field well. We saw him as a freshman and he's gotten better and better every season — and he was already pretty good that first season. This will be the best passing game we will have faced defensively by far this season. This will be a tremendous test."

Raeburn's words, not mine.

Wabash is coming in hot and coming in ready, not that this is a surprise.  My current mental state for the game this Saturday just went from nervous and gassy to substantially concerned.

[The_Bishop]

Honest questions:

How are the OWU receivers?  I looked last night and he spreads the ball around including to the running back.  4 guys with well over 30 catches.

How good is the OWU O-line?  I saw a video preview on the OWU/CMU game on YouTube and the guy called them "shaky."

Generally speaking the receivers are solid across the board.  Cagney (#5) and Mogilnicky (#84) will likely get the majority of looks on Saturday (or will they?  ).  Both have tremendous hands and size (6'2" and 6'3", respectively).  One thing that stands out with Cagney is that for the 8 or so running plays OWU has had this season, he does a real nice job of getting out to the DB and holding his block long enough for the back to get out in the open field and read his hips.  Mogilnicky seems to always get open on 1 or 2 seam routes right down the middle of the field that go for huge gains every game.  I think he caught a 50-yard bomb against DePauw with seconds left in the first half.

With respect to the O-line, as of this point in the season they've been good enough.  Espinosa gets the ball off quickly and when he is pressured he has been tremendously improved this year in terms of throwing the ball out of bounds as opposed to taking a bad sack or trying to throw into coverage.  I'm guessing we're going to see a ball here or there thrown into the stands Saturday.     With the right mix of pressure from the Wabash D-line and the DBs not allowing the 5-7 yard quick outs, I will be very interested to see how OWU is going to adjust its offensive game plan. 

[nike]

Yes - the Wabash game notes were not well edited this week - very unusual that our SID office let several errors and typos slip through this week.

They are just excited about the game.

Last week Belton was also listed as starter.  Might he miss this game also?  Game time decision, or is he ready to go?

[BashDad]

Sacks allowed, thus far:

Wabash- 1 for every 14 passes
OWU- 1 for every 11 passes

[smedindy]

Yes - the Wabash game notes were not well edited this week - very unusual that our SID office let several errors and typos slip through this week.

They are just excited about the game.

Last week Belton was also listed as starter.  Might he miss this game also?  Game time decision, or is he ready to go?

We'll know for sure at 1:30 Saturday!

[nike]

Just for the sake of discussion, since Belton was not mentioned in Raeburn's comments, is it possible he does not play?  If so, what does this do to Wabash's chances?
I know you do not play with concussions.
Is not someone watching Wabash practices, as I do from time to time with Wooster?  Is Belton taking snaps or not?  That could be a very big deal. Am sure we can agree on that.
Certainly hope he is O.K. and plays.

[cave2bens]

Interesting question, Nike.  Have no knowledge regarding your inquiry, but whether Chase is cleared or not, would it be prudent before an important game to tip your hand to the opposition? No sense in simplifying OWU's prep.

[BashBacker#16]

Nike,

Dude!  Stop worrying. 

Not much has been said about Wabash safety Justin Woods.  He's a frosh from Belton's high school.  I like him a lot and he can hit and run, very physical.  With Koop, Denzel Wilkins (healthy again - see stats last weekend), Woods, and Bauer - I expect solid play from our safeties. 

OWU game notes yet??

[nike]

You are right. Except one of the Wabash faithful said that Raeburn is a straight shooter and would say if Belton was hurt or not.  Does add a bit more suspense. Especially since he was listed as the starter for last week's game.

[wally_wabash]

A statistical comparison for Saturday's game:

Stat	Wabash	Nat'l Rank	OWU	Nat'l Rank
Rush O	210.71	43	65.29	229
Pass O	190.86	122	341.29	9
Total O	401.57	64	406.57	62
Scoring O	32.86	53	31.29	65
Rush D	108.71	43	92.00	23
Pass Eff. D	94.57	13	111.89	55
Total D	282.57	30	318.00	66
Scoring D	14.29	18	20.86	77
Net Punting	31.15	147	34.00	57
Punt Ret	8.00	105	3.63	224
KO Ret	22.41	39	18.37	163
TO Margin	1.14	27	1.43	12
Pass D	173.86	58	226.00	178
Pass Eff	150.98	41	132.32	85
Sacks	2.86	35	4.86	1
TFL	8.57	t-15	8.57	t-15
Sacks Against	1.71	99	3.00	t-201

You may notice that OWU is your national leader in sacks.  They do have a solid defensive line and Huddleston is very very good.  One thing about sacks that bugs me is how sacks, a stat tied to pass defense by definition, manifests itself in the rushing defense statistics.  Can we not have a category for sack yardage?  Our spreadsheets can handle the extra cell.  Anyway, if you adjust the rush yards allowed by adding the sack yards lost you get:
Wabash - 125.86 yds/game
OWU - 118.57 yds/game

There's the numbers, kids.  Assess. 

[sigma one]

Several days before the Wooster game, Raeburn said this about Belton:  "He thinks he'll be ready by Saturday. . . .As soon as the trainer or doctor tells me he is, I'll be happy.  I think everything is progressing like the medical staff hoped it would."  Walsh played.  Belton was on the field for warm ups, but on the sideline in his go to class clothes when the game started.
      There were no quotes from Raeburn in the Wooster game notes.  This quote came from a story on the Wabash web site. 
     Raeburn is a straight shooter. He would never tell an, um, untruth.  But he's not stupid.  This week's Game Notes features his brief analysis; he says all the correct, and true, things about OWU.  Nothing about his QBs. 
     Certainly, OWU is preparing for Belton.  It'll be intresting to see who trots out there Saturday afternoon.

[cave2bens]

   Raeburn is a straight shooter. He would never tell an, um, untruth.  But he's not stupid.  This week's Game Notes features his brief analysis; he says all the correct, and true, things about OWU.  Nothing about his QBs. 
     Certainly, OWU is preparing for Belton.  It'll be intresting to see who trots out there Saturday afternoon.

Wouldn't mind seeing a bit of what the Arizona rhynie has to offer as well - Steve and Jim had some nice things to say about his abilities during last weeks broadcast.