FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[wabashcpa]

The first game notes of the year for the DPU Tigers...

http://depauw.edu/ath/Football/2008/notes/anderson.pdf

Interesting that McNelis is the only 3-year letterman on the two-deep - maybe that's normal, but it stood out to me.

Not sure if Anderson will be a good gauge of this, but with Mulligan, Gasbarra and Koors all back, I would expect DePauw to air it out this year, especially with an inexperienced running attack. 

[D3_DPUFan]

Sounds like the players that were lost didn't really belong there or understand what they were getting into, that B-S College isn't just another Alabama football factory.  Attrition will probably always be an issue, especially if they develop into a decent program.  I'm guessing DePauw's roster is freshmen-heavy each year (as is Wabash's roster), and a high percentage don't play beyond that first year, because they aren't playing, and probably won't be playing anytime soon.  Sounds like they are dealing with issues we've been dealing with for years - it's just newer to them.

Yep...pretty good take. I think in BCS' case they had some "freshmen" or newcomers who, in football crazy Alabama, were much more focused on football and less so on the academic side of the equation. I'm sure BCS will get there..perhaps it will just take a bit longer than some of us thought after last season...

 

[oldmoose]

From the Birmingham News college football preview...
http://blog.al.com/bn/2008/08/panthers_rebuild_after_major_c.html

Any BCS fans...the above article painted a rather gloomy picture regarding losses to grades, etc....is it really that bad? I think I was among more than a few people who impressed with the team last year and the direction the program seemed to be headed. Perspective from 'Bama?

The article sums up the situation pretty well.  My son told us during last season that about 80% (exaggeration maybe?) of the team was on mandatory study hall due to grades.  As the article states, many kids jumped at an opportunity to play college ball and had no clue what the academic demands would be.  Many players I recall getting a lot of PT last season are no longer on the roster.  I have no idea how many of those are still in school at BSC and just no longer playing football.

[D3_DPUFan]

Interesting that McNelis is the only 3-year letterman on the two-deep - maybe that's normal, but it stood out to me.

Not sure if Anderson will be a good gauge of this, but with Mulligan, Gasbarra and Koors all back, I would expect DePauw to air it out this year, especially with an inexperienced running attack.  

They do have a nice group back...and a couple of new talented receviers to add to the mix as well. But I would defintely not look for Depauw to abandoned the running attack. Karazsia, Ellis and Harrington are young, hard runners who will be behind an experienced O-line...

[D3_DPUFan]

One other fun thing to watch for those at DPU games...#25 Wrona, DB from Pennsylvania. On special teams the guy is crazy. One of those gutys you don't have to see hit somebody...you HEAR it. he threw his body into someone at the Franklin scrimmage and it reminded me of last season...time after time, the guy really smashes people...

[D3_DPUFan]

A DePauw football piece in today's Greencastle Banner Graphic...

http://www.bannergraphic.com/story/1460176.html

[Ron Boerger]

From the Birmingham News college football preview...
http://blog.al.com/bn/2008/08/panthers_rebuild_after_major_c.html

Any BCS fans...the above article painted a rather gloomy picture regarding losses to grades, etc....is it really that bad? I think I was among more than a few people who impressed with the team last year and the direction the program seemed to be headed. Perspective from 'Bama?

The article sums up the situation pretty well.  My son told us during last season that about 80% (exaggeration maybe?) of the team was on mandatory study hall due to grades.  As the article states, many kids jumped at an opportunity to play college ball and had no clue what the academic demands would be.  Many players I recall getting a lot of PT last season are no longer on the roster.  I have no idea how many of those are still in school at BSC and just no longer playing football.

If I read this correctly, I'm a bit surprised that a school with B-SC's academic reputation allowed players who (apparently) could not meet the usual academic requirements to enter into the school in the first place.  Part of that may be due to the transition from D1 to D3, we all know that many D1 scholarship players are admitted strictly due to their ability to run a football or shoot a jumper. 

Whatever the case, it seems that B-SC is figuring things out and they'll get there - it just won't be as quickly as we all thought when we saw 120+ kids on the roster last year.  Those facilities combined with the school's reputation and location are going to be attractive to a lot of prospective student-athletes. 

[Ralph Turner]

I agree.  BSC will figure it out.

[wabashcpa]

Trinity pitched a shutout tonight - 24-0 over Texas Lutheran.  The short week apparently didn't hurt your defense any!

[DPULefty22]

Interesting that McNelis is the only 3-year letterman on the two-deep - maybe that's normal, but it stood out to me.

Not sure if Anderson will be a good gauge of this, but with Mulligan, Gasbarra and Koors all back, I would expect DePauw to air it out this year, especially with an inexperienced running attack.  

They do have a nice group back...and a couple of new talented receviers to add to the mix as well. But I would defintely not look for Depauw to abandoned the running attack. Karazsia, Ellis and Harrington are young, hard runners who will be behind an experienced O-line...

Have heard very good things about the two frosh backs for the Tigers from sources who have seen them play. And it will help that they'll be running behind arguably one of the best offensive lines around. Gotta love having four starters back, and being able to replace the starter lost with a guy who was a starter in 06 before getting hurt and missing all of 07 (Akinbola).

Three sophomore LBs listed as starters is a little curious, but it appears that TC Collins must be hurt otherwise he'd be a returning starter at MLB.

This will be my first year following the Tigers from afar. It will be strange. But I'm excited for the team this year - they've got a lot of talent, arguably more than last year even with the loss of Marks, and a chance to make some real noise.

[MACCENTRE43]

From the Birmingham News college football preview...
http://blog.al.com/bn/2008/08/panthers_rebuild_after_major_c.html

Any BCS fans...the above article painted a rather gloomy picture regarding losses to grades, etc....is it really that bad? I think I was among more than a few people who impressed with the team last year and the direction the program seemed to be headed. Perspective from 'Bama?

The article sums up the situation pretty well.  My son told us during last season that about 80% (exaggeration maybe?) of the team was on mandatory study hall due to grades.  As the article states, many kids jumped at an opportunity to play college ball and had no clue what the academic demands would be.  Many players I recall getting a lot of PT last season are no longer on the roster.  I have no idea how many of those are still in school at BSC and just no longer playing football.

If I read this correctly, I'm a bit surprised that a school with B-SC's academic reputation allowed players who (apparently) could not meet the usual academic requirements to enter into the school in the first place.  Part of that may be due to the transition from D1 to D3, we all know that many D1 scholarship players are admitted strictly due to their ability to run a football or shoot a jumper. 

Whatever the case, it seems that B-SC is figuring things out and they'll get there - it just won't be as quickly as we all thought when we saw 120+ kids on the roster last year.  Those facilities combined with the school's reputation and location are going to be attractive to a lot of prospective student-athletes. 

Based on what I've heard about B-SC committment to creating a nationally competetive program I have little doubt they'll do just that.  When administrations' make football a priority it usually means the finances and other resources are there, and that's what I see at B-SC.

Many teams in D-III, especially the very competetive ones, recruit anywhere from 50-100 freshmen every year.  Most coaches will tell you if they graduate 20 seniors they consider that a success, so you can do the math on that, a lot of guys get lost a long the way.  Why is this the case?  Because it's not easy, it's not glamorous, and no scholarship is helping you through school.  These kids pay, often times big amounts, to continue their football careers, and many just don't make it for four years.

This is not always the case.  I know Centre tries to target their recruiting pool and looks to bring in around 30-40 freshmen every year.  Their retention is usually good so they don't have to bring in quite as many.  I think my Freshmen class was 36 to start, and we graduated 25 of those guys.  This is the exception, not the rule, in D-3 football, although it may be more common in the SCAC since most of the schools are top academic institutions.

[Tex]

Good game last night.  Lots of fun for those of us that were there in attendance  TU rushes for more than they pass once again.  Gotta love it.

[TigerDad]

Tex ... gotta agree with you, of course!   

Hope you and everyone in College Station are safe tonight as Hurricane Ike heads toward you ... let us know how you fared when you're able.  Our prayers are with everyone in Galveston, Houston and East Texas.

[Tex]

My mom, tough stubborn old goat that she is, is hunkering down in Santa Fe, TX.  We rode out Alicia there in 83.  She should be fine as long as they're able to dodge any tornados.  She refused to come up to CS.  They are predicting Cat 1 winds in College Station in the morning.  Nothing but some gusts here and there as of midnight.

I hope  I don't have to go down looking for her tomorrow afternoon.

Now for the really bad news.  We have a beach house down on the extreme west end of Galveston (near San Luis Pass).  I'm thinking it might be completely gone right now. 

[YuccaRoot]

There are some very strong winds in College Station this morning...seem to be Tropical Storm strength.