FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[WAF78]

Congrats to Witt on a great come from behind victory. Another great game in what has become a great NCAC rivalry. The Wabash defense and special teams again fail to come through...and this time the second half defensive collapse loses the ball game for the Little Giants. The scenario seems to be that the Wabash D has a great first half game plan...but the opposing offenses make adjustments (Millikin, Gheny, Witt) and the Wabash coaching staff can't seem to adjust. The bad call on the fumble was key...but the defensive collapse had already set the tone.
Kudos to the Wabash offense and the outstanding last minute drive to put them into the position to win. Wabash Always Fights. I hope they can recover from this one...this one was a heartbreaker.

[oldguy]

Great win for Witt.  Looked like it was a great game, I wished I could have been there.  The score was surprisingly low.  I was worried that Witt would not be able to keep up with Bash score for score, but both defenses came to play.  Hopefully the Tigers can use this momentum throughout the rest of the season. 

[WittFan]

1)  Witt players were cheering the hit, not the injury.  And yes, the hit was worth cheering.  One of the most devastating hits I've seen.  But as soon as the players realized how badly that kid was hurt, the tone changed immediately.

2)  The game was one of the best I've seen in a long time.  I was still shaking an hour after Ieft the stadium.  Both teams should be very proud of their efforts.

3)  I have a really good digital tape of the game that includes Witt's radio broadcast.  I'm making a DVD of it tonight.  I'm not sure logistically how to do it, but if we can figure it out I'm willing to share with those folks who are looking for a copy.

[Ryder16]

Wooster 52, hiram 0

report from family, woo got some breaks in the second half to make the margin larger than it really was

[wally_wabash]

Back from Springfield....

- It was NOT a great game.  It was sloppy, mistake prone and not even close to the level of play we've come to expect from these teams.  Huffman looked like a freshman, Wabash's experienced receivers had stone hands at the absolute worst times, and the special teams were pretty bad on both sides. 

- We shouldn't be surprised that Murray did what he did.  We knew Murray would get his.  Did anybody really think that Witt was going to air it out unless they absolutely had to?  The key was to stop 21 on 1st down frequently enough to force Huffman to bail the Tigers out of long situations, which Wabash did plenty enough to be in a position to win. 

- This one is NOT on the Wabash defense.  Two picks from balls that hit receivers in the hands and a fumble inside the 15 yard line are the main culprit.  The Hard Hats did a hell of a job to hold Witt to just 19.  They could have had a lot more.  My hat goes off to the Wabash defense who I feel played a very solid game. 

- An inadvertant whistle?  An inadvertant GD whistle??  I didn't hear a whistle and I wasn't more than 15 yards away from the field.  It wasn't particularly loud at E-M today.  I didn't have any problem hearing every other whistle at the game today.  Apparantly nobody on the field heard a whistle because all 22 players played that down as if nothing had been blown dead.  Let this game forever be known as the Phantom Whistle Game.

CC preaches it every week in the press...special teams and turnovers.  Wabash turned the ball over twice in the red zone, once more inside their own 15, had a punt blocked, and missed a 28 yard field goal.  Nobody is going to win a big game by doing that, inadvertant whistles or not. 

[Pat Coleman]

1)  Witt players were cheering the hit, not the injury.  And yes, the hit was worth cheering.  One of the most devastating hits I've seen.  But as soon as the players realized how badly that kid was hurt, the tone changed immediately.

Funny you should say that. I just read the last 10 hours' posts all at once and that was my immediate thought. Fans are too damn clueless sometimes to be so sensitive.

3)  I have a really good digital tape of the game that includes Witt's radio broadcast.  I'm making a DVD of it tonight.  I'm not sure logistically how to do it, but if we can figure it out I'm willing to share with those folks who are looking for a copy.

I'd be interested if you can distribute it somehow.

[smedindy]

Yeah, it was one whistle. But Wabash had the chance to make the plays, according to the esteemed Brent Harris, and they didn't.

I love Chad Finley, but you can't rely on a figgie to win the game, especially when you had a 10 point lead at the half. Wabash needed to go for the throat, and time and again this season, they've released the grasp. This time, it bit them.

Well, it's still a crazy NCAC, where anything can happen, and you know what, we still have the Bell.

[wally_wabash]

It should be noted that I don't want to intimate that the game's outcome hinged on the Phantom Whistle™, regardless of how completely chicken___ I think that particular call was.  Wabash lost the game because they didn't execute when they had their chances to blow it open.  The Phantom Whistle™ was just a brutal punch to the gut of a defense that made the play we've been wating for them to make all year, then had it taken away from them. 

[medicine man]

Witt is having one of those years where "luck" plays a big part.  It happened at the Woo game and sounds like it happened at the Bash game. Both games had bad officiating - but you have to play to beat that.  Witt is not that good -  they just seem to be getting the good teams on their bad days and getting all the breaks.   I would think even Witt fans would have to admit that they are not a great team this year.  Murray is great, but otherwise.......... The NCAC is still open - there is a lot of football to be played yet.

[SOAP]

IF.....

Witt ends up losing to Allegheny (their only real test for the rest of the season)

Wabash wins out.

Allegheny wins out.

Kenyon wins out. (makes it past Wooster in week 10)

Who goes to the Playoffs?!?!?!  All will end up 6-1 in the league.

(Sorry to Yeomen fans for leaving you out of the equation, but you still have Wabash, Witt, and Gheny)

I know there is still a lot of football to be played, but I dread the possibility that a KC could make the playoffs without having to play Bash or Witt.  Someone please tell me this can't happen.

Samuel L.

[medicine man]

Sorry to say I think it can, thus the JOKE of the strength schedule!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's hope this does not happen.......it is absolutely not fair.  That is why it is really irritating when they go on and on about being so good, (KC)
but  Woo, Witt and Bash  always have to play everyone.

It is so unfair to be able to win the league without playing the big games !!!!!!

[wally_wabash]

Witt is having one of those years where "luck" plays a big part.  It happened at the Woo game and sounds like it happened at the Bash game. Both games had bad officiating - but you have to play to beat that.  Witt is not that good -  they just seem to be getting the good teams on their bad days and getting all the breaks.   I would think even Witt fans would have to admit that they are not a great team this year.  Murray is great, but otherwise.......... The NCAC is still open - there is a lot of football to be played yet.

Witt smells a LOT like the '03 Allegheny team in this regard. 

My feelings about a scenario wherein 6-1 Kenyon would go to the playoffs instead of 6-1 Wittenberg can best be summed up in two words:

Go. Lords.    

[Li'l Giant]

Is there some kind of "Big Ten" rule regarding the length of time since a team has been to the playoffs?

What's funny is this question comes up every year, someone, usually a dumbass like me, asks it, and yet we never get an actual answer.

I'd prefer to see Kenyon go if for no other reason than it would (a) help them keep the momentum going in their rebuilding process and (b) give Kenyon the ability to start playing Wabash and Witt again.

It's poor Hiram that needs to get the Wabash/Witt bypass from now on.

[oldguy]

Well, if you would rather have Kenyon in the playoffs than Witt, then its pretty obvious that you do not want the NCAC to make a decent showing on the national stage.  I'll admit, Witt isn't a dominating team, but they would fair much better than the Lords in the playoffs.

Also, saying that Witt has been lucky is a little short sighted.  They went to Wooster and beat them and they beat Wabash.  So, a couple calls seemed to go their way, but the games were close regardless.  They could have gone either way.  All 3 teams look to be the same caliber, but Witt found a way to win this year...just like Wabash and Wooster have found ways to win those close games in years past.  

In 2002-2003, the Buckeyes were the farthest thing from dominating all year long, and they pulled off one of the most unlikely national championship runs ever.  

Now, all this talk is for not if the Tigers lose to Gheny, but being able to win the close games is an important quality to have.  

[Li'l Giant]

I'll admit, Witt isn't a dominating team, but they would fair much better than the Lords in the playoffs.

Regardless of who wins the NCAC I don't see the NCAC champ winning more than 1 game. Especially if that 2nd game is at a CCIW or OAC team, both of which could be two bid leagues.