FB: Presidents' Athletic Conference

[SaintsFAN]

Not quite the Game of the Week I thought it would be, at least not after halftime.

Guess Keith will have to admit that the pass D ain`t too shabby either.

Did you see the Wash U QB throwing off his back foot and staring down his targets?

Was Case's defense the cause of this?

[SaintsFAN]

Big game next weekend.  Kuntz had another very efficient 300 yard day today.  The defense played well:  rushing the passer and limiting the air game.  They only gave up 6 points until a garbage time TD. 

A couple things that are concerning: 

1.  Injuries.  TMC gets a couple people back next week in the backfield.  But there were a couple guys who got nicked up today.

2.  Turnovers.  The pick wasn't Kuntz's fault as the WR tipped it up in the air on a crossing route.  But the fumbles have to stop.  Ball security will be a focus this week. 

Overall - I like where this team is.  And I'm glad Hardin Simmons won - making it a tough road for TMC should they lose in Cleveland.  The playoffs start this week for the Saints - Shouldn't be any problem getting the kids ready to play.  All year they've played for their fallen teammate, honoring him with their play. 

[ExTartanPlayer]

Congrats to CWRU and Thomas More for winning today and setting up the championship game next week.

I too was worried about CWRU and the potential for a trap game against WashU, but it looks like they handled it well.

I'll be back with more comments on today's results later - for now I am watching the CMU-Thiel video stream and want to compliment Thiel on a very good production for an online stream.  Quality picture, no interruptions, audio is clear.  Commentators are very enthusiastic, too.

[ExTartanPlayer]

Wow.  That escalated quickly.  Thiel was competitive with CMU for a quarter, but the Tartans poured it on with 35 points in the first 12 minutes of the second half (an avalanche of turnovers and short fields and quick scores).  Happy to see the Tartans at 5-3 entering the closing stretch with UAA rivals Chicago and Case Western.

I'll try to get some updated PAC rankings for discussion tomorrow.

[DagarmanSpartan]

Definitely the PAC game of the year coming up next week.

Sure hope Case can pull it off.

It's been a long, hard road back to national relevance since the days of Dan Whalen.

[ADL70]

Not quite the Game of the Week I thought it would be, at least not after halftime.

Guess Keith will have to admit that the pass D ain`t too shabby either.

Did you see the Wash U QB throwing off his back foot and staring down his targets?

Was Case's defense the cause of this?

I wasn't able to watch much of the game so I don't know, but something made him less effective. It could have been the D.

[ExTartanPlayer]

Working from last week's rankings...

The league has sorted itself out pretty nicely here.  Pretty distinct hierarchy that can be set up without violating almost any H2H results.  Please note that there's some weirdness in the official league standings because a few games between PAC teams are technically "non league" games (so Westminster only has one PAC loss despite having losses against TMC and W & J).  I am going to rank the teams by how good they actually are, not where they will finish in the standings.

1. Thomas More (9-0, 7-0)
2. Case Western (7-1, 6-0)

Both teams stayed focused and took care of business this week.  TMC has big news with Kuntz taking over full-time at QB; Case handled business against a quality WashU team in what could have been a trap game.  PAC title game coming next week.

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3. W & J (6-2, 4-2): Took care of business against Geneva.  Remains #3 in the rankings (lost to TMC and CWRU, beat Westminster).  Playing for pride the rest of the season.  Games against Thiel and Waynesburg honestly should be easy wins.

4. Westminster (6-2, 5-1): Handled St. Vincent pretty easily.  Remains ranked #4 (losses against TMC and W & J, win over CMU). Have not looked to see what they bring back next season but this has been a very nice year for the Titans.

5. Carnegie Mellon (5-3, 5-2): scuffled with Thiel for about a quarter before taking control and exploding early in the 3rd (as a slew of turnovers and quick scores turned a 24-13 halftime lead into a 59-13 laugher within the first 12 minutes of the second half).  The 73 points might be a CMU record.  Tough games to close against Chicago and CWRU.

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6. Bethany (4-5, 3-4): took care of Grove City yesterday (Jalen Holmes ran for 341 yards!) but has lost to CMU, has beaten Geneva and Waynesburg, will play St. Vincent in the finale to decide the #6 slot for good.

7. St. Vincent (3-5, 2-4): blowout losses the last two weeks (Westminster held them to 115 yards and two late garbage-time TD's yesterday; it would take some work to piece together but inferring from the drive stats, given that they had scoring drives of 76 and 17 yards in the fourth quarter, they may not have cleared 50 yards of total offense in the first three quarters).

8. Geneva (2-6, 1-5): has beaten Waynesburg and Grove City.  Chance to win another and move up a slot in these rankings if they can beat St. Vincent next week.

9. Waynesburg (3-6, 2-5): only wins have come against the bottom dwellers and have lost to both Bethany and Geneva.  Yuck.

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10A. Grove City (0-8, 0-6)
10B. Thiel (1-7, 0-6)

Both teams continue to struggle.  Each was pseudo-competitive early yesterday, at least trading scores for a little while, before the respective games got out of hand.

[E.115]

With the Top 25 updated, it will be #12 Thomas More vs #18 Case Western Reserve for the showdown in Cleveland for the PAC title--greatly looking forward to this game.

[SaintsFAN]

Crickets.  No thoughts on the game from the Case side?  Has anyone watched TMC this year?  Curious to see how you think the two teams matchup. 

I'm working on a comprehensive breakdown of the team's through my eyes.  It won't be done before Thursday, though.  I hope Spartan Mom will still want to meet me after reading it 

[jknezek]

I'm working on a comprehensive breakdown of the team's through my eyes.  It won't be done before Thursday, though. I hope Spartan Mom will still want to meet me after reading it 

Why  not? It's always fun telling people they are wrong in person!    Heck, it's an argument that will have an answer. We don't always get those.

[ExTartanPlayer]

Crickets.  No thoughts on the game from the Case side?  Has anyone watched TMC this year?  Curious to see how you think the two teams matchup. 

I'm working on a comprehensive breakdown of the team's through my eyes.  It won't be done before Thursday, though.  I hope Spartan Mom will still want to meet me after reading it 

I don't think there's a whole lot more to say, specifically.  We've been chatting a pretty good deal about the teams in general on here; everything I said about Case before the W & J game basically still stands, haha.  I'll leave it to you to tell us about Thomas More.

I have no specific rooting interest in the game: I admit some affinity for the old UAA teams but I have no axe to grind with Thomas More and they've certainly been a worthy league rep in the playoffs before.  My guess is about TMC by 14 points, but any result is fine with me as long as it's an exciting game and gives us a solid playoff representative.

[E.115]

Crickets.  No thoughts on the game from the Case side?  Has anyone watched TMC this year?  Curious to see how you think the two teams matchup. 

I feel Case seems to get enough publicity on the forum for strengths and weaknesses.

What is your perspective of/from the TM side of things?

[E.115]

Just made my travel arrangements for next weekend:  I want to see the team everyone thinks is going to take TMC's lunch.  There are 8 of us old school alums headed up.  But the other 7 are driving while I get into Cleveland before they do.  Does anyone know if Uber is viable from the airport or will a cab be the best bet?  I'm staying at the DTree right next to campus (no fire alarm shenanigans, please). 

Saints, I wanted to give you an overview of the area:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/36tjnqw5w590qsg/Case%20Western%20Reserve%20area.jpg?dl=0

Click to enlarge:



Your hotel is about 10-15 min walk to the stadium. 

The surrounding area has a lot going on...namely the Little Italy neighborhood.  Two of my personal favorite spots are Presti's Bakery and Nido Italia.  If you're feeling artsy, the nearby Cleveland Museum of Art is FREE and fantastic.

Cool bar spots:
- Barking Spider (live music 365 days a year) http://www.barkingspidertavern.com/
- Jolly Scholar (true CWRU student bar)
- Happy Dog at Euclid Tavern (known for their hotdogs)

If you're taking the rapid train to your hotel ($2.25 one way), be aware the Red Line has a temporary shuttle bus in between stops at the airport...http://www.riderta.com/service-alerts/red-line-replaced-buses-between-airport-and-puritas

Your stop for your hotel would be University Circle-Cedar Ave:  http://mapsof.net/uploads/static-maps/cleveland_metro_system_map_(rail).png

[SpartanMom_2016]

Crickets.  No thoughts on the game from the Case side?  Has anyone watched TMC this year?  Curious to see how you think the two teams matchup. 

I'm working on a comprehensive breakdown of the team's through my eyes.  It won't be done before Thursday, though.  I hope Spartan Mom will still want to meet me after reading it 

Of course I will still want to meet you.  The game is just that, a game. 

I have watched some TMC over the season but not enough to be able to give a thorough analysis.  Statistically speaking (I'm a numbers kind a girl) TMC is very impressive.  Good offense and tough defense.  All around strong and able to win when not at its best.

[E.115]

Here's some more hype for the game!

Some quotes from both coaches:  http://www.pacathletics.org/news/2015/11/4/FB_1104150305.aspx

CWRU preview: http://athletics.case.edu/sports/fball/2015-16/releases/20151104e5d3dx

Fun fact of the day: Thomas More's head coach, Regis Scafe, is a Case Western Reserve alumnus.