Atlantic Central Football Conference/Independents

[skunks_sidekick]

skunks, if it makes you feel any better, i am picking mount plus the 2.5.  was usually cheering against mount because they had won it so many times.  now it is 3 - 2 in the last 5 so i am re-thinking.  plus, the uww arrogance this year was more annoying than the mount of the past years.  besides, most of you guys stop by and say hi at the stagg and i have visited alliance and been welcomed so after further review seems like i may need to change my alligience this year.  besides that will be the only chance i have to get back on hscoach's xmas card list.

wesleydad,

Glad to have your support! The picture of tailgating looks like you on the left wearing Wesley #13 with a beverage in hand! +k

I think that might have been the only time he wasn't double-fisted.   

[wesleydad]

skunks, since there was some shoveling involved in the day, i had to catch up.  the photographer caught me between trips to the cooler to refill the other cup.   only 2 days to get through until the friday morning trip to salem.  cant wait.

[wesleydad]

well, i just watched a really fun game at the stagg.  too bad wesley wasnt in it.  after the game tonight i feel better about  the effort of the defense last week but more disappointed in the offense.  wesley is close, just need to keep improving the line play and who knows.  mount is young so they will be good again.  uww loses many linemen on both sides so who knows.  hope for next year with all the players coming back next year.  workout hard in the off season and get ready for another run at it all.

[Teamski]

well, i just watched a really fun game at the stagg.  too bad wesley wasnt in it.  after the game tonight i feel better about  the effort of the defense last week but more disappointed in the offense.  wesley is close, just need to keep improving the line play and who knows.  mount is young so they will be good again.  uww loses many linemen on both sides so who knows.  hope for next year with all the players coming back next year.  workout hard in the off season and get ready for another run at it all.

I agree about the defense!!  Wesley held Coppage to 146 yards rushing and UWW to 316 total offensive yards compared to 299 and 433 for the finals!  Not too shabby!!  The same could be said for last year.  The 24 points that Mount Union scored against Wesley in the semis was the lowest allowed for the entire season, including the finals.  So, you have to give Wesley's defense some cudos and they could very well be the best in the nation.  I sure hope to see McSweeney and McAndrew in practice next season to return the "Irish Connection" back into Wesley's offensive arsenal.  Sottilaire did an outstanding job this year, but having the dual threat of McSweeney on the field with his scramble ability adds another dimension. If Sottilaire starts next year, he got some really good experience this year to carry with him. So, we wait for another season to start with Wesley yet again knocking at the door to break the Purple Duck.

-Ski

[wesleydad]

ski, i would only disagree about the best defense in the nation, i think that goes to uww after what i saw the last 2 weeks.

[nccfac]

ski, i would only disagree about the best defense in the nation, i think that goes to uww after what i saw the last 2 weeks.

I would put North Central in that mix. They held Coppage to 107 yards on 29 carries with a long of 13. Total yards for UWW was 253, while NCC had 306. NCC also held them to a low of 20 points. Even with these stats, it does not mean that UMU or Wesley defenses are not as good.... on any given day there can be so many factors that can influence the play or the decisions made... that it is not fair to use one game to compare teams. Instead of trying to find metrics to determine who might be best, let's work on getting teams like Wesley and North Central to replace the all purple championship games. Red and Navy would be nice replacement colors, don't you think?

[PA_wesleyfan]

UWW got the breaks against Wesley and took adventage of them!!! You can blame that on the Wesley D. Tehy were definately the better team yesterday against  Mount . But now who is really No .2!!!!!  

[wesleydad]

nccfac, only issue is that they held ncc's offense to 10 and wesley to 7.  they cant play against their own offense so we dont know how they handle coppage.  i do agree that someon has to step up and change things.  i have gone to the last four staggs and had a good time, but many of the folks that i hang with would like to see someon else.

pawesley, no one blaming wesely d, if there is blame for the wesley lose it is on the offense, but have to give credit to the guys that made it miserable, the uww d.

from what i have seen, mount is 2, then the debate between wesley and ncc which seems pretty even.  mounts o line did a nice job giving the qb time yesterday, wesely did not nor did ncc.  the lines are the difference to me.  plus cecil makes the game different, he almost did it yesterday.  first pass was a td if the receiver does not drop it.

[nccfac]

nccfac, only issue is that they held ncc's offense to 10 and wesley to 7.  they cant play against their own offense so we dont know how they handle coppage.  i do agree that someon has to step up and change things.  i have gone to the last four staggs and had a good time, but many of the folks that i hang with would like to see someon else.

pawesley, no one blaming wesely d, if there is blame for the wesley lose it is on the offense, but have to give credit to the guys that made it miserable, the uww d.

from what i have seen, mount is 2, then the debate between wesley and ncc which seems pretty even.  mounts o line did a nice job giving the qb time yesterday, wesely did not nor did ncc.  the lines are the difference to me.  plus cecil makes the game different, he almost did it yesterday.  first pass was a td if the receiver does not drop it.

I agree wesleydad, the o-lines for both UWW and UMU are both a notch above the others and it makes a big difference. I think both Wesley and NCC could use the D-Line to bring pressure and even sacks against lesser teams, but not against UWW. I think UMU would be similar watching their line against UWW.
That's why a Red (NCC) and Navy (wesley) would be a good alternative to the usual purple fest, we know what has to be done. Get Better.

[PA_wesleyfan]

 The slants that the UWW D line uses was very effective against Wesley... and the linebackers fill nicely..

Still would have liked to see those four guys Wesley lost play that game...May have not made a difference but IMHO Wesley scores more with just Krout able to play. 

Mount losing their QB the week before doesn't help them either. 

[PA_wesleyfan]

+1 Wesley dad .

man you took some hits ths week!!! 

[BoBo]

But now who is really No .2!!!!!  

The #2 pick is the easy one - IMO has to be Mount (got to beat them to replace them). The next 2 are really up for grabs. My guess would go like this:

1. UWW
2. UMU

3. Wesley (because they made it to the semi's)
4. NCC (gave UWW it's toughest game)

5. Bethel (made it to the semi's)

Then the rest...I do expect Trine to jump into the top ten - the Thunder were very impressive in defeat in round two. They would give a lot of teams fits.

I would have no problem with #2 and #3 being reversed - they might match-up rather well.

The Pre-season Top 25 should be interesting once again to debate when the time comes.

[PA_wesleyfan]

Bobo

  I would agree with you on Mount.. As for next year?? Teams change over so much that other than a few teams the replentishment of talent is hard sometimes

[Teamski]

Some very good points all around!    Next year will definately be interesting.

-Ski

[wesleydad]

pawesley, i guess some uww people dont like when someone thinks their team has a chance to beat uww.  i do agree that if krout plays wesley has a better shot to score, but i still am not sure if they get much more since the o line had trouble pass blocking in the second half.  i think they match up better against mount, but still think they are a notch below.  the difference is getting closer so wesley just needs to keep improving.  the foundation is set so now the fine tuning has to occur.  have a good holiday season.