FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Pat Coleman]

Totally agree, Pat. Of course, I never said it was unique to Mount Union. One could say that playing on the road in the playoffs at the Catdome in McMinnville is nothing like playing a game in Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The "road" factor is not at all the same and thus not as daunting in that sense when you play in front of thousands vs. tens of thousands or in some stadiums, 100,000+.

This could be the year Mount Union does play a game on the road. Who knows? Maybe Mount Union loses to John Carroll? Maybe UMHB, UWW or UWO go unbeaten, along with St. Thomas and the Raiders do not get the overall #1 or 2 seed. Though, doesn't the NCAA somehow hide this, Pat? That they determine the host sites after a certain time following completion of each round? Given the strength of the WIAC and other conferences, it could happen. And hey, it would shut Geiger up.

They don't exactly blare out the news of who the top seed is, no. Usually it's fairly obvious, though. However, Mount Union will have a top-two seed if it wins out this season, I'm sure, because the criteria say to use last year's playoff performance as a tiebreaker for unbeaten teams.

I agree that it's not the same as playing in front of a six-figure crowd but any time you take a team on the road to an unfamiliar place, there's at least some effect.

[wesleydad]

No hate here for Mount.  Good people and a fun trip each year to only lose.  I don't think any Wesley fan would want it any other way, except the end result.

[SaintsFAN]

I am sure the NCAA would LOVE to have a Stagg Bowl without Mount or UWW - or the dreaded Mount and UWW - but if Mount keeps winning (and the OAC strength this year makes me think they will) they will most likely host. The only way to change it up is to adjust the brackets. Have a so called "Bracket of Death" with Mount, UMHB, UWW, Linfield, and UST.

I don't think that's quite fair.  I don't think the NCAA as an institution cares at all whether or not Mount Union and/or UW-Whitewater play in the Stagg Bowl every year.  Doesn't matter to them, really.

THIS.

[SaintsFAN]

Is there a huge swell of genuine Mount Union dislike out there or this an invented thing here?  Like when teams play the "nobody believed in us" card even when literally everybody believed in them.  I don't think most people think this way about Mount Union.  Personally, I view Mount Union as the goal.  That's the thing D-III teams should want to be.  Sometimes I thought Pierre's act was probably a bit much at times which annoyed me, but outside of a few of those instances, I don't really know how you make a villain out of Mount Union and the Kehres dynasty.

Same here.  Without LK, there would be no Whitewater in their current form.  They have caused all their playoff opponents to strive to get better and there is some residual effect from that on some teams that have played a Wesley or Mary Hardin-Baylor or Whitewater (looking at Franklin). 

Mount Union has helped advance Division 3 football to where it is today. 

How could you hate that? 

[gizzmo13]

John Carroll can still make playoffs with 2 losses. I think they need to play Mount tough tho. I don't think there as week as people think.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

John Carroll can still make playoffs with 2 losses. I think they need to play Mount tough tho. I don't think there as week as people think.

Don't see them making the playoff this year, unless they beat Mount Union.

[Desertraider]

John Carroll can still make playoffs with 2 losses. I think they need to play Mount tough tho. I don't think there as week as people think.

I don't see an OAC team making playoffs with 2 losses. JCU's only way in is to beat Mount. Not impossible, but not easy. If any team is going to unseat Mount in the OAC - this is the year to do it. The problem is that JCU plays Mount at the end of year. Mount's secondary will have had time to adjust to their roles and the QBs will have had time to settle in as well. In truth the team I am more concerned about is Berg. I don't know why - maybe because no one seems to be talking about them.

[gizzmo13]

BUT ONU DID MAKE IT WITH 2 LOSSES AND MOUNT BEAT THEM BAD AND OSHKOSH IS A TOP TEIR TEAM THIS YEAR SO THAT LOSS MAY NOT BE THAT BAD.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

BUT ONU DID MAKE IT WITH 2 LOSSES AND MOUNT BEAT THEM BAD AND OSHKOSH IS A TOP TEIR TEAM THIS YEAR SO THAT LOSS MAY NOT BE THAT BAD.

I believe that is based on past respect for the OAC conference.  Conference is way down this year.

IMO, JCU doesn't make the playoffs as a two loss team.

Stop YELLING please. 

[joelmama]

Yes the secret to Mount's success is that Mount never travels. People seem to forget the 111 straight road wins  Last road loss - at Albion in 1994 playoffs 34-33.

In fairness, when you don't play playoff opponents on the road, you're less likely to lose road games.

But you would think once in a generation.

[02 Warhawk]

Is there a huge swell of genuine Mount Union dislike out there or this an invented thing here?  Like when teams play the "nobody believed in us" card even when literally everybody believed in them.  I don't think most people think this way about Mount Union.  Personally, I view Mount Union as the goal.  That's the thing D-III teams should want to be.  Sometimes I thought Pierre's act was probably a bit much at times which annoyed me, but outside of a few of those instances, I don't really know how you make a villain out of Mount Union and the Kehres dynasty.

Same here.  Without LK, there would be no Whitewater in their current form.  They have caused all their playoff opponents to strive to get better and there is some residual effect from that on some teams that have played a Wesley or Mary Hardin-Baylor or Whitewater (looking at Franklin). 

Mount Union has helped advance Division 3 football to where it is today.

How could you hate that?

I gave this statement some thought and it poses a great question. I have hard time deciding, one way or the other, if Whitewater would be where they are without LK. I know Whitewater scheduled Mount 13-14 years ago so they can see first-hand what a champion looks like. But it wasn't just Mount Union they observed....Berezowitz also scheduled powerhouse St. John's (Gagliardi should get credit as well?) along with some good NAIA teams back in the day to gain some perspective.

I think LK helped to some extent, but there were other factors involved to Whitewater's success. Say after 2005, if Mount's program had a setback and failed to reach the Stagg Bowl going forward (easy Mount fans...this is hypothetical), I have a hard time believing the ripple effect would derail UWW's program as well. I think UWW was on their way to greatness with or without LK and Mount Union once UWW became a power 10+ years ago.

This makes for a good conversation though.

[wally_wabash]

BUT ONU DID MAKE IT WITH 2 LOSSES AND MOUNT BEAT THEM BAD AND OSHKOSH IS A TOP TEIR TEAM THIS YEAR SO THAT LOSS MAY NOT BE THAT BAD.

Take a deep breath, bud.  We're going to get through this.  Here's some things to consider before getting your hopes too far up on 8-2 JCU getting invited to the tournament vis-a-vis ONU getting invited last year. 

- The usual suspects- CCIW runner up, NCAC runner up- had horrible profiles.  North Central lost three games which is a disqualifier.  Wittenberg lost twice and beat nobody good.  DePauw only lost once, but they did so pretty badly in the final week of the season and their non-league game was Earlham which really hurt their profile.  No single loss HCAC, MIAA, or NACC teams either.  All of this added up to ONU being the first at-large team available from the region.  And when you're first in line from any particular region, you've got a decent chance to get invited. 

- In 2016, North Central hasn't wasted their non-league season so the Wheaton/NCC loser appears to have the inside track at being the top ranked non-qualifier from the region.  There is likely to be a valid single-loss NCAC team.  There may even be valid single loss teams from the HCAC and NACC.  Two-loss JCU may be ranked ahead of some of those teams, but almost certainly not all of them.  And probably not enough of them to get in. 

- The timing of that Mount Union game is killer for JCU.  Losing in the last week of the season is the worst time to lose.  Even if it's to the top team in the region, taking any kind of L in week 11 will negatively affect your ranking. 

But there's a lot of games left to play.  JCU isn't out by any stretch, but the circumstances through the first month of the year are different than they were in 2015 and it looks at this moment like the path to the tournament for a multiple loss team from the North region is harder than it was in 2015. 

[02 Warhawk]

Yes the secret to Mount's success is that Mount never travels. People seem to forget the 111 straight road wins  Last road loss - at Albion in 1994 playoffs 34-33.

I think people were referring to quality - playoff caliber - road games.

[Desertraider]

Yes the secret to Mount's success is that Mount never travels. People seem to forget the 111 straight road wins  Last road loss - at Albion in 1994 playoffs 34-33.

I think people were referring to quality - playoff caliber - road games.

I get that - and there is NOTHING I can do about that. All I have to offer on Mount playing on the road is....Mount hasn't lost on the road in 21 years. It is what it is.

On the ONU playoff last year vs. JCU this year. ONU lost to Mount. Which I sort of look at the voters and think they expect the "1" loss so maybe overlook it and see ONU as really a 1 loss team.  However, the other loss was early in season (week 4??) to BW by 1 point. In addition - a lot of people didn't think ONU should have made the playoffs last year because of 2 losses while other 1 loss teams got the snub (again I think a product of the 1 loss to Mount being overlooked perhaps). Regardless, JCU plays Mount in final week of season as opposed to week 4. 2 losses, with 1 being in the last game - I don't see JCU making the cut unless they A) Win (winning cures everything!) or B) Put up a "greatest game ever" triple OT thriller in a loss. Arth, afterall, has done this before. Problem is - he was the JCU QB and the current QB isn't as good as Arth was.

[bluestreak66]

ONU was also helped last year by the fact that they beat JCU, who finished the season regionally ranked. That gave them a win over a regionally ranked opponent. In my opinion, for JCU to have a real shot, they need BW to finish 8-2, and crack the top 10 in the regional rankings, to give JCU a win against a regionally ranked opponent.
They also need a lot of outside help, like Wabash loosing to DePauw, and DePauw losing to Witt, and some really bad NCAC team, along with a total implosion by Wheaton or something.
Obviously, the most direct help they can get is from themselves, and if they can knock of Mount Union, they won't have to sweat it out on selection day!
Otherwise, their chances are by no means dead, but they certainly aren't great either