FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[UWO Titan 78]

Last week I said I hoped that the passing numbers put up by LAX were an aberration. I'm still hoping, but I'm a little more concerned after seeing the Falcons have success passing the ball against the Titans. I'm used to our "bend but don't break" philosophy, but the last two weeks, the Titan D has had trouble getting off the field on third and forth down. They have allowed athletic quarterbacks to extend plays and keep drives alive. I don't know if this is a result of poor rush technique or if the coverage is losing control of their zone responsibilities, or if the Titans lack of experience is the cause. I thought the Titans missed Hecker a little this week. The UWRF front is big and talented. Hecker's ability to extend plays after contact would have helped extend some drives and helped balance time of possession. Let's hope the ankle heals in time for the postseason. In any event, this weekend once again showed the depth of the conference. There are no easy wins in this conference. It's just a shame that we may now be a one-bid league.

[emma17]

This was such a good week of WIAC football.  UWW came within 3 minutes of being tied for first place. Of course they'd lose the tiebreaker, but still fun thinking about possibilities.

UWO 78, I'm sure most UWW fans can appreciate your apprehension in advance of the playoffs. If it makes you feel any better, I hardly remember a season where UWW was entering the playoffs looking ready to win the national championship. Yet, ready they were.
I'd guess the same is true for UWO.
Your blood pressure may not like it, but having to pull out victories is great experience for the playoffs. Despite what coaches say in public, I've always believed they likely take a big picture view of preparation for individual games toward playoff time. If UWRF or UWL were the third round of the playoffs, would the UWO game plan have looked different? My guess is yes.

I'm hoping for a full Hecker return for UW Stout, or the playoffs. 

[badgerwarhawk]

Two WIAC athletes on this week's team of the week

S Peter Kissling
Jr., UW-La Crosse

Kissling recorded two interceptions and six tackles, including four unassisted, in a 27-20 win at No. 9 UW-Platteville. He returned his first interception 41 yards to the Pioneers' 13 in the second quarter, setting up a TD for a 14-3 halftime lead. His second interception came in UWL's end zone in the third quarter, ending a 10-play drive.


DT Harry Green
Sr., UW-Whitewater

Green totaled four tackles, including three for a loss, in the Warhawks' 35-7 victory at UW-Stevens Point. Late in the first quarter, he stopped a running play on first down for a loss. Green made another tackle for a loss midway through the second quarter, and posted a third-down sack on the first play of the fourth quarter

[thunderdog]

Hypothetical for you in the WIAC:

If UWW wins out, finishes 7-3 overall, 6-1 WIAC, in sole possession of 2nd place.

It's pretty safe to assume the WIAC is "guaranteed" at least 1 pool C bid, so what happens then? Will a 2 conference loss team (UWL or UWStout) be ranked higher than UWW in the W-RAC and earn the pool C ahead of UWW?

Basically, is there any chance UWW makes it in, given their strong conference performance, despite their hypothetical 7-3 record?

Forgive me if this has already been discussed.

[jamtod]

Hypothetical for you in the WIAC:

If UWW wins out, finishes 7-3 overall, 6-1 WIAC, in sole possession of 2nd place.

It's pretty safe to assume the WIAC is "guaranteed" at least 1 pool C bid, so what happens then? Will a 2 conference loss team (UWL or UWStout) be ranked higher than UWW in the W-RAC and earn the pool C ahead of UWW?

Basically, is there any chance UWW makes it in, given their strong conference performance, despite their hypothetical 7-3 record?

Forgive me if this has already been discussed.

I don't think it's safe to assume that at all. In fact, I think the WIAC is a one-bid conference this year, not because the quality of play is down, but because a 2-loss team is not likely to slip in.

Beyond that, I think there is no chance UW-Whitewater makes the playoff.

[Pat Coleman]

Agreed it's not safe to make that assumption at all -- at-large bids are given to teams, not conferences.

[badgerwarhawk]

It will take something beyond divine intervention (like WW winning out and Oshkosh losing both) for the WARHAWKS to make the post season.  Not that I don't want to see us in the postseason but I like the proverbial snowball's chances in hell better.

It's unfortunate its taken us as long as it has to get out act together.  We could have won both of the first two if we just hadn't been so careless with the ball

[palum]

If Platteville beats WW Saturday (that's a big IF) and LaX and P-ville both finish with 2 loses I don't see either one of them making the playoffs.

[fredfalcon]

Congrats to Ben Beckman, Falcon sophomore qb, named
WIAC offensive player of the week, in a losing game--a rare  occurrence.

[emma17]

Congrats to Ben Beckman, Falcon sophomore qb, named
WIAC offensive player of the week, in a losing game--a rare  occurrence.

Congrats to him, he had a heck of a game.
It's hard to figure the performance difference of Beckman and the UWRF offense between UWW and UWO. The stats are opposite ends of the spectrum.

[fredfalcon]

emma 17--Beckman showed up better than Hearns for a brief period in the the 3rd Q. of the WW game, the only time RF made any sustained progress in that game. Up to that point, he had been alternating w/Hearns with minimal success. He was rewarded w/the start at Oshkosh and made the most of it.

[UWO Titan 78]

I don't know enough about the national landscape and I leave the bracketology to the D3.com experts, but there is a chance an 8-2 UW-P or UW-L make it to the table on selection day. The Regional rankings should be out today, so this is will be a little clearer. With 5 at-large spots, I would say that a 1-loss Hardin Simmons is in. A 1-loss CCIW 2nd place team is in (IWU probably). The winner of St. John's and Concordia-Moorehead will be 9-1 and is probably in. That only leaves 2 open at-large bids. It will be hard for a 2-loss WIAC team to get in.

[wally_wabash]

I don't know enough about the national landscape and I leave the bracketology to the D3.com experts, but there is a chance an 8-2 UW-P or UW-L make it to the table on selection day. The Regional rankings should be out today, so this is will be a little clearer. With 5 at-large spots, I would say that a 1-loss Hardin Simmons is in. A 1-loss CCIW 2nd place team is in (IWU probably). The winner of St. John's and Concordia-Moorehead will be 9-1 and is probably in. That only leaves 2 open at-large bids. It will be hard for a 2-loss WIAC team to get in.

It goes to show how little margin for error there is when it comes to being selected for the tournament.  Before Saturday, Platteville had a decent case for not just being in the tournament, but being one of the four #1 seeds.  One loss and they appear out- but there are still games to play. 

You've covered some of the Pool C teams.  Also lurking around out there are  CWRU (could get to 10-0 without being an auto qualifier), Frostburg State (could be a 9-1 NJAC runner up), DePauw could get home at 9-1, F&M could finish 9-1, Framingham St. can get to 9-1.  Then you've got a pile of really good 2-loss teams like Platteville, George Fox, Wheaton, and probably some more that I'm forgetting.  Your 2-loss teams still need some more losing to happen I think to be in play realistically.  But as Platteville found out last weekend, fortunes change quickly and extremely in the last few weeks of the season. 

[Pat Coleman]

Regional rankings are out:
http://www.d3football.com/playoffs/2017/first-regional-ranking

[Veracity]

So LaCrosse is going?