wabashcpa:  You really think Denison will go 1-6 in the conference?....Let's be real.  I'm predicting at least 5-2 in the conference and possibly 8-2 or 7-3 overall.  I see their possible conference losses coming from Allegheny and your Wabash Lil' Giants.  Don't expect blow outs though--both contests will be hard fought battles and they are at Deeds Field-Piper Stadium so who knows.  That's why they play the game.    

Now we're finally getting somewhere....Right on Observer!  There will definitely be more parity in NCAC.  Nobody in the conference should take any team lightly.  Has anybody ever heard of the saying "On any given Sunday"?  In this case it will be on any given Saturday and I really believe that applies to this conference.  As I've stated earlier in the summer I am not only excited about my Big Red but for everybody's respective teams.  Let's see how it turns out

I agree with wally_wabash....New subject please....

Thanks for the insight MacLeod. 

kcreds:  I'll admit that football wise it hasn't been much of a rivalry due to OWU's consitent wins against the Big Red.  However, as far as our other sports are concerned we fare pretty well against the Bishops.  Like I said earlier though, aside from the 2004 disaster the margin of victory has gotten smaller and smaller.  This year should be the year that things start to even up a bit.  Denison is finally to the point where they will not HAVE TO play freshman as have since Coach Fletcher came to Denison in 2000.  They are at the point to where they can rely primarily on EXPERIENCED juniors and seniors to lead them.  So we shall see what happens on October 14 when the Big Red and the Bishops go at it--most likely under the lights since Denison has finally decided to get them.  Should be a great game.   

DePauw had an unbeaten conference record last year (and I know that they didn't face perennial power Trinity).  However, at worst they would have been 7-3.  Unless, they have lost a ton of seniors I'm sure that DePauw will be alright this year.  By the way I thought this was a NCAC post anyway...just kidding.  I guess some of you are right who feel he should be focusing more on his first year as the head coach.  However, I'm sure he is not showing up 2 to 3 hours early to the ballpark for batting practice like a Major Leaguer.  I'm sure he is spending a decent amount of time in the office contacting recruits and putting together a new playbook.  One year deal or not, I don't feel that he wants to mess this opportunity up--especially since he is only 30 years old and could have a nice career develop out of this.

What a coach does in his free time is his business...it's JULY 11!  Like someone mentioned earlier, he's an in-house hire so the kids know him already.  With all the crazy things that we catch coaches doing in their free time in recently (scalping tickets, drinking WITH students, gambling, etc.) playing a little summer baseball should not be looked down upon.  This guys spends most of his year eating, drinking and sleeping football so it's his right to be able to have a little harmless fun. 

After hearing wally_wabash's argument for why Witt will continue to struggle against Cap this year it seems that Woo will have a better chance at beating JC than Witt will at beating Cap.  That's just my opinion, but it would be nice to see a NCAC sweep of the OAC this year if both teams could pull out w's.           

Capital has owned Witt for the last two seasons.  Capital did lose a lot of seniors but like a lot of good programs they have continued to reload.  Capital was a play or two away from being Mount in last year's playoffs so they are the real deal.  As for Witt, being a former player in the NCAC I really hope they can get it together this year and beat Capital to make our conference look somewhat comparable to the OAC.  I've watched Capital play for the past two seasons almost more than I've watched NCAC games-due to me living in Columbus and my best friend being a Capital alum-and believe me they along with Mount, of course, are the cream of the crop in the OAC.  That is saying a lot because in my opinion, the OAC is maybe the toughest d3 conference in the country.  So when Witt goes down to Columbus this year to face the Crusaders I'll have to actually root for the Tigers so we can shut up some of those cocky OAC fans--even though my boy used to play RB for Capital.  Go NCAC and go Big Red!

kcreds thanks for posting those preseason d3 polls.  Is Witt supposed to be pretty tough this year?  According to Sports Illustrated's preseason poll they are worthy of a top 10 ranking.  Maybe they know something we don't.  I know that last year they did struggle because of a loss to their starting qb early on in the season.  Regardless, it should be a fun year of NCAC ball to watch.  I do agree that there will be a lot of parity this year as someone stated earlier in their post.  I'm looking forward to spending a few Saturdays this fall watching some D3 ball.   

kcreds:  I know that close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades but if you look at the scores from '03 and '05 Denison-OWU games you'll see that Denison only lost by a TD in both and they came very late in contest that could've gone either way.  Call it optimism or not I feel that this is the year that Denison will get over that hump against OWU. 

Mount's stadium is nice after renovation but they were dominant obviously beforehand in the mid to late 90's and in the present as well.  I am simply saying that you can't deny that better facilities did not help out a Capital for instance, bring in better talent which in turn led to them making the playoffs this year and attempting to close that gap between them and Mount.  I look for schools like Kenyon and Denison to improve dramatically within these next couple of years.  Denison is already somewhat closing the gap between themselves and Witt--even Wabash I'll have to admit is probably the team to beat in NCAC as of late.   

You can't blame an 18 year old kid for wanting to workout in a nice facility or play in a nice stadium on Saturday afternoons.  I disagree that that kid is petty or "soft" because of that.  Now I have never been to Mount Union's stadium but I have heard that it was nothing to brag about as far as D III standards go.  So success on the field is not all based on facilities, however, I am a firm believer that it does help.  I'm sure all of you would want you're son to play ball at a place that has some of the best facilities there are to offer.  Just something to think about... 

Look out for the Big Red in '06.  They are currently going through 2.9 million dollars in renovations to their field.  Not to mention they have a very good recruiting class coming--maybe Coach Fletcher's best yet.  Don't be surprised if they compete for a conference title soon and very soon.  I feel they have a chance to become the next Capital--a program that improved because of appealing facilities.