So our predictions weren’t great this week. But picking five road teams to win in the second round of the playoffs was more than a lot of people could have pictured. Two seventh seeds advancing? Well, we did nail that one, at least.
Keith McMillan did the home game this past week, so he watched and listened to pretty much everything, while Pat Coleman took the trip west to Willamette. And the red-eye home. Still catching up on sleep.
But while that happens, you can get their take on a great weekend of Division III playoff football.
You can load the podcast page in iTunes or can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3football.com/dailydose/?feed=podcast
Or you can click the play button below to listen.
Love the podcasts guys….
As long as the Raiders take care of business, I am going to predict that Franklin comes to Alliance…but that’s just a gut feeling…Wheaton is playing great ball as well…but I think Rupp gets Franklin thru to the next round….
Is predicting a 5 seed over a 7 seed going out on a limb? 🙂
Pat and Keith: The podcasts continue to be incredible…great coverage and even better commentary. Obviously, Grizzly fans are really fired up about Franklin’s run and we hope one or both of you will join the “best tailgate in Division III” this coming Saturday at Faught Stadium (you should have seen the Grizzly traveling tailgate on Saturday….2 trailers with cookers and the set up was over 100 ft. in length…fed everyoine!!). The game this past Saturday at North Central really was fun to watch and very compelling as both teams took each others best shots and kept coming back. As I mentioned in another reply, the offense is clearly playing at a very high level, but the defense for the Grizzlies has really stepped it up over the past 5 weeks and particularly in the second half, the defensive coaches are making, as you said, great adjustments in schemes, etc. Certainly this team has a lot of great players, but more importantly, they are exceptional young men who represent their college with class and integrity. WOW this is fun….let’s just keep it going!!!
GO GRIZ….onto to Alliance!!!
grizfanbill says:
GO GRIZ….onto to Alliance!!! watch what you ask for. First get by Wheaton. One game at a time. Good luck.
great podcast. You bring up a couple of interesting points in the North bracket. Pat and Keith believe Wheaton’s road to the elite 8 is “a little softer” given Trine and Wabash. Pat questions Wabash accomplishments given their performance in 2 of their final 3 weeks. They also rightly point out Franklin’s rise winning on the road vs Otterbein and CCIW. Those are two really good wins in the playoffs. It is pretty clear why Franklin is a big favorite this weekend.
I will make 2 points:
-If Wheaton had “squeaked” by Trine and/or Wabash I would agree with the sentiment. Wheaton really dominated both games so I am not sure you can attest to their relative strength. I don’t think wabash was as good as expected and I actually thought Trine was better than expected.
2-I could make the opposite argument. Perhaps the OAC is “down” this year and Otterbein really was a weaker OAC #2. Maybe the rest of D3 is closer to this years group of MUC runner ups than we thought? I also know NCC was not nearly at full strength and their best players had injuries that affected their play. I am not sure the NCC team that lost to Saturday is the same team that beat Wheaton and Augie down the stretch in October.
I am looking forward to seeing Chad Rupp live this week. Two 7 seeds against 2 5 seeds. You have to love D3 football and having a great playoff system.
Great job on the podcast guys !! I’ve been crunching things for nearly 48 straight hours … and a couple of things to watch for in the Franklin-Wheaton game: The game is being moved from Franklin College because of very bad field conditions leftover from the rainy game finishing the regular season. It will be played at the Franklin Community High School field-turf field.
I’m in agreement with USEE looking at WHEATON — they would have trounced TRINE if not for 4 turnovers in the offensive end of the field including two inside of the 10 yard line !! And USEE is correct – North Central’s Sulo and Fanthorpe both missed action in the 2nd half against Franklin after getting banged up pretty good. Keep in mind that Franklin lost their most explosive offensive player – Austin Gorrell – against Trine early in the year, and lost one of their starting wide outs – Adam Mellencamp – against Otterbein.
I would be very appreciative of someone that saw the Wheaton-NC game, or any Wheaton game, posting some of their perceptions of the Thunder.
It may seem foolish to some — and yes you can be sure Coach Leonard’s GRIZ are taking it one game at a time — but we (the tailgaters) are all looking forward to the “potential” trip to Alliance !! I want to see those guys in person !!
GO GRIZ !!
grizfan4 Says:
We the Mount fans would also love to see your team in person! It’s fun to see teams that Mount has never played(or haven’t played in many years). So far Randolf Macon and Hobart have not disappointed and played their collective hearts out. I am sure Cortland will be no different. Just to wet your whistle if Mount does meet Franklin. Mount is Real big, real fast, real strong, real smart, and reeeaallly well coached. Other than that, their no differant than any other team left in the playoffs, Good luck, hope to see you in two weeks.
BRING ON THE PURPLE RAIDERS !!!
CStateFB06: OH YEA!!!!
My predictions this week (I know its 5 days early, but its not going to change):
UWW: 31
Wartburg: 14
UMHB: 45
W&J: 28
MU: 42
CSU: 14
Wheaton: 42
Franklin: 35
I guess I could give some reasoning behind my picks:
UWW/Wartburg: Wartburg has allowed nearly 800 total yards yet their opponents have scored just 49 pts in 2 games…at some point the defense with bend too far. Whitewater has already beaten the only team I thought they might lose to in this bracket.
MHB/WJ: The Presidents were pretty impressive at Millsaps, both offensively and defensively. In fact, I thought for sure this would be Millsaps/MHB. However, MHB proves each week that they are one of the “Big 3”, and they’ve been here before. MHB wins a shootout.
MU/Cortland: I think Hobart was the best defense Mount has faced this year…and it didn’t go so well. Cortland has more firepower, and I think the Ithaca loss was an abberation, but its still too early in the playoffs for Mount to be challenged.
Wheaton/Franklin: Flip a coin…Franklin lost to Trine, Wheaton dominated them, Franklin beat NC, NC dominted Wheaton. Who really knows. I think Franklin’s D is weaker than you might expect…73 points in 2 playoff games isn’t exactly stout, and Wheaton’s coming off a game in which they scored 59 at Wabash. This game might be won by the first team to get a stop. Of course, with my prediction expertise, it’ll wind up 10-7.
Go Scotties
I am admittedly not as well versed in the entire D3 universe as many others here , so I don’t even begin to pick other games. Your point about the Franklin D is well documented … however the GRIZ D has stepped up in certain crucial situations ALL season — getting a huge stop AT Butler to close out the Bulldogs, making several plays against a decent (not great) Mt.St.Joe offense down the stretch, and getting a couple of BIG plays against both Otterbein and North Central. At least 14 of the points scored between those two came with the game already out of reach, and in the case of Otterbein, they came against the second string. I haven’t seen any comments from the respective coaches to back up my thinking that both Otterbein and NCC were somewhat surprised by the D, but I think McManus and Smythe and a couple of very good linebackers are capable of getting that stop to determine the outcome. Wheaton’s 59 is pretty impressive, until you look at the total body of work by Wabash — and I think Pat and Keith both talked about that. Some of those that I have talked with have not been impressed with the Little Giants at all this season – mostly because of the level of competition they have faced. And although the history of the HCAC in the play-offs hasn’t been good at all, this year the HCAC out -of-conference records weren’t too bad. I think the HCAC is actually 3-1 versus the OAC this year. It isn’t a “power” conference, but it is getting better. So I would say Franklin going 7-0 in that league with 4 of those on the road — AND 5 straight Homecoming games in the middle sof the season — have made the GRIZ tough when they need to be. My coin flip — of course with the bias — comes up Franklin, and I think I like your score prediction – just reversed.
What a great post season so far. A playoff format that works and proof that any given Saturday a team can show up and win. I can’t wait to see the outcomes of our 5 & 7 seed games.
I truly enjoy seeing the new teams during the playoffs or as someone as stated revisiting past foes from years past.
I live in Upstate New York near the Hartwick, Cortland, Ithaca, St. John Fisher, Brockport, and Hobart venues. Good football. I have thoroughly enjoyed witnessing Mount play the Upstate NY teams these past two years with the seedings. Unfortunatley the NY teams have not done well when traveling to Alliance. The offense at Mount speaks for itself with the 1-2 punch of Kmic and Micheli. The Defense quietly has put together a solid season with only 67 total points against them with 20 coming from Otterbein and five shut outs.
Good luck to my Upstate NY neighbors from Cortland as they travel to MUC bring your A game as you need it on the road.
Kudos to St. John Fisher for scheduling a home and away series with Mount during the 08 & 09 seasons. Classy!
Grizfan4,
you forgot to mention the Trine game, also a common opponent with Wheaton. Wheaton dominated Trine in Angola and save for a couple turnovers in the red zone, would have beaten them badly.
Pat and Keith wondered about Wabash on the podcast but Wheaton didn’t exactly win a close one, they dominated them in all phases. That game says something about Wabash more than it does Wheaton. McManus and Smythe are the 2 playmakers Wheaton will have to contend with but They have faced some pretty good defensive players this season and been successful.
Obviously Rupp will be a huge force in this game and Wheaton will have to do all they can to limit the Franklin’s offense. I think you do that by running the ball effectively and I am not sure how Franklin is going to stop Rocky Ginng and the power running game wheaton will bring to Franklin. If Wheaton can run the ball right at Franklin and get Rocky 4-6 yds per carry, they will control the clock, limit Rupp’s possessions and it will be a long day for Franklin.
Here is how I see it.
UWW: 34
Wartburg: 31
UMHB: 41
W&J: 28
MU: 51
CSU: 21
Wheaton: 34
Franklin: 28
Following week:
UMHB: 28
UWW: 21
MUC: 48
Wheaton: 14
Stagg
MUC: 34
UMHB:20
Can’t get the pod cast to load.
USEE
I did reference the Trine -Wheaton game in an earlier post — 4 Thunder turnovers – ALL in Trine territory (2 inside the 10). Franklin’s defense has been able to limit the run pretty much all season — so it will be a great test of Wheaton’s offense playing defense. If Wheaton gets down early like they did at North Central earlier this year, they aren’t out of it, but they definitely don’t want to get in a shooting match. NCC held Wheaton to 82 rushing yards, half their average. I don’t know but was that because they were down? Against Trine they only ran for 89 yards and they weren’t trailing in that one. The Franklin-Trine game total offense was 334-336, Wheaton-Trine 404-344 … and Franklin had 5 turnovers in their game in Angola.
Really am enjoying all of this … the play-offs are great !!
Finally, pod cast loaded. Great job guys!!
R24aider: Believe me, Franklin is not looking past Wheaton….no way!!! If anything stands out about this team it is that they are well “grounded” in their success. Coach Leonard won’t stand for anything else. The Grizzlies are certainly in “uncharted waters” as a team, but they are living in the present and they will be focused ONLY on Wheaton. It’s clear to me that they have fully respected every opponent they have faced or may face this season. That said, they did not and will not fear any of them either. It’s fun to see the predictions here and on the D3 home page….they still aren’t getting any respect, still flying under the radar a little bit, which is excactly how they want it. They kind of remind me of Butch saying to Sundance when they were being tracked down…..”who are those guys”??
GO GRIZ!!!!
…tried yesterday to log on,,never did make it…now I forgot what I had to say,,,old age I think…is there a book I could buy…loggin on for DUMMY’s…Great podcast many thanks good luck Cortland Red Dragons
all those who did not pick Mount as on of the teams in the east final, please stand up!??
grizfanbill-
How can you say Franklin isn’t getting any respect? how long will you beat that drum? They are in the regional final and won 2 road games against top tier conferences. I don’t see anything but respect at this point.
grizfan4-you are right you did reference Trine game earlier–my bad. Also, Rocky Gingg ran for 111 yds vs Trine. Norris got sacked 2x for -20 or so which counts against running yds. Trine’s defensive front is one of the better ones I have seen this year. Pearson is a beast and they were tough up front. I think Wheaton’s running yds were as many as Trine gave up all season. Franklin has given up 150+ to the running teams (msj, BW, etc). Many of the teams in HCAC are spread offenses. Wheaton will line up with 2 TE’s, I backfield and run it right at you. The Wheaton OLine significantly outweigs the Franklin DLine at every position. Speed doesn’t help you defeat a double team. It should be interesting.
WOW I got to log in twice in the same day I’m loven it…O K I’m standing up but only to cheer on CORTLAND it ain’t over till its over Thank you LOG MASTER
Good comments on the Pool C bids.
#3 seed HSU was sent to #2 UMHB instead of hosting a first round game versus a lower Pool A or B seed. The Pool C’s might be 8-3.
The comments on the seeding by winning percentage gets to an area where it is tough to outline criteria that are predictable. A team that goes undefeated is a team that has done everything that it has been asked to do. It is hard for me to deny them at least a first round game, (unless they are the fifth undefeated team in that “region”.) UWW, a #5 seed, got a home game, as did undefeated #3 seed Monmouth. (Undefeated #2 Oxy didn’t, but geographic proximity is another discussion.) When I am seeding the West, I have to defend the seedings. Willamette, Oxy and Monmouth went undefeated. #4-seed UWSP won the head-to-head with UWW. UWW is the strongest #5 there is.
In my mind, here is where the aggressive scheduling pays off. One-loss UWW earns a Pool C with their loss to UW-SP. Ten-win UWW may earn the #1 seed in the region. In the South, HSU has quality in-region wins over Linfield at home and a road win over UW-Lacrosse. HSU (9-1 in-region) gets a Pool C on strength of schedule. IMHO, that is the coach’s decision.
Thanks for the podcast.
IMO I think that W&J will be ready for MHB. The last time they played W&J simply ran out of time to pull off the comeback and lost 30-27. Coach Sirianni and the boys will be a lot more prepared to play than the perivious 2 encounters with the Cru. Just like MHB finally bested Weasley, I believe that W&J can pull their first ever win in Texas!
Thanks for the podcast.
Here’s my 2 cents on the Regional Finals:
W&J at Mary Hardin Baylor:
Though I would absolutely love to see W&J vs. MUC in the Stagg to see the pupil go against the master, I just can’t get past the fact the Presidents have never had a strong defense. Especially when it comes to stopping the run. And both MHB and Whitewater are two of the best in the D3 when it comes to pounding it down an opponent’s throat, so I just can’t see W&J stopping the Cru enough to win. Swallow will keep them close, but not close enough. Plus MHB has to be loving the fact that they’d get Whitewater in TEXAS next week if they take care of business instead of in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin in mid-December.
MHB 38 / W&J 20
Wartburg at Whitewater:
Next.
WWW 42 / Wartburg 10 (or worse)
Wheaton at Franklin:
This one is the most interesting to me. Franklin has looked VERY impressive in downing Otterbein and North Central, but Wheaton has looked better than expected too and comes from a historically better conference and has more playoff experience than Frankin. Wheaton will have to control the game with their running game and get pressure on Rupp early & often. Forced to make a pick, I’m going with the hot hand in Chad Rupp to set up a great semi-final in Alliance.
Franklin 42 / Wheaton 34
Cortland State at Mount Union:
I think the key for this game is which Cortland team shows up. The one that went 9-0 and looked like a real #1 seed in the East, or the one that dropped the ball and got drilled by an Ithaca team that lost to Curry? One thing is for sure, Cortland is much bigger along the O and D lines than any team Mount has seen since Whitewater and should provide a real physical test for the young and under-sized Mount lines. Cortland’s coach talked today in the press call about taking pride in slamming the door on the opponent’s running game and making them one dimensional. If they can actually STOP Kmic and MAKE Mount pass to move the ball, they’ll be the first to do so in 3+ years. In the end, I’m guessing too much speed on the Mount D and too much Nate Kmic/Greg Micheli for Cortland State to hang for more than a half or so. Close early, but MUC pulls away in the 3rd and 4th.
Mount Union 42 / Cortland State 17
Great analysis HS Coach.
USee: If you’ll look at the message I left earlier, this is what I said…. “it’s fun to see the predictions here and on the D3 home page”. If you look there you’ll see the current home page poll that has them picked to lose on Saturday, and in both weeks 1 and 2 they were picked by Pat and Keith to lose as well. Thats what I said because thats what was and is there. I’m not angry or beating a drum about it, its just a fact. As an alum of the school, this journey is as fun as the Grizzlies trip to the Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Missouri back in ’71….I’m not kidding…the Mineral Water Bowl! I know Coach Red Faught is smiling down from heaven on “his boys” imploring them to “go reckless, stay loose and enjoy football”. Red coached the run and shoot before it became fashionable and grew into the West Coast offense. He believed people came to see the football and the only way they could was to put it in the air!! I know this….respect or not, this is an awesome ride!!!
GO GRIZ!!!!
So picking your team to beat a higher seed = respect? Even though your team had never won a playoff game? seems to me respect is earned not given. Looks to me like Franklin has earned their measure of respect. You can beat that drum all you want but it simply isn’t true.
Former head coach of Wheaton JR Bishop is a Franklin College grad and football alum and played under Red Faught. JR is in the Franklin and Wheaton Hall of Fame. His “Air Bishop” back in the mid 80’s was classic Red Faught Run and Shoot. He set many NCAA records then, some of which still stand. He is good friends with Mike Leonard, HC of Franklin and his son, Keith, is the Thunder WR coach.
What I dont understand is how people still have zero respect for Washington and Jefferson and their defense… They have the 15th best run defense in the country (83 yds/game) and held the nations 3rd leading rusher under his average. Tunde Ogun and Christopher Newport had loads of trouble running against them in the first half, though they did get a few big plays in the 4th.
However, what is more impressive is the fact that W&J held Milsaps (the 11th best offense in the nation averaging 453 yds/game) to only 291 yards of total offense. They knocked off a #1 seed, who D3football.com’s writers favored to go to the stagg bowl. They confused the heck out of them on defense by running a sort of 3-3-5 and moving the down lineman around a lot. The offense pretty much ran all over them.
Its clear that not many d3 fans, nor ANY writers for D3football watched this game. Nor have they watched any W&J game… Im sure they looked at the statbook before taping the podcast and made a guess about how the game went… W&J is used to that.
As for MHB… if my memory serves me correctly (and it does because i was on the sideline for the game), in 2006 MHB only beat W&J by 3… Our defense created a few turnovers (and scores) and were in position to pull off a comeback victory. Time proved a factor, but regardless W&J held their own against a TEXAS team.
It is clear that MHB, tho a strong team, is not the same team of 2006. They have had a lot of injuries, and now rely on their defense to take control over games. (Im not doubting their running ability, but 6 turnovers from Wesley helped a bit)
I believe before anyone counts out the Presidents, they need to take a look at who they are. They have the 3rd best offense in the country MHB is 36th. Our rushing D is 15th so I beleive we are well suited to stop the run. W&J also turns the ball over the fewest in the country… Bobby Swallow has only thrown 14 picks in HIS ENTIRE CAREER. MHB capitalizes and feeds off of turnovers, and W&J rarely gives the ball up…
So before you count out the Presidents… Think about the numbers
Didn’t Keith talk in this very podcast about watching the game. That’s the beauty of streaming video.
46thPresident,
First, let me say that the Mount nation is rooting for the Presidents. Sirianni played for us and we wish him nothing but success. That being said, he will even tell you what you can do with “the numbers!!” They don’t mean JACK in the playoffs! Heck, Mount could boast one they had the best run defense in the country, yet R-Mc and Hobart seemed to move the ball effortlessly on the ground. It’s all about preparation, and which team comes to play on Saturday. If you want to talk numbers, Then Mount is already the National Champs and we can cancell the rest of the playoffs. Go luck W&J.
USEE — very cool tidbit about AIR BISHOP and the connection between Wheaton and Franklin !! Just adds to the interest and intrigue in this game !! IS it Saturday yet ??? I’m getting absolutely NOTHING done at work this week !! GO GRIZ !
And for a couple of general tidbits about Franklin — how about these: (it is rumored) Grizzly wide out Adam Mellencamp is the nephew of John Mellencamp … wide out Kevin Lynch is one of Indiana head coach Bill Lynch’s sons.
I agree numbers during the regular season dont always mean anything in the playoffs… but numbers in the playoffs do…
the games i listed were our first two playoff games… which shows that our defense is much improved and is stepping up to the challenge of tough competition the playoffs bring… thats what i was trying to get across
And if Pat and Keith did watch the game i apologize… I gathered from their very brief and nondescript summary the gae of the game that they hadnt. I was expecting a much more detailed summary (like other games get) of such an upset of their favorites to go to the stagg bowl
different year 46thpresident but when it comes down too it W&J is 0-3 in past years against UMHB. Until they can get over the hump with a Texas team they will always be the underdog no matter if they knocked off a 1 seed or not.
best of luck to the remaining teams and good luck presidents. If you are traveling with W&J bring your own beverages, Belton is a dry county!
I think folks have it right on re: the upcoming UW-Whitewater-Wartburg game. I saw the UW-Stevens Point-Wartburg game two weeks ago. UW-Stevens Point played themselves out of that game, rather than anything Wartburg did.
This one may be over by the middle of the third quarter, similar to the Wesley games of 2005 and 2006.
I attended the Willamette game last week and never saw so many guys hit the sidelines with injuries in a DIII game. The only thing I can see stopping a UWW win this week is if there are lasting effects of being worn out from that game, given the physical nature of the play.
If I drive down from Saint Paul, MN to watch Saturday’s game, I am curious about the status of the QB and RB positions.
46thPresident, I for one respect what the President’s have done this season and I thank them for saving me a trip to Millsaps. I know how good Swallows is because I have saw him play in 06 when you guys came to Belton.
However I would point out that the two times the President played a team with a good rushing offense, CNU and Thomas Moore(both of which UMHB is better than… on paper anyway) the Presidents gave up around 200 yards rushing. If UMHB can repeat that trend than the very good W&J offense will not be one the field as much as they usually are.
46th President,
Good points about W&J offense and defense, BUT, guess what?————-Wesley ranked right up there in both categories as well. In fact, they had a better ranked defense than W&J and UMHB ran all over them. The UMHB defense had 7 sacks———hope W&J is able to block better than Wesley was. UMHB’s trademark is running the ball and very stout defense. UMHB is only giving up an avg of 14 points a game—–W&J gives up @ 20 pts. Wesley gave up an avg of 12 pts/game and avg 37 BUT they only got 14 against UMHB and gave up 46——————–u say if it hadn’t of have been for the turnovers————-I read from one person on here last year—————-that’s what good defenses do—-cause turnovers. Heck, you could also say, if it hadn’t of been for the blocked extra point and missed FG by UMHB, it would have been 50-14. DID you see how many rushing yards Wesley had against UMHB———–19—–yes, 19——————–I don’t see W&J getting it done————-sorry.
46th President,
One other point—————W&J doesn’t seem to have very good luck against TEXAS teams. UMHB is 36-4 at home since 2001———-I don’t see W&J making it 36-5.———–once again, sorry
UWSYSTEMFAN – I think UWW should be alright healthwise on Saturday. Sounds like they are still a little banged up from last week, but they are still a very deep team with experience in these types of situations. As for the QB and RB specifically, I think they will be alright on that front as well. The weather on Saturday might make them rely on the run even more than usual, which means Donovan or Langer won’t have that pressure. Not sure what Coppage’s status is, but Antwan Anderson has really stepped up in his absence (3 tds last week). Again, they’re a deep team who won’t crack under the pressure of the playoffs. Hope you can make it down here for the game on Saturday. It could be a blowout, but with the way Wartburg has been playing so far, I can’t count them out of it be any means.
Whew! My head is still spinning from that spirited MUC-Hobart fan exchange on the other page! Not much mention of the David & Goliath matchup in Alliance, OH this w/e. But out here on the prairie, while fans of the big State U wait to see in which 4th-rate bowl game our Gophers will play, I’ll be cheering on my little state U Red Dragons to slay the giant.
46th President;
The game against UMHB in 06 was not as close as it seems. I was at the game and UMHB basically played prevent defense in the 4th quarter. UMHB pulled most of the starters as well.
As CaptainCru pointed out, Wesley had great numbers and UMHB took it to them. W&J will not stop the Cru run game, in fact they won’t even slow it down. UMHB has a lot of injuries especially at RB. Tucker was pulled off defense to run the ball and he has done a great job thus far. Hurst the backup RB is banged up as well but we have others who will step up.
However, the Cru must keep Swallow off the field as much as possible and they will if they take care of business on offense.
Forget about the MUC-W&J matchup. Even IFFFF W&J pulled off a miracle in Belton they would lose to UWW.
You can buy beer in Belton (all you W&J fans, try Shiner Bock beer, it’s great) in all the local stores and eating establishments. You can buy the hard stuff in Temple just 5 miles down the road or in Morgan’s Point.
I plan on setting on the W&J side at the game. I know I can get a better seat over there. W&J fans, I will not be like the MUC fans so don’t beat me up. I will even buy the 46th President a soda and a good old Texas sausage wrap. Good luck to both UMHB and W&J.
cru crushed
in no way does that make any sense… how is a 3 point game not close??? and who pulls starters in a second round playoff game??? YOU ONLY HAVE A 52 MAN ROSTER!!! lol how many starters can you pull?
and ill take a beer during half… ill be on the sidelines during the game
Hey all,
I get to speak my piece all the time, so I won’t pile on, just a few quick things to add. You all are doing a great job discussing anyway:
1. “Wheaton dominated Trine.” … interesting. I realize the final score (14-0) doesn’t always tell the whole story, but that hardly seems like full domination. Maybe defensively.
I think the comparative results vs. the common opponents favor Franklin. North Central put it on Wheaton in midseason, I watched that one, it started to get ugly. Franklin beat them, although the injuries were a factor. Trine’s win over Franklin seemed a little fluky … not that Trine isn’t a good team, but they earned a lot of turnovers and short fields. If the Wheaton folks are going to use the ‘we had a lot of turnovers against Trine’ argument to say it was more dominating than 14-0 appeared, you have to give Franklin that respect too for their Trine game.
2. I would be worried about the Franklin D. Otterbein was a very legitimate D3 team, they just couldn’t stop Rupp and the offense once they got in rhythm. The Franklin D might make some opportune plays, and good defenses do that, but I think the Griz are going to have to keep outscoring people to keep winning.
Not counting Wheaton out at all, the CCIW is one of the toughest week-in, week-out grinds in the nation, the Thunder will be well prepared.
I think it’s the GOTW.
3. Re: W&J losing by 3.
Technically that’s true, but UMHB led 27-7 in that game and led 30-20 before W&J scored with 5 seconds left to make it 30-27. Not knocking that or saying that score doesn’t count, but it’s not the same thing as being tied 27-27 and UMHB needing a last-second field goal to win.
4. I did watch a lot of the Millsaps/W&J game, but by the same token, I haven’t seen a lot of the Presidents this season. It’s just not possible for me to watch every team, even every good team, every playoff bound team. I do the best I can.
It helps if you schedule some games that would make a non-fan want to come see.
That said, I regarded W&J and Millsaps as very similar teams — offensively powerful with great senior QBs — and I wasn’t sure either had a defense or a running game, and both of those showed up last Saturday for W&J. I picked Millsaps because I thought physically it would be hard for a team to stay with them for a full game. W&Js second half was a really nice one.
Haven’t paid as much attention to UMHB this year as in some previous years either. That year they went 10-3 I attended all of the losses (CNU, UWW and Wesley). I think I was banned.
5. I think it’s interesting that 7 of the teams alive have been humbled this year, and in Wheaton and Wartburg’s case it’s happened twice. Not sure if I mentioned that on the podcast or not, but there’ something about having lost before that’s very … helps you buckle down for the rest of the year. Playing with no room to spare, not believing you’re better than you are.
6. Don’t know if I said this on the podcast or not, but I agree that Cortland State will be the first team Mount has seen in the playoffs that will be able to match up physically. The Red Dragons aren’t overwhelming in any area, so they’ll have to play a sharp game, but they definitely have a chance.
7. I like that The Big Three are still hanging around. I don’t think MUC, UWW or UMHB 2008 are as good as their 2007 versions — they all got younger and less-experienced in key places along the lines or on defense — and they are not unbeatable, but it also says a lot for coaching, continuity in a program and maybe even the benefits of recruiting off of so many playoff appearances and having extra weeks of practice, etc.
That’s as brief as I get folks.
d3Keith,
I agree about the loss comment wholeheartedly. The MUC team that lost to Ohio Northern a few seasons back seemed to go on an absolute tear after that loss and did win it all. It showed them they were mortal and they locked in, like you said. That’s just my take….
I’m going to take a break from commenting for awhile…Seems I got some fellow MUC folks upset on the other board. Should be some great games this weekend. I hope everyone traveling from Cortland Sate has safe travels and has a good time in Alliance – but not too good 🙂 haha….
Same goes for all of those traveling to Whitewater with the Wartburg crew. Looks like we’re in for more snow tomorrow and Saturday so leave early and be careful.
Keith, you comment about all of the teams being humbled was spot on. I think that played a big part for UWW in the regular season. After the UW-SP lost, they seemed like a totally different team in the 40-10 drubbing of UW-Eau Claire the next week, and they’ve been on a roll ever since. I have to think that has motivated them in the playoffs as well. Without that loss, they had a great shot at being a 1 seed and homefield possibly throughout. Now, they’ve been lucky to get two home playoff games as a 5 seed, and have had to travel in the playoffs to somewhere other than Salem, VA (Salem, OR ironically) for the first time since 2005. That thought might be in the back of their minds come Saturday when they play against the team that beat UWSP two weeks ago.
I think UMHB wins with dominate line play. That was the key to the Wesley game. Their offensive line was great and the two d-tackles really get great push in the middle to allow the small speedy ends to be a factor.
Saenz has also been very efficient the past couple of weeks (18 of 27 with out looking.) It’s tough to beat the Cru when they execute that well in the pass game.
W & J must win the turnover battle by at least +2 to be in the game, IMHO.