FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[bluestreak66]

Ugh this game has me so nervous

Your BlueStreaks are a solid team- it was a very even game separated by a couple UWW big plays.
Best of luck the remainder of season.

Same to Whitewater! I'm hoping they can run the table and make that loss look really good. With Mount Union looming, my new hope is that if John Carroll can be at least competitive with Mount and win the rest of their games (along with someone like Heidelburg going 8-2 and finishing regionally ranked), and maybe they can sneak in at 8-2. It's getting a lot harder with so few at large bids though

[Dr. Acula]

Thoughts on today:

I'm sure people who didn't watch the game will look at the box score with the lopsided stats and think some of us are overly entitled Mount fans complaining about this game, but they did not play overly well.  Defiance is just not good so they couldn't convert much of that to their own advantage.

Plunk reminded me of 2022 regular season Plunk.  Some of that (zero runs) I am good with.  No reason for him to run the ball ever against anyone aside from JCU for the next 3 months.  He was accurate throwing, but like a lot of the time last year it's aided immensely by the vast majority of his throws being within 5 yds of the LOS.  A steady stream of short, quick passes.  To piggyback on this it resulted in not much flashy play from the WRs.  The passing game felt muted and business-like if that makes sense.  Again, I don't care about that in the opener against Defiance.  We know what Plunk and Ruby are.

One of the highlights was the O line.  As a unit they dominated.  Plunk never really saw pressure and they just gashed Defiance on the ground all day.  The RBs weren't getting touched until they had picked up 4, 5, 6 yds.  Really impressive work from the big guys up front.  Kennedy did end up being the starter at LG.  And Barrett was not hurt because he was in with the backups later on.

Thought the RBs did a nice job, but see above...when you are at full speed 5 yds downfield before you get touched you're gonna have a good day.  Parker showed nice burst on that 71 yd TD.  Williams ran well and is really quick.  Unfortunately he's 20 lbs lighter than Parker.  No Echeverry today.  4 RBs got touches so I assume he is dinged up.

The D felt hot and cold today.  They got consistent pressure from both the outside (Moore and Brown) and inside (Hill and Factor) and racked up sacks.  But they also looked a little soft against the pass when they didn't get pressure.  I thought the game ball went to the D line today.

The punts were a glaring issue today.  It's a running joke for opposing announcers when Mount punts finally, but in playoff games punting matters.  That needs cleaned up big time.  New kicker looked fine.  Seemed like he had a strong leg.

Overall the game was pretty vanilla IMO.  Not a lot of highlights.  Not many big issues.  Most importantly I did not see anyone hurt or even limp off for a play so should be in good shape heading into game 2.   

 

[hsbsballcoach7]

Like Dr. Acula said, both lines looked really good and gave great effort throughout the game. That is huge for this team. They've got to get consistent pressure on opposing teams and open up holes for a strong run game on offense. I felt like we saw more single formation run plays (like we saw 20 years ago) than I've seen from recent teams.... and I like it. 

[Dr. Acula]

Other quick thoughts on OAC games:

I watched a little of the JCU game.  I thought they looked good in what I saw.  It was odd clicking over to watch that game with the vibe of a playoff game then flipping back to the Mount game with the vibe of a scrimmage.  I know, Mount can only schedule who wants to play them. 

The most surprising thing about Etta handling SJF 31-7 to me was what has happened to SJF.  I don't follow the E8 at all so I was oblivious.  I knew SJF hadn't been in the playoffs recently, but I just assumed they were banging around as kind of a BW/Berg type program winning 6-8 games a year.  Not really the case.  They haven't had a winning season in 6 years now.  Their WR playing the Mount bass drum behind the end zone is a distant memory.

If we're wondering how stuff is going in Bexley they gave up 668 yds to Denison.  It's Groundhog's Day.

BW gave me a nice chuckle in the very short time I watched them.  MSJ had a key 3rd and 7 with around 2:30 left up 39-33.  BW gives up a slant for what would have been a 1st down, but the kid slips the initial tackle and takes off for a back breaking 60 yd TD.  Both teams had north of 500 yds in this one.  BW threw for almost 400 yds which just feels strange.

[D3 Poster]

Interestingly, SJF got a new president in the summer of 2015.  I wonder how many times a new president at a D3 school changes the athletic trajectory for good or bad.

[wally_wabash]

Interestingly, SJF got a new president in the summer of 2015.  I wonder how many times a new president at a D3 school changes the athletic trajectory for good or bad.

Probably way, way fewer times than the number of times presidents are scapegoated for football teams regressing to the mean.  Presidents work for Boards.  If institutional priorities shift, concerned alums should start there. 

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Not only did UMHB lost to UWRF this past weekend, but the UMHB JV team lost to Centenary yesterday 34-27:

https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/fball/2023-24/releases/20230904xoanzn

[D3fanboy]

Not only did UMHB lost to UWRF this past weekend, but the UMHB JV team lost to Centenary yesterday 34-27:

https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/fball/2023-24/releases/20230904xoanzn

you just hate to see it

[D3fanboy]

Rossy Moore and Kaleb Moore look like pass rushing terrors off the edge for the Raiders defense.  I think Factor is one of the best interior DL in the country and Mount still has Duke.   The "front seven" for Mount is likely the fastest in the country, they will get after the QB.  I'd love to see some more size on the DL, but I have a feeling that is coming, and Mount is going to need some depth up front, that was a killer last year.

the Defiance TD looked to come off of two new starting safeties miscommunication, I'm sure that will get better over the next 14 weeks.

Punting....hmmm

the most important positions in football are the QB, guys that go get the QB and those that protect the QB.  Mount seems to be pretty well set up in '23

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Any news from Mount Union JV game vs. W&J last Sunday?

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Nick Siriani

https://x.com/jeffmcdev/status/1699772265024393538?s=46

[D3fanboy]

Mount is Mount.  JCU looks like a real playoff contender.   Can Heidy avoid a typical slip up and finish at 9-1 or 8-2?  Did BW bounce their lone shot at the OAC off of their heads last season and now they are back to mediocrity?  Rough first week for the OAC, but the top three played well and hopefully are able to be regionally ranked much later on in the season

[Captainred81]

It always hard to gauge this team against teams like Defiance.  I will say usually the final more like 63-0, so I'm not sure what that means. 

I thought Parker ran hard and looked super fast...   I thought #14 Ray Williams and # 21 Darne Williams looked extremely fast (small but fast). 

Agree with both lines of scrimmage.  I think they're going to be a force as the year goes on. 

I would like to see the DB's be more successful with passes defended (aka knock the ball down)  I think they get caught up watching the receiver and they don't get their head around to see the ball coming. 

All in all, they have some work to do, mostly chemistry type stuff.  I'm gonna say right now.... STAGG BOWL 50....  IT'S GOTTA BE MOUNT

[D3fanboy]

It always hard to gauge this team against teams like Defiance.  I will say usually the final more like 63-0, so I'm not sure what that means. 

I thought Parker ran hard and looked super fast...   I thought #14 Ray Williams and # 21 Darne Williams looked extremely fast (small but fast). 

Agree with both lines of scrimmage.  I think they're going to be a force as the year goes on. 

I would like to see the DB's be more successful with passes defended (aka knock the ball down)  I think they get caught up watching the receiver and they don't get their head around to see the ball coming. 

All in all, they have some work to do, mostly chemistry type stuff.  I'm gonna say right now.... STAGG BOWL 50....  IT'S GOTTA BE MOUNT

agreed.  But I'd rather the Raiders need to build some camaraderie in the defensive backfield than either of the lines.  The lone Defiance TD was a forsure lack of communication

[D3fanboy]

JCU should move (way?) up in the polls after the UWW beatdown of St Johns, right?