Game Day from Allentown
17
Nov
2007
Nov
2007
That’s where Keith McMillan and I are this weekend — we’re here and you’re there … somewhere. Good week to be playing — if you’re in the tournament, you still have a chance.
Cold and a tad windy here for the Muhlenberg/Salisbury game. Great day for running the football and defense, which is what these teams are already known for.
We’ve previewed this weekend to death, so we’ll just throw it open for you guys. I’d have said y’all, but we’re north of the Mason-Dixon.
November 17th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Let the Games Begin and all the Trash Talking end….Should be a great tourney….great brackets….good luck to all….GO PURPLE RAIDERS!
November 17th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Whalen has started for CWRU. Looks like he’s moving OK.
November 17th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Widener scores first on a 39 yd TD pass. 7-0
November 17th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
UWW vs. Cap weather looks like cold, and snow showers/slight rain..
November 17th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
The bombers strike first, Ithaca leads MUC 7-0. No shut out today.
November 17th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Ithaca scores….6 Mount Union 0
November 17th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Actually, it’s 6-0 XP is no good.
November 17th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
The lead lasted about 3 seconds, 7-6 MUC
November 17th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
End of First:
Ithaca 6
MUC 7
November 17th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
End of 1st… Fisher 3 Hobart 0… Hobart’s FG try was deflected, they’ve been driving, looks like a classic showdown is brewing…
November 17th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Mount Scores end of 1st Quarter Mount leads 7-6 Ithaca did NOT score the pat.
November 17th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
After a sluggish start, CWRU’s O drives to the 7, but settles for a FG 7-3 Widener.
November 17th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Garcon runs one in…Mount 14 Ithaca 6 Ithaca playing great..not intimidated….good game..
November 17th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Fisher 3 Hobart 0 midway through the 2nd. Both teams moving the ball, neither able to punch it in the endzone. Fisher mixing it up by putting Stepnick in at QB for a play….Tebow-like I guess???…Bart and Fisher D’s have held on a pair of 4th downs..sounds like a heck of a game so far
November 17th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
CWRU drives to the five and fumbles the ball away.
November 17th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Kmic runs one in…Mount 21-6 end of first half…
November 17th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
28-0 Curry in the 2nd quarter
November 17th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Fisher 3 Hobart 0 at the half…defensive battle
November 17th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
My Bad Ithaca scores 21-12 now it is the end of the first half!
November 17th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
Bombers refusing to go down quietly. Already with 2 TDs, which equals the TD total of the entire OAC ALL YEAR.
November 17th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Curry 35 Hartwick 0 at the half
November 17th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
WW 0 Cap 0 end of first Quarter…..Go Cap!
November 17th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Eighth-seed N.C. Wesleyan making a good game of things, up 14-13 over W&J at the half.
November 17th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Fisher/Hobart exchanging turnovers. Both teams throwing picks in the redzone….still 3-0 Fisher late in the 3rd.
November 17th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
WOW……Hobart runs a fake punt on their own 5 yard line…..yes their own 5 YARD LINE and gets stuffed!!!!!!!!!!!!! What in the world are you thinking Hobart???
November 17th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Fisher 10 Hobart 0….
November 17th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Pick 6 for Widener now 14-3. Whalen’s third turnover. Fumbled twice without being hit. His passing hasn’t been sharp. Few completions beyond the bubble screens.
November 17th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Long TD drive for CWRU. 2 pt PAT no good. 14-9 Widener. CWRU has 18 1st downs. Widener only 8.
November 17th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
35-18 MUC, in the 4th
November 17th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
97 yd TD pass Whalen to Nicely!!! CWRU 15 Widener 14 As 2 pt fails again. 7:23 to go. It’s up to the D now!
November 17th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Fisher 17 Hobart 7, with 6:19 left in the 4th. Strom giving all he’s got to keep Bart in the game.
November 17th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
42-18 mount. kmic with 190, 4 TDs so far. ithaca QB has had a heck of a game.
November 17th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Final… Fisher 24… Hobart 7… Fisher took control after the fake punt and flexed their muscles… Good luck the rest of the season Fisher, you’re the East’s best chance at Mt. Union again… Good luck guys!!!
November 17th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Well, the Ithaca vs MUC game is over. IC missed a bunch of opportunities, MUC just didn’t. Needed to play perfect, and just didn’t get there.
I’ll take solace in the fact that IC scored more touchdowns against MUC than the ENTIRE OAC.
Congratulations to the Bombers for a great season, looking forward to 2008.
Good luck to the rest of the East against the Empire!
November 17th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Widener drives to take the lead 20-15 As 2 pt fails. 1:27 to go
November 17th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
nice job by ithaca, good first game for mount. shows the raiders some areas to improve in.
November 17th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
CWRU scores!!! 3 fourth down conversions!!! 21-20 Receiver dosn’t get in the endzone, but he puts the ball out and over. Jeff Mayer’s first TD of year.
November 17th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
42-21 Curry with 4 minutes remaining
November 17th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
UWWs defense steps up big once again and gets a pick 6!
UWW 27 - CAP 14
November 17th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
W&J falls to NCW 35-34 in overtime. Nice job Bishops!
November 17th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
UWW picks off another Capital pass and almost takes it to the house - illegal block in the back brought the ball way back into UWW territory from the CAP 6. Under 11:00 left in the 4th.
November 17th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Curry - and the NEFC - has won a playoff game!
November 17th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
50 yard TD pass from Danny Jones to Neil Mrkvicka should seal the deal.
UWW 34 - CAP 14
The end result here probably won’t show how close this game was for the first 3 quarters.
November 17th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
Mid-4th quarter, UMHB 38, Trinity 22 and the Tigers just turned it over on downs in Cru territory.
November 17th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Jarvis Thrasher’s over 200 yards rushing, scores on a 48-yd sweep (his third), 45-23 with 11:54 to play in the fourth.
November 17th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
UMHB scores. 45-23
November 17th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
So wow, it gets no better than the past few hours. Given that no playoff games were held west of the Central Time Zone, and given that noon local kickoffs are mandated by the NCAA, and we basically just had 16 games going on concurrently all with clear national title implications.
Quickly from here at Muhlenberg, this defense (as expected) is legit, but the offense was quite efficient. And John DeLuca is both tough and nifty. It’s fair to say they’ve got a chance at Wesley next week. (You can also use Salisbury for a nice score comparison).
But around the nation, how about these finishes? You had Mount Union, Wesley, Bethel, St. John’s, Central and Curry running away from their opponents, and then 10 games that had good if not great finishes.
The score here was misleading, it was 21-21 with 5 minutes left. TCNJ and RPI went down to the wire (12.8 seconds) left, with the Lions missing a 48-yard field goal and getting the ball back to hit a 28-yarder. St. Norbert was leading UW-Eau Claire at last check, North Carolina Wesleyan knocked off W&J and North Central and Case Western won their back-and-forth battles with Franklin and Widener.
It doesn’t get whole lot more fun than this. Since those of us who went to games could only have really followed that one, it’ll be fun to check out all the details from the games as they trickle in.
November 17th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Dernit, UMHB … add them to the blowout list. Looks like maybe half will be 10 points or fewer when it all shakes out.
Kudos to Ithaca pressing Mount Union for a while, same with Trinity pushing UMHB for some time.
How about Curry getting the NEFC’s first playoff win? The Norbertians couldn’t hang on though.
Fisher holding Hobart to 7 and keeping the Empire 8 from the clean sweep.
Anyway, Pat and I have to hit the road, the wives have work/plans tonight … we’ll be online though when we get back.
November 17th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
And in West vs. out-of-region teams in round one …
Bethel (W) wins by 28.
Central (W) wins by 21.
UWW (W) wins by 20.
And the West got just seven teams into the field, why?
November 17th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
They were the higher seed in all three games. This isn’t really a surprise.
November 17th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
Think of it this way — they didn’t have to eliminate other west teams in the first round unlike previous years.
November 17th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Although top seed didn’t do W&J a lot of good …
As for eliminating other West teams … perhaps that was Bethel’s problem.
November 17th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
I hate to guess what Mount’s final totals would have been if the officiating wasn’t so rotten. I’ve watched high school games at Massillion Tiger stadium and the so called gang that we were violated by would all have a life time job in Massillon other then maybe the clock manipulation.
I’m sorry that Ithaca College had to have this black mark on their fantastic performance. Whatever conference this group came from should be brought up on charges for attempting to take the game out of the player’s hands.
November 17th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Someone who knows, please educate me on Curry. They are obviously very talented having made the playoffs many years in a row, they are unranked though. I don’t really know what to make of their win over Hartwick. To me Hartwick wasn’t that good of a football team regardless of their record and the fact that Fisher lost to them in the regular season. I’m interested in others thoughts on Curry. Thanks.
November 17th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
SJF fan,
There is another way to look at it. Ithaca scored 4 more points vs. Mount than Otterbein did. Otterbein was one of those .500 teams from the Purple Pansy Conference you referred to. Ithaca played an inspired game, but they still got beat by 24 points. And the almighty E-8 went 1-2. So, if the OAC is that pathetic, and one of your best teams just got beat by 24, where does that leave the E-8?
November 17th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Mike Craig (Hobart coach) went to the well one too many times with the fake punt on their own 5. I have seen him do it before out of the end zone, but I think SJF was aware of his propensity to gamble and were not caught off guard. Cost us 7 pts, for sure. But no excuses, SJF won the trench battle, especially in the second half and was clearly the better team. Good luck to Fisher the rest of the way! And, congratulations to IC for giving MUC a battle.
November 17th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
SJF fan,
Why are you so excited about Ithaca scoring 18 points? You talked all week about how OAC teams automatically look at the Mount game as a loss and that they don’t put up much of a fight. Well, Congratulations!!! A mighty E-8 team put some points on the board and still got smoked. Doesn’t sound like there was any fight there either. Just another flea that got in the big dogs way.
One thing you have too know is when you play the same conference teams year after year you pretty much know everything they do. When you play a team that you haven’t seen before, adjustments come during the game. I would say Mount adjusted nicely to the game plan. There isn’t a better coach in D3 or maybe in the country than Kehres. Remember Mount has played SJF before so be prepared for a bigger whoopin this time.
November 17th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
TDD, are you kidding me? They didnt even put up a fight?
It was 24 pt game, not a 50pt game like they are used to seeing. IC had opportunities to make the game even closer.
In the first 3 QTR’s IC had:
Uncharacteristic drops on 3rd down by their sure handed TE and #1 WR…
4th and 1 on MUC’s 27 they rush for -7 by their QB…
1st and goal on MUC’s 3 yd line they get picked off…
And on 2 of their 2pt plays they catch the ball short of the goal line but cant get in, 2 fricking yards and they dont run the pattern to the goal line?
IC needed to play flawless but didnt and still kept the game relatively close (closer than anyone outside of the east thought).
November 17th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Main Jack,
There is another way to look at it. Hartwick pulled out some miracles at home to win the games they did, they were terrible on the road all year and inconsistent. Most would agree they were the 4th best team in the conference (not one of our best as you suggest) this year which would make them a middle of the pack E8 team. Also if the OAC is so amazing, why did Capital lose? I mean they weren’t playing Mount Union, and you guys were talking about the wonderous defense they had, but they gave up 34 didn’t they. The OAC is a good conference but outside of Mount Union they are not what they are hyped up to be THIS year.
November 17th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
You know what I don’t think MainJack mentioned Hartwick (outside of saying the E8 went 1-2 today), apologies sir….My eyes read something that wasn’t there. Booby’s bad.
November 17th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Whoa, this thread is losing a bit of context after the quotes from SJF Fan were pulled (rigfhtfully) …. so TDD’s remarks stand out a bit more.
Nonetheless, the bottom line: MUC was not going to loss this game. They put well-over 500 yards of offense on Ithaca. I bet if you tell any coach that they have nearly 150 yards in penalties and win by 24, they’d be very happy.
Give Ithaca credit for playing MUC closer than most folks expected, but don’t turn this into the near-upset of the century. It ain’t. Not close.
As for knocking the OAC for losing to UWW … that’s clueless. UWW has ended its past two seasons in the Stagg (translation for East fans: the d3 championship game) and the WIAC is a conference like nothing most Empire 8 folks have ever seen,
November 17th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
MainJack - We’re both right - You showing that it was just a few more points than Otterbein. And with mine, more than the entire OAC in ‘07.
TDD - just for clarification, It was not me that said the OAC teams looked at the games vs. MUC as an automatic loss, it was someone from Capital. And to your point about playing the teams each year in conference and knowing what they’re doing etc. - wouldn’t that lend itself to a closer score then as you continue to play that team (51-1)??
My original point that I continually have to point out is that the East will likely prove to be MUC’s toughest competition YTD as it looked as if for ‘07 anyway, that the OAC appeared to be have an off year. Most outside of the East, it seemed after reading several posts viewed the Region as a doormat, and my hope was that the playoffs will prove otherwise.
November 17th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Statesmen78 - on the fake punt - is that a play called in by the coach or was it a call at the line by the protector?
Down 3-0, it did seem like an overly aggressive call.
November 17th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
repete - I don’t think anyone is claiming it was a near upset. I’ve gone back and read here and on Post Patterns, and the general consensus was that it was a competitive game and that is about it.
At one point IC did have the lead I thought I read that, but after that, MUC did have control - I wasn’t there, only from what I read.
Several people on the on Ohio board are thanking IC for the first competitive game of the season. I promptly warned them that they run the risk of their posts being deleted.
November 17th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
I’d also like to point out a double standard here. Strong adjective use seems to be appropriate anytime someone is putting down an East team or conference. Yet, it is intolerable when directed at OAC.
November 17th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
Double standard, of course! MUC’s closest OAC games were by 35 and 37 points to BW and Capital. And Capital was a 7 seed. I’d say that Ithaca over performed to the expectations of many. In the poll in Post Patterns, most of the non-IC people were picking MUC by at least 40 points. MUC fans spent part of the week discussing how many pushups their cheerleaders would have to do. When they finished that, they moved on to a discussion of the mascot. The actual game with IC was hardly discussed after Monday.
November 17th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
SFF Fan, head coach is also the special teams coach. He has pulled off plays like that and has been mostly successful, but not today. I agree, it wasn’t a smart move. SJF is not St. Lawrence. However, as I noted I think the better team won. I was very impressed with Fisher’s D. Smoke Curry!!!! I’ll be there.
November 17th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
sjf fan: give it a rest. the axe grinding is why you were removed. move on. we get that you don’t like being moderated but it is a fact of life here.
November 17th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
repeat-no one stated it was almost a near upset. IC had chances to make the game close, if the did its a one score game late but they didnt convert on their chances. MUC did their thing as usual. They found a weakness and exploited it, they went No-huddle alot and ripped the exhausted IC D.
November 17th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
What a heartbreaker !!! Kudos to North Central for the changes they made to defense in the second half — 35 points allowed in the first 30 minutes, 7 in the second half - mostly in the pressure brought against Rupp. And for the LAST play 19 yard TD pass to win it 44-42. Most will only see the HCAC go 0-2 on the day … GRIZ deserve better !!! NC a good team … but the CCIW rep had everything they could handle all day from Franklin. Leonard’s program on the rise … two BIG steps this year — Conference champs and play-offs for the first time ever. Colts didn’t win the Super Bowl without a few losses along the way !!! And LOTS of GRIZ back on both side sof the ball next year !! Hope to see all true D3 fans here next year !! Thanks for letting me play along !
November 17th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
I’m thinking that Curry at 11-0 for the regular season, now 12-0, including a large margin of victory over 9-1 Plymouth and a win in the 1st round of the NCAAs is showing that they should have been deserving of a Top 25 showing at some point this season.
November 17th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
I was wondering if Hobart had off this week for Thx Giving perhaps? I thought the showing was a little light in attendance given the proximity to SJFC.
November 17th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Perhaps regarding Curry, but if they don’t play anyone during the regular season it is impossible to give them a Top 25 slot.
Even now all they’ve done is beat a team they were already ahead of in the voting.
November 17th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Just as an aside, as the random posters continue to downplay the East (which is getting just tiring), MUC announcers, fans and players all said this was the toughest game they had all season.
Just because your teams didn’t come to play vs MUC this year, don’t be bitter. 3 touchdowns and 18 points is more than the entire conference put up this year. Never mind Juvan putting up 324 yards passing against the #1 Defense in D3.
This is one of those moral victories for the Bombers, where we played better than a lot of people expected, but in the end, moral victories don’t keep you playing.
Glad that MUC has to face some new blood vs the East this year, and props to them for going out of Region next year to play SJF.
November 17th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
Keep in mind that Hartwick is the same team that almost lost to Utica. 3-7 UTICA. If they hadn’t won the E8, they probably would not have made the playoffs at all.
November 17th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Werd GB, Curry beat down the 4th best team in the E8….
November 17th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
If you were to include the ECACs - E8 is 2-2 on the day.
Tough day for the Liberty League though: 0-4 (RPI and Hobart bounced in the NCAAs, U of R lost to AU, and Union lost to Cortland.)
November 17th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Pat,
What is the competition like in the NEFC? I’m not intending to stir anything up, I’m just trying to get a barometer on how good Curry may be. I’m assuming by your earlier statement about their opponents this year that the level of competition is below that of the LL, E8, NJAC, and other Eastern conferences. Am I correct in making that assumption? With that, I’m puzzled by Hartwick’s 2 losses now to NEFC teams. Granted I didn’t think Hartwick was a very good 2 loss team going into the playoffs but nevertheless they were co-champs in the E8 this year. What are your thoughts?
November 17th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
1993: The general consensus is that it’s the worst conference in Division III. They play so few out of conference games that they can’t really shake that reputation — most of their “non-conference games” are crossover games against their other division.
They may well get out of the cellar now, if not because of the win then because of some membership changes in the conference just ahead of them.
But the NEFC is almost entirely a closed conference, and with such an inbred schedule it’s hard to give them any benefit of the doubt.
November 17th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Booby,
Thanks for the disclaimer. I read your first comment, and I was thinking to myself…”I don’t remember saying anything about Hartwick.” I figured either I had too much to drink today, or Alzheimer’s is setting in. Probably a little of both. Cheers.
November 17th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Those posts at 4:02 and 4:03 weren’t me, they were Pat logged in as me.
November 17th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Does anyone know how many TDs Ithaca scored vs. MUC compared to the entire OAC?
November 17th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Well - It looks like HSC strong non-conference schedule really paid off today. Uh Pat? Wow did I also call that NCWC upset? Guess it does pay to man up and play tough competition early in the year instead of a bunch of cupcakes. Maybe the committee should take into consideration other numbers instead of the OBVIOUSLY flawed ones. Big Ups for the USA South Conference!!!
November 17th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
You and Keith, RF.
It sure does help to play tough competition — I would never dispute that. But the numbers showed what they showed. Do you have numbers you’d suggest they use?
November 17th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
“Just as an aside, as the random posters continue to downplay the East (which is getting just tiring)”
Your side of the group is just as guilty of beating the [expletive] out of this topic.
The East has downplayed itself, by comparison with the other three regions, in the expanded playoffs era. This is not debateable.
What it has to do with this season, well that’s debateable, and feel free to go at it all week long.
Ithaca played well today no doubt. It’s sad that a team gets pummeled (by score anyway) and we consider that a good game, but that’s how good Mount Union is, and that’s all most people have been trying to get across all week to those who refuse to accept it.
It’s in everyone’s best interest, as fans and observers not from MUC, to have other teams that play at their level and are competitive with them … doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen, but today is a start.
November 17th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
D3Keith Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Those posts at 4:02 and 4:03 weren’t me, they were Pat logged in as me.
—–
Ah, geez, that package coming to your front step? Just kick it off the porch and run ….
November 17th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
I admit that I don’t know too much more outside the ODAC and USA S, but the committee and all of us have to take into consideration who these teams play. The ODAC as a whole scheduled mediocre (at best) opponents (many in the USA South). This adversely effects there opponents winn % and opp. opp. winn %. If all the conf. teams enter conf. play with undefeated or close to undefeated records, they have no choice but to have high opp. winn %.
I know that this does have some disadvantages. ( ie -No one wants to play Mt. Union and they schedule Averett)
As for NCWC its great to see upsets like this (though I thought it would be a good game). If they can get by next week I think they have a really good shot as making it to Salem. Wesley will NOT beat them twice, but I think MHB is just too good.
Question does NCWC have home field now?
November 17th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Higher seed hosts throughout.
repete: Keith borrowed my laptop and I posted when I came back to it, yeah — whoops.
November 17th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
My spelling of debatable might be debatable.
Also, re: Ithaca being the toughest game for MUC so far, good for them. But on hand, they should be. They are one of only two playoff teams MUC has played so far.
Are we taking this L as a big moral victory?
I will say this though. The Empire 8, already ranked the fifth-strongest conference when we did the rankings in September, made a pretty good case to move up to No. 3 by getting three teams in the playoffs to the ASC’s one and the NWC’s zero.
Still a lot to settle.
Which game today did folks out there feel was the most significant? Define that however you will, as a step forward for a program or conference, as a surprise or how it relates to clearing the rest of the bracket for your future team, whatever …
November 17th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
One of the great things about the playoffs is to be able to see first hand some of the teams from other regions. There has been a lot of criticism of the OAC. I attended the Capital/UWW game today. After 3 quarters, it was a 6 point game. I have seen all of the home games for UWW for years. My understanding is that Captial had some significant injuries this year. Truthfully, I was very impressed with this injured version of Capital. There is no question in my mind this team would compete at a very high level in the WIAC. Congrats to Capital on a good season of fighting adversity and a very valient effort today!
November 17th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
Repete,
Re: The Package, will do … I sometimes read from the bottom (most recent) up, so I didn’t see those drew responses. They were just the last posts on my screen from when I last logged in, back at the Muhlenberg press box.
Going back to read those posts … you should have been able to tell they were Pat. I don’t do short and to the point.
This week and next week are the most fun … lots of teams with lots of hopes and lots of surprises (so anyone apologizing about ruining my predictions, I really never expected to go 16-0 and don’t much care to. I’m fine seeing 55-100 guys enjoying the time of their lives while my pick is wrong)
If you start to forecast ahead some of the possible matchups in the rounds of eight and four based on who was eliminated today, they tend to get less dramatic based on the presence of clear favorites in most of the possibilities (is being purposely vague)
November 17th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
D3Keith,
As a UWW fan, I felt like the win today against Capital was significant because of how the North bracket plays out. Without disrespecting the other teams in the bracket, I think this may have been the most difficult game for UWW until the quarterfinals.
November 17th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
They did have the Coleman cadence …
November 17th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
bleed purple,
good post and I totally agree. Part of the fun of the playoffs is the matchups like MAC-UAA and CC-ACFC, where you don’t quite know what to make of a team even if it’s undefeated and has put up some sick numbers.
As Muhlenberg proved today, every one of its numbers was legitimate. Salisbury is a big, strong, fast team that didn’t play all that well early on, tied the game up in the fourth and then got hit up for the game-changing play by a swarming Mules D.
I think next week’s matchups in the Central and RFKAW&J* brackets are pretty intriguing.
I also thought there were two, maybe three games today where the Salisbury-Muhlenberg loser would have advanced against either team. Probably can say the same about UWW-Capital and a couple other games … but that’s all speculation.
* Region formerly known as W&J.
NCWC is pretty legit. Thought I told ya
November 17th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Kudos to Curry and the NEFC but the E8 should of expected a stronger showing out of Hartwick! I know they are a horrible road team but to come out after giving up a TD on the opening kickoff, have your next 4 posessions result in turnoves (2 INT, 1 FUM, 1 Downs) and a 28-0 deficit at the end of the first qtr is pretty upsetting. Hartwicks QB, who had over 3000yds and 35tds coming into the game, was picked off 5 TIMES!!
With their history of not playing well on the road this year (allowing 70 to Utica and a loss to a 3-7 NEFC squad) how much blame do you put on the coaches for not getting their players ready all season long? If it was just one game I would put it on the players for not being up to it, but to have it happen all season long doesnt reflect well on the coaching staff.
November 17th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
RunFerrum,
Regarding scheduling, you have been beating this ODAC v. USAC drum for a while now, and even though the ODAC drubbed the USAC in interconference play, badly, you probably have a point about the ODAC’s schedules … on the surface.
Some conference teams ended up playing less-than-overwhelming schedules, but when the schedule is locked in a year or two in advance, that’s not always in a team’s control. Huntingdon, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon … those looked like more powerful opponents last year and the year before than they turned out to be this year. NCWC, as Ginn told me Week 1, had to scramble to fill a game late and didn’t have time to be choosy when adding Wesley.
So even though they deserve credit for playing a tough schedule and I think that probably helped them today vs. W&J, who hadn’t been tested quite as often, be careful how you attach intent to the schedule a team ends up with. Sometimes a team tries to schedule tough teams — and remember how much goes into scheduling, having open weeks at the same time, teams willing to trade trips of a certain distance and other top teams’ willingness to add tough opponents or schools that don’t match their profile — and it ends up being a down year for the “tough” teams they tried to schedule.
The math in OWP and OOWP is not foolproof, but it is at least something concrete people can sink their teeth into (rather than “opinion”) when it comes to determining who’s played a more difficult schedule.
November 17th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
So, like, did you hear any Billy Joel songs in Allentown?
What a miserable day to watch a game. Rain and cold. Fortunately, Whitewater warmed up the fans with touchdowns. Kudos to Cap - they were undaunted and toe-to-toe until some mistakes did them in. 4th string QB? Pretty respectable showing. On to the sweet sixteen …
November 17th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
D3Keith,
Ithaca scored three TD’s today. Otterbein scored 2 vs. Mount. No one else in the OAC scored a TD at all. Ithaca’s offense was very good today. But Kmic, Garcon and Micheli were pretty much unstoppable in the 2nd half.
November 17th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Well the ODAC cleaned up against the lower teams in the conference. Though no team in the conference would have beaten NCWC or CNU.
NCW also didn’t have to play Wesley. It was there still a choice, even if to not play. The fact that they chose to play on short notice gives more credence to my argument and less to the scheduling in advance. Also how does CNU consistently schedule ranked teams (The barriers seem not to affect them), yet the ODAC can’t? Bridgewater use to play ranked opponents.
My problem is with how the ODAC went about scheduling. The OWP and OOWP.are not foolproof as you pointed out and was clearly abused. I already listed the stats in another blog - it was blatantly obvious most schools perferred to stay away from predicted top opponents. (Unless you believe HSC really believed Huntingdon (??) College was a top notch team).
Now NCW - a quality team- has to go on the road when they should be at home. Maybe if NCW played HSC schedule they would’ve had first round home game.
Now I don’t want to sound biased, I do think the ODAC is a better conference from top to bottom than the USA South, but the top teams in the USA S are much better than the top teams in the ODAC.
November 17th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
Mainjack — fairly certain Keith was being sarcastic since that was mentioned multiple times above.
RF: “My problem is with how the ODAC went about scheduling. … (Unless you believe HSC really believed Huntingdon (??) College was a top notch team).”
Huntingdon was 7-2 in 2005. Just because you haven’t heard of them doesn’t mean they weren’t worth scheduling.
November 18th, 2007 at 12:04 am
Pat,
Been a long day. I didn’t pick up on the sarcasm….sorry.
November 18th, 2007 at 12:50 am
To RunFerum I say “thank you for standing up for the USA South Conference”.
NC Wesleyan is on an amazing run right now. How long will it last? Beats the @##$%% out of me! Being realistic, the Battling Bishops will have to play way over their heads next week against Mary Hardin-Baylor. Jack Ginn is proving himself to be a football guru. Can he get these guys up for another tough game? We’ll see.
!
November 18th, 2007 at 5:08 am
Your right Pat. Just because I haven’t heard of them doesn’t mean they are not worth scheduling. Yet I am guessing they haven’t made the playoffs anytime soon and they do not carry the reputation of a MHB or a Wesley. Bridgewater proved that the ODAC can schedule top notch opponents. The coaches in the ODAC have just refused to. Make excuses but CNU and NCWC scheduled top tier opponents, played competitively and were disregarded for teams like HSC.
It’s boarder line absurd that a team like NCWC is position at the 8th seed (b/c the committee did not have enough information) goes on the road in a rough environment, goes into double overtime with the top regional seed, and pulls out a win, then next week has to pack it up and go on the road again. NCWC has been put in a no win situation. Drive to Penn this week then down to Texas next week. Possibly Delaware the following week? Just very unfair b/c the statistics while usually reliable can be seriously flawed.
NCWGary -
Great win for the Bishops. I think the USA South is one of the fastest growing conferences in terms of talent - having already surpassed the ODAC for that area. I really thought they had the talent to upset the #1 seed- first time since the 32 team expansion (though I thought the committee made a blundering mistake - always embarrassing that you mess up this bad). However I think the committee messed up with MHB’s positioning as well- they may very well be the strongest team out of this region. I think NCW can play with them and make one hell of a game out of it but I see no upsets this week.
This is why I am upset about the regional positions. If NCW was up just one spot (HSC’s spot), I think they make it at least to the quarter-finals winning against Wesley and Muhlenburg. Either way it is nice to see a USA S team other than CNU do well in the postseason
November 18th, 2007 at 10:06 am
RunFerrum said: “Well the ODAC cleaned up against the lower teams in the conference. Though no team in the conference would have beaten NCWC or CNU.”
This is a tough call to make, considering that the ODAC’s worst team (E&H) lost by just four points to NCW. What’s not to say that one of the ODAC’s better teams would’ve had the right mix to win against the Bishops? I think it’s one of those “never say never” instances.
And, mind you, if you’ve read anything I’ve written in the past 12 months, you’ll know that I’ve rah-rahed NCW for a long time — and I’m happy that they’re in stride. I’m just trying to be fair to some of the play I’ve seen across both conferences this year.
November 18th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Bombers looked good. No other team led on MUC all year. I think that MUC won, which is to be expected, but IC gave them a game, which very few people expected.
As for Hartwick, what do you expect? You give up 70 points to Utica and you’re not a great team. Yes, they won’t the E8 and they get credit for it. But this team looks like a team whose opening week game a bald loss to West. N.E. was more indicative of their ability than two close wins over IC and SJF. It looks like they were a middle-of-the-road team who got some breaks and took advantage. In a sad way, this is the downfall of the AQ. Did Hartwick deserve to be in the playoffs? I guess. But they weren’t a very good team, and it showed. When you allow 48, 30, 27, 28, 46, 32, 14, 13, 34 and 70 points in your games, what do you expect?
As for Fisher, good on ya boys. Keep going all the way to Alliance and take care of them.
November 18th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
Bomber 798891
I would disagree with you a bit. I think IC gave Mount the game almost everyone expected. They went to Alliance hungry, they hit hard, they moved the ball offensively through the air, and showed they weren’t intimidated. They lost rather convincingly, because they couldn’t stop the run or the pass, and were only able to generate 13 yards of rushing offense. You can’t be one dimensional in the playoffs, and you most certainly can’t give up 540 yards on defense. Mount’s trio of Kmic, Micheli & Garcon all came up big yesterday, and that was the difference in the game. But offensively, IC has a very good team.
Just my humble opinion.
November 18th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
On to round 2, which is all that matters to me. Bring on New Jersey. Can some folks who know the team comment a little on their success/season? Raiders did well..gotta love Nate Kmic..this is his time of year….The weather has been known to get downright nasty this particular weekend upcoming in Alliance…wonder what it will be like….I can remember two turkey day weekends where it was a blizzard….keep it up Raiders….great first round…
November 18th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Mainjack–
Yeah, MUC can stope the run. Donovan is the school’s career leader in everything, and he didn’t do anything. But it’s simply a talent discrepency more than anything like poor play calling, etc. Same with the allowing 540 yards. But most predictions had Ithaca losing by 35-40 points. None of the triple take guys had IC putting in more than 1 TD. But a team like Ithaca just doesn’t have the horses. The 2005 team would have been in better shape.
I guess it’s time to root for SJF. Good luck in the playoffs. Nice to see a non-biased OAC fan here
November 18th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Bleedpurple- thanks for the props.
I posted in the other board as well - that we had held with you guys until the 4th quarter, when it just kind of fell apart (how about that strip from behind our QB? He never even saw it…). Yeah, that was our 3rd string QB, lots of injuries. I was proud of Cap, and we’ll be back next year… just didn’t match up to UWW this year. That Beaver guy is a machine.
Anyway, the UWW crowd and players were totally classy. Just a good football game, with players helping the rivals up after the play. The way DIII football should be (and often is). Cheers and goodluck UWW. Thanks for hosting Cap.
November 18th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Pat and Keith,
I want to thank you , as a fan and parent of a D3 player, for the honor of
covering our game in Allentown and hope that Mule hospitality was all that could be expected.
Your coverage of the game, and the other playoff games, has been fair and
accurate, all one can ask of good sports journalism.
I look forward to following you, as I have all season, for a while longer, as the Mules stubbornly trudge the road of happy destiny.
November 18th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
I’m a little late in posting this but regarding the game yesterday in Alliance, I was told before the game this would be the best offense Mount Union faced this year to date and that turned out to be accurate. I thought Juvan was very good and Ithaca had a really nice trio of receivers, including the tight end.
Commenting on the officials, and this is just a remark about them as a whole, because when it was all said and done, thankfully they had no bearing on the outcome. But frankly, year in and year out, the worst officials we see in the playoffs are the NCAC crews. You guys watching NCAC football must pull your hair out each week.
I was able to see replays to determine after the fact, so when you see holds from the pressbox that are not called and you then watch the replay and see it again, you just have to shake your head.
Maybe the two worst almost calls (situations), and I say almost because they did get these right, one was interference on Mount Union where the receiver was knocked off his feet well before the ball got there and it took the side judge throwing his flag well after the play to get it right. No one else wearing strips saw it? Well then what are they looking at?
The other one was a ball that bounced into a Ithaca receiver that we could clearly see bounced in from the pressbox and replays showed it wasn’t even close. The two closest officials wanted to call it a catch and it took the same guy that got the interference right to get that one right and he was 50 feet away. Amazing. I just hope as the playoffs go on we do not see another crew from that conference with so much on the line. It’s not fair to everyone that spends so much time preparing that its left into hands such as those.
November 18th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Concerning Mount Union, Micheli is so good. His first pass is intercepted then he completes 19 of 23 the rest of the way. He just makes good decisions. Kmic is amazing. Neither of his long touchdown runs should have happened. He has the mixture of vision, balance, power and speed. In all fairness to greats like Chuck Moore and Dan Pugh I’m going to officially say it. Kmic is the best back the Raiders have ever had. And Garcon is Garcon, he really should be playing in a higher division.
November 19th, 2007 at 12:18 am
Capital35,
I thought both teams treated each other with respect. Neither team was in awe of the other, but both respected the other. Capital looked well coached and fundamentally sound. UWW took control in the 4th quarter and the QB strip you mentioned was the start of it. That was a great defensive play. UWW has been a strong 4th quarter team this year. Hopefully that will serve them well the rest of the playoffs.
Beaver is the WIAC all time leading rusher. He was voted the conference’s Player of the Year award. He also won the Top Scholar-Athlete award in the WIAC. He’s an excellent student and a great person off the field. A great example of the D3 athlete.
Anyway, congratulations to Capital on their season and program. I (and I’m sure other UWW fans) will be following and rooting for Cap in the OAC in future years!
November 19th, 2007 at 5:39 am
Keith,
I feel like the Curry victory gave their team and the NEFC the biggest boost of the weekend. If they come out against Fisher and lose by 50, they will be back to square one. But considering how badly they whipped Hartwick, I doubt it will go down that way. We can no longer consider Curry/NEFC an automatic out in the playoffs, and the East could use another power.
Good for them.
November 19th, 2007 at 5:50 am
MUCNash -
Regarding TCNJ. This is a very well coached program with one of the premiere defenses in D3. You are probably familiar with the 2005 Rowan defense (7-19 vs. MUC in NCAA Semifinals). I put the TCNJ defense on par with 2005 and 2006 Rowan. They get a great push up the middle and have 4 very good DL across the front. Fast linebackers, lock down corners. And they play in a competitive conference.
Their offense is suspect. If they had Ithaca’s offense, we might really have something here. But they don’t, so I wonder how they will handle having to play from behind against MUC?
I foresee a score differential similar to the MUC-IC game. But if TCNJ can disrupt the MUC offense and cause turnovers, then anything can happen. They will have to play the perfect game to win, but either way I think they make this game competitive.
November 19th, 2007 at 6:18 am
Ric Says… Kmic is just amazing… To me there are some other adjetives too… Like awesome and unbelievable… And then throw in that Offensive Line… OMG, it’s a credit to Ithaca, to have held him to just over 200 yards… Believe me… I saw him in action against us last year, and he quite honestly, had the best single game performance I have ever seen…
November 19th, 2007 at 9:21 am
mainjack Says:
November 18th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
Bomber 798891
I would disagree with you a bit. I think IC gave Mount the game almost everyone expected.
I love how people tend to change their views to avoid saying that they were just flat out wrong.
Mainjack - you, D3keith, Pat C. and everyone else were touting MUC and how they play the hardest conference and that they are going to walk through the East Region with no problem. . . Fast forward after week 1 when MUC trailed in a game and did not win 51-1, you are now putting in some humility to our comments as if it were there all along.
November 19th, 2007 at 11:56 am
SJF Fan,
Could you show me a post that I made that said MUC would win 51-1? If I did, I’d like to see it to be reminded. The only thing I remember saying was that MUC has only gone undefeated once in the past four year, that they can be beat, but it takes a great game to do it.
November 19th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
SJF Fan,
I just went back and looked at the Triple-pick scores and comments. I didn’t post “any” comment at all. As far as the scores, Pat C. had it 42-10, Mann had it 42-7, and keith had it 52-7. You can’t get much better at the predicting game than that. What is it about those predictions that you think are so far off?
November 19th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
SJF Fan: Indeed, I was a whole eight points off for the game. I feel pretty good about that.
November 19th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
Thanks for setting us all straight there SJF Fan….Because you have been the empitome of humility over the past week or so….truly, we should all strive to reach your level of perfection…. the funny thing is I dont think you have as much over confidence in any team, which is easy to do ths time of year and in the heat of the playoffs, as much as you have over confidence in your own assertion that you are smarter than everyone….okay then….give us a score for this week….almighty D3 God….and then while you’re at it, should Fisher and MUC meet up in the next round a score for that one too…I just want to learn from the best, you know…
November 19th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Every year there is some nut whole successfully riles up the entire board. It is SJF Fan this year (last year belonged to some crazy called D3KNOWITALL…..his handle was the ultimate oxymoron!!).
To those in the know I pose two questions……….if Stanley made an NFL roster this year, does/can Garcon make one in 2008? Watching Kyle Eckel (Naval Academy) last night for the Pats, will Kmic get a look see and what are his chances of making a 53 man roster or a practice squad?
November 19th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
should read, “some nut WHO successfully riles up the entire board”. My Swarthmore profs would hang me!!
November 19th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
Concerning Garcon I was told prior to the season that a NFL scouting service rated Garcon as a 5th round pick. Since he is in D3 he’ll probably drop further just do to teams that may be interested thinking he will still be around later.
I can’t imagine, Kmic, that did’t have the size to play D1, has the size to play in the NFL. If heart determined NFL playing status, there’d be a million guys on rosters that can’t make it today and probably half the current NFL players working at Burger King.
November 20th, 2007 at 12:10 am
I think it’s a toss up as to whether Garcon gets drafted. Obviously he has the speed and the stats, but as you get deeper into the draft it really becomes a crap shoot. If he doesn’t get drafted, I would suspect he will get a free agent tryout somewhere.
I believe Ric is right about Kmic. He will go down as one of the all-time great D-III running backs, but his career will end there.
November 20th, 2007 at 10:59 am
I love watching Kmic run the ball, but there is ZERO chance of him playing in the NFL. He’s a great D3 running back because of his vision and balance. Not because of his physical attributes. Jamal Robertson from ONU has bounced around the NFL as a back-up RB, but he was a freak of physical nature in college.
Garcon? Maybe. But I seriously doubt he can stay healthy enough to make it out of training camp. In three years at Mount, he’s yet to play a single season without missing time due to injuries.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:48 am
duke-
Just as there’s some nut on here this time of year riling everyone up- you are on here this time of year talking about d3 players getting drafted. We’ll see how Garcon does against players bigger and faster than he is.
November 21st, 2007 at 11:32 am
I think hscoach nailed it. Plus, Garcon — who I thought showed more “next level” skills than Stanley at last year’s stagg — would be better be better off undrafted and getting a chance for weighing several camp offers, which he seems likely to receive. It’s a lot tough for d3 backs (unless you’re Owen Schmitt…)
Still, it seems strange rambling about this now.
November 21st, 2007 at 12:19 pm
I think one thing that will help garcon and I know the scouts see this too, is the fact he is an exellent blocker.I dont really ever see too many guys run down the field and keep throwing blocks like he does. Everytime Kmic breaks one he and Garcon usually end up side buy side running into the end zone.He just has great hussle..Well we will find out in april the we can talk bout this more.
November 21st, 2007 at 12:22 pm
yellow_ jacket98 and repete: My quick, non-rambling questions were succinctly answered by those in the know…..Ric, mainjack and hscoach…..without a wise comment from them about the what, how and why of my questions. If the questions don’t pertain to your particular area of interest or expertise, take a pass and/or add some brilliant commentary of your own that the discussion board can get interested about.
And repete, regarding your comment about having to translate what the Stagg means to people in the East (d3 championship game)……..since the overwhelming majority of these kids will not be playing at the next level……and academics are far, far, far more important than sports and any Stagg…….GPA and advanced degrees (I’ll translate what they are for you:) are far more important to a hiring manager who probably also knows squat about a Stagg!!
November 21st, 2007 at 1:52 pm
duke-
I’ve been reading your rambling posts on here for years- 99% of your posts are about how smart you are and how much money you make- and of course about how great the eagles are (well maybe not this year..)
how do you know i’m not in the know? i’d be willing to bet i know quite a bit more than you about evaluating football talent.
November 21st, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Yeah, but my Dad and beat up your Dad!
November 21st, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Oops. Replace the word “and” with “can”.
My fat fingers were faster than my brain……….
November 21st, 2007 at 3:24 pm
HScoach said, “My fat fingers were faster than my brain……….”
Yeah well a lot of things are faster than your brain.
November 21st, 2007 at 3:32 pm
duke,
Wow, skin’s a bit thin.
I thought my remark about late draft vs. free agent options for Garcon added a bit of context to the discussion.
And I was not calling out the “kids.” My post was specifically directed at “fans” — especially those of the hyperbolic variety, including some whose comments were stricken from the board.
But since you brought up advance degrees, if you really want to compare postgraduate credentials, just let me know … . Not that academic d— measuring means anything.
Now, take a deep breath.
November 23rd, 2007 at 9:13 am
repete - I took my deep breath (I need it these days managing a hedge fund in this market!!). My issue was your comment about the “rambling” about Garcon and his chances to make the NFL. I’ve got friends / clients at the next level (NFL…….not D2:) involved in scouting and personnel and a couple have him on their “watch list” and a couple don’t have him anywhere. I was just interested in getting an opinion (which I did) from people who have seen him play in person (I haven’t) and were interested enough in answering the question. If you don’t fall into either camp…….no harm in taking a pass on the question……without commentary about the “rambling” on the subject. And as far as advanced degrees go, let’s stay away from that completely. That has come up in the past when certain people start “East bashing” (I think you know one of them quite well:). At this level of football, that should never happen as you know. Since the emphasis is on “student”……not “athlete” at this level, it is correct to be defensive, when attacked, by talking about the sheer number of incredible institutions on the eastern corridor alone between New England and down through Virginia. I’ll also confess that my SAT score DID NOT HELP the 1467 SAT average of my graduating class at Swarthmore!! There, I feel better!!
yellow_jacket98……if that’s your graduating class (’98) then I have my answer……you’re still a kid!! Don’t let the facts get in the way. I took a look at my posts this year and they were (1) directed at Gordon Mann about the MAC conference (2) asking those in the know if Mount Union…..in an App State kind of way…..could beat a solid D2 program on their best day (3) Eagles commentary (and by the way, unless you’re from New England, it really doesn’t amtter this year does it?!) directed at Keith McMillan because he grew up in the Philly area and remains a fan (4) Garcon’s/Kmic’s chances at the next level (5) keeping D3 football in perspective and remembering our veterans and those in the military in our thoughts and prayers on Veterans Day…….and I had numerous people seconding my thoughts (not you though…….are you afraid because if we go to a draft, you’re young enough to get drafted?:).
There were no posts attributed to me about my intelligence or my money…..you’ve got the wrong guy. And as I stated above, when that’s come up in the past, it’s been strictly defensive (”East bashing”) and never offensive.
Enough out of you……but I do wish you a happy holiday season nonetheless!!
For all of us people of faith, please keep Siran Stacy in your thoughts and prayers. The former Alabama running back (and Eagles draft pick) lost his wife and four of his children in a car accident a couple of days ago. Reality check for all of us about the things that really matter in life!!