FB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[D O.C.]

The Cobbers have around 140

140! That's outrageous!

Yep, I'd say you guys are right. Junior College and then probably the State College sytem (18 play ball?) and Boise, Northern AZ, New Mexico St. etc.

Never understood why not just go to LINFIELD, have fun and make the playoffs than think you're dying slowly at NM State. One guy figured that out not too late.
I know it's really all about the $, especially in one parent households.

Another Southern California demographic observation...ask a lot of parents in Oregon where they were born and they will tell you California...and they got out - to Oregon.

[Tuxguy]

DenSLA,   did you look at my Birth Certificate?

Congrats to Oxy on a fine year, you just ran into a very special Linfield team the past 2 years. I want to know what you put on Collin's jersey,  ???He was running around like a slippery pig, hard to catch and bring down. 1 more yr. with him, enjoy the ride,     we sure have with Brett & Co.!!

[Pat Coleman]

How do you edit a post?

In the upper right corner of your post is a button that says "modify"

New users don't have that option until they reach a higher level of seniority.

[cawcdad]

Thanks Pat. I didn't realize that seniority had certain privileges.

[tigersports]

One other thought.  While Oxy loses to Linfield 19 or 20 times out of 20, Oxy deserved to have the chance to walk off their home field victorious after a playoff game.

[Gig Harbor Cat]

tigersports,
  I agree 100% While I hear all about the NCAA budget I think the top 25 should be spread and seeded.  Teams are seeded all the way back to Pop Warner football.  What we are looking at is pure and simple East coast bias.  By placing all of the power teams in the West along with UMHB meeting the winner of the west in the Semis they guaranteed at least 1 east rep in the Stagg.  in the mean time quite a lot of teams will be sitting home when if spread could of had a chance.  Oxy should of had a home game this year, they earned it as much as the Cats.  To make them a road dog is one thing, to send them to the Catdome is another.  What is going on with the brackets is blatant.  Its pure crap in my opinion. 
   I doubt it will change but at least we all know the reasons why

                 GHC

[rockcat]

Continuing the recruiting discussion, the NWC does get its fair share of athletes from California but it isn't like there is a short supply coming out of LA.  Of the 15 million people in LA + Orange County there have to be plenty who can meet admission requirements and have the family income to pay for private education.  Besides, the schools that cost the most also have the largest endowments so those who can't pay outright get huge financial aid packages.  I saw that first hand in my previous job working at a DIII school and helping with athletic recruitment.

I guess the big question mark I have is how good is a team like Oxy going to be when Andy Collins leaves?  Right now it appears like they wouldn't be a playoff team without him.  He was kind of a gift, as the story posted earlier explains.  Where is the next Collings going to come from?  How active are the coaches recruiting?

I know some will compare Collins transferring to Oxy with Elliott's move to Linfield.  Not the same because Linfield had an All-American QB the year before Elliott arrived. 

I think it would be great for the SCIAC to continue to develop on the national scene but am just wondering what is preventing that from happening.

[tigersports]

Rockcat, I've had this debate before with others, but Oxy, just like Linfield, is not a one-man band.  Perhaps they lose a couple without Collins, but they went 8-1 in '01 without him and would have made it to the playoffs but for Pomona's lack of desire to be part of the SCIAC.  They had a good team in '03 that got waylaid while the backup quarterback took two games to find himself.  That's not to say they would've won that year, but they've been in contention without Collins the past five years.  Collins was clearly a difference maker as I'm sure you'll agree that Elliott has moved the Cats from a perennial quarter/semi finalist into the USC of D-III.

[Sagecock]

Tigersports, I think it is fair to mention that the quarterback for the years previous to Collins was Paupau (I hope that spelling is correct) who was good enough to get drafted by a CFL team (even if his dad was the head coach).  Once he went down THAT is when Oxy dropped a few.  The '03 team was good, but with Collins (see last year, effectively the same team) they were a play-off team.

And I would also point out that compared to previous years teams, this years Oxy club was in fact, a one man show.  The biggest difference was on the defensive side of the ball this year.  I think if you talk to most coaches in the SCIAC you'd find that the biggest threat was that of Oxy bringing pressure off the outside with Ostland and Bryant, however, that's only effective if you're either playing a passing team, or forcing the other team to throw since they are playing from behind.  Without Collins to create offensive production for the Tigers, I don't see teams being pressured into this nearly as much (Whittier anyone?).

[CRZK]

Ok,  I take pause to get into all of these but sagecocks last post got me thinking.  Just the facts as Jack Webb used to say.

Looking at the SCIAC website I find it hard to justify much of what sagecock claims.  Oxy is #1 in Scoring offense and #2 in SCORING Defense!!  Overall defense ranks 4th which I admit is a problem.  However look at sacks and red zone defense.  Oxy is #1 in sacks and #1 in red zone defense.

Obviously, Linfield was able to move the ball through the air so of course the rush as well as defensive coverage needs to be looked at.  Therefore I find it hard to swallow some of your comments.  As an earlier poster mentioned your points would have more validity if you made them at the start of the year and not now.  In addition, it looks like the conference stats do not support your claims.

So, is it sour grapes?  Or is it that Oxy 1) overall is sound and 2) does need to fill some holes but is looking good for next year considering the # of starters coming back who have two conference championships under their belt?

[beancounter]

Let me add two bits here.....

Oxy has a fine football team.  Collins is a load.  But Linfield is just a plane above everyone right now.   In 22 games, they have had just one not so good offensive half of football, and yet still figured out a way to win that particular game.   They are a "different deal".

Just look at Oxy last year.  Not many expected them to win at Concordia.  But they had a difference maker in Collins that day.  While Collins is a difference maker, Linfield right now has more of them than anyone else....

[rockcat]

I agree with Beancounter.  The one thing that I wonder about with Oxy is their coaching.  I wasn't at the game last week but I heard from a friend who was there that just like last year Oxy had their corners matched in man coverage against Linfield's receivers.  On top of that they were playing up close to the line of scrimmage and were just getting burned all day long.  That is the same thing that happened last year.  What kind of game plan is that against a team that throws and runs as well as Linfield?  Why weren't there adjustments made?  You think they would have learned by Elliott's 7 Td's last year.  I didn't expect him to throw 7 again this year.

[Sagecock]

It is not "sour grapes" in the least.  I think you somewhat missed the point of my post,   Oxy was a "sound" team, however, without Collins that is all they are: sound.  I didn't deny that they have a sound linebacking core, only that they can be stopped by smart play (see: pomona-pitzer-zero sacks, outgained Oxy).  Additionally, if you've watched a team that is talented enough to get to the Stagg Bowl, ala Linfield, Trinity, Mount Union, etc...you would recognize the disparity in all-around talent.  Like beancouter and rockcat said,  Oxy simply did not possess that sort of skill except at quarterback.  Believe me, I have more respect for Collins then anyone, the kid is freakin unstopable.

However, I don't get how stating Oxy was #1 in scoring offense addresses my post, I never said they couldn't score.  And if you look at the scoring defense, excepting three field goals Oxy's stats are identical to Pomona-Pitzer's, and only slightly better then Redlands, who it cannot be denyed played a MUCH stronger out of league scedule (and no, I'm not trying to start that debate again).  So that claim doesn't really hold that much weight.  As for red zone, kudos to Oxy, they did a good job.  They're coached better then some of the other teams in the league.

[ritz72]

Without a doubt,

The NCAA's are tight wads, oxy should have hosted 1st round!

[tigersports]

Sagecock:

Oxy's stats were a bit skewed because their first string was in the game at the end only against Redlands and Whittier.  Otherwise it was blowout city and three yards and a cloud of dust to run out the clock.  They also gave up two garbage-time TD's on the last play of the game (one of which you probably saw).   I dare say that the Hens were not in similar situations.  This explains why Oxy was frequently outgained.

You should note that the Oxy-Linfield yardage stats from last year's game were fairly even as well and no one is suggesting that that game was deceptively close.

Yardage stats can often be deceptive because returns and short fields caused by turnovers and/or good D can reduce the number needed for scores.

Oxy's first team D gave up 20 to P-P, 9 to Cal Lu, 24 to Redlands, 20 to Whittier, 16 to CMS, 3 to Colorado.  They got torched in the game v. Laverne but were otherwise steady, though not spectacular.  They were just plain overmatched against Linfield.