FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[wildcat11]

In ATN, all of the prognosticators pick Linfield to go to the Semi-Finals.  Interesting.

Yeah, interesting slight to UWW (and also Bethel) by those guys - but they raise valid points in their reasoning.  Guess we'll see how it turns out. Edit: 'Slight' is probably too strong especially given the d3poll...

Yeah, not really a slight, Linfield is a good team that could very well beat UWW in a game, though the reverse is also true and I think that we can beat them. Hopefully no UWW fans come and complain about the picks, will all be proven on the football field in the end.

I agree 100%. The D3 guys do a great job putting out D3 material for us to absorb and enjoy every single week. It is always fun to see how they see things going. I think the playoffs will be a lot of fun.  If it comes down to Linfield coming to town, pretty sure our guys will show up and play. Fun to be back in the dance!  WIWA!

I don't get bothered by predictions like those of Linfield making it out of the bracket.  I do find the comments from Keith that Linfield and JCU are the defensive equals of UWW to be interesting.  Now, I don't know for a fact they aren't, but I tend to think it's an opinion that might be a bit off.  When UWW played the top two teams in the WIAC this year they scored a combined 24 points against the UWW defense.  When JCU played Mt, they gave up 42 points.  I certainly acknowledge it's more than likely that Mt's offense is better than either UWO or UWP, but 42?  I simply feel there isn't enough current or historical evidence for JCU to be put into the category of one of the best defenses in the country. 
Linfield, I'll need more time on this arguement.   

Agreed. As far as JCU or Linfield being the defensive equivalent of UW-W, I will believe it when I see it. According to HSCoach, who has seen some very high level defenses in his day, JCU has a very good defense, but not to the level of their stats heading into the  Mount game. I think he stated that they are solid everywhere, but not overly outstanding in any one area. If accurate, that's not going to be equal to this UW-W defense. Linfield? We may have a chance to find out up close and personal in a couple weeks. 

UWW- Making reality clearer one Saturday at a time.
WIWA!

Well, we did lose our big man in the middle which is a blow.  Besides that Linfield has their hands more than full this weekend to be getting into this debate now.  UWW's defense looks stinking impressive.  I hope we get the chance to see it up-close and personal.

[HScoach]

bleedpurple:   You have my take on the JCU defense correct.   They're very solid, but not dominant at any area.   A really good D3 defense, but not elite.   No elite individuals nor as a whole.   While they did make Mount work very hard for the 42 points and 555 yards, Mount still had those things without fluke/lucky plays.   It's not like Mount had a 70+ yard prayer answered like Auburn did against Georgia or a 50+ yard run by the punter like against Heidelberg to get their points/yards.   Mount legitimately and methodically had 555 yards against JCU.

Plus the OAC is in a really odd place right now.   Mount, JCU and Heidelberg are all playoff quality teams.   Baldwin Wallace is decent, plays very hard but has absolutely no offense.  Especially at QB where my 44 year old butt would be a serious upgrade.   Otterbein is very "meh".   Nothing too good, nothing too bad.  However the other 5 conference teams are as bad as I've ever seen them.  We're used to Wilmington and Marietta being horrid, but Ohio Northern and Capital used to be a real threat to Mount and now they're Marietta.  I offer all that to say that JCU has a good defense but they're great numbers are built from absolutely dominating the crap teams.   

Which is very similar to Mount's defense this year.   Mount is good, but not dominant to the level we're used to.  The 3 playoff teams we played (Franklin, Heidelberg and JCU) scored 27, 34 and 34 points respectively.   The other 7 teams scored 31 points combined.   For instance, Wilmington had 95 yards.  Muskingum had 69 total yards.  Otterbein had only 37 yards.  Yes, that's not a typo.  37 yards on 37 plays in 60 minutes.

Further tempering my thoughts of "JCU has a top 5 defense in D3" is the fact that this isn't an overly talented or explosive offense by Mount standards.   The QB is an elusive stud, but other than Burke the offense is a bunch of normal, good D3 players.   There are no Garcons, Shorts, Kmic or Moores on this team.   There isn't even a Junior Collins or Chris Denton at WR.   Other than Burke, there isn't a single All-American caliber player on the Mount offense.   Mount's offense is solid, but not dominant.   The difference between Mount's O and JCU's D was Kevin Burke scrambling around.   

[bleedpurple]

bleedpurple:   You have my take on the JCU defense correct.   They're very solid, but not dominant at any area.   A really good D3 defense, but not elite.   No elite individuals nor as a whole.   While they did make Mount work very hard for the 42 points and 555 yards, Mount still had those things without fluke/lucky plays.   It's not like Mount had a 70+ yard prayer answered like Auburn did against Georgia to get their points/yards.   

Plus the OAC is in a really odd place right now.   Mount, JCU and Heidelberg are all playoff quality teams.   Baldwin Wallace is decent, plays very hard but has no offensive skill players.   Otterbein is "meh".   Nothing too good, nothing too bad.  However the other 5 conference teams are as bad as I've ever seen them.  We're used to Wilmington and Marietta being horrid, but Ohio Northern and Capital used to be a real threat to Mount and now they're Marietta.  I offer all that to say that JCU has a good defense but they're great numbers are built from absolutely dominating the crap teams.   

Same as Mount's defense this year.   Mount is good, but not dominant to the level we're used to.  The 3 playoff teams we played (Franklin, Heidelberg and JCU) scored 27, 34 and 34 points respectively.   The other 7 teams scored 31 points combined.   For instance, Wilmington had 95 yards.  Muskingum had 69 total yards.  Otterbein had only 37 yards. 

Further tempering my thoughts of "JCU has a top 5 defense in D3" is the fact that this isn't an overly talented or explosive offense by Mount standards.   The QB is an elusive stud, but other than Burke the offense is a bunch of normal, good D3 players.   There are no Garcons, Shorts, Kmic or Moores on this team.   There isn't even a Junior Collins or Chris Denton at WR.   Other than Burke, there isn't a single All-American caliber player on the Mount offense.   Mount's offense is solid, but not dominant.   The difference between Mount's O and JCU's D was Kevin Burke scrambling around.

Thanks for the assessment HSCoach.  Also, was able to catch some of the broadcast on Saturday. I don't get the chance to tune in very often. You and Ric do a great job! +k

[HScoach]

Thanks for the kind words.   I keep waiting for ESPN to call so I can quit this engineering gig for the bigtime.   Must be the fact that I have a face for radio that is holding me back.....

[02 Warhawk]

Further tempering my thoughts of "JCU has a top 5 defense in D3" is the fact that this isn't an overly talented or explosive offense by Mount standards.   The QB is an elusive stud, but other than Burke the offense is a bunch of normal, good D3 players.   There are no Garcons, Shorts, Kmic or Moores on this team.   There isn't even a Junior Collins or Chris Denton at WR.   Other than Burke, there isn't a single All-American caliber player on the Mount offense.  Mount's offense is solid, but not dominant.   The difference between Mount's O and JCU's D was Kevin Burke scrambling around.

Sounds a lot like UWW's offense. Whitewater's defense and special teams have really helped our offense put points on the board this year. Justin Howard has added a dimension to UWW that we've never really seen before, and that's a dangerous kick return game. Because of Howard (and Marcus McLin) UWW leads the nation in Kickoff Returns (30.8 yards/return), which has really taken pressure off the offense to march down the field each possession.

Also, because UWW's defense has been so dominant, there's no real need for the offense to take risks. So it's no surprise that UWW leads the country in turnovers lost with seven (6 fumbles/1 int). Throughout the season UWW's defense has come through giving the offense both great field position, as well as putting points on the board. I was actually shocked to see that UWW lead the conference in scoring when the regular season ended.

In my eyes, Oshkosh was the only true test UWW had this season on an offensive AND defensive front. Platteville was a good test for our defense, but not so much for our offense. On the flip side, Wash U and Stevens Point were a good test for our offense, but not really our defense. So I'll be interested to see how UWW performs against another team that's balanced between a solid O and D...like a Linfield. Looks like round two will either be against a strong offensive team or a strong defensive team....not both.

[emma17]

I'm throwing out some karma (only the good kind) to you posters this morning.  I love the honesty and insight. 
IMO, the games are so much more interesting when we know and acknowledge not just the strenghts of the teams we're watching, but also the weaknesses. 

Watching football is fun no matter what, but paying attention to how the coaches implement their strategies based on their team's weaknesses makes the experience all the better.
   

[KitchenSink]

Last call for Pick ems.  We got a little bit of a late start, but THERE IS A PLAYOFF PICK EM on the WIAC Pick em page.  C'mon, join the fun.

[MasterJedi]

Is everybody ready to go freeze to the bleachers tomorrow?!?!

[02 Warhawk]

Is everybody ready to go freeze to the bleachers tomorrow?!?!

I have my clothes out and ready to go.

[KitchenSink]

Is everybody ready to go freeze to the bleachers tomorrow?!?!

I have my clothes out and ready to go.

Same here.

[bleedpurple]

Is everybody ready to go freeze to the bleachers tomorrow?!?!

Ready to roll. GO HAWKS!

[WarhawkDad]

Is everybody ready to go freeze to the bleachers tomorrow?!?!

I have my clothes out and ready to go.

I'm really glad to hear that!   Those games when you forget your clothes are really embarrassing!   

On a serious note, cheer the hawks on.  I will be freezing even more than you all at the Badger/Gopher game in Minneapolis.   High of 13, with windchill of -5 to -15.  Why did I pick this weekend? 

Go Warhawks!


WHD

[emma17]

Is everybody ready to go freeze to the bleachers tomorrow?!?!

Ready to roll. GO HAWKS!

I've broken out my UWW sweatshirt I only wear in the playoffs- been wearing it since 2007.  That's how I met 413 and AJ in fact.  It's a rare one and makes for a good conversation starter.

[The Roop]

RoopVegas has set the line at St. Norbert +45.5

[The Roop]

I guess they forgot to tell St. Norbert that it was supposed to be a show; apparently the Knights think it's a game. 10-0 UWW at the half.