FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

Started by admin, August 16, 2005, 05:05:01 AM

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wally_wabash

Quote from: HCAlum86 on August 10, 2018, 02:33:14 PM
'Bash fans... How's the secondary looking this year. Unless I'm wrong, I recall the secondary really struggling against Hiram, and one of the primary reasons it was even a close game.

Wabash pass D had some trouble last year, but not so much vs. Hiram.  The box says Hiram was 14-29-147-1-1 vs. Wabash which isn't a bad day at all.  Robinson had a monster day for your Terriers.  Wabash had a punt blocked that set up an easy score.  That didn't help.  Hiram played really well, I just think Wabash can just grind teams down in the second half.

Should be four new starters in the secondary, so we'll see how that goes.  There are good players ready to go there.  Big thing for the secondary this year is keep guys from getting behind the safeties.  LGs gave up way too many long TDs last year and I don't think the league offenses are going to get more conservative all of a sudden.  That's a big time offseason fix for Wabash. 
"Nothing in the world is more expensive than free."- The Deacon of HBO's The Wire

MUC57


Little Giant Fans

As I have said before, I will be at the game on Sept. 1 where Hiram hosts Wabash. Would love to talk to some of you there. I enjoy talking to fans of all of our Dlll teams. I will be wearing a gray hat with Mount Union on the front (probably the only one there). Will also have a Raiders seat cushion. If you see me, say hi.
Go Little Giants. And, of course, Go Terriers. Go Raiders and, in fact, Go Everybody! ☠🏈
I'm old! I get mixed up and I forget things! Go Everybody! 🏈 ☠

wally_wabash

Coach's poll tomorrow at 11 a.m. EDT.  I expect it will look a lot like last year's final standings. 
"Nothing in the world is more expensive than free."- The Deacon of HBO's The Wire

wally_wabash

As promised, NCAC Coaches' Poll:

1. Wittenberg (7) 96
2. Wabash (1) 85
3. DePauw (1) 81
4. Denison (1) 75
5. Ohio Wesleyan 57
6. Wooster 46
7. Allegheny 42
8. Oberlin 26
9. Hiram 23
10. Kenyon 19

Nothing terribly surprising here except for maybe more than one first place vote going to somebody other than Witt.  I thought they'd have consolidated 9 or even all 10 of those. 
"Nothing in the world is more expensive than free."- The Deacon of HBO's The Wire

Bishopleftiesdad

Quote from: wally_wabash on August 16, 2018, 11:21:07 AM
As promised, NCAC Coaches' Poll:

1. Wittenberg (7) 96
2. Wabash (1) 85
3. DePauw (1) 81
4. Denison (1) 75
5. Ohio Wesleyan 57
6. Wooster 46
7. Allegheny 42
8. Oberlin 26
9. Hiram 23
10. Kenyon 19

Nothing terribly surprising here except for maybe more than one first place vote going to somebody other than Witt.  I thought they'd have consolidated 9 or even all 10 of those. 
Pretty big jump between the top 4 and the rest.

wally_wabash

Quote from: Bishopleftiesdad on August 16, 2018, 03:21:40 PM
Quote from: wally_wabash on August 16, 2018, 11:21:07 AM
As promised, NCAC Coaches' Poll:

1. Wittenberg (7) 96
2. Wabash (1) 85
3. DePauw (1) 81
4. Denison (1) 75
5. Ohio Wesleyan 57
6. Wooster 46
7. Allegheny 42
8. Oberlin 26
9. Hiram 23
10. Kenyon 19

Nothing terribly surprising here except for maybe more than one first place vote going to somebody other than Witt.  I thought they'd have consolidated 9 or even all 10 of those. 
Pretty big jump between the top 4 and the rest.

That's pretty consistent with how the league has been the last couple of years.  Witt a clear favorite.  Wabash/Denison/DePauw clustered together tightly, then OWU/Wooster near each other.  Allegheny now is on the rise in this poll.  Even though you see that gap between 4 and 5, my feeling is that 5-7 on this list are good enough to beat any of the top 4 on any given Saturday and what not.  I think we're going to see closer games between the top and middle of the league than we have in a while. 

I am concerned about Oberlin.  They've got 40 players listed on the current roster and that feels like the danger zone to me.  I know that staff has process to finesse their always thin roster through an entire season, but when you've got only 40 to start with...man.  It's going to take some sorcery to get through 10 college football games with 40 kids.  I hope they've actually got about two dozen more that we don't know about. 
"Nothing in the world is more expensive than free."- The Deacon of HBO's The Wire

Bishopleftiesdad

Quote from: wally_wabash on August 16, 2018, 03:49:06 PM
Quote from: Bishopleftiesdad on August 16, 2018, 03:21:40 PM
Quote from: wally_wabash on August 16, 2018, 11:21:07 AM
As promised, NCAC Coaches' Poll:

1. Wittenberg (7) 96
2. Wabash (1) 85
3. DePauw (1) 81
4. Denison (1) 75
5. Ohio Wesleyan 57
6. Wooster 46
7. Allegheny 42
8. Oberlin 26
9. Hiram 23
10. Kenyon 19

Nothing terribly surprising here except for maybe more than one first place vote going to somebody other than Witt.  I thought they'd have consolidated 9 or even all 10 of those. 
Pretty big jump between the top 4 and the rest.

That's pretty consistent with how the league has been the last couple of years.  Witt a clear favorite.  Wabash/Denison/DePauw clustered together tightly, then OWU/Wooster near each other.  Allegheny now is on the rise in this poll.  Even though you see that gap between 4 and 5, my feeling is that 5-7 on this list are good enough to beat any of the top 4 on any given Saturday and what not.  I think we're going to see closer games between the top and middle of the league than we have in a while. 

I am concerned about Oberlin.  They've got 40 players listed on the current roster and that feels like the danger zone to me.  I know that staff has process to finesse their always thin roster through an entire season, but when you've got only 40 to start with...man. It's going to take some sorcery to get through 10 college football games with 40 kids.  I hope they've actually got about two dozen more that we don't know about. 
Amen to that. hopefully some will show up after the kids show up on campus.

smedindy

Quote from: wally_wabash on August 16, 2018, 03:49:06 PM

I am concerned about Oberlin.  They've got 40 players listed on the current roster and that feels like the danger zone to me.  I know that staff has process to finesse their always thin roster through an entire season, but when you've got only 40 to start with...man.  It's going to take some sorcery to get through 10 college football games with 40 kids.  I hope they've actually got about two dozen more that we don't know about.

That's extremely low, and with a full round robin they don't miss any of the heavyweights.

sigma one

#34433
Yea, 2 quarterbacks (one a first year), 5 DBs, 7 offensive linemen (3 returning starters).  i would not place too much hope in having many more join the team when the students return.  They are a couple of  guys leaving and injuries away from real threat of players being exhausted.  Too bad; they were competitive in most games a year ago.   If my count is near accurate, they have 13 starters returning.    And the kicker was all-NCAC first team.  Last year's all-NCAC 1st team punter is not on the roster.

Bishopleftiesdad

No OWU roster yet. Not unusual for OWU. However the Lacrosse roster is posted, as well as Cross Country and track and field.

MUC57


Wally Wabash

As I told you before, I'll be at the Wabash at Hiram game on 9/1. Anything in particular I should be looking at? Keep in mind that, although a football fan, I' m not very sophisticated as to the finer points of the game. I know you said Hiram gave them a bit of a battle last year, so I'll look for that. Anything you can offer will be appreciated.
And the following week, I'll be in Wooster for the Allegheny game. Nice to see some of the NCAC teams in action! Last year I saw Ohio Wesleyan at Wooster and Wittenberg at Hiram. Gotta love Dlll football. Chat with you later! ☠🏈
I'm old! I get mixed up and I forget things! Go Everybody! 🏈 ☠

wally_wabash

Quote from: MUC57 on August 20, 2018, 12:31:49 PM

Wally Wabash

As I told you before, I'll be at the Wabash at Hiram game on 9/1. Anything in particular I should be looking at? Keep in mind that, although a football fan, I' m not very sophisticated as to the finer points of the game. I know you said Hiram gave them a bit of a battle last year, so I'll look for that. Anything you can offer will be appreciated.
And the following week, I'll be in Wooster for the Allegheny game. Nice to see some of the NCAC teams in action! Last year I saw Ohio Wesleyan at Wooster and Wittenberg at Hiram. Gotta love Dlll football. Chat with you later! ☠🏈

Hiram is a pretty athletic club that tends to play their best ball early in the season before injuries and northern Ohio elements become a big equalizer.  QB Randy Tucker is a really nice player and creates a lot of big play offense for Hiram with his athleticism.  Hiram is going to spread Wabash out defensively with four wides most of the time (standard issue offense in the NCAC these days) and really put pressure on the Wabash secondary to be good in coverage- sometimes for extended periods as Tucker will escape and keep plays alive.  Wabash has a lot going for it on offense.  Ike James is the best RB in the league by quite a ways, but Wabash's problem last year is they relied exclusively on James to move the offense.  If Wabash is going to be in play for the postseason, they have to get balance and they have to really utilize their receiving talents Oliver Page, Ryan Thomas, and Ra'Shawn Jones (A-A hurdler in outdoor T&F).  They also need to find a way to utilize Matt Penola (all-conference RB in 2016, played basically a blocking H-back last year) in the offense.  Only good things happen when Penola touches the ball. He's going to be more of a tight end this year as the offense transitions back to something that looks like what Wabash was running in 2015.  Last year's offense was a mess schematically if I'm being honest- changes were made in the offseason and I hope it puts Wabash back on track offensively.  Whether or not Wabash can unlock those receiving threats is going to depend on whether or not Jake Reid (junior transfer from your own Mount Union)- or whoever wins the job- can be counted on to get the ball downfield to those guys.  Wabash is going to be young on defense, which means this game could get up and down the field pretty quickly, particularly if Wabash can't pressure Tucker. 

Before this gets too longwinded, the upshot is this- Wabash should win here, but Hiram has been pesky, they're getting Wabash at a time of the year they tend to play their best, the game is at home so they're going to be pumped and if Wabash isn't ready to go they could absolutely get ambushed here.  This is a trickier opener than most people think.  If Wabash is complacent about this game for 15 minutes, that's probably too much.  The margin for error for Wabash isn't nearly as big as it was 3-4 years ago in games like this one. 
"Nothing in the world is more expensive than free."- The Deacon of HBO's The Wire

HCAlum86

^I was at practice last week, our team is the best I've seen since Stanford took over - and I was told Tucker has been granted wide latitude at the LOS this year, so I'd love to see him put that brain to use.

Our issue will be offensive line this year. Our air raid scheme with Tucker's athletic ability will minimize the number of sacks, but I really think we may struggle running the ball. Time will tell.

I agree with you Wally, I think this will be a 17-13 sort of game at half, with either team in front. But I think Bash's ground game will pull them away late. 31-20
July 13, 1904
Hiram College wins the inter-collegiate basketball world championship at the World's Fair Universal Exposition Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri. Final score: Hiram, 25; Latter Day Saints University, 18.

MUC57

,
Wally Wabash and HCAlum86

Thanks to both of you for the tips. This info will add to my enjoyment of the game. As the expression goes, I don't have a dog in this fight so I will hope that both teams play injury free and that the better team wins. Is that fair guys?
So, Go Terriers! Go Little Giants! In fact, Go Everybody! ☠🏈
I'm old! I get mixed up and I forget things! Go Everybody! 🏈 ☠

HCAlum86

Quote from: MUC57 on August 20, 2018, 02:44:58 PM
,
Wally Wabash and HCAlum86

Thanks to both of you for the tips. This info will add to my enjoyment of the game. As the expression goes, I don't have a dog in this fight so I will hope that both teams play injury free and that the better team wins. Is that fair guys?
So, Go Terriers! Go Little Giants! In fact, Go Everybody! ☠🏈

Haha sounds good to me. Feel free to swing by the tailgate if you want.

In all reality, Hiram's aspirations this year are 7-3. Wabash's are 10-0, so even if the Terriers take the loss, a great season can still be had - not so for Wabash.

We call that playing with house money! I am excited though, Wabash is always fun to watch
July 13, 1904
Hiram College wins the inter-collegiate basketball world championship at the World's Fair Universal Exposition Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri. Final score: Hiram, 25; Latter Day Saints University, 18.