FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Raider 68]

To all the WIAC posters, have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!

[wesleydad]

Happy Thanksgiving to all the WIAC fans.  Good luck this weekend and maybe I will see you in Salem again.  I will be there I just hope Wesley finally gets over the hump and is there too.

[emma17]

Happy Thanksgiving to all on this board and all boards.
Thank you D 3 guys for making this all possible with your hard work and commitment.

Safe travels to all as well.

[KitchenSink]

Happy Thanksgiving,  gang!      

[bleedpurple]

Happy Thanksgiving to all the WIAC fans.  Good luck this weekend and maybe I will see you in Salem again.  I will be there I just hope Wesley finally gets over the hump and is there too.

Happy Thanksgiving Wesleydad and to all WIAC posters, other posters, and the D3 gang that does so much to make our D3 passion so much more enjoyable. Have a blessed and safe holiday!

(So if we start posting about football again later tonight does that make us ingrates?)

[bleedpurple]

Wabash fan Bashdad posted a very good post on the NCAC board about a "pathway to victory" for the Little Giants in the game tomorrow.  I saw it is a rally cry to the Wabash faithful and so I didn't feel inclined to "debate" the points on their board. In fact, I think Warhawk fans should read it.  However...

I would like to address a couple of things in the post.

First, he relied on the River Falls result as an anchoring point in building his case for Wabash's chances.  In so doing he made a couple of references I would like to address and respond to.  First, BD indicated that if he were a UW-W fan, he would want to toss the game out, say it is irrelevant, and say it means nothing. I have seen references like this earlier (maybe by other posters) as if that is what UW-W fans want to do

I don't at all throw out the River Falls result. However, I truly believe it is absurd to put the same weight on that result as one would put on a playoff game.  I believe that it shows that UW-W can be beaten if they don't play well. That's pretty much it. I'm pretty sure almost all UW-W fans already knew that. UW-W's playoff opponents have usually gotten the Warhawks' best shot. I'm confident that will continue.

Also,  if you are going to use the River Falls result (again, I believe that's fair), then you have to use ALL of it.  Bashdad made a reference to UW-W having to "cross their fingers" to win in the final minute.  UW-W did not "cross their fingers" in the final minute. They went out and won the ballgame. They scored in 54 seconds.  In other words, UW-W didn't get lucky, they did what champions do. And that heart of a Champion is a very real obstacle both Wabash and any other future opponent will have to overcome to beat UW-W. So use the River Falls result if you like, but don't act like UW-W lost. They didn't. In fact, they trailed a total of 54 seconds the entire game.  In spite of not playing well, in spite of a fired up and under rated Falcon team going crazy, in spite of falling behind with just over a minute to play, UW-W rose up and said "Not today" and won the game.

I guess the other point I'd like to make is that Bashdad conveniently left out quite a few things (again, not criticizing his post because it was a rally cry). No mention of UW-W's current NCAA leading 28 game winning streak. No mention of UW-W's 33 consecutive winning streak in rounds one though four in the playoffs. And no mention of the fact that UW-W's defense has twice as many takeaways as the Wabash defense (28-14) and have almost three times fewer turnovers themselves (4-11).  No mention that UW-W has won more big games against the elite programs in D3 (Linfield, Wesley, UMHB, and Mount Union) than any other team in the last 10 years and it isn't even close.  No mention that UW-W has NEVER lost to Linfield, Wesley, or UMHB or the fact that UW-W has beaten Mount Union 5 of the last 6 times they played them. 

Neither this post nor Bashdad's will mean a thing when the teams take the field tomorrow.   Then it will be the coaches and, especially, the athletes that determine the outcome.  By tomorrow night both teams and their fans will discover what the other is all about. 

As always, it's a great weekend to be a Warhawk!

GO HAWKS!

[Caveman # 95]

Now THIS is the debate we want!   Keep it coming warhawk faithful! We love football!  This is what it is all about!   It's no fun without it!!

[voice]

UWW will face in very explosive defense vs. Wabash. The toughest it as faced all season.

Lance Leipold tells the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt

"This is a different type of test completely. This is an excellent defense, very aggressive.
They've got some players that have put up some pretty big numbers for them defensively this year. It's going to be a big test for our offensive line."

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/statecolleges/wabash-defense-big-test-for-uw-whitewater-b99398521z1-284188991.html

[wally_wabash]

No mention of UW-W's current NCAA leading 28 game winning streak. No mention of UW-W's 33 consecutive winning streak in rounds one though four in the playoffs.

The previous 28 games have zero relevance to tomorrow's game.  It's like saying the next roulette spin is influenced by the previous spin.  Doesn't work that way.  Each game is an independent trial. 

And no mention of the fact that UW-W's defense has twice as many takeaways as the Wabash defense (28-14) and have almost three times fewer turnovers themselves (4-11). 

All true.  And if tomorrow UWW has twice as many takeaways as Wabash does, then things aren't going to go well for Wabash.  But we've played that turnover margin card before and there's probably not a per game stat that can dry up and vanish from any one game faster than the turnovers.  Wabash could just as easily be +2 on turnovers as they could be -2.  You just never know with the turnovers.  Neither team is particularly careless with the ball, so I'm not anticipating many, if any, turnovers tomorrow. 

No mention that UW-W has won more big games against the elite programs in D3 (Linfield, Wesley, UMHB, and Mount Union) than any other team in the last 10 years and it isn't even close.  No mention that UW-W has NEVER lost to Linfield, Wesley, or UMHB or the fact that UW-W has beaten Mount Union 5 of the last 6 times they played them. 

This is probably best saved for the next time UWW plays Linfield or Wesley or UMHB or UMU.  Those results aren't really germane to this game.  Those teams are all playing elsewhere tomorrow. 

[bleedpurple]

The previous 28 games have zero relevance to tomorrow's game.  It's like saying the next roulette spin is influenced by the previous spin.  Doesn't work that way.  Each game is an independent trial. 

Of course it doesn't. How about the fact that UW-W is bigger, faster, stronger, and better at football. And it isn't even close. Will that have an effect on the game tomorrow?

[wally_wabash]

The previous 28 games have zero relevance to tomorrow's game.  It's like saying the next roulette spin is influenced by the previous spin.  Doesn't work that way.  Each game is an independent trial. 

Of course it doesn't. How about the fact that UW-W is bigger, faster, stronger, and better at football. And it isn't even close. Will that have an effect on the game tomorrow?

If those things are true, then of course it will.  That's you all beat up on everybody all the time.  But tomorrow we get to see if those things are true and to what extent.  But your banners and streaks don't win games.  Well, they probably win some games.  I imagine that there are plenty of teams that play Whitewater that are defeated before they get off the bus.  But that's not happening tomorrow.  Wabash will make you guys earn another game.   

[BoBo]

Little giants are adorable, aren't they?

[voice]

Too much talking.  Its time to get it on!!!!!

[bleedpurple]

\

Little giants are adorable, aren't they?

Wabash Always Fights. When I saw it was supposed to hit 40 degrees today, I was wondering where all that hot air was going to come from. Now I know. I feel a little guilty about how much I look forward to the game.  It will be like telling a little kid there is no Santa Claus. I shouldn't look forward to that. But I do.

GO HAWKS!

[emma17]

\

Little giants are adorable, aren't they?

Wabash Always Fights. When I saw it was supposed to hit 40 degrees today, I was wondering where all that hot air was going to come from. Now I know. I feel a little guilty about how much I look forward to the game.  It will be like telling a little kid there is no Santa Claus. I shouldn't look forward to that. But I do.

GO HAWKS!

You're a mean one, Mr Grinch.