Atlantic Central Football Conference/Independents

[wesleydad]

well wesley fans, this is what i get from the championship game.  there is a pretty big gap from the top 2 to the next 5 which wesley is in.  UWWW dominated the lines from mount which wesley could not handle at all.  the coaching is also at a different level as both teams made adjustments that changed the flow of the game.  wesley may be able to compete with both teams on any given saturday, but as things are now they would only win maybe 1 out of 10.  no slap against wesley but these teams are just at another level.

everyone have a great holiday season and we get to start this all up again in 8 months.  wesley will be a top 5 team again and hopefully they learned something this year that will allow them to take another step closer to the top 2 in D3.

[Teamski]

I'm happy you made it home OK.  It was quite the game, wasn't it.  You can definately see the execution.

-Ski

[wesleydad]

yea, made it home allright, 11 hours to make the 6 hour trip.

[wesleydad]

merry christmas and happy new year to all you wesley fans.

[thewaterboy]

well wesley fans, this is what i get from the championship game.  there is a pretty big gap from the top 2 to the next 5 which wesley is in.  UWWW dominated the lines from mount which wesley could not handle at all.  the coaching is also at a different level as both teams made adjustments that changed the flow of the game.  wesley may be able to compete with both teams on any given saturday, but as things are now they would only win maybe 1 out of 10.  no slap against wesley but these teams are just at another level.

everyone have a  holiday season and we get to start this all up again in 8 months.  wesley will be a top 5 team again and hopefully they learned something this year that will allow them to take another step closer to the top 2 in D3.

Merry Christmas!

One more thing about Wesley compared to Whitewater and Mount. I personally think that the coaches are just as good at Wesley as they are at those other schools. Whitewaters enrollment is nearly 9000. Wesleys is about 2000. It helps when you have that many potential players to choose from. It gives you an advantage over schools like Wesley. Mount doesn't give scholarships but they do give grants, or something. I don't know if other schools do that but some athletes go free there. I am not detracting from the coaches at Mount and Whitewater but I believe Wesleys coaches are just as good. As coaches they try to do the most with the talent that they are given. Both schools most likely had more talent than Wesley. Thus the defeat in Alliance, that and the Wolverines did not play their best game. The coaches call the plays and it is the players job to execute. Just wanted to say something before we start talking about next season

happy holidays!  

[Ralph Turner]

Merry Christmas!

One more thing about Wesley compared to Whitewater and Mount. I personally think that the coaches are just as good at Wesley as they are at those other schools. Whitewaters enrollment is nearly 9000. Wesleys is about 2000. It helps when you have that many potential players to choose from. It gives you an advantage over schools like Wesley. Mount doesn't give scholarships but they do give grants, or something. I don't know if other schools do that but some athletes go free there. I am not detracting from the coaches at Mount and Whitewater but I believe Wesleys coaches are just as good. As coaches they try to do the most with the talent that they are given. Both schools most likely had more talent than Wesley. Thus the defeat in Alliance, that and the Wolverines did not play their best game. The coaches call the plays and it is the players job to execute. Just wanted to say something before we start talking about next season

happy holidays!  

Whitewater and the WIAC have a 100-player roster limit.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Merry Christmas!

One more thing about Wesley compared to Whitewater and Mount. I personally think that the coaches are just as good at Wesley as they are at those other schools. Whitewaters enrollment is nearly 9000. Wesleys is about 2000. It helps when you have that many potential players to choose from. It gives you an advantage over schools like Wesley. Mount doesn't give scholarships but they do give grants, or something. I don't know if other schools do that but some athletes go free there. I am not detracting from the coaches at Mount and Whitewater but I believe Wesleys coaches are just as good. As coaches they try to do the most with the talent that they are given. Both schools most likely had more talent than Wesley. Thus the defeat in Alliance, that and the Wolverines did not play their best game. The coaches call the plays and it is the players job to execute. Just wanted to say something before we start talking about next season

happy holidays!  

Don't know for sure, but I would venture to bet that Wesley has "grants" for their students also, as do a majority of the private schools in DIII.

EDIT:
From the Wesley College Website:

Wesley College participates in Federal and state financial aid programs.  The College also offers a number of institutional grants and scholarships to eligible applicants.  To find out if you qualify, visit our Financial Aid Calculator.

Most forms of financial aid can be divided into two categories: Federal and institutional, although there are others (see below). Typically, grants and scholarships do not need to be repaid by the applicant...

[Pat Coleman]

Whitewaters enrollment is nearly 9000. Wesleys is about 2000. It helps when you have that many potential players to choose from.

This isn't high school. Kids on the football team are at Whitewater because they were recruited to Whitewater, not because coaches hung signs up in the dorms and held an open tryout.

[thewaterboy]

School can recruit and i realize that but some D3 schools do have tryouts. All I am saying is that when you have more students willing to go tryout for a sport you tend to have more talent to choose from. I think that when you have a significantly higher enrollment than your opposition you have an advantage. Because people will try to walk on at every school and at every sport. So with a higher enrollment, the more potential players (walk ons etc) you have, thus giving you more potential talent than a school with a smaller enrollment. And walk ons do make a difference. That's just what I believe though

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

School can recruit and i realize that but some D3 schools do have tryouts. All I am saying is that when you have more students willing to go tryout for a sport you tend to have more talent to choose from. I think that when you have a significantly higher enrollment than your opposition you have an advantage. Because people will try to walk on at every school and at every sport. So with a higher enrollment, the more potential players (walk ons etc) you have, thus giving you more potential talent than a school with a smaller enrollment. And walk ons do make a difference. That's just what I believe though

I doubt that is a contributing factor at UWW.  I would say that their success has probably lessened the number of Walk-Ons that they have.  If someone is going to walk on, they surely hope to earn some playing time.  And if they weren't recruited, they would probably walk on at a lower-profile school, specifically one that doesn't have roster limits, to increase their chances of making the team and not getting cut.

Keep throwing theories out there though, because there are many days till the beginning of next season and not much to talk about.

[Pat Coleman]

School can recruit and i realize that but some D3 schools do have tryouts. All I am saying is that when you have more students willing to go tryout for a sport you tend to have more talent to choose from. I think that when you have a significantly higher enrollment than your opposition you have an advantage. Because people will try to walk on at every school and at every sport. So with a higher enrollment, the more potential players (walk ons etc) you have, thus giving you more potential talent than a school with a smaller enrollment. And walk ons do make a difference. That's just what I believe though

That's three leaps of faith that you are taking there, each relying on the previous one. Too many assumptions without any facts.

What coach is going to take a chance on a kid they haven't seen any tape on and haven't recruited, who doesn't even start camp until orientation begins, a week and a half or so after everyone else has, when you only have 100 roster spots?

This isn't the way intercollegiate athletics works.

[wesleydad]

waterboy, i like your enthusiasm for wesley, but one thing for sure is that the coaching is not on the same level.  after talking to numerous mount fans after the game, many felt that wesley had as much or more talent on the field.  what was the difference, one coach changed his stagnant offense, helped having shorts on the field, the other one did not.  after watching wesley with some extremely talented teams the last 6 years that seems to be the recurring theme when they get beat.  there was an improvement this year in that the defense stepped up and did not allow it to become a blowout.  the offense was stagnant the last 2 games, weather having something to do with the hopkins game.  both hopkins and mount took away what wesley did well and there was no change in the game plan.  as far as the student totals, surely 9000 is > 2000 so it would seem that UWWW has more potential players, but the unlimited roster vs. the 100 man likely negates that.  wesley is one of the top programs in d3, just not one of the top 2.  have a happy holiday season.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

So Wesley has no roster limits, is a Private-Methodist College who gives grants and has an enrollment around 2,300.

Mount Union has no roster limits, is a Private-Methodist College who gives grants and has an enrollment around 2,300.

What is the difference then thewaterboy?

[thewaterboy]

Pat
I understand what you're trying to say but walk ons really do matter and coaches can take chances on those kinds of players. Take LB Cody Grimm for example. He walked on at Virginia Tech. He led the nation in forced fumbles. All I am saying is that more enrollment CAN cause more walk ons, and the more walk ons you have the better the odds at getting that impact player. So,I have the theory that enrollment matters and i'm going to stick to it.
Wesleydad
I agree that Wesley did have more talent than Mount but some of that talent did not execute. Mcsweeny made some very very bad passes. Also, I heard from a reliable source that the tapes that were given had the opposing team running different offenses than that of Wesley which runs primarily with a TE in the package. That made it hard for Wesley to determine what to run on offense. With Shorts in the wildcat, I guess it was a play Wesley had not seen before with Shorts lined up at QB. So, I think if the coaches aren't as good as those from Mount and UWW they aren't far behind.
Kirasdad
I simply stated that Mount gave grants and I wasn't sure if it was something other d3 schools did. I don't really understand what you are asking me.   

[Pat Coleman]

Walk-ons at scholarship schools -- like everything -- are a different animal, and I'm sure you know that.

Also, I heard from a reliable source that the tapes that were given had the opposing team running different offenses than that of Wesley which runs primarily with a TE in the package.

I don't really know what you're getting at here, but so you know, the game videos which are exchanged between playoff opponents are determined by NCAA rule. There's no latitude for the schools to game the system by picking and choosing.