FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[maconfootballobserver]

Having seen Millsaps and Trinity both play this season, the only variable that I feel uncertain of is the magnitude of home field advantage for Trinity.  Perhaps some of the more experienced SCAC fans can quantify this. 

If the home field advantage for trinity is not enormous I see a comfortable win for Millsaps.  To break it down:

Running offense: advantage Millsaps
Passing offense: slight advantage Millsaps, although the Trinity QB and receivers are impressive

Rush defense: advantage Millsaps   
Pass defense:  decided advantage Millsaps.  Here is where I see the biggest difference in the 2 teams.  Millsaps D line is able to apply pressure rushing 3 and four, leaving 7 & 8 in coverage.  The Millsaps cornerbacks are also outstanding.

Special teams: slight advantage Trinity, their kicker has a strong leg and kickoffs are deep, he also has plenty of leg for a 50 yard plus field goal

Conclusion:  Millsaps is a better defensive team, particularly against the pass, I believe this should translate into a comfortable Millsaps victory against Trinity.  Of course that highly anticipated matchup is 3 weeks away and lots can happen in the interim                                 

[Pat Coleman]

This year's game is at Millsaps, as a reminder. Ron detailed Trinity's home field success just a few posts ago, if you still need to know.

[maconfootballobserver]

Thanks for the correction, I assumed the game would be in San Antonio, since last years game was in Jackson.  A quick look at the Millsaps web site confirms. I will stick to my prediction then, barring a freakish run of injuries at Millsaps.

[exmajor]

I would like to see the Majors take care of business on the mountain before talking about the Trinity game.  After last week's performance against Centre (game was truly undecided into the fourth quarter), Millsaps really needs to put four quarters of offense together before it takes on a tough Trinity team.  Exactly what Dubose was talking about in the article Frank posted last week.

The Majors have an off week in between the Sewanee and Trinity game which should help clean up some nagging injuries.  My hope is that the team (all teams actually) remain injury free in this weekend's game and be at full strength for the October 27 game.   

I agree with Ron that the biggest upcoming game is Saturday's Depauw/Trinity matchup and the outcome of that game will dictate what other important games are left in the SCAC.

[FerricMajor82]

I am headed up to Monteagle to catch the Millsaps @ Sewanee game.  It is a bit of a tradition in my family seeing as my grandfather played at Sewanee and both my brother and I played at Millsaps.  I will either be on Florida Road tailgating (Millsaps side, down the hill from the endzone) or in the 2nd parking lot behind the Sewanee side of the field.  Look for a black Yukon and a springer spaniel if you are interested in a few adult beverages and some New Market bar-b-que. 

[TigerDad]

Just found out I will be travelling to Indiana to see the Trinity-DePauw "Battle of the Tigers 2007".  Looking forward to seeing TU bounce back from last week's disappointing offensive collapse.  No doubt this is the SCAC game of the week ... catch y'all on the webcast on Saturday!  NOTE: Game is at 1pm EASTERN TIME.

To echo Ron:  No doubt the Tigers will win.  GO MAROON.

[KentATM]

I'm probably going to tape the BSC game from the sidelines this weekend unless its raining b/c I have no rain gear.  It'll probably be the smallest attendance at an AC game this season b/c it will be during our fall break.


early prediction

Roos - 20
Pans - 19

[HunterT]

With respect I don't see 1-1 Rhodes, 2-2 Austin, or 2-2 Centre being in the mix. 

Ouch Ron, that hurts me deep.

I agree though that Millsaps is clearly in the driver seat, with wins over DPU and Rhodes and Trinity yet to come (and the game being in Jackson), they have control of their own destiny.

I think the next 3 teams are all the ones with one loss: Trinity, Depauw, and, yes Ron, Rhodes. You have to think that even with one loss, these teams can still win out and hope for a Millsaps lapse one week. If Rhodes wins out, they're the clear second barring a Millsaps loss (and yes I'm aware that even the tie-breakers give it to the Majors). The winner of the DPU/Trinity game this weekend is the other team competing. If Trinity wins out, Rhodes wins out, and Millsaps wins out (minus Trinity), we have a 3 way tie and (correct me if I'm wrong), it comes down to points.

Is it too early to be breaking down tie-breakers? Yes. So I hope nobody gets into that. But bottom line, anybody with 2 losses as of now, I consider out. With only 1 conference loss, Rhodes is still in it.

Let's hope that the Colorado air this weekend doesn't get to them and they take care of business like they should.

[Ron Boerger]

Sorry, Hunter.  Until I see Rhodes consistently play like they did last week I just can't get on the bandwagon.  A good game at a mid-level opponent like CC would be a start; a trend can't be extrapolated from a single data point. 

A good week for the SCAC in terms of the D3football.com Team of the Week:

DL Desmond Hendricks, Jr., Rhodes
Hendricks led a Rhodes defense that limited then 12th-ranked Trinity to 13 points and only 47 yards rushing in Saturday's 27-13 upset victory. He finished the game with eight tackles (four solo), 3.0 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries (including the one he returned 65 yards for a touchdown), two forced fumbles, and one pass deflection.

DL Tyler Doane, Fr., DePauw
Doane had eight tackles (four solo) and 3.5 sacks for a loss of 18 yards in DePauw's 28-24 win over Birmingham-Southern.

DB Matt Finke, Jr., Austin
Finke recorded 10 tackles (eight solo) and one tackle for a loss. He also picked off a pass, forced and recovered a fumble, and blocked both a field goal and an extra point in a 16-13 win over Sewanee.

K Taylor Russolino, Fr., Millsaps
Russolino hit three first half field goals from 34, 35, and 38 yards out. The Majors came into the game having hit just one of their eight field goal attempts.

[Major Rev]

With respect I don't see 1-1 Rhodes, 2-2 Austin, or 2-2 Centre being in the mix. 

Ron, I think this line says it all.  With Rhodes' performance last Saturday, and with the strong play that I saw from the Centre team in Jackson, I think there is definitely respect due.  Sure Rhodes pulled off the upset, but Centre also played a strong game and gave the Millsaps offense fits for three quarters.  Congrats to these two teams and to Austin for hangin' in there.

[Ron Boerger]

With respect I don't see 1-1 Rhodes, 2-2 Austin, or 2-2 Centre being in the mix. 

Ron, I think this line says it all.  With Rhodes' performance last Saturday, and with the strong play that I saw from the Centre team in Jackson, I think there is definitely respect due.  Sure Rhodes pulled off the upset, but Centre also played a strong game and gave the Millsaps offense fits for three quarters.  Congrats to these two teams and to Austin for hangin' in there.

That's just it ... it was just one game.  Was it Rhodes playing their best of the season or Trinity playing their worst, or both?    Do we see "good Rhodes" the rest of the way or the team that struggled to beat 0-for-ever LaGrange, a BSC  team that was playing its first ever collegiate game, and scored a total of three points combined against Millsaps and WashU?

Centre has three losses already and an upcoming road trip to SA where they never fare well, plus one of their three wins came against Austin.   The other two came against teams with a total of one win between them.   For their part, AC (who I've seen twice already) is on the right track but they have another year or two to go before they're up there with the Millsaps, DePauws, and Trinitys.

[Pat Coleman]

As many of you who follow the SCAC blog know, one area needing improvement with the 2007 Millsaps squad has been in the special teams area of field goal kicking.

There's an SCAC blog? Do you have a link?

[HunterT]

Ron and Major Rev,

Trust me I know it was just one game. I know it was Rhodes playing well and Trinity playing bad. I know that you don't know what to expect from a team that has been nothing more that inconsistent all year. Trust me, I know these things.

What I was saying (as a fan) was that there is a chance for a win like this to spark the enthusiasm and maybe start winning some games. Go back to 2003, fir first 5 games Rhodes was 2-3, then it was a wake up call after game 5 and the team won the rest and came in second in the conference. All I was saying was that this past week could give the boys some confidence going into the remaining games and that they do technically have a shot, so you can't rule them out just yet.

[Fripp52]

Are you planning to be at the DPU Trinity game on Saturday ?  We will be in the parking lot around 10 AM tailgating.  Marshall Reavis, Kirt Guinn, and Tom Donohue will be there.  Come on down and tell your parents.  Hopefully, Thomas can play - grade 1 shoulder separation.

[frank_ezelle]

There's a nice article in the Jackson newspaper about the big numbers being put up by the quarterbacks at the three local small colleges, Millsaps, MC and Belhaven:

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071011/SPORTS030105/710110361/0/SPORTS