Instant reaction to Week 2 results
9
Sep
2006
Sep
2006
Well, already we’ve got shockers and mild surprises coming in from all over the country.
Obviously, the Christopher Newport beating No. 6 UMHB will shake things up, but Salisbury’s high from beating W&J didn’t last, and New York football got another boost with Brockport’s 21-3 win at the Sea Gulls.
Baldwin-Wallace over Augustana is another top 25 team upset, and Cornell beating Alma was a bit of a surprise.
What results are you catching your guys’ attention?
September 9th, 2006 at 6:55 pm
Huntingdon manhandled Sewanee (which itself surprised Hampden-Syndey last week), 44-24. Looks like things are back to normal there.
September 9th, 2006 at 8:48 pm
I’ve been told Adrian fans might want to tune into the midnight postgame college football scoreboard show on ESPN.
September 9th, 2006 at 9:46 pm
Texas Lutheran is less than two minutes away from defeating Trinity. They lead 14-9 and have the ball near midfield. Trinity is out of timeouts.
September 9th, 2006 at 9:50 pm
Final!
September 9th, 2006 at 11:10 pm
Union upset by the Pride, so much for those Stagg aspirations….
Springfields QB had over 250yds rushing and 100yds passing to lead the way over Union!!
E-8 going 2-0 vs the LL, what a great day!
September 9th, 2006 at 11:29 pm
top 25 all shook up then …
Wabash lost to Franklin, North Central lost to Concordia (Wis.), Wilkes barely won …
September 9th, 2006 at 11:53 pm
Nice big, road win for Gustavus Adolphus (3-7 in ‘06) vs. a team that’s often in the mix of the NWC.
Plus MIAC goes 3-0 vs. IIAC Saturday and SJU finishes off a 1-2 punch against WIAC — how many teams open with two NCs vs WIAC?
And it’s nice to see UWEC posted a 20-0 shutout of Black Hills State — a score similar to the 28-3 victory that NAIA super power Carroll did the week before.
September 9th, 2006 at 11:54 pm
Make that 3-7 in ‘05 for the Gusties.
September 10th, 2006 at 12:19 am
Keith:
Widener is pretty solid so the close score for Wilkes doesn’t bother me too much. That’s a good win for the Colonels on the road, even if they had to come from behind.
September 10th, 2006 at 12:20 am
Other than some quasi-random musings which I usually share (lucky you), I take two things away from this weekend.
Not the L-East any more: For the past couple years there’s been some understandable sentiment that the East region is probably the weakest of the four. The lack of a Stagg Bowl rep since Rowan played PLU hasn’t helped the region’s cause. Nor have some lopsided semifinal results.
However, two weeks in, it looks like the East has at least passed the South. Rowan manhandles CNU who beats No. 6 Mary Hardin-Baylor. Alfred knocks off PAC champ Thiel. Rochester defeats Centennial champ Johns Hopkins. Brockport knocks off Salisbury.
Lost weekend: In K-Mac’s 2005 season review I suggested that the CCIW had a disappointing postseason last year. After this week, I feel even more convinced that we may be overstating the CCIW’s strength.
Millikin’s loss to Ohio Northern isn’t too surprising, given the Polar Bears No. 16 ranking. But No. 15 Augustana losing to Baldwin-Wallace does. The Vikings were the preseason favorite to win the conference and B-W was picked sixth in both the OAC media and coaches poll. Then the Yellow Jackets held Augustana to 127 yards on the ground.
Add in North Central’s stunning loss at home to Concordia (Wis.). Then consider that 2-0 Carthage is averaging close to 200 yards total offense a game.
We’ve given the CCIW a bit of a pass since their champ always ends up playing Mount Union. Maybe it’s time to reconsider how strong this conference really is.
Crow D’Jour: Enough chest thumping. I’ve got a lot of crow to eat as usual.
I wrote yesterday that I wasn’t sold on Alfred as an Empire 8 contender. So far No. 19 Ithaca has been very impressive in dismantling Huntingdon and Buffalo State as has St. John Fisher. But the Saxons win over Thiel convinces me they’ll at least be a factor in that race.
I’ll take my crow with some cheese, lettuce, tomato maybe on a Kaiser roll from the Alfred Sub & Pizza Shop.
Three cheers for: Second-year Coach Jeremy Cannon whose Mass Maritime Buccaneers snapped a 14-game losing streak with today’s shut-out against MIT…WPI defensive back Mike Hansen who had two interceptions returned for touchdowns (70 and 50 yards)…Carleton’s RJ Jackson who had six touchdowns in the first half in the Knights’ 50-14 win over Minnesota-Morris.
September 10th, 2006 at 12:33 am
It’s nice to see a USAC team step up and represent the conference. Overall the past two weeks have been disappointing. Anyways I cannot wait for next week when Ferrum plays Bridgewater at home. It should be exciting!!! CNU had this upset this week, Ferrum next week.
September 10th, 2006 at 1:37 am
No need to eat crow, Gordon. Leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth. And, so long as you’re talking up Alfred Sub & Pizza Shop, AUPepBand recommends a half roast beef with everything (that includes the homemade hot pepper sauce). And assuming you came to the game, had I known you were there, I’d have introduced myself.
As for the Saxons, Coach Murray, much like the legendary Alex Yunevich, is a defensive specialist. The defense he has assembled, even without graduated All-American Brenton Brady, pitched a shutout. Haven’t seen any game stats, but offense was certainly tested by a stingy Thiel defense–and passed the test. AU is off to a good start–better than last year. But there are many battles ahead.
E8 vs. LL head-to-head for 9/9/06: (E8 2-1)
Springfield 38, Union 30
Fisher 30, Rochester 10
St. Lawrence 17, Norwich 13
September 10th, 2006 at 6:36 am
I wonder what the Index point spread value of second-game/home game (CNU) vs first game of the season/1000-mile road trip(UMHB) is.
September 10th, 2006 at 10:00 am
It looks like Union was overhyped by the pollsters. Obviously their defense is suspect. With or without Angiletta the Dutchmen would have lost this game. We worried about the disparate rankings of these two teams. Hats off to Springfield.
September 10th, 2006 at 10:29 am
Yesterday was painful to watch as a Union fan. There is no question the defense is suspect. Even though the Union D had a few good stops it seemed as if Springfield ran the ball they way they wanted anytime they wanted. Union just could not stop that QB (who by the way is just an amazing athelete). I have never seen a one dimensional offense that potent in a long time. I give tons of credit to Springfield, they came out hard and serious and deserved to win the game. I may be wrong but it seems as if the dutchmen coaching staff was out coached on the D side of the ball. They could simply not adjust. Union still worked hard on both sides of the ball and fought right until the end. It kills me to say it but they did not look like they deserved to be in the top 25 yesterday.
September 10th, 2006 at 12:44 pm
Looks as though both ODAC members Catholic and Guilford are no longer the “gimmes” they may have been the past few years. Both are 2-0 and especially Guilford has done it against some good competition. Should be an exciting year in the conference.
September 10th, 2006 at 5:38 pm
I’ll also vote for the Union match - Springfield’s ground game is always impressive, but in my experience (as an RPI alum and fan), Union’s run defense is generally much better than they showed here. On the other hand, a good option is very difficult to defend well, and it may be that Angiletta’s absence hurt more than was obvious - with his favorite target on the field, Marotti might have been able to outgun Springfield.
September 10th, 2006 at 10:20 pm
Linfield’s loss to Western Oregon doesn’t minimize the significance of their matchup against Hardin-Simmons next Saturday. My wife and I will be on the H-SU side (I’ll be wearing a Wabash t-shirt). We’d love to meet any fellow d3football.com fans at the game.
We’ll also be in San Antonio the following weekend to watch Trinity dismantle DePauw (we hope!!).
September 11th, 2006 at 2:28 pm
Guilford’s QB may possibly be the best player in the ODAC. Maybe the Guilford v. Bridgwater game is the ODAC game to watch this year. HSC has dwindled down to the bottom of the pile. Maybe Ricca was that great, HSC certainly has not done anything to prove otherwise. On another note, does anyone think Bridgewater v. Ferrum will be a close one?
September 11th, 2006 at 3:53 pm
Vogelbach (Guilford QB) may or may not be the best player in the ODAC, but I think if he keeps putting up phenomenal stats AND the team keeps winning, he’ll be the early favorite for POY. I think you can say without a doubt he has had the most impact in changing the fortunes of his team. BC at GC is on everyone’s calendar. There are a lot of fingers crossed that neither will be upset in the next few weeks. HSC’s start has been disappointing and it does highlight J.D. Ricca’s past importance to the Tigers. Honestly, after watching Ferrum on Sept. 2, I think BC will win. If the Panthers have regrouped in their week off, however, I do think they’ll be the first 2006 team to put some points on the board versus the Eagles. Close? Maybe, if the FC fans really get into it and the Panther running game can use some clock, but I see BC by a couple of scores.
September 11th, 2006 at 7:58 pm
A couple things:
I keep hearing this CCIW is overrated argument. While they may well be down as a conference this year, their overall ranking was based largely on the eight teams in the conference going 22-3 non-conference in the regular season last year. Take away Illinois Wesleyan going 1-2, and seven of the CCIW’s teams were 21-1. The loss was in Augustana’s opener in overtime 25-24, vs. IIAC champ Central.
Their two playoff reps were beaten by No. 1 Mount Union and top 5 Capital last year, both from a conference ranked ahead.
Based on the season they were coming off of, I don’t think the CCIW was overrated at all. Who was better?
Gordon, well aware that Widener is no slouch and probably on Wilkes’ level. It was still worth mentioning that Wilkes struggled to win, given all the top 25 travails on Saturday.
I think after W&L and H-SC’s early showings, Guilford and Vogelbach are the ODAC team/player for Bridgewater to worry about.
Re: Union-Springfield, let’s not forget that Springfield was one year removed from being an East Region power, having gone 26-5 from 2002-04.
September 11th, 2006 at 8:02 pm
Sorry, CCIW’s seven teams were 20-1 non-conference, 21-3 if you add IWU’s 1-2 and 22-5 if you count the playoffs.
They were ranked behind WIAC and OAC and one spot ahead of MIAC, which had three of nine teams over .500 last year.
September 11th, 2006 at 9:07 pm
Since I’m the one who keeps pushing the “CCIW as overrated” argument, I’ll respond.
It may stem mainly from our disagreement over how to define conference strength. You focus on strength as depth — how good is the conference top to bottom. I focus on strength more in terms of how the best teams do when they are paired against other good teams.
While the CCIW’s winning percentage is impressive at first glance, it is considerably less lusterous when you look at the teams they beat. Again focusing on the CCIW’s top teams (and taking away the loses to the CCIW teams themselves)…
Augustana: Catholic 3-6, UW-Platteville 1-8, Lakeland 8-1
North Central: Benedictine 3-4, Augsburg 1-8, Wash U 6-3
Carthage: Benedictine 3-4, Lakeland 8-1, Carroll 6-3
Wheaton: Gustavus Adolphus 3-6, Hope 5-4, Greenville 4-5
Elmhurst: Benedictine 3-4, Chicago 5-3, Concordia (Ill.) 0-9
Not many teams on there in the Top 50. So let’s look at their records against non-conference opponents with records over .500
Wins: Hope, Washington U, Lakeland, Carroll, Chicago
Loses: Capital, Central, Mount Union
That’s 1-3 against playoff teams and the one is from the No. 24 ranked IBFC. The CCIW’s best teams were 0-3 against the better teams from the Top 15 conferences.
“But that’s not fair when you play Mount Union.”
I understand not beating Mount Union – few teams do. But the best team in the CCIW lost by 37 points to Mount Union last year. That’s 25 more points than the margin of victory over wounded Rowan. Oof.
You do make a good point on picking who should supplant them at No. 5. I could see making a case for the MIAC (No. 6), NJAC (No. 7) or even the IIAC (No. 12). But that’s focusing exclusively on the top teams according to my definition of strength. And I’m not concerned whether your bottom three teams can beat the top teams in weak conferences. I want to know how your best teams do against other “best” teams.
September 11th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
Ron do you even know what you are talking about?
Were you even at the Sewanee Game?
Sewanee is the real deal this year, Sr. across the line, they will be fine.
Hunt. picked up a ball on the 1 yard lind and ran it back for a td. If you where there you would have seen that it was DOWN. At that point Sewanee would be down by 1 TD. Instead they were down 3, thats Home cooking.
As for the win last Sat. Sewanee played that day, like they will next week.
Look out ron they will prove you wrong.
September 11th, 2006 at 11:10 pm
Ladies and gentlemen!! This is HAWKS FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!
September 12th, 2006 at 1:23 am
Well HSC is down 0-2 starting the year off. Bridgwater and Guilford are strong ODAC teams this year. I would say HSC finishes in the bottom half of their conference. Who knows maybe the RMC v. HSC game might actaully be watchable this year?
September 12th, 2006 at 2:28 am
Gordon,
First off, you’re not the only one to have brought it up, which is why I responded here for everyone to see.
Second, you’re putting words in my mouth. When Pat and I rank the conferences, depth is a factor, but so is how the top teams from your conference do against top teams from other conferences. How else to explain the OAC’s high ranking, what with Heidelberg and all?
There is no you vs. me “disagreement” over using top teams vs. top teams as a gauge of conference strength. I just consider it one of many factors, not the only one.
If you can make a case for the MIAC, NJAC or IIAC, do it. Based on last season’s results, the CCIW was both strong at the top and deep, so basically no one has shown me why they were overrated yet.
If you want to go comparative scores and call in the Augie/Mount Union score to compare with Rowan, well what about North Central playing Capital even (2 points), and Capital playing Mount Union even (3 points)? Those five points are less than Rowan’s 12 vs. Mount Union. Two can play that game, and it goes both ways and solves nothing.
The IIAC could have a case based on its champion beating the CCIW’s champion, but if that’s top team vs. top team, doing it by one in OT is a wash. That’s where I feel the CCIW’s depth was the overriding factor.
The MIAC didn’t stack up depth-wise either, although it may have had a third playoff-worthy team, unlike the NJAC, which definitely had only two. Wheaton gave the CCIW a third top team last year, and even if you considered SJU, C-M and St. Olaf comparable, the MIAC teams did no better in the playoffs when matched against top teams and they’re one spot behind in the rankings.
You yourself list Carthage and Elmhurst in your look at the league’s “top teams.” Carthage as the CCIW’s fourth team is/was better than a lot of leagues’ threes. And down the list it goes. That’s a sign of a conference’s strength. It’s hard to focus on best vs. best when you’re comparing a league with a dominant team or two to a league where any of three or four teams could win/could have won the title.
Then when you bring the history into it (see item No. 68 in last year’s ATN Year in Review), basically, no one has eliminated the CCIW from the playoffs except the OAC over the past six years. The OAC is ranked ahead, so best vs. best, the CCIW is placed where it should be.
We don’t just make this stuff up out of the blue, you know.
If someone shows up with a convincing argument, I’ll definitely relent. Until then, I think the ranking at the time was the right one.
Obviously this weekend’s losses by North Central and Augie would drop them down the list if it were something updated on a weekly basis, but based on the season the CCIW just came off of, it had a right to be where it was, fifth overall.
September 12th, 2006 at 2:34 am
Trigger,
Doesn’t your coach have a rule where you’re not supposed to be posting during the season?
Please, Barnacle, no watchable H-SC/R-MC game. That would ruin my plans to go to Cortaca Jug!
(It’s amazing what you see when you expand your D3 horizons)
September 12th, 2006 at 7:36 am
Barnacle,
There is no such thing as an unwatchable H-SC / R-MC game. I must say though, they have been particularly enjoyable in recent years.
I know there are some good rivalries around the country but in my “homer” opinion, this one is the best.
Losing J.D. is obviously a big loss for the Tigers. When you score 50 points a game, perhaps people tend to pay a little less attention to defense. Starting a Fr. at QB is also tough no matter what level you play at. Guess I’m old school, but I still believe the foundation of success starts on defense. (even though Marty has proven that theory wrong in recent years)
September 12th, 2006 at 9:14 am
K-Mack:
Sorry if I put words in your mouth. Your’s is a good response.
Even I still disagree.
September 12th, 2006 at 11:18 am
Can someone from D3 please tell me why there is no information on this site about the unfortunate incident at the Thiel-Alfred game where an Alfred player’s neck was (from all accounts) broken in a helmet to helmet collision with a Thiel player on a kickoff return? Information I have scraped together is that the Alfred player (possibly Fuentes?) currently has no sensation of feeling below the waist & underwent neck surgery?
And, on that note, can someone from D3 please, please, please explain why there is a picture of #22 from Christoper-Newport getting ready to make contact very dangerously by leading with the crown of his helmet on the home page? This is competely irresponsible, IMHO.
http://www.d3football.com/images/2006/cnudefense3bytipps.jpg
I urge everyone to please check out this link, especially if you are a coach or a parent:
http://www.nata.org/consumer/headsup.htm
September 12th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
With HIPA regulations tieing the hands of schools in terms of releasing medical information, there’s nothing official to report and we won’t engage in scraping together speculative accounts. That would be completely irresponsible, IMHO.
September 12th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
Last week was most assuredly a tough week for the CCIW. With the exception of another victory by Carthage College. Wheaton looks set to have another great year, Augustana will rebound, as will North Central.
I am, as other CCIW alumni are as well, tired of D3Football.com looking down at this conference…referencing that the CCIW champion will be nothing more than fodder for Mount Union in the playoffs…
This website over the past three or four years has been a virtual “love fest” for the OAC as well as other east coast conferences…So, to say that the CCIW is over-rated is nothing more than another stab at what IS one of the strongest conferences in the country.
September 12th, 2006 at 2:03 pm
I am familar with HIPAA regulations and understand completely about not reporting non-official releases. I guess I was just surprised that the game itself has been mentioned but not one comment or question or concern about this very unfortunate incident has been made or offered, even if out of genuine concern and a desire to bring to everyone’s attention the dangers involved in head down/crown of helmet impact.
I would still ask you to please reconsider posting images as I mentioned above when they blatantly show a known, dangerous & illegal means of contact, and also given your position in the football community, to add a link to the HEADS UP site & video as a PSA.
I ask all D3 fans to keep this young man & his family in their good thoughts & prayers.
September 12th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
AllSky,
When one team completely dominates another team, HSC v. RMC in recent years, its not really worth watching. This years RMC v. HSC game may be very watchable, since HSC can’t seem to get into the W column. HSC maybe start the year off 4-0…or worse.
September 12th, 2006 at 3:15 pm
jbed,
If we’re looking down on the conference, it’s kind of odd we ranked them the No. 5 conference in Division III in Around the Nation two weeks ago.
http://www.d3football.com/atn.php?id=91
September 12th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
Buck&spin,
Absolutely will keep him in our thoughts and prayers.
As for photos, I think it’s difficult to make a hard-and-fast rule on one one frame looks like, since it may be out of context.
September 12th, 2006 at 7:59 pm
I would imagine one of the local newspapers tried to follow up on the injury. And honestly, there are some things we just don’t hear about, or sometimes it takes a few days. There are a lot of games and not a lot of us. Reports from you all are very valuable to the rest of us scattered across the country.
As far as the photo, I agree with Pat for the most part. I don’t think any coach, team, institution or media organization supports leading with the head, and running a photo of a player in incorrect position doesn’t really make it an indirect endorsement of it on anyone’s part.
When I played, it was up to our coaches to teach and remind us how to tackle properly, and it was up to us as players to rememeber to apply it during the games.
That said, there is certainly nothing wrong with discussing it here or on the message board or circulating links that encourage players and coaches how to do things right. Let me know if I can help you there in any way.
Gordon,
one more point about best vs. best way of determining conference strength. That would be roughly akin to saying that if the Mets win the World Series this year, then the NL was stronger than the AL, despite the AL’s complete dominance in interleague play. One-eighth or one-sixteenth of the picture is just that, part of the picture.
Sorry. I enjoy arguments, er, civilized discussions.
September 12th, 2006 at 8:33 pm
If the Mets win the World Series, I’ll be so happy you could tell me the NEFC is the best conference in all of football — at any level — and I wouldn’t mind.
September 12th, 2006 at 8:47 pm
Well, I definitely hope the Mets win before we have another GOP president.
September 12th, 2006 at 10:01 pm
There is a story circulatiniing that there was a guy who frequented the Sports Bars of New England in the summer of 2004. He would watch the Red Sox on television and talk with the fans. He would also look over at the 24-hour news channels and then poll the fans. This guy, whose name was Applegate, asked the hypothetical question.
Would you like to have another Massachusetts senator elected president?
Or would you like the Red Sox to win the pennant?
The fans of New England considered the question, and George Bush won the election.
September 12th, 2006 at 10:17 pm
I am a grad of the 1965 team and I was there
d3 k
September 12th, 2006 at 11:51 pm
Ralph,
That’s funny.
Even though this isn’t the place for politics, I couldn’t resist an inside joke/shot at Gordo.
Trigger, I got you … you just write very similar to way members of teams write. Makes sense though, you’ve still got good reason to be a big fan.
September 13th, 2006 at 12:10 am
Ha. Good joke, Ralph.
September 13th, 2006 at 1:32 am
jbed
92 MUC 42-Ill Wesleyan 27
95 MUC 40-Wheaton 14,
96 MUC 49-Ill Wesleyan 14
99 MUC 42-Augustana 33
01 MUC 32-Augustana 7
02 MUC 42-Wheaton 21
03 MUC 56-Wheaton 10
04 MUC 21-Wheaton 6
05 MUC 44-Augustana 7
Combined scores MUC 381-IIAC 139 or MUC 42.3/game vs IIAC 15.4/game
9 out of the last 14 years including five straight 01-05
BOOM
Time to load the cannons!
What is your point? The” love fest” is an earned respect not a random selection.
If I can put the numbers together I will see if any IIAC team has been victorious vs OAC since 1990. I know Augustana beat the Raiders in the late ’80’s but not since.
September 13th, 2006 at 1:57 am
jbed
I went back to ‘99 and here is what I could find.
00 ONU 47-Millikin 21
03 Wheaton 16-BW 12 (how did that happen)
05 Capital 21-North Central 19
06 ONU 28-Millikin 14
06 BW 17-Augustana 7
I see a trend here.
OAC 13 IIAC 1
And the OAC is only #2 in the “love fest!”
We’re like AVIS.
September 13th, 2006 at 2:09 am
Raiderguy, I believe you are referring to the OAC vs. the CCIW, not the IIAC.
September 13th, 2006 at 7:10 am
jbed, when your conference deserves to be where you think it should be, then and only then, will it get the respect it deserves. Please don’t blame d3football for your conference being a Mount Union doormat (which it is). Heah, I hear ya man, it is frustrating. I am in a conference/region that is a Rowen doormat. Yet I don’t blame d3footbal because Rowen is really the only eastern team take seriously when it comes to possible Stagg bowl hopes. So don’t be tired be content:)
September 13th, 2006 at 8:29 am
Gordon and Keith, the older readers will recognize that “joke” as a thinly veiled synopsis of the book, “The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant”, which became the screenplay for the Broadway musical “Damn Yankees”.
Mr. Applegate is the intriguing character who lights cigarettes by snapping his fingers. He meets long-suffering American League Washington Senators fan, Joe Boyd and makes him a deal. Here is the synopsis.
http://experts.about.com/e/d/da/Damn_Yankees.htm
The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant is the first real novel that I ever read. My grandmother gave me the Readers Digest Condensed Book Volume and I read it in the summer that I was 8 or 9.
I always imagined that the breaking the “Curse of the Bambino” would require a deal of “Faustian proportions”!
September 13th, 2006 at 10:59 am
Last year d3 got Brett Elliot nominated for the heisman, is there anyway to get Pierre Garcon nominated this year for it???????
September 13th, 2006 at 11:53 am
D3Former
You are correct, sorry for the confusion. If I have disrespected the IIAC in any way I’m sorry. The rest of the post I hope is clear. The OAC/Raiders happen to be just a hair better in head to head match-ups. If you notice the time of the post it might explain the error.
I have to get a life or a nap!
September 13th, 2006 at 11:59 am
Phyco -
Last year I believe anyone could go to the Heisman website to make nominations, so check it out.
September 13th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
Raiderguy, no you didn’t disrespect the IIAC. There are so many conferences in D3 it is easy to get them mixed up or to accidentally type one when you meant another.
September 14th, 2006 at 12:50 am
Lots of conferences are Mount Union doormats, though — what do those scores prove exactly?
September 14th, 2006 at 10:43 am
jbed, as a CCIW fan myself I have never seemed to think this site was biased toward one particular part of the country. They have Around the Nation which tends to be a specific story and stories/stats from the nation as a whole. Then they have Around the Region, specific columns directed to specific parts of the country. To me, this site is all about the big picture of Division III football. If the CCIW has a bad week (such as last week) or cannot seem to make the next step to the Stagg Bowl, people have the right to question the overall strength of the conference IMO.
September 14th, 2006 at 11:58 am
In my opinion, the “conference strength” debate centers around how one defines that measurement. Which is better? Having a very evenly balanced conference (WIAC or CCIW) or having a conference with some great teams and some very poor ones (OAC and MIAC)? Or is it a mixture of both measurements?
At least us D3 folks get a national playoff to decide some of this stuff on the field.
September 14th, 2006 at 1:13 pm
So am I the only one looking forward to the Bridgewater at Ferrum game? Even though it is not a conference game, a win would give the young panthers something to build on. I can say one thing though, FERRUM WILL NOT BE SHUT OUT! Looking for the upset.
September 14th, 2006 at 4:22 pm
The comment by jbed was “being tired” of the CCIW being referenced as fodder for Mount in the playoffs by D3football. With the exception of two games the outcome was not even close. The average spread of all games is 4 touchdowns. If the contests were close then there might be a case for the CCIW conference being a little closer matchup for the OAC. Granted all the games have been against Mt Union and that is not a clear reference for a whole conference but even other games between conference foes has only produced one victory by the CCIW VS. OAC. The scores were only there to support D3’s point and fodder for thought.
September 14th, 2006 at 11:38 pm
I agree with Barnacle! The Ferrum Panthers will not be denied from the scoreboard: Bridgewater 41 - Ferrum 13. Sorry, but you guys need to lay off the moonshine and get it in gear!!
September 15th, 2006 at 12:22 am
Keith,
Are you serious about coming to Cortaca this season? Please do. I’d like to meet you and hang out before/after the game. It really is a special event, and a thrill to do a photo shoot for.
September 15th, 2006 at 12:47 am
Gordon,
Agree the East is stepping up this season. Historically these things have been cyclical, with the East at times being the most powerful region for any given year in the mid 80s and early 90s. With the MAC part of the East now, there is greater potential for a strong East run at some point. The problem is I have yet to see a team from the MAC, E8, or LL field a team lately that could be considered more threatening than Rowan. Not that the NJAC is the superior conference, rather that they have a knack for producing the eventual regional winner. Well, ususally they produce Rowan, lol. Perhaps if Widener rose up to past glory?
Perusing the early scores it appears Ithaca and Fisher may both be very, very good this year. I think the winner of Cortland-Brockport in 48 hours will deserve a close watch too as Brockport already has a big intra-regional win under their belt and may be vastly underrated.
Tough to make anything yet of the Liberty. I thought they were excellent last season and made a great accounting of themselves in the playoffs. However I did get a chance to see Hobart in a preseason scrimmage with Cortland, and Hobart looked very small and slow. It was obviously just a scrimmage, but they really did get pushed around. I was not surprised to see them barely beat Dickinson. But Hobart has a good set of coaches and my belief is they will be a lot better in week 11 than they are now.
Union’s loss hurts the Liberty in 2006. The way they lost is troubling. It’s not like Springfield comes onto the field looking to fool you. They line up and run the same option attack at you every season. Union’s run defense must have serious issues for this to happen. I’ve never seen a team with this sort of problem go far come playoff time.
That leaves RPI. I’m impressed with the way they ended 2005, particularly beating Fisher in the ECAC. Let’s face it, knocking off a top NEFC doesn’t mean much so I’m not reading anything into the Endicott win anymore than I think Hartwick is a regional power. But RPI seems like the big hope for a strong LL representative out of the gates.
Thoughts?
September 15th, 2006 at 1:07 am
Cortland Football:
I think that’s a very good assessment of the East region. Maybe Alfred or Montclair emerges with some playoff aspirations, too.
I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Springfield make a push for the E8 title. Okay, maybe surprised, but not totally stunned. DeLong is a great coach who always builds that program back up in a relatively short period of time.
As for the MAC, the next two weekends will go a long ways to determining who is the favorite. This week it’s Del Val/Wilkes and Widener/Lyco and next week it’s Del Val/Lyco. I’m not sure any of these teams will get past the second round of the playoffs, but we’ll see how they develop.
September 15th, 2006 at 1:47 am
Agree Gordon. I’m late to the dialogue, but I noticed someone had argued the East was weak due to dilution of too many teams. You brought up that the teams per region are pretty balanced. Well that is the case by definition. I think the original poster’s argument was valid. You need to look at dilution in terms of amount of teams per geographical area. The amount of D3 teams in PA and NY alone seems staggering at times. And they keep making new programs
I realize Ithaca is quite capable of recruiting out of state. However when recruting NY kids they have 8-10 teams in their area looking at the same talent. Alfred, Fisher, Brockport, Buff State, Hartwick, Hobart, Cortland, Utica, Morrisville, even Wilkes, immediately come to mind.
I forgot Alfred. Actually that is an interesting scenario. They shut out Thiel after graduating Brady? I guess Murray knows a thing or two about coaching defense.
I’ll be shooting on the sidelines for Cortland-Brockport this weekend on a few hours sleep, as I am working overnights at the moment. So expect some pretty bizarre pictures at my website. - Dan
September 15th, 2006 at 2:13 am
Dan:
Don’t forget that some of those PA teams are actually counted in the South, though (PAC, Centennial).
What the East does have a lot of is non-Division III programs that compete with Division III schools for similar talent. There are a bunch of Division I-AA and Division II schools that, I suspect, dilute the talent pool to some extent.
Good luck with the shoot and the game. Cortland could be the second best team in the East with Union stumbling out of the gates, but Brockport is a very big test.
September 15th, 2006 at 4:59 am
I think Brockport is the favorite in this one. 21-3 over Salisbury demands attention, and they have won like 8 of the last 11 over Cortland (or something close to that). Big test for both teams but a Brockport win would not surprise me in the least.
September 20th, 2006 at 8:47 pm
Dead serious about coming to Cortaca. Missed my big shot when my cousin was a senior at Ithaca and my grandparents were driving up that week … thought H-SC/R-MC was worth going to that year, but I’m so over that right now.