FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[Mr. Ypsi]

I'm just thankful that the ODAC board is not a bunch of back slappers from one team, telling each other how wonderful their team is.  I do wish there was more than the occasional poster from other ODAC schools.

It's gotten pretty close... 

MOST boards (with any significant activity at all) are like that.  OAC gets some variety, but is probably 75+% UMU.  NCAC has some other posters, but is probably 80+% Wabash.  The WIAC board again has some variety, but is heavily UWW, The NWC board is clearly dominated by Linfield.  The ASC board is dominated by UMHB folks.  etc.  The MIAC board has quite a St. John's tilt, but a healthy variety.  Probably the most egalitarian of the active boards is my own CCIW.  Every school except Millikin and Carthage has an active contingent, and even they have the occasional voice.

[onceamink]

Other people read the forums.  I never post but do enjoy knowing what is going on around the league.  Other forums are going the same way...

Missed the game in Farmville but should be at the one in Ashland.  Generals are going to be tested every game, d-line is too small hence all the yards.  Generals have to have first chance tackles.  Told someone at the first game that W&L's option is as good as I have seen it.  Nelson is making reads and they have a stable of backs which will wear defenses down, just got to keep the ball off the ground...

[jknezek]

Other people read the forums.  I never post but do enjoy knowing what is going on around the league.  Other forums are going the same way...

Missed the game in Farmville but should be at the one in Ashland.  Generals are going to be tested every game, d-line is too small hence all the yards.  Generals have to have first chance tackles.  Told someone at the first game that W&L's option is as good as I have seen it.  Nelson is making reads and they have a stable of backs which will wear defenses down, just got to keep the ball off the ground...

Wondered if you were still out there Once. We're pretty easy going here, I'd love another W&L poster to help out! D-line is small, but that's kind of a hallmark of the Generals. You take what you can get through admissions.  The skill positions look sharp. Considering they are all Juniors or under, I'm hoping this year is part of an upward swing, not the apex.

One thing I was really pleased about last weekend was H-SC really took away the pitch man and we still put up yards and got the win. Last year when we couldn't get outside we had no offense. Fumbles and penalties are the death of option teams. I think we got away with one losing the TO battle to Guilford and still winning the game. Don't want to press our luck.

This week is about intensity. R-MC has looked bad all year, but this has relief game written all over it after the two big wins.

[tigerFanAlso2]

Like I said, W&L has forced me to pull for RMC for the very first, and hopefully last, time in my life. I've got feeling W&L will having nothing to worry about if they continue to play as they did last Saturday. Have a let down and things could get messy.

[jknezek]

Like I said, W&L has forced me to pull for RMC for the very first, and hopefully last, time in my life. I've got feeling W&L will having nothing to worry about if they continue to play as they did last Saturday. Have a let down and things could get messy.

I have a hard time believing W&L won't have at least some letdown. That was two huge conference games in a row and now you have a team that is really struggling. It's just hard to get up the same way for that kind of game. Especially on the road. I just hope they get enough intensity to keep the wins going. We will see. Really hoping W&L can hop out early again. That would help immensely.

[jknezek]

From the NJAC thread:

I'll be interested to see what happens when Catholic, an ODAC bottom dweller for most of the last 14/15 years, switches to a New England league (NEWMAC).

Catholic's all-time ODAC finishes: 1, 3, 7, T5, 5, 7, T5, 6, 6, T1, 7, 5, T6 of 7. .... Then 7, T4, 8 of 8.

I decided to keep playing with this. In the D3football.com era ('99 on), this is the average finish for each of the ODAC teams. I'm leaving Shenandoah out, but obviously they count in the average finish. I also didn't worry about any tie breakers and just went by record, so last year E&H, Guilford, H-SC, and Bridgewater all get a 1 whereas RMC, the next team in the standings, gets a 5.

Catholic -- 5.125
Guilford -- 4.8125
E&H -- 3.75
R-MC -- 3.5
W&L -- 3.25
Bridgewater -- 2.625
H-SC -- 2.1875

Shenandoah, over their three seasons, is 6.0.

Teams with the most 1 or tied for 1 positions:
Bridgewater -- 7
H-SC -- 6
W&L -- 4
E&H -- 3
Catholic -- 2
R-MC -- 1
Guilford -- 1

The only team not to have an untied last place finish is W&L. Every other team finished dead last, alone, at least once. W&L has tied for dead last, but never been there alone. H-SC only finished dead last in '99, so they just made the cutoff.

[jknezek]

More fun stuff in the D3football.com era:

ODAC teams with the most conference wins in complete seasons:
Bridgewater -- 69
H-SC -- 69
W&L -- 53
R-MC -- 50
E&H -- 45
Guilford -- 35
Catholic -- 30

[jknezek]

Obviously there is a big statistical anomaly.. Bridgewater's 6 conference titles and 5 perfect conference seasons from 2000-2005. Over the whole span of the D3 era, they are H-SC's equal. But they have a very clear dominant and less dominant section. So while Bridgewater was outstanding early, they've made up for it being no more than average since the end of the 2005 season:


Catholic -- 5.44
Guilford -- 4.55
E&H -- 4.22
Bridgewater -- 3.55
R-MC -- 3.11
W&L -- 3.0
H-SC -- 1.55

AS you can see, H-SC is even more dominant in this second era while Bridgewater is the only team that shifts spots, and Catholic is even more of a bottom dweller.

Bridgewater also drops to only 1 tied for first, last year, and holds onto their solo last, 2013. Games won also slips well below the top ODAC team, although clearly in a tight second grouping:

H-SC -- 45
W&L -- 34
R-MC -- 33
Bridgewater -- 31
E&H -- 24
Guilford --23
Catholic -- 15

So what's the moral of all this? We have very clear best and worst ODAC teams. H-SC is the best. Most consistent and, despite Bridgewater's crazy run, the Tigers have surpassed it. No one has had a run like Bridgewater, but I still think H-SC has been the best team over the total period. As one of the most interesting facets, in 5 of Bridgewater's 6 year run, H-SC finished second. Only 3 times in the whole period has H-SC not finished first, second or tied for first or second. Bridgewater's enviable run was not followed up with anything near that kind of consistency, however Bridgewater's championship run puts them easily into second, while W&L lags at a distant third closely followed by R-MC and E&H.

Finally, the best ODAC teams during the period were clearly some of Bridgewater's teams. No ODAC team has come close to having their quality and national impact. So while H-SC has been the best team over the period, there is no way any one of those H-SC teams competes with the heights Bridgewater achieved.

Catholic has been the worst team in the league consistently and they've gotten even worse in the latter half of the period. They've had a few flashes, and more top place finishes than some others, but by and large they have brought up the bottom of the league on average position and quite clearly in conference wins.

[ODACInsider]

JK,

You can make stats say anything you want to however, I'm not sure how you can be more consistent than 36 wins, 6 playoffs birth and 5 conference championships in a row.  I'm not sure how much more dominant a team can be.  Also, since you have jumped on the H-SC bandwagon.  The Tigers are 7-9 against the Eagles in that time.  Granted, they may have slipped a bit but, they have always been a tough out to play against and the best coached team in the league.

[jknezek]

You can make stats say anything you want to however, I'm not sure how you can be more consistent than 36 wins, 6 playoffs birth and 5 conference championships in a row. I'm not sure how much more dominant a team can be.  Also, since you have jumped on the H-SC bandwagon.  The Tigers are 7-9 against the Eagles in that time.  Granted, they may have slipped a bit but, they have always been a tough out to play against and the best coached team in the league.

I agree with you 100%. During those 6 years Bridgewater was the best in the ODAC. No doubt and no statistic can say anything else over that period. Several of those Bridgewater teams were the best ODAC teams during the entire era. They probably were some of the best South Region teams of the entire era, let alone just the ODAC.

However, during the whole D3 era, from 1999 until now, Bridgewater isn't the best program. Tough out? Absolutely as is fitting for the second best team. No shame in that and nothing can be taken away from their amazing run. But that run is fading into history and both W&L and H-SC have been better ODAC programs since 2006, and W&L isn't all that close to H-SC.

So yeah, since 1999 H-SC is the best ODAC program overall, but Bridgewater has had the best partial period run and the most national impact.


**** And welcome to the boards ODACInsider! Please stick around! ****

[ODACInsider]

JK,

You must be on the H-SC payroll, lol. Isn't, H-SC's run a partial run? Marty must have put you up to this. Like I said, they are 7-9 against the Eagles including last year's lopsided defeat. I don't think you can discount a teams performance regardless of when it happened. Like it or not, it still counts. I guess we can agree to disagree.

Also, BC received an at-large bid in 2000 so, contrary to what other people say on this board, H-SC is not the only team to receive an at-large bid.

[Pat Coleman]

JK,

You must be on the H-SC payroll, lol. Isn't, H-SC's run a partial run? Marty must have put you up to this. Like I said, they are 7-9 against the Eagles including last year's lopsided defeat. I don't think you can discount a teams performance regardless of when it happened. Like it or not, it still counts. I guess we can agree to disagree.

Also, BC received an at-large bid in 2000 so, contrary to what other people say on this board, H-SC is not the only team to receive an at-large bid.

Welcome back, UrbanSaban. Can't say we missed you.

[HSCTiger fan]

JK,

You must be on the H-SC payroll, lol. Isn't, H-SC's run a partial run? Marty must have put you up to this. Like I said, they are 7-9 against the Eagles including last year's lopsided defeat. I don't think you can discount a teams performance regardless of when it happened. Like it or not, it still counts. I guess we can agree to disagree.

Also, BC received an at-large bid in 2000 so, contrary to what other people say on this board, H-SC is not the only team to receive an at-large bid.

I was not pointing that out to pump up HSC. I was pointing that out because it's doubtful a 9-1 team with a lousy non-conference schedule will make the playoffs.  I missed that one and probably many others.

I'm sorry you are so angry with HSC but I don't think JK is on any bandwagon. I think if anything he's the opposite of a bandwagon guy. Whatever that might be.

[ODACInsider]

This week's games:

R-MC (+9.5) vs. W&L
SU (-5.5) vs. Catholic
E&H (-3) vs. H-SC
Bridgewater (+7) vs. Guilford

[jknezek]

JK,

You must be on the H-SC payroll, lol. Isn't, H-SC's run a partial run?

No. It's not. As I said, H-SC has only finished below tied for second 3 times since 1999, those three times were '99, '00, and '12. Over the whole period H-SC has been remarkably consistent finishing near the top of the league, something Bridgewater cannot say. So yes, when crowning the best program I looked over 15 years, found the team that was most consistently the best, and crowned them using actual statistical measures.

At the same time, I give Bridgewater their due. But only for a little over 1/3 of the period in question. The rest of the time? Completely average ODAC program. Average and excellent works out to pretty darn good, but not as good as a team that was good to great in the ODAC over the whole time.

Other than respecting the job Coach Favret has done, which is something anyone with an objective mind can respect, I don't particularly like or dislike H-SC.  I appreciate the games W&L has played against them for their entertainment value.