FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[jknezek]

Oh they couldn't run for crap. They could throw. Big receivers, accurate QB. Speed. Looked like they hardly practiced the run game though and it showed when they bogged down in the red zone and had to settle for field goals.  Sadly for the Generals they had a darn good kicker.

[jknezek]

Big takeaway from this weekend? Guilford is going to compete for the ODAC if they can survive their two guarantee games healthy. That wasn't the Huntingdon I'm used to seeing, but Guilford's three headed monster in the back field is legitimate. The QB is solid, although he seemed more accurate when flushed and moving than in the pocket. Needs a little more touch, but he's got plenty of arm and the receivers didn't let him down. That's going to be a solid offense.

More minor takeaways. If W&L stays healthy they are going to be hard to stop. E&H are still head cases. Everyone else did about what I expected. RMC put up a lot of points, but Dickinson is... not good. Beating Gallaudet tells us little about Shenandoah. Eeking past Gettysburg doesn't give me much faith in Bridgewater, and TMC is going to throttle them... badly.

HSC... I don't know. Stats look good, but I guess it depends on if Averett is good or not. I'm reserving judgement. I think I learned more about W&L in a loss than HSC in the win.

[y_jack_lok]

RMC put up a lot of points, but Dickinson is... not good.

That pretty much describes the game. I watched the whole thing. The RMC write up tells the story quite well: http://rmcathletics.com/sports/fball/2017-18/releases/20170902ptadhp Watching the game I did not pick up on the difference in red zone perfornance. As a viewer it felt to me like a statically even game -- and it was. The announcers said Dickinson has a new coaching staff. They might be a bit better than last year. For RMC next week at Averett will tell us a lot more.

[HSCTiger fan]

Big takeaway from this weekend? Guilford is going to compete for the ODAC if they can survive their two guarantee games healthy. That wasn't the Huntingdon I'm used to seeing, but Guilford's three headed monster in the back field is legitimate. The QB is solid, although he seemed more accurate when flushed and moving than in the pocket. Needs a little more touch, but he's got plenty of arm and the receivers didn't let him down. That's going to be a solid offense.

More minor takeaways. If W&L stays healthy they are going to be hard to stop. E&H are still head cases. Everyone else did about what I expected. RMC put up a lot of points, but Dickinson is... not good. Beating Gallaudet tells us little about Shenandoah. Eeking past Gettysburg doesn't give me much faith in Bridgewater, and TMC is going to throttle them... badly.

HSC... I don't know. Stats look good, but I guess it depends on if Averett is good or not. I'm reserving judgement. I think I learned more about W&L in a loss than HSC in the win.

The big things learned from HSC are:. Averett is a pretty darn good football team. HSC has improved dramatically on defense. HSC didn't fold.  Last year's team was out scored in every game but one in second half. This weekend they came rom behind twice in second half.

HSC left points on the field this weekend. 3 times inside the 25 and nothing. Once was inside the 5 but on that occasion HSC took the victory formation. 

WL played well. But anyone who watched the game could see that JHU was not the same team they've been. JHU coaches left that game thinking they've got a long ways to go.

Those are the only two ODAC games I watched. As for Guilford's QB. He was big and strong with no touch on ball last year too. 

EH was the biggest surprise to me as they scored ZERO TDs against Ferrum.

[jknezek]

The big things learned from HSC are:. Averett is a pretty darn good football team. HSC has improved dramatically on defense. HSC didn't fold.  Last year's team was out scored in every game but one in second half. This weekend they came rom behind twice in second half.

HSC left points on the field this weekend. 3 times inside the 25 and nothing. Once was inside the 5 but on that occasion HSC took the victory formation. 

Like I said, the stats look good, but I'm not willing to buy into Averett just yet. We will see.

WL played well. But anyone who watched the game could see that JHU was not the same team they've been. JHU coaches left that game thinking they've got a long ways to go.

Agreed. But they are still one of the best teams in the South Region. I expect Muhlenberg will give them a battle for the CC AQ this time around. And I expect them to get better as the season goes along. Still a very quality opponent and W&L had them on the ropes and I really wish they had pulled it out.

Those are the only two ODAC games I watched. As for Guilford's QB. He was big and strong with no touch on ball last year too. 

Same young man, another year under his belt and Bell back in the backfield? I know you don't put a lot of faith in Guilford based on a long history of beating them, but this team, if they survive their guarantee games healthy, is good enough to win the ODAC. Especially benefitting from the unbalanced conference schedule. Might not, there is a lot of parity, but we all predicted a big loss for them this weekend and they more or less controlled the game minus one drive right after half that was too easy for Huntingdon. Huntingdon didn't look that great, but they are not going to finish worse than mid-pack in the USASAS, something that Averett has consistently struggled not to do.
[/quote]

EH was the biggest surprise to me as they scored ZERO TDs against Ferrum.

Headcases reading their own press in my completely uninformed opinion. But then again, I've got a blindspot for E&H similar to yours for the Quakers.

[hasanova]

I was just thumbing through Kickoff 2017 and noticed Averett at 125 and the aforementioned HSC at 123.  A 20-17 back and forth home victory by the Tigers would seem to validate d3football's ratings for the parity of the two squads.

[HSCTiger fan]

I was just thumbing through Kickoff 2017 and noticed Averett at 125 and the aforementioned HSC at 123.  A 20-17 back and forth home victory by the Tigers would seem to validate d3football's ratings for the parity of the two squads.

What does number 79 WL and 13 JHU say about the parity of those two schools? 

[HSCTiger fan]

Jk my "blind spot" for Guilford comes from them going 1-6 in conference last year, losing more players than any ODAC team other than RMC, and they did not have a transfer or any Rivals 5 star recruits come in this fall.

It was pointed out to me that HSC was 20 spots higher than their final Massey rating for last year.  Guilford was 61 spots higher than their final Massey rating.  Why?  I like Guilford. In fact,  I played football at Guilford. I took my son to a GC GC soup bowl game when he was 2 years old. Probably his first college football game.  But before this past weekend there was nothing to back up this prediction. 

Now with a weekend of play I'm more convinced than ever that HSC is not a 4-6 team. I'd like to think they might compete for the ODAC. Maybe they can maybe they can't. Time will tell. But HSC is vastly improved from last season.   We will find out more this weekend.

[hasanova]

I was just thumbing through Kickoff 2017 and noticed Averett at 125 and the aforementioned HSC at 123.  A 20-17 back and forth home victory by the Tigers would seem to validate d3football's ratings for the parity of the two squads.

What does number 79 WL and 13 JHU say about the parity of those two schools?

I anticipated this comparison in a reply.

[Scots13]

I was just thumbing through Kickoff 2017 and noticed Averett at 125 and the aforementioned HSC at 123.  A 20-17 back and forth home victory by the Tigers would seem to validate d3football's ratings for the parity of the two squads.

What does number 79 WL and 13 JHU say about the parity of those two schools?

I anticipated this comparison in a reply.

I think Thursday-Saturday showed us, for the most part, preseason ranking can be thrown out of the window.

#3 UW-W lost to #34 Illinois Wesleyan
#33 Huntingdon lost to #86 Guilford
#13 JHU went into overtime to beat #79 W&L
#24 W. NE lost to #90 Springfield
#17 Frostburg State pasted #18 Stevenson
#16 Wittenberg squeaked by #42 Westminster (PA)
#21 Alfred slid past #68 Ithaca in the 4th quarter
#58 George Fox almost got #15 UW-P

I don't know what that says about parity between W&L and JHU or Averett and HSC, but I think it makes for a fun season if things continue like this.

[Pat Coleman]

I was just thumbing through Kickoff 2017 and noticed Averett at 125 and the aforementioned HSC at 123.  A 20-17 back and forth home victory by the Tigers would seem to validate d3football's ratings for the parity of the two squads.

What does number 79 WL and 13 JHU say about the parity of those two schools?

I anticipated this comparison in a reply.

I think Thursday-Saturday showed us, for the most part, preseason ranking can be thrown out of the window.

#3 UW-W lost to #34 Illinois Wesleyan
#33 Huntingdon lost to #86 Guilford
#13 JHU went into overtime to beat #79 W&L
#24 W. NE lost to #90 Springfield
#17 Frostburg State pasted #18 Stevenson
#16 Wittenberg squeaked by #42 Westminster (PA)
#21 Alfred slid past #68 Ithaca in the 4th quarter
#58 George Fox almost got #15 UW-P

I don't know what that says about parity between W&L and JHU or Averett and HSC, but I think it makes for a fun season if things continue like this.

Anyone ranked 25 and up was ranked by our Top 25 voters, not by me and Keith in Kickoff.

[tigerFanAlso2]

TigerFan

HSC is much better on defense; OL needs to improve and I think they will. Kicking game REALLY needs improvement. It will cost us some victories in it's current state.

My take ways from Saturday; defense is MUCH bigger, deeper and faster than last year/Offense had NO TURNOVERS, that never happens.

If they can pull an upset in the next two weeks I think they'll compete w/i the ODAC.   

[Scots13]

I was just thumbing through Kickoff 2017 and noticed Averett at 125 and the aforementioned HSC at 123.  A 20-17 back and forth home victory by the Tigers would seem to validate d3football's ratings for the parity of the two squads.

What does number 79 WL and 13 JHU say about the parity of those two schools?

I anticipated this comparison in a reply.

I think Thursday-Saturday showed us, for the most part, preseason ranking can be thrown out of the window.

#3 UW-W lost to #34 Illinois Wesleyan
#33 Huntingdon lost to #86 Guilford
#13 JHU went into overtime to beat #79 W&L
#24 W. NE lost to #90 Springfield
#17 Frostburg State pasted #18 Stevenson
#16 Wittenberg squeaked by #42 Westminster (PA)
#21 Alfred slid past #68 Ithaca in the 4th quarter
#58 George Fox almost got #15 UW-P

I don't know what that says about parity between W&L and JHU or Averett and HSC, but I think it makes for a fun season if things continue like this.

Anyone ranked 25 and up was ranked by our Top 25 voters, not by me and Keith in Kickoff.

I get that. Not saying the rankings are a waste. Maybe I should have said when you have 249 teams, rankings can get hazy. D3 has 249 teams and FBS has 130. The best 25 teams in FBS stand out a little more.

[jknezek]

The rankings are fun to talk about and I admire Pat and crew for doing them, but it's an impossible task. Stop worrying over them. Those of us that do the SRFP know that even by the end of the year, teams 6-15 or so are pretty much interchangeable, and that's just in the South Region. It's kind of silly to get so upset or put too much trust in the numbers. The information available to make these rankings is way below what you get for DI, there are twice as many teams, and way less crossover given only a 10 game schedule and multiple leagues with only 1 or 2 OOC games. And D1 people who do it for a living still generally suck at it once you get outside the top 10 or 15.

You want to make a monkey of yourself? Join one of the fan polls or just look at your weekly pick'em. Say thanks to the Kickoff guys for doing their best and providing good information and entertainment, but don't get upset about it. All that matters is the games on the field. Win your OOC games you get bragging rights. Win your rivalry games you get super bragging rights. Win the conference and walk around with a smile for the rest of the year. Ranked 125 to start the season? Post your reasons why for a fun conversation and then settle in to watch the games and hope Pat and crew are wrong. They will be, it's inevitable, but you will be too!

[Pat Coleman]

I'm just saying Keith and I would probably have ranked Johns Hopkins differently, and certainly would have ranked Alfred and WNEU differently.

There's lots of stuff all up and down the rankings. We can't actually account for every non-conference result, no. But we do give a good indication of where teams are expected to be.