FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[Scots13]

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.

You can probably say that about most teams in the back half of the poll, which is to be expected.

Agreed. And it is much appreciated.

[HSCTiger fan]

I heard the senior QB for UWP has mono and out for 5 weeks. They started a freshman against George Fox. UWP kicked a FGs to win game with 1:43 left 30-28.

[HSCTiger fan]

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.

Kicking game is disappointing. Kicker missed extra point try in scrimmage too. I agree that OL needs to improve and agree that I think they will too. But they did not play bad. It's not like they played horribly and have to improve. IMO they get a B to B -.  Like to think they will be an A before ODAC starts.

[tigerFanAlso2]

tigerFan

I agree with your b- grade for the OL; for us to compete the grade needs to be A- to A; too many plays for negative yardage, overall the team had too many penalties and that needs to be addressed. Week one is behind us; week two will tell us much more in terms of our potential. If we compete and/or win at CNU I think the Tigers will exceed preseason expectations. I saw nothing vs. AU that would indicate they are any better than their #125 preseason ranking; I saw a very average D3 team that we struggled to beat and could not pull away from, that said, the 2016 HSC team would not have won the game, so I'm feeling better about our improvement  year over year, hopefully we will all see a major improvement Saturday night. Week two will tell us much more about where we are and what we must do to get to where we want to be. My initial thought is the Tigers could be really good in 2018, but I think this 2017 squad has the potential to be good as well. How fast can the young guys grow up, will the defense continue to improve, can we stay away from penalties and turnovers, can we stay healthy, Saturday will tell us a lot.   

[HSCTiger fan]

I thought Averette was better than last year.  Athletic on defense and a big running back behind a big line. Passing game was weak. This is not your typical Averette team. They have several upperclassmen  in starting  line-up. Typically they play a lot more freshmen and sophomores. New coach is doing things the right way.

[Ralph Turner]

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.

I will give props to Kickoff^TM in the ASC Pick'ems contest over the past several years.  Pat has permitted me to use the rankings in Kickoff^TM in the head-to-head of the Pick'ems and it has faired very very well. The ranking that they have given to teams in August is frequently as reliable as or better than most pickers and very comparable to the indexes that we follow (Bornpowerindex, LazIndex and Atomic Football.) The annual tallies for the last ~10 years are on the ASC Pick'ems thread.

[hasanova]

Congratulations to Guilford Senior Safety Julian Cuthbertson on being named to Week 1's Team of the Week.  He had 12 tackles (11 solo) and two stops in a goal line stand in the Quakers' 38-24 road win at Huntingdon.

[tigerFanAlso2]

hasa

Congrats on the win vs. Huntingdon. That effort, coupled with W&L's effort vs. JHU bodes well for the ODAC. Sounds like W&L played well in the trenches on both sides of the ball, sounds like kicking game was a problem. Appears as though both GC and W&L are front runners in ODAC at this point; still along way to go. Again, congrats and hope to see you in Greensboro in October.

[hasanova]

hasa

Congrats on the win vs. Huntingdon. That effort, coupled with W&L's effort vs. JHU bodes well for the ODAC. Sounds like W&L played well in the trenches on both sides of the ball, sounds like kicking game was a problem. Appears as though both GC and W&L are front runners in ODAC at this point; still along way to go. Again, congrats and hope to see you in Greensboro in October.

Thanks, tfa2.  Congratulations as well on the Tigers' home win over Averett. 

I do think the Quakers had a plan and played well.  Three on the field things stood out for me:  zero turnovers, a key goal line stand and quickly answering Huntingdon's second half opening drive that briefly gave the Hawks their only lead at 17-14.  The off the field issue that stood out to me was no clubhouse for the visitors ... during halftime, the GC offense met in one bus and the GC defense in another.  I know it's DIII, but Huntingdon should work on this.

I do feel good going into the Methodist game this Saturday in Fayetteville ... looking for no injuries and solid play heading into two more road trips to Davidson and Jacksonville.  I'll definitely be at the Hampden-Sydney game on Oct. 7.  Hope it's a beautiful, sunny day unlike last year's deluge in Farmville!

[Scots13]

hasa

Congrats on the win vs. Huntingdon. That effort, coupled with W&L's effort vs. JHU bodes well for the ODAC. Sounds like W&L played well in the trenches on both sides of the ball, sounds like kicking game was a problem. Appears as though both GC and W&L are front runners in ODAC at this point; still along way to go. Again, congrats and hope to see you in Greensboro in October.

Thanks, tfa2.  Congratulations as well on the Tigers' home win over Averett. 

I do think the Quakers had a plan and played well.  Three on the field things stood out for me:  zero turnovers, a key goal line stand and quickly answering Huntingdon's second half opening drive that briefly gave the Hawks their only lead at 17-14.  The off the field issue that stood out to me was no clubhouse for the visitors ... during halftime, the GC offense met in one bus and the GC defense in another.  I know it's DIII, but Huntingdon should work on this.

If I remember correctly, my senior year they basically split the weight room in half and let us change there. Not sure if the weight room had A/C that day or not. We were in and out quickly.

Worst was a game at Greensboro (at the high school stadium) when the locker room was apparently staph-ridden. GC didn't even tell us until that Saturday morning and we had to change at the hotel and ride in our gear on the bus. I believe we went to the gym after the game to shower. Not too fun.

[albatross]

The visiting locker room at Huntingdon for us in the playoffs left a lot to be desired. It has to be among the worst I have ever dressed out in. But, hey, visitors locker rooms are visitors locker rooms!

[hasanova]

hasa

Congrats on the win vs. Huntingdon. That effort, coupled with W&L's effort vs. JHU bodes well for the ODAC. Sounds like W&L played well in the trenches on both sides of the ball, sounds like kicking game was a problem. Appears as though both GC and W&L are front runners in ODAC at this point; still along way to go. Again, congrats and hope to see you in Greensboro in October.

Thanks, tfa2.  Congratulations as well on the Tigers' home win over Averett. 

I do think the Quakers had a plan and played well.  Three on the field things stood out for me:  zero turnovers, a key goal line stand and quickly answering Huntingdon's second half opening drive that briefly gave the Hawks their only lead at 17-14.  The off the field issue that stood out to me was no clubhouse for the visitors ... during halftime, the GC offense met in one bus and the GC defense in another.  I know it's DIII, but Huntingdon should work on this.

If I remember correctly, my senior year they basically split the weight room in half and let us change there. Not sure if the weight room had A/C that day or not. We were in and out quickly.

Worst was a game at Greensboro (at the high school stadium) when the locker room was apparently staph-ridden. GC didn't even tell us until that Saturday morning and we had to change at the hotel and ride in our gear on the bus. I believe we went to the gym after the game to shower. Not too fun.

Yeah, Greensboro College plays at Grimsley HS, which dates back to the 1890s, but the field house is probably at least 50-60 years old.  This field seats 10,000 or so, so there are many events per year there.  Not surprised there was a staph infection, but glad Greensboro didn't allow you to use it.

[hasanova]

The visiting locker room at Huntingdon for us in the playoffs left a lot to be desired. It has to be among the worst I have ever dressed out in. But, hey, visitors locker rooms are visitors locker rooms!

I'm not saying Guilford has ideal conditions either, far from it, but the visiting teams can go to the gym to suit up, tape up and cover halftime.  I just noticed the Quakers offense and defense split between the two buses at the half in Montgomery ... simply adds to the adversity for a visitor from 500 miles away.

[tigerFanAlso2]

Jk

Asking for your informed ODAC predictions this week.

[jknezek]

Jk

Asking for your informed ODAC predictions this week.

Sorry. Been a busy few days.

E&H 35  Brevard 14 -- E&H has something to prove, Brevard isn't very good
Guilford 42 Methodist 14 -- Guilford should be confident, Methodist isn't good
Sewanee 21 W&L 31 -- Sewanee is more lively than they've been, but W&L should win at home comfortably
Bridgewater 7 TMC 48 -- This won't be pretty
HSC 14 CNU 28 -- At CNU and I think they are a better team
RMC 28  Averett 10 -- RMC's defense is going to be stout, not sure how good Averett is
Shenandoah 28 NC Wes 24 -- Toss up. NC Wes got killed last week playing greatness, Shenandoah beat up on a poor team. I have no idea