FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[MUC57]

kraken

Welcome to the boards. My board is usually the OAC  but we post everywhere. Gave you a +K to get you going. Are you a Hiram type or a Wabash type? In either case, Go Team. ☠🏈

[kraken]

Hey MU57-
i guess I would be classified as a Hiram type. I'll probably go to 5 or 6 games this season. Thanks for the karma! Good luck to your Raiders, sir.

[The_OC]

So the NCAC went 2-5 in non-league play this weekend, which is way, way down from the 8-2 mark the league posted last year.  Still to play are a game against Earlham that Hiram will win, and then Wabash vs. UW-SP and DPU vs. Central.  Both winnable, but not certain.  Even if the league sweeps those games, 5-5 is a sizable drop.  Some quick thoughts on the non-Wabash weekend:

- Kenyon was handled pretty well by Sewanee.  The Lords got down 30-0 before they were able to find points and by then it's just too much to come back from.  Merkle's prodigious pass volume continues with 47 attempts, but just 214 yards.  Kenyon is going to need that part of the game to be more efficient going forward.

- Part of me is finding some positives here with Allegheny.  I want to say that the defensive effort was ok...they still gave up over 50% on 3rd down and despite modest yardage allowed and forcing four turnovers, they did give up 40 points.  No matter how good their offense is, they just can't keep finding ways to give up 40 every week.  Understanding that they had to throw a bunch coming from behind, they also got 38 yards on 18 carries from Tyler Balla and that's a part of the game they really need functioning better.  He's too good to be a 2 ypc guy. 

- Strong outing from Wittenberg against a good Westminster team.  Out 20-0 early, then closed strong in the 4th quarter when Westminster had worked their way back in it.  Witt will need to run it better as they go along (1.6 ypc), and they will.  But the passing game here is strong enough for this team to be able get 30+ and a win against a good opponent on a day when they couldn't run it.  The defense here was really good.   They did give up two long drives, but outside of that, Westminster really had nowhere to go all day. 

- Oberlin's margin for error is really basically nil this year, and they lost four fumbles against Kalamazoo.  The Yeomen just can't afford to be -4 on turnovers and be in games.  And now the attrition watch starts for this team.  Next week against Kenyon is probably the last good chance at a win for Oberlin. 

- OWU fell 10-7 in a largely delayed game at Otterbein.  The stats say this was pretty even.  OWU had a long FG try at the end to force an OT, but that got blocked and Otterbein hung on.  I think if you're a Bishop you're pleased with the defensive effort here and hope that the offense catches up as we go along.  I don't know what else to make of this game as there was so much starting and stopping with weather delays that it had to be impossible to get any kind of flow going here. 

-  The final of Wooster/Bluffton is a little deceiving as the Scots were up 44-14 after 3 quarters.  I'm not checking the fourth quarter participation situation, but my guess is that Bluffton got at least two, maybe all three of their 4th quarter scores against reserves.  Not that those points don't count (they do), but Wooster was never really in trouble in this game.  Solid if unspectacular debut for Caden Croft at QB.  Really fine game from Antonio Bailey- if he's going to be really good this year, the Scots will have unlocked something in the running game that they haven't had in quite some time.  Something to watch for.  The Scot defense also forced four turnovers, so gold star there. 

- There's going to be a lot of attention on Canaan Gebele's numbers this year and 18-31-187-1-2 is not going to get it done for the Big Red in 2018.  Yes, credit Southwestern here, but Denison may have the best QB in the league and if they're going to challenge for the league title, he's got to be the best QB in the league.  I expect the Big Red defense will tighten up a bit as they go.  This particular road trip against this particular team was always going to be a tough test for a young defense.  They'll get better, but I had really expected the Big Red offense to be gangbusters.  There were some disappointing results in week 1, but this is the one that stands out to me.  Not so much that they lost the game, but that they really weren't able to keep pace offensively.

Oberlin really shot themselves in the foot against Kalamazoo. They had a wide open dropped touchdown pass that led to a missed field goal. One of the fumbles occurred when they were on the 1 yard line, they also missed another field goal. I wouldn't count this team out because of the numbers, they done more before with less.

[MUC57]

Wooster Scots fans

Any one here? Anyhow, I will be at the game with Allegheny on Saturday. Saw a Wooster game last year too. Been a Scot fan for years. Mount has played Wooster more than anybody and the record stands - Wooster 38, Mount 30 and 4 ties. Nice history.
Love the atmosphere, the great Scot band and the team itself. I'll be walking around, crashing the various tailgate areas sporting a Mount Union hat. Hope to talk to some of the faithful when I'm there.
Go Scots. (Go Raiders too - Mount has a bye Saturday). ☠🏈

[wally_wabash]

Oberlin really shot themselves in the foot against Kalamazoo. They had a wide open dropped touchdown pass that led to a missed field goal. One of the fumbles occurred when they were on the 1 yard line, they also missed another field goal. I wouldn't count this team out because of the numbers, they done more before with less.

I'm acutely aware of what Oberlin is capable of.  But this year's roster is thin even by Oberlin's standards.  I have no doubt they'll compete and play hard. 

[sigma one]

Ouch, that 2012 game still hurts--but credit to Oberlin.  The game was at Wabash, making it particularly impressive.  Allegheny got Wabash that year, too--also at Wabash.  That game and several others show what Geoff Ramsey's teams were capable of; they frequently punched above their weight.  Glad Geoff is now at Wabash.  Wally's right, though.  This year's Yoemen are a couple of key injuries away from being acutely thin.  They list only two QBs on the roster.  But this is not that unusual for them, and they've found a way to keep going in the past.  There is some decent talent in the first 22, plus an all-NCAC kicker.

[83 Little Giant]

Here are the game notes for the Wabash / WI Stevens Point game at Wabash.  The weather is going to be a factor.  Forecast is for heavy rain throughout the day.  Not going to be a good day for tailgating.

https://sports.wabash.edu/documents/2018/9/7//2018USWPCollegeFootballGamenotes.pdf

[CollegeGolf18]

Anyone see the gamenotes and 2-deep for DePauw yet? I can't find them anywhere.

[MUC57]

Went today to watch Wooster host Allegheny. Left after the 1st quarter. Got tired of standing and holding the umbrella and watching two bad teams. Neither team could do anything. Guess Mount has me spoiled. Wooster and Allegheny are both not good. Go Everybody Else! ☠🏈
OK. Go Them, too!

[firstdown]

MUC57 you have been spoiled watching Mount Union.  Mount is truly the Machine.

I am sorry you left  in the 1st quarter.  The weather conditions were pretty raw to be sure and the teams were playing close to the vest early on.  It got more wide  open in the 2nd quarter and was an exciting 4th quarter ending

[wally_wabash]

Went today to watch Wooster host Allegheny. Left after the 1st quarter. Got tired of standing and holding the umbrella and watching two bad teams. Neither team could do anything. Guess Mount has me spoiled. Wooster and Allegheny are both not good. Go Everybody Else! ☠🏈
OK. Go Them, too!

You missed a good game.  If you went to Wooster today looking for challengers to Mount Union, well, you played yourself.  That was never ever going to happen.  You did miss 950 yards of offense, a 199-yard receiving game, a pair of 100-yard rushers, a 376-yard passing game, and a game winning TD with 90 seconds left.  98% of D-III fans would have loved half of that at their game. 

[wally_wabash]

Time to talk Wabash.  Conditions were tough, so the game was a little ugly in spots.  Wabash played a fantastic first half.  The offense moved well, but really struggled in the red zone.  Wabash is going to have to get better here- closing drives in the first half would have put this game way out of reach early. 

Things I liked:
- Man, I'm loving this Wabash defense.  They play fast, they play physical, they really hunted the ball today.  Freshman Jose Franco had a big game as a new face in a rebuilt secondary.  Wabash's LBs are all over the place stringing things out and making plays and there's more depth on the DL than maybe I thought there would be.  Coach Ramsey has done a great job this offseason getting a really new group ready to play at a high level. 
- I love Wabash getting Matt Penola the ball.  Five more catches today, a big catch and run for a long TD as well.  Sometime soon, people are going to have to stop leaving him alone as a check down option and take their chances with Reid going deep to Jones or Page singled up. 
- The run game was strong today.  Ike James was a workhorse.  20 carries and well over a hundo before he left the game in the 3rd.  Ike watch is now on and I really hope he can get back on the field soon.  Wabash is going to need #1 behind the pistol when the stakes get real high in late October. 

Things I didn't like:
- Wabash's special teams are a mess right now.  Really no other way to put it.  Wet balls or not, Wabash had another punt blocked today, missed two medium-range field goals (not real close), and another medium range PAT (longer range due to a penalty...more on that later).  The Little Giants are missing Coach Denham in a really significant way right now.  They've managed to work past the special teams issues in Weeks 1 and 2, but you don't have to try too hard to imagine a scenario where this deficiency can be the difference between winning and losing...making the playoffs or not.  That sort of thing. 
- I'm not a big penalties-are-the-worst-thing-ever guy, but Wabash took some really bad penalties today.  A pair of 15-yarders after the second touchdown cost Wabash a PAT and then field position on the ensuing kickoff.  A couple of PIs extended Pointer drives on balls that were never going to be complete.  I think we had back to back false starts that shoved a FG try back 10 yards and was missed.  Hopefully that can be cleaned up.  Wabash's margin for error as we go through the league season isn't so big that they can give away yards, downs, and points like they did today.

All in all, Wabash gets the win on a day where they had a punt blocked, turned it over three times, missed a pair of makeable FGs and a PAT....(and they did it against a team that the top matchup predictors, Massey and Hansen, believed they would lose to).  The defense was fantastic.  The offense was pretty good between the 20s.  There's a lot to fix here, but I sure do like having things to work on the week after a win than the week after a loss.  LGs go to Gambier next week, then a bye so there's time to work on things before they hit the nitty gritty.   

[MUC57]

Wally Wabash

You got Me! OK, I screwed up by leaving early. Standing in the rain holding an umbrella was the main reason I left. That and a rather dull 1st quarter.
From what you stated I missed a better game than most Mount games. Sometimes I can't seem to do the right thing. I think I'll blame it on age.
Thanks a lot, Wally. I'll say numerous Hail Marys as punishment. ☠🏈

[MUC57]

Wally

And I didn't go to Wooster to look for challengers to Mount Union. Don't think there are any! Come on. Give me that much credit. ☠🏈😀

[wally_wabash]

Thoughts around the league:

- Hiram did about what I thought they'd do with Earlham.  The Terriers had...hang on, I'm double checking this...yes.  The Terriers had three safeties vs. Earlham and I don't think I've ever seen that before.  So there's something. 

- Had to be a frustrating day for DePauw.  Had an early 10-0 lead, gave that up before halftime, had some chances but just couldn't get back into the end zone.  According to the game report, Labus left the game near the end of the first half with an injury.  We hope that's not serious again for him this year. 

- Have to give massive credit to Oberlin for going down to Gambier and getting a pretty comfortable win.  On the flip side, man, that's gotta be a tough one for Kenyon.  Kenyon's numbers are up, they've got a little bit of depth, and they kind of got run over by a team that can't quite fill out an entire 2-deep.  If you're keeping track of the Thomas Merkle pitch count, the Kenyon QB threw 69 times yesterday. 

- Exciting ballgame at Wooster with a ton of offense and Allegheny getting a huge conference victory at the Papp.  Alex Victor is running wild through two games and there might be a QB competition afoot in Meadville as well.  Naz Greer has played well in place of Logan Lee (who has been out for a while with injury per Allegheny's game write up).  But with the game tied 20-20 and 3:30 left to go, we get a Willis Reed situation and Logan Lee comes in out of the pen, goes 3-3 and gets the game winning 30-yard strike.  Will be interesting to see who plays and how much next week vs. Denison. 

And with the non-league portion of the season over, the NCAC winds up 4-6.  Pretty steep drop from last year's impressive 8-2 against what I think is a more or less equivalent schedule.  This hasn't been a real strong start for the NCAC.  It's all league play from here on out and I'm looking forward to what I think is going to be an exciting season.