FB: American Southwest Conference

[proudmcmdad]

Huge win for McM this week.  Matches wins for last season.  It appears from the box score (sorry, 1st game I have missed in 3 and 1/2 years) that McM fixed problems that they had in their special teams play.
Defense really stepped up.  And Sellers is going to remind a lot of people of Adam King from HPU before it is all over.
McM will have to fix # of penalties if we are going to beat TLU this week, the competition gets a lot better this week.  Hope TLU has gotten a little beat up from their 1st 2 opponents.

Let's see with Trinity beating AC by 11 pts and TLU by 12 pts, and then McM beating AC by 27 pts, does that mean McM is favored by 28 pts over TLU. .

Any McM player that believes that needs to get smacked in the head, but it should mean that they can compete with them and beat them if they play like they are capable.

[Josh Bowerman]

Yes, lots of penalties yesterday in the HSU/LC game.  Probably over half of the flags were thrown by the line judge patrolling the LC side of the field.  He was an equal-opportunity flagger, but he was also uniformly bad.  Game lasted about an hour longer than it needed to because of all the ticky-tack penalties this guy "saw".

[Ron Boerger]

[...] Sellers is going to remind a lot of people of Adam King from HPU before it is all over.

Hmm, not so sure about that comparison, at least based on what I saw on Saturday.  Sellers had some trouble finding open receivers against AC.  He was able to elude the slower AC defenders and get a lot of yards on the ground, but the question I have is whether or not he will be able to do the same against faster, bigger, more talented teams. 

AC (at least in the first half, which was all we were able to see) was also getting a lot of pressure on Sellers, and again you wonder what will happen when McM faces the UMHBs and HSUs of the conference.

All that said ... no doubt McMurry is playing with much more confidence (and more talent) and is headed the right direction.  Just don't know if I would use one game against the team which may end up at the bottom of the ASC standings (esp. if Womack's injury yesterday continues to be a problem) as a measuring stick.   .500 is realistic for McM this year, tho. 

[Josh Bowerman]

My personal impressions of the McM/AC game yesterday:

McM
Ty Sellers is a fantastic athlete at the quarterback position, but still need to get game experience.  While fast and shifty, Sellers seemed to try to do too much at certain points, and had a tendency to get happy feet, even when the pressure from the AC defense wasn't as heavy.  Wide receivers have good hands and decent speed.  The running back didn't get enough carries to be as effective as possible. 

Defensively, the Indians have decent size and quickness, and have a couple of players that can make an impact on a game.  Todd Ritchie and Colby Witt both made big plays. 

Kicking game may be a bit shaky;  punters didn't look good in warm-ups, but performed adequately during game.  Coverage was pretty good.

Overall, the team was bigger and faster than recent editions.  They played with more emotion and intensity than the last couple of years, as well.  From what I saw, the McM rebuilding project may be ahead of schedule.   I don't think the Tribe will challenge UMHB or HSU this year, but if they play well, next week could be close.  Fourth place and a 7-3 season might not be that unrealistic.

AC
Defensively, the 'Roos looked all right.  Sure, they gave up 33 points, but the offense did its part to put the defensive unit at a disadvantage on a couple of occaisions.  The defense looked to have decent team speed and size.

Offensively, the 'Roos are in for a long year.  Yes, it was that bad.  64 yards in total offense just won't get it done.  If Womack is hurt badly and the rest of the unit doesn't gel quickly, the 'Roos may go 0-10 this year.

[Josh Bowerman]

My personal impressions of the HSU/LC game:

HSU
Offensively, I think the line looked really, really good--especially for replacing so many starters.  Neal being hurt doesn't help the cause, but the intangeables he brings to the huddle may be the biggest loss.  IMO, there's not much of a drop-off talent-wise from Neal to Bernhard, and Bernhard did an excellent job spreading the ball around.  WR's are bigger than average, and have decent speed and good hands.  At the RB position, both Jones and Ashley have really good speed, and Clark reminded me a lot of Lance Moore, just a bit shorter.

Defensively, the Cowboy's secondary is pretty good.  Surratt is going to be as good as Alex Hansen with a bit more game experience, and Will Galusha is as good as advertised.  LB Daniels is quite possibly the biggest and fastest LB HSU has ever had, and Anthony Thomas really has a nose for the ball.  DL taller than in the past with decent speed.  If I had one wish for the unit, I'd have liked to have seen more pressure from the front four on the QB.  As always, the Cowboys defensive unit shuffles players in and out frequently.

Special teams coverage was pretty good, and the kicking game seemed to be clicking. 

Overall, I have to think that this HSU team has the ingredients to win the conference again.  Of course, the 10/22 game vs. UMHB looms large, but the Cowboys have the players to go deep--if they play up to their potential every week and can get by the Crusaders.

LC
I'm somewhat surprised by the entire LC team.  They have decent team speed and athletic ability, and good size on the offense and most of the defense (secondary is a bit undersized, but not much).  Wesley Cooper has a good arm and is pretty accurate, and the OL neutralized the HSU pass rush well.  Maxie can gain yards in bunches outside of the tackles, but isn't as effective on the inside game.  WR's don't have the best hands, and that contributed directly to at least two of Cooper's INT's.

Mostly, though, I'm surprised that a fairly good looking team wasn't able to get it going.  The 'Cats moved the ball effectively at times between the 20's, but always stalled somewhere along the way.  If they play to their potential, they could challenge McM, ETBU and HPU for fourth in the conference, but I don't see them beating UMHB or TLU--though stranger things have happened.

All in all, a great day of DIII college football--which is a lot better than a lot of things!  Thanks to Patrick Stewart and Chad Grubbs for their help at the games, and thanks to Pat and Ryan Coleman for tolerating Ron and I.  Speaking of Ron...Ron, your hat is touring Houston as I type this, but if you'll PM me your mailing address, I can get it back to you. 

[reccespynav]

ETBU Faithful -
Can you use another fan?
I am a MUC Purple Raider transplant.  I have been reassigned from Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana (just across the Red River, in Bossier City, from Shreveport LA...yeah, you know where it is at).  It appears that ETBU is my best bet (geographically speaking) to enjoy D3 football for the next couple of seasons.
Looking at your schedule, the games (teams) that I would want to see (the "Hardin" sisters) are "Away" games this year for you.  Given what is left, at home, what games do you consider I try to come over and see?  TLU???  (I lived in San Antonio when TLU did not have football...'91-'97...however, I saw some great high school football games coached by one of their great alumnus at Converse Judson.)
Drop me an e-mail with your recommendations.  When we show up, me and the wife we will be easy to spot...we will be wearing purple!
Cheers! 

[Toby Taff]

  It appears that ETBU is my best bet (geographically speaking) to enjoy D3 football for the next couple of seasons.

reccespynav,

Shreveport Bossier City is not too far to drive to watch HSU or MHB.  It may be too far for an every weekend trip, but HSU is only about 6 hrs, probably about the same to Belton.  Or if you want a peak at MHB, travel to pineville, LA next weekend (about 120 miles from Shreveport) and catch the MHB/LC game.  Either way, welcome to the ASC temporarily, hope to see you around the board

[Ralph Turner]

reccespynav, welcome to the ASC!  We are really glad to have you.  Zipping down I-49 to Pineville would be a good trip!  The UMHB fans would surely return some "Alliance style" hospitality to a member of the Armed Forces!  (Fort Hood is only 20 minutes away from Belton!)  The TLU game will be good.  TLU QB Sean Salinas is a very good QB!

Feel free to pontificate!  Glad to have you!

[Josh Bowerman]

Test post.

[Josh Bowerman]

Cool--it worked!  I may not be as html-illiterate as I thought!   

[Ralph Turner]

Congratulations to ASC Players of the Week!

McM's QB Ty Sellers and K Kirk McGinty

ETBU's LB Micah Huckaby

[baddog]

My memory may be incorrect, but aren't McM, Miss. Coll., and LC the only teams in the conference with new coaching staffs this year? (SRSU's coach is in his second year, I think.)
Anyway, I would be interested to hear from the fans at those schools. Two games into the season -- beyond the W-L records -- what differences, if any, do you see in your teams as opposed to last year or previous years?

[dballa]

HPU has a new coaching staff as well.

[Spirit_of_66]

dballa,

Did Gibson see the writing on the wall and decide to go to Frisco, or was it all about the money?

You guys are moving the ball, but something is amiss. The Jacket D is a thing of the past. What I worry is that when you play UMHB or HSU that the score could get out of hand.

I just wonder if Redwine is the answer. How do you bring in that many out of state assistant coaches? Are these guys going to recruit Texas? That is hard to do, when you do not know the area.

This is just my opinion, but HPU's storied tradition could be going downhill.

[dballa]

HPU has some Texas coaches on the staff so they won't be that worried about recruiting in Texas.  But they definitely will be recruiting outside of the state which can never hurt.  If you look at what the environment was while Gibson was at HPU and what it looks like now in the locker room and around the campus, I don't think anybody misses it.  Everybody is upbeat and excited about what Coach Redwine can bring to the program.   They did move the ball very well, against ETBU the opening kickoff and a turnover resulting in a touchdown did HPU in.  Other than that in every other category they dominated ETBU.  They also moved the ball very well against LaCrosse once the guys got their opening game jitters out.  Playing a nationally ranked experienced program for your opening game when they've already played one is a very difficult task.  Look them to improve on every game and don't expect to see the same scores against HSU and UMHB this year.