FB: Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

[dc_has_been]

I was blown away when I was contacted by one of the old teammates about Taylor resigning and tried to come up with some conclusions on why he would do it in the middle of the season.  IMO knowing Coach Taylor for over 15+ years it is out of character to step down at this point of the season.  Whether it is new opportunity or some sort of difference between I am very shocked by this.
In regards to Jensen, I think he'll do a fine job for the remainder of the season.  He's young and does a fine job relating to the players.  The team will need to jump on board and get ready to follow their new leader to battle.  Go Jackets!

[GrizFan]

Shaping up to be a nice weekend for football.  From what I'm reading Earlham is a dry campus (even for tailgating).  Can anyone confirm that?

I tried doing a little research to answer the dry campus question, but came up blank.  I believe that Earlham is a Quaker institution, so whatever goes along with that may determine what goes for tailgating.  Probably best to have your special pe-game beverages in a plastic cup just to be on the safe side.  Weather still looking to be awesome for football, so it should be a great day all around.

See you Saturday!

According to the Earlham Student Handbook:

"The College prohibits the use of alcohol at all College-sponsored student events, and on campus grounds, defined as College-owned property and facilities, and including College-owned student housing, but excluding private residences."

[panthersfan]

...  What are your own opinions on this everyone?

Reading the athletic director's press release I believe he was kindly given the chance to remove himself.  I do find the timing of it a little strange. 

[70_dc_alum]

College presidents need to stay out of the athletic department...when they do and coaches have authority teams get good. 

[70_dc_alum]

College presidents need to stay out of the athletic department...when they do and coaches have authority teams get good.

not to be taken out of context with what is going on at DC becuse I dont know but just in general observation with the change going on.  90's DC had a very supportive President and we had some good programs especially in the early 90's and into early 2000's but had a president change and he was a prick and handcuffed the program and the coach leaves and it goes into decline from the 2000/2001 years.  im not sure about this president but something has to be going on for Taylor to leave mid-season...there is something about a guy that still rocks the 1980 Tom selleck mustache that i dont trust.  a supportive President makes all the difference and an unsupportive one can decline a program quickly. 

Jensen will do good the rest of the year, it was good to see the intensity returned for the MSJ game and hopefully DC plays with a Chip on their shoulder the rest of the year.

[cave2bens]

...there is something about a guy that still rocks the 1980 Tom selleck mustache that i dont trust.

Process of age - when the pate pales, it's better to have a hairy lip to distract from hairy ears.   
Experigentia docet.

Hit me with the home addy and I'll offer a bit more history from the 80's and early 90's.  Finally off the post-surgical painkillers and antibiotics so a response might make sense; operative word "might." 

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

It's time for some more conference games...

Mount St Joseph @ Rose-Hulman: Has to be the game of the week. MSJ is out of the title hunt but is still a good team and can play spoiler against Rose who is clinging to a slim chance at being champs. Who will bounce back after losing last week?

Manchester @ Franklin: Franklin begins a 3 game stretch of teams they should beat. Manchester has played tough all season, the largest margin in any game is 11 against Trine. I just don't see Manchester keeping this one close though.

Anderson @ Bluffton: While nothing significant is on the line between these two, I think they could be battling for bottom half supremacy. Could be an interesting and close game.

Earlham @ Defiance: Earlham is now at 16 straight losses and it doesn't get any better this week. Defiance finally got in the win column last week with a big win at MSJ and can show that they're better than their 0-4 start by putting up a big game against the Quakers.

Hanover gets the week off in the middle of their "brutal" 4 game stretch They'll be back next week hosting Manchester.

[altor]

I just don't see Manchester keeping this one close though.

Somebody needed to QFP.  When Manchester was driving with 6 minutes in the game, I can only imagine what was going through Griz's head.

Earlham @ Defiance: Earlham is now at 16 straight losses and it doesn't get any better this week. Defiance finally got in the win column last week with a big win at MSJ and can show that they're better than their 0-4 start by putting up a big game against the Quakers.

Closer than it should have been probably.  Mostly, I came here to give the Quaker kicking game some props.  In the first quarter, Levi Simpson punted about 50 yards in the air and then it bounced another 25 yards and into the endzone...a 75 yard punt.  Later in the same quarter, Ryan Acosta kicked a 54 yard field goal.  Yes, it was with a stiff wind, but it was still impressive that it was on target.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Somebody needed to QFP.  When Manchester was driving with 6 minutes in the game, I can only imagine what was going through Griz's head.

They're making me more and more nervous every game. They're still finding a way to win, but they're making far too many mistakes. Too many turnovers... poor rushing attack... one of these games it's going to bite them.

[Thunder44]

Somebody needed to QFP.  When Manchester was driving with 6 minutes in the game, I can only imagine what was going through Griz's head.

They're making me more and more nervous every game. They're still finding a way to win, but they're making far too many mistakes. Too many turnovers... poor rushing attack... one of these games it's going to bite them.

I tuned in late in the afternoon to "watch" via live stats, and was shocked when I saw the score.  Had to refresh the page to make sure it wasn't fouled up.

Is Manchester better than their record would suggest, or did Franklin maybe take them lightly this week, or is there some other reason for the narrower-than-expected margin?

I have been told that the Spartans eat up every bit of play clock each play, which might account for the time of possession advantage, if in fact that is the case.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

That was Manchester's largest defeat of the season so they've managed to keep games close even though they've not won many.
Franklin just couldn't score down in the red zone... I think the yardage was around 280-80 at halftime in favor of the Grizzlies but the score was just 14-7 which included a fumble return for a TD by Franklin. It could easily have been a rout had Franklin been able to finish drives.
You'd think they'd be able to win their next two against Anderson and Earlham but anything can happen with they way they've been playing.

[GRIZ_BACKER]

FC is also dealing with some injury issues resulting in new players getting extended minutes.  FC lost two key starters for the season in practice this week.  Another starting OL is out till Hanover.  FC also has a starting LB out last two games with a concussion.  Sloppy game by the offense for sure.  But a win is a win and the GRIZ move on.  Having a bye week will certainly help a few guys get healthy and the new guys more time to practice with the first unit.

[panthersfan]

...
Is Manchester better than their record would suggest, or did Franklin maybe take them lightly this week, or is there some other reason for the narrower-than-expected margin?
...

I think Manchester is a decent team - They've lost a few relatively close games.  They must have a decent def front because they held FC to 80 yards on 28 attempts.  Their pass D seems to be the chink in their armor. The Griz was able to air it out when they needed to.  If Manchester had converted that 4th and 5 it might have gotten very interesting. 

Rose and MSJ was a really good game.  Turnovers by MSJ seems to be the story in that one.

Will be curious to how Hanover comes out of the gate after a week off.

[70_dc_alum]

Congrats to Coach Jensen getting his first as a head coach, if DC plays to their potential he can go do as one of the winningest coaches in DC history % wise at years end!!

also big congrats to Coach Sokol at RHIT nice win over MSJ bouncing back from the Franklin Game.  RHIT has the ability to winout and put a little pressure on Franklin to winout

[formerd3db]

Yes, 70_dc_alum, that has to be a huge positive (and weight off the back) for Jensen and DC.  As you say, it will now remain to be seen if they can continue/capitalize on that positive boost.