FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[HCAlum86]

Very excited about Allegheny's result. Strong teams in the middle of the conference makes for more weeks of great football. Congrats to the Gators.

[wally_wabash]

Look at that boxscore!

9 first downs allowed
2 of 12 3rd downs allowed
184 yards allowed
+3 on turnovers
+11:00 on TOP

You could reach in a hat and pull out just about any Wabash boxscore from 2011-2015 and see similar stuff.  Really excited to see how they'll do against Wooster's offense next weekend. 

[wabndy]

Anybody heard any semi-official word on the monon bell broadcast this year? I understand that it will not be on AXS.

[Dr. Acula]

Very excited about Allegheny's result. Strong teams in the middle of the conference makes for more weeks of great football. Congrats to the Gators.

The real concern for the rest of you may be how long does Hammer only have them in the middle?  Lots of tradition at Allegheny and a fertile recruiting area as well.  The right coach can revitalize that program.  We very well may be seeing the beginnings of that now.  Good for them and the NCAC.       

[HCAlum86]

The real concern for the rest of you may be how long does Hammer only have them in the middle?  Lots of tradition at Allegheny and a fertile recruiting area as well.  The right coach can revitalize that program.  We very well may be seeing the beginnings of that now.  Good for them and the NCAC.     

Certainly a fair point - and the only school in the conference other than Witt with a National Championship, if I'm correct (please correct me if I am wrong).

However, I wouldn't put the carriage before the horse just yet, they've made a great first step and it will be easy to mobilize that proud alumni base, but Thiel aren't world beaters. It is a great result and an outstanding turnaround from the week 1 result last year, however.

On that note - Remind me to keep my head if Hiram beats up on Earlham next week.

[wally_wabash]

However, I wouldn't put the carriage before the horse just yet, they've made a great first step and it will be easy to mobilize that proud alumni base, but Thiel aren't world beaters. It is a great result and an outstanding turnaround from the week 1 result last year, however.

Definitely not.  But the striking thing about last night's result is that Allegheny dispatched a not-very-good team clinically.  It was decisive and dominant and confident and it looked like the way good teams get rid of lesser teams.  Beating Thiel on its own isn't particularly remarkable (although it is a nice step given Allegheny's recent history)- for me it was the way they did it that matters.  If that game is representative of what Allegheny is in 2017, there's 4-5 more wins available for them this year. 

[83 Little Giant]

For any Wabash fans who want to get the ticket ahead of time, below the link to purchase an e-ticket.  Please note that the first of the two listed links to purchase a ticket (sports.wabash.edu) does not work.

http://sports.wabash.edu/news/2017/8/30/wabash-football-single-gam-season-tickets-on-sale-now.aspx

[cave2bens]

Bloody nice drive to start season, LGs!  WAF!  Thomas appears a pretty good rehersal for Gebele...

[smedindy]

Wabash is going to a running game behind Ike James, a pickup from St. Joseph's. It may not be flashy, but hopefully it will do the job!

[wabashcpa]

I like Ike!

[sigma one]

Some brief takes on Week #1:

ALLEGHENY:  how seriously do they now have to be taken?  Hammer starting to show his influence with many of the same players he had last year.  Hold Thiel to under 200 yards.  Good start for the Gators.
DENISON:  after falling behind 14-0, they score 49 points and win with relative ease.  Gebele being Gebele; 4 rushing TDs,  Team rushes for 339 yards.  Going to be as formidable as advertised.
KENYON:  disappointing start against a weak opponent.  But they pass for 334 yards (Merkle goes for exactly 300).  The passing game will be their MO.  Merkle is 33/59, but with 5 ints.  Defense is, uh, suspect.
OBERLIN:  good on the Yoemen.  They rush for more than 200 yards and do what they should do against a weak opponent.  Still, how do they match up vs. Allegheny, Hiram, Oberlin to capture a few more games?   
OHIO WESLEYAN:  that's about what we expected, isn't it?  Not enough firepower to stay with a team like Otterbein.  Early to get a grasp on what they might become.
WABASH:  no surprise that the LGs are going to run the ball.  They seem to have found the next really good running back in Ike James.  Question is:  can they throw successfully, and particularly against the better defenses when one dimensional will not cut it?
As an aside, Albion has about as good a freshman QB as one is likely to find anywhere across the nation.  Highly elusive, good arm.  He's scary.
WITTENBERG:  check out the new unis.  Big change in helmets, with a broad stripe tapering to a point at the back, a plain W on the right side, and the uniform number on the left.  Good, not great performance against a very good Westminster team that held them to under 300 yards.  Defense, as usual, controlled the game.
WOOSTER:  impressive start vs. a Bluffton team that was 7-3 last year (OK, in the HCAC, but still).  Showed some balance offensively, and some resolve defensively (with 4 ints).  They could be a spoiler.

[HCAlum86]

Westminster is no slouch, impressive win from Witt.

[firstdown]

Congrats to Freddy Ruiz of Allegheny for being the NCAC defensive player of the week.   

[wally_wabash]

Alright, I finally got around to watching Albion/Wabash last night.  Thoughts...

- Certainly, Ike James impressed.  There were times last season, IMO, where it looked like Wabash was just kind of going through the motions.  The thing that I really liked about James in this game is that from carry 1 to carry 43 (more on that in a sec), he was in a high gear.  He's intense, he goes hard, and he just looked like he was going with an urgency that I think can benefit the LGs if they choose to follow that example.  I hope they do.  Because I think this team playing as hard as Ike James played on Saturday is a really good team. 

- 43 carries for Ike James is a lot.  Especially for week 1 and especially in a game that Wabash was kind of in control of after about 40 game minutes.  I know Avant only got one snap and that probably (definitely) affected the Ike James workload, but I think they've got to be aware of that.  Those were 43 hard carries (did he go out of bounds one time?  I don't recall it happening.).  If James has 150 carries by the time Wabash gets to Denison, they've done it wrong. 

- Also, I know it was easy to lean on James this weekend because it worked and it was safe, but Wabash can't forget about Page/Thomas/Dylan Buresh/Kirby Cox.  Oliver Page is one of the best players in the conference...have to have him involved. 

- Incomplete grade on Wes Murphy in his first start.  Looks like Wabash had a nice opening script for him (things were crisp and clean and well executed on the opening drive) and then he looked a little confused on the next couple of drives (that'll happen in your first start) and then Wabash just stopped throwing.  Can't give up on that part of the game.  Denison and Witt will eat Wabash's lunch if Wabash is going to be one dimensional in those games. 

- Before watching the game, I expressed offline some shock that James (or anybody) would have 43 carries and Matt Penola would have zero.  Seems like serious negligence, but after watching the game they've done a complete (and probably irreversible for this season) position switch to a FB/HB thing with Penola.  And he was good.  I think James is in line to have a top 5 rushing single season and Matt Penola is going to be a big reason why that happens.  Really effective as a lead blocker.   

- Defensively I thought the LGs were ok.  Here's the thing- upper crust teams in D3 don't really get scored on by teams in bottom 125.  In 50 regular season games between 2011 and 2015 Wabash gave up 24+ on four occasions (Witt twice, CMU in a 30 point win, and Oberlin).  In 11 regular season games since the start of 2016, the LGs have yielded 24+ five times (Albion twice, Witt, Wooster, DPU).  Teams that habitually give up 24-ish points outside of the tournament make it really, really hard on themselves to get into the tournament.  I hope this tightens up as we go because there are better offenses than the one Wabash saw Saturday coming soon. 

Elsewhere in the league...

- League went 6-2 on opening weekend, which is really cool.  Hiram will certainly win and I think DePauw has a winnable game as well.  We could see the NCAC go 8-2 in non-league play which is great. 
- Gebele's stat line from Saturday is why he's your overwhelming favorite to be the POY this year.  If he stays up for 10 games, he's going to have video game stats. 
- Solid work out of Oberlin.  Probably the biggest surprise result in the league this week.  That win snaps a 13-gamer for the Yeomen which is fantastic. 
- Bit of a struggle from Witt, but Kickoff subscribers should be familiar with WR Thaddeus Snodgrass who caught 4 balls for 117 and 2 TDs.  He's gonna be an issue for NCAC DBs. 

[HCAlum86]

To your point Wally, and I know this is putting the carriage way before the horse... but he may be the NCAC's best chance at a Gagliardi if all plays out according to the Big Red's plan. If he continues to put up these kind of numbers, Denison goes 9-1 and earns a playoff bid, I definitely think he'll be in the discussion.