FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[emma17]

Although 3rd down conversion percentage and first downs per game don't always tell the story of the outcome of the game, it is interesting to see a comparison.
UWO averages 51% conversion on 3rd down and 27 first downs per game.
UWW averages 42% conversion on 3rd down and 16 first downs per game. 

I'm glad the UWW D already faced an excellent passing team in UWP. 

[bleedpurple]

Saturday's UWO at UWW showdown will pit the two top defenses in the WIAC.

The Titans and Warhawks rank one-two in the conference in scoring defense, total defense, rush defense, pass defense, and turnover margin.

The Warhawks ranked third in this week's NCAA Division III statistics giving up just 7.8 points per game. The Hawks are ranked first in rushing defense allowing 28 yards per game. UWW trails only Mount Union and Hobart in total defense, giving up 211 yards per game.

Will Whitewater's D be able to slow down Nate Wara who leads the WIAC in total offense, passing yardage and passing efficiency?

My early week guess is that yes, the Hawks will slow down Wara. Will they stop him completely?  Not necessarily.  I would think the UW-W formula will be the same as always. Shut down the run, play fast and physical, and make the Titans one dimensional. Prevent the big play by keeping everything in front, and then put the hardest hit on the ballcarrier/receiver/QB legally possible.  The idea would be the offense would make a mistake (turnover or a major penalty to kill the drive) before they make it all the way to the end zone.  And then as the game wears on, the hits take their toll and the offense make even more mistakes.  This is one of the best defenses I've seen at actually wearing down an offense instead of vice versa. With all the attention/consternation about the offense this season, I wonder if we are slightly overlooking exactly how special this defense is or may become. 

[bleedpurple]

Although 3rd down conversion percentage and first downs per game don't always tell the story of the outcome of the game, it is interesting to see a comparison.
UWO averages 51% conversion on 3rd down and 27 first downs per game.
UWW averages 42% conversion on 3rd down and 16 first downs per game. 

I'm glad the UWW D already faced an excellent passing team in UWP.

On the other side of the ball, UW-W is ranked 3rd nationally in defending on 3rd down, giving up conversions on only 18 of 87 3rd downs.  Oshkosh is ranked 20th giving up 26 first downs in 91 3rd down situations. 

I agree that these stats don't always tell the story.  UW-P got only 12 first downs against UW-W and lost by only 1.  UW-P got 22 first downs against Oshkosh and lost by 21!

[thrunt01]

Saturday's UWO at UWW showdown will pit the two top defenses in the WIAC.

The Titans and Warhawks rank one-two in the conference in scoring defense, total defense, rush defense, pass defense, and turnover margin.

The Warhawks ranked third in this week's NCAA Division III statistics giving up just 7.8 points per game. The Hawks are ranked first in rushing defense allowing 28 yards per game. UWW trails only Mount Union and Hobart in total defense, giving up 211 yards per game.

Will Whitewater's D be able to slow down Nate Wara who leads the WIAC in total offense, passing yardage and passing efficiency?

My early week guess is that yes, the Hawks will slow down Wara. Will they stop him completely?  Not necessarily.  I would think the UW-W formula will be the same as always. Shut down the run, play fast and physical, and make the Titans one dimensional. Prevent the big play by keeping everything in front, and then put the hardest hit on the ballcarrier/receiver/QB legally possible.  The idea would be the offense would make a mistake (turnover or a major penalty to kill the drive) before they make it all the way to the end zone.  And then as the game wears on, the hits take their toll and the offense make even more mistakes.  This is one of the best defenses I've seen at actually wearing down an offense instead of vice versa. With all the attention/consternation about the offense this season, I wonder if we are slightly overlooking exactly how special this defense is or may become.

My belief is that the UWO defense will have a similar strategy. Use team speed to flow to the football on run plays and force Brekke to throw the ball. Then bank on the veteran DBs to pick him off and set up good field position for the O. With the strength of these defenses field position is going to play a major factor. So this one may come down to UWW's booming punter. Across the board it might be special teams that decide this game. Should be a great one.

[fredfalcon]

stoutguy--was at the RF/Stout game at RF. Looks like we have a communication problem.

Unfortunately, it now looks like I will not be at the RF/Stout game in Menomonie.

[02 Warhawk]

Although 3rd down conversion percentage and first downs per game don't always tell the story of the outcome of the game, it is interesting to see a comparison.
UWO averages 51% conversion on 3rd down and 27 first downs per game.
UWW averages 42% conversion on 3rd down and 16 first downs per game. 

I'm glad the UWW D already faced an excellent passing team in UWP.

On the other side of the ball, UW-W is ranked 3rd nationally in defending on 3rd down, giving up conversions on only 18 of 87 3rd downs.  Oshkosh is ranked 20th giving up 26 first downs in 91 3rd down situations. 

I agree that these stats don't always tell the story.  UW-P got only 12 first downs against UW-W and lost by only 1.  UW-P got 22 first downs against Oshkosh and lost by 21!

UWW is #1 in the country in rushing yards given up per game, #1 in interceptions and #3 in points and yards given up per game. This defense is damn good

We'll see if our offense can score on their defense.

[thrunt01]

Although 3rd down conversion percentage and first downs per game don't always tell the story of the outcome of the game, it is interesting to see a comparison.
UWO averages 51% conversion on 3rd down and 27 first downs per game.
UWW averages 42% conversion on 3rd down and 16 first downs per game. 

I'm glad the UWW D already faced an excellent passing team in UWP.

On the other side of the ball, UW-W is ranked 3rd nationally in defending on 3rd down, giving up conversions on only 18 of 87 3rd downs.  Oshkosh is ranked 20th giving up 26 first downs in 91 3rd down situations. 

I agree that these stats don't always tell the story.  UW-P got only 12 first downs against UW-W and lost by only 1.  UW-P got 22 first downs against Oshkosh and lost by 21!

UWW is #1 in the country in rushing yards given up per game, #1 in interceptions and #3 in points and yards given up per game. This defense is damn good

We'll see if our offense can score on their defense.

That is another key. IMHO UWO's Defense is closer to UWW's defense than UWW's offense is to UWO's offense. As the saying goes, we'll see on Saturday.

[bleedpurple]

Although 3rd down conversion percentage and first downs per game don't always tell the story of the outcome of the game, it is interesting to see a comparison.
UWO averages 51% conversion on 3rd down and 27 first downs per game.
UWW averages 42% conversion on 3rd down and 16 first downs per game. 

I'm glad the UWW D already faced an excellent passing team in UWP.

On the other side of the ball, UW-W is ranked 3rd nationally in defending on 3rd down, giving up conversions on only 18 of 87 3rd downs.  Oshkosh is ranked 20th giving up 26 first downs in 91 3rd down situations. 

I agree that these stats don't always tell the story.  UW-P got only 12 first downs against UW-W and lost by only 1.  UW-P got 22 first downs against Oshkosh and lost by 21!

UWW is #1 in the country in rushing yards given up per game, #1 in interceptions and #3 in points and yards given up per game. This defense is damn good

We'll see if our offense can score on their defense.

That is another key. IMHO UWO's Defense is closer to UWW's defense than UWW's offense is to UWO's offense. As the saying goes, we'll see on Saturday.

If UW-O's defense is close to UW-W's, then they will be in good shape.  They look good to me, but not at UW-W's level.  The running backs for the last three opponents have averaged at least 4 ypc against UW-O, including two common opponents with UW-W.  UW-W has given up... well... pretty much nothing rushing the last three games. 

The game will be a big challenge for UW-W for sure.  And I'm not at all saying Oshkosh doesn't have a chance to win. If UW-W's offense reverts to earlier form, they probably will.  If UW-W takes the next step from their performance last Saturday, UW-W wins.

[voice]

This just in.......

Saturday's UWO at UWW game will be shown LIVE statewide to Charter and Time Warner Cable (TWC) cable subscribers. More detailed information will be coming up later this week.

[HScoach]

This just in.......

Saturday's UWO at UWW game will be shown LIVE statewide to Charter and Time Warner Cable (TWC) cable subscribers. More detailed information will be coming up later this week.

Hopefully the streaming video is working well too.  Watching UWO/UWW will give me something to do during the 2nd half of the Mount/Otterbein game.   Wonder if the folks back in Alliance would rather hear us do play-by-play on a game in Wisconsin instead of the last 30 minutes of a Mount romp?   I'm guessing YES.

[oshfb]

I expect this weeks game to be as close as last year.  Differences.....UWW defense is better, last year Arnold was hurt, the D struggled.  UWW offense, not as explosive.  UWO, defense similar to last year, but on offense, not sure Wara has the options he had last year.

2011 team put up 31, 17, 56, 42, 23 and 24 pts in first 6 weeks.
2012 team put up 47, 16, 70, 19, 50 and 34 pts in first 6 weeks.

In fact, offense has put up more points this season than last, so far. 3 of those games came against similar opponents.

Coach C has stated numerous times this is the best team he's coached (I'm sure there isn't any coaching bias there  )

[oshfb]

Well Saturday's game is now a battle of Top 10 teams, as Oshkosh moves up to #10 following their victory over Platteville.  Whitewater holds strong at #5, while Platteville drops to #20.

I was a little surprised to see UWO jump 9 spots. They had a solid win, but so did several other teams who they vaulted. Their point total jumped from 200 to 361, looks like the voters almost swapped UWP with UWO.

I think several of us have thought Oshkosh would be above Platteville all year long.

I always considered Oshkosh the better team, even with everyone healthy on UWP.

I'm not disputing placing UWO above UWP (that should always have been the order), but it's jumping 9 spots. You easily see teams move at most 2-3 spots with a quality win.

Agreed...jumping 9 spots was quite a bit...but I'll take it 

[Pat Coleman]

Previously, voters were split on who their second WIAC team should be. Saturday's result cleared it up and the vote responded. Last week, Oshkosh and Platteville combined for 514 points, this week 482 -- it's just the split that differed.

[emma17]

I expect this weeks game to be as close as last year.  Differences.....UWW defense is better, last year Arnold was hurt, the D struggled.  UWW offense, not as explosive.  UWO, defense similar to last year, but on offense, not sure Wara has the options he had last year.

2011 team put up 31, 17, 56, 42, 23 and 24 pts in first 6 weeks.
2012 team put up 47, 16, 70, 19, 50 and 34 pts in first 6 weeks.

In fact, offense has put up more points this season than last, so far. 3 of those games came against similar opponents.

Coach C has stated numerous times this is the best team he's coached (I'm sure there isn't any coaching bias there  )

Good info.  IMO the UWO offense is probably better than last year.  Losing a couple of receivers hurts, but I think it's overcome with another year of experience for Wara and for the offensive staff/players in general. 
I'm sure UWW will try to make UWO one-dimensional by taking away the run.  In last year's game, UWW struggled to do that- some of it may have been due to Arnold missing but I think most of it has to do with Wara and his read/run/pass abilities.  It will be great to watch a defense that has another year of experience vs their offense with another year of experience.

As for the UWW offense vs UWO defense, I'm still extremely concerned with the passing game, especially against a more athletic team like UWO.  My concern, however, is counterbalanced by what I feel was a big improvement in the running game-UWW will need to have a great running performance I believe.  Last year Matt Blanchard ran the ball 14 times for 91 yards.   

[cubs]

I expect this weeks game to be as close as last year.  Differences.....UWW defense is better, last year Arnold was hurt, the D struggled.  UWW offense, not as explosive.  UWO, defense similar to last year, but on offense, not sure Wara has the options he had last year.

2011 team put up 31, 17, 56, 42, 23 and 24 pts in first 6 weeks.
2012 team put up 47, 16, 70, 19, 50 and 34 pts in first 6 weeks.

In fact, offense has put up more points this season than last, so far. 3 of those games came against similar opponents.

Coach C has stated numerous times this is the best team he's coached (I'm sure there isn't any coaching bias there  )

WarhawkDad was talking about the Whitewater offense not being as explosive....  The numbers you gave are for UWO's offensive production.