FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[sigma one]

Wabash runs 90 plays, Wooster, 45.  Muntean 10/21--but 4 TD passes, three of them going a long ways. 
     Satisfying win, but still not the Wabash offense or defense of the past.  Encouraging that Murphy was allowed to throw the ball and for the most part threw it reasonably well.  Two TDs passing.  Wabash goes over 300 yards rushing again, with James and Avant both with 100+.

From Delaware, Ohio:  DPU 31   OWU 30.  The Bishops had six turn overs.  What is it that they play the Tigers so well, winning the past two years and coming oh so close today?  Labus left the game early; injured? 

[Bishopleftiesdad]

Final in Delaware. OWU 30 - Depauw 31.

[Bishopleftiesdad]

Denison 62, Gators 26.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Denison 62, Gators 26.

GEEZ, what a schedule - now they have to go play Witt in a couple of hours!

[ADL70]

Denison 62, Gators 26.

For the record:  Gators  57!  Terriers  40 

[smedindy]

Well, it seems that Wittenberg is head and shoulders ahead of everyone in the league. The Old Tigers will probably run the table, depending on injuries, of course.

How's Gebele? If he's OK, then Wabash / DPU / Denison will fight for second. A one-loss team among those three may make the playoffs, depending. But I can definitely see each of them splitting and going 8-2, 8-2, 8-2.

There's definitely a lot of layers in the NCAC. OWU and Wooster are in a layer behind the Denison / DPU / Bash trio, then Gheny, Oberlin and Hiram in one, and alas poor Kenyon.

[Old Gold Tiger]

Injuries plaguing the Tigers. Down to third QB. Interesting to see how they respond to this adversity.

[wally_wabash]

Well, it seems that Wittenberg is head and shoulders ahead of everyone in the league. The Old Tigers will probably run the table, depending on injuries, of course.

I don't think this is the case at all.  I think Wittenberg looks like the best team in the league.  I don't think it's a forgone conclusion that they're going 10-0.  Their offense isn't great.  They're not likely to give up a ton of points against NCAC teams, but DePauw can be explosive.  Wabash will have the best player on the field when Witt comes to town.  Wooster can score a ton.  Witt are favorites the rest of the way, but not in the overwhelming way you're describing here.  Just takes one bad day from their offense for them to lose a game 21-17 somewhere. 

RE: Witt/Denison.  I thought Witt's defense was spectacular.  They absolutely short-circuited Denison early on (I hope Jeff Ramsey was watching...you have to get after him...playing wait-and-see defense against that dude will get you scorched).  Forcing the fumble on Gebele on the first drive, then scoring on one play was eerily similar to the start of last year's Denison/Wabash game- and not in a good way for Denison.  DU's offense got cranked up in the second half, but Witt held a pair of long Denison drives to a short FG and a turnover on downs (when Gebele came up just one yard shy of the goal line).  Red zone offense is hard.  I doubt that anybody else in the league can disrupt Denison's offense like that, and Witt had to do it in order to win. 

How's Gebele? If he's OK, then Wabash / DPU / Denison will fight for second. A one-loss team among those three may make the playoffs, depending. But I can definitely see each of them splitting and going 8-2, 8-2, 8-2.

Is there reporting that Gebele was hurt?  I had to turn the audio on the game off because the Witt crew had serious volume control distortion issues, but I don't think Gebele got knocked out.  I think the score was 28-6 with 4 minutes left and Coach Hatem knows that his team has a great chance to win 9 games.  I think Gebele left the game because Denison has other important games to play this year. 

There's definitely a lot of layers in the NCAC. OWU and Wooster are in a layer behind the Denison / DPU / Bash trio, then Gheny, Oberlin and Hiram in one, and alas poor Kenyon.

Seems an odd analysis to me, tbh.  Allegheny just hung 57 on Hiram.  Wooster boat raced OWU.  I don't think the strata are that defined. 

[smedindy]

This line was on the Denison recap on their web site:

"Denison backup quarterback Brad Baldinger finished the game after an injury to Gebele and completed a 23-yard touchdown to Charlie Mueller with 36 seconds remaining, setting the final at 28-12."

I think my analysis about the NCAC being in strata did stretch it a bit. I do think that Witt is ahead of everyone, and Denison, DPU, and Bash are next. I wanted to show that OWU and Wooster have improved as has Allegheny. I won't delete it, but I don't think I can defend it much.

That means I guess I can't be a pundit or a politician's spokesman or press officer.

[HCAlum86]

I was so fed up with our loss that I did the only reasonable thing an adult can do... Threw some logs in the fireplace and got sloppy drunk on Macallan 12.

[wally_wabash]

This line was on the Denison recap on their web site:

"Denison backup quarterback Brad Baldinger finished the game after an injury to Gebele and completed a 23-yard touchdown to Charlie Mueller with 36 seconds remaining, setting the final at 28-12."

I think my analysis about the NCAC being in strata did stretch it a bit. I do think that Witt is ahead of everyone, and Denison, DPU, and Bash are next. I wanted to show that OWU and Wooster have improved as has Allegheny. I won't delete it, but I don't think I can defend it much.

That means I guess I can't be a pundit or a politician's spokesman or press officer.

Bummer about Gebele.  I hope he's ok to go this weekend. 

I was so fed up with our loss that I did the only reasonable thing an adult can do... Threw some logs in the fireplace and got sloppy drunk on Macallan 12.

Definitely a tough result for the Terriers.  40 is supposed to be enough to win.  Any word on Randy Tucker?  I hope he's ok too.  Sounds like it was a tough week for QBs around the league. 

[Little Giant 89]

I was so fed up with our loss that I did the only reasonable thing an adult can do... Threw some logs in the fireplace and got sloppy drunk on Macallan 12.

I'd recommend to you the medicinal value of Lagavulin 16.

[kraken]

I administered a dose or two of Maker's 46. I was in Meadville Saturday. Not pretty. Yes, pass coverage is a problem for the Terriers...but it's the penalties. Once again, 100+ yards. And the stupid personal fouls. Same thing every week. That's on the coaching staff.

[wally_wabash]

I've got a sequence of plays from Saturday that I want to talk about.  Let me set the stage.  It's the start of the 4th quarter, Wabash is trailing 28-27.  The LGs are on a monster drive- 15 plays up to this point.  Here we go. 

2nd and Goal at WOO06   Ike James rush for 5 yards to the WOO1 (Patrick Johnson).

Oh so close.  He almost got in there.  3rd and G from the 1...you know who is getting the ball.

3rd and Goal at WOO01   Ike James rush...

Record scratch.  Freeze frame. 

Now to this point Wabash had run Ike James over the right tackle about 47 times in the game.  Maybe not the exact number, but it was a common enough occurrence that Wooster's p-b-p dude (who does a decent job, but is pretty clearly not a football guy) called out correctly that Ike James was going to go over the right side to try and get this touchdown.  Wooster's coaching staff, who ARE football guys, also caught on and loaded up the right side with about 14 defenders standing over Wabash's right tackle.  Let's see what happens. 

... for loss of 3 yards to the WOO4 (Patrick Johnson).

So Patrick Johnson go through unscathed and tripped up James behind the LOS.  Patrick Johnson had a good game, but in this instance if it wasn't him, it was going to be somebody else that got through untouched.  Once the teams lined up, it was simple math.  So my question is- if you see the defense way overloaded in the spot you intend to run through, don't you get out of that play?  Or at least think about it?  The game was on the line here and that play, pre-snap, had about a 3% chance of working out.  Or maybe you show that same Ike James over the right side look and do something different out of it?  Could have scored 29 different ways from play action the way that was lined up.  Or if you're hell bent on running Ike James over the right tackle, you've gotta call a timeout there, reset the formation, or do something (anything) to get some of those dudes out of the way.  Anyway, the play lost three yards and Wabash was on a 4th down and G down 28-27 in the fourth quarter. 

4th and Goal at WOO04   Weston Murphy pass complete to Kirby Cox for 4 yards to the WOO0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 13:34.

I was shocked Wabash didn't take three points and the lead here.  I'd love to get some other opinions on this.  My take-
- I get going for it and pinning the other team deep if you have a lead or it's early in the game if you don't make it, but you're kinda/sorta betting the game on a 4th and 4 with a QB who made a couple of good throws on this drive, but has been largely inconsistent when you could easily get a lead in the 4th quarter with a field goal. 
- The field position thing isn't nearly as big of a deal against a team that has scored over the top on one play three times already in the game. Wooster's field position didn't matter all day. 

It worked out.  Wes Murphy made a great throw on an inside slant in traffic and Kirby Cox made a really fine catch on that thing...but, dude.  What a gamble.  Anyway, that's been gnawing at me all weekend.  I'll be on to Denison after today.   

[Bombers798891]

I was shocked Wabash didn't take three points and the lead here.  I'd love to get some other opinions on this.  My take-
- I get going for it and pinning the other team deep if you have a lead or it's early in the game if you don't make it, but you're kinda/sorta betting the game on a 4th and 4 with a QB who made a couple of good throws on this drive, but has been largely inconsistent when you could easily get a lead in the 4th quarter with a field goal. 
- The field position thing isn't nearly as big of a deal against a team that has scored over the top on one play three times already in the game. Wooster's field position didn't matter all day. 

It worked out.  Wes Murphy made a great throw on an inside slant in traffic and Kirby Cox made a really fine catch on that thing...but, dude.  What a gamble.  Anyway, that's been gnawing at me all weekend.  I'll be on to Denison after today.   

The 3rd down play seems like I'd need to see video of the alignment. My gut says goes with what's worked for you.

The 4th down logic of yours I disagree with, for the following reasons.

1. There was 13:34 to go in the game. You're not betting the game on anything with that much time left. Plenty of time to get a stop and get the ball back. The longest drives really top out at 10 minutes or so—as you'd just seen.

2. Being at the four isn't just about the distance you have to go for a score. It's about how your playbook is limited, and how the possibility of a hold could mean a safety. I've seen teams get super conservative down there and just try to avoid a cramped punt—especially with a lead. I've long believed that teams go for it way less often than they should down there. My least favorite coaching move ever is the coach who calls for a 19-yard FG up by four late in the 4th. The opposing team still can beat you with a TD, and you hand them free field position.