FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[hasanova]

ESPN Game Day is doing a special this Saturday at 10am on The Game. ESPN WILL NOT BE ON CAMPUS. So if ya'll are able plug in and listen, do so. Should be interesting a certainly good for the ODAC.

That's great.  Good publicity for the two schools and the ODAC, for sure.  Wish other ODAC schools had similar rivalries!  +1 for the heads up.

[jknezek]

ESPN Game Day is doing a special this Saturday at 10am on The Game. ESPN WILL NOT BE ON CAMPUS. So if ya'll are able plug in and listen, do so. Should be interesting a certainly good for the ODAC.

That's great.  Good publicity for the two schools and the ODAC, for sure.  Wish other ODAC schools had similar rivalries!  +1 for the heads up.

I'm pretty sure it's part of a bigger piece on rivalries in general. I think the Wabash game, the Amherst game, and a few other small college as well as big college rivalries will all be rolled into the segment. Looking forward to seeing it.

[allsky7]

Haven't posted in a long time but have been "lurking". Nothing profound to add to the conver about The Game but GO TIGERS! Also....a big GO FIGHTING SCOTS!!! Been a long time coming and I am thrilled.

I am sure it is a long shot but anyone think there is a scenario where the Scots could host the Tigers in the first round of the playoffs? Of course....HS must win tomorrow first. If MC shows impressively at Huntingdon.....any chance? At minimum hoping MC wins this one so they don't get shipped off to Alliance or some such place.

[jknezek]

I am sure it is a long shot but anyone think there is a scenario where the Scots could host the Tigers in the first round of the playoffs? Of course....HS must win tomorrow first. If MC shows impressively at Huntingdon.....any chance? At minimum hoping MC wins this one so they don't get shipped off to Alliance or some such place.

Maryville would have to sneak into the top 3 or 4 of the South Region rankings in the final super secret, not released, rank. Most likely more than one of the teams currently ahead of them would have to lose. In other words, it's possible, but not likely.

[hasanova]

I hope a lot of fans will make it to Armfield Athletic Center in Greensboro for tomorrow's season-ending 1 pm Guilford/Emory & Henry game.  Even though the last two weeks have not gone as Quaker fans hoped, there's still a lot at stake.  With both teams at 5-4, a 6-4 record versus a 5-5 season is on the line (exactly the same as last year!).  At 4-2, Guilford also hopes to improve one game over last season's 4-3 ODAC mark and avoid a potential tie for third with W&L (now at 3-3).  In fact, we can finish in a tie for 2nd since the loser of The Game will also be at 5-2.  Be there to support our seniors and help send them out with a winning final game against the Wasps!

[tigerfanalso]

Hasa

Good luck tomorow. I hope the Quakers regroup and hand the Wasps one more loss and make your Grandkids 1-0 as a Quaker fan.

I'm getting ready for the big showdown in Ashland. Hopefully the Tigers will play to the same level they did in Greensboro.

[algernon]

Will the winner of The Game play at Hopkins the following week?  Any thoughts?

[hasanova]

Hasa

Good luck tomorow. I hope the Quakers regroup and hand the Wasps one more loss and make your Grandkids 1-0 as a Quaker fan.

I'm getting ready for the big showdown in Ashland. Hopefully the Tigers will play to the same level they did in Greensboro.

Thanks.  I'll be watching all the scores with great interest. 

[tigerfanalso]

HSC has a chance to go to JHU if they win on Saturday, RMC does not because they played each other in the regular season.
NCAA avoids pairing teams in the first round that played each other in the regular season.

[@d3jason]

There is one team the ODAC champ might face that no one has mentioned - Gallaudet. They are well with the 500 mile range and the certainly deserve to host a game if they go undefeated.

Extremely unlikely to host based on their falling Regional Ranking (6th in the East) and SOS (193). It's possible, but the big drop from last week to this week in the Regional Rankings is a good indication of the committee's evaluation of their team strength. I think both the South and East will be hard pressed to have more than 3 teams each hosting, with the remaining 10 coming from the North and West. It's possible the Bison will get a home game, but I wouldn't bet on it. Be a good match up for just about anyone though. You'd have to like your chances.

I don't disagree and I certainly would not bet on it. What do you think of Wesley's chances of hosting a first round game?

My three from the South would be UMHB, JHU and Millsaps (provided all 3 win this weekend). Millsaps is behind Wesley in the RR, so someone clearly thinks more of them then I do. At 4-2 in division, and losses to the only two opponents likely to make the tournament, I don't see the big deal about Wesley this year. They are worthy of one of the three Bs, I suppose, but it would be borderline for me. I'd send them on the road. There are better teams to host in the North and West that could have quads built around them.

In division winning percentage is a primary criteria. 66% doesn't fire me up, especially not for hosting duties. If they host, they can thank their reputation, not their body of work this year. That being said, they are big, strong, and fast from when I watched them demolish BSC, and I wouldn't really want to play them. No lower than a 5 seed if it was me putting them in.

I'd love to see them play JHU in Baltimore, or go on the road to Hobart this year in the second round. See if either of those teams can extract a little revenge for the recent past.

Millsaps is at 3 this week. Ahead of Wesley at 4. If the get a four in the final, I'd think that they'd host.

Though I agree that Wesley's level of play has not reached the level of a lot of their previous teams at times and I know that "criteria" is all you are looking at, I don't see anyone in the region that would want to trade schedules with Wesley.

There are very few teams in the South or East that will schedule the Wolverines. They call all of them. So the committee does have to use the best criteria ie "common sense." They have played a conference champ or contending conference champ every D-III game so far this year. Hence, their astronomical SOS.

The out of division games are no gimmees either. I don't see many ODAC or USA South teams scheduling Virginia-Lynchburg(who many of them may beat, but is a huge, physical team), Menlo had one of the best front seven D fronts that I've have seen this year, Charlotte, though they were a first year program, had a roster full of redshirt  freshman and some transfers from D-I BCS schools.

[jknezek]

Millsaps is at 3 this week. Ahead of Wesley at 4. If the get a four in the final, I'd think that they'd host.

Though I agree that Wesley's level of play has not reached the level of a lot of their previous teams at times and I know that "criteria" is all you are looking at, I don't see anyone in the region that would want to trade schedules with Wesley.

There are very few teams in the South or East that will schedule the Wolverines. They call all of them. So the committee does have to use the best criteria ie "common sense." They have played a conference champ or contending conference champ every D-III game so far this year. Hence, their astronomical SOS.

The out of division games are no gimmees either. I don't see many ODAC or USA South teams scheduling Virginia-Lynchburg(who many of them may beat, but is a huge, physical team), Menlo had one of the best front seven D fronts that I've have seen this year, Charlotte, though they were a first year program, had a roster full of redshirt  freshman and some transfers from D-I BCS schools.

+K for the reminder about Millsaps having jumped in front. As for the rest, it simply doesn't matter to me. They are 4-2 and lost to the only 2 teams likely to make the tournament. The other teams may have been good, but not good enough to make the field. So the SOS is high, but when put in context of a blowout loss to UMHB and a close loss to a down year to a possible NJAC champ, it is what it is.

Wesley has a tough road. There is no doubt about it. But for the purposes of the tournament and seeding, they are 4-2 with two losses to tournament teams and no wins over tournament teams. The SOS, in my opinion, is misleading. Any team that goes 6-4 or even 7-3, regardless of SOS, versus a full D3 schedule, is not going to host and probably wouldn't make the field. Wesley's season would extrapolate out to those numbers, so there just isn't a doubt in my mind they should be on the road if they get in.

The rest of the games, well, that's a function of Wesley's situation and it's unfortunate, but they just don't count. The opponents may be fantastic, they may be mellons. It's a D3 tournament, and per the criteria, it just doesn't, and shouldn't, come in to play. I'd say the same thing if Wesley was 4-2 in D3 and under .500 overall. It wouldn't matter to me then either. Those games are, for all the purposes of the D3 playoffs, scrimmages until you get to the very bottom of the criteria.

[@d3jason]

Millsaps is at 3 this week. Ahead of Wesley at 4. If the get a four in the final, I'd think that they'd host.

Though I agree that Wesley's level of play has not reached the level of a lot of their previous teams at times and I know that "criteria" is all you are looking at, I don't see anyone in the region that would want to trade schedules with Wesley.

There are very few teams in the South or East that will schedule the Wolverines. They call all of them. So the committee does have to use the best criteria ie "common sense." They have played a conference champ or contending conference champ every D-III game so far this year. Hence, their astronomical SOS.

The out of division games are no gimmees either. I don't see many ODAC or USA South teams scheduling Virginia-Lynchburg(who many of them may beat, but is a huge, physical team), Menlo had one of the best front seven D fronts that I've have seen this year, Charlotte, though they were a first year program, had a roster full of redshirt  freshman and some transfers from D-I BCS schools.

+K for the reminder about Millsaps having jumped in front. As for the rest, it simply doesn't matter to me. They are 4-2 and lost to the only 2 teams likely to make the tournament. The other teams may have been good, but not good enough to make the field. So the SOS is high, but when put in context of a blowout loss to UMHB and a close loss to a down year to a possible NJAC champ, it is what it is.

Wesley has a tough road. There is no doubt about it. But for the purposes of the tournament and seeding, they are 4-2 with two losses to tournament teams and no wins over tournament teams. The SOS, in my opinion, is misleading. Any team that goes 6-4 or even 7-3, regardless of SOS, versus a full D3 schedule, is not going to host and probably wouldn't make the field. Wesley's season would extrapolate out to those numbers, so there just isn't a doubt in my mind they should be on the road if they get in.

The rest of the games, well, that's a function of Wesley's situation and it's unfortunate, but they just don't count. The opponents may be fantastic, they may be mellons. It's a D3 tournament, and per the criteria, it just doesn't, and shouldn't, come in to play. I'd say the same thing if Wesley was 4-2 in D3 and under .500 overall. It wouldn't matter to me then either. Those games are, for all the purposes of the D3 playoffs, scrimmages until you get to the very bottom of the criteria.

+1 for good discussion.

But it looks like SOS does matter to the committee. They wouldn't be ranked fourth. Wesley doesn't play the 2-8 teams that would bring the SOS number down. There is no way to extrapolate.

They seem to have looked at all criteria, saying that the other four games don't count doesn't give you a full picture or make sense in Wesley's case because of the small sample size. (Granted that helps their SOS, but in their case it should----They played tough teams.) If they had lost to Charlotte this week, I think they would have dropped.

Pool B is for independents and non AQ conferences. The criteria there seem to be a broader because some have trouble getting games due to reputation or geographic location. You have to reward teams for playing tough schedules.
It would have been interesting to see Texas Lutheran play UMHB this season. A second loss for them--- for sure---but something to compare with Wesley and an argument for a 7-2 team, vs. an 8-2 Wesley.

Would I be surprised to see them on the road? No.

Would I be surprised to see them left out of the tournament? No.

There are still things such as Widener, Salisbury, Huntingdon, Rowan, and BSC (and UMHB...I guess) all losing that could hurt their case. If they all win, then I don't think is much of an argument to keep them out. But there are still a lot of variables out there. For example, a LVC loss and Widener win likely adds another playoff entrée.

[Wabash Hokie]

Your guess is probably more informed than mine. Going to Wittenberg will help prepare HSC for it's trip to Wabash in September, so all would not be lost.

I keep hearing 15,000 people will attend The Game, with about half of that number never leaving the tailgate. Those folks will listen in via radio, or not.

On the Monon Bell board, we are discussing the fact the the DePauw administration has "designated" a specific location for Wabash fans to tailgate.  Whether Wabash fans choose to follow that designation is a different matter.  There is no history of problems between fans during the tailgate and the DPU AD has shown her incompetence in taking this action.

Do you all tailgate together en masse?  I have been to "The Game" one time but it was 20+ years ago and did not really pay attention back then.  Good luck to HSC.  Looking forward to see y'all in September.   We are looking forward to hosting the team and, hopefully, a lot of students and fans.

[HSCTiger74]

I just checked in on the WFLO broadcast and caught a final of 28-26 HSC. If that's right it sounds as though it was a pretty good game. Can anyone confirm and/or elaborate?

[Michael Herbert]

I just checked in on the WFLO broadcast and caught a final of 28-26 HSC. If that's right it sounds as though it was a pretty good game. Can anyone confirm and/or elaborate?

That was one HELL of a GAME.  The Tigers should have won it by around 2 or 3 touchdowns with the number of turnovers committed.  But hey, that's what makes it exciting. It was a ground and pound game up until the last second went off the clock.