FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[emma17]

So what happened to Desertraider? He's not really gone from the boards is he?
I'd enjoyed his stuff.

[formerd3db]

So what happened to Desertraider? He's not really gone from the boards is he?
I'd enjoyed his stuff.

I did, too as he usually has some good input. Apparently, he got his "feathers ruffled" a little too much according to his last post.
I'm surprised as I took him as someone who wouldn't care about such "stuff." He's been around along enough as some of us others have as well to know that we've all been smited at times for things that were either misinterpreted the wrong way, or bevause someone disagrees with our opinion (which shouldn't happen, but does☹️😬), or when someone has "crossed the line" of decency ( which should happen i.e. a smite🙄😁) or someone is simply in a bad mood.🙂 As Usee said earlier today in a different discussion, if any of us aren't willing to take the heat sometimes, whether deserved it not, then don't post/don't participate. Anyway, come back desertraider! You keep it interesting, along with some of your other colleagues.🙂

[Dr. Acula]

Re-examining the flow of the game the back breaking play IMO was NCC converting 3rd and 28 early in the 3rd.  Up 45-35 Roesch gets a sack, NCC is inside their own 10 and they easily (and I mean EASILY) convert a 3rd and 28.  It was crushing.  Next play is a 59 yard pass and then a short TD run to cut it to 45-42.  At that point I'm sitting there thinking "We literally have to score a TD every possession because I don't think we can stop them even once."  The following possession the ball falls out of Fulford's hand as he's about to throw it on 4th and 5 and it's all downhill from there.  NCC scores and takes the lead.

Overall I thought NCC was the most skilled offensive team I've seen Mount play in a long time.  Rutter was obviously fantastic.  I really liked their RB.  He ran hard and always got a couple extra yards on pure strength and effort once he was wrapped up.  I hope he is okay as they'll need him in a couple weeks.  Defensively I thought they were decent but nothing special.  I wouldn't rate their D as better than JCU based only on the one game I saw each.  I would, however, rate their D as better than Mount's which is why they're playing next week.

I give Mount credit for punching back with a chance to tie or win until the very end.  When they got deep in NCC territory I really thought "they can't possibly rip NCC's heart out a second game, can they??"  I was pissed when that pass was picked off, but it also felt right.  NCC deserved to win that game.  There were no lucky bounces or tipped ball turnovers that aided them.  No excuses.  They just played better and the score justly reflected it.  Hats off to them and good luck the rest of the way.

p.s. I understand why this was a second round game, but it's a crime that wasn't a semifinal.  That's the game NCC wins to go to Texas in a perfect world.

[HScoach]

Re-examining the flow of the game the back breaking play IMO was NCC converting 3rd and 28 early in the 3rd.  Up 45-35 Roesch gets a sack, NCC is inside their own 10 and they easily (and I mean EASILY) convert a 3rd and 28.  It was crushing.  Next play is a 59 yard pass and then a short TD run to cut it to 45-42.  At that point I'm sitting there thinking "We literally have to score a TD every possession because I don't think we can stop them even once."  The following possession the ball falls out of Fulford's hand as he's about to throw it on 4th and 5 and it's all downhill from there.  NCC scores and takes the lead.

Overall I thought NCC was the most skilled offensive team I've seen Mount play in a long time.  Rutter was obviously fantastic.  I really liked their RB.  He ran hard and always got a couple extra yards on pure strength and effort once he was wrapped up.  I hope he is okay as they'll need him in a couple weeks.  Defensively I thought they were decent but nothing special.  I wouldn't rate their D as better than JCU based only on the one game I saw each.  I would, however, rate their D as better than Mount's which is why they're playing next week.

I give Mount credit for punching back with a chance to tie or win until the very end.  When they got deep in NCC territory I really thought "they can't possibly rip NCC's heart out a second game, can they??"  I was pissed when that pass was picked off, but it also felt right.  NCC deserved to win that game.  There were no lucky bounces or tipped ball turnovers that aided them.  No excuses.  They just played better and the score justly reflected it.  Hats off to them and good luck the rest of the way.

p.s. I understand why this was a second round game, but it's a crime that wasn't a semifinal.  That's the game NCC wins to go to Texas in a perfect world.

I agree 100%.  The 3rd and 28 conversion was the killer.  A reasonable stop there and Mounthada good chance to put enough distance between them to probably win it, regardless of how bad the D played the rest of the game.   

Weird performance defensively.   I was expecting Mount to struggle against a really good QB, but to not get sliced and diced like that. 

[kiko]

Re-examining the flow of the game the back breaking play IMO was NCC converting 3rd and 28 early in the 3rd.  Up 45-35 Roesch gets a sack, NCC is inside their own 10 and they easily (and I mean EASILY) convert a 3rd and 28.  It was crushing.  Next play is a 59 yard pass and then a short TD run to cut it to 45-42.  At that point I'm sitting there thinking "We literally have to score a TD every possession because I don't think we can stop them even once."  The following possession the ball falls out of Fulford's hand as he's about to throw it on 4th and 5 and it's all downhill from there.  NCC scores and takes the lead.

North Central guy here... I 100% agree with this.  North Central's defense wasn't exactly stopping UMU's offense at that point in the game, so absent that conversion, I was expecting the gap to extend to 52-35.  That's a giant ask against any team, let alone Mount Union, and I think the chase would have been too much to ask.

This was as well as I've ever seen North Central's offense play -- really, I'm not sure the Cardinals could have done anything more offensively -- and it was barely enough to get across the finish line.  That speaks volumes about just how high of a level a team of Mount's caliber plays on a week-in, week-out basis.

[Dr. Acula]

Completely unrelated to football, but I think we can all take pleasure in piling on BW...congrats to the #6 Mount wrestling team for slapping around #7 BW in Berea last night 31-9.  Always fun for any of us to beat BW in anything IMO.   

[JCUStreaks70]

Completely unrelated to football, but I think we can all take pleasure in piling on BW...congrats to the #6 Mount wrestling team for slapping around #7 BW in Berea last night 31-9.  Always fun for any of us to beat BW in anything IMO.   

I can get behind that! Well done Mount!

[archgemini24]

Re-examining the flow of the game the back breaking play IMO was NCC converting 3rd and 28 early in the 3rd.  Up 45-35 Roesch gets a sack, NCC is inside their own 10 and they easily (and I mean EASILY) convert a 3rd and 28.  It was crushing.  Next play is a 59 yard pass and then a short TD run to cut it to 45-42.  At that point I'm sitting there thinking "We literally have to score a TD every possession because I don't think we can stop them even once."  The following possession the ball falls out of Fulford's hand as he's about to throw it on 4th and 5 and it's all downhill from there.  NCC scores and takes the lead.

Overall I thought NCC was the most skilled offensive team I've seen Mount play in a long time.  Rutter was obviously fantastic.  I really liked their RB.  He ran hard and always got a couple extra yards on pure strength and effort once he was wrapped up.  I hope he is okay as they'll need him in a couple weeks.  Defensively I thought they were decent but nothing special.  I wouldn't rate their D as better than JCU based only on the one game I saw each.  I would, however, rate their D as better than Mount's which is why they're playing next week.

I give Mount credit for punching back with a chance to tie or win until the very end.  When they got deep in NCC territory I really thought "they can't possibly rip NCC's heart out a second game, can they??"  I was pissed when that pass was picked off, but it also felt right.  NCC deserved to win that game.  There were no lucky bounces or tipped ball turnovers that aided them.  No excuses.  They just played better and the score justly reflected it.  Hats off to them and good luck the rest of the way.

p.s. I understand why this was a second round game, but it's a crime that wasn't a semifinal.  That's the game NCC wins to go to Texas in a perfect world.

Sounds like all the Mount fans watching had a similar opinion or feeling of the game on the exact same sequence of plays, because I freely admit I literally felt my gut-wrench watching that conversion and the follow-up. That said, NCC did exactly what they were supposed to do on both plays: run a 30-yard route so that all the receiver has to worry about is catching the pass, then go for the dagger while the defense is reeling.

North Central guy here... I 100% agree with this.  North Central's defense wasn't exactly stopping UMU's offense at that point in the game, so absent that conversion, I was expecting the gap to extend to 52-35.  That's a giant ask against any team, let alone Mount Union, and I think the chase would have been too much to ask.

This was as well as I've ever seen North Central's offense play -- really, I'm not sure the Cardinals could have done anything more offensively -- and it was barely enough to get across the finish line.  That speaks volumes about just how high of a level a team of Mount's caliber plays on a week-in, week-out basis.

Even if Mount Union doesn't score there, they at least eat some clock, slow the game down a little bit to give themselves a chance to catch their breath and instill some confidence in the defense, and still have a 10-point lead. I felt like the game was won and lost on that drive (because it gave NCC all the momentum), and my gut-wrench was the realization that the team I was rooting for was probably going to be on the short end. Everything else was just a matter of keeping it interesting.

[emma17]

Agreed the 3rd and 28 play was probably the back breaking play of the game.

I think there were also 2 or 3 smaller back breaking plays that surprised me- Rutter scrambling for first downs, typically because he managed to avoid a Mt tackler in the open field. Not expected.

[wally_wabash]

I think it's hard to put it on just one play.  Giving up 3rd and 28 92 yards away from the end zone is certainly not ideal.  From 3rd and 28 though North Central went 92 yards in 3 plays.  It was also pointed out earlier, but Fulford just dropping the ball on 4th and 5 at the NCC 30 on the next series was also a huge, unforced error.  Mount Union probably could have survived one of those two things, but not both. 

All eyes will be on the QBs, but I think the key players in this game will turn out to be Greenfield and Petrucelli.  If either of those guys can get established and keep the other offense waiting their turn, then huge advantage to their team.

Usually, it is teams playing against Mount Union that panic and get away from their run game earlier than they need to.  North Central stuck with it (Greenfield 27-134) while Mount Union abandoned it entirely (Petrucelli 10-25).  The Purple Raiders didn't hand the ball off one time in the second half.  Not once.  Not with a lead.  Not with a sneaky draw when everybody thinks Fulford is going to throw it.  Never.  North Central was +10 in TOP and having a fairly fresh defense certainly contributed to Fulford being under pressure on that final drive and the final play in particular. 

[Pat Coleman]

Asked Kehres about that in the postgame -- did they do something to take Petruccelli away, or was it part of the game plan -- and he said they felt they had a better chance throwing the ball.

[WRMUalum13]

Just read over on the CCIW board that NCC was the only team with 3 AFCA All-Americans this year... and they were all on offense. I still think this was a sub-par Mount Union defense (I put them in a similar category as 2013 or 2016), however NCC probably had more offensive talent than UMU has faced in quite a while, the 3 All-Americans is really impressive.

On a different note,  I thought it was interesting that the two strange problems that plagued Mount Union all year (missed PATs) and the ball slipping out of DA's hand on passes showed up in the NCC game, very unusual for such a well coached team to not be able to fix those issues at some point over the course of 12 games. Not really blaming anybody, just found it peculiar.

[WRMUalum13]

Asked Kehres about that in the postgame -- did they do something to take Petruccelli away, or was it part of the game plan -- and he said they felt they had a better chance throwing the ball.

Really hard to put any blame on your offense when they score 52 points but I was a little disappointed in the playcalling in the second half.

[hsbsballcoach7]

Asked Kehres about that in the postgame -- did they do something to take Petruccelli away, or was it part of the game plan -- and he said they felt they had a better chance throwing the ball.

Really hard to put any blame on your offense when they score 52 points but I was a little disappointed in the playcalling in the second half.

My thoughts exactly. I felt like Mount Unions offense could've performed better, but they scored 52 points against a top 5 team! I'm sure some things will change and that is normal when you don't have the success you want. It'll be interesting to see how NCC does Saturday.

[BillyRayJimBob]

A couple of interesting comments beginning at the 55:31 mark of today's Podcast.

http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/2019/12/06/atn-podcast-265-a-new-look-quarterfinals/