FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[DWShortie]

I wish that DePauw had the chance to play Trinity. Does anyone think that there will be a chance to make up the game? DePauw will give a good game to Trinity, and I beleive that my tigers can beat the them!!!! GO DEPAUW

[Ron Boerger]

I've not seen TU yet.  Does anyone know if they are truly not up to par this year?  A lot of teams with new starters at key positions take some time to work things out before they can really function on offense, then by the end of the season they're on fire. 

What does it look like?   Are they just not dominant or are they still in transition?

I would say that the team is making slow progress from game to game.  Defensively the are about where they normally are this time of year, maybe a little ahead.  Offensively the running game has not been terribly productive and the deep passing game really hasn't been there much.   They could have had another TD or two on Saturday with a little better production in the red zone.  

[smedindy]

Shortie - we already discussed that and it looks like there is no chance it can be worked out.

[Pacman]

RC is just miserable.  Another close loss.  It seems like every season, aside from Trinity, all of Rhodes' losses are very close games.  They can never get over the hump so to speak.  I think that kind of consistent losing is a direct byproduct of the coaches.  Some people are winners, others just never seem to find ways to win in dog fights.  Rhodes plays a sloppy brand of football, full of mistakes.  I think they are the most underachieving team in the SCAC year in and year out. 

[DanSwan]

I think you don't have a clue what you are talking about

[dpuinaz]

I can remember some pretty tough teams from RC -- just not as tough as TU or Centre's squads.  They've always had some talent in Memphis....

[sampa]

Trinity has an experienced offense and defense made up mostly of juniors and seniors with significant game experience except at the QB position. QB did not get much experience his first two years on the team  due to  the closeness of games when Desplanes was the QB. As he improves, the team improves. The offensive line is very experienced as are their running backs and receivers. Their personnel doesn't have quite the big play potential of some past teams but they are still very solid and good players. Their opponents have also improved their teams during the last couple of years, especially Austin College and Texas Lutheran, which use to be easy wins and often blow-outs.

[Ron Boerger]

Austin College is 0-4 and the closest they have come to winning a game all year was against Trinity in Week 1. 

[DePauw05]

Is it just me, or is anyone else growing weary of the asinine comments, i.e. DePauw "passed" or "wimped out" in its decision to stay clear of Hurricane Rita? 

I ask those of you who make these comments, if you had to make a decision in light of what had just happened in New Orleans,  would you really have chosen to take buses and hotel rooms away from evacuees who needed them to escape  Hurricane Rita's path?  I enjoy my college football as much as the next guy, but let's have some sense of perspective here and move on.

As for a tiebreaker, it is a bit presumptuous to assume and plan for DePauw and Trinity being undefeated and deadlocked at the end of the season when DPU has not yet played a conference game.  However, don't think for a moment that DePauw players and fans aren't severely disappointed to miss a shot at knocking Trinity off the top of the SCAC this year.

[historymajor]

News today that Seattle re-signed Urban.  Good luck to Jerheme and we all hope he sticks this time!

[dpuinaz]

Evidence:

DePauw has come close to unseating Trinity two years in a row and would be jacked out of their cleats to play this year's faded version of the black flag and somewhat deflated air attack.

If anyone should be relieved that the game is not being played, it's trinity, who had much less to gain and much more to lose.

[Ron Boerger]

SCAC revised tiebreaker is out:

http://www.scac-online.org/football/fbtiebreaker.htm

The team with the best winning percentage against conference teams will be declared the conference champion. The conference champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. For the 2005 season, with an unequal number of conference games being played, 5-1 shall be considered better than 4-1.

In the case of two or more teams tying for the conference championship, each team will be declared a co-champion and receive a trophy. To determine the representative to NCAA postseason competition and the recipient of the conference's automatic bid, the following criteria will be used as a tie-breaker.

A. Two Teams:
Head-to-head result from conference game played.

-If there is no head-to-head result, the team with the fewest overall losses will be declared as the recipient of the conference's automatic bid to the NCAAs.

-If there is no head-to-head result and if the tied teams have the same number of overall losses, then the percentage of each team's opponents' total overall record will be used. The team whose opponents have the higher win/loss percentage will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAAs.

-Coin toss.

[wabashcpa]

So if Trinity wins out, it will be SCAC champ.  DePauw will need to beat Wabash to make a strong case for a Pool C bid.  Just what the Bell game needs - more intensity.

[DePauw05]

If DePauw should be fortunate to win out in the SCAC and tie with Trinity, the conference ruling clearly punishes DePauw for having a tougher schedule.  A close loss to Wesley, which is rolling at 5-0, and a tough Bell game yet to come against possible NCAC champ Wabash, stand in the way of DePauw coming out on top in this scenario tie-breaker.  If DePauw were to win out and be 8-1 at the close of the season, one would think they would be a strong at-large candidate.  But who knows how the NCAA would rule.

If DPU and Trinity are tied going into the last week of conference play, it's too bad they couldn't just flip-flop opponents.  DePauw could switch from traveling to Terre Haute to play a less meaningful game against Rose and instead go to San Antonio.  

This tie-breaker scenario clearly rewards a softer schedule.  It's a disappointing ruling for that reason.

[Pat Coleman]

That's why they play the games -- or at least why they schedule them.