FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[HScoach]

Still missing picks from: 

CRUSADER26
E LEE
JK
MR MOM
MT FAN
OLD ROSIE
RAIDERGUY
RIC
SAINTSFAN
TIGER ALUM
USEE

[reality check]

Just waiting for the ONU/MUSKY game and noticed that ONU leads the nation in total defense at this point but here is the very cool part.  (I know it's only after two games though so this will change I am quite sure.)

Div. III total defense ranks

1. ONU - 141 yards/game
3. WILM - 161 yards/game
13. OTT - 202 yards/game
17. MUC - 204.5 yards/game
26. MUSKY -226.5 yards/game
28. CAP - 232.5 yards/game
30. ETTA - 240.5 yards/game

Seven of the ten schools in the OAC in the top 30 in total defense for D-III through two weeks.  Good stuff so far.

[pios]

I know at Marietta they used to set us down before each season and give us literature about NCAA rules, it was not the full rule book, but it was an overview of some of the most common rules and helped give an understanding of things.  As adults you need to be held accountable for your actions and cannot clain ignorance as the scapegoat.  I think it is pretty common knowledge of how offseason workouts can be run and when camp can start.  However, as was said you are taught to respect your coaches and all players I know would do anything the coaches asked.  So if you were asked as aplayer to run through a brick wall, you would do it, and I would have attended the practices and not questioned the coaches had I been in the players places.  But to defend the players by claiming they should be ignorant to the rules is not right, it is like defending a person who claims they didn't know they had to wear a seat belt.  I f the players were ignorant to the rules, it is the fault of the athletic department and all players should get an overview of the common rules and have an understanding of it, because it could affect them and their teammates in a negative way if they do not understand the rules they are dealing with.  It would be like signing a contract and not reading it at all.

[reality check]

But to defend the players by claiming they should be ignorant to the rules is not right, it is like defending a person who claims they didn't know they had to wear a seat belt.  I f the players were ignorant to the rules, it is the fault of the athletic department and all players should get an overview of the common rules and have an understanding of it, because it could affect them and their teammates in a negative way if they do not understand the rules they are dealing with.

pios

You say defending players by claiming they should be ignorant to the rules is not right and in the very next sentence you said it's the fault of the atheltic dept. for not distributing an overview.   So who's fault is it if the players can't claim ignorance but the coaches and administration don't distribute overviews?

[runyr]

Cap over Student Princes 45-0 at the half.  Will Cru protect the spread (-41.5) in 2nd half?

[reality check]

HSCoach

This just makes me laugh because I remember you finding an article about Musky and their offense which you finished with something about them attempting a forward pass or two this year.

Musky's QB has attempted 2 passes so far today and has completed them both.  One went to ONU's Rusty Midlam, the second to ONU's Wes Hostetler.

OUCH

ONU leads 34-10 in the third.

[muc-raider]

I noticed there is a lot of discussion about Ohio Northern's possibly not being eligible for the playoffs.  If that happened, it would be a shame...for Ohio Northern, the OAC and the NCAA.   Just a dumb question if anyone would know and care to answer.  For an infraction that was not very apparent, how did the NCAA find out about it? 

[reality check]

muc-raider

Have you read anything on the front page or this site in the last week?  I'm sorry but that answer is plastered just about everywhere on here.

[muc-raider]

reality-check,
I have read time and time again what the infraction was,
who was involved, etc,  but no where have I seen who blew the whistle or what alerted the NCAA to the situation.   

[pios]

RC,
I would put the blame on the athletic department for not informing the athletes of the rules.  But that is just my opinion.

[reality check]

muc-raider

The Notables article linked on the the d3.com page references the ONU process.  But to summarize, it was first brought to the adminsitration's attention internally and they immediately took action in 2003.  Coaches were put on administrative leave and ONU did their own internal investigation.  The "whistle-blower" was never publicly identified.  ONU self-reported its infractions to the NCAA in hopes of leniency for their quick response to the issues when they were uncovered.

[purpled]

Who blew the whistle does not matter one bit. ONU did what it had to do and they handled the situation quickly.

As far as blame is concerned you can only look to one person...the head coach. He put himself in the position of making decisions that would affect his players lives as well as the reputation of the school. Whether the players were given an overview or not it still comes down to the responsibility of the head coach. I can understand the NCAA sanctioning ONU for this violation but not to ban them from the playoffs. The current coach, staff and most of the players had nothing to do with the past violation. Why punish them? Go after the previous coach and fine him til it hurts and then fine him some more. Why not ban him from the NCAA?

[reality check]

ONU/MUSKY review

Stat of the Day: Muskingum 0 passing yards (0-3 on the day with 2 interceptions)  That would be a QB rating of -133.3 for the day.

Concern: Jason Trusnik was reported to have been on the sidelines in the second half on crutches.

Northern started slow like last week but controlled the game through the middle two quarters and basically ran the clock out when they had the ball in the 4th.  They could have had another two TD's had they wanted to push the tempo late in the third/early in the fourth. 


purpled

Well put.  Who knows if you will ever see Kaz again?!?  My guess is that its a non-issue because I don't know if Kaz will coach again in the NCAA.  He may not want to with his family and vice versa he may not get another shot from another school.  Who knows.  I don't think the appeal will do anything more than lift the ban or keep the ban.  Anything more is wishful thinking. 

[jdean]

RC:
I hope ONU's admin has alot of confidence they can get the ban lifted. To have the ban moved to next year is terribly unfair to the current Jr class.

[DII/DIIIFan]

Early word is that Jason Trusnik suffered a broken bone in his foot - x-rays to follow. A real blow to the Polar Bears.

The Cincinnati Bengals sent a scout to watch Trusnik at the ONU-Muskingum game from the press box, but Trusnik went out early in the first quarter. He tried to walk it off, but quickly had his pads off and was on crutches.