FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Mr. Ypsi]

Rafferty took 4 years to get to Otterbein?  Looks like we have the new Rocky.

Ott can only hope so!

[swede]

OAC Fans

We are into a new house amd the wife is decorating the guest room in Linfield things which is great but I also decided to make it a hobby to collect something from every d3 school in the country and thought the board would be a great place to start.

So far I have had only positive feedback, so much so I need to hit up the SID at Linfield for some stuff. Examples would be those small school banners, mini helmets of your team, small flag or whatever you think would go good on one of the walls or shelves, but please nothing expemsive.

If you could help please let me know and I'll send you our address.

Thanks!
Swede

[section13raiderfan]

Michigan vs The Browns
Who would be the favorite...by how many points?
Which coach would be most likely to lose his job as a result of this matchup?
Winner plays MUC.

[section13raiderfan]

I just got home from the Browns game.  All I have to say is thank God for Mount Union!

RIC did you tough it out to the end? On TV it looked like maybe 300 people were still in the stands. This game will end up on an NFL bloopers tape. I just hope impressionable young athletes will not get the impression that this is how you play football in Ohio.

I liked Bill Cowhers observation at halftime when he said "Theres a big difference in talent between the teams. Cleveland addressed the line in the offseason and didnt improve it much."  

[Toph]

Good, brief article about JCU alums in the NFL.

http://www.jcusports.com/News/gen/2007/9/9/NFL_JCU_week1.asp?path=gen

Also, Don Shula is being interviewed on Rizz's show right now. 

[reality check]

In reviewing the box score from ONU/Millikin I see another familiar trend since Dean Paul took over the coaching duties.  ONU outscored Millikin 21-0 in the third quater.  Since Dean Paul came to Ada, the Polar Bears have outscored opponents 285-59 in third quarters.  That's almost 5:1.  During Dean Paul's tenure ONU has outscored their opponents 1001-443 (about 2.25:1).  From 1999-2003, ONU outscored opponents 384-330 in the third quarter (1.16:1).  There were games against Mount Union in that timespan where ONU was hanging with them until the half and then LK's third quarter adjustments absolutely extended the leads and put ONU out of contention.

This would be one of numerous things that I like about DP.  He's proven in his time at ONU he makes good coaching adjustments in the second half. 

[Presto]

whats dean paul's last name?

[Presto]

i'm not a bill cowher fan but boy would he look good in cleveland right now.

[kcreds]

Looking forward to going to BW this Saturday. Can anyone tell me where to park that I can put up a canopy? I plan on getting there around 3:30.

As far as the game is concerned, I am not hanging my hat on 3 straight wins over BW. Marietta's only hope, AGAIN, is to keep this game close. Both offenses may still be finding themselves but BW definitely has the edge definsively. If the Pios D that showed up for STJ shows up again, it will be a long day for the Pios. I am hoping with the extra week of preparation, the Pios will be ready to play. Playing 2 tough teams from the start will make it difficult for Marietta to find themselves. The underlying factors in this game are; can the players that played for successful high school programs stand up and take the lead and can the coaches find BW's weaknesses and exploit them like they did the last 3 years with the personnel they have now?

Its good to get back on here and talk football. The bye week really killed me in more ways than one. 

[JK]

KC,

I, for one, admire your optimism and your support of your team.  You said it, though, BW does have the edge defensively.  What they did to Auggie was pretty impressive, though Auggie is a run, run, and run some more kind of team.  The forward pass is not exactly a big part of thier game plan.  The pios will be the "flaming piles" first week of actually having to play pass defense.  If you can get something going in the air, which remains to be seen with your new QB, then it might change the complexion of the game.  If not, then it might be a long afternoon in Berea.

I didn't attend any games over the course of the first two weeks of play, but now that all OAC teams have a game in the books, here is my thought as to where each team stands right now based on stats and game recaps.

1) MUC- Still the class of the league.  The blowout win doesn't change anything for them
2) ONU- Appeared pretty solid on both sides of the ball in shutting out Millikin.
3) BW- It's close between them and ONU right now based on what they did to Auggie after Auggie hung 63 in week one.  The defense seems pretty stout and the offense just has to score enough to win, which, with an experienced QB, they should be able to do.
4) Tie: CAP and JCU- JCU's win over Wooster looks less impressive after Woo gacked in week 2 against Waynesburg.  Cap's D was impressive, albeit against a Witt team that didn't have Tristan Murray.  The return of Derrick Alexander should help the Cap offense a bit, but they need to show more than they did in week one.
6) MAR- Tough to judge based on one game against St. John's.  From what I read, they showed enough against a top notch opponent to merit remaining here for now, though they could fall quickly if young players don't step up.
7) OTT- Tough loss doesn't bode well for the Cards, who many have but I still think they have more talent than the others below them on my list
8 ) HEI- It's one win, but it's still a win.  Let's not get carried away, though.  It was against Oberlin.  It does put them above the others in my rankings, and Hallet will eventually make them relavent again, but they are still Heidleberg.
9) WIL- Showed better against MSJ last year, and MSJ was better last year than they are this year.
10) MUSK- Rediscovered the forward pass, but will it matter?  Waynesburg, though they beat Woo last week, still isn't a top 30 team, and they beat the Muskies pretty good.

Am I far off on this?  Just some fodder for discussion.

[reality check]

JK

I don't have a problem with your analysis at all.  I'd say though that the difference between 6 and 10 will be close throughout the season.  I think the overall quality parity in the lower half of the conference will be more evident than in recent years now that Heidelberg has a coach and has experienced a win.  I wouldn't be surprised if they build off this one win and take a couple OAC games this year.

[HScoach]

JK:  I agree with your recap.   The top 5 are clearly MUC, ONU, BW, JCU and Capital.  With the bottom half Marietta, Otterbein,  H'berg, Wilma and  Muskingum.  The question remains exactly how those halves will play out, but I think you hit it pretty good.

What stands out for me this year in the OAC is how big the gap is between the top half and the bottom half of the conference.  I would consider it a major, big, HUGE upset if any of the bottom 5 beats anyone in the top 5.  The last 15+ years of the OAC has always been top heavy conference with MUC and then a team or two being very good with a couple average teams in the middle with a couple extremely poor teams at the bottom like Berg or Musky.  But this year I could see any of the top 5 teams being good enough to fight for a playoff spot.  And none of the bottom 5 being good enough to push the top 5 to the limit. 

[D3 Poster]

Before throwing in the towel to the vastly superior top half...a stroll through the 2000's indicates the bottom has risen up a few times.  I was pleasantly surprised that it has happened and this is without finding any Berg history!

Otters...beat Capital in 01 & 05 and JCU in 04

Muskies...defeated Cap in 00, ONU in 03 & BW 05

Etta...topped Cap in 00, ONU 06, BW 04, 05 & 06

Wilma got BW & JCU in 00

This weekend it's the bottoms vs the tops. I'm pulling for the Cardinals, Pioneers, Muskies, Quakers, and Princes...pull the upsets!!!!

[reality check]

Before throwing in the towel to the vastly superior top half...a stroll through the 2000's indicates the bottom has risen up a few times.  I was pleasantly surprised that it has happened and this is without finding any Berg history!

Otters...beat Capital in 01 & 05 and JCU in 04

Muskies...defeated Cap in 00, ONU in 03 & BW 05

Etta...topped Cap in 00, ONU 06, BW 04, 05 & 06

Wilma got BW & JCU in 00

First of all, anyone beating CAP in 2000 is off the list because Capital was a bottomfeeder until 2001.  Wilma was a one-hit wonder coming off good years in the HCAC so they can get scratched too.

And you say "without any Berg history..." as if they actually have some.

Hscoach didn't say the top five and bottom five have been the same for 15+ years.  He said that MUC's at the top, another contender, 2-3 good teams and five bad ones.  After number one, the others do slide from time to time on that list.  OTT was one of the 2-3 good teams in 2005 when they beat CAP while BW was in that bottom tier.  The names change but the slots and characteristics remain the same season after season.

[kcreds]

I agree with hscoach about this years top 5 in the OAC. I don't agree, just after one game, that anyone can assume the bottom 5 won't give some of the top 5 a good game. Yes it is the optimist side of me but someone always seems to pull off an upset each year. I will love to see more than 1 of the bottom 5 beat a top 5. I guess we will wait and see.