FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[Mr. Ypsi]

Final score: NCC 44, Wheaton 21.

Since a 23-point win AT Wheaton trumps a 21-point win at home to Wooster, tomorrow's poll will be quite interesting.

[wally world]

I've been a lurker at this board for awhile, and always find the comments entertaining. I am not a football expert by any means, nor did I play anything except for IMs when I was at Wabash. But I made my way to C-ville this weekend to see a game since I'll be out of town for the Bell contest. I try to get down each year at least once. Made it down for the MSJ playoff tilt last year. Now I obviously don't have the opportunity that many of you do to see the LGs in action, but just wanted to give my take.

The rushing game was unbelievable. The holes were gaping. That first drive set the tone. Wabash's offense didn't have a ton of big plays or 20 yard receptions, which is kind of what I was expecting. So it's good to see they can get it done through the air or on the ground. Would have been interesting to see Sobecki some more, but he got blown up on that screen/swing pass. Looked like he was poised to have a monster day.

But Wooster was scrappy. They had a lot of big plays. But they just turned it over too much. When Holter was scrambling around some good things could happen. And some bad things.

A left-footed straight on kicker? That was kind of sixties. But effective. The 42-yarder was good...barely...so he got it done. I couldn't figure out the two kickers deal. Is one preferred over the other in certain situations? Or do they just take turns? Flip a coin? Speaking of kickers, the Wooster kickoffs were not good. Didn't help them that Bash started many a drive at the 40 or better. But it's d3 football. Not expecting touchbacks, but that seemed to hurt them.

Where was the sun? Weather.com showed it was supposed to be sunny. The only time the sun came out was during my drive back to NW Indiana along Rt. 52. It was burning my retinas as it dipped to the horizon. Seeing those new wind farms between Fowler and Kentland is kind of eerie.

First attempt at a victory haiku, one of my favorite features of the NCAC board :

Wooster kept it close
Wabash dominates on ground
But bagpipes were cool

Critiques are welcome. I was a math major.

[ScotLass]

The rushing game was unbelievable. The holes were gaping.

But Wooster was scrappy. They had a lot of big plays. But they just turned it over too much. When Holter was scrambling around some good things could happen. And some bad things.

Speaking of kickers, the Wooster kickoffs were not good. Didn't help them that Bash started many a drive at the 40 or better. But it's d3 football. Not expecting touchbacks, but that seemed to hurt them.


First attempt at a victory haiku, one of my favorite features of the NCAC board :

Wooster kept it close
Wabash dominates on ground
But bagpipes were cool

Critiques are welcome. I was a math major.

Welcome to the board wally world! Thanks for your assessment........now I don't have to write so much

The Woo D-line was unable to man up all day.
Despite the Witt/Bash outcome, turnovers are usually a killer as they were for Woo yesterday.
Giving Bash good field position wasn't helpful.

I would add that receivers dropping passes......or tipping them up in the air, which has been costly previously, doesn't help....maybe not using the gazillion mile an hour passing machine they use in practice might help, since the same thing happens through the week and seems to translate into the game

Congrats to Parker who came in cold when Holter was shaken up. Thanks to the pipers and drummer who brought the Scots spirit to the game.

Going from 4-6 last year to a playoff berth this year would have been a stunning accomplishment. The guys need to shake this one off, hold their heads high, and play all out for an 8-2 finish......they can be proud of that!

GO SCOTS!!!!!!!

[wabndy]

Assume a win over DePauw.  Any thoughts? Educated observations?

Wabco - please don't go there.  We had a #1 seed going into to the playoffs last year until . . . .   I cannot disagree more with the earlier comments that the bell doesn't mean as much in the playoff era.  Last year's loss could have arguably cost us any home playoff game.  The bell game is an in-region nationally televised contest that the tournament selection committee is going to be aware of, to say the least.  I've seen too many overtalented and overconfident little giant teams lose to scrappy depauw teams to whom the bell is the only way to salvage a crappy season.  They can't cost us a ticket to the playoffs anymore.  A clean sheet regular season means the possibility of two or even three home playoff games.  With apologies to our next two opponents - a bell loss still could mean we don't even get one.  The value of a home game in late november during the midwestern snowy season can't be underestimated.  Neither can the dannies.

[ADL70]

We had a #1 seed going into to the playoffs last year until . . . .     A clean sheet regular season means the possibility of two or even three home playoff games. 
[/quote]

Sorry no way Wabash had a #1 seed last year with a Bell win.  MtUnion, Whitewater, StJohns, Central, and W&J would have been seeded ahead.  This year short of something bizarre, Wabash is a 3 seed = one home playoff game.  If Mount or North Central gets moved from the North, then maybe a 2, but that's three games only if Wabash beats a 1 seed.

[wally_wabash]

We'll need to see the regional rankings before we can start making even educated guesses about who might be seeded where or who might get moved where.  My hunch is that when those rankings are released this week, Wabash will be #3 in the North region.  My hunch is also that that either MUC or NCC are going to a different region.  If that happens, Wabash will have #2 and a couple of home games.  Maybe your Spartans can return the trip that we made to Cleveland last year.   

[ADL70]

I agree on all counts. 

Sorry I messed up the quote feature.

[ADL70]

CMU rushes the ball fifty-six times for 250 yards.  At first glance this looks like a ton of yardage.  Then the net rushing comes across the board at 200 and the sting is mitigated.

33 of the negative yards were three QB sacks.

[Schwami]

My hunch is also that that either MUC or NCC are going to a different region.  If that happens, Wabash will have #2 and a couple of home games.

Maybe, but I doubt that MUC is going to be moved east again if Cortland State remains undefeated, nor is North Central likely to be moved west as a #1 seed with Willamette looking like a viable #1 seed out there.  Keep an eye on the Cortaca Jug game on Monon Bell day . . . that may have a big impact on how the playoffs get bracketed 

[wally_wabash]

The west, by my count, doesn't have enough playoff teams to fill out their quadrant of the bracket.  Here are the playoff teams that I see:

NWC champ (Willamette)
SCIAC champ (Oxy)
IIAC champ (Wartburg)
MIAC champ  who knows)
WIAC champ (who knows)
MWC champ (Monmouth)

Now, if Stevens Point can run the table the WIAC probably gets a second team in if UW-W can also beat UW-EC (again).  If Whitewater loses again, the WIAC seems like a one bid league.  Cal Lutheran has just one loss and can make the SCIAC multi-bid worthy if they upset Occidental next Saturday.  So if Whitewater and Stevens Point both finish with one loss (and Stevens Point doesn't exactly have a cakewalk the rest of the way so this is no guarantee), I've got seven teams in the West.  Somebody has to go there and as the North is overcrowded, it stands to reason that somebody from the North is going west.  If moving a team from north to west is necessary (looks like it will be), the committee may as well take the opportunity to balance the strength of the brackets a bit. 

[Superfoot Wallace]

CMU rushes the ball fifty-six times for 250 yards.  At first glance this looks like a ton of yardage.  Then the net rushing comes across the board at 200 and the sting is mitigated.

33 of the negative yards were three QB sacks.

70, hope the UAA proponents weren't thinking was dissing the Tartans.  Any who have encountered my posts surely know am a big Wing-T follower.

Now, the thing about QB sacks is their status as a remainder statistic.  A quarterback fumbles the ball behind the line of scrimmage, sack?  Maybe by default merely a fumble.  If not, then there are so many Permian statisitcs to be potentially gobbled up by one player the boxscore couldn't follow.

How to integrate a tfl statistic wherein the quarterback is behind the line of scrimmage were... say a down lineman down field?  No pass, no illegal downfield.  But does a lineman downfield indicate a designed quarterback rush?  Sometimes, hard to say. 

A quarterback forced out of bounds?  Look to the quantum?  Receivers blocking downfield?  Quarterback intitiating contact versus attempting to buy time with a juke? 

Not sure about this one, but where do conferences versus NCAA versus individual team('s?) policies place sack yardage in the boxscore?  Don't know. 

Do know CMU is more a slide or bounce motion team as opposed to a rocket or jet motion squad.  Could movement away from M.O. indicate a wobble in one teams stat placement policy?  If the Tartans went split end over versus 80's series tackle over, would keeping an edge blocker in nominate other than a sack?

Will, with proper focus, get at least half the story of the team statistical placement conundrum next week, as the Tigers play a quarterback with some wheels and an aforementioned lauded O-Line.

Great game.  Witt is the tougher of the two on D, but Woo QB the more talented and dangerous and therefore more potent O.  I go with Woo against Witt.  Love to see Woo put one on Witt.

Bring on the Dannies.  Wabash by a monkeystomp over the umbrella carriers.

First things first, shouldn't sleep on any team that gets by the Gators.  Does a Piper-Wing look get different statistical placement consideration than a team with Dan Marino logics.  Maybe statistically, hopefully not in the tenacity department.

signed,
Fanta and Percival Pinkerton

[ADL70]

MacLeod, just pointing out that all of the negative plays didn't seem to be from the run game.  Seems a TFL on the QB is usually counted as a sack.  With the average loss 11 yards, it seems more likely these were passing plays especially considering they were all on long yardage situations when clock management was an issue.

I couldn't find ESPNU today to watch the replay.  Could also have been snaps over the QB's head, but the CMU's QB is rarely not under center.  I have seen those scored as a team rush, a rush by the snapper, and a rush by the recoverer.

[wabndy]

CWRU - I stand corrected.  Last year's bell game flip-flopped the scenery for the round 2 playoff game against case.  I think it is fair to say Wabash got off lucky in that the bell loss didn't hurt too much in the standings.  That's not to say it didn't hurt.

Not sure about this one, but where do conferences versus NCAA versus individual team('s?) policies place sack yardage in the boxscore?  Don't know.

MacLeod.  Thats the kind of question only an SID like Brent Harris could love.  That's why we at Wabash pay him to worry about such things so we don't have to.  I just remember from my time with Brent, I learned to take opponent's defensive stats with a grain of salt unless he vouched for the other team's SID.  Otherwise, homer stat crews would give the entire defensive line credit for a 0.5 sack every time the quarterback went down.

[ADL70]

From the NCAA Statistician's Manual:

"If a potential passer fumbles the ball before contact by the defense,
no pass sack is credited to any individual player." [I guess that still doesn't answer if it is a sack just not credited to a player.]

"When a quarterback retreats to pass, but is pressured into bringing the ball down, is forced to scramble and is tackled before gaining the line of scrimmage, the defensive player who exerted the pressure is credited with a solo pass sack."

"a case in which a quarterback or another offensive player makes an apparent attempt
to pass while being chased and goes out-of-bounds behind the line of scrimmage.
In that instance, give the solo pass sack, solo tackle and solo tackle for loss to the primary chasing player who, in the opinion of the official game statistician, caused the passer to go out-of-bounds."

Seems to be a judgement call whether the player was attempting to pass.

[fc_alum_84]

Maybe Franklin will travel to Wabash as a #7 seed?