FB: Middle Atlantic Conference

[bman]

Having watched years of FCS(1AA football), there is no doubt that UMHB would be middle of the pack and competitive in 1AA...I'd love to see them schedule a mid tier FCS as an out of conference game...I'd go!

If MHB "would be middle of the pack and competitive in 1AA," why aren't they in 1AA instead of leaving a trail of devastation in D3? Your thoughts?

Esteemed Mr. Thompson...an excellent question as always...

As Pat mentions some of it is finances, and some just seems to be the administrations preference...
Dominating on the field seems not to have much effect on a school's decision to change divisions.   
D3 team's movement seems to bear that out.   Frostburg's competitiveness is certainly not domination...and in recent history, the only other example I can recall is Chowan, who was not even very competitive in D3, prior to moving.
My best guess is that a school is what it wants to be...  Miami is a tiny school with a huge athletic budget.  They are where they want to be...so is Mount Union, UMHB, Wesley etc...

[DFWCrufan]

Having watched years of FCS(1AA football), there is no doubt that UMHB would be middle of the pack and competitive in 1AA...I'd love to see them schedule a mid tier FCS as an out of conference game...I'd go!

If MHB "would be middle of the pack and competitive in 1AA," why aren't they in 1AA instead of leaving a trail of devastation in D3? Your thoughts?

Would you ask the same question of UMU? Moving up in divisions is incredibly expensive. My Alma Mater (Cal Baptist) just moved into Div 1 into the WAC, but it took over a decade to grow the student base, expand facilities which would draw enough students for tuition and scholarship support for those programs. UMHB at this time, while growing well, is not in that vein, leave that to the Little brother Baylor U one city over. The growth of UMHB is slow and steady, not flashing to make a jump which could be disastrous (I'm thinking of a recently returned U in our ASC conference who went DII and came back having to wait two years before being able to be eligible to go post season) It's all about the bucks....And the culture

[LineCat]

LineCat

Without going into specifics, (and this is firsthand knowledge, not something I was told), other MAC teams/schools are simply offering better financial packages for players....ones WU will not touch or make an attempt to match...
[/quote]

Thanks bman that makes sense and I respect that its firsthand knowledge. I still believe Widener has all they need though to make the run. The next few weeks should all be Ws as long as we tackle better and take care of the ball right.

[tweisman5]

Below are my week 3 predictions and rankings. The spread (-#) is provided by Massey Ratings and the top 25 rankings are from the Hansen Ratings composite. Good luck to everyone this week!

Week 3 Predictions

Leb Val @ Lycoming (-6.5): Lycoming wins by 10

Hartwick @ King's (-0.5): King's wins by 3

Wilkes @ #20 Del Val (-37.5): Del Val wins by 35

Stevenson (-1.5) @ Albright: Stevenson wins by 3

Widener (-17.5) @ Misericordia: Widener wins by 17

FDU (-16.5) @ Alvernia: FDU wins by 17

Week 3 Rankings
1. Del Val (1-1, 0-0)
2. Stevenson (1-1, 0-0)
3. Lycoming (1-1, 0-0)
4. Widener (0-2, 0-0)
5. Albright (0-2, 0-0)
6. FDU (2-0, 0-0)
7. Wilkes (1-1, 0-0)
8. Leb Val (0-2, 0-0)
9. King's (0-1, 0-0) 
10. Alvernia (1-0, 0-0)
11. Misericordia (0-1, 0-0)

Prediction Record
Last Week: 4-2 (.667)
Season: 12-5 (.706)
Career: 55-23 (.705)

[gordonmann]

I'm pretty bad at predictions but I don't see DVU beating Wilkes by that margin. Wilkes' offense has improved and DVU's defense is down relative to last year when the final score was 34-14.

[tweisman5]

I'm pretty bad at predictions but I don't see DVU beating Wilkes by that margin. Wilkes' offense has improved and DVU's defense is down relative to last year when the final score was 34-14.

Gordonmann

I understand your belief as the margin is significantly higher than the average margin of -19 points since 2015 for Wilkes. I'm merely rolling the dice on this predicted margin. Odds favor your statement to be valid.

[LineCat]

So Widener Coach Kelly makes my point - no leadership, no ownership. It's all Googles fault now? He really thinks people are buying this excuse for a bad game. I guess no Lycoming players or anyone else in the conference uses iPhones or Google huh.   The team is 100% Kelly's recruits and almost everyone is back from last year.  So what changed – coordinators and coaching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2Cgk1jmU3s

Widener will win Saturday in spite of the team being sh_t on, not because of it. Google, Seriously?

[RowanPhan]

So Widener Coach Kelly makes my point - no leadership, no ownership. It’s all Googles fault now? He really thinks people are buying this excuse for a bad game. I guess no Lycoming players or anyone else in the conference uses iPhones or Google huh.   The team is 100% Kelly’s recruits and almost everyone is back from last year.  So what changed – coordinators and coaching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2Cgk1jmU3s

Widener will win Saturday in spite of the team being sh_t on, not because of it. Google, Seriously?

I caught a flavor of this in the quotes after the Rowan game.  No bueno for Widener.  I'm sure the players, who are busting their butts in practice and taking time away for studies, aren't happy about this.

[WidePride]

I really can't hold back any longer. I am in shock at the asinine post game press conference with Coach Kelly. This guy has made it his trademark to say stupid things in the past, but this moron really lit it up this time.
What fool goes off on his team, the way he did? If his players are searching google, they're certainly going to see the video of him making a fool of himself and his players. It was awful.
(And by the way, I am neither parent of a player or a former player. I have the great fortune of being a long time fan of this program. But under Kelly's command, I have watched the team deteriorate at a record pace.)
His facial expression showed a man on fire. Maybe if his coaching and even better, his play calling were intact, he possibly could have an argument. But even then, you don't bury your players the way he did. He, in essence, said his team sucks, his players suck and they're liars. Of course, none of the blame...ok..ok lets's call it "responsibility", falls on his shoulders. They lost to Lycoming because of Google.....not because his play calling sucked, didn't run the ball or has a limited-run-mobility QB. 4 sacks and 34 yds rushing. Even at that, you keep the complaints, discipline and comments close to the vest...ie the locker room or coaches office. Publicly shaming your players is one stupid move. I wouldn't be surprised if the players didn't want to take the field for him this Saturday
Perhaps his players should Google; "where can we find a supportive/knowledgeable Head Football Coach"
I promise you, Kelly's name will not come up in that search.

[pumkinattack]

Player or coach?

[Machiavelli]

Player or coach?

Calling Special Agent Jonny Utah!!!

[pumkinattack]

At least our player poster was positive about himself and is starting in the NFL....

Whitfoot!  (Though possible it was a bother named Brody)

[WidePride]

The new uniforms arrived....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pat Coleman]

The new uniforms arrived....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How did you find that photo?

[G-manWU]

I'm pretty bad at predictions but I don't see DVU beating Wilkes by that margin. Wilkes' offense has improved and DVU's defense is down relative to last year when the final score was 34-14.

Howdy Gordon, and the rest of the crew on the MAC board!

I was fortunate to be present for both of the first two games for the Colonels- LVC is my favorite road trip in the conference- and I believe your assessment is well-founded.

I have been impressed by the improvement shown by the Colonels under Coach Drach. The offense works to dictate the pace of the game, mixing big plays into a clock-controlling style that wears down defenses. The Wilkes defense has tightened up significantly from previous seasons, and features some exciting young talent...the potential exists for the unit to be quite exciting.

The program has made great strides in reaching out to alumni in various means of engagement; that includes not just fundraising, but regular updates from the coaching staff, and alumni engagement events. I was fortunate to catch up with several of the defensive stars from our 2006 championship team at the Lebanon Valley game, and I hope that becomes a more frequent theme of the new era.

A road trip to DVU is always daunting, and with good reason. The last Wilkes win in Doylestown came during my senior year in 2007. But you can be sure that this year's Colonels will come ready to play, and may surprise some folks.

In the meantime, check out some highlights from the OT win in Annville (it looks like this will be a regular feature this season):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK_anTHc_1Q