FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Dr. Acula]

IMO, Lattimore has to be on thin ice after fumbling in both games.I don't care how good he is, giving away possessions does not sit well with LK.  TJ had better start protecting the pigskin or he will be watching a lot of football. At the moment, I dread him carrying the ball with a game on the line.  He also doesn't show me much of a nose for the end zone.  After his breakaway run, LK gave him two successive carries for the TD and he pussy-footed into the line and was stopped both times.  Perhaps he is a daylight superstar, but a wimp from tackle to tackle.  He has a lot to prove from where I sit.
Speed is impressive, but that is all I see from him so far...
I really liked the Minnich  kid and Prendergast is total guts but seems slowed by the huge knee brace he is carrying...Simon is the typical hard FB and does a fine job.

Minor correction...he only got one carry, not two, after the long run, but I think your point was more that he got stuffed.  The much bigger issue is that he's fumbled twice in, what, 20 carries?  That has to stop.  If it doesn't as you said he'll be watching a lot of carries from the sideline.

I liked what Minnich did with his few carries too.  He looked quick when he bounced it outside and at 195 he's a little bigger than the other halfbacks.  Hopefully he'll keep working hard in practice and earning more carries.  That'd give them more depth and let Skilliter focus solely on DB.  Plus let's be serious...we'd all love a freshman RB to give us those "Is he the next "one"?! thoughts!  I know I was guilty of that watching Burke.   

[purpled]

It was great to get out to a game...the wait was almost too much for me.  And Mount did not disappoint! Mount did what it was supposed to do...the monkey stomp! IMHO the most impressive aspect of the game was at QB...Burke was very good...stood in the pocket, didn't panic and threw the ball on the money and with some zip and could run if he had to. Compared to the last couple of years ( I realize it's been only 2 games) I feel comfortable with Burke as the starter. And with our receiving corps it makes his job a little easier.

[Raider 68]

IMO, Lattimore has to be on thin ice after fumbling in both games.I don't care how good he is, giving away possessions does not sit well with LK.  TJ had better start protecting the pigskin or he will be watching a lot of football. At the moment, I dread him carrying the ball with a game on the line.  He also doesn't show me much of a nose for the end zone.  After his breakaway run, LK gave him two successive carries for the TD and he pussy-footed into the line and was stopped both times.  Perhaps he is a daylight superstar, but a wimp from tackle to tackle.  He has a lot to prove from where I sit.
Speed is impressive, but that is all I see from him so far...
I really liked the Minnich  kid and Prendergast is total guts but seems slowed by the huge knee brace he is carrying...Simon is the typical hard FB and does a fine job.

Minor correction...he only got one carry, not two, after the long run, but I think your point was more that he got stuffed.  The much bigger issue is that he's fumbled twice in, what, 20 carries?  That has to stop.  If it doesn't as you said he'll be watching a lot of carries from the sideline.

I liked what Minnich did with his few carries too.  He looked quick when he bounced it outside and at 195 he's a little bigger than the other halfbacks.  Hopefully he'll keep working hard in practice and earning more carries.  That'd give them more depth and let Skilliter focus solely on DB.  Plus let's be serious...we'd all love a freshman RB to give us those "Is he the next "one"?! thoughts!  I know I was guilty of that watching Burke.   

I agree that putting the on the turf will not only keep you out of the lineup, but on Coach
Kehres' list as well. Lattimore does bring the break-away threat the Raiders have not had
since Nate Kmic. The Raiders now appear to have  a line to open holes. Minnich will receive his shot,
but Lattimore can really help the Raider offense "if" and it it is a big f he holds onto the ball.

[runyr]

Just got back from Ada.  First off, what a cool little venue Dial-Roberson is.  I really liked it.  Ample parking right there, nice look to it, field looked beautiful.  And today was veterans appreciation day so they honored all the veterans on the field pre-game and had a flyover during the anthem.  Plus it was 75 and sunny.  Really glad I decided to go.

Now as for the game itself....

First, let me just say that it was VERY clear to me that Berg has a little swagger/attitude/nastiness/aggressiveness now.  ONU won the toss and wanted the ball.  Berg proceeds to get a late hit flag on the kickoff for trying to spear the runner when he was down and then spent the next 3 plays in ONU's backfield forcing a very quick punt while their sideline hopped around amped up.  Not exactly the Berg that I remember.

ONU's D played pretty well in the first half.  They made a huge stop on 4th down when Hallett decided to say "screw it" to a short FG and go for it from the ONU 2.  The biggest problem the ONU D had was the ONU O.  They were BAD.  Not only did they basically do nothing the first 28 min of the half, but they were killing their D with field position because they couldn't even sniff Berg territory.  They did manage to put together a nice scoring drive right before half to make it 14-7, but that was literally just about the entirety of their offense.  Trust me, it was 14-7 and I was thinking "Wow, Dean Paul should be doing cartwheels only being down a score because they did almost -0- in that half."

The 2nd half was all Berg.  The ONU D just got worn down.  And rightfully so, again they were on the field constantly it seemed.  Cartel Brooks is a very nice RB and what were 1-3 yd runs in the 1st half started becoming 5-7 yd runs in the 2nd.  And in both halves he would pop them for a long one every so often.  Not sure of Mees' numbers, but he had 3 or 4 balls dropped that should have been caught.  I know he had a couple TD tosses.

Overall Berg looked good on both sides of the ball.  Brooks is a big play threat for sure.  If he gets in the open field he's very dangerous.  And they passed effectively too.  Escalante is a big target at WR and then they have a couple smaller, quick kids to compliment him.  Pretty crisp on offense overall.  D was aggressive and put pressure on Rue all day.  No time for ONU to throw.  Berg is definitely good.  Based on teams we've seen in the playoffs that were ranked they're definitely a top 25 team IMO.     

Overall ONU looked decent on D at times, but were worn down in the 2nd half.  Their offense was really bad in all phases.  They couldn't run at all.  And the pass game was shut down by pressure, poor throws and turnovers.  I wouldn't be surprised if Paul gives some snaps to that backup that played just to see if they can get something sparked.  What I saw today is going to have a huge problem moving the ball on good defenses, let alone scoring.  Never thought I'd say this, but ONU has a lot of ground to make up it get to Berg's level right now, especially on offense.  They're WAY behind the curve.

Thanks for the great recap.

[Dr. Acula]

Aside from UMU moving up to #1 BW also moved up a spot to #14.  Berg is receiving votes a couple spots outside the top 25.  And JCU is now receiving votes as well.

On a side note, I watched the 4th qtr of the BW/JCU game.  Odd ending.  JCU moves the chains trying to run the clock out on BW.  They end up punting to BW who takes over at their own 16 with 1:33 to go down 3.  JCU proceeds to give up an 84 yd TD pass the FIRST PLAY.  And it was to Holt who literally ran straight up the left hash and no JCU DB felt the need to cover him as he caught it in stride 8 yds behind any of them and ran into the end zone untouched.

But the score happened so fast JCU had time.  Myers starts picking BW apart and they drive down the field relatively easily.  They're around the 25 yd line and on 1st down it looks like the right tackle comes out of his stance early.  Myers catches the shotgun snap with one hand and kind of lobs a pass toward the sideline.  Well it gets picked off easily.  And no flag.  That's the game.  It was weird.

[Kehresma]

UWW just went down 7-6!  An 80-yard drive by Buffalo State with a hook-and-ladder, double pitch on 4th down and 3 shots from the 10.

In case you haven't seen the plays leading to and including Buffalo State score Saturday, here is a video link (though it doesn't appear to be live, might need to cut and paste):


http://bit.ly/QUoaaT

[purple]

You had to feel for the Musky defensive backs last Saturday at Mount Union Stadium. Talk about being out on a limb! There was no pass rush,this is a great,not good,group of wide receivers and Mount's quarterback ,like all Mount quarterbacks,can really throw the ball. Those kids never had a chance back there. On two occasions the Musky DB was in pretty good position and the Mount player made a great catch for a TD. Having been beat many times in my undistinguished career at Mount,I can tell you it's a nightmare. I could not understand how the Musky D-Coordinator could figure his corners could cover man-on-man. The Musky DB's should know they will not face anything like that offense the rest of the year. I wish them the best of luck.

[Pat Coleman]

UWW just went down 7-6!  An 80-yard drive by Buffalo State with a hook-and-ladder, double pitch on 4th down and 3 shots from the 10.

In case you haven't seen the plays leading to and including Buffalo State score Saturday, here is a video link (though it doesn't appear to be live, might need to cut and paste):


http://bit.ly/QUoaaT

It's also been on our site, very clickable, including postgame interviews as well.
http://www.d3football.com/seasons/2012/contrib/20120916y3b8x1

[Kehresma]

Great article and interviews, Pat.  Thanks for that.

Amazing to learn the following from the QB: 

"We had two receivers who never ran it before, but they've been watching in practice and he called (the play) and we executed it better than in practice ever," Kacz said.

So many extraordinary factors in this outcome.  Without any of them, this doesn't happen. What a stunner.

[mr_mom]

The spreads for week # 4 are posted. 

Please be aware that one of the games is on Thursday night.

[Dr. Acula]

From the "great for credibility" file...in this week's AFCA poll #3 UWW still received 2 first place votes.  #2 UMHB received 1.  Thankfully we have a real poll here. 

[HScoach]

From the "great for credibility" file...in this week's AFCA poll #3 UWW still received 2 first place votes.  #2 UMHB received 1.  Thankfully we have a real poll here.

Loss or not, I wouldn't drop UWW too far.  No worse than 5 in my mind.  Until they prove without a shadow of a doubt that they're not the team we're used to, they get the benefit of the doubt.  Same with Mount in '05.  One shocking regular season loss doesn't instantly change the depth and quality of the roster.  Now, if they struggle to score points throughout the season and drop another game (which I really, REALLY hope  ), then we can talk.

[Dr. Acula]

From the "great for credibility" file...in this week's AFCA poll #3 UWW still received 2 first place votes.  #2 UMHB received 1.  Thankfully we have a real poll here.

Loss or not, I wouldn't drop UWW too far.  No worse than 5 in my mind.  Until they prove without a shadow of a doubt that they're not the team we're used to, they get the benefit of the doubt.  Same with Mount in '05.  One shocking regular season loss doesn't instantly change the depth and quality of the roster.  Now, if they struggle to score points throughout the season and drop another game (which I really, REALLY hope  ), then we can talk.

I have no issue with them being ranked 3rd.  I was just curious how 2 people filled out their ballot and said "Yup, they're still #1 right now."  I seriously wondered if they didn't know who Buffalo St. was and confused them with the MAC school.  Haha.

[HScoach]

You had to feel for the Musky defensive backs last Saturday at Mount Union Stadium. Talk about being out on a limb! There was no pass rush,this is a great,not good,group of wide receivers and Mount's quarterback ,like all Mount quarterbacks,can really throw the ball. Those kids never had a chance back there. On two occasions the Musky DB was in pretty good position and the Mount player made a great catch for a TD. Having been beat many times in my undistinguished career at Mount,I can tell you it's a nightmare. I could not understand how the Musky D-Coordinator could figure his corners could cover man-on-man. The Musky DB's should know they will not face anything like that offense the rest of the year. I wish them the best of luck.

I'm not sure you could say that about ALL of them.  It's early, way too early to draw any real comparisons, but Burke in 2 games has already thrown more passes over 30 yards in length that could be described as "accurate" than the QB he gently pushed aside.    It's nice to see the vertical passing game return.

I do agree with the Musky D-backs though.  Especially #25.  That poor kid had a rough night. 

[PurpleSuit]

You had to feel for the Musky defensive backs last Saturday at Mount Union Stadium. Talk about being out on a limb! There was no pass rush,this is a great,not good,group of wide receivers and Mount's quarterback ,like all Mount quarterbacks,can really throw the ball. Those kids never had a chance back there. On two occasions the Musky DB was in pretty good position and the Mount player made a great catch for a TD. Having been beat many times in my undistinguished career at Mount,I can tell you it's a nightmare. I could not understand how the Musky D-Coordinator could figure his corners could cover man-on-man. The Musky DB's should know they will not face anything like that offense the rest of the year. I wish them the best of luck.

I'm not sure you could say that about ALL of them.  It's early, way too early to draw any real comparisons, but Burke in 2 games has already thrown more passes over 30 yards in length that could be described as "accurate" than the QB he gently pushed aside.     It's nice to see the vertical passing game return.

I do agree with the Musky D-backs though.  Especially #25.  That poor kid had a rough night.

I know it is early, but Burke looks like what we hoped/thought Seaman could be.  Could Neal even throw the ball 30 yards?

As for the UWW loss, the Warhawks need to improve dramatically is they are going to be a threat for title #4.  Brekke looks a little like the Mount QB's of the past two years, does not take care of the football well.  I watched the Wash U game and they dropped 3-4 interceptions early in that game that a more talented team does not.  And there is not a Beaver or Coppage walking through the door as Rick Pitino would say. 

I see everyone making comparison to the ONU loss for Mount. It is a poor comparison, ONU was preseason #5, and Mount had this freshman that came out of nowhere named Kmic that changed the season.  Who knows what would have happened in '05 had Kmic not ran for 1,000 yrds in the playoffs?  Does UWW have a Kmic hidden on their roster? I would say probably not. Also the ONU loss was not nearly as bad as scoring 6 points against an unranked team.  I know its the D3 mentality to be buddy-buddy with all opponents, but remove the Whitewater name and is a team that beat Wash U, and lost to a 1-1 Buff State team still considered a top 5 team?  If Mount lost to Franklin and beat Muskie would they still be 4th?  And Franklin was likely considered superior to Buff State prior to Saturday.  I would put the Buff State loss on par with App State beating Michigan.