FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[sigma one]

HCAlum86:  I mentioned that the HM players are selected by their head coach.  So, apparently the Hiram coach did not submit Weaver and Fleetion for the HM listing.
     First and second team are chosen by the coaches around the league; by what specific process I don't know.
     Reviewing the HM selections, one can see that there are three and only three from each team.  This is by design and gives the coaches a chance to name three of their players not selected in the larger pool by the coaches around the league.  Why the Hiram coach didn't but Weaver and Fleetion on his list--and did include Partridge, Romanowski, and Bates--may have to do with all three of them being seniors.  Just a thought.
       

[bashbrother]

If we win tomorrow, one would have to think that beating Depauw and Franklin in consecutive weeks would be a nice recruiting message within the State of Indiana.  If we win big....  it could be huge.

WAF

[nike]

Keith's take: Wabash 27, Franklin 17
Ryan's take: Wabash 41, Franklin 21
Pat's take: Wabash 53, Franklin 31
Consensus: How much scoring we expect varies, but the Little Giants should win this 4-5 matchup by double digits.

Everybody happy?

[wally_wabash]

Alright, here we are (sorry for an abundance of "we's" in this one...in the postseason I let the fan flag fly a little bit more than usual).  The playoffs.  One of sixteen games on the weekend- and Wabash gets to be a part of it.  It's so awesome.  Most of me says that we need to be doing this every year, but there is a small part of me that wonders if I'd take it for granted if we did.  That's a debate for another day.  Today, we celebrate the playoffs. 

This weekend's opponent is familiar, but not terribly so.  Former conference members (rivals would be too strong a word, I think) that rejoined for a home and home 7 and 8 years ago have now been put back together for a game of the utmost importance- the winner gets to keep playing. 

Wabash enters the game with one of the best defenses in the nation.  We don't need to pigeonhole that thing down to "the best' or "the third best".  Doesn't matter.  It's one of the best and that's good enough for today.  Wabash leads the nation in quarterback sacks (a particularly germane stat given the imbalance of the opposition this week).  Wabash does not yield great numbers of yards or points and yields fewer first downs than nearly any defense in the nation.  It's a nasty, talented unit. 

Wabash also brings with them not one but two first team all-conference running backs.  Both are big, both are faster than you think (don't think any team has walked away from a game where they didn't get treated to a Mason Zurek "whoa, he doesn't look like he can do that" moment), and both very, very rarely get tackled for losses or negligible gains.  The old cliché about falling forward applies here- these guys do just that.  Wabash has a young offensive line (zero seniors!) that has performed very well this season.  Wabash has a pair of really, really good receivers in Houston Hodges and Drake Christen.  Drake Christen can do damage in a lot of different ways and I think he's going to have some fun against the 235th ranked pass defense. 

As noted in the team capsules, when Wabash is really firing on all cylinders, it's happening when the quarterbacks are really hurting defenses for tracking the running back.  When that happens, and when the passes hit their mark, Wabash is every bit as explosive as their opponents are.  Yes.  I just said it.  Wabash's offense is just as explosive as Franklin's. 

Franklin comes into the game with a very glaring deficiency on defense which has been addressed plenty this week.  Also discussed plenty is the offensive sorcerer that is Mike Leonard and his more-than-capable quarterback Grant Welp.  These guys have put up big yardage and points numbers this year and I do believe they will pose the most difficult challenge the Wabash defense has faced in 2014.  It's really a great matchup and a great challenge for both sides.  And we are going to find out very, very early which side's dudes are better.  Watch the first three series- it will be obvious.  That's not a proclamation.  I don't know who has better dudes.  I have a hunch, but we'll find out tomorrow.  I'm just saying we'll all know and it won't take four quarters to figure it out. 

The "on paper" analysis tells us that Wabash can score a bunch against this team and that same analysis tells us that Franklin has to find a way to score enough to win.  That's a not a great position to be in.  It's an analysis I agree with though- offenses with bloated stats generally hit the wall before the defenses do (it's the only reason Washington had a prayer last year...that Bears team was offensively deficient).  If Wabash takes care of the ball (no points for the Grizzly defense, no fields shorter than, say, 35 yards), they ought to be able to get more stops than Franklin does and win the game.  But there's one more thing in play in here...

...For years, and I really don't get it, but for years, Franklin fans have had this weird kind of Jon Hinckley obsession with Wabash, their relative standings in the polls, and some imaginary title about being the best team in Indiana.  Honestly, I don't get it.  We're not in the same conference, we don't play each other, we generally don't have common opponents...we both kind of have our own thing going on.  But for years I've read about how we need to make this game happen between Wabash and Franklin so that we can settle it (whatever "it" is).  Now, if that's just a thing that exists in the Franklin fan base, then fine.  But if this feeling exists inside the players and the program as well, well then maybe Franklin taps into The Rage™ and if they tap into The Rage™ then all bets are off.  I hope I'm overestimating that. 

Ultimately, I think this would have been a better game in 2012 or 2013.  Wabash is a touch better this year than last, Franklin has taken a small step back in 2014. 

Prediction: 42-13 Wabash...a score that ought to spark some interesting and relevant discussion over the holiday week. 

Enjoy the games this weekend! 

[Dr. Acula]

Keith's take: Wabash 27, Franklin 17
Ryan's take: Wabash 41, Franklin 21
Pat's take: Wabash 53, Franklin 31
Consensus: How much scoring we expect varies, but the Little Giants should win this 4-5 matchup by double digits.

Everybody happy?

Sounds about right to me as an outsider.  The W&J/Witt predictions were much more fun for discussion purposes (Pat and Keith have W&J, Ryan has Witt).

[wally_wabash]

Keith's take: Wabash 27, Franklin 17
Ryan's take: Wabash 41, Franklin 21
Pat's take: Wabash 53, Franklin 31
Consensus: How much scoring we expect varies, but the Little Giants should win this 4-5 matchup by double digits.

Everybody happy?

Sounds about right to me as an outsider.  The W&J/Witt predictions were much more fun for discussion purposes (Pat and Keith have W&J, Ryan has Witt).

I've got a W&J lean in that game.  I just think that's a really, really bad matchup for Witt. 

[bashbrother]

I also believe Witt will have it's hand full.  Yes, they beat Wabash and deserve credit for getting that done... But I think they enter the playoffs with plenty of offensive questions.   Defensively,  if they cannot consistently stop W&J's running game,  this could be a long day.  If Witt forces the Presidents to have to earn it through the air,  this plays back into Witt's strength.

I predict this one being a lower scoring defensive game.   Turnovers and special teams may just make the difference.

NOTE:   Wabash vs. Franklin at Noon EST. 

Thanks Bashdad for the reminder....  I would have missed at least 45 minutes of the game.

Web Broadcast link:    http://sports.wabash.edu/news/2014/11/20/FB_1120144437.aspx?path=football.

[Dr. Acula]

The thing that was baffling to me reviewing stats/box scores is that Witt can't run the ball.  I mean, they're seriously deficient.  That's so strange because they always seem to have a solid O line and Gary and Dehnke have both had success in the past.  Now this year they're scratching and clawing for 3 ypc it seems.  As a result I think they were around 2:1 pass to run in play calling.

I've seen W&J a few times.  The thing that makes them dangerous is they can gain yards any way.  Very good RB, good passing QB and, as I mentioned earlier, an undercover dangerous runner too. 

[wally_wabash]

The thing that was baffling to me reviewing stats/box scores is that Witt can't run the ball.  I mean, they're seriously deficient.  That's so strange because they always seem to have a solid O line and Gary and Dehnke have both had success in the past.  Now this year they're scratching and clawing for 3 ypc it seems.  As a result I think they were around 2:1 pass to run in play calling.
I've seen W&J a few times.  The thing that makes them dangerous is they can gain yards any way.  Very good RB, good passing QB and, as I mentioned earlier, an undercover dangerous runner too.

This started from their very first game and it was very, very curious to me then.  With Florence and Cunningham gone and with quality running backs Gary and Dehnke back, my assumption is that we would see some old school, Wittenberg Tiger power football in 2014.  Not even close.  Witt has a new OC this year and it's clear that this guy likes to sling it around.  Two of their top four offensive players are running backs.  So I don't think that it is so much that Witt can't run the ball, I think it's that they don't run the ball.  And that's going to get them this week or next. 

[HCAlum86]

This started from their very first game and it was very, very curious to me then.  With Florence and Cunningham gone and with quality running backs Gary and Dehnke back, my assumption is that we would see some old school, Wittenberg Tiger power football in 2014.  Not even close.  Witt has a new OC this year and it's clear that this guy likes to sling it around.  Two of their top four offensive players are running backs.  So I don't think that it is so much that Witt can't run the ball, I think it's that they don't run the ball.  And that's going to get them this week or next.

Cunningham was one of the best wide receivers I have ever seen in this conference. Absolute tank with the quickness of a cornerback. The only receiver I would put ahead of him on pure ability was Harry von Konn from the '08 and '09 Kenyon seasons.

[HCAlum86]

How many of you Wabash fans have started cramping up from the excitement inducing full body spasms??? IT'S PLAYOFF TIME IN CRAWFORDSVILLE

[bleedpurple]

Alright, here we are (sorry for an abundance of "we's" in this one...in the postseason I let the fan flag fly a little bit more than usual).  The playoffs.  One of sixteen games on the weekend- and Wabash gets to be a part of it.  It's so awesome.  Most of me says that we need to be doing this every year, but there is a small part of me that wonders if I'd take it for granted if we did.  That's a debate for another day.  Today, we celebrate the playoffs. 

This weekend's opponent is familiar, but not terribly so.  Former conference members (rivals would be too strong a word, I think) that rejoined for a home and home 7 and 8 years ago have now been put back together for a game of the utmost importance- the winner gets to keep playing. 

Wabash enters the game with one of the best defenses in the nation.  We don't need to pigeonhole that thing down to "the best' or "the third best".  Doesn't matter.  It's one of the best and that's good enough for today.  Wabash leads the nation in quarterback sacks (a particularly germane stat given the imbalance of the opposition this week).  Wabash does not yield great numbers of yards or points and yields fewer first downs than nearly any defense in the nation.  It's a nasty, talented unit. 

Wabash also brings with them not one but two first team all-conference running backs.  Both are big, both are faster than you think (don't think any team has walked away from a game where they didn't get treated to a Mason Zurek "whoa, he doesn't look like he can do that" moment), and both very, very rarely get tackled for losses or negligible gains.  The old cliché about falling forward applies here- these guys do just that.  Wabash has a young offensive line (zero seniors!) that has performed very well this season.  Wabash has a pair of really, really good receivers in Houston Hodges and Drake Christen.  Drake Christen can do damage in a lot of different ways and I think he's going to have some fun against the 235th ranked pass defense. 

As noted in the team capsules, when Wabash is really firing on all cylinders, it's happening when the quarterbacks are really hurting defenses for tracking the running back.  When that happens, and when the passes hit their mark, Wabash is every bit as explosive as their opponents are.  Yes.  I just said it.  Wabash's offense is just as explosive as Franklin's. 

Franklin comes into the game with a very glaring deficiency on defense which has been addressed plenty this week.  Also discussed plenty is the offensive sorcerer that is Mike Leonard and his more-than-capable quarterback Grant Welp.  These guys have put up big yardage and points numbers this year and I do believe they will pose the most difficult challenge the Wabash defense has faced in 2014.  It's really a great matchup and a great challenge for both sides.  And we are going to find out very, very early which side's dudes are better.  Watch the first three series- it will be obvious.  That's not a proclamation.  I don't know who has better dudes.  I have a hunch, but we'll find out tomorrow.  I'm just saying we'll all know and it won't take four quarters to figure it out. 

The "on paper" analysis tells us that Wabash can score a bunch against this team and that same analysis tells us that Franklin has to find a way to score enough to win.  That's a not a great position to be in.  It's an analysis I agree with though- offenses with bloated stats generally hit the wall before the defenses do (it's the only reason Washington had a prayer last year...that Bears team was offensively deficient).  If Wabash takes care of the ball (no points for the Grizzly defense, no fields shorter than, say, 35 yards), they ought to be able to get more stops than Franklin does and win the game.  But there's one more thing in play in here...

...For years, and I really don't get it, but for years, Franklin fans have had this weird kind of Jon Hinckley obsession with Wabash, their relative standings in the polls, and some imaginary title about being the best team in Indiana.  Honestly, I don't get it.  We're not in the same conference, we don't play each other, we generally don't have common opponents...we both kind of have our own thing going on.  But for years I've read about how we need to make this game happen between Wabash and Franklin so that we can settle it (whatever "it" is).  Now, if that's just a thing that exists in the Franklin fan base, then fine.  But if this feeling exists inside the players and the program as well, well then maybe Franklin taps into The Rage™ and if they tap into The Rage™ then all bets are off.  I hope I'm overestimating that. 

Ultimately, I think this would have been a better game in 2012 or 2013.  Wabash is a touch better this year than last, Franklin has taken a small step back in 2014. 

Prediction: 42-13 Wabash...a score that ought to spark some interesting and relevant discussion over the holiday week. 

Enjoy the games this weekend!

It's really strange but if you change a couple of words around, these two sentences could have expressed my sentiments exactly:

"Franklin Wabash fans have had this weird kind of Jon Hinckley obsession with Wabash, their relative standings in the polls, and some imaginary title about being the best team in Indiana anywhere.  Honestly, I don't get it." 

[BashDad]

Hey HCAlum86 -- totally dig having you to read on the boards. Should not go unsaid. You're a smart and welcome addition. Respect!

[BashDad]

It's really strange but if you change a couple of words around, these two sentences could have expressed my sentiments exactly:

"Franklin Wabash fans have had this weird kind of Jon Hinckley obsession with Wabash, their relative standings in the polls, and some imaginary title about being the best team in Indiana anywhere.  Honestly, I don't get it." 

We get it, dude. You played Franklin a couple times. Now go away.

[HCAlum86]

Hey HCAlum86 -- totally dig having you to read on the boards. Should not go unsaid. You're a smart and welcome addition. Respect!

I appreciate that. I always love talking football, especially DIII. This forum is absolutely awesome, minus the people that pucker their buttholes every time any point is offered that doesn't support their conclusion. Love the educated banter and I am pulling for the Little Giants big time this week, classy program.