FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[GBMAN]

Good luck this week Warhawks. Survive and advance.

[02 Warhawk]

As the Warhawks continue to pile up points and shut teams down, I think we should acknowledge that "Brad" just might have been on to something when he predicted weeks ago UW-W would win the national championship. While four more games must be won, UW-W is certainly rounding into a form where his prediction is a distinct possibility. So, whether you are ultimately right or wrong, you were ahead of the curve on how powerful this Warhawk team has become. Kudos, "Brad"!

You know me, I'm always cautiously optimistic. I think I was the very last one to buy into your WIWA campaign in 2013. I wasn't convinced until they beat Linfield in the quarterfinals.

To me, this year has the same feel to it as 2013. A lot of uncertainty on how good this team really is. When UWW was doing their thing and winning Stagg Bowls, we really counted on the WIAC to prep us for the playoffs. However, this year the WIAC really didn't give UWW much competition. I'm still curious how these kids will do against legit teams, where the game will come down to the final minutes. We'll probably get our first look at it next week (assuming things go according to plan this weekend). The 20-0 win against UWO was probably the closest thing we had to a true test, but UWO turned out to be very mediocre which was disappointing. 

[TheGreenKnight920]

St. Norbert 23 - UWEC 30
UWW 45 - UWEC 0

Those syllogisms are prone to fallacy. I mean, yeah, WW will probably win, but I don't think its going to be an absolute rout by any means. SNC is a different team now than they were week 2.

This has always been one of my favorite underdog rationalizations.  As if their opponent isn't and did their growing between week one and two then became stagnate.  Plus one for you...love it.

I love that one, too.  In 2015, SJU opened the season by beating Dubuque 45-9.  Their 1st round playoff opponent was also Dubuque, who apparently, was a "whole different team" and had improved a ton.  SJU won the playoff meeting 51-7. 

At the same time I can understand where their fan base is coming from. Since that early nonconference loss, they witnessed their team just dominate their conference. Which suggests "their team improved", which may be the case to some extend. But I think it's largely because their competition isn't as good, which gives the perception of a huge improvement.

As I typed this, I understand this may come off as arrogant as hell, but I think there's some truth to it.

I understand all teams evolve throughout the year, but on our end, there's two reasons as to why we are actually different:

1. First year in our new offense and the guys were still learning how it functions in game scenarios

2. Defensive momentum seems to transition better week to week and we are rolling on D.


Again, I'm not going to come in here and #swingtheaxe every post, but at some point you have to stop just looking past opponents every week, that is how trap games happen and how fanbases become delusional.

Good luck to WW, I will be in attendance for this one and I'm proud of our squad win or lose.

[hazzben]

At the same time I can understand where their fan base is coming from. Since that early nonconference loss, they witnessed their team just dominate their conference. Which suggests "their team improved", which may be the case to some extend. But I think it's largely because their competition isn't as good, which gives the perception of a huge improvement.

I mean, you have to believe that your team improves throughout the course of the season, but you also have to believe that the other team improves, too.

I think there is truth to both sides of this.

Yes, every team wants to talk about how they've improved, especially if there's an outlier early season loss to justify. But you're right, most playoff teams (or just well coached teams) are going to improve as the season progresses. So sure SNC might be a lot better, but it's not like UWW has been resting on their laurels the last half of the season.

However, it's not like all teams improve at the same rate. So it is entirely possible that Team A and Team B are both improved, but Team A actually has improved more. This might be because they had more room to improve. Or they might have just made a larger jump.

I think the real improvement outliers tend to be when a team is breaking in a lot of new starters and young players. Or they have some key players return from injury late in the season. Or they have a new scheme.

Bethel as an example. Week 1 @ Simpson, we started Marsh at QB. He struggled in the first half and we made the switch to Roste, a Redshirt Frosh transfer from Minnesota. I had a convo with coaches during camp about the sense being Roste had huge upside, but was trying to unseat a QB potentially starting for the 3rd straight year who just had drastically more experience and confidence in the offense. They were also breaking in some new starters at several offensive positions. Bethel beats Simpson, but the score makes it look pretty competitive. Anyone who watched the game saw how much Bethel dominated all aspects of the game, save trying to find their footing at QB. The other element, BU's second year in their 4-2-5 scheme on D. They lost some games early last year while they were figuring things out. But they aren't 'thinking' anymore, which leads to a team playing much faster and to their athletic potential.

FF to the Rd 1 matchup with Wartburg. Simpson won @ Wart in OT. Leading many to assume this would be a pretty tightly contested game (majority of D3 Guru's picked Wartburg to win). I assumed Bethel would overwhelm Wart at the LOS. And also that their talented Sr QB was probably not experiencing the growth in experience and confidence that Roste (and the BU offense by extension) was as a first year starter. I said to my buddy walking in (he'd never seen a D3 game) that my expectation/prediction in descending likelihood were: Bethel in a close win, Bethel in a blowout, or Wart in a close win. But that I couldn't see Wart winning a blowout. Oz and other MIAC posters have noted this improvement as well.

The other element is confidence. I think UWW has their swagger back. While UST's regressed. A team like UMHB maybe hasn't 'grown' as much as UWW over the course of year, not talking in terms of scheme and execution, so much as UWW's players are playing with their old swagger more and more as the season progressed (e.g. I don't think the Concordia result from early in the season is nearly that close if played today). Whereas UMHB has had ample swagger all year long.

[02 Warhawk]

Again, I'm not going to come in here and #swingtheaxe every post, but at some point you have to stop just looking past opponents every week, that is how trap games happen and how fanbases become delusional.

Good luck to WW, I will be in attendance for this one and I'm proud of our squad win or lose.

That's all we ask, no swinging of any axes or waiving of fingers 

The thing is, this is just a message board. The game isn't going to be determined by a couple of posts by UWW fans. We, as fans, have the luxury of looking past opponents if we chose, because we don't determine the outcome of a game. Players and coaches, however, are the ones who shouldn't be looking past the team in front of them, and I can guarantee you Bullis and company aren't.

[jamtod]

Again, I'm not going to come in here and #swingtheaxe every post, but at some point you have to stop just looking past opponents every week, that is how trap games happen and how fanbases become delusional.

Good luck to WW, I will be in attendance for this one and I'm proud of our squad win or lose.

That's all we ask, no swinging of any axes or waiving of fingers 

The thing is, this is just a message board. The game isn't going to be determined by a couple of posts by UWW fans. We, as fans, have the luxury of looking past opponents if we chose, because we don't determine the outcome of a game. Players and coaches, however, are the ones who shouldn't be looking past the team in front of them, and I can guarantee you Bullis and company aren't.

However, if a fan of a purple power from another conference drops a data point, a clever response about how they can watch the game from their couch will get you massive +k 

I highly recommend it.

[emma17]

Well said Haz and I agree, Bethel is a good example of a team that has likely improved more than the average team.
It's hard for me to say where UWW's greatest area of improvement is, it may be just as you say- the comfdence and swagger (in a positive way). I think the O line has made big strides, but UWW hasn't faced a strong D since UWO (I know others think much less of UWO than I do) so success has been expected.
The D improves like any great D, each game of dominance builds the speed and intelligence the team plays with.

Quick comment to TheGreenNight. You absolutely should be confident and proud of your team and have hope they will compete well.
I only caution you on the "looking ahead thing". Don't fall for the false hope. We all know UWW isn't looking ahead, but you can't even say we fans are looking ahead. You don't see us talking about game 3. We are only responding to comments about this upcoming game. I look forward to this game and don't want to lose a moment of playoff joy by thinking ahead.

[02 Warhawk]

Again, I'm not going to come in here and #swingtheaxe every post, but at some point you have to stop just looking past opponents every week, that is how trap games happen and how fanbases become delusional.

Good luck to WW, I will be in attendance for this one and I'm proud of our squad win or lose.

That's all we ask, no swinging of any axes or waiving of fingers 

The thing is, this is just a message board. The game isn't going to be determined by a couple of posts by UWW fans. We, as fans, have the luxury of looking past opponents if we chose, because we don't determine the outcome of a game. Players and coaches, however, are the ones who shouldn't be looking past the team in front of them, and I can guarantee you Bullis and company aren't.

However, if a fan of a purple power from another conference drops a data point, a clever response about how they can watch the game from their couch will get you massive +k 

I highly recommend it.

That was pretty good.

Like bleedpurple, I to am disappointed he's ghosting these boards after the loss.

[Pat Coleman]

FF to the Rd 1 matchup with Wartburg. Simpson won @ Wart in OT. Leading many to assume this would be a pretty tightly contested game (majority of D3 Guru's picked Wartburg to win).

Actually was a 50-50 split.

[hazzben]

FF to the Rd 1 matchup with Wartburg. Simpson won @ Wart in OT. Leading many to assume this would be a pretty tightly contested game (majority of D3 Guru's picked Wartburg to win).

Actually was a 50-50 split.

I just put twice as much weight on your opinion Pat 

[HSCTiger74]

As the Warhawks continue to pile up points and shut teams down, I think we should acknowledge that "Brad" just might have been on to something when he predicted weeks ago UW-W would win the national championship. While four more games must be won, UW-W is certainly rounding into a form where his prediction is a distinct possibility. So, whether you are ultimately right or wrong, you were ahead of the curve on how powerful this Warhawk team has become. Kudos, "Brad"!

You know me, I'm always cautiously optimistic. I think I was the very last one to buy into your WIWA campaign in 2013. I wasn't convinced until they beat Linfield in the quarterfinals.

To me, this year has the same feel to it as 2013. A lot of uncertainty on how good this team really is. When UWW was doing their thing and winning Stagg Bowls, we really counted on the WIAC to prep us for the playoffs. However, this year the WIAC really didn't give UWW much competition. I'm still curious how these kids will do against legit teams, where the game will come down to the final minutes. We'll probably get our first look at it next week (assuming things go according to plan this weekend). The 20-0 win against UWO was probably the closest thing we had to a true test, but UWO turned out to be very mediocre which was disappointing.

  As someone whose only observations have been through score-checking and reading this board I will defer to those who have seen the teams in person, but I have to ask if the WIAC is really down that much (admittedly UWO and UWP don't make my case) or if maybe UWW really is that good. From afar they sure look that way.

[bleedpurple]

I understand all teams evolve throughout the year, but on our end, there's two reasons as to why we are actually different:

1. First year in our new offense and the guys were still learning how it functions in game scenarios

2. Defensive momentum seems to transition better week to week and we are rolling on D.

Again, I'm not going to come in here and #swingtheaxe every post, but at some point you have to stop just looking past opponents every week, that is how trap games happen and how fanbases become delusional.

Good luck to WW, I will be in attendance for this one and I'm proud of our squad win or lose.

This is disappointingly well thought out and reasonable.  I'm hoping it's because it's only Monday. Hopefully around Wednesday or Thursday we can count on you to drink a couple of Monster Energy drinks, feel the power of your Mighty Green Knights, and post about how they belong, how we have never seen a defense like yours, and how you guys don't back down from anyone. You can cite that you are ranked SECOND in Total Defense, fourth in rush defense, and eight in passing yards allowed in the NATION! Point out how your defense is ranked ahead of UW-W in every one of those categories. Maybe even say the wrong team is favored!

Just trying to give you facts to cite for when you take your Monster Drinks! 

[bleedpurple]

As the Warhawks continue to pile up points and shut teams down, I think we should acknowledge that "Brad" just might have been on to something when he predicted weeks ago UW-W would win the national championship. While four more games must be won, UW-W is certainly rounding into a form where his prediction is a distinct possibility. So, whether you are ultimately right or wrong, you were ahead of the curve on how powerful this Warhawk team has become. Kudos, "Brad"!

You know me, I'm always cautiously optimistic. I think I was the very last one to buy into your WIWA campaign in 2013. I wasn't convinced until they beat Linfield in the quarterfinals.

To me, this year has the same feel to it as 2013. A lot of uncertainty on how good this team really is. When UWW was doing their thing and winning Stagg Bowls, we really counted on the WIAC to prep us for the playoffs. However, this year the WIAC really didn't give UWW much competition. I'm still curious how these kids will do against legit teams, where the game will come down to the final minutes. We'll probably get our first look at it next week (assuming things go according to plan this weekend). The 20-0 win against UWO was probably the closest thing we had to a true test, but UWO turned out to be very mediocre which was disappointing.

  As someone whose only observations have been through score-checking and reading this board I will defer to those who have seen the teams in person, but I have to ask if the WIAC is really down that much (admittedly UWO and UWP don't make my case) or if maybe UWW really is that good. From afar they sure look like that way.

Shhhhh... 

[Pat Coleman]

FF to the Rd 1 matchup with Wartburg. Simpson won @ Wart in OT. Leading many to assume this would be a pretty tightly contested game (majority of D3 Guru's picked Wartburg to win).

Actually was a 50-50 split.

I just put twice as much weight on your opinion Pat 

Clearly that was a mistake! (So was my pick.)

[WW]

The Norby D has been awesome. That's two straight quality wins by respectable margins. But they're not gonna road-grade UWW. And they haven't shown ability to get the ball to the AA receiver. It's a one-dimensional offense and I can't say they do it any better now than when they played UWEC. In fact, aren't they a little deeper into the depth chart at RB now than they were then? SNC just gonna have to pitch a shutout, and D might have to score one themselves. Get a turnover or two, short field, give STM a couple shots... who knows?

SNC 6, UWW 3