FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[WAF-WDE]

%^#$^@* autocorrect.  DePauw.  Sorry, for the mistake.

[WAF-WDE]

Wabash and DePauw go to overtime!

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Fumble!

[WAF-WDE]

Blocked game-winning FG attempt for the LGs.  Wabash has ball first going in the second OT.  LGs have to regroup and grind this out.

[WAF-WDE]

Congrats to the Tigers for the victory.  With their backs to the wall, they got the job done!

[Li'l Giant]

An absolute classic in a rivalry replete with classic games. Congratulations to Depauw on the win and the conference title.

[Crawford]

Back in 2014 or 15 I gave a talk at Depauw about a Buddhist concept called Mudita.  Mudita is: taking joy in someone else's good fortune.  I cheekily used the example that if Depauw ever won the Bell Game again I would be able to have Mudita for Depauw's joy.  Yes, I wanted Bash to win and was disappointed, but good for Depauw.  Wishing you all the best in the playoffs, represent the NCAC well.

[Whitecarrera]

I'm thinking that was the first overtime in a Bell game. Am I overlooking something, or can anyone confirm?

[Li'l Giant]

I'm thinking that was the first overtime in a Bell game. Am I overlooking something, or can anyone confirm?

'twas

[Whitecarrera]

I should add my Congrats to DPU as well; though a phrase that I can't get out of my head is something about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory (but I digress). 

I also admit that I may have underestimated Gus Baumgartner on a dry field. The Wabash offense did what it does. You can say the same about the Wabash defense (read between those lines if you want), but Gus was the dagger. He touched the ball 18 times, and earned 9 first downs. He had 8 non-1st down carries, and earned first downs on 7 of them. I hope he got a game ball!

[Crawford]

I also admit that I may have underestimated Gus Baumgartner on a dry field. The Wabash offense did what it does. You can say the same about the Wabash defense (read between those lines if you want), but Gus was the dagger. He touched the ball 18 times, and earned 9 first downs. He had 8 non-1st down carries, and earned first downs on 7 of them. I hope he got a game ball!

I appreciated the commentary from the on-line telecast but the camera crew didn't show much of the downfield coverage.  Liam Thompson "mostly" had all day to pass but was not throwing the ball. Was he being "overly" cautious or were Depauw's DB's playing lock-down coverage, or had Depauw's coaches figured out Wabash's normal routes and schemed extremely well?

[Li'l Giant]

I also admit that I may have underestimated Gus Baumgartner on a dry field. The Wabash offense did what it does. You can say the same about the Wabash defense (read between those lines if you want), but Gus was the dagger. He touched the ball 18 times, and earned 9 first downs. He had 8 non-1st down carries, and earned first downs on 7 of them. I hope he got a game ball!

I appreciated the commentary from the on-line telecast but the camera crew didn't show much of the downfield coverage.  Liam Thompson "mostly" had all day to pass but was not throwing the ball. Was he being "overly" cautious or were Depauw's DB's playing lock-down coverage, or had Depauw's coaches figured out Wabash's normal routes and schemed extremely well?

I didn't get the sense that LT was being cautious. I got the sense DPU's defense was just playing lights out. I don't know enough to know if that was scheme, or execution, or both. But it was effective.

[DePauwalum05]

I honestly thought 'bash was well-positioned to win.  Appeared to be playing their best football of the year, having blown out Wittenberg.  We knew they would be motivated after last year's result.  But it was not to be.

With Coach Dietz at the helm, a tough D that gave up some but made the stops when it mattered -- btw, can't decide what surprised me more, WAB's 300+ yards rushing or the 114 yds passing-- and with McCahill who's just a winner at QB, the Tigers found a way to remain perfect despite mistakes against a good team in a tough environment on the road.  Lot of grit and resilience in this DPU team.  Proud of this program, our coaches, and these young men.  Their outcomes are clear, including being the first program to win three-straight outright NCAC titles since Witt in 2001, and securing the first DPU undefeated regular season since 1943 and a single-season record for wins.

The future is bright with a deep roster of talent and quite a few key key players coming back, including on offense McCahill, Ballentine, Smith, Whitehead and three of five OL, and on D 5 of the front seven, although Gude and Lowry are tough to replace. And of course, an excellent coaching staff.

Credit to 'bash as a worthy opponent in making this one of college football's best rivalries.  Great to be a part of it.  But for the next year, the Bell will toll, once again, from the Lilly Center of the DePauw campus. DING DING.

[TigerKing]

What a ballgame.  From a spectator's standpoint, these last 7 (minus 2022) have all been incredibly exciting games.  I said it a couple weeks ago, but the status of the rivalry has to be as good as it's ever been.  In the 8 games played starting in 2015 (Wabash blowout W), the combined points difference is 9, or 1.125 a game.  6 of the 8 have been decided by a TD or less, and we finally got an overtime game this year.  The series is 4-4 since then.  I can't think of another rivalry, including this one, where there's been such parity over an 8 year stretch.

A few questions from an admitted DePauw homer...

1. Wabash's SID spun the LG's success in the Bell game as winning 10 of the last 13 in the pre-game notes.  I'd do the same if I was him.  Next year, they'll be able to say they've won 10 of the last 14, but DePauw will be able to boast 3 of the last 4.  I certainly don't predict DPU going on a 7 year swing to match Bash from 09-15, but do the last two games signal the start of a new Tiger-dominated era?  DPU seems to have all the momentum with a young coaching staff and lots of talent coming back, but time will tell.

2. What is the legacy of Liam Thompson?  He's one of the best D3 QBs I've had a chance to watch, but is 0-1 in the playoffs with one 3-way-tie conference championship his freshman year.  He is also 1-3 in Bell games.  He finishes high in the Wabash record book in several categories, but low in terms of Wabash winning standards.

3. Speaking of Wabash standards, what to do with Don Morel?  His record of 53-19 gives him a winning percentage of 0.736,  lower than ER's 0.857, and Creighton's 0.854, but is still better than both Carlson and Navarro.  Morel can claim 2 conference championships, compared to Raeburn's 3.  I understand that the bar was raised in the 2010s, but can you really justify getting rid of a coach who's never won less than 7 in a year with 2 conference championships?  I'm a Coach Morel fan - he seems to be an outstanding person who his players genuinely respect, so I hope he gets a chance to continue his legacy at WC.

4. On the flip side, how about Brett Dietz?  His 0.800 winning percentage is the best in DePauw history, and even though he's only 4ish seasons in, the Tigers show no signs of slowing down.  You have to wonder at this pace whether the Tigers are able to replace Witt/Wabash as a perennial NCAC rep in the playoffs.  DPU has a long way to go to start making consistent noise in the playoffs, but Dietz and co. are off to a great start.

I've been a long-time reader of this thread, but happy to finally join in this year.  Thanks for good entertainment during the week, and I look forward to future debates!

[WAF]

TigerKing - very good questions!

I think Liam will be remembered as a very exciting QB to watch....and you're glad he's not playing against you. But overall, what did he really win? One Bell game. He had talent galore on the perimeter to make plays. My opinion, he threw way too many interceptions in big moments. I believe his overall numbers were 102 TD's and 30 INT's.

If Liam had the luxury of having Avant and Ike James to hand the ball off to, different conversation. Snyder was a good back, but those other two were dudes. You combine Avant and James with Sullivan, Riddle, Allen, little Thompson, etc... then you have something special, if they all would have entered Wabash at the same time.

The defense hasn't been great the past few years, which obviously impacted the success of the team.

DePauw has surpassed Wabash in football success. Don and staff have taken a knee on recruiting the past few years, banking on this senior group to win it. The Tigers have killed us in recruiting as of the past 3 years, and it's evident. Bell game next year, and the next couple for that matter, could be ugly in favor of the Tigers. I hope I'm wrong, but seriously doubt it.

Congrats to DP on a great season. They have a good thing going right now, I hope the Little Giants can start to at least try to match them in recruiting.