FB: Empire 8

[dlippiel]

Franklin is the perfect non-conference opponent.   Sure fire champion from a weak league.    Almost a lock to be regionally ranked on top of an AQ and a good winning percentage.    IMHO, Franklin is why Mount is the #1 sed overall.    They were the 3rd RRO win for Mount which overcame their average OWP from playing in a 10 team league.

Likewise W&J was huge for SJF and likely was a big reason they got in over Wabash (which I 100% agree with).   2-1 against RRO should trump 0-1 any day.

For a team as strong as Mount Union, yes; a real risk for most other quality teams!

I think this is the debate about SOS that causes the criteria for getting in seem inconsistent. For a team like Fisher to schedule a team like Franklin IS very risky. There is a good chance they would lose a game and any conference loss would put them in that awful two loss position. However taking that risk sometimes has it's rewards, let's say losing a second game but getting in because your SOS is so high. Sometime that works for teams sometimes it works against them.

It may seem inconsistent, but to me it is just more risky for teams to do. Sometimes the risk taking will be rewarded, and you will get the benefit of the doubt come selection time. Sometimes you won't and fans will be left scratching their head.

Good point, but I'm not sure the risk outweighs the reward.  In 2009, for example, NCC lost their opening game to ONU (who finished the season 8-2, but also missed the playoffs).  NCC beat Wheaton but lost to IWU (the only year in seems like forever that IWU beat BOTH NCC and Wheaton! )  NCC was out of the playoffs, but almost certainly would have been in at 9-1.  The same scenario has happened to Wheaton in recent years.

I wish IWU would upgrade their non-con schedule (at least get rid of Alma!), but taking on a Franklin or Wabash might be too risky.  With both NCC and Wheaton in the conference, going 6-1 in conference is the best we can realistically hope for.  A non-con loss is probably fatal.

We had a similar debate on this board not too long ago. I would much prefer Fisher load up cupcakes early in the year and focus on avoiding their annual head scratcher in conference.

Does playing cupcakes early really help you during the regular season though?  I assume the biggest advantage would be resting starters for the second half?

I guess I'm saying I disagree and that I think it helps playing tougher non-conference games.

Yeah, I don't want cupcakes (that's why I'd like to drop Alma - the last 3 years they've won 3, 2, and 1 games, which is an SoS killer), but Hope was ideal: we went 6 for 6, but 5 games were competitive, and they generally had a good to very good record.  (I haven't yet seen our schedule for next year, but, alas, I've seen Hope's and we were not on it. )  Ideally, you play teams that will be very competitive, but there is still a high probability you will win.  (Of course, with scheduling games in advance, that is easier said than done! )

Franklin can afford to take on really elite teams, because they will nearly always win the AQ.  In a conference with three or more near-elite teams, that strategy is very risky with such a short season.

dlip just thinks it best to play the best. However some sense can be used as well trying to find a middle ground. Obviously you never know when teams are going to have a down year but looking at teams that are consistently in the RR each season with decent SOS numbers and trying to schedule those teams will most likely help. If you schedule and lose that game plus more than one in conference game you probably don't deserve to go anyway. dlip would love to see an SJF/Franklin series. **** dlip has so much respect for SJF because of the way they have scheduled and continued to build their program over the last decade or so. Plus dlip knows the main focus of scheduling tough OOC opponents is to gain dlip's respect on these boards. 

[Bombers798891]

Since the All-Conference selections will be out soon, I wanted to take my crack at offense

QB: Tyler Fenti. I feel like John Garcia might steal this given that Fenti missed the final game, but as a guy who doesn't like QB's who only complete about 50% of their passes, I'm not big on Garcia. He'll probably finish second, and Kacz third despite the fact that his performance against quality competition was terrible (5 TDs, 9 INTs against Whitewater, Salisbury, Alfred, Fisher, and Cortland.)

RB: Cody Miller. Kind of the obvious choice, given his conference-leading 904 yards and 15 touchdowns. Everyone else is sort of indistinguishable, though had Ahart not missed two games, he might have overtaken Miller.

WR: Anthony Acevedo and Mike Doherty. The trouble with elevating Kevin Francis over either of them is that he has 170 fewer yards that Doherty and 19 catches and 110 yards less than Acevedo.

TE: Jared Prugar. To my knowledge, everyone ahead/near him in numbers is listed as a wide receiver, making him the obvious choice, though 38-683-5 is not exactly a slouch line.

KR: Sam Carney. Frankly, this shouldn't be surprising.

K: Garret Nicholson. Led the conference with nine FGs and 90% accuracy. Kicks weren't as long as some others, but Gioia's XP percentage (78%) also trailed Nicholson's (87%)

[SJFF82]

I believe SJF and John Carroll have scheduled a 2 year deal starting in 2015

[Jonny Utah]

I believe SJF and John Carroll have scheduled a 2 year deal starting in 2015

Not sure what made me think of this, I think after realizing that John Carroll is another Catholic School.....but when I went to Ithaca we had a priest (Father Tom) who would say the Lord's Prayer before every game (even though Ithaca was far from a Catholic School).  As a young Catholic I did not think anything of it at the time, as the football team was mostly Catholic as well.  Do Ithaca players still say the Lord's Prayer before games? 

[dlippiel]

I believe SJF and John Carroll have scheduled a 2 year deal starting in 2015

This is fantastic!

[Upstate]

I believe SJF and John Carroll have scheduled a 2 year deal starting in 2015

Nice Coach Vos!

Love it when Fisher schedules teams from other regions!

[Touch The Rock]

I believe SJF and John Carroll have scheduled a 2 year deal starting in 2015

Not sure what made me think of this, I think after realizing that John Carroll is another Catholic School.....but when I went to Ithaca we had a priest (Father Tom) who would say the Lord's Prayer before every game (even though Ithaca was far from a Catholic School).  As a young Catholic I did not think anything of it at the time, as the football team was mostly Catholic as well.  Do Ithaca players still say the Lord's Prayer before games?

My last season was 2009 and we still said it before each game.  Not sure if it has changed since.

[SJFF82]

I believe SJF and John Carroll have scheduled a 2 year deal starting in 2015

Nice Coach Vos!

Love it when Fisher schedules teams from other regions!

Not sure if it is irony or coincidence, but it was in 2006, that SJF inked deal to play MUC from the OAC, and then 4 weeks later, they met in Nat'l Semis.  And now, we ink deal to play JC from OAC....and lo and behold....we going to play them in Rd1.

Of course, not 100% sure on the JC thing for 2015, but pretty sure...

[sjfcards]

Me thinks this link will prove useful come Saturday afternoon.  At least I hope it does.


http://jcusports.com/sports/2013/8/29/fan_0829130037.aspx?id=583

This is nice. Thank you!

[AlfredSaxon8]

I believe SJF and John Carroll have scheduled a 2 year deal starting in 2015

Not sure what made me think of this, I think after realizing that John Carroll is another Catholic School.....but when I went to Ithaca we had a priest (Father Tom) who would say the Lord's Prayer before every game (even though Ithaca was far from a Catholic School).  As a young Catholic I did not think anything of it at the time, as the football team was mostly Catholic as well.  Do Ithaca players still say the Lord's Prayer before games?

My last season was 2009 and we still said it before each game.  Not sure if it has changed since.

When Keeley transferred to AU, Coach Murray let Paul's dad lead an optional pre game service for all players and coaches.

He led a sermon around Romans 8:31 that still sticks with me today. It centered around one of the most motivating verses when facing any challenege be it a football game or any aspect of daily life...

"If God is for us, who can be against us?"

It was a really positive experience each and every week and Im grateful Coach Murray and Paul's dad were able to organize it for all the players.

[sjfcards]

Fisher 34
JCU 31

Why not...

[fisheralum91]

Why not indeed.
The D3football.com guys have it scored a JCU sweep...So I say again...WHY NOT a nice upset!!
GO FISHER!

[ITH radio]

SJFC's OOC and E8 schedule will bode well for them in this game.  I think JCU is the clear favorite, but it's not like the OAC was a murder's row, save for the top dog.  Would love to see an all Upstate Sweet 16 game in Rd 2, so go Cards!

[AlfredSaxon8]

Fisher 34
JCU 31

Why not...

I agree Fisher will pull it out. Dont get me wrong, I still think they had a poor showing in conference but they have the talent and always come to play in the playoffs. Seven point game til the midway through the 4th, Fisher scores to go up by 14.

Fisher 31
JCU 17

As good as the IC defense is, I think FSU pulls out a close one. Hope they prove me wrong.

FSU 20
IC 13

[sjfcards]

Coach Vos said the JCU QB "May be the best D3 QB I have seen". Considering he saw Boltus and Felcetti year after year that isn't good news for Fisher.