FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[badgerwarhawk]

Random thoughts:

Though it's a bit nerve wracking I'm glad Platteville and Stout have challenged the WARHAWKS and put them to the test by taking early leads and playing very competitively.  In the long run tests like that make us a stronger team.

I was glad to see Kindler get the monkey off his back with the successful field goal attempt.  He's been practicing well and if you watch him warming up he drills them.  He just needed to get that first one in competition.  Hopefully he can build on that success.

Is there anyone more improved over last year than punter Kris Rosholt?  He's booming 50+ yard punts consistently.  His average is up nearly 10 yards and would be even better if he hadn't been punting on short fields several times.    

We had fewer penalties this week but they still impacted production.   Fifteen penalty yards killed the drive on our first possession.  The 49 yard drive for the first touchdown was actually 69 yards with the two holding penalties.  Fortunately we were able to overcome them on three touchdown drives.  

I thought Stout had a solid game plan.  They controlled the ball and time of possession in the first half.  Short drops and accurate throws made their quarterback difficult to get to and moved the ball effectively in the first half.  Defensively they did a good job controlling our running attack in the first half.  All of that changed in the second half though.  We made some good adjustments and as the score differential increased they had to start doing things differently.  We were able to take advantage of that.  

The strength of Blanchard's arm was on display when he made a throw from the right hash mark across the field to Brandes (I think it was) on the left sideline.  That was a big time throw.  There was also three passes thrown right between two Stout defenders who were right on the receiver who caught the passes. His arm strength and velocity prevented what looked like interception opportunities.  He also showed good mobility avoiding several potential sacks and picking up some good yardage with his legs.  He's playing very well and if it continues it's going to be tough for defenses to deal with the offense.

No sooner had I commented to a friend that Lavell hadn't been able to break off a long run than he broke off two.  Given 20 carries he showed why he's  still the best running back in the WIAC.

The teams we needed to lose yesterday lost.  I really didn't see the Eau Claire loss coming.  

[retagent]

Again, thanks for the re-invite. One of my golf buddies bought season tickets to all UWW sports at a charity auction, so I should be there again. We'll stop by if we can get our duffy a$$es there early enough.

I too, was impressed with Concepcion, and wondered why he wasn't used more in their offense. One time he got the handoff and went into the line, much as he runs on KO's. Hard and fast. I was sitting on the visitors side (among Warhawk fans though), and was close to the Stout sideline. He is built like a linebacker. He could lose the hair though, but it does make him easy to spot.

[WarhawkDad]

Who sang the anthem, bp? Heard a little of it over the air.

Her name is Susan Bruk. She is a Christian artist who leads worship at our church.  She has recorded 6 CD's and her voice is amazing.  I also heard her do the Anthem at the Petit Center where she sang for the Olympic Speed skating Trials.

Great voice, but she must have been nervous, had a little mix up on the words starting out, but finished very strong!

[WarhawkDad]

Again, thanks for the re-invite. One of my golf buddies bought season tickets to all UWW sports at a charity auction, so I should be there again. We'll stop by if we can get our duffy a$$es there early enough.

I too, was impressed with Concepcion, and wondered why he wasn't used more in their offense. One time he got the handoff and went into the line, much as he runs on KO's. Hard and fast. I was sitting on the visitors side (among Warhawk fans though), and was close to the Stout sideline. He is built like a linebacker. He could lose the hair though, but it does make him easy to spot.

Some of the ladies sitting with our group wanted to see Concepcion play more and it was not based upon how hard he ran....they liked his hair!  

[bulk19]

A fiend asked me earlier in the season if it was a good thing that O'Grady announced his retirement at the beginning of the season, or wait until the end. My response was the announcement could have one of two effects. Motivate the team, such we are seeing right now with Michigan State, or deflate the team. After today's loss to La Crosse, it looks like it is the later.

RF didn't lose that much talent and actually should have gained ground this year because they played very young last year. Yet, if you see them in the game, it is in the first half. The second half has been usually down hill. So it looks like the team is already starting to hang up their cleats and waiting to see what will happen for next season.

What does everyone else think?

A fiend? I hope that was a typo>>> 

Tough call; it can go either way... Win one for the gipper, or lose all hope? I, for one, would hope they continue to compete and dig deep, since you never know what can happen on any given Saturday....

I guess it boils down to the senior leadership. They are playing the rest of the season out on pride; that isn't going to get them too far, though, if they don't have the rest of the team beleiving in itself. This team has to take the cliche one-game-at-at-time approach, and look toward finishing at .500 on the year, knowing that it will probably take an upset of two for them to do so, but this conference is the WIAC, where they do, indeed, happen...

UWRF has played a tough schedule, losing to the #4, #13 and #15 teams before playing UWL... Two winless teams pitted against each other yesterday, and something had to give; UWRF may have caught UWL at the wrong time, since I'm not sure how a second game would turn out this season....

UWL, from what I've seen, including yesterday, has been on the brink of its first W all season, but didn't play a complete game all year until yesterday... They cleaned things up yesterday and didn't make the stupid mistakes like they did in the previous games...

UWRF has a good grind-it-out team; they had two nice long drives to put up a 14-7 lead, but then UWL got the big momentum. After a tie at 14, UWL forced a fumble on the next play, then scored on a weird play = QB Nick Anker went out, and a frosh QB, Mike Butterfield, ran the wildcat formation and took it to the house by getting outside and scampering down the sidelines for a 47 yard TD, making it 21-14 UWL...

The big mo then shifted and was in the Eagles hands at halftime; UWRF drove down field on the next posession to the UWL 37, but were stuffed on a forth and one, turning it over on downs. UWL then put up about 30 yards rushing on its next three plays, then had a nice 27-yard sideline catch to set up a 2-yard rushing TD... That made it 28-14 at half; and UWRF wasn't able to stretch the field and make up the difference the second half.... UWL D played welll; had four turnovers...

Another big factor was that UWRF's RB Taylor Edwards, who was leading the conference in rushing, went out midway through the first quarter with an injury and did not return... Not sure how serious it was...

So, the Falcons have to just take it play-by-play and build on it; if I were a senior, I'd tell the underclassmen that they are auditioning for jobs next year, since a new coach is coming in, and they aren't guaranteed to keep their starting roles when a new set of eyes will be evaluating them come next year...

[ncc58]

She does have a great voice, although there were murmurs through the crowd when she changed a few of the words.

Who sang the anthem, bp? Heard a little of it over the air.

Her name is Susan Bruk. She is a Christian artist who leads worship at our church.  She has recorded 6 CD's and her voice is amazing.  I also heard her do the Anthem at the Petit Center where she sang for the Olympic Speed skating Trials.

[ncc58]

Saturday was my first regular season game at UWW, and here a few of my observations. I won't comment much on the game, I'll leave that to the Warhawk experts.

The tailgate scene was most impressive. I've attended mostly CCIW games and amazed at the quantity and quality of tailgating. I didn't expect to see the amount of alcohol so close to the stadium. Maybe that's a difference between the public and private schools. Of course, you won't see alcohol near Wheaton. 

Awesome crowd, very intimidating. However, the crowd was very passive. I was sitting on the 40 yard line about halfway up but I didn't really feel a buzz, especially considering how the first half went. Maybe this was because it was Family Day at UWW and a lot of the attendees were just casual fans. The crowd didn't panic in the first half, although it should have been concerned as Stout could easily have been up 14-7 at halftime. And they didn't seem terribly excited at the end either.

Having seen mostly CCIW games, UWW is very big. Seems like with their skill and size, they will wear out most teams. Maybe all, except for one possibility. I don't think there's a CCIW that can compete with UWW right now.

The Band's performance at halftime was excellent. However, I really couldn't hear them at all during the game. So, right now, the UWEC band is better.

The UWW punter is very good. Not only is his leg strong but he punts the ball high so it lands softly on the Field Turf, allowing the ball to be downed a couple times inside the 10. It looked like he was hitting a wedge to a soft green.

[KitchenSink]

I think that is to the credit of Stout.  They had some nice ball control in the 1st half - there wasn't much happening for the home fans to build up the juice.  It was a mix of excitement and relief in the 2nd half.

[MasterJedi]

If UWW didn't have that many penalties and Stout didn't drive for about 9 minutes in the first quarter it wouldn't have been so close. You could see how easily UWW moved the ball just purely passing under two minutes in the first half. Either Stout's gameplan was to control the ball or they just don't have a quick score ability. I'm thinking it's in the middle of the two.

And I also need to comment on the crowd. To start out with when the singer changed the words it got a snicker out of the entire crowd. Besides that the crowd was WAY too tame. It was so quiet for a record crowd. I got weird looks from parents for cheering loud at scores too. Give me a 3000+ crowd from the semifinal game against Linfield where we were loud as hell and helped cause a lot of false starts any day.

And the good thing is I won't need to wait 30-45 minutes to get water anymore at the rest of the games. 

[bleedpurple]

the crowd was WAY too tame. It was so quiet for a record crowd. I got weird looks from parents for cheering loud at scores too. Give me a 3000+ crowd from the semifinal game against Linfield where we were loud as hell and helped cause a lot of false starts any day.

And the good thing is I won't need to wait 30-45 minutes to get water anymore at the rest of the games. 

I really think the fact that it was Family Day had a direct effect on the crowd. More students were probably sitting with their families. They seemed to do away with some of the rap music (ok with me!). Families came as guests and many,  many people have casual interest at best. Maybe they are future fans in the making! I love seeing the place full.  It would be great to have it full with sold out, get crazy fans. Now in that atmosphere, it would be WORTH IT to wait 45 minutes for water!

[bleedpurple]

Speaking of Crowds, I know St. John's regularly gets really large crowds.  When I've read about the atmosphere up there, I always picture it the best of both worlds. Really big and filled with passionate fans. Can anyone who has been there comment?

[Raider 68]

Speaking of Crowds, I know St. John's regularly gets really large crowds.  When I've read about the atmosphere up there, I always picture it the best of both worlds. Really big and filled with passionate fans. Can anyone who has been there comment?

Bleedpurple,

Not been there personally, but know a Raider fan who lives in that area and has been to several games. He says the atmosphere is quite electric. St John's has a great program and support, surprized this year however with back to back losses in tight games!

[bleedpurple]

I know the Johnnies and their fans are definitely not used to three losses this early in the season!  I also know their "atmosphere" is pretty legendary.  Is it huge alumni turnout?  Is there a greater local interest? Do they draw from a wide area of Johnnie fans?  All of the above?

I just think D3 football is such an under-rated product.  I brought close to 20 people to a pre-planned tailgate and the game Saturday. They were really impressed and they want to come back. Almost none of them had ever attended a D3 game.

[Raider 68]

I know the Johnnies and their fans are definitely not used to three losses this early in the season!  I also know their "atmosphere" is pretty legendary.  Is it huge alumni turnout?  Is there a greater local interest? Do they draw from a wide area of Johnnie fans?  All of the above?

I just think D3 football is such an under-rated product.  I brought close to 20 people to a pre-planned tailgate and the game Saturday. They were really impressed and they want to come back. Almost none of them had ever attended a D3 game.

There some Raider alums/fans who would like to come to UWW, I being one of them and conversely some UWW alums come to Mount Union. Some of them made those trips  in 2002-3, but look what has happened since then!

[fballfan]

the crowd was WAY too tame. It was so quiet for a record crowd. I got weird looks from parents for cheering loud at scores too. Give me a 3000+ crowd from the semifinal game against Linfield where we were loud as hell and helped cause a lot of false starts any day.

And the good thing is I won't need to wait 30-45 minutes to get water anymore at the rest of the games. 

I really think the fact that it was Family Day had a direct effect on the crowd. More students were probably sitting with their families. They seemed to do away with some of the rap music (ok with me!). Families came as guests and many,  many people have casual interest at best. Maybe they are future fans in the making! I love seeing the place full.  It would be great to have it full with sold out, get crazy fans. Now in that atmosphere, it would be WORTH IT to wait 45 minutes for water!

With the way WW wins big so often, do the fans really get into it?  I'm sure it is fun to back a team that wins, but it does seem the excitement factor would not be there.   Satisfying yes...exciting no.   I was at one WW game.  It was pretty tame.  Although WW was blowing the opponent away.  Give me a game that is close, the fans are going wild, the outcome is unknown and the excitement factor is high any day!
Of course, I would love for my team to be the eventual winner