FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[02 Warhawk]

Why does Whitewater always have poor play from the quarterback position?

27 pass attempts for 79 yards. Under 3 yards per attempt!! Didn't think that was possible.

I felt like I was watching the Bears in the Justin Fields era. Nothing but check downs and bubble screens for little to no yardage. QB who holds onto the ball too long, and looks in over his head.

Icing on the cake was getting a quick kick blocked. Again...didn't think that was possible either.

What are we doing here?!

[Bofadeeznuts]

Yeah. What are they doing passing 27 times? And if you can't complete a pass down the field, just keep pounding the _ock.
They need to go back to the good'ol days of playing good defense and pounding the _ock. That's when we had the most success. Remember Lance's offenses? I don't. I was in grade school when he coached. But I heard he, the players,and fans loved it when they would just keep pounding the _ock up and down the field.
IDK. Maybe it's a recipe for disaster for today's game. I mean it's not 2005 anymore. Maybe we should just try to adjust to the times. Find a QB transfer from D1 that wants to come to Whitewater. Find a D1 O-coordinator that wants to run a pass heavy offense.  Is Don Beebe available?
I guess in the meantime, our best shot at winning the national championship is to just keep pounding the _ock.

[emma17]

Hats off to UWL for their victory, they stuck with it.
Hats off to UWW's defense, they played great. They got a little gassed late in the game but still kept the Eagles in check (I was surprised UWW wore all purple on a 90 degree day- do they still have the all grays)?

The first half was really impressive from the Warhawks- great complementary football w the D stifling UWL and the O doing just enough to score 17. The offensive game plan seemed pretty obvious- take no chances throwing downfield (apparently UWL must have 4-5 first round draft picks in the defensive backfield).
There were soooooo many throws behind the line of scrimmage. UWW's number one receiver, Vasey, spent most of his time in the backfield and jet sweeps, running back and a potential throw. He did have two nice receptions on out routes, but that was all the downfield throwing UWW completed. Two or three throws to (forget his name) that were either overthrown and/or dropped.
I was befuddled UWW didn't employ some quick hitting/timing routes. Hitches, tight end, yes....slants- anything to get the QB in rhythm and matriculating the ball beyond the line of scrimmage. I really don't think I've ever seen anything like it in terms of not pushing the ball downfield.
With as conservative as the offense was, the D was so good the game was still easily in the hands of UWW- as long as they didn't beat themselves. Ah, famous last words.
To me the most egregious play/coaching decision was the pooch punt. Into the wind, a QB w zero confidence, a situation where field position was critical since UWL was as having a hard time sustaining drives, and they let the QB take over punting responsibility. You could clearly see he was standing to close to the line of scrimmage before the ball was snapped- and as expected, he kicks it into the line of scrimmage. A really bad idea.
In the first half I was honestly thinking about this is the best team since the LL era. I was fooled because I assumed the conservative play calling in the passing game was wasn't a reflection of capability, but rather game plan on a relatively windy day. As it turns out, this may be a championship level defense, but the offense is 8th grade pedestrian. I don't mean that so much at the OC because I felt he did some good things w formation and movement. I think it's a personnel issue. In the first series the UWW RB Stanton caught swing passes and both times was tackled one on one in the open field (he was much  better as Station 😁). I think Vasey is the tallest receiver, the other guys involved looked 5'8"ish. You need at least one guy w size. The the QB is a tough kid that will give his all, but what's the deal with the behind the LOS passes all game long? GROSS.
UWL did what they had to do, but UWW did what they shouldn't have done, leading to the loss in double OT.

[emma17]

Yeah. What are they doing passing 27 times? And if you can't complete a pass down the field, just keep pounding the _ock.
They need to go back to the good'ol days of playing good defense and pounding the _ock. That's when we had the most success. Remember Lance's offenses? I don't. I was in grade school when he coached. But I heard he, the players,and fans loved it when they would just keep pounding the _ock up and down the field.
IDK. Maybe it's a recipe for disaster for today's game. I mean it's not 2005 anymore. Maybe we should just try to adjust to the times. Find a QB transfer from D1 that wants to come to Whitewater. Find a D1 O-coordinator that wants to run a pass heavy offense.  Is Don Beebe available?
I guess in the meantime, our best shot at winning the national championship is to just keep pounding the _ock.

I think the "pound the rock" mantra gives people the impression UWW was all about the run. No doubt they loved to run the ball, however, they were a very balanced attack.
In reading the stats from yesterday's game, Klinkner completed 16 passes for 79 yards, his longest was 12 yards (ouch).
#1 receiver and stud, T Vasey, had 9 receptions------ for 52 yards, yes, 5.8 yards per catch, his longest was 12 yards. UWW had two other receivers with 1 catch each, one for 8 yards and one for 4 yards. The tight end had two catches, for 2 yards total.

Here's some stats for you to consider when thinking about the LL days. These are from the 2014 season (last LL year). They had 613 rushing attempts for 3,487 yards and 458 passing attempts for 4,042 yards.   
UWW's leading receiver was Justin Howard- he had 84 catches and averaged 13.89 per catch.
UWW's second leading receiver was Jake Kumerow- he had 66 catches and averaged 16.91 yards per catch.
UWW's third leading receiver was Joe Worth- he had 47 catches and averaged 11.19 yards.

Yes, I'm measuring season stats vs one game stats, but it gives you a window into how multiply talented UWW's offense was. They weren't run, run, run. They had a QB, receivers and an OC that knew how to get it done running and passing.
 

[badgerwarhawk]

You won't beat LaCrosse making that many mistakes. They beat us and we helped them.

[Bofadeeznuts]

Oh. It's "pounding the rock?"
Geez. I always thought it was "pounding the c ock." As in gamecock. And I thought the gamecock was the male version of a warhawk.
You'd think spending 4 yrs there I would know that.
Silly me.
Yesterday was OK. Building block to a great championship run. There is without a doubt this will go down as the greatest team in D3 history.

[badgerwarhawk]

Oh. It's "pounding the rock?"
Geez. I always thought it was "pounding the c ock." As in gamecock. And I thought the gamecock was the male version of a warhawk.
You'd think spending 4 yrs there I would know that.
Silly me.
Yesterday was OK. Building block to a great championship run. There is without a doubt this will go down as the greatest team in D3 history.

Simply bizarre.   lol 

[warhawkguard]

As an alumni player on the field, it was really hard to watch the 2nd half. We had some big boys up front, really big boys. I watched the game from several angles to watch the line play. I saw a lot of crowding by LaX Defenders, they knew what was coming because it was a lot of the same play coming right into the teeth of a very talented and string D. They tried to disguise it but it was usually 8 or 9 in the box when the ball was snapped. Despite that, the Hawks were somewhat productive on the ground. They had a big advantage by halftime, 2nd half was quite different. The total lack of any passing threat made it easy for the LaX D to tighten the screws.
2nd half ineptness got worse and worse with the LaX D shutting everything down. If they pack the box, you MUST throw. We apparently lack any ability to do so. Our QB held the ball far too long and took sacks or was running for his life. Meanwhile #2 for LaX was elusive and excaped many blitzes from unblocked Warhawks time and time again. Then he made ridiculous passes and #88 caught anything in the same zip code. That added up.

That botched punt into our end zone was a bad sign. It woke LaX up. Then we threw a moronic INT, like he lobbed it oh so gently right into the defenders arms that was there the entire time. I was screaming NOOOO as he set that up. The pooch punt was so idiotic. Icing on the cake. What the F was the OC doing there? He needs to explain himself. If they had punted and put LaX down in deep, There was only a couple minutes of clock left and the odds were good we could have won. Nope, we handed them the ball for an easy score instead.

20,000 fans went silent. So shocking that turn of events went. COACHING was to blame for much of this.

[emma17]

As an alumni player on the field, it was really hard to watch the 2nd half. We had some big boys up front, really big boys. I watched the game from several angles to watch the line play. I saw a lot of crowding by LaX Defenders, they knew what was coming because it was a lot of the same play coming right into the teeth of a very talented and string D. They tried to disguise it but it was usually 8 or 9 in the box when the ball was snapped. Despite that, the Hawks were somewhat productive on the ground. They had a big advantage by halftime, 2nd half was quite different. The total lack of any passing threat made it easy for the LaX D to tighten the screws.
2nd half ineptness got worse and worse with the LaX D shutting everything down. If they pack the box, you MUST throw. We apparently lack any ability to do so. Our QB held the ball far too long and took sacks or was running for his life. Meanwhile #2 for LaX was elusive and excaped many blitzes from unblocked Warhawks time and time again. Then he made ridiculous passes and #88 caught anything in the same zip code. That added up.

That botched punt into our end zone was a bad sign. It woke LaX up. Then we threw a moronic INT, like he lobbed it oh so gently right into the defenders arms that was there the entire time. I was screaming NOOOO as he set that up. The pooch punt was so idiotic. Icing on the cake. What the F was the OC doing there? He needs to explain himself. If they had punted and put LaX down in deep, There was only a couple minutes of clock left and the odds were good we could have won. Nope, we handed them the ball for an easy score instead.

20,000 fans went silent. So shocking that turn of events went. COACHING was to blame for much of this.

Great insight and points. Each of the second half mistakes you spoke of above (and you could have added the fumble in 2nd OT- but honestly, I felt every fan in the stadium knew UWW was going to do something to lose the game at that point), before the botched pooch punt, could have been overcome. Whether it was three and out, bad punt snap for TD, or the interception, UWW was still in the lead and UWL had not scored an offensive touchdown the entire game. It was 4th and 11 for UWW at the UWL 35 yard line (thanks to another UWL roughing the passer penalty), into a strong wind, with 5 and a half minutes to play. It was the decision to use the QB as the punter in a critical, critical situation where momentum, the wind, lack of confidence and the need for UWW to gain 11 yards on an offensive play were all against the Warhawks. When the UWW offense stayed on the field for that fourth down, I can't imagine a single person thought they were going for the first down. Then the QB lines up too close to the line of scrimmage- and it was like a slow motion car wreck. I'd take UWW's D vs UWL's O all day long and let the best team win. But the momentum and field position (UWL recovered the punt at their 45 yard line) from that single play was the difference maker.   

[WIACer]

Trying to figure out the WIAC. Lot of talk about toughest conference, which for sure, it is tough. But, is the last championship UWW in 2014?  UWW and UWLax certainly have been in the mix more recent years. UWOsh in the past. But, that really is about it. I have a feeling that it will be UWL and UWW again. Maybe UWP. The others have just been non factors. Recent years UWRF is better, but hasn't been able to win big games. How long does the toughest league have between National Championships, before we consider it not as tough?  After week one. I think its ends up UWL, UWP, UWW, UWstout, UWOSH, UWRF, UWEC, UWSP.

[maripp2002]

How long does the toughest league have between National Championships, before we consider it not as tough?

I think you're conflating two ideas. The best team doesn't have to come from the toughest league. National Championships aren't the only bar for a league, but they are for a team. In fact, look at the list of D3 National champions and decide how often the national champion came from the best league. I would argue that most of the time the national champion wasn't coming from the toughest conference.

You can have 7-8 incredibly good teams in a league, and yet still not have the best team in the country, which makes sense mathematically. There is exactly 1 national champion, but there can be dozens of really good teams. That's why this extended playoff bracket is so great, more chances for deserving teams to make a run. 

[WIACer]

I hear ya. We are good. We are a very good conference. One of the best overall. We have had a very good dominant team in UW Whitewater with several national championships. The other in Div 3 is Mt. Union. Most championships over years have come from those 2 teams. Top dogs for a long time. Rankings show North Central and Mt Union at the top of rankings now. Do we have a WIAC team that can beat one of them? 

[D3fanboy]

I hear ya. We are good. We are a very good conference. One of the best overall. We have had a very good dominant team in UW Whitewater with several national championships. The other in Div 3 is Mt. Union. Most championships over years have come from those 2 teams. Top dogs for a long time. Rankings show North Central and Mt Union at the top of rankings now. Do we have a WIAC team that can beat one of them? 

the answer is very likely no.  There is a dramatic drop-off from the top two to the rest of the D3FB world (very reminiscent to the decade of Mount-UWW). The WIAC is by far the best conference in D3FB, very deep, lots of good teams, but they have lacked any elite teams since the LL days at UWW.  Could a WIAC team make a run to the Stagg Bowl? possibly, if the bracket falls in a certain way.

[emma17]

I think D3fanboy is likely correct that the WIAC doesn't have a team that would knock off either of the big two. However, I don't think there is a "dramatic drop off", depending on how he defines it. When I think of a dramatic drop off, I associate it with a blow out type of game if they matched up. Thinking of UWW vs either of the big two, I think the Warhawks have a defense that keeps the game close. UWW does not have the offensive weapons of the big two, but they could slow the game down with a ball control offense.
I don't know what to think about UWL- other than they are a tough, gritty team. UWW did almost nothing offensively to test UWL.
In thinking about the UWO-NCC game result, there was no game film for UWO to watch since it was NCC's first game, with many new players. I'm not suggesting UWO would have won, just that it's reasonable to assume they would have been better prepared for what NCC brought.   

[Pat Coleman]

In thinking about the UWO-NCC game result, there was no game film for UWO to watch since it was NCC's first game, with many new players. I'm not suggesting UWO would have won, just that it's reasonable to assume they would have been better prepared for what NCC brought. 

... then again, since it was North Central's first game with many new players, it's also very reasonable to assume that North Central would be better than it was in Week 1 2025. (Can confirm: They are.)