University Athletic Association

[ADL70]

Thanx bb

[cave2bens]

Excellent game today - looks like CWRU will have great expectations around the circle next year.  Thanks for providing a very nice video stream of the game.  Only one downside - my link blacked out during that incredulous 40 yd, scramble - completion of Whalen's.  My office's vocabulary expanded exponentially. 

[aueagle]

Congrats to Case on an outstanding season...next year will be even better with what you have back! Can't wait to see the Spartans in Delaware for the rematch.

[BDTartan]

Nice season Spartans.  Can't wait to see what unfolds in 08' in the UAA.

[SaintsFAN]

congrats to CWRU on their 11 win season.  It will be very interesting if they go the way of CMU next year or if they really build on this season.  My guess is the latter. 

11 wins gives hope for a strong future.

[Spartan 81]

Great effort by the Spartans today. 

A few thoughts from the game:
-I gotta say I was somewhat disappointed in the fact that Wabash played with much more emotion throughout the entire game. 
-Wabash dominated both the offensive and defensive lines.  Whalen had no time to throw the ball, and our LB's were getting blocked all day.
-Our DB's were so far off, Wabash was just taking the 7 yard hitch with ease all day.

A few thoughts for next year:
-We are obviously set at QB, which is a huge plus for us.
-Our WR's were very good this year, and will be much better next year.  Speaking from experience, you make a huge leap in production/confidence/leadership etc. in between your first year and second year of significant playing time, (see Whalen and Cowdrick this year) so expect even better things from Nicely and Kolesar.
-Hopefully one of the current RB's or possibly a recruit can come in and be a go to guy.  I thought this hurt us all year long not having a #1 RB.
-Three of Five starters return on the line including both Tackles.  Due to the relative good heath of the o-line, i do not know much of what we have as far as backups, but having both tackles return is always a plus.

I will let others comment on the defense, as I have always been offensively minded.  I will say this though, we will miss Tiemeier almost as much as Brew next year.  His versatility, as well as production (12 Ints and 316 tackles in his career) in the 3-3-5/3-5-3 defense will be hard to replace.

[WAF78]

Kudos to CWRU...great game. You guys played with heart and always kept fighting up till the final buzzer.
Great effort...
Your receivers beat our DB's all day...
Whalen is very, very good...only a soph.
You guys made some great Defensive adjustments that shut down our run game in the second half...for the most.
You also have a great kicker...that guy can boot the ball.
Great job CWRU. Great year...and the best for next year.

[seventiesraider]

Sorry your run is at an end. Great season. I hope that it is the beginning of a long new tradition at CWRU.   (Former faculty member's kid)

[DagarmanSpartan]

From what I've read, it sounds like the better team won.

Congrats to Wabash.  I'll be rooting for them the rest of the playoffs!

I'm looking forward to next season.  I think that with our returning starters, we have a chance for yet another playoff run next season, hopefully a deeper one!

[DadofBashWarrior..]

Whalen has some real athleticism.....Congrats on a great season.....

[BDTartan]

For fear of depriving myself of oxygen, I will hold back my familiar comments about expectations after a year like CWRU had.  I saw someone throw a CMU comment in there........simply, CMU had just as much returning this year from the 06' team as CWRU has returning next year.  I still think its going to be hard to do all the little things correct all year long for a second year.  I believe CWRU is capable of it, just as I thought CMU was capable of it, but at the end of the day the ball doesn't always bounce your way.  Kind of like Romeo Crennel saying "there is a reason the ball is shaped the way it is" after Phil Dawson's doinker against Baltimore.

[Li'l Giant]

I'm sure it's still a bit hard on the Case fans right now but I wanted y'all to see this quote from Wabash coach Chris Creighton about your QB.

"They're a special team," Wabash College coach Chris Creighton said. "I don't give out quarterback compliments very often, but number five (Whalen) is really, really good."

The rest of the article is HERE.

[DagarmanSpartan]

Lil' Giant,

Based on that article, it sounds like we weren't strong enough up front to hang with you guys, but that our QB was practically a one man show keeping us in the game.

Is that the impression that you got?  I didn't see the game, so I have no idea.

[DagarmanSpartan]

Personally,  I like this quote from Coach Debaljak from the article that I saw on this site:

"What their legacy will be is they really changed the culture of athletics at this school," Debeljak said of his seniors. "When these guys came in here, football was an afterthought, a non-entity.   (UHLaw97: was it ever!!!  Athletics were practically non-existent back in my time (early 90s); Case didn't even make an effort to be competitive in sports, even at the D3 level).  To see the way the school responded is something very special. That is what we're going to lose with the seniors.

"We have a lot of really talented kids coming back, but you never know," he added. "We enjoyed it while we had it and we'll go back [to] working hard. Hopefully, [we'll] get that chemistry and the right people in there and make a run next year. These guys that are leaving are pretty special."

While Case's postseason run inspired the Cleveland campus, other coaches have taken notice of the Spartans.

"They're a special football team," Creighton said of Case. "You don't get very many special ones in your career. It's never about one guy, but [Whalen] is a special one.

[Li'l Giant]

Lil' Giant,

Based on that article, it sounds like we weren't strong enough up front to hang with you guys, but that our QB was practically a one man show keeping us in the game.

Is that the impression that you got?  I didn't see the game, so I have no idea.

While Whalen is a great player, I'd stop short of saying he was a one man show. Nicely, Kolesar and Mayer did their part in making some good plays.

I think the size of the lines and the speed on defense was something that was ultimately too much for Case. But there's serious talent there. And Debeljak did a great job in the second half too.

You guys have a bright future ahead of y'all.