FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[nike]

In the games I have seen this year, I come away impressed with Jon Mathis at tight end.  Why does he not play more have and have more balls thrown to him ?  He is a great athlete, very good in track, also.  Seems like he could be the answer to a short passing game.  Have seen him turn short catches into big plays.  Thought the same thing last year.  He has size and speed.  Twin brother plays basketball at Mt. Union.

[Black n Gold]

Mathis is a very good athlete and his leap over the defender on the fake punt was amazing this past week. It seems that the coaches are very high on Cameron Daniels (FR) whom takes a lot of snaps from Mathis which doesn't help his PT.

heres a pic:

http://athletics.wooster.edu/fb/recaps/2008/allegheny.php

[ScotLass]

Just an interesting FYI:

For the entire 2007 season, Woo turned over the ball 24 times....10 fumbles and 14 INT (10 Holter, 4 Parker)

Through 8 games this season, Woo has turned over the ball 23 times....8 fumbles, 15 INT (15 Holter)

In comparison, Wabash has turned over the ball 13 times.......8 fumbles, 5 INT
Case has turned over the ball 10 times.....7 fumbles, 3 INT

There is zero improvement in this area from Woo from last year to this year......with 2 games left, statistically one would expect the final numbers to actually be worse than last year.
Unfortunately, 6 turnovers in the Wabash game did not result in finding a way to get 7 scores.

GO SCOTS!!!!!!

[Black n Gold]

2007 Season/ 4-6

PASSING              GP-GS   Effic Cmp-Att-Int   Pct  Yds  TD Lng Avg/G
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Austin Holter        10-10  119.12 145-243-10   59.7 1565  10  55 156.5


RUSHING              GP-GS  Att Gain Loss  Net   Avg  TD Long Avg/G
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Austin Holter        10-10  112  492  204  288   2.6   7   37  28.8


TOTAL OFFENSE         G Plays Rush Pass Total Avg/G
---------------------------------------------------
Austin Holter        10   355  288 1565  1853 185.3



2008 Season thru 8 games/ 6-2

PASSING              GP-GS   Effic Cmp-Att-Int   Pct  Yds  TD Lng Avg/G
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Austin Holter         8-8   114.95 151-267-15   56.6 1742  12  50 217.8


RUSHING              GP-GS  Att Gain Loss  Net   Avg  TD Long Avg/G
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Austin Holter         8-8    99  676   52  624   6.3   6   67  78.0


TOTAL OFFENSE         G Plays Rush Pass Total Avg/G
---------------------------------------------------
Austin Holter         8   366  624 1742  2366 295.8


I see quite an improvement in a year and would gladly take a 8-2 record over however many turnovers you guys want to complain about. Do Wooster fans ever do anything other than complain? It's amazing how the team has made great strides in all aspects of the game and all the fanbase does is nit-pick. By Holters dual threat abilities, he has guided the team to a winning season and put the team back on track. If Holter was not in this offense, I highly doubt the Scots would be 6-2 right now.

[smedindy]

Where is Franklin?  Aren't they in the North?

ACK! Forgot them! Even as I was thinking of them.

Franklin probably slides in at 6 or 7, knocking out a 1-loss Trine or Wittenberg.

UPDATED:

1. Mt. Union
2. North Central
3. Wabash
4. Trine or Case
5. Case or Otterbein
6. Otterbein or Franklin
7. Franklin or Adrian
8. Aurora

Ralph Turner has 7 teams in line for the 6 "C" bids:

Rowan/Montclair St. winner;
Hartwick;
Otterbein;
Hardin-Simmons;
UW-Whitewater,

then Redlands vs W&J.

Case is a "B" bid, and an unbeaten Case is a lock. Is a 1-loss Case a lock? That last game at Wash U. may be tough (though C/M is no sleeper). The others involved are LaGrange, Salisbury, Northwestern (MN), Husson, Wesley (remote). There are only 3 "B" bids this year.

If Case loses and W & J doesn't get in, there will be some movement everywhere and Wabash may benefit from moving a team East or West.

[ScotLass]

I see quite an improvement in a year and would gladly take a 8-2 record over however many turnovers you guys want to complain about. Do Wooster fans ever do anything other than complain? It's amazing how the team has made great strides in all aspects of the game and all the fanbase does is nit-pick. By Holters dual threat abilities, he has guided the team to a winning season and put the team back on track. If Holter was not in this offense, I highly doubt the Scots would be 6-2 right now.

I think we can agree that 8-2 is better than 4-6. However, I think we are coming at this from entirely different perspectives. My perspective is that in D3 football, the object of the game is to win the championship......8-2 just doesn't get there. You see a huge turnover problem as no problem because 8-2 is a winning season.

I see the lack of improvement in turnovers as a big stumbling block against top tier teams. So far this year Woo is -4 in turnovers in comparison to opponents, they were -3 at the end of last season. So far Wabash is +7 and Case is +13.

I make no apology for pointing out a huge stumbling block to winning games against teams that are on their way to the playoffs......I am pretty sure the coaches and players at Woo would love to make a similar trip......to do so, we do have to move beyond the cheerleading and improve on some areas that don't take a rocket scientist to see as a problem.

[Black n Gold]

Where is Franklin?  Aren't they in the North?

ACK! Forgot them! Even as I was thinking of them.

Franklin probably slides in at 6 or 7, knocking out a 1-loss Trine or Wittenberg.

When you speak of Witt..........are you assuming they beat Woo? If Woo were to run the final 2 games, is it at all possible that the Scots sneak into the postseason? Just curious....... please don't bash me, I'm not that familiar with how the equations work out in D3 ball.

Scotlass........I myself am a huge competitor, and I know where you are coming from. But your words speak as if you think change is needed at the QB position, when I don't think the Scots help themselves by putting Holter on the bench. Just suprise me next week by saying something positive in your summary of the game.........

P.S, Do you sit in the last row upon the back wall of the stadium?

[smedindy]

B & G - Wooster has 2 in-region losses. If Witt beats Woo, they will have just 1 in-region loss. The regional rankings emphasize in-region records, and then the selection committee looks at the regional rankings to determine the 6 "C" bids. A 2-loss Wooster has a longer shot than a 1 in-region loss Witt. Not saying it's impossible, but there are many teams ahead of them in the queue.

[wally_wabash]

I think Hardin-Simmons and UW-Whitewater are the only "locks" for pool C invitations...and I also think that Stevens Point is going to lose to Eau Claire and move Whitewater back to Pool A.  So there are going to be four or five invitations and a boatload of 1-loss regional teams to give them to.  You can make cases for and against almost every one of them...deciding who gets those four or five invitations is going to be so difficult.

Wittenberg joins the pool C conversation (although, and while I know that this isn't part of the criteria, I just have a hard time seeing an invite going to a team with two D-III losses even if one was out of region) because they have one regional loss.  Wooster on the other hand has two regional losses and whereas regional losses are part of the primary criteria and there are so many 1-loss teams available, the Scots are unfortunately not part of the playoff discussion at the moment. 

[Black n Gold]

Lets say John-Carrol pulls an upset and Mt. Union does their thing with Otterbein (8-2 now)........... who will that benefit?

[wally_wabash]

Lets say John-Carrol pulls an upset and Mt. Union does their thing with Otterbein (8-2 now)........... who will that benefit?

Otterbein falling to 8-2 benefits:

Trinity (TX)
W&J
Hampden-Sydney
Redlands
Hartwick
Huntingdon/LaGrange loser or any other 1-loss Pool B spillover

[usee]

I think Hardin-Simmons and UW-Whitewater are the only "locks" for pool C invitations...and I also think that Stevens Point is going to lose to Eau Claire and move Whitewater back to Pool A.  So there are going to be four or five invitations and a boatload of 1-loss regional teams to give them to.  You can make cases for and against almost every one of them...deciding who gets those four or five invitations is going to be so difficult.

Wittenberg joins the pool C conversation (although, and while I know that this isn't part of the criteria, I just have a hard time seeing an invite going to a team with two D-III losses even if one was out of region) because they have one regional loss.  Wooster on the other hand has two regional losses and whereas regional losses are part of the primary criteria and there are so many 1-loss teams available, the Scots are unfortunately not part of the playoff discussion at the moment. 

The pool C selection process has been well documented, particularly for basketball. As I understand it, it really matters where a pool C team is ranked in the regional rankings because the highest ranked pool C team will be compared to the other region's highest ranked pool C team first. they will pick from among 4 and then the next highest pool C team will be put on the board. The critieria are pretty clear but it certainly seems complicated. Keep in mind the regional committee ranks the teams in it's own region and the national committee selects the playoff field. 2 different committees.

[ScotLass]

Scotlass........I myself am a huge competitor, and I know where you are coming from. But your words speak as if you think change is needed at the QB position, when I don't think the Scots help themselves by putting Holter on the bench. Just suprise me next week by saying something positive in your summary of the game.........

P.S, Do you sit in the last row upon the back wall of the stadium?

I think my previous post in response to Parker replacing Holter made it clear that I don't think that's a plan. I do think Holter needs to move the ball to his sideline side arm versus the into the playing field arm when he is running......

I also have said many positive things in my game assessments.......but again, there is a line I draw on cheerleading....without a recruiting class that comes along once in a blue moon, one does have to face the fact that improvements like turnover ratio must occur........unless settling for a second or third place finish is okay by everyone.
Woo has beaten the following teams (current record in brackets)

Waynesburg (4-4)
OWU (2-6)
Denison (3-5)
Earlham (3-5)
WashU (5-3)
Gheny (3-5)

So, we have beaten just one team that has a winning record. I would like to see them beat one or two ranked teams....that requires looking at areas for improvement and rising to your potential as individuals and as a team. That makes an impact on the field and in life....settling rarely does.

I usually sit near the band in the midst of the fans.....I don't like starting out with my back against a wall 

[WAF78]

In this week's ATN podcast, Pat Coleman reveals he's taking the plunge...he'll be in Crawfordsville for the Monon Bell game. We'll need to give Pat a good old Wabash yell...and welcome.
Pat...there will be several tailgating opportunities...including the "tailgate" the school is throwing before the game. Hopefully you can arrive a bit early and take in some of the ambiance. Pat, also...just a hint...don't wear black and gold...ok?

[smedindy]

BTW, Earlham was 6-4 in 2000 and 5-5 in 2001, and the world did not end...as far as we know.