FB: American Southwest Conference

[Cowboy2]

Thx for being a class act! we are also... From  Linfield WildCats!

MHB 37
NC 15

I think the Cru will win.

I knew the Trinity game would be close. Results weren't what I wanted. In my opinion that still the hardest game they've faced all season, HSU included.

I thought the BSC game would be close due to their defense. 10-14 pt margin. I knew if they wouldn't be able to run then they would be blown out, which happened.

I called it right with a 2-3 scores against Linfield. I knew UMHB had the secondary to match up against their WRs. However it was the offense that bailed me out on that prediction.

I said they would be fine against UWW (got laughed for it). I'm biased to the quality of play in the quadrant UMHB went through this year. I feel UWW was a little hyped up due to their conference and the win over WLC.

Judging by by common opponents with the NCC and UWW wins over WLC, I think the stagg bowl has a chance  to be pretty darn close. North central will be very talented. But I think UMHBs defense will be better. Defense wins championships.

Outside of the Linfield game, the Crus D have given up just 10 pts all playoffs.

[umhb2001]

Thx for being a class act! we are also... From  Linfield WildCats!

MHB 37
NC 15

I think the Cru will win.

I knew the Trinity game would be close. Results weren't what I wanted. In my opinion that still the hardest game they've faced all season, HSU included.

I thought the BSC game would be close due to their defense. 10-14 pt margin. I knew if they wouldn't be able to run then they would be blown out, which happened.

I called it right with a 2-3 scores against Linfield. I knew UMHB had the secondary to match up against their WRs. However it was the offense that bailed me out on that prediction.

I said they would be fine against UWW (got laughed for it). I'm biased to the quality of play in the quadrant UMHB went through this year. I feel UWW was a little hyped up due to their conference and the win over WLC.

Judging by by common opponents with the NCC and UWW wins over WLC, I think the stagg bowl has a chance  to be pretty darn close. North central will be very talented. But I think UMHBs defense will be better. Defense wins championships.

Outside of the Linfield game, the Crus D have given up just 10 pts all playoffs.

Linfield was very talented and was lead by a senior at QB. I know this NCC team is good, but I do wonder about their freshman signal caller. He got a little banged up last week. It will be interesting to see his young, stellar play against our seasoned secondary.

[USee]

Lehnen might be the key to the game. But he is throwing to a veteran group of WR's that are every bit as good as MHB's. He doesn't read coverages as much as Rutter did in 2019 but he can spin it and they have some very sophisticated pass concepts that put a lot of pressure on the D while simplifying it for the QB. Coach Thorne is one of the best in the country at understanding defenses and designing a pass game to take advantage.

I really like the MHB secondary. They keep it simple and let those guys read and make plays. The LB's are fantastic at helping with deeper routes. I think check downs to the RB's for both sides will be a big part of the game plan.

[SW1]

Wanna know how the SOS and the RR in D3 is so busted? If UMHB would have lost that game to HSU, they would have had no RR wins and a SOS lower than HSU that got left out of the playoffs. Can you imagine this team sitting at home when in reality they are one of the 2 best teams in the country? They for sure need a new system of ranking these teams.

[Cowboy2]

Wanna know how the SOS and the RR in D3 is so busted? If UMHB would have lost that game to HSU, they would have had no RR wins and a SOS lower than HSU that got left out of the playoffs. Can you imagine this team sitting at home when in reality they are one of the 2 best teams in the country? They for sure need a new system of ranking these teams.

Pretty crazy to sit back and look at that way!^

Now I'm sure NCC will perform as advertised. They're a great program and currently the man to beat after winning the last stagg bowl. But to dig into what you said a little further, if UMHB wins big like last week, one could argue that the top teams this year were R3 teams. HSU and Trinity (TX) played them very close. Both teams at least had a chance to win. Then to take it a step further, Linfield put up some crazy offense against a defense that has only allowed 10pts to the rest of the field these playoffs (BSC had a return TD).

Again, I think NCC will do great. After looking back at UWW vs ULC and NCC vs ULC common scores, I feel confident UMHB will no disappoint. I'm hoping for a UMHB win, but if the CRU win big, we may have to reevaluate that upper left bracket. Linfield did beat a good STJ team. UMHB wasn't threatened for majority of that contest. And to think if they didn't bring down on of those Jump balls against HSU, they'd be at home watching this entire post season....mind boggling

[robertgoulet]

NCC game preview attached.

https://northcentralcardinals.com/documents/2021/12/15/fb_media_notes_121721.pdf


The missing O-line and captain LB are in the 2 deep, hopefully they're able to play. I would love for both teams to be fully healthy.

Couple of surprises to me when looking at the 2 deep:

MHB O-line is heavier than I expected.

NCC D is pretty similar in size to MHB (I expected MHB to be bigger, tbh, just based on watching the UWW game)

[USee]

Wanna know how the SOS and the RR in D3 is so busted? If UMHB would have lost that game to HSU, they would have had no RR wins and a SOS lower than HSU that got left out of the playoffs. Can you imagine this team sitting at home when in reality they are one of the 2 best teams in the country? They for sure need a new system of ranking these teams.

Pretty crazy to sit back and look at that way!^

Now I'm sure NCC will perform as advertised. They're a great program and currently the man to beat after winning the last stagg bowl. But to dig into what you said a little further, if UMHB wins big like last week, one could argue that the top teams this year were R3 teams. HSU and Trinity (TX) played them very close. Both teams at least had a chance to win. Then to take it a step further, Linfield put up some crazy offense against a defense that has only allowed 10pts to the rest of the field these playoffs (BSC had a return TD).

Again, I think NCC will do great. After looking back at UWW vs ULC and NCC vs ULC common scores, I feel confident UMHB will no disappoint. I'm hoping for a UMHB win, but if the CRU win big, we may have to reevaluate that upper left bracket. Linfield did beat a good STJ team. UMHB wasn't threatened for majority of that contest. And to think if they didn't bring down on of those Jump balls against HSU, they'd be at home watching this entire post season....mind boggling

What if NCC wins big? They only gave up 13 to UMU last week and the Raiders have an unbelievable WR group and have scored 40+ on everyone.

I tend to look at a teams toughest games and see if there is anything to learn. For MHB I wonder why they gave up 220 yds rushing to HSU, only scored 13 pts against Trinity and gave up 440 yds passing to Linfield. I also take note that they won all those games.

For NCC I look at their performance against Wheaton (with a dominant defensive front--limited Greenfield to 40 yds rushing) and LAX (scored 20 pts).

I wondered last week why UMU had given up 180 rush yds to Ohio Northern and was told by a few that it was because of a few backups that didn't play. NCC rushed for 200 yds.

I know both teams are going to try to expand on whatever they see in the film that other teams did and see if they can do it better. NCC is going to run the ball 40+ times against MHB and throw it around 15-25x if they can. That's what they do. And they are going to try and throw it deep when your db's try to help vs the run.

MHB is going to run the ball right at you 60-65% of the time and throw it to their monster WR's to get big plays. Both teams have the same gameplan. I am pretty sure both teams have seen opponents with enough talent that they won't be surprised by each other. It will come down to who can execute their game plan and exert their will against the other.

I can't wait.

[Etchglow]

Wanna know how the SOS and the RR in D3 is so busted? If UMHB would have lost that game to HSU, they would have had no RR wins and a SOS lower than HSU that got left out of the playoffs. Can you imagine this team sitting at home when in reality they are one of the 2 best teams in the country? They for sure need a new system of ranking these teams.

Pretty crazy to sit back and look at that way!^

Now I'm sure NCC will perform as advertised. They're a great program and currently the man to beat after winning the last stagg bowl. But to dig into what you said a little further, if UMHB wins big like last week, one could argue that the top teams this year were R3 teams. HSU and Trinity (TX) played them very close. Both teams at least had a chance to win. Then to take it a step further, Linfield put up some crazy offense against a defense that has only allowed 10pts to the rest of the field these playoffs (BSC had a return TD).

Again, I think NCC will do great. After looking back at UWW vs ULC and NCC vs ULC common scores, I feel confident UMHB will no disappoint. I'm hoping for a UMHB win, but if the CRU win big, we may have to reevaluate that upper left bracket. Linfield did beat a good STJ team. UMHB wasn't threatened for majority of that contest. And to think if they didn't bring down on of those Jump balls against HSU, they'd be at home watching this entire post season....mind boggling

What if NCC wins big? They only gave up 13 to UMU last week and the Raiders have an unbelievable WR group and have scored 40+ on everyone.

I tend to look at a teams toughest games and see if there is anything to learn. For MHB I wonder why they gave up 220 yds rushing to HSU, only scored 13 pts against Trinity and gave up 440 yds passing to Linfield. I also take note that they won all those games.

For NCC I look at their performance against Wheaton (with a dominant defensive front--limited Greenfield to 40 yds rushing) and LAX (scored 20 pts).

I wondered last week why UMU had given up 180 rush yds to Ohio Northern and was told by a few that it was because of a few backups that didn't play. NCC rushed for 200 yds.

I know both teams are going to try to expand on whatever they see in the film that other teams did and see if they can do it better. NCC is going to run the ball 40+ times against MHB and throw it around 15-25x if they can. That's what they do. And they are going to try and throw it deep when your db's try to help vs the run.

MHB is going to run the ball right at you 60-65% of the time and throw it to their monster WR's to get big plays. Both teams have the same gameplan. I am pretty sure both teams have seen opponents with enough talent that they won't be surprised by each other. It will come down to who can execute their game plan and exert their will against the other.

I can't wait.

Maybe I'm too much of a UMHB Homer and am looking too much into it... But, of those 220 yards rushing any guesses on how they broke down? 190+ in the first half. You can call it a poor game plan, lack of motivation, poor effort. But they came out in the second half and and pretty much shut down Hardin-Simmons.

In my opinion, the Trinity game was a combination of ultra conservative playoff Pete Fredenburg, and the #2 defense in division 3.

It'll be interesting to see how well we do against Greenfield. We did pretty good at stopping Alex Peete and Robert Shufford. Neither her of them are slouches.

Either way, it is going to be a great game and I can't wait until Friday night.

[USee]

I just looked it up. HSU had 220 yds rushing. 140 yds on 2 long runs in the first half and 80 yds the rest of the day. Greenfield isn't popping any 60+ runs.

Probably gonna look a lot more like the Wheaton game for NCC and the QB will have to make some plays.

Very intriguing matchup with the NCC Db's against MHB WR's. NCC shut down Ruby for UMU last week and have done well against some great WR talent.

I predict a low scoring game 21-17 kind of thing.

[CruFrenzy]

I just looked it up. HSU had 220 yds rushing. 140 yds on 2 long runs in the first half and 80 yds the rest of the day. Greenfield isn't popping any 60+ runs.

Probably gonna look a lot more like the Wheaton game for NCC and the QB will have to make some plays.

Very intriguing matchup with the NCC Db's against MHB WR's. NCC shut down Ruby for UMU last week and have done well against some great WR talent.

I predict a low scoring game 21-17 kind of thing.

I told my dad earlier in the week 24-23 Cru, but all the focus/attention on the UMHB front seven versus the NCC O Line and run game is certainly warranted. I think you even mentioned earlier this week if UMHB shuts down the run they'll win, that would be quite a feat if they can accomplish that, not going to be easy.

I do want to say though as much respect as I have for Wheaton I don't think they're on the same level as UMHB defense, close but not quite. I've heard that comp a lot this week...

[Etchglow]

I just looked it up. HSU had 220 yds rushing. 140 yds on 2 long runs in the first half and 80 yds the rest of the day. Greenfield isn't popping any 60+ runs.

Probably gonna look a lot more like the Wheaton game for NCC and the QB will have to make some plays.

Very intriguing matchup with the NCC Db's against MHB WR's. NCC shut down Ruby for UMU last week and have done well against some great WR talent.

I predict a low scoring game 21-17 kind of thing.

I'm pretty sure the Cru got a talking to about the longer of those two runs. Guy was in the middle of a scrum of several defenders and they just let up thinking he was down. He wasn't and shot off.

[kiko]

Wanna know how the SOS and the RR in D3 is so busted? If UMHB would have lost that game to HSU, they would have had no RR wins and a SOS lower than HSU that got left out of the playoffs. Can you imagine this team sitting at home when in reality they are one of the 2 best teams in the country? They for sure need a new system of ranking these teams.

I don't know what the new system would look like, but to further this point, by all accounts North Central was the last team in the field before running the table in 2019.

[USee]

Crufrenzy, have you seen the Wheaton defensive front? Coach Thorne made the comparison this week. If your front does better than the Thunder did against the NCC run game you guys will win easy.

[Cowboy2]

Wanna know how the SOS and the RR in D3 is so busted? If UMHB would have lost that game to HSU, they would have had no RR wins and a SOS lower than HSU that got left out of the playoffs. Can you imagine this team sitting at home when in reality they are one of the 2 best teams in the country? They for sure need a new system of ranking these teams.

Pretty crazy to sit back and look at that way!^

Now I'm sure NCC will perform as advertised. They're a great program and currently the man to beat after winning the last stagg bowl. But to dig into what you said a little further, if UMHB wins big like last week, one could argue that the top teams this year were R3 teams. HSU and Trinity (TX) played them very close. Both teams at least had a chance to win. Then to take it a step further, Linfield put up some crazy offense against a defense that has only allowed 10pts to the rest of the field these playoffs (BSC had a return TD).

Again, I think NCC will do great. After looking back at UWW vs ULC and NCC vs ULC common scores, I feel confident UMHB will no disappoint. I'm hoping for a UMHB win, but if the CRU win big, we may have to reevaluate that upper left bracket. Linfield did beat a good STJ team. UMHB wasn't threatened for majority of that contest. And to think if they didn't bring down on of those Jump balls against HSU, they'd be at home watching this entire post season....mind boggling

What if NCC wins big? They only gave up 13 to UMU last week and the Raiders have an unbelievable WR group and have scored 40+ on everyone.

I tend to look at a teams toughest games and see if there is anything to learn. For MHB I wonder why they gave up 220 yds rushing to HSU, only scored 13 pts against Trinity and gave up 440 yds passing to Linfield. I also take note that they won all those games.

For NCC I look at their performance against Wheaton (with a dominant defensive front--limited Greenfield to 40 yds rushing) and LAX (scored 20 pts).

I wondered last week why UMU had given up 180 rush yds to Ohio Northern and was told by a few that it was because of a few backups that didn't play. NCC rushed for 200 yds.

I know both teams are going to try to expand on whatever they see in the film that other teams did and see if they can do it better. NCC is going to run the ball 40+ times against MHB and throw it around 15-25x if they can. That's what they do. And they are going to try and throw it deep when your db's try to help vs the run.

MHB is going to run the ball right at you 60-65% of the time and throw it to their monster WR's to get big plays. Both teams have the same gameplan. I am pretty sure both teams have seen opponents with enough talent that they won't be surprised by each other. It will come down to who can execute their game plan and exert their will against the other.

I can't wait.

Maybe I'm too much of a UMHB Homer and am looking too much into it... But, of those 220 yards rushing any guesses on how they broke down? 190+ in the first half. You can call it a poor game plan, lack of motivation, poor effort. But they came out in the second half and and pretty much shut down Hardin-Simmons.

In my opinion, the Trinity game was a combination of ultra conservative playoff Pete Fredenburg, and the #2 defense in division 3.

It'll be interesting to see how well we do against Greenfield. We did pretty good at stopping Alex Peete and Robert Shufford. Neither her of them are slouches.

Either way, it is going to be a great game and I can't wait until Friday night.

Maybe NCC will win big!!  Who knows. That's the beauty of this weekend. I hope it's a close game for all the kids and viewers. I hope everyone is healthy as well and enjoy the stage that they made it to. What an awesome accomplishment in itself. As for NCC,  I only saw some of the Wheaton game and then the Millikan game this year.

But back to the original post and my response about R3 teams...HSU obviously knows UMHB very well. Their RB is electric too. They match up well against the CRU. They play each other each year. HSU was the old top dawg before UMHB took over. But when UMHB got momentum the flood gates opened.

Trinity has always been good, but have not fielded a team that strong since their last stagg bowl appearance. They've rebuilt a lot of their athletics from letting them fall by the wayside with the past presidents. As for this years team,  Most of them only played the first half of the game this season. They're young. However, that defense was amazing. IMO they could have should have would have etc been 1st defensively but valued reps for the younger players.

*also as noted above, stopping Alex Peete and Robert Shufford should give a good idea of how the run game will go. Those two are amazing, but only as good as the line and a threat of a passing game allows them to be.

The matchup of the game will be NCCs WRs vs the CRUs secondary.

The winner of that wins the game. I'll take UMHB since I'm partial to TX teams.

[USee]

The Cru's effort against UWW and Peete was noteworthy. I watched that game very closely. The difference I have noted already is that UWW's blocking scheme is all zone blocking and they are good at it. Penetration and athleticism hurts a zone scheme and MHB did a great job limiting the Warhawk run game. NCC is much more of a man blocking scheme. They will double the DT or DE and pull the opposite guard and/or tackle. They look to displace DL with double teams and get up to the LB Level. Athleticism doesn't usually stop that type of scheme. You have to be really strong and explosive against NCC's front because its all about defeating blocks and making tackles. It's gonna be a war.

As for comparing the MHB front and the Wheaton front, we'll see how you guys do and talk after. I am sure your front is comparable to Wheaton's, not sure how anyone can say they are better. If that's the case, you will have no trouble with NCC.