FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hazzben]

I'm curious to hear thoughts/opinions about UWP at UWW.

Second 

[WW]

I'm curious to hear thoughts/opinions about UWP at UWW.

I'm less impressed by Platteville after doing a deeper dive into that UWL game. UWL handed it to them. 6 picks! They're fine, a second-tier contender, along with most of the rest of the WIAC. But I don't see em beating UWW. Warhawks by a couple scores.

Weather gonna be a beast again Saturday, fyi. I'd say UWW is a little better equipped to grind it out in those conditions than Platty. That said, UWP QB Schuetz sure played a clean game in last week's slop. 321 yards, 3 TDs, no picks. Can he do that again?

[WW]

I'm curious to hear thoughts/opinions about UWP at UWW.

By the way, has Oles emerged as QB1?

[02 Warhawk]

I'm curious to hear thoughts/opinions about UWP at UWW.

I'm less impressed by Platteville after doing a deeper dive into that UWL game. UWL handed it to them. 6 picks! They're fine, a second-tier contender, along with most of the rest of the WIAC. But I don't see em beating UWW. Warhawks by a couple scores.

Weather gonna be a beast again Saturday, fyi. I'd say UWW is a little better equipped to grind it out in those conditions than Platty. That said, UWP QB Schuetz sure played a clean game in last week's slop. 321 yards, 3 TDs, no picks. Can he do that again?

UWW hasn't exactly been world beaters this year so far. With what they had returning I really expected them to be scary good on offense. So far they've had a difficult time finding much rhythm/consistency in a game. Every now and then, for like a quarter, they'll show flashes of what they're capable of. Then that'll quickly disappear usually because of dumb penalties or a dropped ball or two. Peete finally was able to break one on Saturday, which is something we've been waiting on for a while now. Hopefully he can keep it rolling.

The defense has struggled at times as well, which is expected considering they lost a ton from 2018. So far they've been getting by with the whole bend-but-don't-break mentality. I'm kind of worried to see how they perform against a legit offense that knows what they're doing. St. Xavier had a very good offense, they torched us for 450+ yards. Luckily for our defense they kept shooting themselves in the foot with bad penalties (10 for 125 yards!) and four missed FGs.

If UWP can put up 35+ points - like they have been doing, I can see this game being closer than people think. It'll be up to Whitewater's offense to get it together and play a full four quarters...not just one or two.

[bleedpurple]

I'm curious to hear thoughts/opinions about UWP at UWW.

By the way, has Oles emerged as QB1?

Here is my wild guess as to what's happening with the UW-W QB's:

1. The coaches love both Meylor and Oles. (Actually, they really like the guys behind them as well, but Max and Zach seem to have risen to the top at this particular moment).

2. Because they can't start two guys, Oles was chosen to start initially as they continue to compete. Not sure of all the factors giving him the edge. Perhaps his ability to get a first down with his legs? Perhaps more familiarity with the system? Remember, these are wild guesses.

3. While the coaches basically consider the two to be 1 and 1A, but that is not how it is playing out in terms of playing time. I think the converging reasons for that are:
    A. The way the games have unfolded
    B. There can be a downside to splitting time at the QB position.

My wild guess summary would be: Yes, right now Zach is the starter but Max is much closer to starting than it would appear on a Saturday afternoon. Also, the drop off the coaches would expect if Max is put in would be 0.0%.  Max played really well against a super fast and talented defense in St. Xavier, especially coming into the game as the back up and being called in to duty after Zach got hurt on the first play.

[bleedpurple]

If UWP can put up 35+ points - like they have been doing, I can see this game being closer than people think.

You are under-estimating the UW-W defense in Brobdingnagian proportions.

East Texas Baptist
Thomas More
Lakeland
La Crosse

They ain't UW-W 02. I look forward to the Hawks reminding you of that on Saturday.

[DuffMan]

    B. There can be a downside to splitting time at the QB position.

SJU tried a QB rotation probably 8-10 year ago.  It drove me nuts and made it hard to build momentum.  That being said, Erdmann's backup for the past couple years (Ben Alvord) was a stud and likely would have started at most schools, and SJU would use him situationally as he brought some different things to the table.

[bleedpurple]

    B. There can be a downside to splitting time at the QB position.

SJU tried a QB rotation probably 8-10 year ago.  It drove me nuts and made it hard to build momentum.  That being said, Erdmann's backup for the past couple years (Ben Alvord) was a stud and likely would have started at most schools, and SJU would use him situationally as he brought some different things to the table.

Agreed. It can be done.  I like the idea if it is done with a specific purpose. Maybe the starter could benefit from a series standing by a coach and watching what the defense is doing for a series. Or maybe the back up has a specific strength that he is better at than #1 (Perhaps uptempo). But the straight up "we can't make up our mind so let's play both" can be a detriment if not handled extremely well. 

[emma17]

Tough call on QB selection/rotation- glad I don't have to make it. As a fan, I like them both.

I'm a bit worried about UWP passing game mostly because in the limited video I could watch, their receivers were making plays to catch the ball. This could bite UWW if the QB is throwing catchable balls. I've seen a few plays now where the opposing QB simply overthrew receivers that had UWW beat.
If it comes down to trench warfare, I'm comfortable w the Dub.

[OzJohnnie]

    B. There can be a downside to splitting time at the QB position.

SJU tried a QB rotation probably 8-10 year ago.  It drove me nuts and made it hard to build momentum.  That being said, Erdmann's backup for the past couple years (Ben Alvord) was a stud and likely would have started at most schools, and SJU would use him situationally as he brought some different things to the table.

Drove everyone nuts.  Doubly frustrating was that UMC has successfully platooned QB's lots of times.  I've often wondered how they managed to do that.

[bleedpurple]

Tough call on QB selection/rotation- glad I don't have to make it. As a fan, I like them both.

I'm a bit worried about UWP passing game mostly because in the limited video I could watch, their receivers were making plays to catch the ball. This could bite UWW if the QB is throwing catchable balls. I've seen a few plays now where the opposing QB simply overthrew receivers that had UWW beat.
If it comes down to trench warfare, I'm comfortable w the Dub.

Historically, sans Dan Arnold and crew, UW-W has done a great job of keeping everything in front of them vs UW-P. Also, QB's tend to lose accuracy when they are getting knocked around. It was good to see Jordan Brand get home for a couple sacks last Saturday and Balanganayi has been terrorizing QB's pretty much all year. I'm confident the D will play well on Saturday.

[WW]

    B. There can be a downside to splitting time at the QB position.

SJU tried a QB rotation probably 8-10 year ago.  It drove me nuts and made it hard to build momentum.  That being said, Erdmann's backup for the past couple years (Ben Alvord) was a stud and likely would have started at most schools, and SJU would use him situationally as he brought some different things to the table.

Agreed. It can be done.  I like the idea if it is done with a specific purpose. Maybe the starter could benefit from a series standing by a coach and watching what the defense is doing for a series. Or maybe the back up has a specific strength that he is better at than #1 (Perhaps uptempo). But the straight up "we can't make up our mind so let's play both" can be a detriment if not handled extremely well.

They can be close in talent and ability but once QB1 gets all the first-team reps in practice, the gap grows. I don't recall ever seeing the platoon work very well, even early in the season. Seems too often you get guys trying to do things beyond their capability to win the job.

[emma17]

Tough call on QB selection/rotation- glad I don't have to make it. As a fan, I like them both.

I'm a bit worried about UWP passing game mostly because in the limited video I could watch, their receivers were making plays to catch the ball. This could bite UWW if the QB is throwing catchable balls. I've seen a few plays now where the opposing QB simply overthrew receivers that had UWW beat.
If it comes down to trench warfare, I'm comfortable w the Dub.

Historically, sans Dan Arnold and crew, UW-W has done a great job of keeping everything in front of them vs UW-P. Also, QB's tend to lose accuracy when they are getting knocked around. It was good to see Jordan Brand get home for a couple sacks last Saturday and Balanganayi has been terrorizing QB's pretty much all year. I'm confident the D will play well on Saturday.

Dan Arnold was really tough, I enjoyed watching him play.
I'd guess the key for UWP will be to get the safeties to come up as much as possible- UWP loves those bubble routes- which requires defenders running to the ball and solid open field tackling.

Who knows, maybe they surprise and come out running, they have talented RB's.

[WW]

I know UWP is the bright shiny object right now given their ranking and showdown vs DubDub but I think the game of the week will be Point at Oshkosh. Point's got a few nicks on their resume but they've also had to endure the loss of QB1 and get QB2 up to speed. I think that's happened. They've got some playmakers at WR and in the backfield and some maulers on D.

And Oshkosh won't get much credit for squeaking by Stout but you know who else just squeaked by Stout? St John's. I think Stout is the best 1-3 team in the country, and better than most 3-1 teams. UWO remains really young in a lot of places offensively (freshmen at QB, RB, and at least two OL spots last I saw) but they're moving the sticks and starting to mature. They won the Stout game by not giving the ball away or making dumb plays (which they had plenty of in their opener). And that loss to Salisbury isn't looking so bad as that team rises in the rankings.

I think the winner of this game will be the second-best team in the WIAC, and the most likely to push UWW.

[emma17]

I can see why you feel the UWSP/UWO winner could eventually be the #2. Interestingly, if memory serves, they are the only teams in the conference w not only one, but two victories over UWW since what- 2004?

I'll have to see UWP this weekend before jumping on that train though.
I'm very much looking forward to UWS at UWL, and I wouldn't be surprised if UWEC/UWRF isn't the most exciting of the weekend.