MIAA 2023

[jlibcon]

Good slate of games today!

Wooster at Albion
Adrian at Capital
Hope at Oberlin

[jlibcon]

Albion loses a tough one to Wooster, who looked much better than last year. Wooster dominated FO and had some shifty Attack, was a good game.

[OHLaxDad]

Any observations on the season so far based on early OOC results? From my perspective, the results to date don't seem to make me think that the preseason poll was significantly off. I think that there is a clear 1/2 and then 3-5 are all pretty comparable.

[Argyle23]

Agreed… my mid-season eval/thoughts:

1. Albion - Expectation was 5-2 for the champs. The Kenyon score margin is throwing me off, but it’s pretty tough to play catch up when the Owls (RIP Purple Lords) are dominating at X.

2. Hope - can’t wrap my head around this team and the chatter has been quiet from Holland. SALY until told otherwise…

3. Adrian - still a year or two away from that next step, but this team will be battle tested rolling into MIAA play. #SCTop10 Air Gait from a D-Pole?!? Lock em in at #3

4. Trine - the opposite of battle tested and that’s okay based on the size of this freshman class. Upcoming ONU game will give us a benchmark.

5. Calvin - potential to slide up to 3? For sure past Trine… Carve out Q1 against Aurora and maybe I’m sold.

6. Kzoo - 500-ish seems appropriate.

7. Alma - expectations have been low since the AD banned Kinney from Twitter.

[jlibcon]

Agreed… my mid-season eval/thoughts:

1. Albion - Expectation was 5-2 for the champs. The Kenyon score margin is throwing me off, but it’s pretty tough to play catch up when the Owls (RIP Purple Lords) are dominating at X.

2. Hope - can’t wrap my head around this team and the chatter has been quiet from Holland. SALY until told otherwise…

3. Adrian - still a year or two away from that next step, but this team will be battle tested rolling into MIAA play. #SCTop10 Air Gait from a D-Pole?!? Lock em in at #3

4. Trine - the opposite of battle tested and that’s okay based on the size of this freshman class. Upcoming ONU game will give us a benchmark.

5. Calvin - potential to slide up to 3? For sure past Trine… Carve out Q1 against Aurora and maybe I’m sold.

6. Kzoo - 500-ish seems appropriate.

7. Alma - expectations have been low since the AD banned Kinney from Twitter.

That's a good breakdown. Kenyon was very fast and the FOGO was great. They locked Conley off, but he has not looked right all season anyway, playing on 2 bad feet which is no good for a player that relies on speed. Adrian actually played them tough so I think the Adrian v Albion game may be a really god one. Remember Adrian played Albion very tough in the playoffs last year.

Hope lost some great players, but looks to be getting better as the young guys start to gel. They played Rhodes tough and Rhodes is a good team.

Trine I have no idea, guess we will see but this week will give us a better idea. I would put Calvin ahead of them since there is more there to gauge them after a close score with Aurora.

Alma looks better than last year so that is good for them.

Here is the order I would rank the teams right now before Conference play:

1. Albion
2. Adrian
3. Hope
4. Calvin
5. Trine
6. Kalamazoo
7. Alma

[Argyle23]

Agreed… my mid-season eval/thoughts:

1. Albion - Expectation was 5-2 for the champs. The Kenyon score margin is throwing me off, but it’s pretty tough to play catch up when the Owls (RIP Purple Lords) are dominating at X.

2. Hope - can’t wrap my head around this team and the chatter has been quiet from Holland. SALY until told otherwise…

3. Adrian - still a year or two away from that next step, but this team will be battle tested rolling into MIAA play. #SCTop10 Air Gait from a D-Pole?!? Lock em in at #3

4. Trine - the opposite of battle tested and that’s okay based on the size of this freshman class. Upcoming ONU game will give us a benchmark.

5. Calvin - potential to slide up to 3? For sure past Trine… Carve out Q1 against Aurora and maybe I’m sold.

6. Kzoo - 500-ish seems appropriate.

7. Alma - expectations have been low since the AD banned Kinney from Twitter.

That's a good breakdown. Kenyon was very fast and the FOGO was great. They locked Conley off, but he has not looked right all season anyway, playing on 2 bad feet which is no good for a player that relies on speed. Adrian actually played them tough so I think the Adrian v Albion game may be a really god one. Remember Adrian played Albion very tough in the playoffs last year.

Hope lost some great players, but looks to be getting better as the young guys start to gel. They played Rhodes tough and Rhodes is a good team.

Trine I have no idea, guess we will see but this week will give us a better idea. I would put Calvin ahead of them since there is more there to gauge them after a close score with Aurora.

Alma looks better than last year so that is good for them.

Here is the order I would rank the teams right now before Conference play:

1. Albion
2. Adrian
3. Hope
4. Calvin
5. Trine
6. Kalamazoo
7. Alma

Few additional thoughts and I’ll crawl back under my rock…

Adrian vs Albion will be an interesting one. Adrian’s defense vs Albion’s attack will be the matchup to watch but not the deciding factor. I think it comes down to the X (Adrian’s kryptonite), Albion’s experience in the middle of the field, and a miscellaneous curveball by either team. I would put my money on the Brits. Still wish they played on Sprinkle-Sprandle but the new stadium with its wall ball shrine will suffice…

Key matchups that in the upcoming weeks that may move the needle:

Albion = Carthage/Southwest/NCC [give me 2/3]
Hope = IWU/Southwest [1/2]
Adrian = OWU (again… the X will kill them) [0/1]
Trine = ONU [0/1]
Calvin = Elmhurst/NCC [0/2]
Kzoo = Aurora [0/1]

~30% in the wins column. No knock on the MIAA, but this will be a tough road ahead. Similar to this threads’ previous discussion, I applaud the HCs for putting together a competitive OOC.

[jlibcon]

Agreed… my mid-season eval/thoughts:

1. Albion - Expectation was 5-2 for the champs. The Kenyon score margin is throwing me off, but it’s pretty tough to play catch up when the Owls (RIP Purple Lords) are dominating at X.

2. Hope - can’t wrap my head around this team and the chatter has been quiet from Holland. SALY until told otherwise…

3. Adrian - still a year or two away from that next step, but this team will be battle tested rolling into MIAA play. #SCTop10 Air Gait from a D-Pole?!? Lock em in at #3

4. Trine - the opposite of battle tested and that’s okay based on the size of this freshman class. Upcoming ONU game will give us a benchmark.

5. Calvin - potential to slide up to 3? For sure past Trine… Carve out Q1 against Aurora and maybe I’m sold.

6. Kzoo - 500-ish seems appropriate.

7. Alma - expectations have been low since the AD banned Kinney from Twitter.

That's a good breakdown. Kenyon was very fast and the FOGO was great. They locked Conley off, but he has not looked right all season anyway, playing on 2 bad feet which is no good for a player that relies on speed. Adrian actually played them tough so I think the Adrian v Albion game may be a really god one. Remember Adrian played Albion very tough in the playoffs last year.

Hope lost some great players, but looks to be getting better as the young guys start to gel. They played Rhodes tough and Rhodes is a good team.

Trine I have no idea, guess we will see but this week will give us a better idea. I would put Calvin ahead of them since there is more there to gauge them after a close score with Aurora.

Alma looks better than last year so that is good for them.

Here is the order I would rank the teams right now before Conference play:

1. Albion
2. Adrian
3. Hope
4. Calvin
5. Trine
6. Kalamazoo
7. Alma

Few additional thoughts and I’ll crawl back under my rock…

Adrian vs Albion will be an interesting one. Adrian’s defense vs Albion’s attack will be the matchup to watch but not the deciding factor. I think it comes down to the X (Adrian’s kryptonite), Albion’s experience in the middle of the field, and a miscellaneous curveball by either team. I would put my money on the Brits. Still wish they played on Sprinkle-Sprandle but the new stadium with its wall ball shrine will suffice…

Key matchups that in the upcoming weeks that may move the needle:

Albion = Carthage/Southwest/NCC [give me 2/3]
Hope = IWU/Southwest [1/2]
Adrian = OWU (again… the X will kill them) [0/1]
Trine = ONU [0/1]
Calvin = Elmhurst/NCC [0/2]
Kzoo = Aurora [0/1]

~30% in the wins column. No knock on the MIAA, but this will be a tough road ahead. Similar to this threads’ previous discussion, I applaud the HCs for putting together a competitive OOC.

Adrian D will be tested against Albion Attack for sure. Sam Puzevic is having a very good year and Rottelle/Mercier have done great with playing time and Conley will always draw a pole off and create space. If Adrian can limit them though, they got a chance. Albion has a couple very good Freshman Midfielders but has struggled on D, much more than in previous years. That will be one to watch for sure. Adrian vs Hope will as well. This is the first year in a while I could see a third team shaking things up in the Conference.

[Argyle23]

MIAA conference play begins this weekend… thoughts on the previous weeks OOC picks and Saturdays upcoming games.

Previous weeks picks for OOC:
1. Albion = 3/3 (Carthage/Southwest/NCC)
2. Hope = 1/2 (IWU/Southwest)
3. Adrian = 0/1 (OWU)
4. Trine = 0/0 (ONU - cancelled)
5. Calvin = 0/2 (Elmhurst/NCC)
6. Kzoo = 0/1 (Aurora)

Stars seem to line up with my initial predictions. I didn’t have a chance to watch any games, but noticed a few trends in the box scores (30,000 foot view). Tons of shots (~50+ per game), face off win % usually correlated with the games outcome, and awful clearing. The latter amazes me. Less than 90% was considered a failure and this was post horn era. Somebody will need to walk me through the games current strategy because I feel like an old man yelling at clouds.

Saturdays upcoming game predictions:
1. Albion vs Calvin = Albion
2. Trine vs Alma = Trine
3. Adrian vs Kzoo = Adrian

I expect games 2 & 3 to have tight outcomes. Calvin should be a cake walk for Albion after the OOC gauntlet they just went through. Prove me wrong Knights!

[jlibcon]

MIAA conference play begins this weekend… thoughts on the previous weeks OOC picks and Saturdays upcoming games.

Previous weeks picks for OOC:
1. Albion = 3/3 (Carthage/Southwest/NCC)
2. Hope = 1/2 (IWU/Southwest)
3. Adrian = 0/1 (OWU)
4. Trine = 0/0 (ONU - cancelled)
5. Calvin = 0/2 (Elmhurst/NCC)
6. Kzoo = 0/1 (Aurora)

Stars seem to line up with my initial predictions. I didn’t have a chance to watch any games, but noticed a few trends in the box scores (30,000 foot view). Tons of shots (~50+ per game), face off win % usually correlated with the games outcome, and awful clearing. The latter amazes me. Less than 90% was considered a failure and this was post horn era. Somebody will need to walk me through the games current strategy because I feel like an old man yelling at clouds.

Saturdays upcoming game predictions:
1. Albion vs Calvin = Albion
2. Trine vs Alma = Trine
3. Adrian vs Kzoo = Adrian

I expect games 2 & 3 to have tight outcomes. Calvin should be a cake walk for Albion after the OOC gauntlet they just went through. Prove me wrong Knights!

I think Alma might beat Trine, but agree with everything you wrote. Alma’s scores have surprised me after what I saw last year.

[OHLaxDad]

Trine beats Alma 15-7. Close game until the third. Trine held off a 2 man down situation and then went on a run to pull away.

[jlibcon]

Trine beats Alma 15-7. Close game until the third. Trine held off a 2 man down situation and then went on a run to pull away.

Nice job to Trine, good to see Alma improving though. Calvin played Albion tight the 1st half and then it got ugly in the 2nd. Calvin moved the ball well, I think the Adrian and Trine games will be very interesting.

[OHLaxDad]

Big game this week with Albion and Hope. Very early game to potentially decide the #1 seed in the conference tournament. Also interested in the Alma-Adrian game. I am not very familiar with Adrian so interested to see how that game comes out.

[jlibcon]

Big game this week with Albion and Hope. Very early game to potentially decide the #1 seed in the conference tournament. Also interested in the Alma-Adrian game. I am not very familiar with Adrian so interested to see how that game comes out.

I think Albion wins by 5 or more against Hope, but you never know with these rivals. Adrian should win pretty handily. Trine vs Calvin should be a very good game, I think that will be a close one.

[OHLaxDad]

Big games today. What're your picks? I've got:

Albion over Hope (Rivalry game. Albion is better, but...)
Trine over Calvin (Close game, but Thunder at home with the edge.)
Adrian over Alma (Adrian should win, but Alma was scrappy)

[jlibcon]

Big games today. What're your picks? I've got:

Albion over Hope (Rivalry game. Albion is better, but...)
Trine over Calvin (Close game, but Thunder at home with the edge.)
Adrian over Alma (Adrian should win, but Alma was scrappy)

Albion but the D is not as good as years prior so containing Hope's Attack may be a problem. Could be a shootout.

Trine and Calvin is a toss up I think, should be a good one. I'll go with Trine I guess.

Adrian and I don't think it's close

[fitzlax]

Big games today. What're your picks? I've got:

Albion over Hope (Rivalry game. Albion is better, but...)
Trine over Calvin (Close game, but Thunder at home with the edge.)
Adrian over Alma (Adrian should win, but Alma was scrappy)

Albion but the D is not as good as years prior so containing Hope's Attack may be a problem. Could be a shootout.

Trine and Calvin is a toss up I think, should be a good one. I'll go with Trine I guess.

Adrian and I don't think it's close

I'll go with Albion, Calvin, and Adrian.

[Argyle23]

I’m late to the show but my picks were Albion, Trine, and Adrian. My caveat for the Trine/Calvin game was Calvin’s 2-3 difference makers on offense may trump Trines inexperience. I haven’t watched any of the game so far but the box score tells a tale of who can hit the cage and who can’t…

[jlibcon]

I’m late to the show but my picks were Albion, Trine, and Adrian. My caveat for the Trine/Calvin game was Calvin’s 2-3 difference makers on offense may trump Trines inexperience. I haven’t watched any of the game so far but the box score tells a tale of who can hit the cage and who can’t…

Pretty one sided for all three winners. Albion vs Hope was tied the first half but the second was all Albion. Pusevic made Hope pay for their Defensive strategy, he had a monster game. Albion’s whole Attack had great days actually. Calvin was crushing Trine in the 3rd, I’ll assume starters came out. Same with Adrian.

[jlibcon]

Albion vs Calvin tomorrow…big game!

[Argyle23]

Weekend pick ‘em…

Adrian over Calvin - not feeling too hot about this pick. Dawgs kept starters on the field for the entire Alma game. Either the depth is questionable or the starters need more reps. Not a positive sign in my eyes… Calvin is better than I expected.

Hope over Trine - Thunder need to hit the cage and Hopes looking for a punching bag. I expect this to get out of hand.

Kzoo over Alma - two words = barn burner.

Albion… enjoy the weekend off.

Side bar - why is Calvin playing at a local HS for home games? I assume it relates to the addition of football and where future games will be played?