FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[wabco]

Only possible upside for Witt is that ... should they show well ... they should get some Indy press and they have from time to time tried to mine that area in recruiting.  I think a few years ago they confused a player from Roncalli into going there rather than Wabash (where he belonged).  Not that you want a player who is so easily confused.

Question ... has anyone heard how the recruiting wars are going between Wabash and DePauw?  Before "the Coach who is no longer at Dannieland", there used to be some serious crossover recruiting going on ... which, of course, stopped when "the Coach who is no longer at Dannieland" took the helm and began losing 47 to zip etc. etc. etc.

[luvncac]

Heard from an OWU athletic employee that Ohio Stae QB, Braxton Miller, worked out last night in Selby Stadium.  He was with his personal QB coach who also coached Andrew Luck before last year's draft combine.  They allowed OWU QB, Mason Esinosa, to work out with them and I guess he held his own with the potential Heisman candidate.....obviously with his arm only and not his feet.  I was told the OWU coaches are very happy with Watts first recruiting class so lets hope last year wasn't a fluke and OWU will be competitive again.  My friends and I like to watch all of the Delaware County kids that play in the NCAC, OAC, GLIAC, and MAC but if Watts continues to win it's going to make it hard to travel anywhere but Selby.  Good luck Bishops

[sigma one]

I've heard about quite a few of this year's commits to Wabash.   I've also heard that the coaches are generally pleased with the quality, but only time will tell.  The papers have reported that the QB from the Indiana state championship large school category will enroll, and that the QB from Cathedral will as well.  That's pretty common knowledge at this point.  The College has never put out an early list, so it's doubtful if they will this year.  The first glimpse of freshmen and all upperclassmen returning has been the camp roster in August.  It's fun to see schools' entering players, and leads to speculation among the fans.  But patience is in order about the Wabash recruits.  (By the way, I've never heard a coach say or seen a coach quoted about how disappointing or average the incoming  group is:  "Well, we worked real, real hard this year, but we just didn't get the quality or the numbers we need.  We lost Billy to our biggest rival, Johnny to that raiding NAIA school down the road, Michael to a $1000 football scholarship at a DII school, and several others we wanted just went away at the last miute.")
     On the Wabash/DePauw question:  I'm sure Bill Lynch knows what he is doing; he reprotedly has strong contacts in the Indy area.  They have always gone out of state for a lot of players and gotten some good ones from the St. Louis and Chicago areas.  Interesting to see whether this will remain a priority for them.  What his first class will look like will be interesting because he got a late start, but don't we all expect that DPU will get better fast?

[short]

Who is the best team in the NCAC 2013? Witt, Wabash, OWU all look very good. Here is how I see them today.

1 Witt
2 OWU
3 Wabash
4 Denison
5 Alleghany
6 DePauw
7 Kenyon
8 Wooster
9 Oberlin
10 Hiram

I hate putting  Wabash 3rd but without Belton the other two have more returning.

[bashbrother]

Short -

While I agree on your top 3,  I believe the fact that Wabash hosts both OWU & Witt at Hollett, gives us the edge as the favorite to win the conference.  Much of this will hinge on our development of a new QB to lead the offense.

We shall see...

[sigma one]

Those top three look about right based on past form and players returning.  The Wabash QB is is the key to their success this year.  Almost the entire defense returns.  But an exceptional, experienced group returns for Witt and almost the whole of OWU on both sides of the ball comes back with something still to prove.  The middle of the league should be an intriguing scramble.  After those three, the choice of Denison at #4 is a stretch, I think.  They lose their QB, RB (multi-year all NCAC)), almost all their top receivers, and quite a few defensive players.  They have slowly improved under their coach, but the personnel losses are significant.  Allegheny seem always to be solid, around .500 lately, and a test for most teams.  Wooster should be better than #8, I think, although with a new coach who really knows how the team will react and how their senior QB will play.  Kenyon might still have a bit of fire left, but last year was a fortunate one for the Lords.  DePauw, with Lynch, almost surely will get better, if only in attitude, but very probably in performance as well.  Last year they played a talented freshman QB a lot (though strangely, not v. Wabash, seemingly not wanting to throw him into the Bell mayhem in C'ville).   That leaves Oberlin and Hiram.  Oberlin said good bye a topnotch senior class, but if they stay healthy with their small roster, they may bit once or twice.  Hiram, who knows.  Every year they appear to be recruiting plalyers that will help them break out.  So far it hasn't happened.
     Bashbrother notes that Witt and OWU both play at Wabash, but after last year's home defeats to Allegheny and Oberlin, who can say if Hollett Little Giant Stadium is that big an advantage, even with the vocal home support.  And Wabash takes the long trip to 'Gheny's swamp (not as bad a years' ago beforethe new surface), where they have sometimes struggled.
     Just to be a little contrary my order is this: 1)Wittenberg (will be ranked pretty high in all the pre-season polls and still stinging from the home lose to Wabash) 2)Wabash (strong defense, must find a QB and consistent offense) 3) OWU (good on both O an D, but can they sustain the offensive production of last year?  Can they beat both Wittenberg and Wabash, or even one of them?) 4) Allegheny (up and down but can beat the non-Big 3 and maybe even one of those)  5) DePauw (my surprise team in the rankings because Lynch will make that much difference, and I was tempted to have them as high as #4) 6) Wooster (will feed off a new coach, play good defense, and surprise with a victory v. some team ahead of them on my list) 7) Denison (well coached, too many losses to overcome) 8) Kenyon (this look like a big drop-off, but sustaining last year's production is a long shot--if they can, the league becomes more interesting--and they have to play the Big Three, which they did not do in 2012), 9) Oberlin (tempted to rank them up one or two spots, but the loss of an exerienced senior class that featured three or four reallly good players will hurt, as will depth; still they might, will likely, beat at least one team ranked above them) 10 Hiram (can't see, or put, them anywhere else until they prove they belong higher.
    Join in; it's early, but hey, boys just want to have fun. 

[ADL70]

TSN has Witt #7 and OWU #18.

[bashbrother]

Bashbrother notes that Witt and OWU both play at Wabash, but after last year's home defeats to Allegheny and Oberlin, who can say if Hollett Little Giant Stadium is that big an advantage, even with the vocal home support. 

Still scratching my head on these losses... (Not taking anything away from Oberlin or Gheny) But I may never truly reconcile this.   I have had a placeholder in my mind with "Young Team"written on it since the season ended.

WAF!

[wally_wabash]

Who is the best team in the NCAC 2013? Witt, Wabash, OWU all look very good. Here is how I see them today.

1 Witt
2 OWU
3 Wabash
4 Denison
5 Alleghany
6 DePauw
7 Kenyon
8 Wooster
9 Oberlin
10 Hiram

I hate putting  Wabash 3rd but without Belton the other two have more returning.

I don't know about this...quarterback is an unknown at this point for Wabash, but that may well be sorted out by the time the Witt and OWU games come around.  A young quarterback's best friend is an experienced offensive line (check) and a strong running game (check).  I also believe that Wabash will be just fine at quarterback this fall whether it is rising senior Andy Walsh or one of the younger guys that wins the job...plenty of talent to choose from there. 

It's going to be a tremendous race between those three for the title this fall.  Witt and OWU have senior QBs which is a huge deal (Wabash may also go with a senior, but obviously with less experience than Florence and Espinosa).  I believe Wabash has the superior defense by a decent margin. 

What makes the whole thing even more interesting is that every one of these teams comes into 2013 with something to prove or some kind of chip...Wabash has to re-establish Hollett as a place where you don't come to and expect to win.  OWU has a shutout loss to avenge and they still have a little something to show to anybody who asterisked their 9-1 last year with a "but they didn't play Witt" clause.  And Witt hasn't beaten Wabash in a while so they're going to want to do that.  It's going to be really good stuff this fall. 

[cave2bens]

OWU has a shutout loss to avenge and they still have a little something to show to anybody who asterisked their 9-1 last year with a "but they didn't play Witt" clause.  And Witt hasn't beaten Wabash in a while so they're going to want to do that.  It's going to be really good stuff this fall. 

And then there're the Dannies, who've yet to create so much as a ripple on "that woeful" NCAC gridiron landscape   

[bashbrother]

Did someone say Ripple?

http://www.drunkard.com/issues/55/images/ripple-1.jpg

Maybe they've been been doing too much. 

[smedindy]

Regarding the LG's struggles at Hollett - perhaps the fans and team was complacent in that a home game = win? Defending your home turf is paramount whether it's against Wittenberg or Hiram.

I think the Oberlin game last year was a slap to all in the LG football program in that you need to defend Hollett and nothing will be guaranteed. If I recall, the fans were oddly muted at both the Gheny and Oberlin game from what I heard / saw on the 'net. So perhaps that needs to be re-established at home. There's no ho-humming at a home game even if it's against a 'lesser' program.

[sigma one]

We have been over this territory before . . .But.  Here's a take, if memory is at all reliable.  The games versus Allegheny and Oberlin played out in two different ways, during both of which an there was an apathetic response from fans spoiled by years of success, or so my observations told me.  Allegheny went ahead 10-0, and the fans began to complain and to lose spiri(me, too).  Even though Wabash clawed back to tie, Allegheny was the team controlling the momentum.  The fans never got completely back into the moment until the overtime, and then too late.  Against Oberlin, it was the curse of the early, easy score.  Wabash marched steadily down the field in the first quarter with little trouble.  This was Oberlin, and Wabash jumped ahead, so how could Oberlin control the emotion and the play?  When that happened the fans were  grumbling, and pretty quiet (me, too.  And Wabash never made a late run. As an aside, late in the game I thought the fans started to appreciate what a splendid effort Oberlin was exerting; the loss hurt, but everyone around me was saying how special this was for Oberlink and how much they deserved the victory.  Fans used to winning, sometimes by large margins, went away emotionally during those games when it was not the situation they were used to viewing.
     Reviewing last year, one thing I noticed was how close many of the Wabash games were at halftime, both at home and on the road.  This was not an explosive, put-them-away-early team.  In the past many teams jumped out big and  controlled the game, the team and the fans mutually appreciative of one another.  The 2012 team was offensively challenged in that even when they were successful they were mostly running the ball, moving the chains.  Not the type of Wabash football that fans were used to seeing, but a type that made the team successful in most games.  The fans were not used to seeing a run-dominated offense.  Harder to get really pumped up about 5 yds, 7 yds, 3 yds, 6 yds, 2 yds. 8 yds, etc.  Yes, there were some big moments with Belton carryng the ball and the occasional deep pass set up by the punishing running game, but different football from in the past (one that might be about the same this year, relying on the defense and steady ball movement--not scintillating, but effective, and one fans may learn to be happpy to support).
     Wabash fans seemed fickle in '12.  Maybe the home losses will help them understand that their support is crucial. Wabash plays the first two games of the year at home, the opener v. Hanover, a team that scores points.  The Little Giants will play with a new QB (yes, Walsh got good game experience last year, but was not the usual starter, and he is not automatically penned in as the 2013 guy).  I shudder at the prospect of the Panthers going ahead and memories of last year creeping into the fans' minds, and the teams'.  Time for Wabash Always Fights to become truly meaningful again, as it was in some circumstances last year, more on the road than at home.  (Remember North Central:  21-0 at the half, a team that looked beaten, a halftime revival around the quote "Always means Always," and a providential 29-28 finish).   

[wabco]

I have read Sigma One over several times.  "apathetic response from fans spoiled by years of success".  "fans went away emotionally during those games". "Wabash fans seemed fickle in '12."

With all due respect.  The fans did not play the games with Gheny and Oberlin.  Oberlin played their hearts out.  Wabash did not.  Against Gheny, Wabash was in a fog.  During the "years os success" ... Wabash did not play DOWN to these levels.  Was it failure of upperclass leadership on the field?  Certainly the victory over North Central ... was dictated byt leadership on the field.  Guts and never say die leadership ... refusal ... REFUSAL to accept defeat, accept less.

I was at both games.  The fans were shocked ... not by the intensity of play by Gheny and Oberlin ... boith these schools always bring their "A" game.  "Apathetic response" if you will ... simply filtered down into the fans.  It was as if the team "expectation" umntil too late ... that something good would happen ... it always had.  WELL, IT DIDN'T.  Take nothing away from Gheny and from Oberlin.  My hat is off.  They played the "Wabash Game."

I believe that should be a learning experience.  Seniors, lead and kick it into gear.  Same with Juniors.  Only accept play beyondf 100of everything hyou and the team has.  Sophs and Freshmen ... take up the mantle being provided.  You came here to play BECAUSE ... we have a target on us, because we are Wabash, because we refuse to lose, because we find a way to win when there is no reasonable "way".  The coaches do not play.  The fans do not play.  YOU PLAY.  The coaches analyze and plan.  The fans reflect the players expressed commitment and enthusiasm.  THE PLAYERS ... each on ... make it happen.  NO MORE ... fog of Gheny or lack of intensity against Oberlins of the world OR against OWU or against Witt or against the worst ... Dannies.  I think we will see a team which has learned and matured from this experience.

We have the D essentially back.  Young O line is fine.  Receivers are there.  We are deep in quality QBs.  We will have ... from all this ... a quality RB or two develop and continue.  We will win the conference.  Fans reflect what is out there ... not cause what is out there.  No "fickle '12". Just amazement in those games in '12 at what was happening and happened.  Goes to show ... on any Saturday ... bring it or be brought.  This fall , Wabash Saturdays, Wabash learned.  Wabash will bring it.

[bashbrother]

I have to agree with Wabco....

While I was not at Hollett for those games,   I was watching everything on the field and thus, my only focus was the team, their energy and execution.

I remember posting in the first half of both games that I had  never seen a Wabash Little Giants team void of the energy and fight we have all become so accustomed to.  Privately, I remember going into halftime knowing we were in trouble in both games,

The fans/environment can only do so much for energy, execution or play selection.  I write it off as a Young team and that was lacking some senior leadership.

This year will be different!  The realization that you can NEVER take a game off, I believe became very clear to this young team.  We got caught flat and could not find it.

I am not worried about our QB situation.   With the way we have been recruiting,   I look for a true battle in camp and the chosen one will materialize and lead us well.