FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[HSCTiger fan]

Pat I was talking about 75-100 freshmen each year not total roster.

Why is 170 excessive?  It's not if MU can provide true college level coaching and each player has been given proper expectations coming in.

As far as the HSC model is concerned - I agree there is nothing to be critical.  Why would one be critical of coaches tirelessly evaluating and recruiting players based on individual skills and team needs.  Which is the model of virtually all college football (actually all college sports) programs regardless of division.

I respect it's not your decision nor mine. TGIF.

[jknezek]

Higher education is in a state of flux right now. There are some huge issues facing small, private institutions and you are going to continue to see some odd ways of dealing with it. Cost/benefit, the role of MOOCs and other online options, the falling percentage of males, the legal risks of the Greek system and the increasingly public spotlight on sexual misconduct and bullying. Schools are going to have to get creative to survive in a certain tier of the system. It is something higher education administrators are absolutely terrified about.

If MU can haul in those kinds of numbers, and keep most of them in school regardless of whether they continue to play football, the school is going to consider it a win. If the money spent leads to better name recognition, then that is an even bigger bonus. Either way, be prepared to see a lot of different ideas for a while.

[CUACARD59]

Unless one of the big reasons behind having a JV program is for enrollment (and there is nothing wrong with that at all), I would say JV programs are generally a waste of time if they aren't producing eventual contributors. It's great if it produces four-year players, but what good does that do if they are riding the bench the entirety of their varsity career? Just seems like a money drain that could be going towards stuff to benefit the student body at large.

Catholic also has a JV schedule of roughly 3-5 games a season and I think it is definitely a useful tool. As a player who played JV my freshman year and then proceeded to start 30 games on the varsity level I think it's safe to say JV doesn't only produce four year players that ride the bench the entirety of their varsity careers. At CUA I'd say the vast majority of Juniors and Seniors who start or have significant playing time played in JV games Freshmen and Sophomore year.

I'm not sure how it works at other schools but at Catholic we really don't have a JV team, rather everyone is a member of the varsity team and practices with the varsity, however some underclassmen play a JV schedule and have an opportunity to suit up against a different colored jersey and play a real game of football. The young guys playing in these games always enjoyed them at CUA and it was definitely a great way for the coaches, and even upperclassmen, to figure out which of the young guys could play. All players not on the JV squad were required to attend JV home games for support. In a lot of cases there were varsity starters on the sidelines helping the young guys and I think it even became a good team bonding exercise. I think it's important to reward the young guys that don't play yet with an opportunity do what they obviously love to do and that's actually play in football games.

[Scots13]

We did the same at Maryville. JV games were very relaxed and we had a great time- as a young player delegated to deep on the depth chart, it made the weeks of hard work seem worth it. It put the fun back into the game.

[narch]

Why is 170 excessive?  It's not if MU can provide true college level coaching and each player has been given proper expectations coming in.

since you have already expressed that you think that number is excessive, what evidence do you have that indicates mu doesn't provide true college level coaching and that each player hasn't been given proper expectations?

the things i've seen from this coaching staff have been pretty positive...10-3 record, conference co-championship, improved retention...that doesn't sound like a coaching staff that can't handle the rigors of coaching

[jknezek]

Ugh... bye week blues

[hasanova]

Sadly nothing to report from the Tiger Camp, other than CGA might be one of the worse D3 teams in the country. I respect the kids for what the do but football is something they do not do well. Bye week coming up followed by 7 straight weeks of odac play. Tigers play 4 of their first 5 odac games on the road. That is going to be a very difficult task. We'll see how the team reacts. One game at home the entire month of October.

Since Merchant Marine and Nichols both took a broadside from CGA, I guess they belong near the bottom.

[hasanova]

Watching the South Carolina Gamecocks (my grad school) versus Missouri ... interesting to watch former Mt. Airy (NC) HS Granite Bear and Guilford College Quaker Tyler Hull punting for the Gamecocks.

[hasanova]

Congratulations to E&H, Bridgewater and CUA on making the ODAC 3-0 on the day!  Good comeback for the Wasps putting up 30 in a quarter!

[odacsuperfan]

Guilford Quakers ranked # 8 in Nation in Total Offense after first 3 games !

[jknezek]

Bye Week Blues are gone! Silly Season is over. It's time for the real games to begin. Let's look at the teams starting from the bottom up (hey, it's the only way I can put the Generals at the top of anything right now!)

W&L is 0-3. They've played better opponents and better games each week, but losses to Averett (1-3) and Sewanee (1-3) don't look good while the loss to Centre (4-0) seems to be a very dim bright spot. W&L gave up the fewest points to Centre of any opponent yet and scored the most. The bad news, both Averett and Sewanee have been handled by other ODAC teams. Traveling to Guilford and then home for HSC and RMC isn't exactly the way to get a running start at the ODAC season. One lesson W&L should take? Don't play teams from towns named Danville!

Catholic is 2-1. Why are they down here with the Generals? They lost to McDaniel (1-3) and beat Apprentice and putrid Anna Maria. There really isn't much to hang your hat on here. Opening the ODAC home for HSC and at RMC isn't going to help much either.

Shenandoah is 2-1. Surely they deserve better? Well, wins over Gallaudet (0-2) and Ferrum (0-3) surround a loss to Frostburg State (2-2). There is a lot left to prove and opening the ODAC at Bridgewater should give them a chance to start on the right foot.

E&H is 3-0. Top of the conference? Not exactly. E&H is almost ALWAYS 3-0 at this point. Then it seems to all fall apart. Wins over Ferrum (0-3), Maryville (2-2), and Sewanee (1-3) aren't real conclusive. Opening the ODAC with RMC could be interesting as both teams took out Sewanee by a similar score.

Bridgewater is 3-0. How can they be smack in the middle? Gettysburg (2-2) may turn out to be a good road win for the Eagles, but Greensboro (1-2) and Apprentice don't frighten anyone in the ODAC. Well, maybe the Generals right now. Home for Shenandoah and E&H as the ODAC starts will give the Eagles a good shot to keep their winning ways.

RMC is 2-1. They got blown out by JHU (4-0), the only team the Blue Jays have destroyed so far in what was looking like an off year until this past weekend. Comfortable wins over Averett and Sewanee only look intimidating if you are the Generals. RMC should find out quickly where they belong in the ODAC, opening at E&H, home for Catholic, and back on the road for W&L. Losing any of those games wouldn't be shocking in the ODAC, but it shouldn't happen.

Guilford at 3-0 is rolling into the ODAC season. As expected they buried Greensboro (1-2), unexpectedly creamed Methodist (2-2), and made it look harder than it needed to be against SVa (0-3). Still, 3-0 at this point was expected and the Quakers should have ODAC opponents W&L, Shenandoah, and Bridgewater very concerned.

HSC is 2-1 and holding on to my top spot. Sure they weren't quite as good as Wabash (3-0), but the Bash haven't slowed down and are looking like serious contenders for December action. Beating CNU (2-2) also has some more chops now that the Captains are winning a schizophrenic USASC. Blowing out CGA (2-2) was expected and the Tigers nicely obliged. Opening at Catholic, at W&L, home for E&H, at Shenandoah, and at Bridgewater gives the Tigers all the running start they need. Lots of road games, but it's against what should be the less capable part of the ODAC. The two big games, Guilford and RMC, are both at Everett.

[Pat Coleman]

Sadly nothing to report from the Tiger Camp, other than CGA might be one of the worse D3 teams in the country. I respect the kids for what the do but football is something they do not do well. Bye week coming up followed by 7 straight weeks of odac play. Tigers play 4 of their first 5 odac games on the road. That is going to be a very difficult task. We'll see how the team reacts. One game at home the entire month of October.

Since Merchant Marine and Nichols both took a broadside from CGA, I guess they belong near the bottom.

It's as if we rank all 244 teams each preseason. Check that out for an idea of who are the worst teams.

[ExTartanPlayer]

I'm not sure how it works at other schools but at Catholic we really don't have a JV team, rather everyone is a member of the varsity team and practices with the varsity, however some underclassmen play a JV schedule and have an opportunity to suit up against a different colored jersey and play a real game of football. The young guys playing in these games always enjoyed them at CUA and it was definitely a great way for the coaches, and even upperclassmen, to figure out which of the young guys could play. All players not on the JV squad were required to attend JV home games for support. In a lot of cases there were varsity starters on the sidelines helping the young guys and I think it even became a good team bonding exercise. I think it's important to reward the young guys that don't play yet with an opportunity do what they obviously love to do and that's actually play in football games.

I think this is the best way to do it (unless you have >200 players on the roster, which some teams do).  With a roster anywhere between 100-150, there's no need for the JV to be a separate squad; just have everyone practice together and try to schedule a few JV games so the freshmen and scrubs get some live game action running their own offense and defense instead of nothing but scout team practice all season.

[CUACARD59]

Nice report jknezek

It's as if we rank all 244 teams each preseason. Check that out for an idea of who are the worst teams.

Speaking of the worst teams in the country...Catholic took an 8 hour trip to Mass. for a 54-24 win over the lowly Anna Maria Amcats. As in the last few weeks, there have been some considerable bright spots for my alma mater as the O Line continues to play well in addition to a great game from sophomore RB Matt Perno. 17 carries for 161 and 3 TDs ODAC OPOW Perno brings a nice home run threat to the Cards (TD runs of 67 and 27) that may have been the only thing missing from former CUA standout RB Mike Pitsenberger's game. Another nice performance for the versatile sophomore Matt McMahon who threw a TD, ran a TD and led the Cards in receiving with 4 catches for 60 yards. Hoping for all that and a receiving TD one week for the TD trifecta! Senior safety Pat Thomas had a pick 6 and needs to continue to make plays like that for the Cards in ODAC play. Sophomore wideout Lucas Morley had another good game with 4 catches and a score. It's encouraging to see this level of production from such young players. Hopefully this continues in future weeks against the much tougher opponents in the ODAC.

Speaking of which, CUA starts conference play at home against the Tigers of HSC. This will obviously be a huge step up in competition for my Cards but as previously mentioned we normally play HSC very tough and I expect the same to be true this weekend. For the Cards to win this game they will need to pressure Nance as they did in '12 and like Wabash did earlier this season. Giving Nance all day to throw to Walker will no doubt lead to a long day for CUA. I think Nance has proven to be a different player under pressure and so far that's the only blueprint for success against this potent Tigers offense. I expect the Cards to be blitzing all day and hopefully create some trouble against Sydney's inexperienced, but I'm sure improving, offensive line. This will be a huge test for CUA's equally inexperienced defensive line and in my opinion, the key matchup of the game. Either way, ODAC play is here! Good luck to all (except HSC)!

[tigerfanalso]

CUACARD59

Best hotel close to campus ?

Last time we paid a visit to your campus, the game result wasn't exactly what we were expecting. Take it easy on the Tigers this week. Flushing Nash is important but if you're bringing backers that is going to leave holes in your defense, something I hope we are game planning for. I think you will find our defense to be much different than anything CAU has seen this year, at least I hope so.