Quote from: hsbsballcoach7 on Yesterday at 10:36:52 PMIt appears that there were defensive injuries with no Liebler, Holmes or Anderson at DB. Siders, Wade and McCarthy stepped up. Jahaad Williams got a couple of big pressures. Reilly stepped up with the TD and good blocking. Special teams (punts, kickoff defense and returns) seemed to be much improved.

As said before, what happened to being able to run the ball in 3rd or 4th and 2 or less? Is it blocking, mismatches or lack of creativity?

Your next two weeks is the time to work on your weaknesses before BW.

And Bokman was so good last week he got about 2 carries.

Quote from: Desertraider on Yesterday at 02:36:18 PMJust had a 4 play 70 yd scoring drive in :30 before half. They are showing glimpses of THE Mount. But leading Marietta 20-7 at half is underwhelming

Even more underwhelming now.

Afraid of 3rd and short so far today.

Quote from: Fido0650 on October 03, 2026, 01:45:59 PMI believe the one and only camera they are using is located in Wheeling and it is zoomed in as much as possible.
Flo College is laughing all the way to the bank with the money from anyone watching this game.

I laughed at the humor.

Then cried at the truth. 

Quote from: Kira & Jaxon's Dad on October 01, 2026, 10:47:21 AMMy biggest concern is that Maloney seems to throw into coverage quite often this year. I'm not sure if the reads are different or what's going on, but he seems to force a lot of passes to receivers who are not open.

I've also heard that when Burke came in, he completely changed the terminology of the offense.

Obviously that's his right to do as an offensive coordinator, but I would think he would want to adjust his scheme to what was working and just tweak things.

But maybe he thought it needed a total reset.

I could see the desire for a reset.

However, and call me impatient or ignorant if you will, but this offense is, so far, even less imaginative and effective as the previous one - no small task to accomplish.

Quote from: Kira & Jaxon's Dad on October 01, 2026, 08:41:45 AM

Quote from: MUC 2008 on September 30, 2026, 11:10:16 PM

Quote from: WRMUalum13 on September 30, 2026, 10:43:06 PMDebating a hypothetical bowl game invite two months from now is not really at the top of my Mount fan priority list right now LOL

This.

If Mount Union doesn't fix things soon, they won't qualify for the hypothetical bowl game.  They'll end up 6-4 with losses to ONU and BWU in the remaining games.

I don't disagree with this either.

I'm further discouraged by a two-deep that is stone same as it were before the game against the Student Princes.

We have also yet to see this team play a good half, let alone a good game. Perhaps that will be Saturday, perhaps not. I like to think they're due but if I actually knew anything about football I would be...well, coaching football.

Do I trust this staff to do right by the players and the program? I don't post all that often, but I think we know the answer to that. I just don't find value in repeating myself, much as I don't find value in debating things and games that haven't happened yet or aren't even scheduled - that's an SEC thing, and I think we can all agree no one wants to be like them.

Quote from: WRMUalum13 on September 30, 2026, 10:43:06 PMDebating a hypothetical bowl game invite two months from now is not really at the top of my Mount fan priority list right now LOL

This.

Quote from: BergAlum2 on September 19, 2026, 07:12:17 PMThe one game I miss, to do a trail marathon in the muddy woods

I honestly never expected to see Heidelberg beat Mount in my lifetime.  It seemed more likely that Heidelberg would close down before we got our first win since 1988, and back in like 2020/21 someone I knew who worked in admissions alleged things were not looking good and closing was an option talked about, all hearsay so I dont know how truthful that was. 
 

I would have preferred a trail run today. But my perspective on the game is, shockingly, a bit different than yours.

Congrats to you and your fellow Student Princes.

Quote from: Kira & Jaxon's Dad on September 19, 2026, 02:11:31 PMUnderwhelming first quarter

Making up for it with an even worse second quarter.

Quote from: WRMUalum13 on September 16, 2026, 11:34:43 AM

Quote from: Kira & Jaxon's Dad on September 15, 2026, 10:13:33 AMAfter watching the GCC game, I feel better than after the Wheaton Game.

Good things I saw:
Better running game.  187 yards rushing and I think Minner had a long one called back in the 2nd half due to penalty.  Mikey pulled the ball more on Zone/Read and that helped keep the defense honest.

Defense played great based on the situations the offense put them in.


Things to clean up:
Penalties

Turnovers.  When was the last time a Mount Union QB threw 5 interceptions in a game (Google AI says Never)?  When was the last time anyone had five interceptions and still won (Google AI says 10 times in history for Major College Football)?


Other Thoughts:
I think that KB is finding his footing as a play caller.  He probably hasn't had that responsibility in a few years.  Need better play by the WR corps to keep improving as a team.

Somewhat ironically, Kevin Burke had the record for most INTs in a game with 4 against UWW in the 2014 title game.

Also his last game as a Purple Raider in pads.

Quote from: Patrick Coleman on September 14, 2026, 01:58:30 PM

Quote from: wally_wabash on September 14, 2026, 01:54:09 PM

Quote from: MUC 2008 on September 14, 2026, 10:51:13 AMPat had a great point on the podcast - if any other team had wholesale coordinator changes and wholesale roster turnover, no one bats an eye at a 1-1 start with a 1 point loss to a top 5 team on the road. That's the other thing many of us here (myself included, I'll own it) have taken for granted for so long - a coaching staff so well schooled in the minutia and finer things of the game that preparedness and sheer will can change the game. I don't think it's unfair for me to say that, at times, has not been seen by this head coach. LK and VK could take a team that was, on paper, outmatched by its opponent and win - sometimes by a surprisingly wide margin. With this staff, it seems to be the opposite: continually playing down to competition and lacking a killer instinct. Case in point, an end zone INT would, most other years, end in a Mount TD and a 14 point swing. Instead it's an immediate giveaway back. Having a lack of playmakers and "home run hitters" can lend itself to that, especially since no one has stepped up on offense yet.

Ouch!

Yeah -- Greg made that great point, but I am glad you listen to the pod!

Not listening well enough, apparently - just as my professors at (then MUC) always alleged too!

My most sincere apologies to both of you. Well done, Greg.

Quote from: D3fanboy on September 14, 2026, 10:21:45 AM

Quote from: Dr. Acula on September 13, 2026, 11:27:17 AMA couple thoughts from yesterday now that I got a chance to watch it this morning.

The thing that popped into my head last week and again this week is the absence of difference makers.  I didn't make a ton of it after Wheaton because that's a really good team on the road in game 1.  A lot of factors that could skew what your roster legitimately is.  But this week my takeaway is that Maloney (and maybe Ashby) are about it when it comes to difference makers right now.  I'm not sure who on defense it could be.  And when Maloney doesn't play well yesterday is how it's gonna look right now. 

I think the defense as a unit played pretty well both games, but by no means dominant to the eye.  And to be clear when I say difference makers I'm not expecting to have All-World guys Kaleb Brown or Rossy or Lally or Driskill all over the field every single year.  I'm thinking guys like Duke Hill, Danny Robinson, Isaiah Scott, Matt Fetchko, etc.  Just really, really good D3 defenders.  And I agree with the statement that the defense does not look as fast this year. 

Offensively I'm not sure what to make of things.  At Wheaton they looked abysmal in the first half, then looked good in the second half against a really good defense.  Then yesterday 5 turnovers against a decent team and looking disjointed basically the entire game until the end.  Just seems like a lot of stuff to work out.  I noticed in the box score that Caldwell did not play yesterday.  I'm not down on Minner and Bokman, but anyone local to the area probably shares my annoyance when I see a stud RB from their backyard looking like he's gonna be a star at BW in Boston Mulinix from West Branch.  142 yds and 3 scores on 11 carries in their opener.  Oh, and he's 5'8" 195 lbs so he is very comfortable running between the tackles too.  And yes, it already crept into my head the agony it would be if not only Mount somehow lost to BW, but lost with the sons of two M club HOF'ers playing key roles on their offense.  Luckily that's their 9th game so hopefully we'll be humming along by then.

where are these transfer WRs that we heard about in the offseason?  on a similar topic, former Raider (and Muskie) Davion Grant got into last weeks Valdosta State game and caught one pass, bringing his season stats to 1 catch for -2 yards.

I think the defense has played well as a unit, especially with the circumstances that the offense has put them in through two weeks (6 mins of possession in the Wheaton 1st half and the 5 TO's against GCC).  I am shocked at the secondary playing so well without their #1 corner since a handful of plays into the Wheaton game. 

More or less my take. Defense has played well to very well all things considered, even going back to the JCU loss. Offense had to overcome TOP issues against the Thunder and GCC had the ball a long time too. -4 in turnovers absolutely buries most teams, so the fact that Mount won shows they still have at least some of that mettle.

That all being said, naturally this year's squad is right now a long, long way from being a typical Mount team. For years fans took for granted the fact that the previous seasons crop of wideouts would be replaced. So far, that hasn't happened yet - the playmaker(s) so often that make a difference haven't shown up yet. Will they at all? I can't say. It's possible that QB15 was playing hurt, especially on some of his longer passes of the day - they lacked zip and velocity. It's been bandied about here that he's banged up, and some evidence in the film supports that, so that's a possibility too.


Pat had a great point on the podcast - if any other team had wholesale coordinator changes and wholesale roster turnover, no one bats an eye at a 1-1 start with a 1 point loss to a top 5 team on the road. That's the other thing many of us here (myself included, I'll own it) have taken for granted for so long - a coaching staff so well schooled in the minutia and finer things of the game that preparedness and sheer will can change the game. I don't think it's unfair for me to say that, at times, has not been seen by this head coach. LK and VK could take a team that was, on paper, outmatched by its opponent and win - sometimes by a surprisingly wide margin. With this staff, it seems to be the opposite: continually playing down to competition and lacking a killer instinct. Case in point, an end zone INT would, most other years, end in a Mount TD and a 14 point swing. Instead it's an immediate giveaway back. Having a lack of playmakers and "home run hitters" can lend itself to that, especially since no one has stepped up on offense yet.

There is still time and opportunity, of course, but it's on the players and coaches to show us what they can do. In my 25+ years as a Mount fan and alum, the players nearly always step up when you call upon them to do so. The coaching staff, since 2021 especially, is another story. But, with two new coordinators, there's still time for that too.

Quote from: BergAlum2 on September 12, 2026, 09:32:12 PMLet's hope Mount plays bad next week too, so at least it will be an entertaining game 

Mount hasn't lost 2 games in a row since '88, which was the last time the Berg beat Mount 🤔

*in his best Lou Brown voice from Major League* "I have a hunch you're due."

Quote from: Desertraider on September 12, 2026, 02:55:52 PMSo far I see a team that is undisciplined. Too many penalties to extend GC drives. The D is not setting the tone - they are reacting. We are arriving to the ball late, slow, and soft. Their WRs are open and the QB is not under pressure. The game is 10-7 but GC has dominated all aspects. Did Mount just start practice last week? I mean they look unprepared.

I think the better question is when's the last time they looked prepared against a (hypothetical) inferior team?

The program has been killed with a Dartt.