FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[tigerfanalso]

GC2005

Thanks for the congrats. I hope your prediction of HSC winning becomes reality.
I enjoyed watching GC play, they are a very good football team that could be very dangerous next year.
Your game against E&H very well be the odac championship game next year.
Good luck Saturday.

[hscathletics]

ODAC has gotten 2 spots in the playoffs before. CUA and RMC in 2008 and WL and HSC in 2010. Both times the ODAC runner up was 9-1.  With so few at large spots available there's little room for a conference runner up - especially one that is 8-2.

Catholic didn't make the playoffs in 2008.

I assumed they did because of their record of 9-2.

It was probably a post-season game sponsored by the ECAC.

They beat Johns Hopkins that year I believe in a close one. I wonder if other teams in the south/north would join the ECAC, it is always good to see the Seniors get an extra game.

The ECAC isn't an option for teams in the South. IF they wanted to be accurate, they would change their name to the NEMAAC - North East and Mid Atlantic Athletic Conference. And schools are responsible for 100% of the costs associated with ECAC games, many times school opt out playing ECAC Tournament game because of $.

[tigerfanalso]

Jk

Would love to hear your thoughts on the final week of odac play.

[CUACARD59]

ODAC has gotten 2 spots in the playoffs before. CUA and RMC in 2008 and WL and HSC in 2010. Both times the ODAC runner up was 9-1.  With so few at large spots available there's little room for a conference runner up - especially one that is 8-2.

Catholic didn't make the playoffs in 2008.

I assumed they did because of their record of 9-2.

It was probably a post-season game sponsored by the ECAC.

They beat Johns Hopkins that year I believe in a close one. I wonder if other teams in the south/north would join the ECAC, it is always good to see the Seniors get an extra game.

The ECAC isn't an option for teams in the South. IF they wanted to be accurate, they would change their name to the NEMAAC - North East and Mid Atlantic Athletic Conference. And schools are responsible for 100% of the costs associated with ECAC games, many times school opt out playing ECAC Tournament game because of $.

Catholic is an ECAC member, in fact we were one of the only 6-4 teams snubbed from a bowl game last season. My guess is Catholic qualifies because we are a Landmark Conference member in every other sport besides football. Therefore the whole athletic department is eligible making the football team almost permitted by association. Another obvious possibility is our geographical location and proximity to the other "NEMAAC" schools

[tigerfanalso]

I'm somewhat familar with the ECAC bowls; for the life of me I cannot figure why a senior would want to put in a extra weeks worth of practice to play in a meaningless game in front of a very small crowd (I'm assuming) with final exams, senior papers, and other semester ending work looming, and miss the opportunity to finally watch college football on the tube with a cold one in your hand.
What am I missing

[wally_wabash]

Hey guys...we're almost there.  One more to go.  Win by 50 on Saturday! 

[tigerfanalso]

By 50 ? we don't have those games in the odac BUT we'll try to find one on Saturday. Good luck to you guys. Get it done

[odacsuperfan]

anyone have picks for this Saturday ?

[hscathletics]

Catholic is an ECAC member, in fact we were one of the only 6-4 teams snubbed from a bowl game last season. My guess is Catholic qualifies because we are a Landmark Conference member in every other sport besides football. Therefore the whole athletic department is eligible making the football team almost permitted by association. Another obvious possibility is our geographical location and proximity to the other "NEMAAC" schools

Some would argue DC isn't the South!

[regaleagle]

Oh hell to the no. DC ain't got nothing to do with the South   :

RMC over HSC upset
GC  over EH
BC   over CUA
All games won by single digits

[CUACARD59]

Some would argue DC isn't the South!

Oh hell to the no. DC ain't got nothing to do with the South   

Can someone remind me how to get to the ODAC board to post here? Do we click on the North Region or East Region link? And if someone from Catholic were to make an All-Region team same question: North Region or East Region?

I'm somewhat familar with the ECAC bowls; for the life of me I cannot figure why a senior would want to put in a extra weeks worth of practice to play in a meaningless game in front of a very small crowd (I'm assuming) with final exams, senior papers, and other semester ending work looming, and miss the opportunity to finally watch college football on the tube with a cold one in your hand.
What am I missing

tfa no disrespect but did you play college ball? I would have killed for an extra game as a senior or any year for that matter. Even if that game was at 3am on a Tuesday night with not a soul watching. In fact I'd give up ever watching college football on tv again for a bowl game last year. Would make that trade in a heartbeat any day
I cant really even imagine comparing the opportunity to play in a college bowl game vs the "opportunity" to watch college football on tv. I've got my whole life to do that man

[ExTartanPlayer]

I'm somewhat familar with the ECAC bowls; for the life of me I cannot figure why a senior would want to put in a extra weeks worth of practice to play in a meaningless game in front of a very small crowd (I'm assuming) with final exams, senior papers, and other semester ending work looming, and miss the opportunity to finally watch college football on the tube with a cold one in your hand.
What am I missing

I played in one as a senior.

Your viewpoint is not ENTIRELY inaccurate.  I'm sure there are some people that think that way.

Personally, as my 14-year football career drew to a close, I knew that I had a lifetime to be "just a guy" - I could sleep in on Saturdays, watch football on the tube...and a finite number of chances to play the game I loved alongside dudes that I'd grown to respect and love.

My recruiting class had 47 guys when we showed up on Day 1. There were 18 of us still around on senior day. While I dislike war analogies in sports - those guys were my bros, my comrades. Suiting up and playing one more game with the 18 guys that stuck it out through thick and thin...that was a privilege. I stood on the field for nearly an hour after my last game because I knew that once I walked inside and took the pads off, it was over. I wanted to soak in every last moment.

Today? I don't miss playing the game. I'm completely at peace with it. But then? The chance to play one more game...I'll just say that our seniors were pretty much unanimously excited about it. In fact, the knowledge that it was JUST one more game made it easier to get through that week's grind of practice and preparation and schoolwork. We KNEW it was the last one. Perfect way to go out, really.

Football had done a lot to me, good and bad. There were days when I just wanted it to be over so I could walk away without having to quit the game. But at the end of my senior season, that "one more game" was a sweet one week reprieve from having to start life without football. Ask me again, ask me 100 more times, did I want that ECAC game tacked on to the end of my senior year?

Abso-****in-lutely.

[algernon]

Hopefully all of that can be avoided with a victory by the Tigers.
Need the victory because I don't think HSC will be very competitive until the 2017 season

Favret's Tigers have won 8+ games in 11 of the last 13 seasons.  The two years they didn't: a 4-6 record in '06 and a 6-4 record in '12.

I see no reason the Tigers won't be very competitive in both 2015 and 2016.  They've suffered the loss of very fine players before.

[tigerfanalso]

Algernon

Everything is relative; What I meant is I don't think the Tigers will be favored or expected to win the odac. They will be good but not real good. E&H and Guilford should be at the top of the odac next year based on returning talent; E&H could be really special in 2016 if they keep everybody in school and on the team. Could HSC beat them, sure, but they will not be favored to do so.

ExTartanPlayer & CUACard59

I played all four years, had a great run. Senior year,the 1977 Tigers finished #1 in the south and hosted first round playoff game. Our team was very close. I get what you are saying and understand; just don't agree. Loved the game, loved the competition, loved the guys, but playing just for the sake of playing, no. Playing to win the odac or going to the playoffs, yes; that meant something. That said, I respect your opinion(s) and love for the game. 
 

[ExTartanPlayer]

I played all four years, had a great run. Senior year,the 1977 Tigers finished #1 in the south and hosted first round playoff game. Our team was very close. I get what you are saying and understand; just don't agree. Loved the game, loved the competition, loved the guys, but playing just for the sake of playing, no. Playing to win the odac or going to the playoffs, yes; that meant something. That said, I respect your opinion(s) and love for the game. 

I do, of course, respect your opinion as well.  I should also point out that this isn't a "one size fits all" thing.

Teams that are used to every-year-in-the-playoffs, I suspect, would be rather less enthused about ECAC games.
Teams that have had an especially disappointing season, also, I expect would be happy to call it a season.

I think the teams most likely to be enthused about the prospect of an ECAC game:

Teams for whom postseason play is not a regular occurrence
Teams that have ended the season on a bit of a hot streak*

My case provides a rather fascinating example: my junior season (2006) was an 11-1 joyride that ended in the playoffs.  We returned a large senior class that had contributed substantially to that team and it looked like 2007 would be another big year.  After two wins to open the season, we lost four straight close ones (27-26, 24-21, 21-10, 20-17); each of those games came down to a 2-point conversion, a final possession, or an overtime FG.  Sitting at 2-4, our season was decidedly NOT going as planned...but we rolled off four straight wins to finish the regular season at 6-4.  In that specific context, while 6-4 had been a rather disappointing season, we were on a roll and having fun; of course we wanted to play one more game to try to cap the season with a little extra bow.

I'll admit that I was a bit surprised how much I wanted to play the bowl game.  Before it actually happened, I thought of them kind of the same way that you did: I'd been to the playoffs every year in high school and then again as a junior in college, so I didn't really think I'd be the type who wanted to play just for the hell of it.  But confronted with that specific situation, the chance to suit up once more with my lads after an up-and-down-and-then-back-up season that had us absolutely rolling at the end...it wasn't even a question.

The other case, which I'm not as qualified to speak on: suppose you've got a team that's been cranking out 2-8 and 3-7 seasons for several years running, never really contends for the conference title, has what qualifiers as magical season by their standards and sits at 4-4 with two games to play.  Ask any of those dudes if they'd be enthusiastic about the prospect of playing in a bowl game if they win the last two to finish 6-4.  Betcha most of them would say yes.