FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[bleedpurple]

Emma, Bleed--

Don't think RF was thinking about WW game. That would have required overlooking EC next week. As Bleed notes, Blaha has run 99 times in 3 close games and I don't see that changing because it's been so effective (except yesterday, 1st half). But I worry about injury from the constant pounding.
So far, other runners have not been able to take the load off Blaha. Last year Luke Fugate, rb, averaged 111 yds per carry and Kole Hinrichson, qb, averaged 60. Krueger is a sophomore and so far has not developed into the kind of effective runner he will eventually be, nor have Oeun or Little, backup running backs, been able to shine in close games.
But now, Eau Claire becomes an absolute necessary win if RF is to at least re-gain Isthmus Bowl status.

Agreed.  I don't think they were looking ahead. I think Blaha is simply their go to in big games because he is their most dangerous weapon.  I share your concern for his health. The WIAC is a really physical league.  I know Blaha is a great athlete and he'd be a great RB as well.  But with all the angles defenders come at you on QB runs, it seems like they are a little more vulnerable. But even for a RB, 33 carries is a lot, especially against UW-W.  And then you add in the hits he will take when he throws...yeah. Wow. Asking a lot.

[bleedpurple]

Warhawks JV defeated Oshkosh 31-0 today. So much young talent. Can't wait to see these guys continue to develop!

[bleedpurple]

State of the Road to the WIAC Championship after 3 weeks:

Control of Their Own Destiny
UW-W
Platteville

Needs Help
River Falls (Needs one team to beat Platteville)
Stout (Needs one team to beat La Crosse or win a multiple team tie-breaker)

Needs Lots of Help
La Crosse (Needs two teams to beat UW-W)

Needs More Help Than They Are Likely to Get
Oshkosh (Needs all hell to break loose)

Playing for Pride
Eau Claire
Stevens Point

[emma17]

State of the Road to the WIAC Championship after 3 weeks:

Control of Their Own Destiny
UW-W
Platteville

Needs Help
River Falls (Needs one team to beat Platteville)
Stout (Needs one team to beat La Crosse or win a multiple team tie-breaker)

Needs Lots of Help
La Crosse (Needs two teams to beat UW-W)

Needs More Help Than They Are Likely to Get
Oshkosh (Needs all hell to break loose)

Playing for Pride
Eau Claire
Stevens Point

Good stuff.
Isn't Stout in the "control of their own destiny category"?
They have a really rough remaining schedule.

[02 Warhawk]

State of the Road to the WIAC Championship after 3 weeks:

Control of Their Own Destiny
UW-W
Platteville

Needs Help
River Falls (Needs one team to beat Platteville)
Stout (Needs one team to beat La Crosse or win a multiple team tie-breaker)

Needs Lots of Help
La Crosse (Needs two teams to beat UW-W)

Needs More Help Than They Are Likely to Get
Oshkosh (Needs all hell to break loose)

Playing for Pride
Eau Claire
Stevens Point

Good stuff.
Isn't Stout in the "control of their own destiny category"?
They have a really rough remaining schedule.

They already lost to UWL, so I believe they have the tie breaker over Stout. So they need some help with someone giving UWL a second conference loss.

Stout can theoretically win out and still not get the Pool A bid

[bleedpurple]

State of the Road to the WIAC Championship after 3 weeks:

Control of Their Own Destiny
UW-W
Platteville

Needs Help
River Falls (Needs one team to beat Platteville)
Stout (Needs one team to beat La Crosse or win a multiple team tie-breaker)

Needs Lots of Help
La Crosse (Needs two teams to beat UW-W)

Needs More Help Than They Are Likely to Get
Oshkosh (Needs all hell to break loose)

Playing for Pride
Eau Claire
Stevens Point

Good stuff.
Isn't Stout in the "control of their own destiny category"?
They have a really rough remaining schedule.

They already lost to UWL, so I believe they have the tie breaker over Stout. So they need some help with someone giving UWL a second conference loss.

Stout can theoretically win out and still not get the Pool A bid

Bingo

[bleedpurple]

While the order of "best to worst" in the WIAC is still not determined. I thought it would be interesting to see what the final records of each team would be if favorites won out. For the purpose of the exercise, I will use the following order:

1. UW-W
2. La Crosse
3. River Falls
4. Oshkosh
5. Stout
6. Platteville
7. Eau Claire
8. Stevens Point

If favorites (based on the above list) win out:

UW-W             7-0,  9-1
La Crosse        6-1,  9-1
River Falls       5-2,  7-3
Oshkosh          4-3,  6-4
Stout              3-4,  5-5
Platteville.       3-4,  4-6
Eau Claire.       1-6,  2-8
Stevens Point.  0-7, 1-9

Definitely not predictions! Just an exercise I thought would be fun.  I ranked Stout above Platteville solely because they play their game at Stout. 

Games that could upset the applecart:
Stout at Oshkosh (Oct. 22)
La Crosse at Oshkosh (Oct 29)
River Falls at Whitewater (Oct 29)
Platteville at Stout. (Oct 29)
Stevens Point at Eau Claire (Oct 29)
River Falls at La Crosse (Nov. 5)
Stout at River Falls (Nov. 12)
Any UW-W loss or major upsets in other games

[palum]

While the order of "best to worst" in the WIAC is still not determined. I thought it would be interesting to see what the final records of each team would be if favorites won out. For the purpose of the exercise, I will use the following order:

1. UW-W
2. La Crosse
3. River Falls
4. Oshkosh
5. Stout
6. Platteville
7. Eau Claire
8. Stevens Point

If favorites (based on the above list) win out:

UW-W             7-0,  9-1
La Crosse        6-1,  9-1
River Falls       5-2,  7-3
Oshkosh          4-3,  6-4
Stout              3-4,  5-5
Platteville.       3-4,  4-6
Eau Claire.       1-6,  2-8
Stevens Point.  0-7, 1-9

Definitely not predictions! Just an exercise I thought would be fun.  I ranked Stout above Platteville solely because they play their game at Stout. 

Games that could upset the applecart:
Stout at Oshkosh (Oct. 22)
La Crosse at Oshkosh (Oct 29)
River Falls at Whitewater (Oct 29)
Platteville at Stout. (Oct 29)
Stevens Point at Eau Claire (Oct 29)
River Falls at La Crosse (Nov. 5)
Stout at River Falls (Nov. 12)
Any UW-W loss or major upsets in other games

If your favorites win out scenario plays out will both WW and LaX make the field of 32?

[badgerwarhawk]

My guess would be that both would make the postseason.

[bleedpurple]

While the order of "best to worst" in the WIAC is still not determined. I thought it would be interesting to see what the final records of each team would be if favorites won out. For the purpose of the exercise, I will use the following order:

1. UW-W
2. La Crosse
3. River Falls
4. Oshkosh
5. Stout
6. Platteville
7. Eau Claire
8. Stevens Point

If favorites (based on the above list) win out:

UW-W             7-0,  9-1
La Crosse        6-1,  9-1
River Falls       5-2,  7-3
Oshkosh          4-3,  6-4
Stout              3-4,  5-5
Platteville.       3-4,  4-6
Eau Claire.       1-6,  2-8
Stevens Point.  0-7, 1-9

Definitely not predictions! Just an exercise I thought would be fun.  I ranked Stout above Platteville solely because they play their game at Stout. 

Games that could upset the applecart:
Stout at Oshkosh (Oct. 22)
La Crosse at Oshkosh (Oct 29)
River Falls at Whitewater (Oct 29)
Platteville at Stout. (Oct 29)
Stevens Point at Eau Claire (Oct 29)
River Falls at La Crosse (Nov. 5)
Stout at River Falls (Nov. 12)
Any UW-W loss or major upsets in other games

If your favorites win out scenario plays out will both WW and LaX make the field of 32?

You never know, but I would be shocked if they didn't. La Crosse could be hurt by the fact that they have only one D-III non-conference opponent. But they had that last year as well and got in.  However, Hardin-Simmons, was in a comparable situation last year, with one non-conference D-III opponent and they did not get in. But, I'm pretty sure they were undermined by their own regional committee.  If their regional committee ranks a 9-1 Hardin Simmons in a place they can get to the table, the national committee would be in quite a spot if a 9-1 La Crosse was one of the other teams at the table. I'm guessing Hardin Simmons' 41-0 win over Platteville would be a great result for them. La Crosse hosts Platteville November 12.

[bleedpurple]

Mackenzie Balanganayi has signed a contract with the Frisco Fighters of the Indoor Football League.  His first game will be March 19th in Green Bay against the Green Bay Blizzard.  I've heard there is a high likelihood that Jarrod Ware and Max Meylor may be signed by the Blizzard in the near future.  A good opportunity to watch some spring football and catch some Warhawks playing at the next level!

[emma17]

State of the Road to the WIAC Championship after 3 weeks:

Control of Their Own Destiny
UW-W
Platteville

Needs Help
River Falls (Needs one team to beat Platteville)
Stout (Needs one team to beat La Crosse or win a multiple team tie-breaker)

Needs Lots of Help
La Crosse (Needs two teams to beat UW-W)

Needs More Help Than They Are Likely to Get
Oshkosh (Needs all hell to break loose)

Playing for Pride
Eau Claire
Stevens Point

Good stuff.
Isn't Stout in the "control of their own destiny category"?
They have a really rough remaining schedule.

They already lost to UWL, so I believe they have the tie breaker over Stout. So they need some help with someone giving UWL a second conference loss.

Stout can theoretically win out and still not get the Pool A bid

Bingo

I misinterpreted the category of "in control of their own destiny". I think your definition is winning the conference outright, along w guarantees playoffs-  and that makes sense.

I see getting into a tiebreak as a B side version of controlling your own destiny.

[colinsteinke]

I don't think a 9-1 WIAC team would ever get left out of Pool C, given SOS and the respect the conference has, regardless of the non-conference schedule. The SOS that the conference play gives the second place, especially given that they'll likely have at least SOME wins against RRO, means it would be hard to leave them out, ever.

I don't think we'll see three WIAC teams get in anytime soon given there are going to be fewer and fewer bids to go around, but hey, an 8-2 third place team would probably have a good argument against any other pool C team, too. They'd just probably be down the board too far to get in.

[wally_wabash]

If your favorites win out scenario plays out will both WW and LaX make the field of 32?

You never know, but I would be shocked if they didn't. La Crosse could be hurt by the fact that they have only one D-III non-conference opponent. But they had that last year as well and got in.  However, Hardin-Simmons, was in a comparable situation last year, with one non-conference D-III opponent and they did not get in. But, I'm pretty sure they were undermined by their own regional committee.  If their regional committee ranks a 9-1 Hardin Simmons in a place they can get to the table, the national committee would be in quite a spot if a 9-1 La Crosse was one of the other teams at the table. I'm guessing Hardin Simmons' 41-0 win over Platteville would be a great result for them. La Crosse hosts Platteville November 12.

It would be shocking to not see 9-1 UWL in the tournament.  A couple of things to remember about 2021 HSU:
- They did not  have any OOC opponents in division. 
- The ASC did not produce a third ranked team, so HSU didn't have any RRO wins and just the RRO loss to UMHB.
- 9-1 records don't exist in a vacuum, especially when it comes to at-large selection.  Everybody else's records matter too.  Last year, Region 3 produced two teams that had objectively better profiles than HSU (note: I'm not making any judgements about who would in a game between 2021 HSU and 2021 BSC or 2021 RMC). 

There's a lot left to play, but it's hard to see where there is another conference runner up in Region 6 that would be ranked ahead of UWL.  They'll be on the board early, which we know is half the game. 

['95 Blugold]

If your favorites win out scenario plays out will both WW and LaX make the field of 32?

You never know, but I would be shocked if they didn't. La Crosse could be hurt by the fact that they have only one D-III non-conference opponent. But they had that last year as well and got in.  However, Hardin-Simmons, was in a comparable situation last year, with one non-conference D-III opponent and they did not get in. But, I'm pretty sure they were undermined by their own regional committee.  If their regional committee ranks a 9-1 Hardin Simmons in a place they can get to the table, the national committee would be in quite a spot if a 9-1 La Crosse was one of the other teams at the table. I'm guessing Hardin Simmons' 41-0 win over Platteville would be a great result for them. La Crosse hosts Platteville November 12.

It would be shocking to not see 9-1 UWL in the tournament.  A couple of things to remember about 2021 HSU:
- They did not  have any OOC opponents in division. 
- The ASC did not produce a third ranked team, so HSU didn't have any RRO wins and just the RRO loss to UMHB.
- 9-1 records don't exist in a vacuum, especially when it comes to at-large selection.  Everybody else's records matter too.  Last year, Region 3 produced two teams that had objectively better profiles than HSU (note: I'm not making any judgements about who would in a game between 2021 HSU and 2021 BSC or 2021 RMC). 

There's a lot left to play, but it's hard to see where there is another conference runner up in Region 6 that would be ranked ahead of UWL.  They'll be on the board early, which we know is half the game.

St. John's potentially?