FB: American Southwest Conference

[Craft_Beermeister]

Congratulations to the Cru on a great season.  As a fan of Mount Union I've always had a lot of respect for MHBU.  As a business traveler I always enjoyed my time in Belton especially at the Dead Fish Grill on Lake Belton.

[txtiger1]

Congrats on the great season UMHB. Sadly, yalls reign of terror will be coming to an abrupt end next year at the hands of ETBU! They got LOTTTTTAAA young guys coming back on defense + best wr and qb in conference.

[Kelly Boggs]

I'll just post this here... Pat, I admire you. I don't know how you do it. 

[Ralph Turner]

Congrats on the great season UMHB. Sadly, yalls reign of terror will be coming to an abrupt end next year at the hands of ETBU! They got LOTTTTTAAA young guys coming back on defense + best wr and qb in conference.

Welcome txtiger1.

Who is ETBU's non-conference game next year?

My unsolicited advice (given to educate new posters and not try to second guess the AD or Head Coach), playing a D3 school helps with secondary criteria in the playoffs. I liked how you had a Home-and-Home with Redlands & Wesley and played UW-LaCrosse in the last 10 years.  If you go 9-1 with a good non-conference D3 opponent, you will be in good shape for a Pool C bid.

[txtiger1]

Congrats on the great season UMHB. Sadly, yalls reign of terror will be coming to an abrupt end next year at the hands of ETBU! They got LOTTTTTAAA young guys coming back on defense + best wr and qb in conference.

Welcome txtiger1.

Who is ETBU's non-conference game next year?

My unsolicited advice (given to educate new posters and not try to second guess the AD or Head Coach), playing a D3 school helps with secondary criteria in the playoffs. I liked how you had a Home-and-Home with Redlands & Wesley and played UW-LaCrosse in the last 10 years.  If you go 9-1 with a good non-conference D3 opponent, you will be in good shape for a Pool C bid.

Not sure exactly - but I do believe it is a UW school. Excited for that, gonna be a better challenge then some of the non conference games we've had the past few seasons

[Ralph Turner]

Congrats on the great season UMHB. Sadly, yalls reign of terror will be coming to an abrupt end next year at the hands of ETBU! They got LOTTTTTAAA young guys coming back on defense + best wr and qb in conference.

Welcome txtiger1.

Who is ETBU's non-conference game next year?

My unsolicited advice (given to educate new posters and not try to second guess the AD or Head Coach), playing a D3 school helps with secondary criteria in the playoffs. I liked how you had a Home-and-Home with Redlands & Wesley and played UW-LaCrosse in the last 10 years.  If you go 9-1 with a good non-conference D3 opponent, you will be in good shape for a Pool C bid.

Not sure exactly - but I do believe it is a UW school. Excited for that, gonna be a better challenge then some of the non conference games we've had the past few seasons

A WIAC works!  That is good.

[edward de vere]

I'll just post this here... Pat, I admire you. I don't know how you do it. 

That's why he gets paid the big bucks.

[DFWCrufan]

Congrats on the great season UMHB. Sadly, yalls reign of terror will be coming to an abrupt end next year at the hands of ETBU! They got LOTTTTTAAA young guys coming back on defense + best wr and qb in conference.

Ooooo Bring it... I heard that about the last two coaches before....New Coach... Smash... Another new coach...Smash... still a third new coach... Next? Lets look at this season shall we? Well you lost to HSu, (admittedly the top tier in the conference besides UMHB) You lost to TLU (Who I think  will come back up in provenance in the coming years) And you of course. lost to UMHB. Sooooo to become big dog in the conference, you have to top three tier programs... Annndddd I just don't see them giving up their seat... the three co-champs was a fluke, don't see that happening again.. plus, I'd keep your eyes on Southwestern, they will probably stomp ya down too.

Best QB in the conference.. should have equated to wins.. which didn't happen... You have one thing going.. the next match will be at ETBU, hate to once again monkeystomp in the Ornelas. but what must be must be...

[txtiger1]

Congrats on the great season UMHB. Sadly, yalls reign of terror will be coming to an abrupt end next year at the hands of ETBU! They got LOTTTTTAAA young guys coming back on defense + best wr and qb in conference.

Ooooo Bring it... I heard that about the last two coaches before....New Coach... Smash... Another new coach...Smash... still a third new coach... Next? Lets look at this season shall we? Well you lost to HSu, (admittedly the top tier in the conference besides UMHB) You lost to TLU (Who I think  will come back up in provenance in the coming years) And you of course. lost to UMHB. Sooooo to become big dog in the conference, you have to top three tier programs... Annndddd I just don't see them giving up their seat... the three co-champs was a fluke, don't see that happening again.. plus, I'd keep your eyes on Southwestern, they will probably stomp ya down too.

Best QB in the conference.. should have equated to wins.. which didn't happen... You have one thing going.. the next match will be at ETBU, hate to once again monkeystomp in the Ornelas. but what must be must be...

QB got the starting job mid-season, only lost to UMHB. With another year under the fairly young O Line/ D Line 's belt, ETBU is going to hang with teams like UMHB at the line of scrimmage. Shoot, aside from special teams play - ETBU pretty much outplayed UMHB this year. The gap is closing...

[HSUCowboy2015]

QB got the starting job mid-season, only lost to UMHB. With another year under the fairly young O Line/ D Line 's belt, ETBU is going to hang with teams like UMHB at the line of scrimmage. Shoot, aside from special teams play - ETBU pretty much outplayed UMHB this year. The gap is closing...

Ehhhh lets not get too carried away now. ETBU will be dangerous next year, BUT they have never fielded a strong defense. If you're going to point towards the UMHB game, the UMHB offense was rough all year. Lets take a look to the HSU game where y'all gave up 80 points and averaged giving up 31 a game in the season.

Until an actual defense is installed I just can't see "the gap closing"

[Ralph Turner]

Congrats on the great season UMHB. Sadly, yalls reign of terror will be coming to an abrupt end next year at the hands of ETBU! They got LOTTTTTAAA young guys coming back on defense + best wr and qb in conference.

Ooooo Bring it... I heard that about the last two coaches before....New Coach... Smash... Another new coach...Smash... still a third new coach... Next? Lets look at this season shall we? Well you lost to HSu, (admittedly the top tier in the conference besides UMHB) You lost to TLU (Who I think  will come back up in provenance in the coming years) And you of course. lost to UMHB. Sooooo to become big dog in the conference, you have to top three tier programs... Annndddd I just don't see them giving up their seat... the three co-champs was a fluke, don't see that happening again.. plus, I'd keep your eyes on Southwestern, they will probably stomp ya down too.

Best QB in the conference.. should have equated to wins.. which didn't happen... You have one thing going.. the next match will be at ETBU, hate to once again monkeystomp in the Ornelas. but what must be must be...

QB got the starting job mid-season, only lost to UMHB. With another year under the fairly young O Line/ D Line 's belt, ETBU is going to hang with teams like UMHB at the line of scrimmage. Shoot, aside from special teams play - ETBU pretty much outplayed UMHB this year. The gap is closing...

Respectfully, I think that Coach Fred had a different strategy in building his team in anticipation of a 15-game season.  You have to pace yourself and you have to build depth necessary for 15 games, and for the number of injuries that a team will sustain in 1.5 seasons of play.

I hope for a strong ETBU. That builds hope for the season for us fans.  Also, a strong conference prepares our playoff teams the extra preparation and toughness from a competitive conference race.

[DFWCrufan]

So what your saying, before spring camp, before fall semester 2018, is that all those who say they was going to commit to ETBU will make it...history shows that is in a good number of cases not the case. But let's say they do, you have to admit your facing HSU, TLU and UMHB which in the past has not fared well, I'll take history before prophesy in this case and say it's nice to look forward, lets see how 2018 plays out.
We heard the Coach Walden would revolutionize the program, a ton of hype...nope...one season later that was over. But just saying ETBU has a ton of talent equates a winning season in 2018 before the fall has even arrived is far fetched, heck you don't even know if your QB will even play next season, alot can happen. 
Here is what I do know, the quiet ones are the ones to keep an eye on, HSU plays their cards close to the vest, you wanna talk about a monster under the bed that would be my bet. UMHB fans will most likely agree the game we look forward to with much interest and even concern is HSU.
So while I am glad to see exuberance with ETBU and it's program, I still don't see them as a bracket program so far, I see HSU and the Cru (But who knows after 2017), ETBU has a huge hurdle to cross that involves 4 programs, TLU was down but not out and like I had mentioned Southwestern is gaining it's foothold after joining the ASC, they are like the ocean, you do not turn your back on it.

[CowboyAlum261]

I sure would love to see HSU schedule a WIAC team in non-conference. It's no secret that the game with Texas College did absolutely nothing to prepare us for our conference slate. We need to schedule a defensive power to get warmed up for our inevitable Linfield/UMHB rematch. Baca is the real deal at ETBU but unless he starts playing all 4 secondary positions at once as well as QB I still only see one elite defense in the ASC. HSU plays great D, Southwestern and TLU do as well, funny how that correlates to success. If HSU is going to take the next step we will have to show the ability to beat an elite defense, so far we haven't in 4 tries over the last 2 years.

[HSUCowboy2015]

I sure would love to see HSU schedule a WIAC team in non-conference. It's no secret that the game with Texas College did absolutely nothing to prepare us for our conference slate. We need to schedule a defensive power to get warmed up for our inevitable Linfield/UMHB rematch. Baca is the real deal at ETBU but unless he starts playing all 4 secondary positions at once as well as QB I still only see one elite defense in the ASC. HSU plays great D, Southwestern and TLU do as well, funny how that correlates to success. If HSU is going to take the next step we will have to show the ability to beat an elite defense, so far we haven't in 4 tries over the last 2 years.

No kidding. The win against UMHB back in 2015 seems like ages ago, and on top of that they came back and made adjustments and beat the hell out of us in the playoff rematch. We have the ability and the play makers to beat elite defenses, we just need to be able to be unpredictable and make adjustments to what the defense gives us.

[umhb2001]

First time on the boards since I returned from Virginia.

Salem is a gorgeous little town. The Roanoke Valley is picturesque with all of the surrounding mountains. I can only imagine that in the event that there is snow, it really shines. The friendliness of the people and the great atmosphere of Mac and Bobs was wonderful. This one time experience showed me how amazing and captivating Salem is. My hope is that the people of Shenandoah can emulate this well. Texas really needs to come through on this.

The amount of booze in the parking lot pregame was astounding. There HAD to be under age drinking, and I was disappointed that  none of the police officers did anything. The amount of booze flowing led to some unfortunate UMU students having slightly bitter attitudes towards the Cru students, and that was unfortunate.

Once the game started, I felt really good with the Cru's chances. We were doing great on defense and the offense was actually moving the ball. When TJ was injured, that was a weight in the wrong direction. The failed fake punt was the straw that led us in the downward spiral. UMHB was not helped by lackluster play call. Not taking a chance down field with the wind at our back, both times this too place, was our downfall. We took one shot, and that was when the wind was in our face. UMU took that chance with the wind and it paid off.

I do NOT think our play calling was very good, not just this year, but last year as well. To only win a game 14-12 and 10-7 last year, to win against St. Thomas with one offensive TD, against Brockport with two short field TD's, and the inability to not continually run the ball between the tackles is inexplicable. The offensive coordinator has NOT shown and ability to be creative, and this is something we have to break away from. I would love to see a new system, a new Offensive coordinator, and more chances taken. Bryce should have had more touches. Marquis Duncan should have had a chance to touch the ball, and more bubble screens, draws, shots across the middle, shots to the TE's, should have been tried. It's like Coach Lee gave up once TJ went down. If this were a D1 program, I wouldn't be surprised if he would be let go. Coach Fred has stated as such that he does not really look at the offense, so we need to have someone who is going to take this and really shine. He (Coach Lee) has not shown that he can do this.

As Kelly has stated, this game was a microcosm of our season. Our offense was seen for what it really has been all year, and they were really picked apart this game.

Now, with that said, I will say that the Mount D was very good. They had an amazing game plan. They performed well and met all their assignments. With that said, they did not blow me away. Having seen both D's, the St. Thomas D outperformed Mount in my opinion. But again, I will say, the Mount D was very good, rattled CR3 as they outplayed our OLine, and did what needed to be done to get the ball back after the two UMHB picks.

Offensively, MU did not blow me away. Fulford was not heads and shoulders above Germinerio, and in many ways, I think the Golden Eagle signal caller was better. On the OAC board, they'll say that the better defense won the game, but, seriously, this was not a great UMHB offense and Oline. Our defense held MU well below half of their season averages. The difference was one play, the TD. We got the tipped TD last year; MU got it this year.

UMHB returns several on offense and several on defense. If our defense is anywhere near what we had last year, and if our offense can get quite a bit better, with hopefully a stronger offensive line and some maturity from CR3, we should be alright. Then, we may see MU in Texas next year. We'll see if they travel as well as we did this year as their commute gets a bit longer than what they had this year and years past.

Merry Christmas to you all, and remember, Jesus is the reason we celebrate.