FB: American Southwest Conference

[DPU3619]

Color me impressed.  Again.  Still.

[yessir]

So much for that upset. Whitewater here we come.

[Carl Menist]

Color me impressed.  Again.  Still.

Went out to Clinton to see the Chocs play the #2 MHB Crusaders this afternoon on the afternoon of the Millsaps open date. Nine or ten of the Majors came out to see the game as well.

Kind of expected to see something like the New England Patriots based on the scores of MHB's games, their ranking and the hype. If I had not seen the game myself, ( 62 - 17 at the end of the third quarter), I would really wonder if MHB could be played with by just a very good D III football team and would further think that MHB was in the wrong league, maybe should be in D-1AA or at least D-2. This is not was I witnessed / observed today.

They have a fine team, good size linemen on both sides of the ball with good speed --- but  they did not look invinsible!

Trying to be objective, I really think MC could have played the game much more closely and even thought early in the first half, after they had been down 14 - 0,that they possibly could come back and win.

Didn't happen though, the Chocs got blown out.

Just an opinion, but in my opinion, MHB is beatable. They are a great team, but they are beatable.

Of note were at least 6, maybe 7, runs of over 75 yards for TDs. A turnover or two that translated to quick TDs for the Cru. All part of the game but I think the Chocs could have done better, much better at adjusting to stop the replication of a track meet type afternoon of rushing the ball and they could have taken better care of the ball when they had it.

For instance, on defense. MC had 9 people up tight in the box  for a while resulting in the "off to the races" off tackle dives and traps fo rthe Cru. Once the back hiit the hole and broke through the line, no one was there or even had the chance of getting there on an angle to make the tackle or slow the runner --- nobody. This may be somewhat understandable for one or two plays, but not 6 or 7. DOn't get me wrong, the backs were good --- good speed, but not NFL prototype 6"3 225 monsters that could fly. The primary back was no more than 6' tall, and weighed 180. A running back that a good D-3 linebacker, corner or safety should be able to tackle. MC made no adjustments in the first half and the consequences were devastating.

On offense, mismatches with the 6'4" MC wideout against the 5"8 or 9" Cru DBs were not fully exploited in my opinion.This was particularly noted in the first half when MC got the  ball on a turnover down in the red zone.  Seems like some kind of fade or fade comeback with a 6'4" versus 5' something 155 lb DB should have been at least tried.

I know it looks allot different from the stands, but getting lit up for 6 or 7 off tackle rushing TDs is something I have never seen and would not expect to see between two good college football teams.

The Cru were impressive, but I really think MC could have done more to counter act their strengths and successes in this afternons game.. I think that MHBs next opponent will make adjustments to stop the 75 plus yard TD after TD runs.

I also think any representative from the SCAC that might end up against "The Cru " in the NCAAs will make them win with something other than a bunch of 75 and 80 yard romps. Be it Steve Mohr from Trinity or Mike Dubose from Millsaps, my guess is they will have a defensive scheme that will not allow 6 75 to 80 yard rushing TDs.

MHB looks tough, very tough, but not invincible in my opinion.

Itis just too bad for MC that they couldn't have represented themselves better this afternoon. I think they have a better team than the score, stats showed for today.

In conclusion, I am satisfied that D-III is a proper classification for the Cru and that other good D III teams should be able to and can play with them.

[texgrad69]

I don't think anyone is invincible.  Don't think anyone has said that.  Just don't think anyone in the South can play with them.  We'll see what happens in Wisconsin next week.  One thing that you failed to mention in your post was the depth the Cru has compared to the teams they play.  MC came into this game allowing something like 44 yards a game rushing and the Cru laid close to 600 on them (at least when I turned off the radio).  So I am assuming that you are blaming poor coaching on the part of MC.  But,  I'll give the devil his due:  Darrell Royal once said, "there ain't no such thing as King Kong and if you start to believe it get ready for a bloody nose." 

[Kelly Boggs]

Of course UMHB is beatable... everyone is  beatable. You base your conclusions on one game. What you may not realize is what you saw today is what UMHB does week in and week out. They cause turnovers and capitalize in them. They drive the ball down teams throats. MC had to chose their poison. Play standard defense and suffer methodical drives or put 8-9 in the box and try to stop the run at the line. When they didn't, the UMHB backs, who are fast, fast, fast, made them pay.

Yes, UMHB can be beat. But, thus far, no one has even come close.

The Whitewater game will be very revealing for both the CRU and the Warhawks.

Good observations texgrad69 --> +

[DPU3619]

Excellent analysis, Big C!  Very thorough.

+1.

[Carl Menist]

I don't think anyone is invincible.  Don't think anyone has said that.    We'll see what happens in Wisconsin next week.  One thing that you failed to mention in your post was the depth the Cru has compared to the teams they play.  MC came into this game allowing something like 44 yards a game rushing and the Cru laid close to 600 on them (at least when I turned off the radio).  So I am assuming that you are blaming poor coaching on the part of MC.  But,  I'll give the devil his due:  Darrell Royal once said, "there ain't no such thing as King Kong and if you start to believe it get ready for a bloody nose." 

Just don't think anyone in the South can play with them.

in·vin·ci·ble - : incapable of being conquered, overcome, or subdued <a seemingly invincible army> --- (in the south region --- kind of what I am interested in at thiis point)

One thing that you failed to mention in your post was the depth the Cru has compared to the teams they play

I am quite sure that a team of UMHB's capability has very good depth, however I didn't see a whole lot of subs going in and out. Starters were still in with score exceeding 40, 50 and even 60 points. Just how many different people played on offense and defense in the first three quarters??

So I am assuming that you are blaming poor coaching on the part of MC

Didn't intend to imply bad coaching, in fact I qualified my comments to say that things can look allot different from the stands. ---- Knowing the character and quality of the coaches at MC in general, I expect that they would be the first to tell you that they would do a few things differently, particularly on defense given the chance --- the defensive game plan did not work --- it had merit and I understand the objectives, but it didn't work.

The scheme either needed to be adjusted or someone else should have been put in that could execute it and tackle the UMHB running backs.

Following UMHB, it may be customary to see 6 or 7 75 yard plus rushing TDs in a game??? I have just never seen that in a game between what are to be two good college football teams.

Again, these are my opinions which may or may not make any sense at all.

Frankly, from my standpoint, none of this is important now, what is important to me is Trinity v Millsaps next week.

Good luck on your trip to Wisconsin. Hopefully they will put 9 TIGHT in the box and you will run for even more 75 yard plus TDs.

[Toby Taff]

Big C

What MHB did big play wise is not an every week occurance, but I have seen it before.  a normal week is pounding the ball over and again. today that didn't have to happen.  I wish you could see an "average" MHB game to make comparisons.  Good luck vs TU next week

[BoBo]

The extended weather forcast next Saturday for the Whitewater area calls for a pretty nice day for this time of year - High of 48 degrees/low of 39 degrees and some showers.  Not too bad to welcome UMHB to Wisconsin. 

Let's hope the purple guys from the land of cheese and brats can stay with the purple guys from Texas.  It doesn't get much better than #2 vs #3. Expect a big crowd to be on hand at Perkins Stadium along with the natural turf to be as high as the summer corn in the back 40  - got to slow your guys down somehow. 

Hope those making the trip enjoy Wisconsin, but not too much!!     

[golden_dome]

Congratulations to the Cru. Can't say I was surprised by the team they brought to Clinton, same team they always have with plenty of athletes. I hope they are able to get back to the Stagg Bowl, would be great for the conference and they certainly have the team to do it. Here are a few numbers from the game you might not see in the boxscore.

I have never seen a team with that many long runs. UMHB put up 543 yards of offense on seven runs, six of which looked like the same play,  and 107 yards on the other 41 plays. Even with the big runs, I thought the difference was six turnovers from MC. The Choctaws played with the Cru through two quarters and put up 250 yards of offense before half, but couldn't sustain it.

MC trailed 28-17 with 1:27 before halftime. Over the next nine minutes, UMHB needed five drives to score five touchdowns on an amazing nine plays. MC had four interceptions and a fumble during the same time and the score became 62-17 before you knew it. You just can't make mistakes against those guys because they make you pay for all of them.

I know the defense and the backs get a lot of press, but the offensive line has to be the strength of the team. Maybe not as big as some of the lines I have seen them have, but very athletic and physical. On most of the long runs the backs went untouched.

The defense isn't much different than all the others I have seen from UMHB, very fast. But if I tried to look for a weakness or was an opposing coach, it would certainly catch my attention that MC put up 550 yards with 523 through the air. But I'm not sure there are very many teams with the offensive weapons MC has to hurt them through the air.

Despite the lobsided score, MC can take away a lot of positives as the program continues to improve. MC had just 13 total upperclassmen on their offensive and defensive depth chart compared to 29 for UMHB. Those coaches have done an excellent job building a program and keeping players, MC has to do the same.

Good luck to the Cru the rest of the way and next weekend on the road. A win at UWW would be huge for the ASC.

[cudock]

I already asked this on the daily dose message board but just in case they don't answer there I will ask here too. It said you could somehow watch the UMHB-MC game live for $8.95. How can I make that happen? is there any  other games that can be watched,  UMHB games

We provide live video of all our home games but it is part of a subscription package. You can buy a month subscription for $9.95 and cancel after the game is over. Hopefully next year we can provide this as a free service, but for now we have to do the subscription model. Here is the link https://secure.internetconsult.com/mississippi/registration.aspx?

[CruGuy]

I was able to attend the CRU game for the first time this season and have typed my recap twice to have it lost by the system in submission. I'll try once again tomorrow. I'm sure you all feel fortunate not to be wading it through it right now, but unfortunately it'll probably grow as I have more time to ponder.

[drinkxs.com]

i agree, Cru fans do not  claim the Cru is unbeatable or needs to be in DII or above. They beat a very good MC team on the road, a 10 hr bus trip.

[imad3fanatic]

Let us all face Dallas and bow down to the all knowing and all seeing Chris Allman!

[yessir]

Great win by the CRU today. Congrats to the O-line on a break out day. 652 rushing yards is an unbelievable stat, no matter who you play. Congrats to J-Thrash on 324 yards rushing. That's how the CRU offense does it. Time to get ready for UW. The wife and I are making the trip. Looking forward to a great day in Wisconsin on saturday.

I would like to comment on the HPU vs. HSU game but really............i'm speechless.  From the looks of the rest of their schedule, they might have a hard time going 5-5. Good luck to them....