FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[Ron Boerger]

A funny call from the BSC-Trinity game yesterday.  Panthers completed a pass down to the Trinity 25.  Trinity was called for roughing the passer, so of course BSC accepted.  Ball was spotted at the TU 10 after penalty was walked off.   Shouldn't that have been half the distance?

Considering how easily Stainback walked into the endzone on the next play, the 2.5 yards probably wouldn't have made much (if any) difference, but it seemed curious at the time. 

Morris (FB) for BSC is good.   Trinity wrapped him up pretty well for much of the game but he still ended up with around 140 yards.  Great leg strength, good vision, and quick:  no wonder he's the leading rusher in the league. 

[TXMike]

Yes that is a 1/2 the distance situation. Should have been 12 1/2 yard line not the 10

[Ron Boerger]

Thanks, TXMike. 

Here are the SCAC Players of the week:

OFFENSIVE:  Patrick Granchelli, Trinity:  20 carries for 124 yards and two TDs plus two catches for 35 yards.

DEFENSIVE:  John Davenport, Sewanee:  Seven tackles (three solo) and a fumble recovery which he returned 56 yards for a touchdown.

SPECIAL TEAMS:  Kyle Trella,  Trinity: Averaged 45.6 yards per punt (long of 54) and placed two punts inside the Birmingham-Southern 10.

[D3_DPUFan]

What's everybody's take on the Centre-Trinity clash this weekend?
I miss the SCAC...the teams, the fans and campuses...

[Ron Boerger]

What's everybody's take on the Centre-Trinity clash this weekend?
I miss the SCAC...the teams, the fans and campuses...

Hey DPUFan, I'm sure the SCAC office would be happy to hear from y'all if you want to come back 

Going to be interesting.  Trinity D just got through doing a pretty good job on the top offense in the league (holding them to about half their scoring output and about 2/3rds total yardage) and will have to do it again this week.   If you look at the stats, Centre has the edge offensively (especially scoring, 35.1 to 28.5 ppg), Trinity defensively (especially scoring, 9.1 to 17.4 ppga)

Pinque and Scotton are a tough 1-2 punch for the Colonels (1100 yds so far) and Osterman's not flashy but gets it done at QB.    Centre may be the only team in the league that can give Trinity a run in special teams, with Jordan Gay hitting all 31 PATs and 9-11 on FGs.   Gay also handles the punts and leads the league in punting by a scant 0.1 yard over Trinity's Trella.   Defensively, Centre's Matt Crick is their Tyler Barrett, with 4 INTs and 6 PBUs to Barrett's 5 and 3.   Nyk McKissick leads SCAC starting QBs in passing efficiency and his accuracy has been a big factor in Trinity normally winning the turnover battle - but Centre is slightly better in that category.   Granchelli and Desmond King are solid out of the backfield but have not had quite the production as their Centre counterparts. 

Playing the game in SA will be an advantage for Trinity, and this will be the second week in a row for both Centre to be on the road and Trinity to be at home.  Centre perhaps was looking forward to this week when they struggled past Millsaps, as Trinity could have been when they struggled two weeks ago at LaGrange.  Weather should not be a factor with a high in the low 80s and no chance of rain.   Trinity's field is in good condition - there have been no mudfests this season (sadly with our drought).

It should be a good game.  If the Trinity defense plays as well as I've seen them this year, and continues to get the key turnovers, they'll have a good chance of winning on Saturday, but this promises to be the toughest opponent Trinity has faced this season and a funny bounce or untimely turnover could easily swing things the other way.   

[willystyle]

Nice update on Trinity former All-SCAC linebacker Andrew Clavenna:

http://web.trinity.edu/x17324.xml

[Shoreman]

I've seen Trinity on live streaming and Centre in person both v. the Sewanee Tigers. I'm going with Centre in this one. Centre's passing game and kicking game give them the edge.

[D3_DPUFan]

Hey DPUFan, I'm sure the SCAC office would be happy to hear from y'all if you want to come back 

haha...thanks, Ron...and thanks for the Centre-Trinity preview. Of course, you can't overlook the officiating in San Antonio.  Sorry couldn't resist.

One other question...what's happening at Sewanee? Are they begining to put things together on The Mountain?

[Ron Boerger]

I've seen Trinity on live streaming and Centre in person both v. the Sewanee Tigers. I'm going with Centre in this one. Centre's passing game and kicking game give them the edge.

Let's dig into that a bit more

Passing Offense: 
Centre:  177.3 ypg
Trinity:  168.6 ypg
Advantage:  Centre, +8.7 ypg (~5%)

Rushing Offense: 
Centre:  176.6 ypg
Trinity:  170.4 ypg
Advantage:  Centre, +6.2 ypg (~4%)

Points scored:
Centre:  35.1 ppg
Trinity:  28.5 ppg
Advantage:  Centre, +7.4 ppg (~25%)

Red Zone Offense:
Centre:  87.9% (153 points on 33 opportunities, 4.64 points/possession)
Trinity:  96.2% (126 points on 26 opportunities, 4.84 points/possession)
Advantage:  Trinity (slight)

Punting:
Centre:  42.4 avg / 38.7 net
Trinity:  42.2 avg / 37.5 net
Advantage:  Centre 0.2 (<1%) / 1.2 yds (~3%)

Kickoffs:
Centre:  61.5 avg / 44.0 net
Trinity:  58.5 avg / 38.9 net
Advantage:  Centre 3.0 (~5%) / 5.1 yds (~15%)

Placekicking:
Centre:  31-31 PAT / 9-11 FGA
Trinity:  28-29 PAT / 8-12 FGA
Advantage:  Centre

All true, Centre is a few percentage points better in most categories, somewhat more than that in net kickoff coverage and field goals, and has a significant advantage in scoring.  So, if we could ignore the other part of the equation, you might be right (ignoring for a moment Trinity's home field advantage).  But ... there are two sides to every story, and this one's no different: 

Rushing defense:
Centre:   153.7 ypg
Trinity:  107.9 ypg
Advantage:  Trinity, -45.8 ypg (~30%)

Passing defense:
Centre:  161.7 ypg
Trinity:  134.0 ypg
Advantage:  Trinity, -27.7 ypg (~15%)

Points allowed:
Centre:  17.4 ppg
Trinity:  9.1 ppg
Advantage:  Trinity, -8.3 ppg (~45%)

Red zone defense:
Trinity:  73.3% (51 points on 15 opportunities, 3.40 points/possession)
Centre:  85.0% (93 points on 20 opportunities, 4.65 points/possession)
Advantage:  Trinity (significant)

Turnover margin:
Centre:  +2.00
Trinity:  +1.75
Advantage:  Centre, +0.25 (~15%)

Trinity owns most defensive categories, the exception being turnover margin.

The nice thing about these comparisons is that, this late in the season, they are significant.  Both teams have played just about everyone in conference except each other (TU has Austin next week, CC has Rhodes), and the non-conference slates are comparable.  Centre beat a really good W&L team in week 1, Trinity a very good Huntingdon squad, both of which are still in the hunt for a playoff bid. 

Net-net:  it should be a really good game.     The conference championship on the line, Trinity wants to give the Colonels a going-away present for bailing on the SCAC, Centre wanting to do the same for Trinity before heading to the SAA plus get their first playoff bid in recent history, all that stuff. 

haha...thanks, Ron...and thanks for the Centre-Trinity preview. Of course, you can't overlook the officiating in San Antonio.  Sorry couldn't resist.

One other question...what's happening at Sewanee? Are they begining to put things together on The Mountain?

Hey, I forgot about the officiating 

Seriously, though, yes, the Mountain Men are getting it going under their new coach.  They almost beat Millsaps in Jackson, had a lead on Birmingham-Southern in the second half, and pounded a Rhodes team that had won 3 of 4 after changing starting QBs.   And, of course, you know what they did to DPU.  They were respectable against both Trinity and Centre on the road, losing by 14 to CC and 18 to TU. 

[D3_DPUFan]

Outstanding...thanks, Ron...should be a good one. And great to hear things are turning at Sewanee...beautiful campus, setting, history...would be nice to see them enjoy some success.

[Bill McCabe]

Ron, like most games, this one will probably come down to defense, turnovers and kicking game.

[awadelewis]

Seriously, though, yes, the Mountain Men are getting it going under their new coach. 

Seeing some good things from our hire of Coach Laurendine.  I didn't really have high expectations given how late the hire was and not having time to get a coaching staff in place.  But the triple option offense that we've been running is a good fit for the our talent and the team looks to have bought into the system. This weekend is the first opportunity I've had to get up to Sewanee to see them play in person. First time in a while that I suspect that I'll spend as much time watching the game as I do visiting people in the stands.

[Shoreman]

Great analysis Ron.  Will weather be an issue. Looking at the forecast it looks like it might be in the 80's on game day.

[Ron Boerger]

Should be a brilliant Indian Summer afternoon.  NWS is (now) saying 76 and low humidity, shouldn't give either team any problems.   Winds could be a factor, out of the south 5-15 mph with gusts to 20.

[McM Blue Devil]

Should be a brilliant Indian Summer afternoon.  NWS is (now) saying 76 and low humidity, shouldn't give either team any problems.   Winds could be a factor, out of the south 5-15 mph with gusts to 20.

Would love to see this one.  But will be moving into our house this weekend in SA.   Hopefully there will be a playoff game to catch in a couple of weeks.

GO TU!!!