FB: Presidents' Athletic Conference

[Pat Coleman]

Yeah. Not really sure why you fixated on this game, but OK.

I noted on the Daily Dose just now that in the Kickoff we picked Wartburg 1, Central 2, Coe 3 in the IIAC (those three are now tied for first). The coaches picked Central 5th.

[spliskin]

Theres no need for that.

For what? I welcomed a new poster to the board. It was his first post & I had no idea who he was when I posted that. I sincerley apologized for offending him and believed he was new to board. What is your problem with that?

[SaintsFAN]

Lets put the tackle BS to rest...no school is intentionally padding tackle stats.  This is mouse nuts people...meaning there are bigger issues to fry....like the playoffs. 

Does the PAC deserve two teams if the Presidents win tomorrow (which I am biased--but they lose at TMC)?

Will Thiel finish the regular season strong, or do they exhale because they have won the PAC outright (yes I know they don't get an auto-bid)?

Now that the season is over for most teams here...What changes need to be made in the offseason for each PAC school?

Whats the biggest rivalry in the new PAC?  What are some other good ones?

Good night...I am going out with the lady....we will be in eachothers faces tomorrow as she is a Tennessee grad and I am a huge Irish fan...

Of course I talked her into some silly bet...

[Dutch12]

Good luck to everyone in the PAC tomorrow.  GCC & Westminster should be a good game as well as TMC & W&J. 

SaintsFan, to the victor go the spoils ! I don't like ND or Tennesse - I guess I'll root for ND so you win your bet.  I'll be much more interested in the PSU vs. Wisconsin game.


Go Tomcats !!

[ThielFan]

Hope to see all the Thiel folks in Greenville this afternoon!  GO CATS!

I know that nothing is certain except for Pool A bids until the brackets come out at the end of the season, but would it be relatively safe to assume that with one more win Thiel grabs a bid to the playoffs, and with two more wins they get a home game?

[critic]

I love the PAC board

[Pat Coleman]

Cleveland:

Still don't know why you were so up for the Central/Wartburg game, but Central won it on the road.

[PittTBCW]

Congrat to the winners in the PAC this week!

To answer someone's question...I believe SaintsFan, I believe the PAC is filled with rivalry games each and every week. The addition of TMC will just add to the excitment as the PAC makes strides to compete with the "southern tier" teams. Thats another strory, but I think the PAC will be a very competitive and fun loving, hard hitting week in and week out conference that will surely add to the National Playoff scene. I would love to see both the Tomcats and W&J make the playoffs and make some sort of run and show everyone what kind of play goes on in the PAC. Hopefully they do not make us play each other in the first or second round. I would think that either team is capable of winning a few games in the playoffs and love for them to square off in Greenville for the Semis. I know its probably a pipe dream but god that would be great and the PAC would have a great showing and shut some of the loud mouth PAC bashers up.


Congrats Tomcats on your school record 9th win and counting!!

P.S. Are you still hungry???

[ThielFan]

That Thiel v. Buffalo St. game was one of the ugliest, sloppiest games that I've seen in ages.  I lost count of the number of times that I looked up at the scoreboard in the 3rd quarter and couldn't believe that Thiel was still winning.  From muffed fair catches to shanked punts and 3rd-and-short futility (also 4th-and-short) we saw it all.  Thiel couldn't get out of the shadow of their own end zone, but Buffalo St.'s red zone offense was absolutely laughable and almost as ridiculous as their complete unwillingness to attempt a field goal after Thiel took the lead.  Big props go out to the Thiel 'Dark Side' Defense.  Those guys came up huge when it mattered, down in the red zone, and if they would have played badly yesterday, Thiel could have easily given the game away.  While they didn't put any points on the board, make no mistake about it, the Thiel defense won the game.  And oh yeah, Chambers did make a couple of nice catches.

I know that this has been stated before, but the playoff match-ups usually avoid conference rematches in the first round.  That being said, the geographical implications of W&J at Thiel must be mouth-watering for the penny-pinching NCAA.

[Cleveland Cartel]

Pat

Congrats on being the head guy for the Selection Sunday next week!  My birthday is that monday the 14th and it will be a great early present for the Tomcats name to be selected that Sunday!  JK

Also on the game, Central vs Wartburg:

Fixation just having fun with the division 3 team playing field and also because I saw your prediction and how big of a game that conference it was.  You guys got it right as usual!  Goodluck to you on Selection Sunday! 

Stay Hungry TC!

[Cleveland Cartel]

Saturdays Game:

A very sloppy game that both teams started off sluggish.  Thiel showed maturity, veternan leadership, and poise in the 21-3 victory at Alumni Stadium.  CMU will present another tough matchup for the Tomcats. 

Congrats to WJ's QB Chris Edwards for his second nomination for PAC offensive player of the week.  With 4 touchdown passes including a 41 and 43 with 373 yards passing and going over 8,000 passing yards in his career, and over 3,000 for the year!!!  Bob my question now is how does he rank all time at the school he has to be close to the QB he took over for Dawson i believe his last name was.  And also how does he rank all time in the PAC?  Could be interesting.  Edwards could have easily been named PAC player of the week numerous times in the past also.

Bethany ended their season with a 30-15 loss to Carnegie Mellon.  They were down 23- rip at one point and came back within a score and a two point conversion.  on the positive side they have two recievers who will be coming back next year and are legit playemakers with speed to take it to the crib for six every time in Milton Joyner and TJ Parker.  Both had a TD and over 5 catches a piece in the game. 

Big matchup this week in the PAC is the only one left!

Jeff Hand returns to Waynesburg as his titans take on Shepas and the Yellow jackets.  Should be an interesting game regardless of the score.  Hand knows his own players he recruited and should be able to key on certain strategies for the game.  Goodluck to Hawkins and Hunter as they finish out stellar careers and are both battling for most receptions in school history.


Finnally,

GCC and Westmin must have been a hard fought battle to the end with the 14-13 victory going to Westmin.  GCC season is over and Westmin finishes PAC play in Waynesburg this weekend.

Thomas More-Carsisle another solid game with 20 tackles including 13 Solo.  Bob Gregg what were your impressions of Tmore and their stingy defense?

[PittTBCW]

I have to agree with CC. The Tomcats looked sloppy early on but grinded it out to get the W behind a strong defensive showing. The defense was tough even though they gave up alot of yards. They had thier backs pinned up against the wall several times but Coach Rossi and his troops answered the call and held down Buff State until Chambers and the offense could get rolling.

Congrats to W&J wining thier ninth game of the season and more than likely securing a playoff birth. I also think Edwards will be voted most valuable player in the conference as he deservingly does.

[critic]

how was the tmc and w&j game??? and is carlisle human or animal?

[Bob.Gregg]

...impressions of Tmore and their stingy defense?

Stingy?  In what way?

Points allowed?  Okay, TMC held W&J 13 under their scoring average.  But a redzone INT, two missed PATs, an incomplete on 2-pt. pass and a missed field goal answers that.

Yards rushing?  Okay, TMC held W&J to 59 yards under their season average (130 vs. 189).  But W&J made up for most of that by throwing for 45 yards OVER their season average (373 vs. 328).

First downs?  Okay, TMC held W&J to 19 total first downs, under their season average of 25.8.  But W&J made up for that with 7 plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or longer, including two scoring plays of 40+.


What struck me most about TMC wasn't a "stingy" defense, but their offense with the left-hander Seth Ellis.  I know the QB spot has been injury plagued for the Saints, but this kid is the real deal.  He was able to move around, the find open receivers and run when he had to.  222 yards passing, one td pass, one td rushing.

Also impressed with Andy Heinl, both as a receiver and punter.  Not overly impressed with his apparent need to talk so much and so obviously, but, what do I know...

Overall, from what I'd read about Thomas More, the Saints played about as well as I expected.  The Presidents didn't play nearly as well as my expectations.  How much of that was them, and how much was Thomas More being better/tougher than expected?  Let the debate begin.

Thomas More finished third in the PAC, behind Thiel and W&J, well ahead of Bethany and Grove City.  Still middle of the PAC, but a more-formidable opponent than I had anticipated.

[Bob.Gregg]

and is carlisle human or animal?

Obviously, we had heard a lot about Carlisle heading into the game.

We called his name a fair number of times, but not so much that it stuck out like a sore thumb.

Late in the game, the SID announced that Carlisle had set a new career high with 20 tackles in the game.

On the drive home, I asked my broadcast partner how many tackles he thought Carlisle had (Mark calls most of the stops), and he thought it was 10-12, maybe 14.  When I told him about the SID announcement, he said (and I concur) "I'd have to see that on film."

Having reviewed the "official" play by play, there are 19 W&J offensive plays where THREE TMC players are credited with tackles.  I've broadcast football for 26 years, college games for 24, and I've NEVER seen three-player tackles listed.

That being said, he is a force to be reckoned with.  One time, W&J got him matched up with WR Aaron Krepps, but couldn't get the ball to him.  We didn't see that mis-match again.