FB: Presidents' Athletic Conference

[E.115]

CWRU plays neither TMC nor W&J the next two seasons according to the future schedules on CWRU's site.

Wow, great observation.  http://athletics.case.edu/sports/fball/future

With Cuda and the rest of the sophomore class having 2 more years, this could get interesting...plus TMC and W&J may not mind this so much either.

[wally_wabash]

CWRU plays neither TMC nor W&J the next two seasons according to the future schedules on CWRU's site.

Wow, great observation.  http://athletics.case.edu/sports/fball/future

With Cuda and the rest of the sophomore class having 2 more years, this could get interesting.

That's insane.  Shades of the Whalen years when CWRU got a healthy dose of the NCAC, but never the top teams.  But that was far more benign- there wasn't a auto bid on the line. 

[ExTartanPlayer]

CWRU plays neither TMC nor W&J the next two seasons according to the future schedules on CWRU's site.

Wow, great observation.  http://athletics.case.edu/sports/fball/future

With Cuda and the rest of the sophomore class having 2 more years, this could get interesting...plus TMC and W&J may not mind this so much either.

Oh, I think they'll mind quite a bit. 

Certainly CWRU is going to be tough to beat, but neither of those teams is scared of good competition, and this will give Case Western a chance to win the AQ without playing either of them (especially given the current state of the league, which falls off a cliff after the first couple of teams).  Yeah, I think they will mind.

Wally, also reminds me of when Kenyon had an outside chance to win the NCAC Pool A bid going into Week 11 without having played Wabash or Wittenberg.  Funny stuff happens when you don't play a full round-robin. 

I'm not blaming Case, as I assume the league schedules are handled by the PAC, but this sure seems like a happy coincidence for Case.

[ADL70]

I recognize that it's a moot point, but don't understand Maryville with only .487 SOS (CWRU .511) and a bad loss to NCWes being ranked ahead of the Spartans.

[ExTartanPlayer]

I recognize that it's a moot point, but don't understand Maryville with only .487 SOS (CWRU .511) and a bad loss to NCWes being ranked ahead of the Spartans.

I think it's because they figured:

Maryville > (SAA cluster****) by way of Maryville's h2h win over Berry

Since Berry is undefeated and leading the SAA, they could justify Maryville > Berry as also > Hendrix, Chicago, etc

Since Chicago beat Case (yes, I know, by only one point and in the opener) they probably also put Case somewhere into that mess of SAA teams with 1 or 2 losses.

(I'm not actually saying that I agree with this, just laying out how they probably arrived at the ranking)

I was very surprised that CWRU was unranked, but as we both said it's a moot point.  Case wins this weekend, they're in.  Lose and they don't deserve it anyway.

The bottom of the South rankings (after W & L, I think) you can really toss all of the teams into a hat.  There are at least 10 teams that could be considered for the last 4 spots in the South rankings.

[SaintsFAN]

CWRU plays neither TMC nor W&J the next two seasons according to the future schedules on CWRU's site.

Wow, great observation.  http://athletics.case.edu/sports/fball/future

With Cuda and the rest of the sophomore class having 2 more years, this could get interesting...plus TMC and W&J may not mind this so much either.

Oh, I think they'll mind quite a bit. 

Certainly CWRU is going to be tough to beat, but neither of those teams is scared of good competition, and this will give Case Western a chance to win the AQ without playing either of them (especially given the current state of the league, which falls off a cliff after the first couple of teams).  Yeah, I think they will mind.

Wally, also reminds me of when Kenyon had an outside chance to win the NCAC Pool A bid going into Week 11 without having played Wabash or Wittenberg.  Funny stuff happens when you don't play a full round-robin. 

I'm not blaming Case, as I assume the league schedules are handled by the PAC, but this sure seems like a happy coincidence for Case.

You're correct - they'll mind quite a bit.  They should redo the schedule since Case is better than they were when that schedule was made up.  Can you imagine their strength of schedule without both Thomas More and W&J on it?

[SaintsFAN]

CWRU plays neither TMC nor W&J the next two seasons according to the future schedules on CWRU's site.

Wow, great observation.  http://athletics.case.edu/sports/fball/future

With Cuda and the rest of the sophomore class having 2 more years, this could get interesting...plus TMC and W&J may not mind this so much either.

Let's not crown Case just yet.  Or what if it's CWRU who doesn't mind missing out on Thomas More?

[ADL70]

PD coverage:P  http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/index.ssf/2015/11/case_western_reserve_qb_rob_cu.html


A side note: in addition to Cuda, Connor Simpson was a freshman QB for the Spartans last season.  He's now one of six QBs on SMU's roster, a walk-on I presume.

[SaintsFAN]

Reasons to like this Thomas More team (as a fan of Thomas More):

*Size and athleticism on both lines.  After the 2010 debacle at UMHB in the playoffs, Hilvert had his marching orders to get bigger and more athletic on the DLine and OLine while developing depth.  The OL is big and moves well.  The group is also dominated by seniors who've played lots of football.  The DEnds and tackles are big and athletic while the ends have speed.  When teams have had obvious passing situations, they've flat gotten after the QB. 

*Secondary Play of the CBs.  In past years TMC has had great safeties and serviceable CBs.  This group of CBs (they can play 4) are very athletic and have made plays in both man and zone coverage.  The Safeties are also up to the standard that has been set by guys like Autenreib.  They played very well against W&J, baiting Coughlin into 3 INTs in the game along with 7 breakups. 

*Overall Depth.  When players have gotten hurt at RB, QB, OL and CB there are quality backups to step in.  I'm sure practices are straight up competitions. 

*Intangibles:  while this was already a very close group who lost their HC in the offseason, the players have really united in their pursuit of excellence after the tragic loss of Mitch Kramer.  #12 has been everywhere this year, from 12 TD's scored against Hanover to their #12 ranking for most of the season.  These kids will be brothers for life and have honored his memory through their play. 

Now, I'm comparing Case to W&J - which, defensively they are similar.  Throw the numbers out for W&J against TMC and Case and you'll see what I mean.  It's an opportunistic unit and they've played very well in 2015.  The offense is similar in that they use the spread with a hurry up but the similarities end there.  Case throws downfield more and has a better QB.  His 25:1 ratio is pretty filthy, too.  The offense revolves around him while W&J has a 1,000 yard rusher as well.  But defending a QB run from an empty set is tough to do.   

In talking about Thomas More's strengths above, I've used the W&J game as a one game season with influences from the St Vincent game when TMC had to dig deep to win after coming out flat. St Vincent took advantage and had a 14 point lead after two possessions.  Without that test, we'd be looking at a team which was only tested once this year.  Back to W&J - it's a compliment to compare what I've studied of CWRU this week to the Presidents.  I think the future is very bright with Cuda at QB and not playing either TMC or W&J the next two years.  But Case is just different enough from W&J, offensively to be very dangerous.  The team knows it's win or go home and that Case is very, very dangerous.  Whether or not it's too much pressure for the kids from KY, we'll see.  I do know Regis Scafe was brought into the fold for his big game experience at JCU, so we'll see how this one plays out.


It's been a fun year to follow TMC Football and regardless of what happens Saturday, they will have played perhaps the best season in the school's history when you factor in what has happened off the field. 

[Bob.Gregg]

Let's not crown Case just yet.  Or what if it's CWRU who doesn't mind missing out on Thomas More?

And THAT could be why the winner of the TMC/W&J game would claim the AQ....a better strength of schedule...

[SaintsFAN]

Let's not crown Case just yet.  Or what if it's CWRU who doesn't mind missing out on Thomas More?

And THAT could be why the winner of the TMC/W&J game would claim the AQ....a better strength of schedule...

I see - I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to dust off the PAC's tiebreakers

[jam40jeff]

I recognize that it's a moot point, but don't understand Maryville with only .487 SOS (CWRU .511) and a bad loss to NCWes being ranked ahead of the Spartans.

I think it's because they figured:

Maryville > (SAA cluster****) by way of Maryville's h2h win over Berry

Since Berry is undefeated and leading the SAA, they could justify Maryville > Berry as also > Hendrix, Chicago, etc

Since Chicago beat Case (yes, I know, by only one point and in the opener) they probably also put Case somewhere into that mess of SAA teams with 1 or 2 losses.

(I'm not actually saying that I agree with this, just laying out how they probably arrived at the ranking)

I was very surprised that CWRU was unranked, but as we both said it's a moot point.  Case wins this weekend, they're in.  Lose and they don't deserve it anyway.

The bottom of the South rankings (after W & L, I think) you can really toss all of the teams into a hat.  There are at least 10 teams that could be considered for the last 4 spots in the South rankings.

The puzzler for me is Huntingdon.  They are a one loss team with a .393 SOS, and if Case's 1 point loss in the opener to a team they should have beaten (both statistically and by virtue of being up 14 in the 4th quarter before blowing it) was the reason for them not being in the rankings, what about Huntingdon's loss to 4-5 Birmingham-Southern in week two?  Birmingham-Southern got beat by Chicago 28-14 and Washington U 41-13, and will likely end up 4-6 after playing Berry this week.  I have no idea how Huntingdon could have been put at #8.

[wally_wabash]

I recognize that it's a moot point, but don't understand Maryville with only .487 SOS (CWRU .511) and a bad loss to NCWes being ranked ahead of the Spartans.

I think it's because they figured:

Maryville > (SAA cluster****) by way of Maryville's h2h win over Berry

Since Berry is undefeated and leading the SAA, they could justify Maryville > Berry as also > Hendrix, Chicago, etc

Since Chicago beat Case (yes, I know, by only one point and in the opener) they probably also put Case somewhere into that mess of SAA teams with 1 or 2 losses.

(I'm not actually saying that I agree with this, just laying out how they probably arrived at the ranking)

I was very surprised that CWRU was unranked, but as we both said it's a moot point.  Case wins this weekend, they're in.  Lose and they don't deserve it anyway.

The bottom of the South rankings (after W & L, I think) you can really toss all of the teams into a hat.  There are at least 10 teams that could be considered for the last 4 spots in the South rankings.

The puzzler for me is Huntingdon.  They are a one loss team with a .393 SOS, and if Case's 1 point loss in the opener to a team they should have beaten (both statistically and by virtue of being up 14 in the 4th quarter before blowing it) was the reason for them not being in the rankings, what about Huntingdon's loss to 4-5 Birmingham-Southern in week two?  Birmingham-Southern got beat by Chicago 28-14 and Washington U 41-13, and will likely end up 4-6 after playing Berry this week.  I have no idea how Huntingdon could have been put at #8.

The "should have" stuff about CWRU vs. Chicago isn't relevant.  Losing is losing and losing that game in particular, no matter what the yardage totals may have been, puts CWRU on the back end of a pecking order. 

The point about Huntingdon is legit.  They probably shouldn't be ranked with that SOS and no results vs. RROs.  They may be a decent team, but that's a pretty poor profile and the ranking is dubious for sure. 

[SpartanMom_2016]

While I agree that losing is losing most end of season rankings weight early season action less than late season action.  After all, the regional rankings are being used to rank the teams now, not during the first week.  It's true that all one loss teams have one loss, but in my experience an early loss, especially a close one to a decent team in week 1 usually doesn't hurt a team as much as a loss late in the season (or to a weak opponent).

[jknezek]

The point about Huntingdon is legit.  They probably shouldn't be ranked with that SOS and no results vs. RROs.  They may be a decent team, but that's a pretty poor profile and the ranking is dubious for sure.

I don't get this either. Unless they are just setting up the winner of this weekend to be in the rankings. Doesn't make much sense.