FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[SimpleCoach]

Full disclosure, my thing is futbol, so I may not be entirely sure, but I don't know how NCC was not called for a hold on the 3rd and long in the 4th quarter that led to their 4 touchdown.  I was sitting right there and thought the cops were going to come on the field and arrest the lineman.

SC

It definitely could have been called a hold at the end as Lehnen went by but my question is where were the other 10 players? That's a long running play to go laterally to the sideline and then turn it upfield. There were at least 3 unblocked Mt defenders and a couple others who got blocked by NCC WR's that didn't do their job. Credit NCC for making the play to win the game.

It was clearly a hold. Definite missed call by the officials, right out there in the open. But I don't think that the outcome turned on it, and, to their credit, I don't see any deep-in-denial Raiders fans here squeezing whine out of sour grapes over that non-call. Most of the Mt. Union regular posters have already tipped their caps to North Central as the legit Stagg winner and the undisputed best team in the nation, and I respect them for that.

NCC clearly deserved the win.  Mount was never in a position to win.  Made it competitive, yeah.  But I never got the sense that NCC was going to allow the game to get away with them.  Call or not.  NCC was the better on the day.

SC

[WRMUalum13]

Full disclosure, my thing is futbol, so I may not be entirely sure, but I don't know how NCC was not called for a hold on the 3rd and long in the 4th quarter that led to their 4 touchdown.  I was sitting right there and thought the cops were going to come on the field and arrest the lineman.

SC

It definitely could have been called a hold at the end as Lehnen went by but my question is where were the other 10 players? That's a long running play to go laterally to the sideline and then turn it upfield. There were at least 3 unblocked Mt defenders and a couple others who got blocked by NCC WR's that didn't do their job. Credit NCC for making the play to win the game.

It was clearly a hold. Definite missed call by the officials, right out there in the open. But I don't think that the outcome turned on it, and, to their credit, I don't see any deep-in-denial Raiders fans here squeezing whine out of sour grapes over that non-call. Most of the Mt. Union regular posters have already tipped their caps to North Central as the legit Stagg winner and the undisputed best team in the nation, and I respect them for that.

NCC clearly deserved the win.  Mount was never in a position to win.  Made it competitive, yeah.  But I never got the sense that NCC was going to allow the game to get away with them.  Call or not.  NCC was the better on the day.

SC

Agreed,

I think NCC was the better team. Mount Union was certainly the only team to push them all the way to the final seconds of the game though. NCC was a juggernaut but they couldn't take the Purple Raiders lightly.

Before the game I was worried about a 2013 style blowout but I was happy that we kept it close to the very end. A little part of me thought this team had some Mount Union magic with that big 4th down conversion. If nothing else the 2022 Raiders certainly gave us some of the more exciting moments of the last decade or so of any Mount team. The number of times this team came up with a critical play on offense when they absolutely needed it was awesome. Plunk is an absolute clutch player.

I did notice a few of this team's weaknesses show up on Friday
1) Special team's mishaps - low snap / downed punter, was effectively a turnover
2) inability to pick up short yardage - The Raiders struggled with this against multiple opponents, I saw it in the regular season as well as against Del Valley and Wartburg

On the positive side
1) No quit in this team, played till the end
2) Excellent D line and overall team speed, I had no idea Jesse Vail was so fast, but he tracked down Lehnen a couple of times including the first play of the game

Lots of questions about our HCs decisions though
1) why the onside kick with 3:30 left in the game
2) why not more urgency on the second to last drive?
3) why not go for it on 4th and short in your opponents territory against the nation's best offense in the first quarter?

Just did some digging and apparently in CFB onside kicks are recovered about 24% of the time by the kicking team. Seemed weird to me. I guess we were pretty much in a 1st down ends the game situation so I can sort of see the justification, but I still thought it was too early

I was really impressed with adjustments that resulted in our big 3rd quarter drive which unfortunately did not end in points. We loaded up the LOS and run up the gut and it seemed to really work. I think I'd have done a play action pass or a read option on 4th down though.

I'd also like to know what happened the RPO play where Plunk would hand off or run to the sideline and keep it or throw it. We ran it twice against Del Valley. I feel like it's one of those "conflict of assignment plays" that would have worked well to soften up the NCC defense.

I think this Raiders team proved that they belonged in the title game. Always disappointing to lose but proud of my purple raiders!


Last lingering thought, did anyone else think the pass play to Hardy for NCC's last TD was a terrible play call? The ONE thing that would have kept Mount Union alive in that scenario was a turnover and NCC was making that a possibility. When Lehnen dropped back to pass I was actually excited for the possibility of a pick.

It worked but I couldn't help but think of the Patriot's vs Seahawks Super Bowl and Malcom Butler's INT.

[hsbsballcoach7]

Full disclosure, my thing is futbol, so I may not be entirely sure, but I don't know how NCC was not called for a hold on the 3rd and long in the 4th quarter that led to their 4 touchdown.  I was sitting right there and thought the cops were going to come on the field and arrest the lineman.

SC

It definitely could have been called a hold at the end as Lehnen went by but my question is where were the other 10 players? That's a long running play to go laterally to the sideline and then turn it upfield. There were at least 3 unblocked Mt defenders and a couple others who got blocked by NCC WR's that didn't do their job. Credit NCC for making the play to win the game.

It was clearly a hold. Definite missed call by the officials, right out there in the open. But I don't think that the outcome turned on it, and, to their credit, I don't see any deep-in-denial Raiders fans here squeezing whine out of sour grapes over that non-call. Most of the Mt. Union regular posters have already tipped their caps to North Central as the legit Stagg winner and the undisputed best team in the nation, and I respect them for that.

NCC clearly deserved the win.  Mount was never in a position to win.  Made it competitive, yeah.  But I never got the sense that NCC was going to allow the game to get away with them.  Call or not.  NCC was the better on the day.

SC

Agreed,

I think NCC was the better team. Mount Union was certainly the only team to push them all the way to the final seconds of the game though. NCC was a juggernaut but they couldn't take the Purple Raiders lightly.

Before the game I was worried about a 2013 style blowout but I was happy that we kept it close to the very end. A little part of me thought this team had some Mount Union magic with that big 4th down conversion. If nothing else the 2022 Raiders certainly gave us some of the more exciting moments of the last decade or so of any Mount team. The number of times this team came up with a critical play on offense when they absolutely needed it was awesome. Plunk is an absolute clutch player.

I did notice a few of this team's weaknesses show up on Friday
1) Special team's mishaps - low snap / downed punter, was effectively a turnover
2) inability to pick up short yardage - The Raiders struggled with this against multiple opponents, I saw it in the regular season as well as against Del Valley and Wartburg

On the positive side
1) No quit in this team, played till the end
2) Excellent D line and overall team speed, I had no idea Jesse Vail was so fast, but he tracked down Lehnen a couple of times including the first play of the game

Lots of questions about our HCs decisions though
1) why the onside kick with 3:30 left in the game
2) why not more urgency on the second to last drive?
3) why not go for it on 4th and short in your opponents territory against the nation's best offense in the first quarter?

Just did some digging and apparently in CFB onside kicks are recovered about 24% of the time by the kicking team. Seemed weird to me. I guess we were pretty much in a 1st down ends the game situation so I can sort of see the justification, but I still thought it was too early

I was really impressed with adjustments that resulted in our big 3rd quarter drive which unfortunately did not end in points. We loaded up the LOS and run up the gut and it seemed to really work. I think I'd have done a play action pass or a read option on 4th down though.

I'd also like to know what happened the RPO play where Plunk would hand off or run to the sideline and keep it or throw it. We ran it twice against Del Valley. I feel like it's one of those "conflict of assignment plays" that would have worked well to soften up the NCC defense.

I think this Raiders team proved that they belonged in the title game. Always disappointing to lose but proud of my purple raiders!


Last lingering thought, did anyone else think the pass play to Hardy for NCC's last TD was a terrible play call? The ONE thing that would have kept Mount Union alive in that scenario was a turnover and NCC was making that a possibility. When Lehnen dropped back to pass I was actually excited for the possibility of a pick.

It worked but I couldn't help but think of the Patriot's vs Seahawks Super Bowl and Malcom Butler's INT.

I've been waiting to post my thoughts,  but you've summed it up for me. I feel like the last this was a very good Mount team that has made the exciting plays when needed to win games and teach the Stagg Bowl. NCC was just on another level this year with their offense and defense so fast and strong. I felt like the defense stepped up big time this year and I also noticed how quick Vail looked and made good one on one tackles. It was great to see this team find different playmaker when needed. My personal unheralded favorite player was Jaden Manley. When Ruby was out of some games or we needed to get the offense going, it seemed to be him making the catch over the middle, on the sideline or breaking tackles.

I'm proud to be a Purple Raider and can't wait to see what the future holds! Lots to dig into later when we find out if anyone has an extra year they will be using. I imagine the offense will look different with a new QB. We also had many young guys get experience in defense and can't wait to see what they do when it's their time to shine. Now time to catch some basketball, wrestling and keep up with the track team.

[BillyRayJimBob]

BillyRayJimBob.......I eat breakfast at Heggys nearly every day. I would be happy to ship your wife a box of their chocolates. Just let me know and I'll get your address. My nephews own it. If she has any particulars, dark or light or just assorted, peanut brittle or pecan turtles just let me know. My email is jkmds@aol.com.

Thank you, purple ... sincerely appreciate it; however, the lovely Wife "broke the code" on how to order it directly.

[D3fanboy]

Full disclosure, my thing is futbol, so I may not be entirely sure, but I don't know how NCC was not called for a hold on the 3rd and long in the 4th quarter that led to their 4 touchdown.  I was sitting right there and thought the cops were going to come on the field and arrest the lineman.

SC

It definitely could have been called a hold at the end as Lehnen went by but my question is where were the other 10 players? That's a long running play to go laterally to the sideline and then turn it upfield. There were at least 3 unblocked Mt defenders and a couple others who got blocked by NCC WR's that didn't do their job. Credit NCC for making the play to win the game.

It was clearly a hold. Definite missed call by the officials, right out there in the open. But I don't think that the outcome turned on it, and, to their credit, I don't see any deep-in-denial Raiders fans here squeezing whine out of sour grapes over that non-call. Most of the Mt. Union regular posters have already tipped their caps to North Central as the legit Stagg winner and the undisputed best team in the nation, and I respect them for that.

NCC clearly deserved the win.  Mount was never in a position to win.  Made it competitive, yeah.  But I never got the sense that NCC was going to allow the game to get away with them.  Call or not.  NCC was the better on the day.

SC

Agreed,

I think NCC was the better team. Mount Union was certainly the only team to push them all the way to the final seconds of the game though. NCC was a juggernaut but they couldn't take the Purple Raiders lightly.

Before the game I was worried about a 2013 style blowout but I was happy that we kept it close to the very end. A little part of me thought this team had some Mount Union magic with that big 4th down conversion. If nothing else the 2022 Raiders certainly gave us some of the more exciting moments of the last decade or so of any Mount team. The number of times this team came up with a critical play on offense when they absolutely needed it was awesome. Plunk is an absolute clutch player.

I did notice a few of this team's weaknesses show up on Friday
1) Special team's mishaps - low snap / downed punter, was effectively a turnover
2) inability to pick up short yardage - The Raiders struggled with this against multiple opponents, I saw it in the regular season as well as against Del Valley and Wartburg

On the positive side
1) No quit in this team, played till the end
2) Excellent D line and overall team speed, I had no idea Jesse Vail was so fast, but he tracked down Lehnen a couple of times including the first play of the game

Lots of questions about our HCs decisions though
1) why the onside kick with 3:30 left in the game
2) why not more urgency on the second to last drive?
3) why not go for it on 4th and short in your opponents territory against the nation's best offense in the first quarter?

Just did some digging and apparently in CFB onside kicks are recovered about 24% of the time by the kicking team. Seemed weird to me. I guess we were pretty much in a 1st down ends the game situation so I can sort of see the justification, but I still thought it was too early

I was really impressed with adjustments that resulted in our big 3rd quarter drive which unfortunately did not end in points. We loaded up the LOS and run up the gut and it seemed to really work. I think I'd have done a play action pass or a read option on 4th down though.

I'd also like to know what happened the RPO play where Plunk would hand off or run to the sideline and keep it or throw it. We ran it twice against Del Valley. I feel like it's one of those "conflict of assignment plays" that would have worked well to soften up the NCC defense.

I think this Raiders team proved that they belonged in the title game. Always disappointing to lose but proud of my purple raiders!


Last lingering thought, did anyone else think the pass play to Hardy for NCC's last TD was a terrible play call? The ONE thing that would have kept Mount Union alive in that scenario was a turnover and NCC was making that a possibility. When Lehnen dropped back to pass I was actually excited for the possibility of a pick.

It worked but I couldn't help but think of the Patriot's vs Seahawks Super Bowl and Malcom Butler's INT.

I've been waiting to post my thoughts,  but you've summed it up for me. I feel like the last this was a very good Mount team that has made the exciting plays when needed to win games and teach the Stagg Bowl. NCC was just on another level this year with their offense and defense so fast and strong. I felt like the defense stepped up big time this year and I also noticed how quick Vail looked and made good one on one tackles. It was great to see this team find different playmaker when needed. My personal unheralded favorite player was Jaden Manley. When Ruby was out of some games or we needed to get the offense going, it seemed to be him making the catch over the middle, on the sideline or breaking tackles.

I'm proud to be a Purple Raider and can't wait to see what the future holds! Lots to dig into later when we find out if anyone has an extra year they will be using. I imagine the offense will look different with a new QB. We also had many young guys get experience in defense and can't wait to see what they do when it's their time to shine. Now time to catch some basketball, wrestling and keep up with the track team.

Might not need a new QB. 

Mount went into the 2020 COVID season with a really young team and have not really felt the benefit of the extra year of eligibility as some other top teams (NCC & UMHB) have.  There are a ton of dudes with extra eligibility for 2023 with Mount.

Off of the top of my head only the following Stagg Bowl starters are out of eligibility:

RT/TE - D. Ward
CB - D. Bradley
WR - J. Manley
S - J. Vail

Obviously not everyone is going to be coming back, but Dartt and the coaches have some serious recruiting to do on multiple fronts

[D3fanboy]

JCU hiring the Union College coach, Jeff Behrman.  Pretty interesting, I wonder what happens to the co-OAC coach of the year?

[UfanBill]

As a Union fan I'm disappointed that Jeff Behrman is no longer our head coach. He did an exceptional job here at Union. Thank you coach Behrman for taking the Dutchmen back to the top. It was great watching your team, our team, play these last 7 years. Good luck at John Carroll. Beat those "Union" impersonators. It's always great to Go Home.

[Next Man Up]

Full disclosure, my thing is futbol, so I may not be entirely sure, but I don't know how NCC was not called for a hold on the 3rd and long in the 4th quarter that led to their 4 touchdown.  I was sitting right there and thought the cops were going to come on the field and arrest the lineman.

SC

It definitely could have been called a hold at the end as Lehnen went by but my question is where were the other 10 players? That's a long running play to go laterally to the sideline and then turn it upfield. There were at least 3 unblocked Mt defenders and a couple others who got blocked by NCC WR's that didn't do their job. Credit NCC for making the play to win the game.

It was clearly a hold. Definite missed call by the officials, right out there in the open. But I don't think that the outcome turned on it, and, to their credit, I don't see any deep-in-denial Raiders fans here squeezing whine out of sour grapes over that non-call. Most of the Mt. Union regular posters have already tipped their caps to North Central as the legit Stagg winner and the undisputed best team in the nation, and I respect them for that.

NCC clearly deserved the win.  Mount was never in a position to win.  Made it competitive, yeah.  But I never got the sense that NCC was going to allow the game to get away with them.  Call or not.  NCC was the better on the day.

SC

Agreed,

I think NCC was the better team. Mount Union was certainly the only team to push them all the way to the final seconds of the game though. NCC was a juggernaut but they couldn't take the Purple Raiders lightly.

Before the game I was worried about a 2013 style blowout but I was happy that we kept it close to the very end. A little part of me thought this team had some Mount Union magic with that big 4th down conversion. If nothing else the 2022 Raiders certainly gave us some of the more exciting moments of the last decade or so of any Mount team. The number of times this team came up with a critical play on offense when they absolutely needed it was awesome. Plunk is an absolute clutch player.

I did notice a few of this team's weaknesses show up on Friday
1) Special team's mishaps - low snap / downed punter, was effectively a turnover
2) inability to pick up short yardage - The Raiders struggled with this against multiple opponents, I saw it in the regular season as well as against Del Valley and Wartburg

On the positive side
1) No quit in this team, played till the end
2) Excellent D line and overall team speed, I had no idea Jesse Vail was so fast, but he tracked down Lehnen a couple of times including the first play of the game

Lots of questions about our HCs decisions though
1) why the onside kick with 3:30 left in the game
2) why not more urgency on the second to last drive?
3) why not go for it on 4th and short in your opponents territory against the nation's best offense in the first quarter?

Just did some digging and apparently in CFB onside kicks are recovered about 24% of the time by the kicking team. Seemed weird to me. I guess we were pretty much in a 1st down ends the game situation so I can sort of see the justification, but I still thought it was too early

I was really impressed with adjustments that resulted in our big 3rd quarter drive which unfortunately did not end in points. We loaded up the LOS and run up the gut and it seemed to really work. I think I'd have done a play action pass or a read option on 4th down though.

I'd also like to know what happened the RPO play where Plunk would hand off or run to the sideline and keep it or throw it. We ran it twice against Del Valley. I feel like it's one of those "conflict of assignment plays" that would have worked well to soften up the NCC defense.

I think this Raiders team proved that they belonged in the title game. Always disappointing to lose but proud of my purple raiders!


Last lingering thought, did anyone else think the pass play to Hardy for NCC's last TD was a terrible play call? The ONE thing that would have kept Mount Union alive in that scenario was a turnover and NCC was making that a possibility. When Lehnen dropped back to pass I was actually excited for the possibility of a pick.

It worked but I couldn't help but think of the Patriot's vs Seahawks Super Bowl and Malcom Butler's INT.

From a NCC guy..............

With regard to the above statement which I bolded and underlined———-Damn straight you belonged in the title game. Presented our biggest challenge. Outstanding team. Congratulations to Raiders and their fans.

[formerd3db]

Raider68:

Check your PMs!

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear takes a moment from eating his seal and says Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy whatever the **** you celebrate, and Happy if you celebrate nothing to JC as you just hired an excellent coach and person in Coach Behrman.

Behrman took a Union program/team that fell from the top quarter of D3 football to the very ****ing bottom and brought it back to relevance in a very short time. Ice Bear feels very happy and excited for the JC program, team, fans, and alum. Ice will be rooting for JC and is fairly confident Coach Behrman will make them a top team year in and year out.

Ice wishes Behrman and his family the very best and wishes all the mother****ers and their loved ones here on the OAC board a wonderful holiday season.

While Ice is at it he also throws his genuine congrats to the Mighty Mount faithful on what was another amazing season. Ice says while he wasn't rooting for the Purple Raiders he respects the heck out of their talent, effort, and heart this season.

[JCUStreaks70]

As a Union fan I'm disappointed that Jeff Behrman is no longer our head coach. He did an exceptional job here at Union. Thank you coach Behrman for taking the Dutchmen back to the top. It was great watching your team, our team, play these last 7 years. Good luck at John Carroll. Beat those "Union" impersonators. It's always great to Go Home.

I'm excited about the hire! Always great to see a Man of Carroll return home! Arth understood what it meant, and now we have another at the helm!

[WRMUalum13]

Take this with a grain of salt because it's computer rankings but in the most recent Massey Ratings, North Central was ranked #163 of all NCAA schools. It puts them above Jackson State in FCS and above every single D2 school except for 4 of them.  Mount Union is at #212.

Looking historically the D3 champ typically ends up in the 160s, but North Centrals 163 is the lowest I can find.

[D3fanboy]

Take this with a grain of salt because it's computer rankings but in the most recent Massey Ratings, North Central was ranked #163 of all NCAA schools. It puts them above Jackson State in FCS and above every single D2 school except for 4 of them.  Mount Union is at #212.

Looking historically the D3 champ typically ends up in the 160s, but North Centrals 163 is the lowest I can find.

https://masseyratings.com/cf/5199

Mount was ranked 144 in '97, 151 in '03, 156 in '07, 162 in '06 and 163 in '02

[pradierguy]

Congrats to former Raider Chris Kappas on being named FCS Asst coach of the year as DC at Austin Peay.  Next one coming from the LK tree for a D1 HC job?

I heard a rumor today he is considering taking the Louisville (OH) High School HC job. I find that hard to believe considering the collegiate trajectory he appears to be on. And if he wanted to return close to home I'd imagine Mount would find room on its staff for him.

[D3fanboy]

Congrats to former Raider Chris Kappas on being named FCS Asst coach of the year as DC at Austin Peay.  Next one coming from the LK tree for a D1 HC job?

I heard a rumor today he is considering taking the Louisville (OH) High School HC job. I find that hard to believe considering the collegiate trajectory he appears to be on. And if he wanted to return close to home I'd imagine Mount would find room on its staff for him.

I dont think Mount Union or Louisville HS would be able to offer enough to bring Kappas home, he's going to be a FCS HC or FBS DC in no time.  Now there are some rumblings about Matt Campbell and the Colts job, and I'm sure that Candle will be a hot candidate after Toledo's big win last night.