FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Pat Coleman]

Where's JK, elee, cufan and other classy CAP posters when you need them?

cufan has posted several times today and elee has posted today as well.

[onyxrook]

OPB,
I agree entirely with your assessment but I think it's even simpler than you describe.  I hate to target players but the offensive tackles were only doing their jobs in one of the four quarters.  Cap's ends were constantly getting in on one side or the other.
The defense didn't play well but they played well enough.  You can't blame a defense for a 14-16 loss; however, if the ONU d-line had ever put any real pressure on Rocky, we'd have a different story. 
This game came was won in the trenches.  It can't get any simpler than that.

[4u]

The orther Color Purple,
I never thought Capital would take JCU lightly.  What I stated was that it would be difficult to keep perspective.  What do I mean by this?  It is trying to keep your focus at an extremely high level for back-to-back weeks in this conference.  So, unless you are decidedly better than your opponent, it is difficult to string together two wins against high-level programs.  I certainly would not expect this game to be anything but outstanding.  Nor, do I think Capital will be unprepared.  The Capital squad's only test will be how many "great" quarters of football they can put together.  That said, they do have home field advantage and that bodes well for them.  I have a lot of respect for the staff at Capital and I know they will get their kids prepared.

Toph,
Amazing stat comparison on the two passers in this Saturday's game.  As you see it, does the winner of this game get the all-conference selection at QB?  It would seem that would be the fair way to decide it.  
4u ( or, 4 them in this case)

[l39eagle]

If someone was going to tell me that ONU's "D" was going to only give up 1 TD, and the Bears would lose, I'd have thought they got released from the detox clinic a little early!  Add 1 Touch and 3 FGs, it equalled a Bear loss.
I'm not totally convinced that the Bears were flat, nor do I agree with the comments I heard that the Bears were looking past Cap.  How could you look past a team that year in and year out is as dangerous as Cap, and knowing full well what was at stake in the game?  Cap played a solid ballgame and executed their game plan better than ONU.  ONU did not take advantage of the opportunities they had.  A missed FG early, 2 fumbles and an int, several dropped balls from normally reliable receivers, and not being able to stop Cap on 4th down twice in their last drive. 
Cap's defense is very good; probably the biggest difference in Cap compared to the last several years.  They have always had an explosive offense with Rocky.
Give Cap credit, they took away ONU's runing game pretty effectively and pressured Quirk all afternoon. 
I have to agree with an earlier post regarding ONU's defense.  Many times it looked like they were a little unsure of what they were in.  I'll bet there were some def.linemen and linebackers that were more tired from running on and off the field than from the actual play.  Maybe ONU "overcooked" their defense a little, instead of just lining up and playing.

[onyxrook]

I'll bet there were some def.linemen and linebackers that were more tired from running on and off the field than from the actual play.  Maybe ONU "overcooked" their defense a little, instead of just lining up and playing.

They've been playing defense that way the entire season.  It seems like at times they'll swap out half of the D for specialty situations.  It can help and it can hurt

[reality check]

Re: Best QB in the OAC

Phillips has the edge right now for a couple of reasons.  

He is having a better year on paper than Pentello in the head to head.  It's close but he's throwing for more yards per game, and has a much better TD/INT ratio this season and his efficiency rating blows Rocky's away.  

Another reason Phillips gets the nod is that Rocky's stats have slid year after year since his freshman campaign for the most part across the board.  It's kind of scary when you look at it since he's had good years:

2003     308.3 per game     67%     28 TD's     10 INT's     2.8:1 ratio     158.8 EFF
2004     259.9 per game     61%     18 TD's     07 INT's     2.6:1 ratio     133.5 EFF
2005     250.8 per game     66%     19 TD's     08 INT's     2.4:1 ratio     145.2 EFF

*2005 numbers are through 8 games so Rocky is on pace to throw about 24 TD's and 10 INT's.

Phillips is also doing the damage with lesser known weapons in Welo and Konrad.  Pentello's receiving corps has more revered names yet Phillips is getting a little more out of his receivers.  

I think this game will determine the outcome only if Pentello has a monster day and his arm carries them to victory while Phillips struggles.  If Phillips and Rocky both have good days, then Doug gets the vote all the way.

[MountFan08]

reality check

Don't leave out Mount Union's Mike Jorris when talking about the best QB in the OAC.  While he's struggled the past two games, he still as great numbers. Take a look:

136 of 213 (63.8%) 2075 yards 20 TD's 7 INT's 259.4ypg

While those aren't as great as Phillips numbers, they are still better than Rocky's.  And don't forget he went 24 of 27 for 421 yards and 7 TD's against JCU.  Probably the greatest single game QB performance in the OAC this year. I will admit this Phillips and JCU have been impressive after losing to Mount.  Who would have thought they'd be tied for first after losing 70-0.  Simply amazing.

[ravishingrabbi]

toph - my guess is that the 2nd place OAC team will get in with the expanded format, so the winner of cap-jcu should make it. i could definitely be wrong though.

aprof - i'm a wooster fan, and i respect o'reilly's game, but wouldn't exactly say i'm a capital fan. but if there were an OAC team i'd root for, it'd be them. thanks for the intelligent post though.

check - sorry for the weak post. not everyone can live up to your standards as a post patterns stud. please teach me how it's done.

honestly, i began posting about o'reilly the summer before the '04 season to notify cap fans that they had a nice player on the way. at the time, capital had 2-3 other very good backs. i said all along that he'd beat them all out and was met with a lot of skepticism. look what's happened.

at that point, i stopped even reading this board. then suddenly, onu beats cap last year and you call o'reilly out, cause it was obviously his fault. if you're gonna call someone out, you need to be man enough to give him credit when it's due. you did that (weakly), but only because i brought it up again. both in '03 and '04, i said wabash's qb wasn't good enough for them to beat wooster. i was right both times. but this year, he lit the scots up, so i came back on the board and gave him credit for it.

o'reilly's been through more injuries and complications than you can imagine, yet he's having a hell of a year. he's at his fourth school now, and is a model of persistence and love for the game. yet you, his former teammate nonetheless, went out of your way to knock him. maybe he took your seat on the bus, i don't know.

by your brilliant logic from last year, o'reilly's 107 yards in comparison to meadows' 23 yards in the same game prove that colin is better. i've never seen meadows play, so i can't comment there, but whatever way you slice it, 5 100 yard games so far isn't too shabby. and whatever way you slice it, he still has a chance of playing in the playoffs...onu doesn't. looks like he got the last laugh.

[JK]

Ohiofootball,

I am here, just not a lot to say lately.  Too busy at work, plus on the homefront just found out the wife is pregnant.

I am going to try to make it up to Bexley this weekend, although we have some stuff going on Friday night, so I don't know how I'll feel on Saturday.  Also the last three Capital games I have been to they have lost, so it might be better for the outcome if I stayed home.

Whether there or not, I am looking forward to a great game this Saturday.  I am not entirely sure about JCU.  Maybe it was the 70-0 pasting at the hands of MUC that has me skeptical.  I really think this game is huge, but moreso for JCU.  I am with those who feel that even at 8-2 with wins over ONU and potentially JCU that Capital does NOT get in (unfortunately).  I said it once and I'll say it again, it looks more and more like a stupid loss where we gave the game away at Otterbein is going to cost us a shot at the playoffs.

[JK]

Oh, and despite my current demeanor, I am pretty juiced about last weekend's win.  It is nice, what with all the love between ONU and Cap, to pretty much eliminate ONU from playoff contention.

[e_lee]

You can forget about Capital taking JCU lightly.  If they want to even smell the playoffs they need to win out.  Probably the same situation for JCU.  Should be a great game.  I wish this was the game I had a chance to make it to, rather than the Nov 12 Wilmington game.  Oh well.

Is the parity at the top of the OAC due to higher quality across the top 5 or 6 teams or a bit of mediocrity amongst them?  I tend to think its the former as opposed to the latter.

[reality check]

Mountfan

Jorris has a tough road to climb in that he has not had the same kind of memorable performances that his predecessors have had.  I think he is competing with them as much as the other QB's in the OAC in a way.  If you take out his amazing performance against JCU then his averages aren't in line with Phillips or Pentello.  He drops to an average of 236 yards per game (7 games), his completion % drops to 60% and he has a TD/INT ratio of 13:7.  I know they all have good games but that one game really boosted his whole season which means his other performances have not been all that great week in and week out. 

When Mount fans are calling for a possible QB shuffle in week 8 or 9, then its hard to be first team OAC.

[reality check]

It is my understanding that if CAP beats JCU, then there is no official second place team in the OAC.  There are three tied for second.  Odds are that if CAP beats JCU, that all three of the second place teams are sitting home.  There is no 2a or 2b.  (but there is a 4u)  If CAP wins, they just ruin a certain playoff spot for JCU.  The committee would have a hard time justifying one team over another if all three finish in an 8-2 tie.  Yes CAP would have wins over ONU and JCU but there is no "tie-breaker" for a second place playoff contender.  I think all would be fighting for the same playoff spot and none would get it. 

Rabbi

As fas as O'Reilly is concerned, I don't recall bashing him last year, 2003 or whenever.  I think I vaguely remember you saying he was the best back at ONU when he played there or that he should have been playing more when he was at ONU.  And if that was indeed what you said, I would still argue that point.  I gave CAP credit because CAP beat ONU.  Rocky beat ONU.  Their kicker beat ONU.  O'Reilly's 3.8 yard per carry performance and 106 yards and 0 touchdowns contributed but he didn't beat ONU directly; he contributed with a decent game.  The biggest factor O'Reilly played in the game Saturday was his runs and catches on the final drive that killed lots of clock and put them in field position.  He accounted for 20 of their 35 yards on that drive on seven touches.  So good job by him.  Happy?

And you obviously don't know enough to comment on him being my former teammate.  He was not on a team with me.  Again, I have no problem with O'Reilly and I don't recall bashing him.  If I did, I apoligize.  If I said, after ONU's win last year, something about O'Reilly on here, I am guessing it was directed towards you because the kid you chose to hype so much had 7 carries for 14 yards and a fumble.  I don't think I really hyped any one player individually (possibly Meadows ?!?) but if I had, and that player didn't come through in a game, then I would not be surprised if someone called me out on it.  RJ Meadows didn't do much Saturday.  Wanna call me out on that?  Go for it, that's your right.

Slice it however you like, ONU and CAP have nearly identical chances of making the playoffs; very slim to none.

As far as you predicting his amazing rise since preseason 2004, I hope you don't hurt your rotator cuff patting yourself on the back.  He shared time all last season and had 3 TD's and lead the team with 387 yards on the ground for 4.5 per carry.  This year he is having a solid year.  Not outstanding, not breathtaking, not astounding.  SOLID. 

Congrats to CAP for beating ONU again.  I don't want to be told that I didn't give the proper recognition.  Congrats to JCU too for their win over us, don't want to forget anyone.  Stevens Point, great win in 2002.  Did I forget anyone? 

[ace]

But he did play in the JCU game. Take out Mount's loss to ONU and they are undefeated. Give me a million dollars and I am a millionare.
Mount fans couldn't have complained about Jorris......they just sit on their hands.

[reality check]

Mountfan

You don't need hands to run your mouth when your team is down.


I knew you would use that kind of logic in response but statistical anomolies like the JCU game for Jorris do get noticed.  The point is if you take out Phillip's best game or Rocky's best game, then they still have more consistent numbers across the board.  Phillips has had a very comparable game to Jorris's performance in his Berg game (417 yards and 5 TD's) but he also has had amazing stat lines against ONU and OTT.  What is Jorris' second best performance this season?  WIL (4 TD's and 310 yards)?  Well Phillips has two more 4 TD performances and his second best yardage performance was 403 yards.