FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

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HSCTiger fan

#18765
I never doubted you regaleagle. I'm sure that WL will give HSC all they've got. They always do.

As for playing decent team, looking at the OOC schedules for all ODAC teams and specifically CUA, SU, WL and GC - I'd say that all 4 played a decent team for the first time this year.  The only surprise  - not shocking was the WL victory.   With huge respect to WL, I'm not sold on their defense yet. Just last week their defense gave up over 300 yards rushing to Apprentice. They showed up big yesterday.  WL will need another strong effort this week - as will HSC.  The ODAC is very competitively balanced. Your favorite team cannot mail it in. They have to come ready to play each and every week.

RMC will néed to go 5-1 the rest of the season to have a winning record. If they go 4-2 they have their 2nd straight 5-5 season. I have not seen anything that makes me think either will happen.  Is there anyone out there that has any connection to RMC that cares to comment?


Hampden Sydney College
ODAC Champions 77, 82, 83, 87, 07, 09, 11, 13, 14
NCAA Playoffs - 77, 07, 09, 10, 11, 13, 14
The "Game" 60 wins and counting...
11/18/2018 Wally referred to me as Chief and admitted "I don't know about that!"

regaleagle

Quote from: HSCTiger fan on October 03, 2015, 11:22:30 PM
I never doubted you regaleagle. I'm sure that WL will give HSC all they've got. They always do.

As for playing decent team, looking at the OOC schedules for all ODAC teams and specifically CUA, SU, WL and GC - I'd say that all 4 played a decent team for the first time this year.  The only surprise  - not shocking was the WL victory.   With huge respect to WL, I'm not sold on their defense yet. Just last week their defense gave up over 300 yards rushing to Apprentice. They showed up big yesterday.  WL will need another strong effort this week - as will HSC.  The ODAC is very competitively balanced. Your favorite team cannot mail it in. They have to come ready to play each and every week.

RMC will néed to go 5-1 the rest of the season to have a winning record. If they go 4-2 they have their 2nd straight 5-5 season. I have not seen anything that makes me think either will happen.  Is there anyone out there that has any connection to RMC that cares to comment?
after next week there will only be 2 undefeated in conference. It's great the way the schedules have worked out. I just have that feeling it's going to be another crazy season in the ODAC.

jknezek

#18767
Last time W&L won at H-SC? 2005. Last time W&L started 5-0? 1961. The year they were awarded the Washington Football Club Best Small College Team in the Country. Lot on the line for a Generals team now Receiving Votes in the D3football.com Top 25. Seems a bit premature, but this weekend is a big chance for the Generals to make a statement.

If the defense plays like it did last weekend, I like their chances. In a track meet they will need to get out front early and make H-SC chase. If they clean up the penalties and turnovers from last week that would help a lot. The 5 fumbles, 2 lost, were not the highlights of an otherwise strong game.

tigerFanAlso2

HSC has a chance Saturday. They seem to be getting better. Got off to slow start vs. CUA as I thought they would.
Playing on a HS field, in the rain, in front of very small crowd does not motivate the team but so much. Oct. 10th will be first home game since Sept. 5th. I know HSC will be excited to play in front of a home crowd and against a pretty damn good team. You've got to love the odac, a conference where any thing can happen.

jknezek

#18769
It's interesting that I see this as such a nervy contest for both teams. W&L is still working off the last two years. They hadn't played anyone of note until last weekend and that was the first really excellent defensive effort I've seen out of them in a while. That effort will need to be a constant with conference season upon us. This is also the Generals' first road game and W&L has had road issues pretty much as far back as I can remember. Both times recently they have won the conference they had H-SC at home and when they had good teams but gone on the road they fell behind early and have been hard pressed to even make it a game. I'm not sold on the Generals yet, but certainly last weekend they looked very, very good. Good enough to do a lot of damage in the ODAC, but a lot of the story will be written this weekend.

Similarly I'm not sold on H-SC being where they've been. That doesn't mean I don't think they are good enough to win the ODAC again, it's just they've been mostly excellent for a long time and I'm still wondering if this team is there. They certainly don't scare me the same way H-SC teams have in the past, but they just keep winning games. CNU doesn't quite look as good a win sitting at 1-3, but Wesley is always legit and Rowan's defense has been stifling. Wabash continues to embarrass whoever they play, so it is hard to get a read on this H-SC team so far except they are doing what they are expected to do. Playing at home should be a big advantage.

tigerFanAlso2

Jk

You will not recognize this HSC team. The offense is completely different from past years. More balanced, not as good at receiver but still very good, OL is better and QB is good and has not made many mistakes.
The real difference is balance.

Defense is much better than I thought it would be. DL is better by far, LB play is solid and the DB's have been good, really good at times, but how does all of that help them slow down the triple option? We'll find out on Saturday.



jknezek

Quote from: tigerFanAlso2 on October 05, 2015, 11:17:27 AM
Jk

You will not recognize this HSC team. The offense is completely different from past years. More balanced, not as good at receiver but still very good, OL is better and QB is good and has not made many mistakes.
The real difference is balance.

Defense is much better than I thought it would be. DL is better by far, LB play is solid and the DB's have been good, really good at times, but how does all of that help them slow down the triple option? We'll find out on Saturday.

Interesting. I still think W&L is more vulnerable to the pass than the run. Hard to get the practice in during the week I think. H-SC will need to be disciplined and fast on defense to keep up with W&L. Last year the Generals struggled to get to the corners and were stuck just pounding up the middle. This year they are much better at getting outside. They are also passing for the 50-100 yards a game needed to open up the defense a hair. It's making a big difference. Even though they only put up 20 points, they had 480 yards against Guilford.

It's always hard to predict how teams will react to the triple option, but I think this version of it is much improved over the last two years. I hope this is a really good game.

HSCTiger fan

I doubt the intent was there when HSC scheduled Ferrum and their option game in week three but it looks genius now. Granted they may not have the horses being throw at the Tigers this weekend, but they are certainly much better than a scout team.

I agree at first glance the CNU win does not look as impressive. But their losses were the Wesley (perennial top 5) Rowan (perennial top 20) and to HSC (perennial top 30). CNU had the lead late into into the 4th against currently 14th ranked Rowan. I doubt there's another team that has played 3 of the top currently ranked 35 teams in the country.  I still think the CNU so was the best OOC win. But WL certainly has the best win of the season with their win over GC.

JK I'm wondering why you feel WL is better against run than pass?  Allowing 309 rushing against Apprentice is not very impressive.
Hampden Sydney College
ODAC Champions 77, 82, 83, 87, 07, 09, 11, 13, 14
NCAA Playoffs - 77, 07, 09, 10, 11, 13, 14
The "Game" 60 wins and counting...
11/18/2018 Wally referred to me as Chief and admitted "I don't know about that!"

jknezek

Quote from: HSCTiger fan on October 05, 2015, 01:57:37 PM

JK I'm wondering why you feel WL is better against run than pass?  Allowing 309 rushing against Apprentice is not very impressive.

No. It's not. The first half of that game was ridiculous with both teams just marching up and down the field pretty much unopposed. Apprentice did have a very good running back. Big and strong and he did a lot of damage, like 180+ yards of damage. He has also averaged over 5 yards per carry in all 4 games, though he had the most carries against W&L. A lot of it was simply bad tackling, something I didn't see against Guilford and really turned the tide. They didn't rush for anywhere near what they expected, averaging under 4 yards per carry I believe.

When it comes to passing, however, W&L seems to concede mid-range passing yards by the ton. Too many times I see drives kept alive 3rd and long when the opponent connects on a mid-range pass. It is very frustrating when you watch the Generals as you can almost feel them ready to get off the field when that pass goes for 8-18 yards and saps the life from the defense.

Both Guilford TDs came through the air. Neither drive included a rush for more than 4 yards. 2 of Averett's TDs came from long passes, 70+ yards and 25+ yards, and the longest play on their three other TD drives were 20+ yard passes. Even Sewanee's lone TD drive was primarily a 45 yard pass.

To be fair Apprentice's three TD drives were run based, but for the most part W&L has given up big chunks of drives through the air this season and past seasons. The rushing numbers can be large, but the killer plays have mostly been passes.




tigerFanAlso2

the winner will be determined by which team better defenses the other and turnovers. sounds like both offenses are more than capable of scoring points. so can HSC slow down the triple option ? Can W&L defense a balanced attack that will force you to stop the run first ? Which team will suffer a game changing turnover ? as they say, only time will tell. i do think HSC is more battle tested just because of the schedule played to date by both teams and the fact they have only played one home game. Been the road since Sept. 5th, thats a long time not to play in front of a home crowd.  Plus they have played two games on HS fields. That really stinks. Much to look forward to on Saturday, for both squads. I have no expectations, but hope to see a well played game.

wally_wabash

You guys have mentioned playing on high school fields a handful of times.  I'm curious- does that really matter?  I've seen plenty of high school fields that are better (by a lot) than some D-III fields.  I don't think the schools involved would go play at a high school if the playing surface is considerably worse than an on campus facility. 
"Nothing in the world is more expensive than free."- The Deacon of HBO's The Wire

jknezek

For this game I think the whole gamut of outcomes is available. I can talk myself into everything from a W&L blowout to a H-SC blowout. But if someone wanted me to put money on it, I'd take W&L only if I could get 10 points...

tigerFanAlso2

wally

it matters only to the extent the crowds are very small, maybe 500 in attendance, mostly parents, no noise, no home field advantage, environment much like a scrimmage. The playing surface was really good this past weekend but the one we played Ferrum on really was pretty damn bad. So does it matter ? ask the kids and I think they will tell you enough is enough.
Hopefully the weather will behave this week and the Tigers can finally play a home game.

tigerFanAlso2

Jk

i don't think there is a Tiger fan anywhere that would offer up 10 points, well let me speak for myself ... no way.
if we ditch that 3 man DL front, maybe, but not until than. the #1 option does pretty damn well against the 3 man front and if you can't stop the #1 option, it could be a long day for the defense.

jknezek

Home field is worth 3. I'm really only thinking a td difference but I hear your point. Like I said, I can find a good argument for the whole gamut and I'm looking forward to watching it play out. The last two seasons have been a bit long in the tooth for me, this one is looking more interesting.