FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

HunterT · September 15, 2007, 11:23:19 PM

Ron I'm not trying to take anything away from the intelligence of the BSC football coach, but it does take an offense and a defense to finish first, second, or third in the conference. After today, I'm not sure we have that.

The defense was solid, led by Desmond Hendricks (8 tackles, 6 TFL, 3 Sacks for 21 yds). That's a hard stat line to argue with. Followed by Mosby with 9 tackles, Mattioli with 8 and a FR. Defense was solid today, 3 TOs and only 77 yds of total offense. No complaint at all there.

Offense... a different story. I support these guys till the day I die, and they got the job done. I'm not taking anything away from that. But you cannot start your day with the first two drives ending in lost fumbles. Sorry, that's not going to cut it in the SCAC. Especially not with a big game next week in Mississippi. If these boys expect to have any chance next week against the Majors, they need to do two things:

1. Play an entire game of football.
2. Get rid of the miscues on offense and special teams.

I was at the Millsaps game last year, and played against them for 4 years. The Majors don't like Rhodes. Its a well known fact. They're going to come out hard and fast and not let up until the final whistle. The defense needs to be up for a challenging day, and the offense needs to get something started.

Just_that_kid · September 16, 2007, 07:49:22 PM

Millsaps vs. Belhaven (JV game) tomorrow at 4pm @ Harper Davis Field (Millsaps Campus).

Ralph Turner · September 16, 2007, 07:59:01 PM

Kid, sorry that I missed you yesterday in Sherman.

Just_that_kid · September 16, 2007, 08:57:35 PM

It's quiet alright. I just hope all of you enjoyed the game! Thanks for supporting Millsaps/AC and the SCAC in general.

frank_ezelle · September 17, 2007, 09:16:05 AM

A few "for what it's worth" items:

--Hunter T, please continue to post and bring a few other Rhodes fans into the fold. I know that this year and towards the end of last year, there has been a lot of Millsaps posts on the board (there weren't nearly as many when Millsaps was going 2-7). I think the problem isn't too much from Millsaps, but not enough from others. It's even worse in basketball and baseball. There were times last year when those were basically the "frank_ezelle" message board and I got sick of seeing my name as the last person to post. I wish we could get more involvement from all SCAC schools--the student-athletes at these other schools deserve the representation.

--It wasn't pretty at Louisiana College Saturday as LC rolled up over 600 yards of total offense in a 38-15 win over McMurry. I mention this because of the SCAC teams these two ASC teams have played. LC only had 159 total yards in their opener vs Millsaps so is the Millsaps defense that strong or the McMurry defense that weak. Austin had 394 yards against McMurry and 198 against Millsaps with 72 of those yards coming on the first play.

--Another ASC result had MC winning again with a 34-5 win over Texas Lutheran. MC had 398 yards of offense and held TLC to 150 yards. How to compare those numbers to the Millsaps game is a little difficult for reasons you all know. MC allowed 365 yards of total offense and had 409 yards of total offense against Millsaps in the 27-26 victory. Regardless of how you want to interpret the numbers, I said it then and I'll say it again--I think MC has a really good team this year and maybe they have a shot at the ASC crown if they can upset MHBC in a big Homecoming showdown.

Matt Gaunt · September 17, 2007, 12:43:03 PM

Hello all,

Speaking of better representation from other SCAC schools, I'm joining the ranks of DPU3619, DPULefty22 and others as yet another DePauw fan/alumni/former player on the board.

Good times.

Ralph Turner · September 17, 2007, 12:49:45 PM

Welcome, Matt!

The SCAC board is getting better every year. We are glad to have you.

Ron Boerger · September 17, 2007, 01:09:14 PM

Yep, welcome Matt!

Frank - I doubt MC has any serious chance of upsetting UMHB. If they couldn't score against the first string Millsaps defense they won't score against the first string UMHB defense either. Those guys are big, those guys are strong, and they are talented. But that's why they play the games ...

exmajor · September 17, 2007, 01:57:33 PM

Ralph, Ron, Josh et al,

I would be interested in hearing thoughts on the Millsaps/AC game from Saturday from those in attendance? It is always nice to get some non-biased thoughts from people outside the program. I will not get a chance to see the Majors until the Trinity game in late October and stats don't always tell the whole story. Just curious what you guys thought?

Ron Boerger · September 17, 2007, 02:59:50 PM

Quote from: exmajor on September 17, 2007, 01:57:33 PM
Ralph, Ron, Josh et al,

I would be interested in hearing thoughts on the Millsaps/AC game from Saturday from those in attendance? It is always nice to get some non-biased thoughts from people outside the program. I will not get a chance to see the Majors until the Trinity game in late October and stats don't always tell the whole story. Just curious what you guys thought?

I think if you go to the live game blog from Saturday you will get a pretty good idea of my thoughts, ex-. Millsaps showed a very potent offense helped by an AC defense that had a hard time covering four- and five-wide sets, and a defense that stuffed the run with the exception of the "oops" play where the AC back went into the line, appeared to be stopped and everyone relaxed for a second or two before realizing he was still going. I was impressed enough by what I saw to rank the Majors second in the region based on the other teams I've seen in person and the results season-to-date. The other voters don't see it quite that way. And yeah, someone's going to throw the week 1 stuff in my face - save it, I weight recent results more than old ones.

That said, I don't believe Millsaps got a full test. AC is not a passing team and Coach Gage stuck primarily with his running QB. The passing QB gave AC its only drive of the day but threw it up for grabs at the end of the first half which put a way different spin on going to the locker room. The Majors played eight in the box a good deal and obviously if your opponent runs 80% of the time that's a big help. AC was also without its two best corners, out with injury, and the undersized DL could not exert much pressure on JJ. JJ was impressive in his three+ quarters, too. I also don't know if Millsaps gets away with as many WR screens against better teams as they did against Austin on Saturday.

In any case, a very impressive result (that could easily have been 63-3) against a team that's not as bad as that might indicate. Last year Millsaps underachieved on the road and early returns indicate that problem has been fixed. Trinity and DePauw (don't sleep on the Indiana Tigers who seem much improved) both have their work cut out for them.

exmajor · September 17, 2007, 03:08:54 PM

thanks Ron, sorry for neglecting the blog from Saturday!

Ralph Turner · September 17, 2007, 03:25:41 PM

Having seen AC in both D-3 games, I was optimistic about McMurry's chances. Then they rolled out that effort at LC.

I think that Millsaps finishes 3rd in the ASC. Trinity caught a weak ETBU and a wounded TLU.

I thought that AC game was only a "1-2 TD game" and will refer you to Ron's blog the way that it ended.

roocru · September 17, 2007, 03:38:26 PM

I saw the difference in the game boiling down to speed. Millsaps was able to play the uption with its LB's and safeties from the inside out and make the plays at the LOS. I thought the defense played pretty well and then it became a matter of being on the field too long. I believe both teams are better at this point in the season than they were last year.

AC will always look better against teams that are closer in speed to themselves until they can begin matching it with some of their own. The offense is not based entirely on the option though and they have enough of a power running game to keep other offenses off the field.

I still think they will represent themselves well in the SCAC and are a program that is turning the corner.

Ralph Turner · September 17, 2007, 03:44:09 PM

I agree with roocru. The move to the SCAC will help immensely. Look at AC's performance in the ASC. Minus the 2 "obligatory" losses to UMHB and HSU, AC was a consistent .500 team.

I think that AC is a consistent 5-3/6-2 in the SCAC, year after year.

roocru · September 17, 2007, 04:09:42 PM

Quote from: Ralph Turner on September 17, 2007, 03:44:09 PM
I agree with roocru. The move to the SCAC will help immensely. Look at AC's performance in the ASC. Minus the 2 "obligatory" losses to UMHB and HSU, AC was a consistent .500 team.

I think that AC is a consistent 5-3/6-2 in the SCAC, year after year.

I hope there are a few years mixed in there at 7-1/8-0 so we can sniff the playoffs.