FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Desertraider]

As far as I know, neither Mount nor UW-W have any sort of reputation for running up the score within the ranks of people who actually follow D-III football. Any anecdotal evidence someone may point to is easily counterbalanced by the simple fact that a Head Coach has to do what he thinks is best for his football team.  I can't imagine anyone on the Mount Union or UW-W staff feeling the need to run up a score. Their records speak for themselves.

Easterbrook's comments are just plain offensive.  So few national commentators even bother to look into D-III football.  Apparently he is one of them.  The difference is that others don't comment on it (although some well informed commentary would be refreshing).  Easterbrook knows that his audience doesn't know that much about D-III.  So he capitalizes on that by making up his own storyline and slurring Mount in the process.  Maybe I'm the only one, but I actually believe that's kind of a serious issue.  I sort of wish Mount's administration would issue a complaint with Easterbrook's employer or even appeal to the NCAA to step in on Mount's behalf.

Not sure I 100% agree with this. We have all heard people on this board bring the charge that Mount runs it up - and people on this board follow DIII football. However, I do not think that the coaches Mount or UWW go against think they run it up. Other teams in the OAC or WIAC or wherever know that when they play either Mount or UWW the chance of the score getting out of hand early is better than the chance the game will be competitive. When other coaches (from OTT, Wilma, Etta, Osh-Kosh...) start making the claim that Mount/UWW is running it up then it would perhaps be an issue. Easterhack is exactly that: a hack journalist. His column is neither sports, nor politics, nor social entertainment: it is all of those and more. It is a hodge-podge of hack journalism based on his opinion only, not facts. We all know the reality of Mount, UWW, UMHB - if they wanted to lay 150 points on the majority of these teams: they could. Mount could have put 100 on the board in at least 5 (maybe 6) games this year. In some of those they could have hit 100 in the first half. When we start seeing that then running up the score becomes a valid claim.

However - I was talking to my buddy about the Mount/OTT game this weekend. His nephew is a DB at OTT. I told him the kid was in for a long day with Mounts WRs. To keep the score "down" he had a plan: make Mount fans pay for the ticket after the game and charge $1 for every point scored. That would make the average ticket price about $65. The score would still be high - but the other team would have a great gate-take! Interesting...regardless I am headed to OTT this weekend to see my first Mount game of the year! Roll Raiders~Roll!!

[ExTartanPlayer]

I tend to like Easterbrook's column. Most weeks it's an entertaining mix of football, pop culture, science, and other things. It's worth a read. I did get annoyed by his wrong comment this week, and a few others he's made over the years. But that goes for just about every columnist I've ever read. Occasionally I send columnists an email detailing mistakes or misconceptions. I've only gotten something back once, and it wasn't from Easterbrook. All that being said, it's not a big deal. I did fire off another email after this week's column, but it isn't the end of the world. If you don't like it, stop reading him. For the most part, that one occasional paragraph about D3 in his columns isn't going to do much damage to people's perceptions. In fact, most people simply don't, and won't, care, regardless of what he writes about D3...

Sigh.  This is generally how I feel, too, but it's just frustrating to see Mount's good name sullied for things that just aren't true.  Or, in the case of this week's item, haphazardly crediting Mount for showing good sportsmanship this week (implying they haven't done so in the past, despite the fact that they've been doing exactly what he praised them for this week for years) and still throwing in the misleading "against regional opponents that don't recruit" thing.  I get complaining about SEC teams playing FCS opponents because those teams literally don't play by the same set of recruiting rules; this isn't true in Division III, but he throws this out there to make it seem like Mount Union is this recruiting Evil Empire beating up on poor undermanned opponents that can't even recruit!

And there I go again.  Ugh.

[Desertraider]

I tend to like Easterbrook's column. Most weeks it's an entertaining mix of football, pop culture, science, and other things. It's worth a read. I did get annoyed by his wrong comment this week, and a few others he's made over the years. But that goes for just about every columnist I've ever read. Occasionally I send columnists an email detailing mistakes or misconceptions. I've only gotten something back once, and it wasn't from Easterbrook. All that being said, it's not a big deal. I did fire off another email after this week's column, but it isn't the end of the world. If you don't like it, stop reading him. For the most part, that one occasional paragraph about D3 in his columns isn't going to do much damage to people's perceptions. In fact, most people simply don't, and won't, care, regardless of what he writes about D3...

Sigh.  This is generally how I feel, too, but it's just frustrating to see Mount's good name sullied for things that just aren't true.  Or, in the case of this week's item, haphazardly crediting Mount for showing good sportsmanship this week (implying they haven't done so in the past, despite the fact that they've been doing exactly what he praised them for this week for years) and still throwing in the misleading "against regional opponents that don't recruit" thing.  I get complaining about SEC teams playing FCS opponents because those teams literally don't play by the same set of recruiting rules; this isn't true in Division III, but he throws this out there to make it seem like Mount Union is this recruiting Evil Empire beating up on poor undermanned opponents that can't even recruit!

And there I go again.  Ugh.

+K in my book. That is exactly what it sounds like. I will admit that recruiting at Mount may be easier (afterall PG did seek out Mount Union) because of the attention they get. But DIII is DIII and they all have the same recruiting rules. Mount is not playing JV squads from local High Schools on a weekly basis. I seem to remember Mount dropping 50, 60 on teams in the quarters and semis...or in the case of Lycoming in the the championship game.

[Dr. Acula]

Looks like it's going to be lousy weather here in Columbus for the game.  Low 40's and a chance of rain.  Yuck.

Are we going to learn much of anything this weekend?  Otterbein is 5-2, 5-1, but they have Mount/JCU/ONU to end the season so they've kind of beaten who they should and lost to who they should.  They seem similar to the recent vintage of Ott teams in that they're pretty solid defensively, but somewhat limited offensively. 

Hutchison is a good RB averaging 99 yds/gm and a very impressive 9 ypc.  Against a good SJF defense he rushed for 148 and a score.  This was skewed by his 82 yd TD run, but he still had 66 yds on only 8 other carries that day.  Not too bad against a quality team like SJF.

Defensively Ott is 3rd in scoring D.  They're 2nd to Mount with 16 takeaways.  They also lead the OAC with 27 sacks.  Unfortunately, after JCU and Mount there is a Grand Canyon sized gap in defensive statistics to the rest of the conference.  So while Ott falls 3rd-5th in almost all categories (glass half full?) they also have given up 23 points and 366 yards per game before even facing Mount or JCU (glass half empty?).  One would assume those figures will be rising in the next 2 weeks.

In terms of competition I expect something similar to the ONU game this week.  I hope Ott pushes the Mount O line some with their pass rush.  Other than that I don't see Mount being pushed unless the weather is a disaster.  And now that Ott has turf this year even that wouldn't be as big of an issue as in the past. 

[amonachino]

Mount union's golf team was in the espn top 10 today with college trick plays.  3 golfers did continuous golf tricks and passed the ball to the next one.  They were no.1.

[bleedpurple]

As far as I know, neither Mount nor UW-W have any sort of reputation for running up the score within the ranks of people who actually follow D-III football. Any anecdotal evidence someone may point to is easily counterbalanced by the simple fact that a Head Coach has to do what he thinks is best for his football team.  I can't imagine anyone on the Mount Union or UW-W staff feeling the need to run up a score. Their records speak for themselves.

Easterbrook's comments are just plain offensive.  So few national commentators even bother to look into D-III football.  Apparently he is one of them.  The difference is that others don't comment on it (although some well informed commentary would be refreshing).  Easterbrook knows that his audience doesn't know that much about D-III.  So he capitalizes on that by making up his own storyline and slurring Mount in the process.  Maybe I'm the only one, but I actually believe that's kind of a serious issue.  I sort of wish Mount's administration would issue a complaint with Easterbrook's employer or even appeal to the NCAA to step in on Mount's behalf.

Not sure I 100% agree with this. We have all heard people on this board bring the charge that Mount runs it up - and people on this board follow DIII football. However, I do not think that the coaches Mount or UWW go against think they run it up. Other teams in the OAC or WIAC or wherever know that when they play either Mount or UWW the chance of the score getting out of hand early is better than the chance the game will be competitive. When other coaches (from OTT, Wilma, Etta, Osh-Kosh...) start making the claim that Mount/UWW is running it up then it would perhaps be an issue. Easterhack is exactly that: a hack journalist. His column is neither sports, nor politics, nor social entertainment: it is all of those and more. It is a hodge-podge of hack journalism based on his opinion only, not facts. We all know the reality of Mount, UWW, UMHB - if they wanted to lay 150 points on the majority of these teams: they could. Mount could have put 100 on the board in at least 5 (maybe 6) games this year. In some of those they could have hit 100 in the first half. When we start seeing that then running up the score becomes a valid claim.

However - I was talking to my buddy about the Mount/OTT game this weekend. His nephew is a DB at OTT. I told him the kid was in for a long day with Mounts WRs. To keep the score "down" he had a plan: make Mount fans pay for the ticket after the game and charge $1 for every point scored. That would make the average ticket price about $65. The score would still be high - but the other team would have a great gate-take! Interesting...regardless I am headed to OTT this weekend to see my first Mount game of the year! Roll Raiders~Roll!!

I guess I did misstate that point. If someone who actually uses facts as to what happens in a game to express the opinion that Mount/ UWW/or anyone else is running up a score, I'm cool with that. Opinions are what this board is for and great discussion can ensue.  When someone has the platform Easterbrook has and deliberately creates his own storyline ignoring both the facts and emails trying to explain to him those facts, then that is a different deal. Even then, it wouldn't be that big of a deal if it didn't impugn the name of Mount. As ridiculous as it is, there are probably hundreds of people who have formed an impression of Mount based on what he says. 

I have a counter-offer for your buddy.  How about Mount grants a "starting fund" of $50,000 to the visiting school for every home game. And for every point Mount scores over 50, $2,000 is reduced from the $50,000. Hold them under 75 and you are in the money. Allow more than 75, then you start contributing to the Raiders' football program, $2000 per point above 75. Then we will see just how much restraint Mount has REALLY been showing all these years. 

[Toph]

I tend to like Easterbrook's column. Most weeks it's an entertaining mix of football, pop culture, science, and other things. It's worth a read. I did get annoyed by his wrong comment this week, and a few others he's made over the years. But that goes for just about every columnist I've ever read. Occasionally I send columnists an email detailing mistakes or misconceptions. I've only gotten something back once, and it wasn't from Easterbrook. All that being said, it's not a big deal. I did fire off another email after this week's column, but it isn't the end of the world. If you don't like it, stop reading him. For the most part, that one occasional paragraph about D3 in his columns isn't going to do much damage to people's perceptions. In fact, most people simply don't, and won't, care, regardless of what he writes about D3...

I hate his column, and not because of anything he says about D3.  Gregggg Easterbrook is pompous, wordy, and just not entertaining.  If any of you are familiar with Drew Magary, in his weekly NFL column he has a section entitled "Gregggg Easterbrook is a haughty dipsh*t."  I want to see this notebook that Gregggg apparently writes "GAME OVER" in over and over.

[theaprof]

Just saw Gone Girl today, and was impressed  with the performance of the actress who played Ben Afleck's character's sister. Found out she's a Mt Union grad - Carrie Coon. Among a number of good jobs, in a good movie, she may have been the best. Not sure how this relates to football, but figured I'd weigh in anyhow.

She was a four year varsity futball player on the women's soccer team, so I think it relates!   She played sweeper--not an easy position.

[mr_mom]

Mount union's golf team was in the espn top 10 today with college trick plays.  3 golfers did continuous golf tricks and passed the ball to the next one.  They were no.1.

Cool!

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2014/10/30/watch-the-mount-union-golf-trick-shot-video-that-landed-on-sportscenter

[Spurrier]

Polar bears get it done on Saturday...pb's where u at?

[SaintsFAN]

I tend to like Easterbrook's column. Most weeks it's an entertaining mix of football, pop culture, science, and other things. It's worth a read. I did get annoyed by his wrong comment this week, and a few others he's made over the years. But that goes for just about every columnist I've ever read. Occasionally I send columnists an email detailing mistakes or misconceptions. I've only gotten something back once, and it wasn't from Easterbrook. All that being said, it's not a big deal. I did fire off another email after this week's column, but it isn't the end of the world. If you don't like it, stop reading him. For the most part, that one occasional paragraph about D3 in his columns isn't going to do much damage to people's perceptions. In fact, most people simply don't, and won't, care, regardless of what he writes about D3...

I hate his column, and not because of anything he says about D3.  Gregggg Easterbrook is pompous, wordy, and just not entertaining.  If any of you are familiar with Drew Magary, in his weekly NFL column he has a section entitled "Gregggg Easterbrook is a haughty dipsh*t."  I want to see this notebook that Gregggg apparently writes "GAME OVER" in over and over.

love Deadspin and Drew Magary.  Do you comment on the articles over there, toph?

[raiderpa]

When it is all said and done, if you want accurate, fair, and professional news coverage of DIII football (among other DIII sports) you need go no further than this web site.  Over the years, they have been accurate, open-minded, and their research and factual reporting is second to none on our favorite sport, and teams.  I have gotten upset a couple times with their scouting assessments of some of the Mount Union's games but, I have to admit that a great deal of the time they are correct, and my emotions have tainted my predictions/thoughts.
So, if you want to go read Easterbrooke, go ahead, however, if you want the straight stuff from the actual experts on DIII, this is the place.
Thanks to Pat, Keith,  and staff for your continued excellence.

[Toph]

I hate his column, and not because of anything he says about D3.  Gregggg Easterbrook is pompous, wordy, and just not entertaining.  If any of you are familiar with Drew Magary, in his weekly NFL column he has a section entitled "Gregggg Easterbrook is a haughty dipsh*t."  I want to see this notebook that Gregggg apparently writes "GAME OVER" in over and over.

love Deadspin and Drew Magary.  Do you comment on the articles over there, toph?

I don't.  Just read it.  I appreciate a site that doesn't take itself too seriously.  You're looking at the only community I post in online.

[section13raiderfan]

Im all for blowouts IF the backups are scoring the points late in the game. Screw sliding or stepping out at the one if the defense is just going through the motions. This no kid left behind, you gotta protect the athletes self esteem crap doesnt belong at the collegiate level. And frankly, isnt the real reason to call off the dogs is because another head coaches job is a terrible thing to waste? Just consider a blowout as a teaching opportunity for the backups under real game conditions. The fans already know how to deal with it properly, leave when you are no longer interested. Eventually time will reverse the situation anyways. Name one dynasty that never fell! Think of the next game as a payback opportunity and use it for motivation. Who can say that they were not genuinely happy to see Heidelberg reverse their course? Arent you secretly hoping that JCU runs the table leading up to the Mount game? I want them to lose to Mount Union.... but if its in double overtime thats fine with me. If its decided by halftime thats also acceptable. Those teams accepted the challenge to compete at a higher level and the other teams can too.

[mr_mom]

This is a test of the Emergency Sportscast System ... this is only a test ...

Don't forget to get your OAC Picks in by noon tomorrow.

This has been a test of the Emergency Sportscast System.  The sportscasters in your area, in voluntary cooperation with the OAC and other authorities, have developed this system to keep you informed in the event of an emergency.

If this had been an actual emergency, you would have been instructed to grab some booze and someone worth mating with and hide out in a cave until our new alien overlords found you.