FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Pat Coleman]

Everything I read on here gives JC a free pass to the second round and a rematch with Mount.  Didn't see anything about if the Purple Raiders have to play Mount St Joes.
Don't they still have to play the game against Mount St Joseph this Saturday?  Don't think they are just going to lay down because their opponent happens to be JC.

On the podcast we dropped Monday morning, we definitely give credence to the fact that MSJ could win.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Everything I read on here gives JC a free pass to the second round and a rematch with Mount.  Didn't see anything about if the Purple Raiders have to play Mount St Joes.
Don't they still have to play the game against Mount St Joseph this Saturday?  Don't think they are just going to lay down because their opponent happens to be JC.

Jesus made the tournament and got a 9 Seed?

[D3fanboy]

Everything I read on here gives JC a free pass to the second round and a rematch with Mount.  Didn't see anything about if the Purple Raiders have to play Mount St Joes.
Don't they still have to play the game against Mount St Joseph this Saturday?  Don't think they are just going to lay down because their opponent happens to be JC.

Jesus made the tournament and got a 9 Seed?

NPI, man

[J3FB2BB]

As Lee Corso used to say, "Not so fast my friend". ONU suffered injuries all season long at the QB position. They Started a 3rd unit freshman against Marietta. They were competitive against MTU into the 4th quarter. The starting QB got knocked out of the game against BW as he was crossing the goal line and fumbled through the enzone which ultimately cost them the game.


They have enhanced their facilities and this year Coach Fries has a full year to recruit. Maybe I am wrong but I think if they can stay healthy at the OB position they will surprise some people next year. Time will tell.

I agree with you about ONU. They are on the upswing. I was referring to BW as in decline and not being competitive next year with any of the top tier.

[JCUStreaks70]

Mount's quadrant is weak.  I could see a scenario where half of the teams could make it to the semifinals.

The plug on The Machine was pulled when Larry retired.  The momentum carried the program thru the VK years.  It's now dead and will need to be rebuilt if another title is to ever be won. The lack of quality depth in the OAC is what's kept them as league champs. 

And with JCU leaving this obviously only gets even worse.  Unless the wheels completely fall off the Raider wagon I just don't see who is going to challenge them for the OAC title consistently going forward.  Etta has a strong squad, but can they sustain it after this core graduates?  Hopefully because someone needs to push Mount in JCU's absence.

I think this factor is a little overrated, when I was at Mount from 2009-2013, JCU was a mediocre to flat out bad team. And Mount had 4 straight Stagg Bowl Appearances and 1 win during that era.

Of course those were the years I was there... I tell people I was the problem with JCU Football 

[Dr. Acula]

Next Mount will line up against Wheaton and Grove City.  Also an improved O North and BW could be competitive. 

A)  Mount Union will not fire a coach who hasn't lost a conference game in his tenure.  Also, in 5 years, he had Covid year, Stagg Bowl year, Semi final year early out year and this year.  All of that said, he has had success.  Not the same as we're all used to, but success nonetheless.

B)  I'm not a big fan of the likely rematch, but Mount has fared well against conference opponents in the past, and I don't expect anything different.  There were a lot of mistakes in the first game that could be corrected, mostly on defense. 

C)  I think the biggest issues with this team is execution and game plan.  The players and coaches need to stick to their assignments as drawn up.  Then if that is not working, adjustments need to be made.  I think sometimes the correct defense might be called, but missed tackles or missed coverages make it look worse than it is.  So, either simplify the coverage, or change completely it to make it smoother.  An overhaul is not needed, just some more consistency. 

D)  The Otterbein game stands out to me as an anomaly more than this game against Muskingum.  Muskingum has been a solid offense for several years now.  I think Mount was a little to high on the horse and got caught.

Ohio Northern was improved, not BW. They were not as successful offensively as the last two years overall and particularly vs the top 3. Their defense improved slightly this year, but they played a weak OOC opponent and the OAC was as weak as it's been in forever, yet they were destroyed by Marietta and MTU, unlike the prior two years and choked v JCU as always. They will not be competitive in any way next year.

Are you talking about BW here?  Listen, nobody dislikes BW more than me, but they did play Witt OOC.  That is not a weak OOC opponent even in a down year for Witt.  And it's certainly not Franklin or Hiram or some of the other OAC OOC foes.

[D3fanboy]

the transfer portal seems to be open at Mount Union.  Such a shame that what has ruined big time college football has trickled down to D3.  Sticking with and helping to build/continue something bigger than yourself seems to be far more valuable than transferring away when your career didn't take off immediately. 

[mucgrad06]

How many have entered the portal?

[pradierguy]

the D3football guys seem to think that its possible for Beaudrie to suit up with a brace in two weeks...interesting times

That's based on what we've been able to find out.

Don't blame them for not sharing any info on who will play QB. When the question requires the opponent to prepare for two wildly different types of QB play, it is as much of advantage as can be in exchange for possibly not having QB1 in the game.

[bluestreak66]

Are you talking about BW here?  Listen, nobody dislikes BW more than me, but they did play Witt OOC.  That is not a weak OOC opponent even in a down year for Witt.  And it's certainly not Franklin or Hiram or some of the other OAC OOC foes.

[Pat Coleman]

the D3football guys seem to think that its possible for Beaudrie to suit up with a brace in two weeks...interesting times

That's based on what we've been able to find out.

Don't blame them for not sharing any info on who will play QB. When the question requires the opponent to prepare for two wildly different types of QB play, it is as much of advantage as can be in exchange for possibly not having QB1 in the game.

I don't think anyone was blaming them, which is good.

[J3FB2BB]

Next Mount will line up against Wheaton and Grove City.  Also an improved O North and BW could be competitive. 

A)  Mount Union will not fire a coach who hasn't lost a conference game in his tenure.  Also, in 5 years, he had Covid year, Stagg Bowl year, Semi final year early out year and this year.  All of that said, he has had success.  Not the same as we're all used to, but success nonetheless.

B)  I'm not a big fan of the likely rematch, but Mount has fared well against conference opponents in the past, and I don't expect anything different.  There were a lot of mistakes in the first game that could be corrected, mostly on defense. 

C)  I think the biggest issues with this team is execution and game plan.  The players and coaches need to stick to their assignments as drawn up.  Then if that is not working, adjustments need to be made.  I think sometimes the correct defense might be called, but missed tackles or missed coverages make it look worse than it is.  So, either simplify the coverage, or change completely it to make it smoother.  An overhaul is not needed, just some more consistency. 

D)  The Otterbein game stands out to me as an anomaly more than this game against Muskingum.  Muskingum has been a solid offense for several years now.  I think Mount was a little to high on the horse and got caught.

Ohio Northern was improved, not BW. They were not as successful offensively as the last two years overall and particularly vs the top 3. Their defense improved slightly this year, but they played a weak OOC opponent and the OAC was as weak as it's been in forever, yet they were destroyed by Marietta and MTU, unlike the prior two years and choked v JCU as always. They will not be competitive in any way next year.

Are you talking about BW here?  Listen, nobody dislikes BW more than me, but they did play Witt OOC.  That is not a weak OOC opponent even in a down year for Witt.  And it's certainly not Franklin or Hiram or some of the other OAC OOC foes.

Yes, I'm talking about BW. Witt is mediocre(5-4)at best but I guess I could've said "weaker" than BW's OOC opponent the last two years, MSJ a playoff team that BW had beat both years up until the last possession by MSJ.

My original point was that they will not be a competitive threat next year as their record is consistently "slightly above average" and it is not due to a lack of talent. I wish their AD was half as passionate about finding a new coach that can be competitive against the top teams as the Mount fans are on this board about replacing an undefeated coach.

[pradierguy]

the D3football guys seem to think that its possible for Beaudrie to suit up with a brace in two weeks...interesting times

That's based on what we've been able to find out.

Don't blame them for not sharing any info on who will play QB. When the question requires the opponent to prepare for two wildly different types of QB play, it is as much of advantage as can be in exchange for possibly not having QB1 in the game.

I don't think anyone was blaming them, which is good.

I forgot the "I" at the beginning of my post. It wasn't meant to be a directive at all. Apologies if it came across that way.

[MUC 2008]

Plenty of pundits saying Mount is not going to make it through past maybe the second round- their reasons have mostly been previously stated on this board and are not unreasonable by and large.

Will this "bulletin board material" make it to the Raiders, or is it going to be more vapid gum cracking in practice all week and next Saturday as a weak-side play is called for the 26,000th time since 2021 while the Raiders act like someone else will win the game for them?

[D3fanboy]

Plenty of pundits saying Mount is not going to make it through past maybe the second round- their reasons have mostly been previously stated on this board and are not unreasonable by and large.

Will this "bulletin board material" make it to the Raiders, or is it going to be more vapid gum cracking in practice all week and next Saturday as a weak-side play is called for the 26,000th time since 2021 while the Raiders act like someone else will win the game for them?

Coach is going to fold his arms sooo hard at practice next week