FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Desertraider]

Is it football season yet? I swear the NHL has had 4 seasons since the Stagg Bowl ended. Oh well - saw this on Pierre in the Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2013/06/24/pierre-garcon-gives-football-uniforms-to-three-local-high-schools/

Pretty cool - love to see this kind of stuff, and love it even more that it is a Mount guy.

[Dr. Acula]

It's a running joke on here when newspaper blurbs refer to kids signing. Well, I saw a new one when new Cap coach Candeto tweeted about getting his first commitment for the 2014 class.  Never seen that before.

[Raider 68]

Is it football season yet? I swear the NHL has had 4 seasons since the Stagg Bowl ended. Oh well - saw this on Pierre in the Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2013/06/24/pierre-garcon-gives-football-uniforms-to-three-local-high-schools/

Pretty cool - love to see this kind of stuff, and love it even more that it is a Mount guy.

desertraider,

Thanks for the link. Glad to see PG supporting the communities, nice contribution by him!

[Blutarsky]

It's a running joke on here when newspaper blurbs refer to kids signing. Well, I saw a new one when new Cap coach Candeto tweeted about getting his first commitment for the 2014 class.  Never seen that before.

I just want it known that I have "verbally committed" to the State Teacher's Retirement System for the class of 2015.

[Dr. Acula]

Anyone have any thoughts on how the top half of the conference will shake out?  I'd put it:

Mount
Berg
JCU
BW
Ott

I know one of those half a** preseason polls had BW ranked, but I don't know about anyone else but I didn't see anything that led me to believe they had a ton of talent waiting to take over for O'Rourke and company.  They have Holt back which is nice, but do they have a QB?  I think their backup QB was the kid that was just a runner basically (I think they ended up using him some at RB actually) and I think he was a senior anyway.

I think JCU is more dangerous simply because of Myers at QB.  If they can replace Robilotto they should be able to score at least.  And numerous people on here (myself included) have wondered aloud why JCU wasn't better.  Maybe the Arth magic will still be there.

Berg is a clear #2 in my mind.  They return Brooks and Lacey who proved he is a very capable option at RB as well.  They also return a couple All-OAC OL and defensive players.  I didn't count, but they might have the most All-OAC returning.  We kept saying it all last year...they're building up to 2013-2014.  Well nothing that happened makes me think they're not clearly the 2nd best team going into camp.

Ott I don't know much about, but honestly I just didn't know who else to put there.  ONU?  They appeared totally devoid of offensive talent save Humphrey who is gone now.  Cap?  I think it was HScoach that said they were Wilm with better uniforms.  Candeto is definitely working hard, but that's another team with no QB.  It might take him a couple good years of recruiting just to restock the shelves in Bexley.

Sorry for the long post, but I figured it's slow right now so no one would mind!

[D3MAFAN]

Anyone have any thoughts on how the top half of the conference will shake out?  I'd put it:

Mount
Berg
JCU
BW
Ott

I know one of those half a** preseason polls had BW ranked, but I don't know about anyone else but I didn't see anything that led me to believe they had a ton of talent waiting to take over for O'Rourke and company.  They have Holt back which is nice, but do they have a QB?  I think their backup QB was the kid that was just a runner basically (I think they ended up using him some at RB actually) and I think he was a senior anyway.

I think JCU is more dangerous simply because of Myers at QB.  If they can replace Robilotto they should be able to score at least.  And numerous people on here (myself included) have wondered aloud why JCU wasn't better.  Maybe the Arth magic will still be there.

Berg is a clear #2 in my mind.  They return Brooks and Lacey who proved he is a very capable option at RB as well.  They also return a couple All-OAC OL and defensive players.  I didn't count, but they might have the most All-OAC returning.  We kept saying it all last year...they're building up to 2013-2014.  Well nothing that happened makes me think they're not clearly the 2nd best team going into camp.

Ott I don't know much about, but honestly I just didn't know who else to put there.  ONU?  They appeared totally devoid of offensive talent save Humphrey who is gone now.  Cap?  I think it was HScoach that said they were Wilm with better uniforms.  Candeto is definitely working hard, but that's another team with no QB.  It might take him a couple good years of recruiting just to restock the shelves in Bexley.

Sorry for the long post, but I figured it's slow right now so no one would mind!

I have it
Mount
Mount JV
Mount Freshmen Squad
Everyone Else
Everyone Else JV

[Dr. Acula]

Berg is a clear #2 in my mind.  They return Brooks and Lacey who proved he is a very capable option at RB as well.  They also return a couple All-OAC OL and defensive players.  I didn't count, but they might have the most All-OAC returning.  We kept saying it all last year...they're building up to 2013-2014.  Well nothing that happened makes me think they're not clearly the 2nd best team going into camp.

I just counted.  Here is what each squad has returning:

Berg:  9 All-OAC performers (1st-3, 2nd-5, HM-1)
UMU:  5 (1st-3, HM-2)
Etta:  3 (2nd-2, HM-1)
BW:  3 (1st-1, 2nd-2)
JCU:  2 (1st-1, 2nd-1)
Ott:  2 (1st-1, HM-1)
Musky:  2 (1st-1, 2nd-1)
ONU:  2 (2nd-1, HM-1)
Wilm:  2 (2nd-1, HM-1)
Cap:  1 (HM-1)

I counted Germany Woods for Mount since he is returning and he was an All-OAC player in 2011.

[HScoach]

Berg is loaded for '13, but still hasn't caught Mount at the line of scrimmage.   Mount by 13.5

[Raider 68]

Anyone have any thoughts on how the top half of the conference will shake out?  I'd put it:

Mount
Berg
JCU
BW
Ott

I know one of those half a** preseason polls had BW ranked, but I don't know about anyone else but I didn't see anything that led me to believe they had a ton of talent waiting to take over for O'Rourke and company.  They have Holt back which is nice, but do they have a QB?  I think their backup QB was the kid that was just a runner basically (I think they ended up using him some at RB actually) and I think he was a senior anyway.

I think JCU is more dangerous simply because of Myers at QB.  If they can replace Robilotto they should be able to score at least.  And numerous people on here (myself included) have wondered aloud why JCU wasn't better.  Maybe the Arth magic will still be there.

Berg is a clear #2 in my mind.  They return Brooks and Lacey who proved he is a very capable option at RB as well.  They also return a couple All-OAC OL and defensive players.  I didn't count, but they might have the most All-OAC returning.  We kept saying it all last year...they're building up to 2013-2014.  Well nothing that happened makes me think they're not clearly the 2nd best team going into camp.

Ott I don't know much about, but honestly I just didn't know who else to put there.  ONU?  They appeared totally devoid of offensive talent save Humphrey who is gone now.  Cap?  I think it was HScoach that said they were Wilm with better uniforms.  Candeto is definitely working hard, but that's another team with no QB.  It might take him a couple good years of recruiting just to restock the shelves in Bexley.

Sorry for the long post, but I figured it's slow right now so no one would mind!

Dr. Acula,

I would agree with your Top 5, but the rest I am not sure about. I do think ONU will be improved
over 2012, but not sure how much.

HSCoach said last year that  'the Berg' would be strong in 2013, but their area of concern will be
their line play. The Raider's will have the skill positions covered, the question will be how good
will the OL be given the loss of those starters. The good news for the Raiders is those extra games
and practices for the 2-deep roster. Playing 15 games each year really is an advantage.

B-W loses some key offense with O'Rourke and company. JCU will need some defense to finish
at the number 4 spot, IMHO.

[TheBerg40]

Anyone have any thoughts on how the top half of the conference will shake out?  I'd put it:

Mount
Berg
JCU
BW
Ott

I know one of those half a** preseason polls had BW ranked, but I don't know about anyone else but I didn't see anything that led me to believe they had a ton of talent waiting to take over for O'Rourke and company.  They have Holt back which is nice, but do they have a QB?  I think their backup QB was the kid that was just a runner basically (I think they ended up using him some at RB actually) and I think he was a senior anyway.

I think JCU is more dangerous simply because of Myers at QB.  If they can replace Robilotto they should be able to score at least.  And numerous people on here (myself included) have wondered aloud why JCU wasn't better.  Maybe the Arth magic will still be there.

Berg is a clear #2 in my mind.  They return Brooks and Lacey who proved he is a very capable option at RB as well.  They also return a couple All-OAC OL and defensive players.  I didn't count, but they might have the most All-OAC returning.  We kept saying it all last year...they're building up to 2013-2014.  Well nothing that happened makes me think they're not clearly the 2nd best team going into camp.

Ott I don't know much about, but honestly I just didn't know who else to put there.  ONU?  They appeared totally devoid of offensive talent save Humphrey who is gone now.  Cap?  I think it was HScoach that said they were Wilm with better uniforms.  Candeto is definitely working hard, but that's another team with no QB.  It might take him a couple good years of recruiting just to restock the shelves in Bexley.

Sorry for the long post, but I figured it's slow right now so no one would mind!

I think there will be a changing of the guard this year in the OAC! You usually see big improvement from Sophomore to Junior year, and Heidelberg will have a lot of Juniors this year with a ton of experience. Here's my top 5.

1.) Heidelberg
2.) Mount
3.) Otterbein
4.) JC
5.) BW

[Dr. Acula]

Like the enthusiasm Berg40.  The game is also in Tiffin this year which helps your case too.  And with Mount replacing all 5 OL we don't know with 100% certainty what we have there so what is normally an advantage is a question mark (although 20 yrs of track record says they'll be fine).  But IMO there's still too big of a gap in terms of the D and the QB.  The Raiders are at an elite level in both areas and Berg is not.   

[ohiofan1954]

any chance the mt.-berg game might be moved to the high school stadium? Heidelberg is one of my favorite places to visit but the demand for this game might be more then the wittenberg game was last year.  Going to be a hot  day in Tiffin 11/2.

[TheBerg40]

Mount Union's O-line last year was huge and definitely the backbone of that championship team. You would have to think their o-line this year won't be as strong and it will be interesting to see how that will affect Burke's play. This is one of the reasons why Heidelberg will overtake the OAC this year.....And davepi2, there is absolutely no way Heidelberg will move that game to the high school.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Mount Union's O-line last year was huge and definitely the backbone of that championship team. You would have to think their o-line this year won't be as strong and it will be interesting to see how that will affect Burke's play. This is one of the reasons why Heidelberg will overtake the OAC this year.....

Because Mount Union has never had to "reload" at a certain position over the past 20 or so years?

I'm fairly confident the next group of OL will be ready for the task.  And with Burke and the D returning, this won't be the year that Mount fails to win the OAX.

[D3MAFAN]

Mount Union's O-line last year was huge and definitely the backbone of that championship team. You would have to think their o-line this year won't be as strong and it will be interesting to see how that will affect Burke's play. This is one of the reasons why Heidelberg will overtake the OAC this year.....

Because Mount Union has never had to "reload" at a certain position over the past 20 or so years?

I'm fairly confident the next group of OL will be ready for the task.  And with Burke and the D returning, this won't be the year that Mount fails to win the OAX.

This situation is similar to UW-Whitewater last year, they had to replace some key players on the line. UW-Whitewater, brought back some players on Defense, but wasn't able to pound away as usual. However, as many mentioned already, history just tell us that Mount Union is going to be good and ready to go. Only time will tell. Which makes for a pretty interesting upcoming season.