FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[DPU3619]

Lots of good SCAC and Huntingdon discussion in this week's ATR ...

Did I miss something? Millsaps D is getting some dap in ATR when they're last all of the following:

scoring defense
pass defense
total defense

And next to last in:

run defense
pass efficiency D
opponent 3rd down %
opponent 1st downs

I understand that DePauw has a conference loss and Millsaps doesn't, but that all seems tad bit odd to me.

Don't want to make anybody angry here, but stopping Austin and Centre isn't exactly going all Power Rangers and morphin' into the Mt. Union D.  Just looking for a little credit where it's due, that's all.

[HunterT]

I gotta agree with 3619,

You can't give credit where it hasn't been earned yet. With the only wins coming over the bottom of the SCAC so far, and with the worst still to come, you can't boast about the Majors Defense.

IF they stop Depauw this weekend, then maybe. But that's STOP, not win 73-72.

[frank_ezelle]

Hey, as a Millsaps fan I agree with the above that the Millsaps defense still has something to prove and I'll repeat that DePauw should be considered the favorite going into this game.  In my heart I feel like Millsaps will win the game this weekend, but I haven't even seen DePauw play this year so how could I have much of a clue about who should or will win the game?  Since DePauw has traditionally been the better team, they have earned the right to be considered the favorite in the game.  That just seems logical.

But that being said, simply stating where the Millsaps defense ranks isn't an entirely accurate picture.  The defense was horrible in the first 3 games and that just about guarantees the low rankings on defense for the rest of the season.  The defense has improved considerably in the last three games, just how much will be seen this Saturday. 

It should be noted that Millsaps is a fairly young team on both sides of the ball and that sometimes shows up in monumental mental lapses and sometimes it shows up in rapid improvement from week to week.  I'm sure both teams will be ready to play this Saturday and I'm sure it will be a great game.

(PS--Just a note that this game is very close to being a matchup of 5-1 teams.  Millsaps lost to Louisiana College 41-38 with Tyson Roy out with an injury and they lost to Huntingdon 35-34 with Juan Joseph and Chris Jackson on the bench.  Admittedly their backups all had very good games, but those are players who could have made a game winning difference in two extremely close games.)

[wally_wabash]

Out of sheer curiosity, with the SCAC going to an 8-game conference schedule next season, is Depauw's schedule entirely locked in for the foreseeable future, or do they plan to discontinue the Hope series in favor of having some variety with the one open non-conference game they have?

[consultant]

I, too, believe that the Millsaps defense has improved, but I certainly make no statements that the Majors have a formidable defense.  Offensively, Millsaps has several weapons, and if DePauw doesn't the Majors seriously on both sides of the ball, Millsaps will likely come away with a victory. 

As Frank said, the Majors are young, and these guys don't have any idea that since 1998 DePauw being DePauw has meant that DePauw wins.  Nevertheless, I expect Millsaps to take DePauw very seriously because the Majors have been preparing all season to take every conference game very seriously.  Millsaps hasn't had this type of momentum since 1996 when the Majors defeated Trinity at home to claim the SCAC title. 

I expect a lot of scoring, but I do think one or two keys defensive stops for Millsaps could be all the Majors need.  If DePauw makes things difficult for the Millsaps O then Millsaps will have a difficult time on Saturday. 

[DPU3619]

Out of sheer curiosity, with the SCAC going to an 8-game conference schedule next season, is Depauw's schedule entirely locked in for the foreseeable future, or do they plan to discontinue the Hope series in favor of having some variety with the one open non-conference game they have?

Wally, I heard what the situation was likely to be, and I honestly don't remember what happened in the discussion.  I believe that Anderson may be on the schedule for the next couple of years. This was before adding Colorado College and Birmingham-Southern, but I was under the impression that it was kind of a multi-year thing.  I'm awfully sure that Chicago will be gone, and I believe Hope will be as well.

I think they should drop the Wabash game.  Nothing special there, right?   

Why don't we do that and then play Tri-State or Blackburn? 

[frank_ezelle]

Comparing scores against common opponents can sometimes be misleading but it also gives us some method of comparison.  At this point in the season Millsaps and Rhodes are each 2-1 against their 3 common opponents:

Rhodes results:
won at home vs. Centre 20-10
lost at home vs. Huntingdon 7-21
won on the road vs. Austin 21-7

Millsaps results:
won at home vs. Centre 38-12
lost at home vs. Huntingdon 34-35
won on the road vs. Austin 26-11

Those results seem to tell us what we already know, namely that Rhodes and Millsaps are probably fairly competitive with Millsaps having the edge on offense and Rhodes having the edge on defense.

BUT, for a more interesting comparison, lets look at the Sewanee schedule.  Sewanee lost at Huntingdon 24-44 and lost at Centre 0-14.  One would think that DePauw would throttle Sewanee and yet that score was only a 31-24 home victory for DePauw. 

The oddest number of all from the Sewanee games is the rushing production of Wes Satterfield.  Against Huntingdon it was 18 carries for negative 19 yards.  Against Centre it was 21 carries for 59 yards.  Against DePauw it was 40 carries for 247 yards.  I'd love to hear an explantion of the huge differences from a Sewanee fan.

But, those are just notes of interest and they won't win a ballgame.  Only 46.5 hours till kickoff--I ready to see what transpires.

[HunterT]

This weekend is Homecoming for Rhodes, so there is a lot of pride in Memphis. Should be a lot of people there, and I know we'll be starting early. If anybody plans on coming, the Football Alumni Association is hosting a BBQ, all you can eat for $10, and other specials included.

As for the football, this will be a lot of fun to watch. Considering this is now a futuer SCAC meeting, it carries more importance than only Homecoming. Coloroado College is always improving, and the Rhodes offense is.... well... the Rhodes offense. I'm calling some defensive scores for the Lynx this week. But I think this game will be closer than the 59-0 shalacking from 2002.

Rhodes wins 35-10.

Now, come on Lynx and prove me wrong. Win by a lot more than that, and shut them out. It's Homecoming, have some fun and make the alumni proud.

[evacuee]

What does that say about a team when they are "always improving" but haven't had any recent success?

[frank_ezelle]

"Always improving" is a start but it doesn't do you much good unless you are improving at a rate greater than your competition.  Somewhat like getting pay raises that don't keep up with inflation.

I don't know a thing about Colorado College but their 14-21 loss to Huntingdon last week would suggest that they will be competitive with Rhodes since Rhodes lost to Huntingdon 7-21 earlier in the season.

[Gray Fox]

I don't know a thing about Colorado College but their 14-21 loss to Huntingdon last week would suggest that they will be competitive with Rhodes since Rhodes lost to Huntingdon 7-21 earlier in the season.

CC is very much improved over recent years.  Apparently their quarterback is top notch.

[Browneagle64]

 CC does have a good QB.

What's making this team better every week is that they return a large # of veterans that have experience under their belts. This is why they probabily stayed close to the team that they played last week. Expect CC to have a huge Offensive production when they play Rhodes.

[evacuee]

There has been little or no discussion about the TU at Centre game this week.  I hope the Tiger players are more interested than are the people who read this board.  This is the last day to offer insight on the contest in Danville, so I'm going to take the opportunity and say that I think Trinity is going to win in the same fashion that they've beaten HC and DPU.  Double digit margin, and moderate to light offensive production.  Now that coach Jerheme Urban bolted for the Cowboys, I suspect the receivers are going to have a massive drop off in production.  Well, not really, but it was an excuse to get that little tid bit in there.   

[frank_ezelle]

It would be hard to go against TU in the game in Danville but Centre is certainly a better team than what their scored showed in the Millsaps game.  In that game Centre turned the ball over 5 times which created a lot of the scoring gap.  My guess would be a solid TU win but Centre will have its bright moments here and there throughout the game.

[historymajor]

TU2698... It's friggin cold up here,,,  mid to high 40's, damp and cool!  I think the TU Tiger's will be ready... I think the receivers will come up big!  Having your big brother on the Cowboy's roster is HUGE! (right Caleb???)
Homecoming at Centre is always fun to participate in!  Blazing fall foliage, 'fired up' fans and the whole C6H0 mistique.....
I'm psyched!  Go Tigers!