FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[bman]

Wesley may or may not accept the offer of being the 2015 season opener, but implying that they're fraidy-cats who won't schedule anyone tough is a little disingenuous.

No, no, no Ex, not exactly implying that at all.  Only suggesting they wouldn't schedule UWW even if their last breath depended on it. Is that clearer for you? Reasons: They know they don't have the physical or mental toughness, talent, and will get out coached (even with our coach in his first season as a HC), and their new conference mates will have, on film, the Wesley team getting thumped out of the gate.  Wesley simply can't allow that to happen, moving into that new league...so IMO they'll never, if/when approached by UWW, enter into a good faith negotiation to make the deal to play. Look for them to play someone like The Apprentice School - that would be more their speed and typical of what they do.

Thanks BoBo...I actually feel dumber as a human being for reading that...
Not that I feel like educating you or entertaining your nonsense at all, BUT if you had any clue at all, you'd realize that Wesley really has nothing to lose in playing UWW...
Not sure if you know or care, but they will be playing in the NJAC this year...so they have a schedule of conference games...
The NJAC, while having a few good teams, will not really have anyone to stop Wesley from running the table...SO, if they went to and lost to UWW, and ran the table in their conference....would they not make the playoffs???
Would they not continue to have an opportunity to move forward?

your post is an embarrassment....

[emma17]

bman,
I won't speak for Bobo. 
IMO Wesley, like other good but not great teams, does have a lot to potentially lose in scheduling a UWW.  If they were to schedule UWW and lose (just saying if), then their remaining games are all must win games.  As much as we may all think Wesley would prevail in the NJAC, the fact is we don't have history that tells us Wesley won't get tripped up in a full D3 schedule. 
I may be wrong but when they were only a Pool B candidate, they may have had the luxury of knowing they could lose 2 regular season games to high quality D3 opponents.  In a conference, two losses to high quality D3 teams is much more uncertain in terms of playoff selection. 

[ExTartanPlayer]

Dear god, I agree with Emma.

actually, emma, I'll do you one better in rebuttal to bman: not only do we not have a history of Wesley running the table against a full slate of D3 opponents, we actually have 2 games in the last 4 years where Wesley lost to an NJAC team (Kean, Rowan) and that's without playing a full conference slate.

It could be argued, I suppose, that Wesley would have been more focused for those games if they were "conference" games or that the NJAC teams might have been extra "up" for those games knowing that a win over Wesley could be a season-definer, but those things don't just go away once Wesley joins the league. Now they have to bring their best each week against a league opponent; the good teams will be trying to beat them for the league title, the bad teams trying to beat them for a season highlight.

Emma and I disagreed slightly about what UWRF's close call with UWW meant (I postulate that it was a pretty bad team playing one exceptionally good game) but now Wesley will have to deal with that sort of thing. William Paterson and TCNJ will be trying to make their season by beating Wesley, while Rowan and whomever else rises to the top in a given year...you get the point.

I know we always talked about how tenuous Wesley's playoff position was in years with only 5 or 6 D3 games, but it turns out that going 4-2 with a big SOS still got them in. 2013 Wesley with four more D3 games, in the Pool A/C world rather than Pool B, would have missed the playoffs.

[OzJohnnie]

I had read in passing an article in the newspaper about a surprising increase in anorectal malformations.  But I read bobo's post and find that anorectal development continues apace.

[bman]

Emma and Ex
Fair points and well taken.  I would say though that barring the scenario that you mention,(a really bad team having a miracle game, which is one we all face(save UWW and MU)), Wesley walks away with that conference.
That discussion aside, they almost have to schedule someone solid, as otherwise they lose out on SOS...

I'll be very curious to see if anyone gets even close to them in NJAC play, or if they whitewash the conference a la MU and the OAC...

[emma17]

Dear god, I agree with Emma.

actually, emma, I'll do you one better in rebuttal to bman: not only do we not have a history of Wesley running the table against a full slate of D3 opponents, we actually have 2 games in the last 4 years where Wesley lost to an NJAC team (Kean, Rowan) and that's without playing a full conference slate.

It could be argued, I suppose, that Wesley would have been more focused for those games if they were "conference" games or that the NJAC teams might have been extra "up" for those games knowing that a win over Wesley could be a season-definer, but those things don't just go away once Wesley joins the league. Now they have to bring their best each week against a league opponent; the good teams will be trying to beat them for the league title, the bad teams trying to beat them for a season highlight.

Emma and I disagreed slightly about what UWRF's close call with UWW meant (I postulate that it was a pretty bad team playing one exceptionally good game) but now Wesley will have to deal with that sort of thing. William Paterson and TCNJ will be trying to make their season by beating Wesley, while Rowan and whomever else rises to the top in a given year...you get the point.

I know we always talked about how tenuous Wesley's playoff position was in years with only 5 or 6 D3 games, but it turns out that going 4-2 with a big SOS still got them in. 2013 Wesley with four more D3 games, in the Pool A/C world rather than Pool B, would have missed the playoffs.

Dag gum you are a smart man Ex.  Good point about Kean and Rowan.

Bman,
I'd be very surprised if Wesley skates through the NJAC.  I realize their last loss can impact this upcoming season in very different ways, IMO their opponents should have great confidence and game plans.   

[BoBo]

SI story on LL

http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/02/11/lance-leipold-buffalo-bulls

[ExTartanPlayer]

[quote author=bman link=topic=3741.msg1655166#msg1655166 date=1423916967
I'll be very curious to see if anyone gets even close to them in NJAC play, or if they whitewash the conference a la MU and the OAC...
[/quote]

Jesus, man, you've got to be kidding me.

Rowan BEAT them in 2013.

Kean BEAT them in 2011.

Yeah, I think someone will get close every now and then.

There is an ENORMOUS difference between Mount's decade long lordship over the OAC and Wesley's standing relative to the NJAC. Wesley will be the league favorite, but you're ignoring recent evidence if you actually think Wesley is about to prance in and win 10 straight years' worth of conference games.

[wesleydad]

Pop on to see who UWW hires for coach and find the usual Wesley bashing.  I would figure based on prior evidence that if Wesley is contacted about a home and home with UWW the would seriously consider it.  Might they get blown out yep, but that has never stopped them from taking a game.  Get over yourselves, you are the best team in the country, enjoy it.

Having done plenty of traveling in the last few years to many an NJAC game as it is close to home, despite the loses in 2011 to Kean and 2013 to Rowan, Wesley is clearly the favorite to win the NJAC and I will base it on the trouncing of league champ Rowan in 2014.  I saw the other contenders this past year also, Morrisville and Montclaire and both would have needed a great game on their part and a bad game on Wesley's part to win. 

As a Wesley fan I am well aware of their usual slip up early in the season so maybe a game with UWW to start it all off would be a good thing, not taking a game for granted against an inferior opponent.

[Bombers798891]

Wesley's finished in the top 7 in eight of the last 9 seasons. They've been to the national semis 5 times in 10 years. They've repeatedly shown over the past decade they can beat elite programs like Linfield and Mary Hardin Baylor, and hang with—and nearly upset—the purple powers. They've spent most of the decade operating several levels higher than the best the old, or new NJAC has had to offer (2011 being the possible exception).

That they've tripped up three times against the NJAC in that time? Meh. You call it ignoring evidence, I call it the randomness everyone except the purple powers is susceptible to. They probably will have some close games, and they may even lose one or two now and again. But I still think they're a couple levels ahead of the NJAC.

[OzJohnnie]

Pop on to see who UWW hires for coach and find the usual Wesley bashing... Get over yourselves, you are the best team in the country, enjoy it.

I'm going out on a limb here, just free-thinking your statement, wesleydad, and maybe all the vitriol that boils on these pages is due to the fact except for two, possible three UWW supporters, the UWW fans on this page recieve not an smidgen of the respect that the UWW players earn on the field.

I'm just thinking out loud here. I really have no idea what motivates the supporters of the most dominant team of the last decade to be such bitter, twisted, unhappy, and predictably obnoxious jackasses.

[wesleydad]

Pop on to see who UWW hires for coach and find the usual Wesley bashing... Get over yourselves, you are the best team in the country, enjoy it.

I'm going out on a limb here, just free-thinking your statement, wesleydad, and maybe all the vitriol that boils on these pages is due to the fact except for two, possible three UWW supporters, the UWW fans on this page recieve not an smidgen of the respect that the UWW players earn on the field.

I'm just thinking out loud here. I really have no idea what motivates the supporters of the most dominant team of the last decade to be such bitter, twisted, unhappy, and predictably obnoxious jackasses.

OzJohnnie, not sure where some of them come from, but I have met several of the posters on this board and found them to be quite friendly and knowledgable about all things D3 Football.  Really enjoyed chatting with them at many of the Stagg Bowls these past years.  The issues that keep being brought up by a few, well maybe only 1, about Wesley occurred 10 years ago now, time to let it go.  Most programs would love to keep reaching the level in the playoffs that Wesley has even if they were to get blown out.

[bleedpurple]

Pop on to see who UWW hires for coach and find the usual Wesley bashing... Get over yourselves, you are the best team in the country, enjoy it.

I'm going out on a limb here, just free-thinking your statement, wesleydad, and maybe all the vitriol that boils on these pages is due to the fact except for two, possible three UWW supporters, the UWW fans on this page recieve not an smidgen of the respect that the UWW players earn on the field.

I'm just thinking out loud here. I really have no idea what motivates the supporters of the most dominant team of the last decade to be such bitter, twisted, unhappy, and predictably obnoxious jackasses.

Oz,
Do you think you might be overstating your case a bit here? While I've seen a couple of acerbic posts lately, I 'm not sure it's quite risen to the level the bolded above implies.

WD, good to hear from you again. I hope you are well. As I looked back over the posts regarding a potential UW-W/Wesley game, I saw some opinions that Wesley may not want that game and some that simply pointed out that Wesley would, indeed, have a lot to lose (potentially) if they were to lose.  While there was a post or two that I would interpret as Wesley-bashing, most of them were simply discussing the topic as far as I could tell.

I think there is a far greater number of UW-W fans that respect Wesley than don't. I also think there is a far greater number of fans that respect the Johnnies than don't.  Broad brush painting can be fun when it is directed at a fan base you don't particularly care for, the problem is that it is seldom accurate.

I think some of the bashing posts can be funny and most probably are far more "barroom banter" than they are reflective of some kind of anger. Always best not to take them personally.  It fascinates me to see how people interpret posts and how many people ascribe motives to the poster.  For those who like to bash, keep bashing. For those who like to respond, keep responding.  For those who like to analyze and opine, keep analyzing and opining. Until someone with authority has the guts to stand up to ISIS and blow them off the planet, we should probably cherish our right to free speech now more than we ever have. 

[grboob]

Is UWW playing Findlandia University in 2015?  I think they should have a home/away with this Start-Up program in the  the UP-Mich in early November, 2016  to make it an even match (great weather - Edwin Fitzgerald type wind and snow)

[bleedpurple]

Yes, my understanding is that Finlandia plays  Oshkosh,  UW-W, and Point consecutively and all on the road in 2015. At the time I heard about it, I don't think Finlandia was in position to schedule beyond 2016 because of Conference uncertainty.