FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[Wabash Hokie]

Pick the date, it's a matter of time.  They show no support for the program, Coach Matlack is left twisting in the wind.  Leftist administration is angling toward extinction, just as other small liberal arts schools with impressive academic credentials realize the value of doing whatever it is you do to the best of your ability.  Torture.....

I'm a leftist. I like football. Where does this "liberals hate football" thing come from?

Lil Giant - just because you eat and shoot with your left hand does not make you a "leftist"  

George Carlin (to paraphrase) was the guy that set the stage for liberals hating football and liking baseball.  In football, you have the shotgun, the pistol, the blitz, the bomb, and the taking of enemy territory through aerial assault and ground attack.  In baseball, the goal is to go Home and you are considered successful if you achieve your goal one-third of the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmXacL0Uny0

[BashDad]

Anything else would be fun to read.

[Li'l Giant]

Lil Giant - just because you eat and shoot with your left hand does not make you a "leftist"  

Which is funny because I do shoot left-handed. Makes speed loading my .38 revolver a little difficult (In Texas even the leftists carry guns).

[wally_wabash]

Anything else would be fun to read.

Catfight.  Is DePauw all growns up or do they still have to take the played-really-close-but-came-up-just-short step? 

[Wabash Hokie]

Pick the date, it's a matter of time.  They show no support for the program, Coach Matlack is left twisting in the wind.  Leftist administration is angling toward extinction, just as other small liberal arts schools with impressive academic credentials realize the value of doing whatever it is you do to the best of your ability.  Torture.....

Where are the Allegheny alumni in all of this?  I have only been around a few small colleges, but schools tend to perform to the levels (at least "acceptable" levels) that alumni demand or changes are made.  Even Lawrence University, with a history of hapless football teams, continually works to improve the quality of its football teams. They recognize this both as an Admissions tool as well as an Advancement requirement.

Wabash alumni have been become accustomed to football success.  Over the past 40 years, I think that Wabash has had only two losing seasons (1975 and 1990) and two generations of Wabash men don't know what it is like to have a non-winning football program, such as what Frank Navarro inherited in 1974.   Successful sports programs at Wabash have become part of our DNA and part of the overall excellence (both in academics and extra-curricular activities) that alumni expect.  Wabash alumni tend to be exceptionally loyal and, while we would support the school win-or-lose, it makes it a lot more fun to write checks when the teams are winning.

[bashbrother]

Reset  -

NCAC Games this week....

Wabash  @ Oberlin -   How does Wabash handle Oberlin? 
OWU @ Kenyon -   Can Kenyon keep this one close?
Wittenberg @ DePauw -   Game of the Week for Sure....   How does Depauw stay in this one early?   I think if they can make it to halftime close,  they have a shot.  If they get behind 14 or more....  they could be done.
Hiram @ Denison  -  Against Wabash,  Hiram showed flashes of an offense that could be productive...   does this game turn out closer than many think?

Ready...set...go...

[wabndy]

At most schools that hover around the top 25 level, I'd say football is generally a big deal.  There are plenty of schools where a .500 season is a pretty good accomplishment and there is little expectation that the team will be getting much beyond that.  My wife went to Sewanee and while i've been on that campus for a number of football weekends - I don't think I've ever actually made it to a seat in the stands.  I get the sense that a home football game is more of an excuse to congregate on that football field side of campus and socialize.  My suggestion that DePauw consider doing a local blackout was because I've heard several times over the years that most DePauw students would prefer to stay inside somewhere warm, consume the beverage of their choice, and just catch the game on TV.


There are two primary reasons to kill off any collegiate sports program: 1- costs too much money for the return on investment, or 2 - inability to field a viable team.  I'll go out on a limb and guess that every NCAC school is probably OK in the money department.  Whether they are getting their desired ROI is too complicated a question to figure out without really getting into the on-campus politics of a particular school.  The big threat I do see to some NCAC teams is the inability to attract players.  How small does a roster have to get that an administration finally says that they can no longer field a credible team.  I think its clear that Allegheny is not there.  They've scored points in 4 out of 5 games and kept each opponent to under 60 points.  I don't mean to sound flippant.  But its when we start seeing 60-0 or 70-3 scores on a consistent basis that we know a school is just frankly out of their league.  When you have those kind of scores, you know that your first team offense is getting crushed by your opponents third team.  Those times when an opponent sticks to running between the tackles and gains 20+ yards at will.   While its clear that Allegheny isn't there right now, I have to wonder how long you can sustain a <40 man roster, take on inevitable injuries, and continue to field a credible team.  If we have a team start to look like that week in and week out, then its time to put a fork in that program.

[sigma one]

Allegheny's pre-season roster lists 116 players, including 60 freshmen.  The roster shows (only) 11 seniors.  Also shows 21 juniors, and 24 sophomores.  That's one of the larger rosters in the NCAC.  With more that 100 players on the roster, it's not lack of numbers.

[wabndy]

Allegheny's pre-season roster lists 116 players, including 60 freshmen.  The roster shows (only) 11 seniors.  Also shows 21 juniors, and 24 sophomores.  That's one of the larger rosters in the NCAC.  With more that 100 players on the roster, it's not lack of numbers.

I stand corrected - It was earlier in the season that we discussed some low roster numbers (Kenyon?). With those kind of numbers, Allegheny's program isn't disappearing anytime soon.

[sigma one]

Allegheny lost to Wabash (54-0).  Wabash shut them out for the third straight year; the other two were by scores of over 60 points  OK, Wabash is on a multiple-year run at the top of the NCAC.
     They also lost to Thiel (37-21).  Thiel is 1-4. They lost those four games by at least 35 points each.  Wooster beat them (28-13).  Wooster is 1-3.  Kenyon beat them (32-17).  Kenyon is 2-2, (having defeated Hiram). They lost last week to Oberlin, in a record-setting offensive explosion by the Yoemen (48-9),  Oberlin is 2-2 (having beaten Kenyon 28-24).  Last year, they beat Allegheny 37-9.
       Sad for a program that once, yes, a long time, ago, was among the best.  But more recently was competitive enough to upset the Little Giants, and field teams that were .500, or close to that. 
       Unless evidence surfaces that shows that the Administration is neglecting or acting against the football program, what else is happening?

[badgerwarhawk]

Wabash  @ Oberlin -   How does Wabash handle Oberlin? 

Easily   

[wally_wabash]

Reset  -

NCAC Games this week....

Wabash  @ Oberlin -   How does Wabash handle Oberlin? 
OWU @ Kenyon -   Can Kenyon keep this one close?
Wittenberg @ DePauw -   Game of the Week for Sure....   How does Depauw stay in this one early?   I think if they can make it to halftime close,  they have a shot.  If they get behind 14 or more....  they could be done.
Hiram @ Denison  -  Against Wabash,  Hiram showed flashes of an offense that could be productive...   does this game turn out closer than many think?

Ready...set...go...

1- Basically in any way they want.  Don't think Oberlin did themselves favors by running it up on Allegheny last week. 
2- Maybe.  My hunch is that OWU finally plays somebody they can score a bunch against and will.  But this is kind of a gut check for OWU.  They're out of the league race at this point and they must realize that.  But they need to do a 5-1 or 4-2 here over the last six weeks to set themselves up for 2016.  I think we'll see where OWU is mentally by how this game plays out. 
3- I think we'll know very quickly if DePauw has the dudes to be in this game or if they don't.  I'll be watching to see if that offense moves at will against Witt and whether or not they can find a way to pressure Jenkins.  If the offense finally meets some resistance and their DL can't win, then DePauw is not what many think they are.   
4- Maybe, although I think that hinges on Denison's offense struggling.  5 turnovers vs. Wooster kept that game interesting for a half or so.  I do think Hiram is going to struggle to score against the Big Red.  Their D is pretty good. 

[jknezek]

My wife went to Sewanee and while i've been on that campus for a number of football weekends - I don't think I've ever actually made it to a seat in the stands.  I get the sense that a home football game is more of an excuse to congregate on that football field side of campus and socialize. 

I go to the W&L at Sewanee game every other year. W&L had a 13 game winning streak going into last season that was snapped. I can tell you that campus was pretty fired up about finally beating us. Stands were increasingly packed throughout the game and post game parties involved a lot of profanity and "%$!@$% W&L" being shouted around. I give them credit for caring even though that team is generally pretty bad.

I think half of Sewanee's problem is it never stops raining. I've been there 7 times. Six of those seven the game was played in part or all in hard rain to a full downpour. Last year being the exception. It rained all morning when you'd be setting up and tailgating and then held off for the game.

It's a beautiful place, but the godawful weather on that hilltop really would limit my ability to enjoy it in the fall.  That being said, it's as close as W&L comes to Birmingham and I'm grateful to make the trip in the motor home with the family every other year.

[Rotag]

This is a team that won a National Championship in 1990 and made the playoffs in  5 of the 6 years following, and at least competed in the NCAC until a couple of years ago:

2013: 0-10, outscored 358-65, losses of 65-0 to Wabash, 50-7 to Ohio Wesleyen, 56-0 to Wittenberg, in addition to 5 other losses by 20 points or more.
2014: 1-9, outscored 416-146, losses of 63-0 to Wabash, 59-7 to DePauw, 52-21 to Wittenberg, in addition to 5 other losses by 20 points or more.
This year: 0-5, 54-0 loss to Wabash, 48-9 to Oberlin.

This is not a "down year", or a coach who has lost his touch. I am cringing at the thought of playing DePauw Saturday, not so much for myself as an alum as for the kids whose four years of football at Allegheny will be associated with these records and scores.  There is a certain mentality among academics, which I view as "leftist" (if only because of the NY Times' war on football), that football is barbaric and incompatible with a "progressive" academic agenda.  Is this why we've cratered in football?  I dunno.  Is a small liberal arts college to be judged by the success of its football program?  Nope.  Do I think the current administration gives a rat's tush about football?  No, I don't.  Am I pissed about that?  Yes, I am.  Seem to be no Gator bloggers out there - sign of the times -  but what would you do if this happened to your program?

[BashDad]

I certainly wouldn't put tin foil on my head.