Atlantic Central Football Conference/Independents

[Teamski]

I think that is a fair estimation.  I think it gets quiet on the boards because once people make their opinions known, anything after that has a chance to devolve into a flaming war.  We're talking about fans, you know!   
I agree that if Wesley keeps it clean, they should come out on top.  Dress warm!

-Ski

[Raider 68]

awful quiet in here.  big game this weekend and no chatter.  pawesleyfan, where have you gone?  hope your hip and back are better so you can make the game this week.

as for the game, time to break it down.  strong o, mostly run against strong d against both, advantage wesley.  balanced o against a strong d which has to guess what is going to happen.  advantage wesley.  i venture to guess that umhb has not palyed against a defense like the one they will see this weekend nor against an offense as balanced as this one.  special teams probably goes to umhb based on stats.  weather has to favor wesley, doesnt get this cold in texas.  the wind will be in the 10 - 20 range, annoying again.  in the end, d wins games and wesley has a very good ones.  keep it clean with no turnovers or bad penalties and wesley wins this one, 27 - 13.  see you on saturday.

wesleydad,

Your analysis is close and the game will be as well. MHB is a run first team, so the weather would impact them more if passing was their first option. A turnover and a special teams key play will keep this close. That said, Wesley wins 21-14. 

[bill]

Are any of these guys important for Wesley?

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20101202/NEWS01/101202015/Football-players-charged-in-burglaries-of-Wesley-dorms

Oh boy....

[Ralph Turner]

Are any of these guys important for Wesley?

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20101202/NEWS01/101202015/Football-players-charged-in-burglaries-of-Wesley-dorms

Oh boy....

I see none of those names on the Wesley roster.

http://athletics.wesley.edu/sports/fball/2010-11/roster

[Toby Taff]

Please do not let stats sway you too much.  If you read the article about the game by Jason you know that giving up the big scores and yards came early in the season.  if you go to the ASC board and read preseason posts from me you will see that before the season started I called the slow start (even saying that McM had a good shot at beating UMHB because the Cru historically starts slow and McM's offense is really that good).  That said, I'd assess the game this way:

Cru D is big and fast to negate the running game and the DBs are well tested against some of the statistically best passing offenses in the country.  If Wesley's large O-line can keep UMHB's D out of the backfield advantage Wesley.  If the Cru D is harassing the QB advantage UMHB. As for haven't seen as balanced an offense, HSU plays a very balanced game, has comparable size and speed, and UMHB plays them every year.  Special teams has always been a priority for the Cru so advantage UMHB.  Weather won't be that big of a deal.  It does get cold in Texas (ask North Carolina Wesleyan); it's usually windy in Texas; and the Cru will likely rush the ball 60+ times minimizing the weather's effect.  I haven't seen the Wesley D, but believe it to be as it has been in the past, very good.  They will see an offense they have seen before with a new wrinkle.  Bailey is not just an option QB.  He can run the ball; he will pitch the ball (unlike last year), and he can throw the ball (see the 60 yd pass on the D3football.com plays of the week page for evidence).  So I'll give several options.  

If the UMHB O and D lines are winning in the trenches Cru wins by 10 or more
If UMHB D is playing well but the Offense looks pedestrian it's a pick'em low scoring game that special teams decides (advantage Cru but you never know)
If Wesley is winning in the trenches Wesley wins, but I have a hard time putting a score to it

I'm going to assume that both teams have some success on O and D and think this will be a middle of the road scoring close game  31-24 UMHB

[Pat Coleman]

Are any of these guys important for Wesley?

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20101202/NEWS01/101202015/Football-players-charged-in-burglaries-of-Wesley-dorms

Oh boy....

I see none of those names on the Wesley roster.

http://athletics.wesley.edu/sports/fball/2010-11/roster

Because they have since been removed.

[Kelly Boggs]

Ditto, Toby. Excellent analysis! (Which I have come to expect.)

IMO the game is too close to call. As Toby articulated, the game could go either way. It will probably come down to a turnover here or a penalty there, perhaps a busted pass coverage or spectacular special teams play - who knows. The oblong ball can bounce in mysterious ways.

As I said on the ASC board, I have seen UMHB twice: against Louisiana College (where my son plays) and against Thomas More. This is the most dangerous passing game I have ever seen the CRU put on the field. The UMHB ability to pass the ball efficiently was the difference in the LC game.

The CRU's new found ability to pass the ball effectively and efficiently definitely adds another dimension to the game. It should be in interesting and entertaining game in Dover tomorrow.   

Go CRU!

[Ralph Turner]

Are any of these guys important for Wesley?

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20101202/NEWS01/101202015/Football-players-charged-in-burglaries-of-Wesley-dorms

Oh boy....

I see none of those names on the Wesley roster.

http://athletics.wesley.edu/sports/fball/2010-11/roster

Because they have since been removed.

Thanks, Pat.

As for contributions, I do not see their names in the season's cumulative statistics...

http://athletics.wesley.edu/sports/fball/2010-11/files/teamcume.htm

[crufootball]

I am not sure why they are not listed in the cumulative statistics considering they were all listed in the 2-deep on UMHB's game notes and had stats from previous games if you look at specific games.

[wesleydad]

i recognize 2 names, strickland and fowlkes.  strickland may hurt a little, the other 3 will have no effect imo.

[Pat Coleman]

Are any of these guys important for Wesley?

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20101202/NEWS01/101202015/Football-players-charged-in-burglaries-of-Wesley-dorms

Oh boy....

I see none of those names on the Wesley roster.

http://athletics.wesley.edu/sports/fball/2010-11/roster

Because they have since been removed.

Thanks, Pat.

As for contributions, I do not see their names in the season's cumulative statistics...

http://athletics.wesley.edu/sports/fball/2010-11/files/teamcume.htm

They have also since been removed.

Here's the intel I got:

Douglas was doing a decent job replacing McAndrew at tight end. The kid behind him can't catch but is a hell of a blocker. Two tight end sets go out the window.

Fowlkes rotated in at receiver and made some plays, three TDs in the past couple weeks.

Strickland played in nickle situations and Baker only got a few snaps a game on the d-line. Hurts their depth for sure.

[wesleydad]

Pat, i think wesley will have the ability to go 2 tight end sets with the athletes they have available.  they may not throw to the tight end, but i am sure if the cru decides not to cover them, they will see the ball.  catching it will be a different story.

[Bob.Gregg]

I believe ALL four were on the Wesley 2-deep prior to the events chronicled in the story....

Names removed from roster.  Individual stats removed.....

Credit to Wesley. 
Far too many places say "They haven't been convicted.  They are eligible."
Wesley, apparently, said  "You have been charged.  Your football playing PRIVILEGES have been revoked."

[wesleydad]

bob, that has always been the way drass has handled situations unless something comes up that proves the charges false.  a team member last year had a situation and they were removed from the team, but reinstated when the details turned out to be false.  drass runs a pretty tight ship when it comes to that kind of stuff.

[Teamski]

It's real sad to see this happen.  However, I don't think it will have an adverse affect on the team.  Luckily, Wesley has the depth to handle such events and you know Drass and Knapp will be keeping the team focused on what is important at the moment.  Its not like Wesley hasn't had to recover from adversity this year.  There are players eager to step up and get noticed.

-Ski