FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Willie University]

Platteville got off to a 14-0 lead then thanks to a interception and a fumble and poor tackling they gave up 10 points.  Otherwise they outmaned Buena Vista which tied for 2nd in the IIAC last year.
John Kelly played the 1st and 3rd quarters and Bryce Corrigan played the 2nd & 4th quarters.  Some have said Emendorfer will continue that rotation until the WIAC opener against Eau Claire on October 5th.  Platteville had good success with its short passing game and got a good rushing performance from a 2nd string running back named Andy Puccinni a Jr. from Bartlett IL.     

If you had to rank the 5 teams that tied for 2nd in the IIAC last year, BV would be at the bottom. The Spartans (that also tied for 2nd last year) that just won at UW Lacrosse should be better competition for the pioneers next weekend. UD lost it's 3 conference games last year by a total of 13 points if my memory serves me correct.

[02 Warhawk]

Oshkosh losing as well...UWP is going to run away with the conference this year.

Easy Ke-mo Sah-bee.  September 7th is a bit too early to crown the WIAC champ just yet, don't ya think? 

you're right....this was a typical knee-jerk post from me after listening to the first three quarters of the whitwater game. Considering how both uww and uwo both came back i'll take things down a notch

[02 Warhawk]

Oshkosh losing as well...UWP is going to run away with the conference this year.

02

Your pessimism is well know to us UWW fans and we even joke about it.  But it is way to early in the season to use the phrase "run away".    Our defense was outstanding today and will improve all season.  The number of players rotated on defense will create tremendous balance and the ability to keep putting athletes in position to make plays.  The issue for UWW will be putting points on the board, but in the 4th they began to get an identity.   The coaches know what needs to improve and they will work on it.

i'm down from the ledge now, but that first three quarters of offense was the worst i've seen in 15 years. I'm glad things got better in the fourth quarter.

I'm in a better place now.  :-)

[emma17]

Some thoughts on the game:
-Congrats to Wash U on a hard fought game.  Their team played hard and smart and I think they'll have an excellent season if they get/stay healthy.
-Love the UWW defense and especially the front 7.  I don't intend this in a cocky way, but I actually felt bad for the Wash U offense in the second half.  The UWW defense was entirely smothering in the second half.
-UWW special teams were a joy to watch.  Great kicking by Kindler and fantastic kick coverage with hard hitting.  Also, this is the first time in a while that I've seen a UWW punt returner look dangerous- I like Jordan Howard's return attitude.
-I know there were issues with the O-Line and blocking from the running backs- but I'm not concerned...yet.  I tried to watch the individual o-line play as much as possible and I see ability in all of them.  We can't forget it was hot and that affects the big guys pretty quick. 
-I'm sorry to say but I'm simply not sold on Givens at TB.  I see he has quick feet and he's a talent.  But I see two negatives.  1- way too many spin moves.  2- Durability.  Sorry, part of being the #1 RB is reliability. 
-Moore showed a lot in the second half.  Let's hope he can block so that he gets playing time.
-This game did not allow me to get a feel for Behrendt.  Overthrew Kumerow for easy TD in first series but was pretty accurate on the rest of his throws.  The overwhelming majority of pass plays called did not allow for anything but "underneath" routes- which is why the 3rd down conversion % was so low.  Way too many patterns run at less than first down distance. 
-UWW threw the ball deep exactly twice.  Once in the first series, and once for the TD to Kumerow in the 4th.  Like usual, I screamed at the world for UWW to strecth the field.  Of course the coaches know this, but I don't know their reason for not doing it.  I'm not talking about a 5 or 7 step drop and launching a bomb, you can throw a quick fade route or seem route in a very short amount of time. 
-The above greatly impacts the play of the O-Line.  The entire D3 football world knew that the UWW o-line was inexperienced going into the game, yet the game plan seemed to rely on the O-line to perform at a higher level.  There are ways to call an offensive game plan that takes the pressure off the 0-line a bit, while also tiring out the D line and slowing the blitzes.  I didn't see that sort of thought process by the UWW coaches at all today.
-UWW Tight Ends.  I simply don't get it.  The #1 and #2 are huge- basically offensive linemen with receiver numbers.  They may help with run blocking, but they are a liability to a passing attack, especially with a young line where the QB needs to get rid of the ball quickly.  I hope the coaches seriously consider using a quicker athlete at tight end that can get fast separation. 

The first three quarters were ugly offensively, but I have more hope now than I had last year that this will get better.

[voice]

Some thoughts on the game:
-Congrats to Wash U on a hard fought game.  Their team played hard and smart and I think they'll have an excellent season if they get/stay healthy.
-Love the UWW defense and especially the front 7.  I don't intend this in a cocky way, but I actually felt bad for the Wash U offense in the second half.  The UWW defense was entirely smothering in the second half.
-UWW special teams were a joy to watch.  Great kicking by Kindler and fantastic kick coverage with hard hitting.  Also, this is the first time in a while that I've seen a UWW punt returner look dangerous- I like Jordan Howard's return attitude.
-I know there were issues with the O-Line and blocking from the running backs- but I'm not concerned...yet.  I tried to watch the individual o-line play as much as possible and I see ability in all of them.  We can't forget it was hot and that affects the big guys pretty quick. 
-I'm sorry to say but I'm simply not sold on Givens at TB.  I see he has quick feet and he's a talent.  But I see two negatives.  1- way too many spin moves.  2- Durability.  Sorry, part of being the #1 RB is reliability. 
-Moore showed a lot in the second half.  Let's hope he can block so that he gets playing time.
-This game did not allow me to get a feel for Behrendt.  Overthrew Kumerow for easy TD in first series but was pretty accurate on the rest of his throws.  The overwhelming majority of pass plays called did not allow for anything but "underneath" routes- which is why the 3rd down conversion % was so low.  Way too many patterns run at less than first down distance. 
-UWW threw the ball deep exactly twice.  Once in the first series, and once for the TD to Kumerow in the 4th.  Like usual, I screamed at the world for UWW to strecth the field.  Of course the coaches know this, but I don't know their reason for not doing it.  I'm not talking about a 5 or 7 step drop and launching a bomb, you can throw a quick fade route or seem route in a very short amount of time. 
-The above greatly impacts the play of the O-Line.  The entire D3 football world knew that the UWW o-line was inexperienced going into the game, yet the game plan seemed to rely on the O-line to perform at a higher level.  There are ways to call an offensive game plan that takes the pressure off the 0-line a bit, while also tiring out the D line and slowing the blitzes.  I didn't see that sort of thought process by the UWW coaches at all today.
-UWW Tight Ends.  I simply don't get it.  The #1 and #2 are huge- basically offensive linemen with receiver numbers.  They may help with run blocking, but they are a liability to a passing attack, especially with a young line where the QB needs to get rid of the ball quickly.  I hope the coaches seriously consider using a quicker athlete at tight end that can get fast separation. 

The first three quarters were ugly offensively, but I have more hope now than I had last year that this will get better.

Emma

Outstanding breakdown of yesterday's UWW win at the Perk.

I was taking photos in the 2nd half adjacent to the Wash U bench. They were thoroughly being frustrated by UWW defense

To me Dennis Moore's success in the 4th quarter gave the O-Line a dose of confidence and it seemed that they were firing off the line better than earlier in the game.

Ryan Givens averaged 7.8 yds/carry in the first quarter then he was pushed to the sideline with an undisclosed injury. If he can stay healthy he is a very explosive TB.

Remember Nick Patterson didn't play and missed much of training camp due to injury.

Cole Klotz and Kyle Wismer are outstanding linebackers and have been for the past couple of years. Ryan Cortez had a couple of "decleaters" yesterday. To me he is almost a clone of Lane Olson.

D-Line picked up its pass rush in the second half.

I agree with your assessment with UWW special teams. Justin Howard seems to have that "it" factor returning punts averaging an outstanding 10 yards per return.
Kindler has one of the strongest kickoff legs in the country. His kick to start the game landed three yards beyond the end zone. He had one of the top "inside the 20" punt percentages in the country last year. Had four yesterday. BTW Kindler has a legitimate shot at catching Jeff Schebler's NCAA field goal record this season.

While 02 has already written off the Hawks offense that wasn't the feeling of Coach Leipold after the game. I agree with Lance

[badgerwarhawk]

Thursday game this week.  Remember to make your picks in time. 

After we opened the game with Givens going 8 yards around the end we spent 95% of the time afterward trying to run between the tackles.  We weren't having much success with it and it was frustrating to watch.  However in hindsight it may have been a key in winning.  Because it appeared that the Washington U defense wore down in the final 10 minutes and the offense was more effective.  The running game was stronger and MB had more time to throw the ball.  After being harassed, sacked and generally chased around for much of the game he had all day to make the touchdown throw to Kumerow.   Moore found a nice hole at the line of scrimmage, made a good move when he got into the second level and then outran every defender to the end zone.

On defense I thought our depth in the front seven made a big difference.  To me it looked like they were playing with as much if not more intensity than they had in the first half.  The defense kept us in the game for 52 minutes and then kept Washington U from doing anything about it for the final 8 minutes.  We're probably going to have to ride them until the offense gets going.   

[02 Warhawk]

While 02 has already written off the Hawks offense that wasn't the feeling of Coach Leipold after the game. I agree with Lance

I agree, that 02 needs to relax a little.

[02 Warhawk]

Interesting score out of the St. John's/UWRF game. Did the falcons take a big step forward this season, or do the johnnies have a lot of work to do?

[retagent]

It was a crappy display by both teams. I'm not sure it said much about either team, except that UWRF can move the ball, and the Johnnies still have the desire to win, even when playing badly.

[Pat Coleman]

Interesting score out of the St. John's/UWRF game. Did the falcons take a big step forward this season, or do the johnnies have a lot of work to do?

Both. Maybe not a big step forward but River Falls was able to move the ball on offense at times and I'm not surprised they're more competitive.

[bleedpurple]

Oshkosh losing as well...UWP is going to run away with the conference this year.

02

Your pessimism is well know to us UWW fans and we even joke about it.  But it is way to early in the season to use the phrase "run away".    Our defense was outstanding today and will improve all season.  The number of players rotated on defense will create tremendous balance and the ability to keep putting athletes in position to make plays.  The issue for UWW will be putting points on the board, but in the 4th they began to get an identity.   The coaches know what needs to improve and they will work on it.

i'm down from the ledge now, but that first three quarters of offense was the worst i've seen in 15 years. I'm glad things got better in the fourth quarter.

I'm in a better place now.  :-)

I'm glad you are off the ledge and in a better place.  I think there were a convergence of factors that led to what we saw.  First, Wash U has an experienced and well coached defense.  WU has 5 seniors and 2 juniors in their front 7. Compare that to the youth on the UW-W front line.  Four sophomores and one junior. Plus the implementation of the systems introduced by the new offensive coaches is in the early stages of the learning curve.  The other  factor that went into the play calling and results we saw Saturday had to do with the game situation.  The coaches saw the same game we saw. Wash U had a 7-0 lead for virtually the entire first three quarters.  With the UW-W offense being a first game work in progress, I'm sure the coaches wanted to be sure the offense didn't make a mistake  leading to a two score deficit.  I would also guess that they knew that the UW-W offensive line outweighed the Wash U D-Line by 35 pounds per man.  On a 90+ degree day,  there was a great chance the Wash U D would be worn down by the all-important 4th quarter. 

Does the UW-W offense need to get better? Of course they do.  Was their Saturday performance ledge-worthy? Not in my mind.

[fredfalcon]

I'm not sure how big the step forward taken by RF was. SJU is not the team of a few years ago. They are picked to finish fourth (tied w/ a couple other teams) in the MIAC, and a conversation I had with some Johnnie fans indicated that was an accurate prediction.

Kusilek will be one of the best qb's in the conference. He was injured with about 3 minutes to go, but the injury did not appear to be serious. But the Falcon running attack, outside of Kusilek, did not look potent, largely because the holes did  open up for them. Three backs are rotating in and out, all of whom are returners from last year.

With UST as the next opponent, RF better make major strides in practice this week.

[02 Warhawk]

Interesting poll this week. Despite winning, UWW dropped 5 spots in the poll...and Mount held onto the #1 spot by the slimmest of margarins.

[badgerwarhawk]

Mount did beat a ranked team and we squeeked by an unranked one.  Also they did lose three first place votes.  I thought Platteville and Oshkosh should have been ranked ahead of us to begin with.  Given the way we played for 52 minutes I wouldn't have been surprised if we had dropped further though our reputation is getting us some votes.   

[voice]

Mount did beat a ranked team and we squeeked by an unranked one.  Also they did lose three first place votes.  I thought Platteville and Oshkosh should have been ranked ahead of us to begin with.  Given the way we played for 52 minutes I wouldn't have been surprised if we had dropped further though our reputation is getting us some votes.

Call me stupid but worrying about where you are ranked isn't the wisest use of your energy. Right now the focus should only be on Buff State. Now go out and win the game! I think I need a snickers!!