University Athletic Association

[WRCTChuck]

Just got back from the game. You can try to breakdown the game but it really is simple. Wesley outplayed CMU. Talent wise I thought the teams were pretty even but Wesley has overall team speed (particularly at the skill positions). That was critical today. Wesley had a great offensive gameplan and a very difficult scheme. (It looks very similar to the Indy Colts offense......minus the Manning theatrics at the line) The Tartans made too many mental unforced errors (false starts, muffed kickoffs) and overall just looked out of sync. Perhaps this was a case where the playoff inexperience caught up to the Tartans, particularly in the 1st half.
-Wesley played a great game but not perfect (too many dropped passes) The 49 yarder to Clarke was a thing of beauty. Play action bootleg with a 30yd drag that completely fooled the Tartan coverage.
I could go on but it's late so I'll sum up.
-Great win for Wesley- the better team, much better execution. Fully expect to see them in the Stagg Bowl. However, I don't think their defense is strong enough to stop the U
-For CMU 11-1. Great season. brought the program back onto the national scene. hopefully, its the beginning of a consitant playoff contender and not a 1 year wonder. Can not go another 16 years between playoff berths, we can do this every year.

Tartans Forever

p.s. How/Why is robinson (#92) playing D-III? Big guys that can run like him generally get snatched up. Somebody's recruiting co-ordinator messed up.

[jc101]

That was the worst loss for CMU since a 50-0 loss to Westminster in 1971.  It's ashame the season has to end on that note, but that seems to be pretty common in the playoffs.  Last year, Bridgewater lost to Wesley 46-7 in the regional final, then Wesley lost to Wisconsin - Whitewater 58-6 in a national semifinal game.

Anyways, the 11 wins is quite an accomplishment - and the most for any CMU team in a single season.  With a good amount returning next year, it will be interesting to see what the Tartans do.

[BDTartan]

Well if you must know what I was holding my tongue on then allow me to say this first.  I have no excuses for the loss.  Wesley would have won regardless.  WRCTChuck summed it up pretty good, but the game could have been much different for many reasons.

The officiating in the first half was horrendous!  On CMU's opening drive, they drove the ball 70 yards to the Wesley ten.  But wait, there's a flag 10 yards up field for holding on a first down run that would have given CMU 1st and goal.  I saw who the flag was thrown on and believe me it was not a hold, it was a PANCAKE!!

Obviously the refs didn't even know what pass interference of any kind was.  On Wesley's third score they threw a fade to the back corner on 3rd and goal from the 17.  Aaron Lewis was sitting there waiting and looking up at the ball to make a play, out of nowhere comes Wesley's wideout and blatantly shoves Lewis out of the way to make a TD catch.  NO FLAG!!  (Later in the game, the refs flagged a Wesley DB for interference on a play where the ball wasn't even catchable and it was inside the five yard zone.)

Next CMU possession, they go three and out and during the punt a Wesley player TACKLES CMU's punter.  Ref says he got ball, but he clearly did not as the ball went 35-40 yards.  NO FLAG!!

The refs were horrible, even more disgusting towards CMU.  I believe Wesley only had one penalty, and on Wesley's first score (long TD run) their left tackle clearly rocked back on his heels before the snap.  Don't know if the refs were local or not, but regardless, they sucked a big one!


Now, on to Wesley.  Their coaches, players, and fans had no class as far as I could tell.  Yes they have a very good team, but they could use some lessons in humility.

Coaches:  Up 31-0 with less than 10 minutes to go and you're throwing bombs?!?!  Gimme a break!  I hope you get the same medicine from UMHB, UWW, or Mount if you get there!

Players:  I wouldn't kiss THEIR mothers with THEIR mouths.  I haven't heard a mouthier nastier group of football players since my high school days against our bitter rivals.

Fans:  Can't speak for all of them, but as my brother and I were walking back to my vehicle most of their fans were booing and hissing my brother telling him that he sucked!  Imagine that.  I will say this, there was ONE Wesley fan who told my brother he played a good game.  Other than that, it was disgusting the way we were treated.

All I can say now is this:  Tartans, work hard in the offseason and come back with a vengeance.  Maybe you can get those guys next year at Gesling and we can show them how to play and cheer with class.

[BDTartan]

Oh yeah, that Robinson guy for Wesley, I give him alot of credit.  I exclude him from my previous comment.  He was the only guy from Wesley who didn't run his mouth and was the only guy helping CMU's players up after plays.  He is a very good talent and I agree, he should be playing at a higher level than D-III.  Best of luck to him.  From what I could tell, he was a gentleman and a very good athlete.

[WRCTChuck]

I figured BD's rant would be about the officiating and the play calling once the game was decided so I decide not to steal his thunder .

I am not one for excuses. The Tartans lost plain and simple.

The officiating was bad. But as I said on the air they were consistant. That was clearly a rough but they also took a fantastic catch on the sideline away from Clarke.
An NFL scout was there to evaluate the officiating for the NCAA. I wonder what his report would say.

I can not comment on what was said on the field or in the stands but I can only say that the staff at Wesley was very professional and the people I came into contact with were courtious. I am not questioning BD's account because there are creeps at every sporting event. Yesterday was no exception.

As far as they playcalling in the 4th qtr. (the long pass to clarke, the pass to robinson ahead by 31) my issue isn't so much the play calling but why have robinson, clarke, warrick,etc risk injury in a game that has already been decided? I think that's stupid. This is a team that has a legitmate shot at a national title and the coaches are being cute in a game where they have a 37 point lead? Stupid.

But in sports as in life what goes around comes around

For CMU there is a simple solution. Play Better. Then it never becomes an issue

[CMURyan]

I went to the game yesterday.  BD is absolutely right about the officiating.  It was horrible.  That said, Wesley was clearly the better team and would've won regardless of the officiating.  They were bigger, stronger and faster.  Comparing them to the Millsaps team we saw last week, they certainly deserve their #3 ranking and the MHB game should be quite a show.  I didn't hear any of the cat calls from the stands and didn't notice any poor sportsmanship.  Wesley hosted the game well as far as I could tell and deserved to win.

[BDTartan]

The catcalls occurred after the game when my brother and I were on our way to my car to get his Thanksgiving care package.  I heard some things said by Wesley players during the game that I won't quote, but they were bad enough that towards the end of the game I heard one of their coaches yelling at one of the players to keep his mouth shut.

I agree, and stated before my rant that Wesley is a very good team and would have won regardless.  Although I wonder why CMU wouldn't adjust their D.  I saw Wesley zone-blocking the crap out of the 3-4 and I don't understand why CMU never played any bump and run against their fast receivers.

WRCTChuck, I say there is a 50/50 chance Wesley even gets to the Stagg Bowl.  Remember that if the chips fall the right way they would have to go through UMHB and UWW to even get there and then play Mount.  As good as they may be, I doubt they would even stand a chance against Mount's 2nd string in the Stagg Bowl.  Just my opinion with a little inside info from my buddies from Mount.

[wesleyrocks833]

 People its sounds like sour grapes because we crushed CMU. And the thing about the coaches: 1.) Chip Knapp knows what hes doing unlike some OCs in D3. (FYI: He was the starting QB at Cornell.)
2.) You know Mike Drass and Coach Knapp are better coaches than CMU will ever have.
3.) Seeing that I know the coaches, hmm... YES THEY ACTUALLY DO HAVE CLASS!!!!!!
Players
1.) You are correct about some of their mouths
Fans
1.) Some of the fans might have acted like that but I doubt that all of them did.

I apologize for my pervious writing BUT that is a big big misguidance of the coaches.

Well if you must know what I was holding my tongue on then allow me to say this first.  I have no excuses for the loss.  Wesley would have won regardless.  WRCTChuck summed it up pretty good, but the game could have been much different for many reasons.

The officiating in the first half was horrendous!  On CMU's opening drive, they drove the ball 70 yards to the Wesley ten.  But wait, there's a flag 10 yards up field for holding on a first down run that would have given CMU 1st and goal.  I saw who the flag was thrown on and believe me it was not a hold, it was a PANCAKE!!

Obviously the refs didn't even know what pass interference of any kind was.  On Wesley's third score they threw a fade to the back corner on 3rd and goal from the 17.  Aaron Lewis was sitting there waiting and looking up at the ball to make a play, out of nowhere comes Wesley's wideout and blatantly shoves Lewis out of the way to make a TD catch.  NO FLAG!!  (Later in the game, the refs flagged a Wesley DB for interference on a play where the ball wasn't even catchable and it was inside the five yard zone.)

Next CMU possession, they go three and out and during the punt a Wesley player TACKLES CMU's punter.  Ref says he got ball, but he clearly did not as the ball went 35-40 yards.  NO FLAG!!

The refs were horrible, even more disgusting towards CMU.  I believe Wesley only had one penalty, and on Wesley's first score (long TD run) their left tackle clearly rocked back on his heels before the snap.  Don't know if the refs were local or not, but regardless, they sucked a big one!


Now, on to Wesley.  Their coaches, players, and fans had no class as far as I could tell.  Yes they have a very good team, but they could use some lessons in humility.

Coaches:  Up 31-0 with less than 10 minutes to go and you're throwing bombs?!?!  Gimme a break!  I hope you get the same medicine from UMHB, UWW, or Mount if you get there!

Players:  I wouldn't kiss THEIR mothers with THEIR mouths.  I haven't heard a mouthier nastier group of football players since my high school days against our bitter rivals.

Fans:  Can't speak for all of them, but as my brother and I were walking back to my vehicle most of their fans were booing and hissing my brother telling him that he sucked!  Imagine that.  I will say this, there was ONE Wesley fan who told my brother he played a good game.  Other than that, it was disgusting the way we were treated.

All I can say now is this:  Tartans, work hard in the offseason and come back with a vengeance.  Maybe you can get those guys next year at Gesling and we can show them how to play and cheer with class.

[BDTartan]

I can't see how what I said was wrong when your team is up by 31 with less than 10 to go in the game and your throwing long passes.  Secondly, your coaches must be on the ignorant side to keep all of your best players in the game when you have a regional final game against the #4 team in the country coming up.  As I said, Wesley has a good football team, but I won't feel one bit sorry for them when they receive the same treatment from some other school. 

I never said all the fans treated us that way, just the ones that we happened to pass on the way to the car.

Lastly, I don't think its sour grapes when I clearly stated twice that Wesley would have won the game regardless of all the other things going on outside of the players standpoint.

For what its worth, it no longer matters to me.  CMU has a great team returning next season and I hope they take this loss as incentive to work hard in the offseason and come back stronger.

[BDTartan]

Also, you can perceive what you want about your coaches being better than any coaches CMU would ever have, but at least Lackner wouldn't be running it up and he wouldn't have his best players in a game that's out of hand when they have an upcoming game the next week.

[WCswann28sis]

well i really dont post that much anymore but have you looked at wesley's roster they have a lot and i mean a lot of people returning next year.... and i do believe these boys could stand up and hold their own against anyone even muc.... but they arent even worried bout them they take it one game at a time and they have mhb this week should be a good game...well good luck in the off season

[WRCTChuck]

2.) You know Mike Drass and Coach Knapp are better coaches than CMU will ever have.
3.) Seeing that I know the coaches, hmm... YES THEY ACTUALLY DO HAVE CLASS!!!!!!

If you mean "coach" as in some one who draws up plays and strategies that may or may not be fact.
But if you mean "coach" as in someone who is a teacher, leader, mentor, source of guidance, and makes his players better both on and off the field, you can't possibly have a better group of coaches than CMU's staff.  In that regard our coaches are second to none.

At this level it's about building character as much as it is winning

Wesley won yesterday because they had better players NOT better coaches. It's not like either staff invented the wheel
A coach is generally only as good as his players and when Wesley meets up with a team that is just as athletic we'll see just how good they really are.

[patcummings]

It should be noted that never in the postseason are officials "local."  They all come from another conference unaffiliated with both teams.

[BDTartan]

As I said, I didn't know.  They could have come from the moon, they still sucked!

[Pat Coleman]

As far as they playcalling in the 4th qtr. (the long pass to clarke, the pass to robinson ahead by 31) my issue isn't so much the play calling but why have robinson, clarke, warrick,etc risk injury in a game that has already been decided? I think that's stupid. This is a team that has a legitmate shot at a national title and the coaches are being cute in a game where they have a 37 point lead? Stupid.

Sometimes coaches are "cute" because they want to put stuff on tape for future playoff opponents to have to worry about. That's a pretty common staple for coaches who have been there before.