FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[JK]

I'm more interested in the OAC poll that will come out tomorrow after media day.  Of course MTU will be 1, followed by ONU I would guess.  3rd will be interesting... Cap, Ott, or someone else?  Where will BW be?  My guess is as low as 7th.  Will JCU also find themselves in the bottom half?  Will the Berg and Musky be ahead of BW and JCU?

[BoBo]

1. Mount Union
2. UWW
3. Linfield
4. UMHB
5. Wesley

[HScoach]

1          UW-Whitewater -  returns way too much to be anywhere but #1

2          Mount Union - tons of holes, but LK still on sidelines.  History says MTU will be at least a Final 4 team regardless of the #'s returning

3          Central - returns 9 on O (including QB) and 9 on D

4          Linfield - resurgence from '09 carries into '10

5          Mary Hardin-Baylor - returns 8 on O (including QB) and 6 on D

6          Wittenberg - QB is gone, but TB/O-line are back and the D will be sick

7          St. Thomas - returns everyone except TE, 1 WR and 1 DB

8          Wesley - I rank them lower than most will because their O didn't impress me and the D loses studs off of D-line

9          Ohio Northern - if they can find a playmaker at WR, they could be primed for a deep run in the playoffs

10        Coe - both O and D lines return intact plus the QB.  Only real holes are LB corps

11        Hardin-Simmons - counting returning injuries, HSU returns all 11 on O and 8 on D.

12        Capital - Marty's extra year pushes Cap into the Top 15.    ONU/MTU/Cap should be a great top 3 in the OAC

13        Delaware Valley - loses QB, but entire O-line returns.  Overall 8 are back on both O and D

14        St. John's - average depth returns, but solid program

15        Wheaton (Ill.) - solid program loses QB, but decent #'s elsewhere cover for it (6 on O / 7 on D) 

16        Wabash - big holes to fill, but NCAC schedule guarantees 8 wins at least.  Season made or lost at Witt

17        Willamette - know little about them, but historically solid

18        Thomas More -  QB is gone, but 9 starters on D with 4 of 5 O-linemen should help

19        North Central - basically mirror image of T More's depth chart.

20        Otterbein - probably much better than their OAC record will indicate after playing MTU, ONU and Cap

21        Case Western - ?

22        Wash. & Jeff. - QB returns for solid program in a crappy league = enough wins to be ranked

23        Cal Lutheran - loses QB and TB, but D returns 8

24        Johns Hopkins - 6 return on O (incl. QB) and 7 on D.  Should equate to similar result as '09

25        Illinois Wesleyan - loses QB, ranked more on reputation and conference strength

[Blutarsky]

1          UW-Whitewater
2          Mount Union
3          Central
4          Linfield
5          Mary Hardin-Baylor
6          Wittenberg
7          St. Thomas
8          Wesley
9          Ohio Northern
10        Coe
11        Hardin-Simmons
12        Capital
13        Delaware Valley
14        St. John's
15        Wheaton (Ill.)
16        Wabash
17        Willamette
18        Thomas More
19        North Central
20        Otterbein
21        Case Western
22        Wash. & Jeff.
23        Cal Lutheran
24        Johns Hopkins
25        Illinois Wesleyan

Coach...well done!  Mine looks the same, except I have Cal Lutheran (23) and Illinois Wesleyan (25) reversed. 

[SaintsFAN]

This is my top 5...

1. Mount Union
2. Whitewater
3. Wesley
4. Ohio Northern
5. Washington & Jefferson

Top 5 for North Region?  W&J and Wesley play in South Region... Did you see the President's last game?

[Raider 68]

UWW will and should be #1, but they have as large a question at QB as does the Raiders. Their benefit is that the offensive line returns and have only a few holes in the defensive secondary. My guess is that they will be a running team first this fall. Maybe the D3 guys will agree, but they have sometimes surprized us with their picks!

A agree on the UMU/ONU/Cap threesome. Maybe they will be pre-season picks for the OAC, but we will see!

[75 bucks]

With Simmons (the best QB in maybe the country) and Donnally back (maybe the best back in the country) I think ONU may be the best team in the country. #1 overall.

Same with Capital- With Assman and the RB back Wesley is in trouble.

Could the Raiders go 7-2 in the conference?

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

With Simmons (the best QB in maybe the country) and Donnally back (maybe the best back in the country) I think ONU may be the best team in the country. #1 overall.

Same with Capital- With Assman and the RB back Wesley is in trouble.

Could the Raiders go 7-2 in the conference?

No.

[02 Warhawk]

UWW will and should be #1, but they have as large a question at QB as does the Raiders. Their benefit is that the offensive line returns and have only a few holes in the defensive secondary. My guess is that they will be a running team first this fall. Maybe the D3 guys will agree, but they have sometimes surprized us with their picks!

A agree on the UMU/ONU/Cap threesome. Maybe they will be pre-season picks for the OAC, but we will see!

Nah...Mount WILL be selected #1, business as usual for the preseason poll. Honostly I think it's a toss up on who SHOULD be #1 to start the year. I like Mount's defense better, but I don't think anyone has a better O-line/running game better than UWW.

[Raider 68]

From 02 Warhawk,

" I like Mount's defense better, but I don't think anyone has a better O-line/running game better than UWW. "

Agree with the UWW O-line/running game, 02!

[BashDad]

With Simmons (the best QB in maybe the country)...

I'd put these two above him:

Alex Tanney, Monmouth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXId6BHQ5xY

Aaron Boehme, Linfield: http://podcasts3.stretchinternet.com/linvideo/fb/hsu091209.mov

Boehme's my why-not sleeper for National OPOY. Linfield could really be tough this year...

[PurpleSuit]

With Simmons (the best QB in maybe the country) and Donnally back (maybe the best back in the country) I think ONU may be the best team in the country. #1 overall.

i'll have what he's drinking

[JK]

Same with Capital- With Assman and the RB back Wesley is in trouble.

Assmann and D'Andrea (the RB) back is a nice start, but Cap has some holes to fill on both the O and D lines.  As we have mentioned, to beat Mount, you have to control the line of scrimmage. 

[seventiesraider]

With Simmons (the best QB in maybe the country) and Donnally back (maybe the best back in the country) I think ONU may be the best team in the country. #1 overall.

i'll have what he's drinking

Me three

[HScoach]

With Simmons (the best QB in maybe the country) and Donnally back (maybe the best back in the country) I think ONU may be the best team in the country. #1 overall.

i'll have what he's drinking

I'm too old to handle the stuff he's on. 

Before you worry about Simmons being in the discussion for best QB in the nation, he might want to unseat Assman as the best QB in the OAC first.  Simmons is a nice player, and much better than what ONU has had since Franzer, but he's not elite IMHO.

And yes, I put "unseat" and "Assman" in the same sentence on purpose.......