FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[BoBo]

With Leipold moving on what will Whitewater have to do to continue to maintain elite status?  Who will they consult with??

It's simple, all they need to do is consult with themselves. I'm sure they have good data how this whole thing came about and how to maintain it.

[rscl70]

BleedPurple, my condolences on the loss of your father.  May he rest in peace.

[02 Warhawk]

Could be decent Stagg Bowl weather:

High of 49, sunny during the day with no chance of rain....so far at least.

[retagent]

  I'm not saying that these two programs are the only elite programs in D3, but they are the only two that have stayed at the top for a long extended time.

In any event the two best teams made it to the Stagg Bowl this year and neither team needs to apologize for being elite year after year.  This year's game should be another great game.

With Leipold moving on what will Whitewater have to do to continue to maintain elite status?  Who will they consult with??

The only two? I would say no. But I will say UWW and UMU are head and shoulders above the next "tier" of elite D3 teams. It'll be tough to argue against that considering the past decade of stagg bowl matchups.

If it was just Lance leaving, I would think UWW would be alright because his staff would still be able to recruit and develop great athletes. However, since Lance AND four additional key assistant coaches are leaving.....that's a little cause for concern in UWW nation.

From what I hear, there's no shortage of coaches looking to take Lance's and his assistance's place. Time will tell what the next era of UWW football will bring.

Note to emma17:

Did you see that Marian (Ind.) is playing Southern Oregon for the NAIA Championship on Friday? Marian beat Oshkosh 24-20 the second week of the season and Oshkosh basically had the game won, but Marian went 75 yards in :43 in 4 plays to score with 1 second remaining. Just an interesting fact...Oshkosh was good this year. 

I wouldn't say "head and shoulders". Maybe eyes and hair. It's hard to argue about them being better, but BoBo is right (that hurt to say ) Oshkosh was a hair away from beating UWW. Linfield and Wartburg could both have won their games against UWW. Had Sura not gotten hurt, SJU might have beaten Wartburg. Wilamette beat Linfield, Concordia beat SJU. St Thomas took Wartburg to the edge.

There are a number of teams that are close to that upper two tier, but until someone beats the mighty Mount or UWW, they can't claim equality.

[footballfan413]

The bottom line is nobody needs to apologize for any margin of victory in the playoffs, it's big boy football time. No team has the responsibility to ease off the gas at this point.

This. Especially in the quarters and semis.

Ok,  I have stayed out of the, "Mount ran up the score," debate and I learned loooong ago to stay away from your posts, Pat, because you have forgotten more about football than I will ever know but........here goes anyway    And disclaimer: I have not seen any of the game but have talked with others that have.

   To me, it is not about easing off on the gas as much as it is, making smart coaching choices.   It is about not leaving your senior, Gagliardi award winning, star quarterback, in the game one drive longer than neccesary to preserve a victory!!   It is about protecting him and your starters for the next weeks game.  I remember in 06, I think, when our staff received a ton of criticism for leaving Beaver in a game, allowing him to break his collarbone, when the game appeared to be well in hand for the Warhawks.  The notion that VK feared that they could not hold a 59-0 lead at halftime, regardless of the final score of the last couple of meetings between these two teams is kind of silly to me.   From everything I have heard, the Wolverines had the look and attitude of defeat well before those were the numbers on the scoreboard.   I guess one always has to be wary of an opponents halftime adjustments but both teams make those and starters can always be put back in the game at any time.   I won't speculate on the reasoning for the choice, just that the first priority for any staff should be to protect a teams assets, IMHO, first and foremost, while preserving the win.  When that is the goal, rarely does one see a final score that out of whack. 

[02 Warhawk]

I wouldn't say "head and shoulders". Maybe eyes and hair. It's hard to argue about them being better, but BoBo is right (that hurt to say ) Oshkosh was a hair away from beating UWW. Linfield and Wartburg could both have won their games against UWW. Had Sura not gotten hurt, SJU might have beaten Wartburg. Wilamette beat Linfield, Concordia beat SJU. St Thomas took Wartburg to the edge.

There are a number of teams that are close to that upper two tier, but until someone beats the mighty Mount or UWW, they can't claim equality.

Fair enough. Other programs have come close, but the same two have always found a way to prevail in the end.

[emma17]

Note to emma17:

Did you see that Marian (Ind.) is playing Southern Oregon for the NAIA Championship on Friday? Marian beat Oshkosh 24-20 the second week of the season and Oshkosh basically had the game won, but Marian went 75 yards in :43 in 4 plays to score with 1 second remaining. Just an interesting fact...Oshkosh was good this year. 

Thanks for the heads up Bobo.
There is a whole lot to be said of the Pool C process and hopefully we can engage this discussion again. For me, I'll hold out on the discussion until after the Stagg.
I'm hopeful the final two teams standing will put on a game worthy of ESPN's commitment to broadcast it.

[badgerwarhawk]

Note to emma17:

Did you see that Marian (Ind.) is playing Southern Oregon for the NAIA Championship on Friday? Marian beat Oshkosh 24-20 the second week of the season and Oshkosh basically had the game won, but Marian went 75 yards in :43 in 4 plays to score with 1 second remaining. Just an interesting fact...Oshkosh was good this year. 

Thanks for the heads up Bobo.
There is a whole lot to be said of the Pool C process and hopefully we can engage this discussion again. For me, I'll hold out on the discussion until after the Stagg.
I'm hopeful the final two teams standing will put on a game worthy of ESPN's commitment to broadcast it.

Dear God, if you exist and if you are benevolent please prevent this from happening.  Thank you. 

[voice]

For the 9th time in 10 years UW-Whitewater meet's Mount Union in Stagg Bowl XLII. I have developed a Website that deals exclusively in Stagg Bowl week stories and a look back at UWW-UMU Stagg Bowl's over the past decade. Just started uploading content with much more to come. Hopefully the site will fuel the anticipation for Friday night's Stagg Bowl showdown. To access the site click o the link:

http://warhawksmountunion2014.blogspot.com/

[Pat Coleman]

The bottom line is nobody needs to apologize for any margin of victory in the playoffs, it's big boy football time. No team has the responsibility to ease off the gas at this point.

This. Especially in the quarters and semis.

Ok,  I have stayed out of the, "Mount ran up the score," debate and I learned loooong ago to stay away from your posts, Pat, because you have forgotten more about football than I will ever know but........here goes anyway    And disclaimer: I have not seen any of the game but have talked with others that have.

   To me, it is not about easing off on the gas as much as it is, making smart coaching choices.   It is about not leaving your senior, Gagliardi award winning, star quarterback, in the game one drive longer than neccesary to preserve a victory!!   It is about protecting him and your starters for the next weeks game.  I remember in 06, I think, when our staff received a ton of criticism for leaving Beaver in a game, allowing him to break his collarbone, when the game appeared to be well in hand for the Warhawks.  The notion that VK feared that they could not hold a 59-0 lead at halftime, regardless of the final score of the last couple of meetings between these two teams is kind of silly to me.   From everything I have heard, the Wolverines had the look and attitude of defeat well before those were the numbers on the scoreboard.   I guess one always has to be wary of an opponents halftime adjustments but both teams make those and starters can always be put back in the game at any time.   I won't speculate on the reasoning for the choice, just that the first priority for any staff should be to protect a teams assets, IMHO, first and foremost, while preserving the win.  When that is the goal, rarely does one see a final score that out of whack.

I would say this: It's not just about making sure you win this game, but the next one. Mount Union's starters have played in the fourth quarter twice all season so for them to play 40 minutes on Saturday doesn't seem out of line heading into the national championship game.

[KitchenSink]

My condolences to bleedpurple and the entire Perkins family.

I'm sorry I didn't get to this sooner, the flu got me Saturday night and just now getting over it.

[D O.C.]

BoBo....FWIW, Southern Oregon is coached by ex-LINFIELD linebacker Craig Howard, who also had Tim Tebow in high school down in Florida.

[WarhawkDad]

OK, 4 overlooked factors in the "Mount running up the score" discussion

1) It was the last game at Mount Union stadium for Mount's seniors including Burke - I guarantee it'd be pretty hard to tell those guys they're done at half.
2) you never know what can happen at half time, Yes they should have been comfortable with a 56-0 lead, but at the same time, If I'm Wesley's coach I'm telling my guys, they put up 56 in a half, so can we.
3) Teams like Mount don't get the opportunity to play their full speed offense against a great defense, It was probably their best chance to prepare for the next game.
4) If UWW could have run up the score on Linfield or Wartburg they would have.

Raiderplaybyplay, find that one funny.  There was no great defense on the field wearing white yesterday.  Mount learned nothing from it other than their game plan on offense was much better than Wesley's was on defense.

Either there's an even wider difference between the very top of D3 than I thought, or your folks just had a collectively very bad day, but certainly MIT, and I doubt very much either Hobart or Hampden-Sydney, think of Wesley's defense as being weak. The first half was the first half, but Mount Union had every reason to expect that you'd make adjustments for the second half and come out gunning.  A team that played even with a halfway decent FCS team is one deserving of respect (not to mention your comeback last year).

Don't go all bitter because of one disastrous game, even if it is the national semifinal.  I can guarantee you that there were 7 other teams in the bracket on November 16 who would have jumped at the opportunity to get hammered even worse by Mount Union in the semifinal.  This is Division III, where we take things seriously but have fun in the process.  Even when it comes to the stompers asking the stompees in the handshake line if they'd be willing to take their resumes 

Sincerely, someone please tell me  when MIT, Hobart and Hampton-Sydney have become DIII powerhouses.   They are excellent in their own conferences, but when have any of them got past the quarter-finals.   I do not think you can measure a defense on a national level until it has played against a top 5 team.

WarhawkDad

[Pat Coleman]

They are excellent in their own conferences, but when have any of them got past the quarter-finals.   I do not think you can measure a defense on a national level until it has played against a top 5 team.

Hey -- listen, the number of teams that have gotten past the quarterfinals is really small. Give me a break.

[WarhawkDad]

Could be decent Stagg Bowl weather:

High of 49, sunny during the day with no chance of rain....so far at least.

That is what they said a week out in 2009!