FB: American Southwest Conference

[Toby Taff]

Feel terrible for the player that dropped that probable game winning touchdown.  That's one that I don't think you'll ever shake off.

I hope he does. Dude was a freshman RB I'm not sure had caught a pass all season. I didn't know who he was

just watched the last series up to the dropped pass. that has to be gut wrenching if your the one who drops that pass. the ball was on the money and he just let it get through him.

[cover2]

Looking at the season stats, you're exactly right, no receptions this year.  Only had 11 carries all year too.  Tough spot for a youngster but hopefully this makes him stronger.

[HSCTiger fan]

UMHB had 4 huge mistakes on that series of downs - the penalty, and the dropped pass, but the biggest 2 mistakes were by the UMHB coach. He allowed a freshman with ZERO catches for the year to be the go to guy on the most important play of the year and he decided to kick instead of trying to win. I for bad for ALL the kids.

The Coach's decisions deserve a "c'mon man!"

[Toby Taff]

Just read an article in the temple paper where the coach said he's made that catch a jillion times in practice. How about setting that play up for Eric Nelson who has made catches a jillion times in games!  I also read a quote from DB Cody Jones saying the d just wasn't good enough today. I have no problem w the defense play. They gave the Cru a chance. The mistakes were made on offense. An int on the UWW 8 from either a bad read or a bad route and a good play by the DB. That final drive, and 2 drive killing false starts. I also didn't get the musical QB thing. We haven't seen it like that all year. I think it had an effect on the fluidity and consistency of play on offense. As the game wound down, I  wondered if the team thinks it snake bit. I wonder if the team has a collective mental block that has to be over come.

I wanted to see a good game and I did. All props to UWW for getting it done. All props to their d for playing a fantastic game. I think this game and last years semi showed that UMHB is right there with UWW and UMU, but they have to get over the mental block if they want that walnut and bronze trophy.

[jaypeter]

As has been visited, the call to kick after calling timeout is one the coach will have to wrestle with.  It's not a call many of us would have made, but it was one he made with faith in his defense.  I'll also add that from where I was standing, it looked like the ball was essentially on the 4, not the 3.  I'm not sure what the "official" yardage was, but they had a full 4 yards to get into the endzone. 

All that said, man I feel for the back who couldn't close his hands on the ball.  I know how badly I felt dropping a game-ending ball in rec-league kickball that lost us a championship...and that doesn't mean a darn thing.  I'm hopeful he can get to a point of turning it into a growing moment for him. 

The question I had about the game is that it seemed like when UMHB ran an uptempo style offense (snapping at 30 seconds on the playclock or so), they moved the ball well.  After the tipped ball interception, they went away from it and never seemed to really get back on track.  UMHB opened the game with good momentum, but Whitewater does what they often do...stayed steady, stuck to their gameplan, and slowly but surely wore a team down. 

Now, onto my day in Belton as a visitor without a dog in the fight (except a little scouting for my Purple Raiders!). What an experience!  Couchcru and all the others there at the tailgate (I'm so bad with names), thank you for some great conversation and good laughs.  That was some great venison and it's really an impressive grill.

Bumped into a lot of friendly fans who were wondering about my Mount Union shirt, and all were really friendly and generous in their comments towards Mount Union.  "Who would you rather play?" was the most common question yesterday!  Nice to see you, Kelly Boggs, and hope you made it safely back to Louisianna.  Also hope you made it over to the sun for a little while in the second half.

The stadium is everything you have claimed it to be.  Top notch facilities all around.  I'd only change two things...
1)for all the great sight lines, I'd like to see a small scoreboard with score, time, down, and distance at the opposite end from the big board. 
2)man I'm old for saying this, but I thought the music was a little too loud.  That hurts to say at my age.  Maybe speakers at both ends of the stadium could help?  Even with a small student section yesterday because of the end of semester, the crowd was plenty loud and doesn't need the music to make up for it.  Maybe next year I'll get up there for a regular season game with more students around.

It'll be even better when the Union gets opened.  Would be a neat experience to watch some of the game from the upper windows there.  And yes, facilities wise, UMHB could absolutely host a Stagg.  Other questions aside, the stadium and parking would more than handle it. 

All in all, thanks for a great time yesterday.  It was great meeting a few of you from the boards, and I plan to make another trip next year, even if they don't play Mount.  The only down side  to seeing my beloved Mount Union play there would be that it means they've had an off season.  But, I'd probably take it so that I could watch them play.

[Jerry Bawcom]

well, so long fellas, see you next year!

[amonachino]

Ever here the phrase "what was he thinking"?  What that phrase is really saying "He was not thinking at all"  After reading the game recap from the UWW vs UMHB I can not believe what the Head coach who is up for "coach of the year" of UMHB did on 4 and 3 for a TD.  Other posts have said to have a play for such a situation, sounds like a good plan, play to win, another good idea, and if you do not make it they have the ball inside the 5 with 3 mins. left.  You are counting on the same def. to stop them after the FG as you are  if you do not make it.  The only difference is you may not get the ball back, plus they get great field position after the kick off. If you do not get the ball back, that 4th and 4 for the win sounds really great, especially if you have a great play for that situation.  If I was a fan of UWW i had to be so plea with the no thinking decision.  Better if you are a UMHB fan that they were down 16-10, the head coach hopefully would have gone for it.  And if he did not make it, he hoped his Def. would keep them inside the 20 for another try to win.  difficult way to lose a game. I know the drop pass hurt an awful lot.    There are no guarantees in football or life.  this was like paying alot for nothing in return.  sorry to see you lose.

[HScoach]

Feel terrible for the player that dropped that probable game winning touchdown.  That's one that I don't think you'll ever shake off.

I hope he does. Dude was a freshman RB I'm not sure had caught a pass all season. I didn't know who he was

Then why are you throwing him the ball?

Only reason I can see for the FG is a brain fart.   Crazy dumb decision.

[badgerwarhawk]

The FG call was a surprise to me too.  At any rate congrats Cru on a great season. 

[footballfan413]

As always, the Crusader's are a worthy opponent, show fantastic effort and had a stellar season!  One of those games where it is a shame that a team had to lose.  That is some beauty of a stadium, too. A huge congrats to all. 

[jknezek]

Have they voted on Coach of the Year already? I'm assuming the votes are in, otherwise that one decision would change a lot of minds. And yes, it's tough to be so hard about one decision, but Coach of the Year is a big honor and I'm not sure I could vote for a coach that made that kind of a decision. It either was a horrible mistake, an inability to count, or just completely losing track of the tactical situation. As someone who was rooting for the Cru but with limited attachment to the outcome, the field goal team left me gaping at my computer screen. I can't imagine what it felt like for true fans.

Coaches get paid to make those kinds of decisions correctly. How many guys during that timeout decided saying the emperor has no clothes was a bad idea? No other explanation.

Great season again for UMHB. The Team of the South for a good number of years and you'll be back in that spot again.

[HSCTiger fan]

Ever here the phrase "what was he thinking"?  What that phrase is really saying "He was not thinking at all"  After reading the game recap from the UWW vs UMHB I can not believe what the Head coach who is up for "coach of the year" of UMHB did on 4 and 3 for a TD.  Other posts have said to have a play for such a situation, sounds like a good plan, play to win, another good idea, and if you do not make it they have the ball inside the 5 with 3 mins. left.  You are counting on the same def. to stop them after the FG as you are  if you do not make it.  The only difference is you may not get the ball back, plus they get great field position after the kick off. If you do not get the ball back, that 4th and 4 for the win sounds really great, especially if you have a great play for that situation.  If I was a fan of UWW i had to be so plea with the no thinking decision.  Better if you are a UMHB fan that they were down 16-10, the head coach hopefully would have gone for it.  And if he did not make it, he hoped his Def. would keep them inside the 20 for another try to win.  difficult way to lose a game. I know the drop pass hurt an awful lot.    There are no guarantees in football or life.  this was like paying alot for nothing in return.  sorry to see you lose.

What makes you think that?  He obviously had more faith in kicking a FG, stopping them with TWO timeouts, getting the ball back and scoring another FG than he did in scoring a TD from 3 yards out.  Every thing you said about stopping them inside the 20 was true with a 10 to 16 score or a 12 to 16 score.  His decision leaves everyone scratching their heads.  Had they scored a TD cutting it to 2 they would not even have thought about it.  They would have gone for 2 without needing a timeout to decide to kick or go for it.  They were on the 3 yard line - same distance as a 2 point conversion.  Run your best 2 point try and see what happens.

[Kelly Boggs]

jaypeter,

We just arrived back in Central Louisiana. It was a pleasure to meet you and visit, even though it was brief. You are a gentleman and a scholar as well as a true D3 afficiando. I hope we meet again.

I meant to tell you that my wife is originally from Bay Village, Ohio. All I know is that it is on Lake Erie.

Nothing to add to the observations. The CRU will reload and will be back in the playoff hunt next year.

Up with the Purple!

[roocru]

As a former coach, I am rather amused at all the barbs being thrown at Coach Fredenberg from people who have not lived and worked with the staff and team inside and out since August.  Who knows his players better than he?!!

It is always easier to say what should have been done after the decision has been made and it did not work out.  His defense had stopped UWW the series before rather emphatically.  I know Pete and I know he took input from his staff  and his gut feelings about the game into consideration before he made the call.  Also he had less than one minute during the timeout to arrive at his conclusion.  Until you have been in that position I think you can wonder why he made the decision he did but not to the point of castigating him for it.  After all, he was one third down completion from perhaps seeming like a genius. 

UMHB fans need to remember all he has done for the program since beginning it sixteen years ago and getting it to eleven post seasons, (ten of those in a row) and seven seasons with twelve wins or more.  Compare those figures to any other new program in D3.

The other fans for other schools and conferences who are raking him over the coals should consider what it would be like for us to go on their boards and speak derogatory about their coach and team or just plain go away.

I know this is probably not a real popular post and my negative karma (which I am quite proud of being such a low percentage) may take some hits.  However, Pete was my son's coach and mentor and he is my friend, so I for one am going to stick up for him!  Hang in there Pete!!!

[jknezek]

roocru... discussing a decision like that is exactly what these boards are about. It's not always rosy and happy thoughts for everyone, and I haven't seen anyone get really obnoxious about it to the point where someone could take offense. Sure, I said it was a lousy decision and I'd stand by that. Coach must have thought it was the right decision and he can stand by that. Different opinions. The fact is, the game was lost.

That call wasn't the only reason the game was lost, but it did have a huge impact on the outcome. Right, wrong, that's what that moment is about. It's a big part of what coaches are remembered for. One minute to make the decision? Maybe. He wasn't thinking ahead at all? College has a 40 second play clock. So it was the timeout, plus the play clock. A QB has to make those right/wrong decisions in split seconds on every pass play. We get on them when they throw bad picks, it's legit to get on a coach who gets one wrong in a lot longer time.

UMHB's coach and coaching staff is obviously EXTREMELY good. Year in and year out they get great players, coach them into a great team, and make strong progress through the playoffs.

This year, however, there was a decision that seems to make no sense to just about every one watching at a crucial point of the biggest game of the year. Coaching staffs get paid to do all the things UMHB's coaching staff does so well, but they also get paid to help their teams win that game at that time.

To just about anyone watching, the coach made a decision that, at BEST, can be described as puzzling. It didn't work out and the number of things that had to work out for that decision to have been a good one are pretty large.

He worked with his kids all year. I'll give you that. At a key point in the game, he didn't trust his kids to get 3 yards. Instead, he trusted his defense to shut down the other team and then his team to get something more than 3 yards to try and kick again. Of course, had he gone for it and not gotten it, then he needed his defense to shut down the other team and his team to get something more than 3 yards to score a TD. Either way, his logic needed the defense to shut down UWW and the offense to go more than 3 yards (unless he was planning for a defensive turnover or score).

I'd love to hear how that logic rolled through the coaching staff in that critical 100 seconds...