FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[Pat Coleman]

I do think a PAC-NCAC challenge would be fun and would offer something for most everyone if the matchups were done well.  W & J and TMC vs. Witt and Wabash would be potentially very good games.  Waynesburg vs. NCAC Third Banana (DePauw, are you there?) could be a good game.  The middle of the leagues would generally match up well - Hiram vs. Westminster this year being a good example - and you might even get fun matchups for the cellar-dwellers of the moment.  Mail it in.

Unfortunately since your alma mater and Case still want to play Wash U and Chicago, that precludes the PAC from entering any such scheduling agreements.

Since PAC has 11 teams and NCAC 10,one would have to sit out anyway.  Still could have a 9x9 challenge.  Would eliminate the games vs PAC opponents that didn't count in the standings.

The non-counting PAC games are just remnants of the old schedule after integrating Case and CMU in, not a permanent fixture.

[sigma one]

Wabash v. W&J:  the potential for two Mt Union alumni coaches to slug it out.
Hard to think that Allegheny would be the school to sit out since there it is in NW Pa and has played PAC teams recently.
   As good as the NCAC/PAC match up sounds, it's very, very unlikely to happen, though good fodder for conversation.
   At least two PAC teams have had past designs to enter the NCAC to no avail. 
   The best I could see would be a continuation of those games the leagues currently play--Hiram v.
Westminster, as one example--with perhaps another one or two games if schedules permit.  I just can't see the interlocking  schedule.  (CMU and CWR standing commitments also make the schedule unworkable.)
    A questioning footnote:  did anyone predict that the Wooster  v. W&J game in 2014 would end up as such a rout? I for one thought that the game would be reasonably competitive, and that Woo had an outside chance at an upset.      Harbinger of things to come for the Fighting Scots!
       

[wally_wabash]

    A questioning footnote:  did anyone predict that the Wooster  v. W&J game in 2014 would end up as such a rout? I for one thought that the game would be reasonably competitive, and that Woo had an outside chance at an upset.      Harbinger of things to come for the Fighting Scots!     

I certainly didn't.  Wooster led that game 17-7 in the second quarter and then just totally fell apart.  W&J scored the next 44 points.  Wooster is a huge question mark in 2015.  NO idea what they'll look like in the fall. 

[sigma one]

Wally, agree about Wooster 2015.  They lose (already had lost) Barnes, but gave a couple of freshmen QBs a chance to play late in the season.  They also lose two linebackers, including Czerniak; Hackel at RB, and two pretty good DBs. Some good OLmen returning, and a young RB who got time when Hackel was hurt, plus several good receivers. 
     They just didn't establish any consistency in 2014, and hard to tell what the change from Barnes (whether to injury or for other reasons) will amount to--and whether moving from Barnes late in the season will have any effect on the team's morale, plus or minus. 
     For the last several years, I've thought they were on an upward path, but 2014 was hugely disappointing.  They were non-competitive with the top of the league last year and struggled with some of the other teams.  Maybe without Barnes they may be better off. But when I saw that he was returning for 2014 I thought they would be more dangerous than they turned out to be.
     With Wabash, Witt, and DPU all having talent returning, Wooster, Denison, and OWU are the biggest questions for next year in the middle of the conference.  If all three turn out to be competitive, then the NCAC will be well served, but 2015 is a long way off and a lot could happen.   Both Denison and OWU also lose some important parts and watching who replaces them will be part of the fun. 
     I almost forgot Hiram and their rise; without Partridge they will also be interesting.  I thought they improved their general talent last year, but Partridge was the engine of the machine.  Injuries hurt them throughout the year. 
     That leaves, Allegheny, Kenyon, and Oberlin.  Who knows what comes next for them.  They all return their  QBs along with some other key players.  But those are the same guys who could not get it done in 2014.   

[smedindy]

I only had Allegheny sit out since they were the #10 in the NCAC last year.

[ExTartanPlayer]

For the last several years, I've thought they were on an upward path, but 2014 was hugely disappointing.  They were non-competitive with the top of the league last year and struggled with some of the other teams.  Maybe without Barnes they may be better off. But when I saw that he was returning for 2014 I thought they would be more dangerous than they turned out to be.

You weren't alone in this.  I think Kickoff predicted Wooster to finish second in the league.  I don't know if they've been on an upward path for "several" years so much as they made a huge leap forward from 2012 to 2013 under a new coach and it looked like they were set up to continue that momentum in 2014...a belief that peaked about 20 minutes into the first game, then spent the rest of the season evaporating. 

Sidebar: isn't this a little weird how a couple teams have hired a new coach and come out firing big-time in Year 1, only to regress a bit in Year 2?  Is this just regression to the mean (i.e. old coach leaves after an unusually bad season, team finishes with much better record the next season by virtue of their luck changing for the better?) or what...OWU goes 9-1 under Watts after five straight losing seasons, takes some buzz into the next year...promptly goes 5-5 and 6-4.  Kenyon goes from 0-10 twice in a row to a fun almost-steals-a-share-of-the-league-title 6-4 in 2012, then 4-6 and 1-9.  Wooster goes 7-3 in Year 1 of the Colaprete era, then tanks in Year 2.  What's the deal?

I also agree with you about Hiram.  Clearly a better team than usual, but Partridge in particular was the thing that pushed them up a notch.  I hope they continue to improve in 2015.

[jknezek]

A new coach usually brings a new playbook and new energy. The new playbook can surprise opponents and the new energy can in migrate upperclassmen who were worn out from losing. Sometimes this magic can make up for a lack of talent but after a time or two through the schedule everyone has seen what the coach has and if the talent hasn't picked up the coach magic wears off.

[smedindy]

Bill James called it the Plexiglass Principle - teams that dramatically improve tend to fall off the next season, and teams that have steep decline tend to rebound the next season. It's regression to the mean, all things being equal. So while it's not 100% true (especially in football where you have tiny sample sizes compared to baseball), that may be some of it.

[wally_wabash]

One thing that happened when OWU and Wooster switched coaches is a sea change in offensive philosophy.  Watts and Colaprete both brought supercharged tempo offenses into the league and I think what we're learning is that there are definitely advantages to running no-huddle, no-substitution, snap-every-17-seconds offenses, but they'll ultimately bog down if you don't have the dudes that can execute.  Oregon is awesome partly because of their offensive style, but mostly because they have studs all over the place.  In Watts' first year, OWU moved at will between the 20s and couldn't score in the red zone.  It got them beat (and shutout) by Wabash.  Wooster's receivers drop everything.  The advantage you get by not letting a defense substitute or be lined up properly at the snap is negated when you don't execute the plays.  And that's where I thought Wooster would be better in 2014- executing that offense- and they just weren't.  And they were still horrible on defense which didn't help. 

Of Denison, OWU, and Wooster, I'm probably more bullish on OWU right now.  I really like the Orsini kid playing quarterback.  I think he's good.  I'm not sure who Denison has to step in this year for a very good and very underrated Brandon Sklenar.  Denison just doesn't have the kind of history capital that says "hey, of course they have another good player stepping in next year".  Same with Wooster.  I know they let a couple of kids play in their last few games, but I don't know how good they are or will be. 

[sigma one]

I agree with Wally about Sklenar being underrated  Good feet and a pretty good arm.  He got a lot of balls to Brown for big yardage.  Undoubtedly, he was helped by Brown's ability. He threw more interceptions than one would like to see, but a big percentage of those came in one game if I recall.
     Denison threw 375 passes last fall, and Sklenar threw all but eight of them.  No one else on the roster completed a pass. Some Ohio guys will know more, but I recall that when Iammarino, 0-4 last year passing, came out of high school, he had a solid reputation.  Maybe he will be the guy, though not much experience.  I know he played a couple of downs v. Wabash when Sklenar was shaken up.  There's always hope for a freshman to be discovered, but most freshmen have had trouble their first time around the conference.
     Muntean emerged late for Wooster, but they were decisively beaten by OWU in the season final.  Who knows what he will bring, but he got some experience; and who knows what Wooster was really going through late in the year after the change from Barnes.
     With a year under his belt Orsini should be able to move OWU along, but he didn't play much at the end of the year, whether because of injury or for some other reason--OWU readers please help out if you know more.  The Bishops still need to find some balance.  How interesting it has been to watch them the last several years move from the Delaware Wing-T, to opening up the T, to a faster-paced spread.   Last year they were better with the run, but a quality RB would provide some relief from the all-out pass rush they have been seeing.  Orsini helped on the ground last year, but he had to take a beating.
       Stating the obvious, the competitiveness of Denison, OWU, and Wooster will have a lot to do with how the NCAC advances, or doesn't, next year.   Not sure whether any of the three look good enough on paper to challenge for one of the top three spots v. DePauw, Wabash, and Wittenberg with the talent those teams have returning.  It's a long way to September, but it's also 5 degrees outside as I write this, so we have to talk about something.       

[Dr. Acula]

Iammarino was a very good HS QB for a very good small school program.  How that translates to Denison is anybody's guess, but he played in a lot of playoff games in HS so he's at least played some decent HS competition.

[wally_wabash]

Saw a blurb about Reed Florence going to be the OC at Millikin.  That was quick. 

[Bishopleftiesdad]

Wow that is quick. Good for him.

[bleedpurple]

Erik Raeburn a finalist at UW-W.

www.warhawkfootball.com

[BashDad]

Is it common practice to publish resumes? Because oh my god -- this is about to ruhl, ruhl funny.

"I also developed an attitude plan of winning."