FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[BergAlum2]

My biggest concern is the defense, specifically the run defense.  After the past few seasons, I never thought that I'd be happy with the secondary. But Kosta T and Liebler are probably the best pair of CB that the Raiders have had in a few years.  But Mount is currently ranked 111th against the run.  That is not acceptable in Alliance. 

Better plug those holes, I was surprised the Berg in the first half was able to run as well, usually I feel like we end the Mount game with like less than 50 yards rushing, I hear there is a little school in Illinois, called North Central that's pretty good at running the ball 

[D3fanboy]

My biggest concern is the defense, specifically the run defense.  After the past few seasons, I never thought that I'd be happy with the secondary. But Kosta T and Liebler are probably the best pair of CB that the Raiders have had in a few years.  But Mount is currently ranked 111th against the run.  That is not acceptable in Alliance. 

Better plug those holes, I was surprised the Berg in the first half was able to run as well, usually I feel like we end the Mount game with like less than 50 yards rushing, I hear there is a little school in Illinois, called North Central that's pretty good at running the ball 

it's very concerning. We've seen teams run straight at Mount with a decent amount of success all year.  Every single opponent has had over 110 yards rushing, could it change?  Maybe.  But the Raiders better figure it out real quick

[Dr. Acula]

The most concerning part has been that it's been coming in 5+ yard chunks between the tackles.  Nothing fancy, not elite RB's making guys miss.  Just hand it off and get north and south for positive yardage.

[D3fanboy]

The most concerning part has been that it's been coming in 5+ yard chunks between the tackles.  Nothing fancy, not elite RB's making guys miss.  Just hand it off and get north and south for positive yardage.

The old 3-3-5 Mount defense relies on the DL occupying the opposing OL and filing holes and letting the LB and secondary use their speed to make plays.  I've made my opinion known about the Mount LB crew so far. I think Ehrhardt will be fantastic eventually, but he hasn't played football in a couple of years.

Mount's safeties are pretty inexperienced as well.  Hopefully they continue to progress as the season goes on and we'll get the run D cleaned up.  One extreme positive about the Mount defense, they are knocking the ball out a bunch, creating a lot of fumbles. 

Right now they are a bend don't bend style defense, with a couple of pretty good CB that work on islands most of the time.  Getting those other nine guys to work together against the run is something that can be done.  Getting Jackson Harris, Mount's best DL, back soon would be a huge help as well

[Raider 68]

I expect the Mount/ONU to be competitive. ONU is much better than recent years. My concern this year is the Raider defense. Just not as strong as recent years, and if they win the conference the offense will have to carry them in the playoffs. I remember how Wartburg just shredded the Mount defense two years ago. The defensive talent and size this year is limited. IMHO

[WRMUalum13]

I expect the Mount/ONU to be competitive. ONU is much better than recent years. My concern this year is the Raider defense. Just not as strong as recent years, and if they win the conference the offense will have to carry them in the playoffs. I remember how Wartburg just shredded the Mount defense two years ago. The defensive talent and size this year is limited. IMHO

I thought our defense looked really big and fast against Grove City and Wheaton (in the first 3 quarters) but now those teams weren't nearly as good as I thought they were when we played them

[D3fanboy]

Mount has the pieces on defense to play much, much better.  Hopefully they can make some adjustments and shut up the doofus naysayers like myself.  Playing inspired, high effort, consistent defense against ONU would be a huge step.  ONU is going to be one the top 5 games for NPI purposes for the Raiders, why not make a statement?  If they want to reach the expectation of Mount Union football, they better

[WRMUalum13]

Yikes,

We're currently ranked 111th in rushing defense averaging 134 yards per game, #2 in the OAC for rushing yards given per up per game and #3 in the OAC for total rushing yards given up.

However, where it matters most (Points allowed) we're top 10 in the nation per Logan Hanen's opponent based D rating

[D3fanboy]

Mount can't stop the run, but they are generating turnovers at a rate not seen in Alliance for years and years.  12 turnovers (6 INT, 6 FR) through six games is unreal for what Mount defenses have been in the past few seasons.  They are truly bend-but-dont-break right now.  Kosta T has been an unbelievable transfer, he's playing at an All-OAC (All-American?) level

[Desertraider]

Whoo hoo! 1. thanks Pat for the password reset!!
2. i was at the berg game and a few things really irked me.

First - the ,,newer" Raider fans need a reality check. These are the parents of current players as opposed to the 25+ year fans. So here goes: you have won nothing. You have earned nothing. Respect comes when you win, win a ring, and win with some grace. I heard trash talking of opposing players for their looks (long hair Berg guy), and build (some rotund vocal Berg backups). Keep in mind Lou Berry is an all time Mount great and his hair was long and glorious and flowed from beneath his helmet too! Bottom line - you dont represent YOU at these venues. You represent all of US! Do better and quit being an ass.

Next - yo Coach! When you lineup, and the Defense is literally yelling "draw! Draw!" - maybe audible and dont run the draw! Unofficial stats have the Raiders running the draw play 150 times against Berg 😁, and it worked once? Twice? By 2nd quarter Berg was calling it! We may need to rethink it is all.
Finally, Mount is explosive! Always has been - but they always took care of the little details and had discipline. We need to get back to that. The little details - maintain blocks, set the edge, hit and wrap! Oi so much arm tackling and grabbing.
For another day. Roll Raiders!!   

[D3fanboy]

it's always going to be tough to regulate the parents.  should they be better stewards of the greatest college football dynasty? absolutely.  at this point of Mount Union football, the parents are among the few actual fans that show up to games.  BTW, the long hair Berg kid played a great game.

That draw play hit once for an easy TD, but it was very obvious each and every time after.  I don't know what changed, and why exactly Mount does it so often now, but they really do get into conservative mode before taking out the starters.  In the past, Mount would light it up, get up by 50 and pull the starters.  Now it seems like once the Raiders get up by 21+ and they slow down the pace, get conservative and get a top two level guy injured each game in the 3rd or 4th

[D3fanboy]

https://www.d3football.com/notables/2025/10/collins-out-at-wittenberg

Maybe Capital's greatest coach has a plan (and a Rocky Pentello transfer year)

[D3fanboy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7f588ahOFQ

listening to the Dartt interview on Sammy B's radio show, starts around 1:07:00

of the three OL injuries, one is a season ender and the other two should be back this season.  OL is a "next man up" type mentality

ONU's QB is a huge dude, and very skilled. 

Sammy calls ONU a "pain", Dartt says that they have really good players and coaches and ONU plays with an edge.  Mount needs to bring their own energy on Saturday

[Desertraider]

I think ONU will be a test for Mount. They have not come out fast, and played clean for the half yet. The berg game saw 2 quick drives for TDs followed by 1.5 quarters of sleep-walking. Then, they pretty much did it again in 2nd half.
Need to see Mount play at tempo and execute for 4 quarters (i will take 2 strong ones!). And on D they need to tackle. It looks like they run into the ball carrier, hold him up, and try to grab the ball. They may get a strip here or there / but every play is 5, 6, 7 YAC. Makes it impossible to get off the field on 3rd downs. Not saying this is a plague of toads game - but it could be a reality check.

[WRMUalum13]

I think ONU will be a test for Mount. They have not come out fast, and played clean for the half yet. The berg game saw 2 quick drives for TDs followed by 1.5 quarters of sleep-walking. Then, they pretty much did it again in 2nd half.
Need to see Mount play at tempo and execute for 4 quarters (i will take 2 strong ones!). And on D they need to tackle. It looks like they run into the ball carrier, hold him up, and try to grab the ball. They may get a strip here or there / but every play is 5, 6, 7 YAC. Makes it impossible to get off the field on 3rd downs. Not saying this is a plague of toads game - but it could be a reality check.

Logan Hansen has ONU ranked 34th, that's only a few slots behind BW (28th)