FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[moe45daddy]

This is my first time on the D3 site, I am a former player for ONU.  In fact, I became a former play on Sat. when the clock ran out at Don Drumm Stadium.  I just read through a lot of the posts on here for the season and wanted to thank everyone for their support.  I am gonna lay low for a while until the offseason is really in full swing but I wanted to thank everyone for their support this season.

[moe45daddy]

I forgot, good luck to Cap and MUC, two very good teams.

[reality check]

moe45

Way to represent the Bears well.  You guys did a great job this season and made it through lots of ups and downs.  Welcome to the board.

[Pat Coleman]

Pat

Congrats by the way for the great day yesterday.  ESPNews did a good job giving Division III some respect on a national scale.  And I see that you had 75,000 hits to the site yesterday eclipsing the old one-day high of somewhere around 59,000 (I think).  That's an impressive bump.  A great day of exposure Division III football.

Thanks -- I had a good time and will be writing more about it later. The folks there took the show very seriously and I was glad to be a part of it.

[raiderpa]

Mount and Mount have one common opponent....Wilmington..

Mt St Joe beat them 21-18
Mount Union 41-6 ( I think)

[ace]

The OAC has proved that you can throw head to head opponents out the window.

[fanfave]

As a Mount St. Joseph fan I just want to say that I am looking forward to seeing this match up this weekend.  I agree that you can't use the common opponent approach in evaluating the Lions and (in my Chris Berman voice) the Raaaaiderrssssss

FYD

[purple]

 Congratuations to the senior class of the Mount Union College Purple Raiders who finish their careers four time OAC Champions.

[Shark]

This is my first time on the D3 site, I am a former player for ONU.  In fact, I became a former play on Sat. when the clock ran out at Don Drumm Stadium.  I just read through a lot of the posts on here for the season and wanted to thank everyone for their support.  I am gonna lay low for a while until the offseason is really in full swing but I wanted to thank everyone for their support this season.

Welcome and congrats on a great season. ONU battled through some very difficult circumstances this year and prevailed. I appreciate the level of competition the OAC provides and the character of young men such as you who participate in the football programs.

You will always have that October day in Alliance to remember. I will too as a Raider fan seeing that the 22nd was my B'day. ONU was the better team that day.

Don't feel the need to lay low though! Come join the fun!

[seventiesraider]

 Finally, a 12:00 start. 4:00 basketball practice and a twenty five minute "drive" home to Mogadore. I can make this game and still get back for our afternoon practice. Looking forward to a fresh opponent. Have to admit I know nothing about MSJ.

Congrats on a great run this year "Moe" and welcome 8)

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

I was just looking at the last 6 losses for Mount Union:

2005 ONU 21 MUC 14 at MUC
2004 MHB 38 MUC 35 at MUC
2003 STJ 24 MUC 06 at Salem
1999 Rowan 24 MUC 17 at MUC
1995 WLAX 20 MUC 17 at MUC
1994 Albion 34 MUC 33 at Albion

4 out of the 6 were at home and one was at a neutral site.
Also, the average margin of defeat was 6.5 points.

Unbelievable.

Congratulations Seniors. Keep your eyes on the prize, you can still go out as Champions, but just take it one week at a time!!!

[raiderguy]

Moe45daddy

Welcome aboard the board. Congratulations on  a terrific year and an accomplishment many have attempted but none till you guys completed. A part of history.

Sucks you can't be in the dance but all know 2 loses is usually the kiss of death. Add the BULL DUNG cloud of a suspension for someone elses work and that has to be an underlying issue to the committee. If it is any consolation if either MUC or CAP pick up the Walnut and Bronze you will have a touch of the success in either case.

[reality check]

So I am sure that some of you know by now I am interested in stats.  And so I apologize in advance if the following bores you but it certainly caught my eye.

Looking at this year's OAC statistics, a couple of things stood out to me.  First off, how about the fact that ONU, MUC and CAP finished in the top three (in various orders) in scoring offense, scoring defense, pass defense, kickoff returns, total defense, pass defense efficiency, first downs, opponent first downs, opponent 4th down conversions, red zone defense, opponent 3rd down converisons, and sacks against.  The one underlying theme is that all three of these teams dominated the defensive statistical categories.

Many at MUC had some question marks regarding this year's team at skill positions so this might be unexpected:

2004  vs.  2005
42.1 PPG  vs.  43.9 PPG
10.9 PPG against  vs.  7.5  PPG against
213.8 YPG passing  vs.  313.2 YPG passing
454.5 total offense  vs.  541.6 total offense
223.1 total defense  vs.  200.6 total defense

I would have never guessed that the defense that was so highly regarded last year for the Raiders would be eclipsed by this year's defense.  And off the top of my head, I would have never guessed the 2005 Purple Raider O would outperform the 2004 offense.

[ace]

It appears that Mount is not falling back, the other OAC teams are getting better. I must admit, I am surprised by the comparisons.

[reality check]

eagle

You might be interested in this: Remember way back when in the beginning of this season we were concerned with the ONU offense, the defense after all the injuries, etc.

Well here's a couple 04 vs. 05 stats for you that surprised me too.

2004  vs.  2005
31.8 PPG  vs.  40.5 PPG
17.6 PPG against  vs.  14.9 PPG against
192.7 passing yards against  vs.  165.3 passing yards against
367.7 total offense  vs.  440.9 total offense
302.5 total defense  vs.  285.5 total defense

So it looks like our Polar Bears had better stats this season than last in both respective categories we expressed concern over.  It is a shame the season is over but there is a lot of positive to take away from this season's performance.