FB: Presidents' Athletic Conference

[SaintsFAN]

St Vincent had an excellent game plan, offensively and jumped out to a 14-0 lead 7 minutes into the game.  I was very encouraged by the comeback and was happy to see Thomas More tested again.  Their focus didn't seem to be there yesterday, except when they really needed to make plays.  Too many penalties (9 penalties) and 3 INTs ( one was a pick-six and both of the others were intercepted in the end zone) - are a couple areas they need to clean up.  Backup QB Kuntz again came into the game in the 3rd stanza and steadied Thomas More.  He is a big, athletic QB with a big time arm (which is why he initially was headed to Western Kentucky University).  The read option is very tough to defend with him and either Pitts or Tarrant in the game. 

I really believe St Vincent's inability to complete passes in the 2nd half (they completed two- one was for no gain and the other was a pick six by Trey Wells) helped Thomas More win the game, as they could focus on Playing the run.  This was especially true in the fourth quarter as the Bearcats were going into the wind.  A key play was a 64 yard punt by Fuller which was downed inside St Vincent's one yard line - Wells' pick six came two plays later.

Anyways - they have another road trip to PA this weekend for Grove City and then they can focus on Waynesburg for Senior Day.  It's looking like the Case game should be a test for both W&J and TMC.  I'm rooting for W&J, though strictly for the Regional Rankings.  I'd love to see Thomas More as a 2 in the South and get home games, should they handle business over the next 3 weeks. 

Like ExTP said, I'm inclined to give CWRU and TMC some slack for the closer than expected games - college kids, right around midterms, and both were road games.  And I'm 100% in agreement with his PAC Rankings, though that a .50 couldn't buy you a coffee. 

[ExTartanPlayer]

Anyways - they have another road trip to PA this weekend for Grove City and then they can focus on Waynesburg for Senior Day.  It's looking like the Case game should be a test for both W&J and TMC.  I'm rooting for W&J, though strictly for the Regional Rankings.  I'd love to see Thomas More as a 2 in the South and get home games, should they handle business over the next 3 weeks. 

This is a pretty good point.  I am rooting for CWRU for the sake of change, but as a Thomas More fan you absolutely should be rooting for this to make sure TMC retains a win over an RRO.  The South RR's are going to be a little funny and it's faintly possible that CWRU beating W & J followed by TMC beating CWRU would result in neither team staying in the RR's or only one ranked being pretty low, while a 9-1 W & J is almost assuredly staying solidly in the RR's.

[ADL70]

Geneva pressured and contained Cuda as well as any team has so far.  The Spartans abandoned the controlled passing game opting instead for lots of 20+ yard attempts, without a great deal of success.  Similar to XTP's discussion of Wabash-Kenyon: "took advantage of a game against an opponent that he knew couldn't score on the ... defense to work on a few things."

[ADL70]

Case Western ... any finish from 9-1 down to 6-4 is probably still in play here.

Are you conceding the CWRU-CMU game?

[ExTartanPlayer]

Case Western ... any finish from 9-1 down to 6-4 is probably still in play here.

Are you conceding the CWRU-CMU game?

haha, I had typed "any finish from 9-1 down to 5-5" and then thought...well, I don't want to concede the CMU-CWRU game, but it's hard to imagine Case losing the last 4 games after how good they've looked through the first 6.  We'll see how the next few weeks unfold, but right now I would have Case as about a 17-point favorite against CMU - their offense has been consistently good and the CMU defense has not.

[jam40jeff]

Great analysis as usual, XTP!

The big question mark for me is Westminster.  On the one hand, they did play W&J close.  But other than that, they haven't been overly impressive.  Hiram outgained them by 120 yards and Westminster was only up 7-3 with 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter (turnovers kept Hiram off the board, they had 400 yards offense).  Also, Bethany had more yards offense than Westminster and was only down 28-24 in the 4th quarter.

Also, I'm encouraged by Case's play this year and hope they can give W&J a run for their money next week.  Even in their loss to Chicago (first game for the sophomore quarterback) they outgained them 468-348 yards and seemed to have the game almost put away (up 24-10 with 12 minutes to go) until falling apart at the end (giving up 21 points in the last 12 minutes and missing an extra point to lose by 1).

[SpartanMom_2016]

Their focus didn't seem to be there yesterday, except when they really needed to make plays.

Isn't that the mark of a good (well coached) team?  They manage to play well enough to win even on days when they don't play their best.

[SaintsFAN]

Their focus didn't seem to be there yesterday, except when they really needed to make plays.

Isn't that the mark of a good (well coached) team?  They manage to play well enough to win even on days when they don't play their best.

Yes - but they are very, very talented, too.  Scare has no doubt done everything right this year.  My hope is they just put their foot on the gas and leave it there the final three weeks and then rest up during their off week in Week 11. 

[SaintsFAN]

Teams to measure Pool C candidates against.
In looking at the final 16 teams in the playoff bracket the last 3 years and then at their season and playoff scores to find their level of competitiveness in all games played, from my perspective (which means there could be others), I see three levels.
Level A (these are teams that prove themselves competitive in every or nearly every game they play).  If there are too many teams for your liking from the West or North and not enough from the East or South, it is in no shape, way or form my fault:
UWW
Mt. Union
Linfield
UMHB
St. Thomas
NCC (argue all you want about Linfield in 2012)
Wheaton
Wabash
Bethel
UWO
Wesley (yes, they are hard to figure).

Level B: (these teams usually play competitively and should be considered as good competition):
St. John's
Wartburg
UWP
John's Hopkins
St. John Fisher
TLU (B- or TBD)
JCU (but on the way out and should be viewed very skeptically)

Level C (these teams make the playoffs and sometimes advance, but they rarely beat a B or come even close to beating an A, as such, they should not be given the benefit of the doubt for Pool C entrance when compared with a B or A team- until they advance through Pool A and prove competitive against a B or A team).
Hobart
Widener (C+)
Franklin
Rowan
Hamp-Syd
Ithaca
CNP
Cortland State
Wash and Jeff

I very well may have missed some teams and in no way do I mean to slight them.  Feel free to add teams that you feel make sense.

This is a great example of what Coach Scafe and his staff is working with.  TMC should be on this list but they didn't make the playoffs in the last three seasons.  When this guy thinks about the best programs in Dicision 3, he doesn't remember the program with the best winning percentage in the division.  The Saints should have a huge chip on their shoulders these last three weeks as they have a chance to prove they are worthy of inclusion on a list like this.  This should be hung in the locker room for all to see.  They've monkey stomped one team on here, beaten another by 18, played two tough games (Wesley and SJF) and been smoked in another game (W&J).  Thomas More should be on the list but there hasn't been a playoff berth since 2011.  I know this senior class wants to make the playoffs and will show up to play these last three games.

[SaintsFAN]

#12 - Thomas More - Again, I know nothing about Thomas More.  The only thing that I can see is that the winner of their conference in 2014, W&J, had a playoff loss to MUC 67-0. (and Thomas More lost to W&J by 23 points..). And the PAC is 12-18 in the playoffs.  I'd definitely place UWP, St Johns and North Central ahead of Thomas More.  Frankly they seem to be at best a Top 15-25 team until they show it in the playoffs (or a team from their conference).

The danger in ranking a team you don't know much about is frankly not knowing what you don't know.  For instance a one possession game at W&J turned into a blowout after TMC lost their QB at the end of the third quarter in 2014 - how many teams in the top 25 could survive that, on the road in a game of that magnitude?  I definitely feel Thomas More must prove themselves to be a contender in the tournament this year, though and having seen the top teams like MHB, UMU, Wheaton and Wesley in person, I definitely feel like the 2015 TMC team has reached the level where they CAN prove themselves.  We'll have to wait and see.

[ExTartanPlayer]

Something that might be a fun time-killer on the boards: most of our chatter has focused on teams and rankings, but I thought it would be fun to spotlight some individuals that are having outstanding seasons.

CMU sophomore running back Sam Benger has 1,174 rushing yards through 6 games this season.  Westminster is the only team that's held him under 100 yards (just 83 yards on 26 carries); in the other five games he has rushed for at least 189 yards in every game, including a 303-yard masterpiece against W & J (no garbage-time numbers padding either - most of that actually came in the first half).  That's just insane.  He has scored a touchdown in every game and had a run of 30-plus yards in every game but the Westminster game.  The Tartans might struggle to reach .500 this year but they've found an absolute gem in Benger, and if the defense can improve in the next couple of years, they might have something here.  At his current pace, he might catch my former teammate, Robert Gimson, for 3rd place on the career rushing list by the end of this year or early next year.  He will also have a chance to break my other former teammate Travis Sivek's career record of 4,000 yards and change, but that might at least take until the end of his junior season

CWRU sophomore quarterback Rob Cuda had his worst game of the season at Geneva, but even after that game his numbers still look like something out of a video game.  Through six games, he is 113-177 (63.8%) for 1466 yards, 18 TD, 0 INT (18-0!) plus 74 rushes for 467 yards.  When you consider that college rushing stats include sack yardage, that's also incredible.  Video-game stuff.  Really want to see how he handles the big games against W & J and Thomas More in the next couple of weeks.

Not saying these are the only dudes playing good ball in the PAC< just the two guys who have stood out the most on the teams I am most familiar with.  Please feel free to highlight other outstanding performances.  With a pair of young offensive stars like that, the UAA refugees should at least have reason to pay attention the next few seasons. 

[SpartanMom_2016]

Their focus didn't seem to be there yesterday, except when they really needed to make plays.

Isn't that the mark of a good (well coached) team?  They manage to play well enough to win even on days when they don't play their best.

Yes - but they are very, very talented, too.  Scare has no doubt done everything right this year.  My hope is they just put their foot on the gas and leave it there the final three weeks and then rest up during their off week in Week 11.

I have seen many talented teams falter because the team is not well coached.  Talent is necessary to be a good team but it isn't enough.  There are plenty of very talented teams that go nowhere.

Edited to add-I think TMC is ultra talented.

[SaintsFAN]

ExTP - I'll get to this tonight, but with the teams I've seen:  Pete Coughlin and Goose Cohorn stand out offensively.  And Chris Tarrant is bulldog attitude while running the ball.  He doesn't lead in rushing yards, but he's the best RB in the PAC.  Yes, I've seen Ruffing.. Well not really this year as for some reason W&J never really tried to establish the run - Adam Turer and I were both very surprised at this.  But to me, Tarrant would start at any other PAC team at RB.  Same with Goose Cohorn.  I'll look up stats and post later when I have my iPad.

[wally_wabash]

There's probably no way to overuse the name Goose Cohorn.  Just tremendous. 

[Bob.Gregg]

#12 - Thomas More - Again, I know nothing about Thomas More.  The only thing that I can see is that the winner of their conference in 2014, W&J, had a playoff loss to MUC 67-0. (and Thomas More lost to W&J by 23 points..). And the PAC is 12-18 in the playoffs.  I'd definitely place UWP, St Johns and North Central ahead of Thomas More.  Frankly they seem to be at best a Top 15-25 team until they show it in the playoffs (or a team from their conference).

Not getting into all the reasons all those things happened.
Just gonna list a fact correction.
Don't know where you got PAC is 12-18 in the playoffs, but W&J alone is 22-24 in the NCAA tournament, all of those as a PAC-member school.