FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[purple]

 The weather forecast for Naperville for Saturday is terrible. Freezing rain, snow, windy, and a high of 37.
Glad the NCAA had enough sense to move it . The weather report for Alliance looks much better.

[MUC57]

I just lost a big post I had finished but forgot to "post".

I'll just say I like our chances Saturday.
NCC is not playing RPI this Saturday!

Go Purple Raiders! Go Mount Union!   

[New Tradition]

I just lost a big post I had finished but forgot to "post".

I'll just say I like our chances Saturday.
NCC is not playing RPI this Saturday!

Go Purple Raiders! Go Mount Union!   

Nor is Mount playing Muhlenberg. I can't wait!

[USee]

I haven't been  all  that optimistic about Mount beating NCC... however after thinking about it a bit, I've begun talking myself into them having a pretty good chance against the Cardinals.

Here's my reasoning.

1. Mount Union just faced off against the #3 and #4 passing yardage QBS in  D3 and kept them in check somewhat (held both under 30 points and got stops when they needed them, they also played well despite turnovers and tough field position in both games). Passing defense has been the biggest weakness of Mount teams in recent memory and NCC is won't pose as much of a passing threat as JHU or MUHL.

2. NCCs signature win was against Wheaton... who many people thought could be a national title contender this year. However based on the playoffs they clearly weren't as high caliber of a team as most thought.

3. Both Wheaton and Lacrosse pushed NCC and I believe Mount is just as good as both of these teams and probably quite a bit better.

4. Mount Union has an outstanding run defense... and NCC is a run heavy team. NCC hasn't played a team with a great run defense since Wheaton in September.

5. Mount Union has faced quite a bit of adversity this year.

I still think NCC is the favorites, but some of the "NCC by 21, NCC by 30" comments I've seen on Twitter don't seem likely to me. The last time I was this down on a Purple Raiders squad was 2016, but they ended up 3 points away from beating the eventual national champs.

I'm pretty sure if you wanted to offer North Central a 3 pt victory and just call the game off you wouldn't get any objections. Otherwise, good luck with your logic.

[WRMUalum13]

I haven't been  all  that optimistic about Mount beating NCC... however after thinking about it a bit, I've begun talking myself into them having a pretty good chance against the Cardinals.

Here's my reasoning.

1. Mount Union just faced off against the #3 and #4 passing yardage QBS in  D3 and kept them in check somewhat (held both under 30 points and got stops when they needed them, they also played well despite turnovers and tough field position in both games). Passing defense has been the biggest weakness of Mount teams in recent memory and NCC is won't pose as much of a passing threat as JHU or MUHL.

2. NCCs signature win was against Wheaton... who many people thought could be a national title contender this year. However based on the playoffs they clearly weren't as high caliber of a team as most thought.

3. Both Wheaton and Lacrosse pushed NCC and I believe Mount is just as good as both of these teams and probably quite a bit better.

4. Mount Union has an outstanding run defense... and NCC is a run heavy team. NCC hasn't played a team with a great run defense since Wheaton in September.

5. Mount Union has faced quite a bit of adversity this year.

I still think NCC is the favorites, but some of the "NCC by 21, NCC by 30" comments I've seen on Twitter don't seem likely to me. The last time I was this down on a Purple Raiders squad was 2016, but they ended up 3 points away from beating the eventual national champs.

I'm pretty sure if you wanted to offer North Central a 3 pt victory and just call the game off you wouldn't get any objections. Otherwise, good luck with your logic.

What kind of a fan am I if I can't rationalize my way into thinking my underdog team can win???

But in all seriousness, NCC didn't blowout either of the top 10 teams they faced this year, 21-30 margin of victory seems objectively unlikely to me even if I take my bias out of it.

[USee]

Then I agree with you. NCC by 30 is pretty aggressive. Mt Union didn't start to suck overnight. I would be shocked if this was a blowout. It's likely to be a closely contested game as you would expect at this point in the dance.

[Stagg Again!!]

I haven't been  all  that optimistic about Mount beating NCC... however after thinking about it a bit, I've begun talking myself into them having a pretty good chance against the Cardinals.

Here's my reasoning.

1. Mount Union just faced off against the #3 and #4 passing yardage QBS in  D3 and kept them in check somewhat (held both under 30 points and got stops when they needed them, they also played well despite turnovers and tough field position in both games). Passing defense has been the biggest weakness of Mount teams in recent memory and NCC is won't pose as much of a passing threat as JHU or MUHL.

2. NCCs signature win was against Wheaton... who many people thought could be a national title contender this year. However based on the playoffs they clearly weren't as high caliber of a team as most thought.

3. Both Wheaton and Lacrosse pushed NCC and I believe Mount is just as good as both of these teams and probably quite a bit better.

4. Mount Union has an outstanding run defense... and NCC is a run heavy team. NCC hasn't played a team with a great run defense since Wheaton in September.

5. Mount Union has faced quite a bit of adversity this year.

I still think NCC is the favorites, but some of the "NCC by 21, NCC by 30" comments I've seen on Twitter don't seem likely to me. The last time I was this down on a Purple Raiders squad was 2016, but they ended up 3 points away from beating the eventual national champs.

I'm pretty sure if you wanted to offer North Central a 3 pt victory and just call the game off you wouldn't get any objections. Otherwise, good luck with your logic.

What kind of a fan am I if I can't rationalize my way into thinking my underdog team can win???

But in all seriousness, NCC didn't blowout either of the top 10 teams they faced this year, 21-30 margin of victory seems objectively unlikely to me even if I take my bias out of it.

Based on the "numbers", home field advantage, and results generated by the Massey Ratings Matchup Tool, Mount should be favored by no less than 3 pts, but more likely 7-10 pts.  I would be disappointed if I were a Raider fan and Mount didn't dominate NCC next weekend given the HFA and team's #2 overall ranking (behind UWW).

[WRMUalum13]

I haven't been  all  that optimistic about Mount beating NCC... however after thinking about it a bit, I've begun talking myself into them having a pretty good chance against the Cardinals.

Here's my reasoning.

1. Mount Union just faced off against the #3 and #4 passing yardage QBS in  D3 and kept them in check somewhat (held both under 30 points and got stops when they needed them, they also played well despite turnovers and tough field position in both games). Passing defense has been the biggest weakness of Mount teams in recent memory and NCC is won't pose as much of a passing threat as JHU or MUHL.

2. NCCs signature win was against Wheaton... who many people thought could be a national title contender this year. However based on the playoffs they clearly weren't as high caliber of a team as most thought.

3. Both Wheaton and Lacrosse pushed NCC and I believe Mount is just as good as both of these teams and probably quite a bit better.

4. Mount Union has an outstanding run defense... and NCC is a run heavy team. NCC hasn't played a team with a great run defense since Wheaton in September.

5. Mount Union has faced quite a bit of adversity this year.

I still think NCC is the favorites, but some of the "NCC by 21, NCC by 30" comments I've seen on Twitter don't seem likely to me. The last time I was this down on a Purple Raiders squad was 2016, but they ended up 3 points away from beating the eventual national champs.

I'm pretty sure if you wanted to offer North Central a 3 pt victory and just call the game off you wouldn't get any objections. Otherwise, good luck with your logic.

What kind of a fan am I if I can't rationalize my way into thinking my underdog team can win???

But in all seriousness, NCC didn't blowout either of the top 10 teams they faced this year, 21-30 margin of victory seems objectively unlikely to me even if I take my bias out of it.

Based on the "numbers", home field advantage, and results generated by the Massey Ratings Matchup Tool, Mount should be favored by no less than 3 pts, but more likely 7-10 pts.  I would be disappointed if I were a Raider fan and Mount didn't dominate NCC next weekend given the HFA and team's #2 overall ranking (behind UWW).

Well im sure you'd be in the minority. Pretty sure we'd all be perfectly happy with a 1 point victory

[CardinalAlum]

After a few temper tantrums and hissy fits, it's time to move on to what should be another great NCC/Mount game! Weather calling for rain on Saturday.  That always throws an interesting twist into a game!  What is new with the Machine since we last met?  Obviously no Fulford or Hill to deal with for the Cards and no Rutter to deal with for the Raiders.  Outside of a new QB, you'll see many of the same faces from 2019 for the Cards.

[Toph]

Yeah, this is a bad job out of the NCAA. If would ask if there were any COVID-related protocols that would keep NCC from hosting, but if that would have been the case the Cardinals would have been forced on the road, anyway.

I also agree with everyone else saying NCC won't need this for extra motivation. It's a semi-final among the path to repeating. I cannot imagine a team needs any more motivation than that.

While everyone thought the Raiders would go to North Central if they won the region, there must have been a good reason
for the NCAA to have Mount host. In terms of motivation, it really won't matter for any of these  4 teams. They all want
to win regardless of where the game is held.

The bolded sentence is based on bad logic.  "Since the NCAA refuses to pay players while showing annual revenue north of $10B, there must be a good reason for it" is the same logical argument. 

The reason is simple.  The NCAA, ESPN, the city of Canton, and the pro football HOF don't want a 90% empty stadium in a couple weeks. 

I'll now return to my cave.

[D3fanboy]

just looked up the box score from the 2019 classic game. 

699 yards of total offense vs 698 yards of total offense. 
Only one punt for each team
both teams with six penalties for 40 some yards
27 first downs (NCC) to 26 first downs (Mount). 
Both senior QB's threw a pick, but NCC recovered Rutter's one fumble while Mount lost both of Fulford's fumbles. 

The difference in the game...one score.  Talk about evenly matched teams, its a shame that the top two teams from the past couple of seasons will not meet in a Stagg Bowl setting.  But the NCAA is....well....the NCAA.

This game could have been played in a Walmart parking lot in the middle of Indiana and would have the same intensity.  We probably won't get 1400 yards of offense, but something tells me that turnovers (or lack thereof) will be the difference once again. 

[D3fanboy]

Yeah, this is a bad job out of the NCAA. If would ask if there were any COVID-related protocols that would keep NCC from hosting, but if that would have been the case the Cardinals would have been forced on the road, anyway.

I also agree with everyone else saying NCC won't need this for extra motivation. It's a semi-final among the path to repeating. I cannot imagine a team needs any more motivation than that.

While everyone thought the Raiders would go to North Central if they won the region, there must have been a good reason
for the NCAA to have Mount host. In terms of motivation, it really won't matter for any of these  4 teams. They all want
to win regardless of where the game is held.

The bolded sentence is based on bad logic.  "Since the NCAA refuses to pay players while showing annual revenue north of $10B, there must be a good reason for it" is the same logical argument. 

The reason is simple.  The NCAA, ESPN, the city of Canton, and the pro football HOF don't want a 90% empty stadium in a couple weeks. 

I'll now return to my cave.

if the City of Canton and the HOF Village were in charge of getting Mount into the Stagg Bowl, Mount would have lost in the first round.  You are giving those two entities far, far too much credit for being able to follow through with a plan.  I'd love to see the Stagg Bowl hosting proposal that Canton/HOF Village threw together and what they promised that is nowhere close to being accomplished.

[WRMUalum13]

Yeah, this is a bad job out of the NCAA. If would ask if there were any COVID-related protocols that would keep NCC from hosting, but if that would have been the case the Cardinals would have been forced on the road, anyway.

I also agree with everyone else saying NCC won't need this for extra motivation. It's a semi-final among the path to repeating. I cannot imagine a team needs any more motivation than that.

While everyone thought the Raiders would go to North Central if they won the region, there must have been a good reason
for the NCAA to have Mount host. In terms of motivation, it really won't matter for any of these  4 teams. They all want
to win regardless of where the game is held.

The bolded sentence is based on bad logic.  "Since the NCAA refuses to pay players while showing annual revenue north of $10B, there must be a good reason for it" is the same logical argument. 

The reason is simple.  The NCAA, ESPN, the city of Canton, and the pro football HOF don't want a 90% empty stadium in a couple weeks. 

I'll now return to my cave.

if the City of Canton and the HOF Village were in charge of getting Mount into the Stagg Bowl, Mount would have lost in the first round.  You are giving those two entities far, far too much credit for being able to follow through with a plan.  I'd love to see the Stagg Bowl hosting proposal that Canton/HOF Village threw together and what they promised that is nowhere close to being accomplished.

If they truly wanted Mount in the Stagg Bowl they wouldn't have put them on the same side of the bracket as NCC...

[D3fanboy]

Yeah, this is a bad job out of the NCAA. If would ask if there were any COVID-related protocols that would keep NCC from hosting, but if that would have been the case the Cardinals would have been forced on the road, anyway.

I also agree with everyone else saying NCC won't need this for extra motivation. It's a semi-final among the path to repeating. I cannot imagine a team needs any more motivation than that.

While everyone thought the Raiders would go to North Central if they won the region, there must have been a good reason
for the NCAA to have Mount host. In terms of motivation, it really won't matter for any of these  4 teams. They all want
to win regardless of where the game is held.

The bolded sentence is based on bad logic.  "Since the NCAA refuses to pay players while showing annual revenue north of $10B, there must be a good reason for it" is the same logical argument. 

The reason is simple.  The NCAA, ESPN, the city of Canton, and the pro football HOF don't want a 90% empty stadium in a couple weeks. 

I'll now return to my cave.

if the City of Canton and the HOF Village were in charge of getting Mount into the Stagg Bowl, Mount would have lost in the first round.  You are giving those two entities far, far too much credit for being able to follow through with a plan.  I'd love to see the Stagg Bowl hosting proposal that Canton/HOF Village threw together and what they promised that is nowhere close to being accomplished.

If they truly wanted Mount in the Stagg Bowl they wouldn't have put them on the same side of the bracket as NCC...

Canton/HOF Village could screw up a one car funeral

[robertgoulet]

After a few temper tantrums and hissy fits, it's time to move on to what should be another great NCC/Mount game! Weather calling for rain on Saturday.  That always throws an interesting twist into a game!  What is new with the Machine since we last met?  Obviously no Fulford or Hill to deal with for the Cards and no Rutter to deal with for the Raiders.  Outside of a new QB, you'll see many of the same faces from 2019 for the Cards.

Have wondered about this as well. The main difference (and it's a biggie) for NCC is that Broc Rutter has moved on. Almost everything else is still there.

I recognized a couple of the skill names for Mt Union, but what of the big uglies? How are the O and D lines?