FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[TooForRaider]

Update....after doing the dishes for three days in a row, AND cooking dinner Monday night, I am still unable to wrangle a hall pass from the boss for Friday night.  After some deep soul-searching, I feel I have wisely decided to live to fight another day, and therefore, will not be out on Friday night.

Gentleman, please carry on without me.   

The mini-entourage of Skunk, Jr., and myself will be in our usual breakfast spot Saturday morning.

As for the game, look for things to be VERY interesting come Saturday.  As long as the weather is just cold, and not wet/snowy/crappy, Mount will unleash a few new wrinkles that might have the Wesley faithful saying......"hhwha?.....huh?...is THAT LEGAL?"   

I am a bit concerned regarding Wesley's QB running the ball, provided they do it a la B-W style, and basically run him between the tackles.  If he is attempting to run outside, my guess is he will decide that is a BAD IDEA after about the 2nd quarter.

How's Wesley's kicker?  I feel pretty confident in our guy to be consistent, and make the ones he should.

If certain things are in place....Mount by 14-17 points.  If  they are not.......Mount kicks a field goal towards the end of the game to win.

PM, Skunks!

[Teamski]

I think you guys are underestimating Wesley's resolve in this game.  It wasn't just that Wesley stayed in the 2009 game into the 4th quarter, being behind 10-7 until Cecil Shorts took over, but that this time around, Wesley has momentum that they didn't have in 2009.  McSweeny is not playing like the 2009 McSweeny who had a year left to play, but a man on a mission to go out with a championship; and if you haven't seen that in his performance as of late, then you need to watch.   I'm not going to say that Wesley is going to dominate the game as MU is too good for that.  But to think that Wesley's defense is going to allow MU to run at will is simply unrealistic.  IMHO, if Wesley keeps it clean, they will win this game.   Expect a lot of company for your QB by the Wesley defensive line.

-Ski

[BashDad]

But to think that Wesley's defense is going to allow MU to run at will is simply unrealistic.

We'll see. Betcha five bucks.

[SaintsFAN]

It may be fairly inconspicuous, but the major problem for Wesley on Saturday isn't UMU's defense. Its the Purple Raider offense.

Murray ran for 150 last week, which represented about 5/8 of their entire offensive performance against a--yes--VERY good Wabash defense. Wesley's defense isn't near as good. They're not. With Mount's QB situation, Murray is going to carry the ball a thousand times on Saturday. He's going to run for several thousand yards. You watch. Wesley gave up runs of 25 yards or longer to THREE different running-backs last week. Murray will gash them and Kehres'll ride him all the way to Salem.

Also, this:

"I feel I can do it all," McSweeny said. "I can run, I can pass. If I see something the defenses are throwing at me differently, I can call an audible. Sometimes I'll tuck the ball and run, if everything is covered. I'll see that little lane and turn a negative thing into a positive thing."

Off the record, McSweeny continued: "I also like throwing to receivers and tight-ends and running-backs. I think my cadence is solid and, if I feel like I need to, if its necessary, sometimes I'll go silent count which is where you don't say anything and you just snap the ball. If we don't have any more time-outs, I'll recognize that and I won't call any. So. Are you guys hungry? I make a mean Beef Stroganoff."

38-17 is my guess.

LOL +K

[PA_wesleyfan]

Linfield also thought they had the fastest defense Wesley had ever seen and Koudossou and Barile both out ran their D

Also Wesley caught Linfield players from behind three different time during that game.

I understand the UMU fans non belief.
Until Wesley wins a semi final game we Wesley fans will have to keep hearing it.

[section13raiderfan]

Adaptability is the key to success for Saturday for both teams. You may have to play the wind and/or snow better than your opponent to get out of this one alive. MUC will be QB by committee, runningback by committee, and receivers either benefitting from that scenerio or suffering from it. The defenese will bring their A game no matter what. Whoever wins the field position war via their kicking games will probably win IMHO. I like MUC if its a field goal to win. If Wesley is pressing to catch up from behind then their QB better be a very quick thinker. The Defense will T OFF on em. Should be a fun one. Not sure if MUC gets behind that their forte is playing catch up. Especially if behind more than 7 points. Whose playbook has the most trickeration? We may just find out.

[wesleydad]

bashdad, no reason to debate everything you said, but I will take the point of Murray running for 150 yards on.  Not going to research it because I don't think I have to, but if he does he will be the first one this year.  I am well aware of how good the O line is for Mount and all that and I am also aware of how good you think Wabash was.  In the end we will get to compare after Saturday.  The more Mount runs the ball the better Wesley's chances are if they can limit the runs to short ones.  Wesley's weakness is the secondary, so I Kehres decides that his Qb's are not ready to throw much, nothing against Murray, but one thing I know for sure is that he is no Cecil Shorts.

[emma17]

I think you guys are underestimating Wesley's resolve in this game.  It wasn't just that Wesley stayed in the 2009 game into the 4th quarter, being behind 10-7 until Cecil Shorts too over, but that this time around, Wesley has momentum that they didn't have in 2009.  McSweeny is not playing like the 2009 McSweeny who had a year left to play, but a man on a mission to go out with a championship; and if you haven't seen that in his performance as of late, then you need to watch.   I'm not going to say that Wesley is going to dominate the game as MU is too good for that.  But to think that Wesley's defense is going to allow MU to run at will is simply unrealistic.  IMHO, if Wesley keeps it clean, they will win this game.   Expect a lot of company for your QB by the Wesley defensive line.

-Ski

For what it's worth Ski, I get the feeling this IS Wesley's best playoff team and I think they definately have a good chance to win, just as St. Thomas does.  My personal belief is that Wesely won't be able to put up many points.  I think Mt has the lethal combination of scheme, talent and discipline on defense, which will present a challenge McSweeny hasn't seen since 2009.  I am less confident in making a prediction as to Wesley's D vs Mt's O.  Obviously, if I'm right about Wesley struggling to score, Wesley's D will have to be much better than BashDad gives them credit for.  I actually think Wesley has a better chance of winning in a low scoring game than a high scoring game.     
Of course this is just my opinion, and I could be wrong.

[ExTartanPlayer]

I am less confident in making a prediction as to Wesley's D vs Mt's O.  Obviously, if I'm right about Wesley struggling to score, Wesley's D will have to be much better than BashDad gives them credit for.  I actually think Wesley has a better chance of winning in a low scoring game than a high scoring game.     

I agree with this.  I think that Wesley's best chance comes if a) they can break a big-play touchdown early and b) their defensive line can win in the trenches and force the UMU offense to beat them in the passing game.  I'm not particulary confident that either of those things will happen, but I think that's Wesley's best shot.  Obviously, even that might not be enough, since UMU is no stranger to winning low-scoring games either.

I know that Wesley's offense is explosive, and they've won shootouts in the past, but I just don't think Wesley can expect to rack up 30+ points in this game.  They might be able to count on the UMU defense making one mistake, maybe two, but the chances of scoring more than two touchdowns on that defense are very slim.

I honestly could see anything from a 17-14 Wesley win to a 42-7 UMU win.

[DE Wesley Fan]

Agree that "adaptability is the key to success" in this one.  Winner will likely be the team who is best able to make in-game adjustments, particularly with so many unknowns on MU's QB situation going in. Looking forward to seeing how we stack up against one of the best, and believe we have a real shot. 

[bashbrother]

bashdad, no reason to debate everything you said, but I will take the point of Murray running for 150 yards on.  Not going to research it because I don't think I have to, but if he does he will be the first one this year. 

MHB rushed for 194 last week. (Granted, this is a collective effort by multiple players)

As Wabash found out, you can stop him 8 or of 10 times,  it's the 2 times you don't that really hurts.

Any team with the type of defense that Mount has is a favorite in my book.   Add to that LK at the helm and I am taking the Purple Raiders! 

[DE Wesley Fan]

I will concede that we are likely to give up a big run or two, but also know our D can come right back and hold for a 3 and out if the long one isn't a TD.  I would be surprised if our defense doesn't give up at least 2 TD's and MU gets a field goal or better after a blocked punt.  We just have to have the offensive success to make up for it.  That's why I think we need to put up at least 24 or so to win.

[joelmama]

I think the odds of Wesley scoring 24 points on this defense are slim.  If they expect to win their defense needs to be tight and give up nothing.  I can pretty much assure you that barring injuries UMU's RB will gain 100 yards (in the first half).

[wesleydad]

bashdad, no reason to debate everything you said, but I will take the point of Murray running for 150 yards on.  Not going to research it because I don't think I have to, but if he does he will be the first one this year. 

MHB rushed for 194 last week. (Granted, this is a collective effort by multiple players)

As Wabash found out, you can stop him 8 or of 10 times,  it's the 2 times you don't that really hurts.

Any team with the type of defense that Mount has is a favorite in my book.   Add to that LK at the helm and I am taking the Purple Raiders!

not a stat person because they can be used to prove or not prove many things, but to prove the point about Wesley's run defense I looked up what they did against 2 perceived to be good running teams in Salisbury and UMHB.  Against Salisbury Wesley held them to 259 yards which was 27% below their season average, but if I remember at the time of the game they were over 400 per, so the % under would be greater.  The 194 yards for UMHB was 33% below their season average.  So if I split the middle, Mount will rush for about 170 yards of so.  Unless Murray gets them all then he will not likely get 150 which was my point.  I will be ok if Mount rushes for 170 as long as they dont throw for 270. 

I agree with most posters so far, that Wesley may struggle scoring as most teams do against Mount.  Not sure why some think that they have to get lucky to score to have a chance.  I dont think they will have to get lucky to move the ball or possibly pull off a big play.  McSweeney avoiding the rush and a receiver getting behind a D back wont be luck.  2 years ago they had chances to score, but some questionable decisions didnt get it done.

My question to the Mount folks is, how close is this offense to the one in 2009.  I doubt that it is better since Shorts is not on it.  After the starting QB got knocked out in 2009, Mount had no offense until Shorts played wildcat for most of the second half.  Aren't they likely to have the same issues this time if that occurs again?  Wesley's front 7 on D is as good as it was in 2009, the secondary is not.

[wesleydad]

Update....after doing the dishes for three days in a row, AND cooking dinner Monday night, I am still unable to wrangle a hall pass from the boss for Friday night.  After some deep soul-searching, I feel I have wisely decided to live to fight another day, and therefore, will not be out on Friday night.

Gentleman, please carry on without me.   

The mini-entourage of Skunk, Jr., and myself will be in our usual breakfast spot Saturday morning.

As for the game, look for things to be VERY interesting come Saturday.  As long as the weather is just cold, and not wet/snowy/crappy, Mount will unleash a few new wrinkles that might have the Wesley faithful saying......"hhwha?.....huh?...is THAT LEGAL?"   

I am a bit concerned regarding Wesley's QB running the ball, provided they do it a la B-W style, and basically run him between the tackles.  If he is attempting to run outside, my guess is he will decide that is a BAD IDEA after about the 2nd quarter.

How's Wesley's kicker?  I feel pretty confident in our guy to be consistent, and make the ones he should.

If certain things are in place....Mount by 14-17 points.  If  they are not.......Mount kicks a field goal towards the end of the game to win.

Skunks, sorry to hear that you cant make it on Friday night.  Will there still be a get together on Friday night?  What time on Saturday?  Like the breakfast with you guys.

I agree with your analysis that if all goes Mounts way they could win by 14 - 17, but if it all goes Wesley's way it could be reversed.  I'm thinking somewhere in the middle.