FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[JeffN UWW]

It may be a tad early in the year to think about post-season playoff seeds but last year the # 1,undefeated D 3 team in the nation, UWW I think had to travel twice (?) in the playoffs. Now other than being totally wrong, do you think that by playing lower level teams in the early part of the season hurts their chances of post-season placement? I mean, they had to go all the way to Wesley I believe to play a game and then waxed them anyway but..does this make sense in how that schedule impacts a great team like WW? It also seemed ( or seems?) that the selection folks want to create any so-called reasonable opportunity for WW not to dominate. I would be interested in other's take on this.

1) The went on the road twice; quarterfinals at north central and semis and wesley 2)What do you mean lower level teams? True they play 1 NAIA but this year they play top 25 Franlin and WIAC LaCrosse; sure beats last year's schdule 3) North Central's loss means that 10-0 will almost certainly mean a 1 seed this year (even though it was a perfectly understandable loss to a good team on the west coast)

[Fannosaurus Rex]

Thank you.  It must be a nice place if all of those people wanted to fight over it.  I look forward to my visit.  And since you guys are making me wiser in all things Wisconsin, I've had Stevens Point beer and LaCrosse beer, do any other WIAC towns have their names on beer cans?

I guess when it comes to sewage treatment plants, the best ones are the ones you don't know are there.

No...but when you're in-town, make sure pick up some New Glarus. Preferably Spotted Cow.

That's my number one beer of choice. You can only find it in WI.

The Spotted Cow is good but I like the Fox River Brewing Company's Fox Tail Pale Ale better.  Except for the first couple of minutes of the football game, I had a very nice visit to Oshkosh.  The Titans are a very good football team and if I hadn't seen it on Google Earth, I wouldn't have known that the sewage treatment plant was over there.

[retagent]

It may be a tad early in the year to think about post-season playoff seeds but last year the # 1,undefeated D 3 team in the nation, UWW I think had to travel twice (?) in the playoffs. Now other than being totally wrong, do you think that by playing lower level teams in the early part of the season hurts their chances of post-season placement? I mean, they had to go all the way to Wesley I believe to play a game and then waxed them anyway but..does this make sense in how that schedule impacts a great team like WW? It also seemed ( or seems?) that the selection folks want to create any so-called reasonable opportunity for WW not to dominate. I would be interested in other's take on this.

Can we just drop the "Conspiracy" talk already. That was last year. UWW is certainly not the first team to have the feeling that you got hosed - legitimately, in this case. Since you've only been on the scene (Playoffs) for five years, your institutional history is quite short. You won - Move on.

[BoBo]

Listening to the LAX broadcast was brutal, BTW.  Anyone know what happened to the our broadcast on 106.5?  Did it finally come on because they were playing music when the game began but I didn't check it after that. 

fbf413, I had to listen to the La Crosse broadcast, too.  It was brutal having to listen to the enemy radio. However, as far as broadcasters go, I thought they weren't that bad. In fact, they were quite complimentary in all aspects to the Warhawks, respectful, and knowledgeable. Unlike many of the opponent broadcasters I've heard in the last few years, who seem to think their team is the greatest thing since sliced bread, these two gentlemen (don't know their names) seemed to fully understand that there is a clear talent level discrepancy between the two teams.  They did kind of played up the David vs Goliath angle a bit too much for my tastes. La Crosse only had about 75 total offensive yards in the book midway through the 4th quarter, so they were obviously hyping the defensive play (though the Warhawks were close or over 400 total yards) and the punter of the Eagles.  I didn't hear the game from the start, but I heard the play-by-play guy mentioned a few times how nice the stadium looked from the inside of the pressbox. Apparently, it was his first game called on the radio from that location. Toward the later part of the game, I turned back to 106.5 and they were broadcasting, the game that is and not the oldies music!! Don't know when the game came on, though. My best guess is that the first game with voice fully retired from the mic was a bit too much for them to handle. I think no one trained the guys how to plug in the wires or something (just kidding). Everybody has first game jitters.  Something like this happened a few years ago, if I remember correctly. Hopefully, things will get worked out by next week.

[JeffN UWW]

GOOD NEWS The Whitewater-Franlin game will have a free video stream online (if you don't mind listening to Franlin's announcers)

http://www.franklingrizzlies.com/mens-sports/mens-football/franklin-whitewater-game-to-be-broadcast-live-on-tv-and-internet/

[bleedpurple]

I chalk up the performance to just being rusty, like the opener last year. Next week won't be like last year because Franklin is a good team and no Dakota State but I still suspect a nice win where the offense can finish its drives.

It's a good thing for UW-W that Franklin agreed to this game.  Saturday will be far greater preparation for the WIAC than playing Dakota State.  However, Franklin can't be happy with their defensive performance last night.  They gave up 35 points to Valpo, a team they beat 42-7 last year.  Wisconsin's own Eric Hoffman, who had never thrown a collegiate pass before last night, lit up Franklin for 394 yards passing last night. But the Grizzlies gained an astounding 669 yards of total offense in handing the Crusaders their 21st consecutive loss.

[BoBo]

GOOD NEWS The Whitewater-Franlin game will have a free video stream online (if you don't mind listening to Franlin's announcers)

http://www.franklingrizzlies.com/mens-sports/mens-football/franklin-whitewater-game-to-be-broadcast-live-on-tv-and-internet/

Thanks for the link JeffN - you can always turn the sound off the game video/audio and play the UWW audio on another media player.  That's what I'll be doing!!

[BoBo]

I chalk up the performance to just being rusty, like the opener last year. Next week won't be like last year because Franklin is a good team and no Dakota State but I still suspect a nice win where the offense can finish its drives.

It's a good thing for UW-W that Franklin agreed to this game.  Saturday will be far greater preparation for the WIAC than playing Dakota State.  However, Franklin can't be happy with their defensive performance last night.  They gave up 35 points to Valpo, a team they beat 42-7 last year.  Wisconsin's own Eric Hoffman, who had never thrown a collegiate pass before last night, lit up Franklin for 394 yards passing last night. But the Grizzlies gained an astounding 669 yards of total offense in handing the Crusaders their 21st consecutive loss.

They seemed to shore things up defensively following the first possession of the second half. Prior to that, 8 tries for Valpo, 5 TD's (+ 1 play before the end of the half); after that, 9 possessions - 7, count'em, seven 3 and outs, one 4 and out, & 2 plays before losing a fumble!! Did Franklin start doing something right defensively or did Valpo suddenly forgot how to play the game? Don't know if I've ever seen such a complete 360ᵒ change as that.

Offensively, FC threw 51 times - next week, what would be the over/under in the passing attempts department 70? 75?

[GRIZ_BACKER]

Hard to say what may happen next week in Franklin.  Interesting stats last evening for sure.  I was at the game.  My take is that FC was breaking in some new starters on defense and it took a while to get folks settled down.  Playing D1 FCS non scholarship teams is a crap shoot IMO.

Keep in mind Franklin's QB was also a first time starter. Poor kid threw for 448 and 5 TDs. He did have an ugly pick 6 in the first possession.  LOL

Certainly UWW is the heavy favorite (why wouldn't they be?).  FC has played against top talent before and will give their best shot.

[bleedpurple]

Hard to say what may happen next week in Franklin.  Interesting stats last evening for sure.  I was at the game.  My take is that FC was breaking in some new starters on defense and it took a while to get folks settled down.  Playing D1 FCS non scholarship teams is a crap shoot IMO.

Keep in mind Franklin's QB was also a first time starter. Poor kid threw for 448 and 5 TDs. He did have an ugly pick 6 in the first possession.  LOL

Certainly UWW is the heavy favorite (why wouldn't they be?).  FC has played against top talent before and will give their best shot.

I have no doubt Coach Leonard will have the Griz well coached and ready to play. He always does!

[emma17]

A very good day for the WIAC, too bad Eau Claire couldn't hold on.
We made the trip to Lacrosse and during tailgate set up faced one of the most torrential downpours I can remember.  Fortunately it ended before the game and didn't seem to impact the play at all.

Some comments on the game:
I was impressed with the defensive speed of Lacrosse, I think they will be a tough game for most of their opponents this year, especially if the offense gets it together.

I was equally impressed with UWW coaching.  They played a huge number of kids, bringing in second team players in the first quarter and throughout the game, regardless of score or field position.  I haven't been to other first games, so maybe this is standard practice for them. 

The defense, as expected, is fast and good.  We'll know more against Franklin's passing attack, but the secondary played very well. 

Coppage looks a little bigger, and as quick as ever.  I thought the line played well for a first game.  It looks like they had to adjust to the speed of Lacrosse a bit, but showed they have promise to be another powerful oline.

Blanchard used his athletic ability more than he did last year, gaining first downs with his running when needed.  Tight end Olson has good speed after the catch, picking up nice yardage.  Not sure yet on wide receivers playmaking as I didn't get the feeling UWW was trying to push the ball down the field too much. 

Overall, I got the feeling the coaches got what they wanted from the game-success with a win and a lot of areas they can coach up for improvement. 

[BoBo]

Coppage looks a little bigger, and as quick as ever.  I thought the line played well for a first game.  It looks like they had to adjust to the speed of Lacrosse a bit, but showed they have promise to be another powerful oline.

Blanchard used his athletic ability more than he did last year, gaining first downs with his running when needed.  Tight end Olson has good speed after the catch, picking up nice yardage.  Not sure yet on wide receivers playmaking as I didn't get the feeling UWW was trying to push the ball down the field too much. 

The reports on the podcasts and coaches show said Coppage is up to 190 lbs this year - an increase of 10 lbs or so from last year. Maybe a bit quicker, as well.

I think you mean Jason Ford as the pass catching tight end. A good observation that I had too. He was very effective, catching about 5 for over 60 yards. He had a nice 32 yard grab for one of them.

Luke Menzel at WR had a nice game as well.

[KitchenSink]

Whitewater-LaCrosse highlights from WXOW LaCrosse:

http://www.wxow.com/story/15392340/eagles-fall-to-whitewater

[footballfan413]

Listening to the LAX broadcast was brutal, BTW.  Anyone know what happened to the our broadcast on 106.5?  Did it finally come on because they were playing music when the game began but I didn't check it after that. 

fbf413, I had to listen to the La Crosse broadcast, too.  It was brutal having to listen to the enemy radio. However, as far as broadcasters go, I thought they weren't that bad. In fact, they were quite complimentary in all aspects to the Warhawks, respectful, and knowledgeable. Unlike many of the opponent broadcasters I've heard in the last few years, who seem to think their team is the greatest thing since sliced bread, these two gentlemen (don't know their names) seemed to fully understand that there is a clear talent level discrepancy between the two teams.  They did kind of played up the David vs Goliath angle a bit too much for my tastes. La Crosse only had about 75 total offensive yards in the book midway through the 4th quarter, so they were obviously hyping the defensive play (though the Warhawks were close or over 400 total yards) and the punter of the Eagles.  I didn't hear the game from the start, but I heard the play-by-play guy mentioned a few times how nice the stadium looked from the inside of the pressbox. Apparently, it was his first game called on the radio from that location. Toward the later part of the game, I turned back to 106.5 and they were broadcasting, the game that is and not the oldies music!! Don't know when the game came on, though. My best guess is that the first game with voice fully retired from the mic was a bit too much for them to handle. I think no one trained the guys how to plug in the wires or something (just kidding). Everybody has first game jitters.  Something like this happened a few years ago, if I remember correctly. Hopefully, things will get worked out by next week.

Ya, I wasn't able to listen too closely to the broadcast as much as just keeping track of the score.  Had a family birthday party going at the same time.   Wasn't criticizing their knowledge or questioning their bias, just more the monotone aspect and reaching for, "wins for LaCrosse."  Considering how little I actually heard, probably shouldn't have rendered an opinion anyway, in hindsight.   

[badgerwarhawk]

I thought the UWL defensive and special teams acquitted themselves pretty well against WW. The offense, however, was all but non-existant- having only 119 yds. and a late TD. Did WW still have the first team in at that point ?

Initially it was a mixed grouping.  The dbacks were starters and the front seven were reserves.  The last couple of plays, including the touchdown run, were against reserves.  We did our fair share of helping the Eagle offense by giving them 30 yards in penalties. 

I thought the Eagle defensive speed was very good.  They seemed to go sideline to sideline quickly and often shut down runs for shorter gains than it looked like they were going to get.  Your punter was pretty good as well.  He had some really nice kicks. 

One penalty struck me as odd.  After we had huddled and lined up to run the play the officials made Steve Morris (I think) leave the field for an equipment problem and then penalized us five yards for delay when we couldn't substitute and run the play in the allotted time.  Huh?