FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[rmc1982]

Jknezek- You must either be in the Ad or in or have some connections to W&L's Athletic office-you've got all the agreements and scheduling down pat! All I know is what I get from our AD Jeff Burns who was a classmate or from Josh Merkel or well placed Football Alums who are buddies! I guess scheduling is a nightmare at times, especially for Football where there's so many less games. Gonna be interesting to see who wins out and who is in the playoffs- we usually only get one in the ODAC, probably because of our SOS. If we win out, unlike in previous years when we got a home game first round, we're up against a CNU team that, if they win out, will probably host- and that would probably go for whomever wins the ODAC. It looks like it will either be RMC, W&L, HSC, or Shenandoah. Right now we are in the drivers seat, but we still have Shenandoah home on Nov 1 and HSC at home in "THE GAME" on Nov 15. At this point, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN! Good Luck to all but GO JACKETS!!

[jknezek]

I haven't had an "in" with the athletic department since I was the sports editor of a campus paper 25+ years ago. But I do know how the scheduling is mostly done. And I did hear about the SAA deal, plus there was an article on d3football.com when it was announced. But yes, scheduling is a problem when you need more than 2 OOC games. Not many conferences left to matchup that problem with.

[y_jack_lok]

Tomorrow's game to watch is Roanoke at H-SC. Will be interesting to see who plays QB for Roanoke. Kam Hill, who transferred from D2 Mars Hill, played against RMC but not against Shenandoah due to injury (in the Bridgewater game???). Eli Taylor played some vs Bridgewater and started vs Shenandoah until he got hurt late in the game. Hill then came in and nearly led Roanoke to a late TD that would have made it a one score game, but got knocked out of bounds on the one-yard line on fourth down. Both guys are good. Will either of them be the starter, or will it be someone else?

Bridgewater at W&L could also be interesting.

Other games are RMC at Gallaudet and Averett at Shenandoah. Guilford is idle.

[Tigerfan]

I'm looking forward to seeing the new, improved Tigers live for the first time this season.  This will be the first game with Roanoke since 1942; the first one was played in 1896.  I'm thankful the Maroons don't have an option offense.

[y_jack_lok]

Bridgewater at W&L turned out to be the most exciting game today. I checked in with 46 seconds left, just in time to see Bridgewater tie the game at 14 with a two-point conversion. In OT BC scored a FG on the first possession, then W&L threw a TD pass on its first play to win 20-17.

Roanoke at H-SC was shaping up to be a battle after 30 minutes, Tigers 7, Maroons 3 at the half. But the Tigers dominated the second half 28-7 to win 35-10. RC's 1st half FG came after a TD was nullified due to an unsportsmanlike taunting penalty as the ball carrier did something 3 yards prior to entering the endzone at the end of what would have been a 75 yard run. RC also incurred another unsportsmanlike penalty in the second half, as well as an unnecessary roughness call when a tackler threw a Tiger receiver to the ground after taking him out of bounds.

RMC 47, Gallaudet 7

Shenandoah 48, Averett 3

[HSCTiger74]

Despite the losses to this season's top three it looks as though Roanoke will be a team to reckon  with as they go forward. There's always been a lot of talent in and around Roanoke and the Valley, so if Coach Stinespring is able to make significant inroads with the coaches and schools there he should see his program grow and thrive fairly quickly. I have to say, on a homer-ish note, that I hope it's not too quickly, but he's definitely off to a good start.

[Tigerfan]

Charlie Davis, the Roanoke linebacker and leading tackler, has big H-SC connections:  dad, uncle and grandfather.  He's doing a great job for the Maroons.  I saw a nice reel on social media where Jon Gruden got a big box of gear from Roanoke.  He fluffed up the Maroons as he did the opening.  Somebody at Roanoke had a great idea there.

A reasonably interesting game this week in an otherwise predictable schedule.  Can Shenandoah give the Jackets a competitive game?  Considering what the Tigers did to SU, I'm thinking they will not.  The current position of these teams in the ODAC standings does make it a significant game.  However, Hansen has Macon with an 88.8% win probability and 18 point spread.  Massey at 93% and 21. 

[thescottharris]

If W&L, H-SC, and R-MC wins out with H-SC beating R-MC in the final week, there will be a three-way tie and thus three ODAC champions, per the ODAC manual.

This would be only the second time (1985, 1997) that there would be multiple champions, each also a three-way tie as everyone plays h2h so there's never been a two-way tie for the title.

Also per the ODAC manual, the team that has had the longest NCAA Tournament drought would earn the automatic bid. That would be Hampden-Sydney as they last made the NCAA Tournament in 2014. Randolph-Macon's most recent trip was 2024, W&L's was 2021.

[thescottharris]

Accidentally posted this on the basketball board...

H-SC's ability to consistently connect on long pass plays (20+) yards is remarkable.

Delaware Valley - 5 times

Washington & Jefferson - 7 times

Shenandoah - 2 times. This was an odd game and a clear outlier on the season for H-SC. Sido threw a couple picks midway thru the 2nd quarter, and with the run game being as successful as it was, the coach went alright you're done passing as he only had three more pass attempts the rest of the game.

Guilford - 6 times

Washington & Lee - 4 times

Averett - 6 times

Roanoke - 9 times

That's 5.6 pass plays of 20+ yards per game. Eliminate the outlier game against Shenandoah and it goes up to 6.2. And many of these games saw them run the ball a good bit more while playing reserves in the second half because they ended up being blowouts. Of course, you could also say they likely wouldn't have had as many big pass plays if those blowouts had been competitive games, but Roanoke was fairly competitive on the scoreboard at least for three quarters and that game had their season high.

[Pat Coleman]

If W&L, H-SC, and R-MC wins out with H-SC beating R-MC in the final week, there will be a three-way tie and thus three ODAC champions, per the ODAC manual.

This would be only the second time (1985, 1997) that there would be multiple champions, each also a three-way tie as everyone plays h2h so there's never been a two-way tie for the title.

Was it different in 2008?

https://www.d3football.com/conf/ODAC/2008/standings

[thescottharris]

If W&L, H-SC, and R-MC wins out with H-SC beating R-MC in the final week, there will be a three-way tie and thus three ODAC champions, per the ODAC manual.

This would be only the second time (1985, 1997) that there would be multiple champions, each also a three-way tie as everyone plays h2h so there's never been a two-way tie for the title.

Was it different in 2008?

https://www.d3football.com/conf/ODAC/2008/standings

Probably because the teams didn't have an equal record against each other in a 4-way tie. Macon and Catholic went 2-1 against the other tied teams while H-SC and E&H went 1-2. So that eliminated H-SC and E&H from the picture. That made it a two-way h2h tiebreaker between Macon and Catholic, and since Macon beat Catholic, Macon got the title.

If H-SC, W&L, and R-MC all finish with one loss in the proposed scenario, they all would have gone 1-1 against each other, so the h2h tiebreaker wouldn't solve anything.

For determining an ODAC Champion in a sport where there is no tournament or title game (which is only football), h2h is the only tiebreaker. At least that is the case in 2025 rules, I assume that would have been the case in 2008 as well. Hopefully at no point in time was some math formula used to determine an ODAC champion!

[HSCTiger fan]

If W&L, H-SC, and R-MC wins out with H-SC beating R-MC in the final week, there will be a three-way tie and thus three ODAC champions, per the ODAC manual.

This would be only the second time (1985, 1997) that there would be multiple champions, each also a three-way tie as everyone plays h2h so there's never been a two-way tie for the title.

Was it different in 2008?

https://www.d3football.com/conf/ODAC/2008/standings

Probably because the teams didn't have an equal record against each other in a 4-way tie. Macon and Catholic went 2-1 against the other tied teams while H-SC and E&H went 1-2. So that eliminated H-SC and E&H from the picture. That made it a two-way h2h tiebreaker between Macon and Catholic, and since Macon beat Catholic, Macon got the title.

If H-SC, W&L, and R-MC all finish with one loss in the proposed scenario, they all would have gone 1-1 against each other, so the h2h tiebreaker wouldn't solve anything.

For determining an ODAC Champion in a sport where there is no tournament or title game (which is only football), h2h is the only tiebreaker. At least that is the case in 2025 rules, I assume that would have been the case in 2008 as well. Hopefully at no point in time was some math formula used to determine an ODAC champion!

Here's the rule right from the ODAC handbook.

Conference Champion

The regular season Conference standings shall determine the Conference Champion.
1. In the case of a two-way tie, the "ODAC Tie-Breaking System" included under "General
Procedures Governing Intercollegiate Competition" in this manual will be used. The head-to-head
game score will be used to establish a winner. If three teams are tied, the team, which
has defeated the other two, becomes champion.

2.If the first step does not break the tie, the three teams tied will advance to the ODAC Five-Point
Tie Breaking Procedure. If a tie still exists, each team will be compared to the teams above
and below them in the standings (record vs. #1, record vs. #2, record vs. #5, record vs. #6).
In the event the teams are still tied, point differential (no cap) between the teams tied will serve
as the next step. The team with the best point differential will advance. If two teams' points are
equal, the head-to-head contest between the two will determine the advancing team.

If following the point differential teams are still tied, the conference will invoke the "Rose Bowl
Rule" which calls for the team that has not been to NCAA post season most recently to
advance to NCAA play that year.

[thescottharris]

If W&L, H-SC, and R-MC wins out with H-SC beating R-MC in the final week, there will be a three-way tie and thus three ODAC champions, per the ODAC manual.

This would be only the second time (1985, 1997) that there would be multiple champions, each also a three-way tie as everyone plays h2h so there's never been a two-way tie for the title.

Was it different in 2008?

https://www.d3football.com/conf/ODAC/2008/standings

Probably because the teams didn't have an equal record against each other in a 4-way tie. Macon and Catholic went 2-1 against the other tied teams while H-SC and E&H went 1-2. So that eliminated H-SC and E&H from the picture. That made it a two-way h2h tiebreaker between Macon and Catholic, and since Macon beat Catholic, Macon got the title.

If H-SC, W&L, and R-MC all finish with one loss in the proposed scenario, they all would have gone 1-1 against each other, so the h2h tiebreaker wouldn't solve anything.

For determining an ODAC Champion in a sport where there is no tournament or title game (which is only football), h2h is the only tiebreaker. At least that is the case in 2025 rules, I assume that would have been the case in 2008 as well. Hopefully at no point in time was some math formula used to determine an ODAC champion!

Here's the rule right from the ODAC handbook.

Conference Champion

The regular season Conference standings shall determine the Conference Champion.
1. In the case of a two-way tie, the "ODAC Tie-Breaking System" included under "General
Procedures Governing Intercollegiate Competition" in this manual will be used. The head-to-head
game score will be used to establish a winner. If three teams are tied, the team, which
has defeated the other two, becomes champion.

2.If the first step does not break the tie, the three teams tied will advance to the ODAC Five-Point
Tie Breaking Procedure. If a tie still exists, each team will be compared to the teams above
and below them in the standings (record vs. #1, record vs. #2, record vs. #5, record vs. #6).
In the event the teams are still tied, point differential (no cap) between the teams tied will serve
as the next step. The team with the best point differential will advance. If two teams' points are
equal, the head-to-head contest between the two will determine the advancing team.

If following the point differential teams are still tied, the conference will invoke the "Rose Bowl
Rule" which calls for the team that has not been to NCAA post season most recently to
advance to NCAA play that year.

Well I had a whole post written out and then half of it didn't post when I pressed the post button. I'm not about to rewrite it.

The ODAC manual needs to be rewritten. The first section that says tri-champions are declared is completely invalidated by later sections. Don't write someone is declared a champion if that is not the case!

That's like someone saying they are married, but then it turns out they actually aren't, they are just engaged and still need to have that whole wedding thing to seal the deal.

[y_jack_lok]

The game to watch tomorrow is Shenandoah at RMC. Massey has RMC as a 23 point favorite. Hansen Ratings says RMC by about 19 points. Over on the ODAC Pick-ems board, HSCTiger74 has the spread at 20.5 points in favor of RMC. If I were participating in the Pick-ems I'd pick Shenandoah to beat the spread. I think it will be a very competitive game.

Guilford at Roanoke might be tighter than many expect

H-SC is at Gallaudet.
W&L is at Averett.
Bridgewater is idle.