FB: American Southwest Conference

[Ralph Turner]

Crukid,  Good comments!  +1

(And I applauded Wes for you, too!    )

Wes, you are doing a good job as South Region reporter.

I see no reason why anyone should smite you for a well-stated opinion that permits us to see another perspective.

Keep up the good work!

[hsucowboyfan]

trust me crukid wes andersons statements haven't been dismissed around hsu.  usually im negative towards statements like wes's but i feel like being nice.  i respect your OPINION but look at the teams mc has played so far, tlu, mcmurry, lc....of course their offense and defense rankings in the conference are gonna be higher, they've played the weaker part of the conference.  however, hsu has played, lc, mc, etbu and umhb....hmmm, a little tougher schedule.  wait till after this week to see the o and d rankings.  mc's run defense has been pretty good, and for some reason im guessing that is why you think they're a better team than hsu, but again we'll see after this week.  Their pass defense def. isn't the best, they gave up nearly 500 yards passing to hsu.  anyways, i really hope im wrong and mc pulls out a win, because thats what hsu needs, but i still dont see how you come up with that opinion.  they're not the best team umhb is going to see, but they do match up a little better, thats all im saying.  good luck mc, and this is kinda hard to say but good luck umhb too.....sportsmanship hahah i thought i didn't have that.

[baddog]

Wes -- All your verbage and convoluted logic will never change the fact that
the 45 point team was better than the 42 point team.
UMHB may be facing the most balanced team, though.

[DPU3619]

Wes -- All your verbage and convoluted logic will never change the fact that
the 45 point team was better than the 42 point team.
UMHB may be facing the most balanced team, though.

I guess we just won't be making much progress if that's as far as you'll get in my posts.   I've addressed that twice now.

I do take offense with you referring to my logic as convoluted, however.

[Bill McCabe]

Wes, I can see your point, but I think if HSU and MC played in Abilene, HSU wins again.  That being said, I think the Cru had better be on their top form at MC.  MC has a lot to play for and I expect the game will be a tough test for UMHB.  Turnovers and defense, as it is every week, will determine the winner of the game.

[RRBlues]

Any predictions this weekend?  I will start:

MHB-MC - closer than expected - Cru by 20+ pts

HP-HSU - HSU will have control of this game from the opening kickoff - HSU wins

ETBS - LC - This is a close game and I think LC beats ETBS

SRSU - McMurry - SRSU is  3-1 on the road and will make it 4-1 with a win over McMurry.  But if SRSU is looking ahead to its homecoming game against HSU next week they will lose.

Thoughts?


RB, I don't think that you have editing/modifying capabilities on your login at this numbering of postings, so you may not be able to correct the "ETBS".  If that is a clever malaprop, then it ranks up there with Hardened Sinners, Horrid Pain and McMurphy!  +1 and welcome!  -- Ralph Turner

[Ralph Turner]

I think that Home Field Advantage (HFA) in the  ASC is a net 2-5 points. I realize we don't have West and East in football, but let's consider the Basketball configurations home team listed first.  (Please remember that indexes only give 1-3 points for most games, HFA).

Five points:

Miss College vs the "ASC West"
LaCollege vs the "ASC West"
SRSU vs the "ASC East"

Four points:

TLU, McM, HSU and HPU versus Miss Coll and LaColl
SRSU vs the ASC West
ETBU vs SRSU, HSU, HPU, McM, TLU

Three points:

Everything else except HSU-McM-HPU rivalry games.  (Those teams are so close, have played more than anyone else and have such huge alumni histories, that point spreads and HFA almost go out the window!  Are there any other rivalry games in the ASC where the HFA is almost negated by the degree of the rivalry?)

[Rick Akins]

Bill McCabe, as always concise and to the point.  I believe it will be a huge upset, even more huge than some people realize, if MC wins even at home.  I have seen every UMHB game this year and it is a significantly different team than the last two years, IMHO; however, 5 or 6 turnovers from UMHB  could alter the logical and expected result.

While it might take a totally unfocused UMHB(if they do not play well) to be capable of that, if the MC defense is better than I expect, anything is possible.  I think it would take multiple mistakes from the UMHB offense like that for MC to have a chance to beat UMHB.  But as we have all said many times,  the games are played and won on the field not here.

[Bill McCabe]

Rick, I think you are right about the game.  6-7 turnovers by UMHB and the game could be close and go to MC.  4 or more turnovers by MC and it will be a UMHB rout.  Also, sacks and pressure on the MC QB will be very important to the outcome.  I wish I could see the game.

[Bill McCabe]

RRBlues, I like looking at common opponents.  In the case of UMHB-MC, there are 3.  TLU, HSU, and LC.  I think UMHB will win going away.  I don't think MC has the defense to stop the Cru and the UMHB defense will cause all sorts of problems for MC.

[golden_dome]

Regarding MC/HSU, I think the only point Wes making is that the best team doesn't always win but the team who plays the best that day. Seasons determine better teams, not individual games in my opinion. I thought MC had a better team than HSU after seeing them on the field, but HSU won the game which they should receive credit for. I personally chalked it up to ten straight wins for HSU which is something MC will have to overcome mentally if they want to move to the top of the ASC with HSU and UMHB. They get another shot this weekend.

"I think most of us would also agree that the Choctaws are better on defense.  They've got a better chance of slowing down the Crusader ground game than HSU did (although that chance may still be a VERY small one, relatively).  The numbers show that fact pretty clearly.  Those reasons are why I used that phrase."

sorry I couldn't get the quote box for that, but I think here is where I disagree (and I think most others would as well, but I'll try not to speak for them), I think HSU has a had much tougher schedule and stats aren't always as crystal clear as they look.  Wait until MC plays UMHB and ETBU and throw out the out of conference games and then let's see what those defensive numbers say.

Crukid,
   Not trying to single you out here, but your post seems to be the consensus opinion about the MC defense. I would say the HSU schedule does not look as tough as it did with Lacrosse and Linfield now struggling somewhat. The MC defense has not been very good in year's past, but I don't think Wes really has to go out on a limb to say this MC defense is much better than HSU's.

HSU has allowed four of their six opponents to post season high's in total offense (Lacrosse, Linfield, UMHB and ETBU). MC put up their second highest total against them. The Choctaws have held three (Millsaps, LaGrange, TLU) of their six opponents to season lows in total offense and held McMurry to one yard above their season low. The only team to post a season high was HSU.

i would like to see MC win just for the excitement factor.
-However, I just don't believe their Defense is very good. Last year, thier front 7 was horrible. No one can improve overnight into one of the best in the country unless you have scholarship players move in or just have a ton of people coming back from injury. -

I would agree in year's past, but I don't see how you can rank top four in the country in rushing defense, tackles for loss and sacks with a bad front seven. Brannon Willisson at end and Clint Champagne at linebacker are two of the best players in the ASC at their position in my opinion.

RRBlues, I like looking at common opponents.  In the case of UMHB-MC, there are 3.  TLU, HSU, and LC.  I think UMHB will win going away.  I don't think MC has the defense to stop the Cru and the UMHB defense will cause all sorts of problems for MC.

Bill,
   They actually have four common opponents. TLU, HSU, LC and McMurry. MC did hold TLU and McMurry to lower yardage totals than UMHB and held a larger combined first half lead against the two. MC held LC to 117 yards through three quarters before the prevent defense gave up 249 4th quarter yards. UMHB gave up 278 to LC. Obviously, the MC defense was not very good against HSU but they have given up an average of 255 yards total offense against everyone else.


After saying all that, I would feel really good about this game from a stat's point of view if I didn't know how good UMHB is this year, probably the best team ever to come through the ASC. I know our coaches think they are loaded at most every position. You can tell from quotes this week they understand the task they have ahead.

I think we have a very good team this year, obviously I  will know more after Saturday. Similiar to the HSU game, this will let us know how far we have to go to be  with HSU and UMHB at the top of the league.

[Bill McCabe]

Chris,  Thanks for pointing out the 4th common opponent between the 2.  Much closer common score than the others.

[Cru15]

UMHB has the best coaching, the best athletes, and the best program in the ASC. All this talk of an upset by MC is ridiculous. Why not talk about who's going to get second, third, or fourth place. That would be more intresting, NO ONE in the confrence will come close to beating UMHB. The CRU and Mt. Union are in a class by themselves this year!

[Cru15]

But then again I am partial to the UMHB program, they are just soo dominant this year! I would love to see Mt. Union and UMHB in the Stagg Bowl and I will be in attendance if this dream match up happens.

[Pat Coleman]

It is true that since La Crosse's starting quarterback was knocked out of the game by Whitewater, La Crosse has not been the same team. Not the same team that played HSU.