FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[HCAlum86]

I have to say, I'm a little disappointed that I navigate my way to this page on the Monday morning of the first game week in two years expecting to see hyperbolic banter, and it's a ghost town!

[83LittleGiant]

Habits are both hard to break and a challenge to establish.  I even forgot my logon ID and had to set up a new one.  The Wabash crowd will be back in force but I know at least three who have passed since the end of the 2019 season.

I just got the email about the tailgate location for the Wabash fans for the Rose-Hulman game Saturday night.  I guess I am not smart enough to figure out how to embed the image in this post.

I have no idea what kind of attendance Rose has at home games but Wabash is only 45 minutes away and will have a big crowd on hand.  I am looking forward to getting this season started and hope to see many of the Wabash folk back on the board.

[HCAlum86]

Habits are both hard to break and a challenge to establish.  I even forgot my logon ID and had to set up a new one.  The Wabash crowd will be back in force but I know at least three who have passed since the end of the 2019 season.

I just got the email about the tailgate location for the Wabash fans for the Rose-Hulman game Saturday night.  I guess I am not smart enough to figure out how to embed the image in this post.

I have no idea what kind of attendance Rose has at home games but Wabash is only 45 minutes away and will have a big crowd on hand.  I am looking forward to getting this season started and hope to see many of the Wabash folk back on the board.

That's terrible to hear. Do you mind sharing with us who they are? Always look forward to interacting with the Bash crowd.

[DadofBashWarrior..]

I have to say, I'm a little disappointed that I navigate my way to this page on the Monday morning of the first game week in two years expecting to see hyperbolic banter, and it's a ghost town!

Yes very surprised myself as well...

Excited to see the New Stadium...

[NotMyName]

Looking forward to a nighttime game Wabash vs Rose Hulman.

[wallyworld12]

Very excited to see NCAC football back in action this weekend! Here's the weekend's slate:

Friday 7pm Hiram v. Bethany

Saturday 12pm Wittenberg v. Cortland St.

Saturday 12pm Ohio Wesleyan @ Otterbein

Saturday 1pm Oberlin v. Kalamazoo

Saturday 1pm Kenyon v. Benedictine (IL)

Saturday 1pm Allegheny v. Thiel

Saturday 6pm Wooster v. Geneva

Saturday 6pm Denison @ Ohio Northern

Saturday 7pm Wabash @ Rose-Hulman

No love for the NCAC in the d3Football Preseason Top 25...Wabash and Denison are the only schools receiving votes !! What's the word over in Springfield?

[wally_wabash]

Looking forward to a nighttime game Wabash vs Rose Hulman.

The rare appearance under the lights for Wabash!  The last game under the lights was the 2016 opener at Albion.  Prior to that I think we have to go back to a 2002 night game in Richmond, IN vs. Earlham. 

Looking forward to a fun season in the NCAC! 

[83LittleGiant]

This will be my first Wabash night game.   I don't recall Wabash playing a night game during my time attending games (between 1973 and 1985) and none since my return to the area in 2008.   

Below are the Wabash game notes for the Rose-Hulman game.  Hope the weather holds so we can have a good turnout of fans.

https://sports.wabash.edu/news/2021/9/3/wabash-begins-134th-football-season-at-rose-hulman.aspx

[Li'l Giant]

Night games are fun. I'm looking forward to this. It's been waaaaaaaay too long. Glad to get football back.

[HCAlum86]

41-21 Hiram over Bethany.

I'll go ahead and say it. Hiram is in sole control of first place in the NCAC

[BashMan]

Congratulations Hiram ! ! !  Way to start the season and bring a victory to the NCAC. 

[BashMan]

No love for the NCAC in the d3Football Preseason Top 25...Wabash and Denison are the only schools receiving votes !! What's the word over in Springfield?

Yes of the 8,126 possible points in the polls the NCAC got 33 !  Suspect the NCAC IQ would be noticed.

[Dr. Acula]

41-21 Hiram over Bethany.

I'll go ahead and say it. Hiram is in sole control of first place in the NCAC

Now you've got a bulls eye on your back!

Looking at the box score ended up getting me to looking at their roster.  Hiram has 10 kids from TX.  They have 3+ kids from probably 10 different states.  That's impressive. 

[CollegeGolf18]

Was able to catch the Wabash game this evening after getting home from the game I was at and I must say, there was a lot to like and a few things to really think about.

This was a game that looks like it was close (33-23 final) but in actuality it definitely should have been more in the 50-16 range. Wabash really squandered some opportunities and they also played really vanilla on the offensive side of the ball the entire second half unsurprisingly. There were multiple instances of Wabash with points in their hand and then just not getting them. Two spots come to mind: an INT returned all the way to the 6 only to be fumbled and given right back to Rose-Hulman via a touchback and another drive starting at the 35 resulting in a missed FGA.

I was really impressed by the defense stopping the run. Wabash primarily went into 3 down linemen and swarmed on the defensive side of the ball. Even though Rose-Hulman threw for 350 yards it really didn't feel like it and it was essentially 3 deep passes. Two of them were down the sideline early for a 44 and 49 yard gain where the QB threw it up and the WR made a good 1-on-1 catch. The last was a 58-yard pass where the WR pretty much did all the work for a touchdown with a second in the game. (85 yards of the passing yardage was a semi-two minute drill where the WR got loose on a play to score.)

On the whole, I thought the pass defense was really good for Wabash. A few interceptions and the pass rush was getting to the QB pretty often. Not many sacks but he was definitely uncomfortable back there. I thought that they did a really solid job of tackling in the open field as well. Defense was solid, not spectacular, but very solid.

I also have to give a shout to the punter, Joey Annee. He is really good. Flipped the field a few times and had a couple really nice punts. Pre-season AA for a reason.

However, I thought there were two things that really stood out to me as things that need to be fixed in the short/long term. The first is special teams, namely PAT/FGA teams. It seems like this problem has gone on for a bit and I have said it on this board before and I will say it again, the kicking game will lose Wabash a game at some point. The kicker missed his only FG and was 3/5 on PAT's with one being blocked. I am not sure when the special teams problems started but it has been a problem the past few seasons and it is really hard to watch.

The last thing, and definitely the most notable thing, Wabash lacks a workhorse back. I am not sure when the last time Wabash didn't have a guy who you could hand it off too and trust that they would get you 2-3 yards at a minimum. The running backs look weak and small from the usual Wabash backfield. I am not sure how many 100+ yard games we will see this year from the RB group. I would imagine that a top priority for this fall is going to be getting out to recruit a 6'1+ workhorse running back. I think the running backs will be fine, but 33 carries for 89 yards doesn't strike me as very "Wabash-like".

[NotMyName]

I went to the Wabash game and envy your ability to stay dry! However, I echo your statements. The Defense is going to make some adjustments in the backfield and I think the lineup should be 5/7/21/3. Cam and Franco played well last night and so did the newcomers Netting and Epstein.

Adding to your comments Thompson get's washed out of the pocket way too, much, and while its nice to be able to rely on his ability to scramble, we are relying on it too often. His rollouts should be controlled and deliberate.

Receiver core is good with some new additions, but some dropped balls by veterans who normally don't. We will call that knocking the rust off the gears. TE Clayborne found nice soft spots in the D while Thompson was on the run.

Have a great holiday weekend everyone.