Atlantic Central Football Conference/Independents

[PA_wesleyfan]

Pumkinattack

Wesley hasn't complained about the 100 player rule in the NJAC. I don't think most of the Wesley fans realize how much those extra players add to the college coffers. Rowan certainly looked like they had every bit of 100 players on their sidelines yesterday. I don't know how JV teams are figured into the numbers in the NJAC. I do know that they have another Capitol Conf. team playing in conference next year!

[thewaterboy]

Youth definitely showed here. Team still needs time to grow although there are flashes of brilliance. I still think Wesley is a worthy pool B candidate. No other team really surprises me. Wesley will still have wins over 2 potential conference winners, a very high SOS (higher than other pool B'ers), and if they are able to win out, a win over D1-FCS Charlotte will look good even though it will not technically be considered.

Headed out to Dover next weekend. Hope to see everyone there.

[wdelsean]

jknezek, Alfred State is still provisional Division III, so Wesley's Primary Criteria is actually complete at 4-2.  The good news for Wesley is their SOS won't take a hit with that Alfred State game.  Hard to believe as conference members go towards the .500 mean that Wesley's SOS would drop out of the Top 3.

I'm pretty much with you on the breakdown on what's to come.  I think Wesley vs. WashU could be an interesting comparison in the end.  I'd pay more attention to the strength of wins than looking at the losses.

Assuming WashU wins out the wins would be...

Wesley:  Widener, Huntingdon, Birmingham-Southern, Salisbury
WashU:  Rhodes, Centre, Berry, Hendrix, Carnagie Mellon, Case Western Reserve, Chicago

How many of those 11 teams end up regionally ranked could be the difference between very similar SOS's (Wesley 2, WashU 10 as of this typing) and two losses each.  We'll know a lot more after that Millsaps/Centre/Rhodes Round-Robin.  Centre's win over WashU could also end up being extremely valuable by the end, too.

This much is for sure... Wesley has 4 weeks where they can do extremely little to help their own case  (besides winning out and beating a I-AA team, which I still have a hard time didn't matter when putting them a seed ahead of Linfield when they beat Charleston Southern). 

[DE Wesley Fan]

Did any of the Wesley posters actually make it to the game?  I would be interested in hearing how it looked as it played out.  I didn't go because I made my annual trek to Bridgewater to see some friends.  I made the trip figuring that this would not be a good game thinking that if Morrisville can score 40 so would Wesley.  Sounds like too many mistakes.  The pick 6 is a real killer.

Yes, we were there.  Really just a replay of the same mistakes and issues we've seen all year.  Wesley had several chances to score touchdowns but just couldn't make it happen, and had too many 3 and outs.  I still really like Callahan, but some of his throws continue to be off and he has to make better decisions to prevent the interceptions.  Love his scrappiness and ability to run the ball when necessary though.  Offensive line was getting pushed around a bit, and we couldn't get much of a running game going.  However, I kind of felt like we gave up on the run with Jackson too soon and made ourselves too one dimensional.   

[thewaterboy]

Former Wesley QB Shane McSweeny signed with the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks of the IFL recently.

[pumkinattack]

Pumkinattack

Wesley hasn't complained about the 100 player rule in the NJAC. I don't think most of the Wesley fans realize how much those extra players add to the college coffers. Rowan certainly looked like they had every bit of 100 players on their sidelines yesterday. I don't know how JV teams are figured into the numbers in the NJAC. I do know that they have another Capitol Conf. team playing in conference next year!

I didn't suggest that anyone had, but was responding to the idea that an exception be made for them.  The NJAC does seem like the best fit, but I think if you guys join a conference it should be done on mutually agreeable terms.  There's already too many schools hooked up for convenience and to work within the framework of NCAA rules rather than conferences being made up schools that come together because they have common interests, relationships and goals.  It's happened in both the LL and E8 and it's been really crazy in d1 lacrosse, which I also follow closely w/Hobart.

I get the tuition factor, but I think it has more value for tuition dependent private schools than for appropriations dependent state schools, which is why I understand the roster limits the state school dominated conferences should prefer. 

I hope the CAC comes together soon and that's the right fit for you guys so you don't have to deal with your scheduling challenges too much longer.  Does seem like it sucks to not have a half dozen aligned or like minded regionally proximate schools that you can count on every year to fill the schedule.

[@d3jason]

Maybe the Liberty league well invite them in ...lol

[pumkinattack]

I consider the core LL as Hobart, Union, RPI, Roch and SLU (I know Roch had the split affiliation for a long time, but the relationship with Hobart dates back 100 years and geography is part of like minded goals IMO).  WPI and MMA have been around since inception and I like them, but they're not full members and Springfield is new (convenient if they perform over time as historically as a bump in overall strength, but it also supports WPI who's been kicked around the league since day one and could easily have eyes for the NE conferences where they might find more success).  I had hoped we would've taken in IC when they came knocking a couple of years ago, but we went another direction. 

To me, WPI & MMA are sort of like what my old southern wife's grandfather told me when we moved south a few years ago and I suggested that I might become a southerner soon.  He pats me on the back to know I was ok with him and says "Son, you're just a Damn Yankee now.  In 20 or 30yrs you can hope to be just a Yankee, but we still love you." 

Conferences are supposed to be about affiliation between schools that have common interests, goals, etc.  Not just convenience for getting an AQ in NCAA playoff systems.  I laugh at Sals and Frostburg being in the E8 because they have nothing in common with the rest of the E8 schools, but their grip on an AQ # of teams is more tenuous.  Such is the nature and consequences of putting this system in place.  I'm all for fair access, but I seriously doubt anyone has really looked at a cost benefit analysis of how the system has created in some ways more instability and in some instances chaos.  Wesley needs to find a mid-atlantic type conference and given that Rowan is practically Delaware, I see them there, in the ODAC (though I suspect the overall institutions may not find much in common w/Wesley), CAC if it happens, or possibly the MAC which gets over to Philly. 

[jknezek]

  Wesley needs to find a mid-atlantic type conference and given that Rowan is practically Delaware, I see them there, in the ODAC (though I suspect the overall institutions may not find much in common w/Wesley), CAC if it happens, or possibly the MAC which gets over to Philly.

Actually there are several schools in the ODAC with similar characteristics to Wesley. E&H, Guilford and Shenandoah, just at a quick glance, have higher acceptance rates. Wesley is a small liberal arts school, with a size that fits in general into the ODAC. One of the bigger problems (excluding football dominance) would simply be distance. The longest trips right now in the ODAC are Guilford to Catholic or Shenandoah. Wesley would add almost 90 minutes more travel time, pushing trips over the 6.5 hour mark.

The ODAC has always been a compact conference, and I doubt anyone has a desire to change that. Especially since the conference doesn't NEED Wesley. If looking just as a football adjunct, the ODAC has 8 members, one over the required limit, and already has a football only member in Catholic that the conference probably wouldn't cry about losing (although scheduling is easier with 8 than 7). In terms of Wesley joining as a full member, the ODAC is already incredibly large in a lot sports, especially women's sports. For example, women's soccer has 13 teams, making a ridiculous schedule.

So there is no upside to the ODAC to inviting Wesley, and there are several downsides, not even considering the issue of football dominance. Somehow I don't think "just being right neighborly and helping them out" is going to win any kind of argument.

Wesley's best chance is to get a football playing CAC. They simply need a few more football playing members.

[@d3jason]

  Wesley needs to find a mid-atlantic type conference and given that Rowan is practically Delaware, I see them there, in the ODAC (though I suspect the overall institutions may not find much in common w/Wesley), CAC if it happens, or possibly the MAC which gets over to Philly.

Actually there are several schools in the ODAC with similar characteristics to Wesley. E&H, Guilford and Shenandoah, just at a quick glance, have higher acceptance rates. Wesley is a small liberal arts school, with a size that fits in general into the ODAC. One of the bigger problems (excluding football dominance) would simply be distance. The longest trips right now in the ODAC are Guilford to Catholic or Shenandoah. Wesley would add almost 90 minutes more travel time, pushing trips over the 6.5 hour mark.
The ODAC has always been a compact conference, and I doubt anyone has a desire to change that. Especially since the conference doesn't NEED Wesley. If looking just as a football adjunct, the ODAC has 8 members, one over the required limit, and already has a football only member in Catholic that the conference probably wouldn't cry about losing (although scheduling is easier with 8 than 7). In terms of Wesley joining as a full member, the ODAC is already incredibly large in a lot sports, especially women's sports. For example, women's soccer has 13 teams, making a ridiculous schedule.

So there is no upside to the ODAC to inviting Wesley, and there are several downsides, not even considering the issue of football dominance. Somehow I don't think "just being right neighborly and helping them out" is going to win any kind of argument.

Wesley's best chance is to get a football playing CAC. They simply need a few more football playing members.

Six and half hours, that's nothing for the Wolverines. 

Agreed CAC is best chance. That chance isn't looking promising in the near future unfortunately. Salisbury seems perfectly happy to keep winning the E8 (Frostburg certainly doesn't miss playing the Wolverines and their admin really doesn't give the program much support any more from what I have heard..not a priority) and So Virginia seems happy to affiliate with the NJAC. CNU will stay an USAC South affiliate as long as they will keep them because they always have a shot at the title.

[Ralph Turner]

  Wesley needs to find a mid-atlantic type conference and given that Rowan is practically Delaware, I see them there, in the ODAC (though I suspect the overall institutions may not find much in common w/Wesley), CAC if it happens, or possibly the MAC which gets over to Philly.

Actually there are several schools in the ODAC with similar characteristics to Wesley. E&H, Guilford and Shenandoah, just at a quick glance, have higher acceptance rates. Wesley is a small liberal arts school, with a size that fits in general into the ODAC. One of the bigger problems (excluding football dominance) would simply be distance. The longest trips right now in the ODAC are Guilford to Catholic or Shenandoah. Wesley would add almost 90 minutes more travel time, pushing trips over the 6.5 hour mark.
The ODAC has always been a compact conference, and I doubt anyone has a desire to change that. Especially since the conference doesn't NEED Wesley. If looking just as a football adjunct, the ODAC has 8 members, one over the required limit, and already has a football only member in Catholic that the conference probably wouldn't cry about losing (although scheduling is easier with 8 than 7). In terms of Wesley joining as a full member, the ODAC is already incredibly large in a lot sports, especially women's sports. For example, women's soccer has 13 teams, making a ridiculous schedule.

So there is no upside to the ODAC to inviting Wesley, and there are several downsides, not even considering the issue of football dominance. Somehow I don't think "just being right neighborly and helping them out" is going to win any kind of argument.

Wesley's best chance is to get a football playing CAC. They simply need a few more football playing members.

Six and half hours, that's nothing for the Wolverines. 

Agreed CAC is best chance. That chance isn't looking promising in the near future unfortunately. Salisbury seems perfectly happy to keep winning the E8 (Frostburg certainly doesn't miss playing the Wolverines and their admin really doesn't give the program much support any more from what I have heard..not a priority) and So Virginia seems happy to affiliate with the NJAC. CNU will stay an USAC South affiliate as long as they will keep them because they always have a shot at the title.

And CNU is willing to drive to Huntingdon for games after this season.

[PA_wesleyfan]

 didn't Salisbury and Frostburg sign a two year deal with the E8? The timing of Wesleys slap on the wrist for the recruiting todo was right at the time of the E8 going after Sal and Fros. I don't know if Wesley was originally going to get an invite or not but that couldn't have helped

[Teamski]

Well, Wesley has Menlo tomorrow, a game I will definitely miss due to class....   Anyways, Wesley will have to rebound once again this year to get focused on the game.  I would expect nothing less.

-Ski

[Teamski]

Came back from doing fieldwork today to eagerly check the score out.  It looks like the defense carried the day once again.  181 offensive yards total...... The offense has a lot of work to do over the bye-week to get ready for a team like Charlotte.   A win is a win, though.

-Skji

[DE Wesley Fan]

It's been a long time since I've seen a Wesley team come out so flat, and with such a lack of focus.  The offensive line had another poor performance - lots of penalties to go along with poor blocking.  Anyone else thinking that perhaps we're just trying to be too fancy on offense, with the frequent wholesale substitutions and so many types of formations?  Perhaps going back to a few basics and trying to do them well would do us some good.  Ski is right that defense saved the day.   Was glad to see Duke back after his previous injury, and Luke Maginnis had a very solid game.

And a Wesley home game is just not the same without Uncle Frank.......