GAME #5 - Valpo @ Dayton 10/6 Noon

[VULB#62]

I was pretty hard on the staff and players after an unexcusable Homecoming loss. Will that loss be the wake up call we have been hoping for? 

Valpo was the one that was supposed to have the high scoring passing O this season.  A consistent system built over time. Davidson was changing to a run oriented system under a brand new coach.

Davidson has averaged 47 points/game this season. Valpo <21.

Dayton spotted Davidson 14 points in the first qtr of their game, then pretty much shut them down on the way to a dominant win.

We haven't progressed game by game and maybe even regressed since Duquesne.  Dayton appears to be doing the opposite. Tough game. Not too optimistic at this point in the week.

[usc4valpo]

This team right now is an enigma. I expect a wake up call soon,

[VULB#62]

Do not hold your breath. There is too much that needs addressing. I wasn't expecting this.

[usc4valpo]

This season has been a big disappointment and the regression on defense is perplexing.

[VULB#62]

I admit and I should be put on the carpet if I am wrong, but this team does not play with intense emotion. And football is an emotional game.

D is easy to be emotional about. O can also be an emotional component as well, unless the 'system' does not permit it. There are FBS teams (Army, Navy, Georgia Tech to name three)  who scare the hell out of traditional FB poweres be ause they bring solid football and emotionto anoffense. We could do thst as well. Actually,Davidsonsonjust demonstrated how that works.

[mila]

People keep pointing to the Duquense game as a high point. Did it ever occur to some that Duquense overlooked us. You see what happened to YSU vs. Butler. Whether scholarshipped or not they are still 18,19, 20 y/o young men who may have fallen into one of footballs oldest trap...looking past ANY opponent.

[VULB#62]

Could be except for the fact that we scared the crap out of them last year. They were not looking beyond us. They knew we'd give them a game — and we did.   And since then we've fallen apart. But thanks for your thoughts.

[valpofb16]

The more I think on it the more I think last year may have been a few good breaks rather than a full turning point

TIU (W): ranked 749! by massey
Dayton (W): Missing starting QB injury ridden season, (Still took game winning td and bad weather)
Morehead State (W): lightning delay, early momentum
Marist (W): Missing starting QB, decaying program, jumped on them early
Stetson (W): Game winning int vs one of worse D1 programs at homecoming (They were driving to score)
Butler (W): One score game against solid team, good win

Jacksonville (L): Outcoached vs second year coach, primarily underclassmen, should have one
Drake (L): Handed it to us
Campbell (L): Handed it to us
Duquesne (L): Larger lead few late scores to help score
Montana (L): A twenty point loss to eventually an above average FCS team (i know they were ranked when we played)

This without San Diego being on our schedule (which would have probably been a loss). I am not trying to be the bearer of bad news, but remove our two best freshman from last season, Our starting QB for all intensive purposes. JJ nunes who played everywhere on defense. Offense essentially lost 4 largest pieces, Navarro Catrine Morgan Seewald

I can see why things are progressing as it

[IndyValpo]

Last year was fools gold especially on defense. We simply are not very good. Add in banged up QB's and you have a recipe for a bad season.

To be honest the defensive performance the last two weeks gets coordinators fired.

[usc4valpo]

You have to coach poorly for awhile before Valpo even considers a pink slip.

[valpofb16]

To the tune of 3-42, with one week left in your contact , after losing by 60 to Butler.

I bet staff pretty safe

[JD24]

I'd prefer to move on from references to Carlson in order to become a quality program.

Tweaks to a coaching staff are part of the norm and Dave would only be hurting himself not making appropriate adjustments.

[VULB#62]

The problem at our level is that Dave just can't go out and hire an experienced, star DC or OC to turn around an aspect of the system.  First, no money. Second, the PFL is where coaches either start their D-I careers or end their careers (with some exceptions). At higher levels (FCS scholarship and FBS) the HFC is a manager who hires the coaching talent to implement his vision. At our level it is mostly on the HFC to do it alll with some delegation downward. This is an obvious oversimplification, but it still makes the job very difficult.

[usc4valpo]

give Carlson credit as he was 3-41, not 3-42!!

[78crusader]

My wife and I attended the HC game.

This was the first football game I've attended in person in many years.  I don't know nearly as much about football as some of you guys.

Having said that, it was obvious to even a casual observer that Seewald is hurt.  His downfield throws did not have anything on them.  The second half throw to the corner that got intercepted at the goal line had no zip to it.  I thought that Duncan, especially in the second half, was much more effective.

There was very little chatter from the VU sideline during the game.  You could clearly hear a bunch of encouragement/chatter/shouts from the Davidson bench, however.  This makes me question the team spirit/togetherness/cohesiveness/whatever you want to call it. 

The Davidson O-line looked much bigger than our D-line.  I think perhaps there is a chance Davidson will be this year's surprise team in the PFL, much like we were last year.   

Paul

[JD24]

Having said that, it was obvious to even a casual observer that Seewald is hurt.  His downfield throws did not have anything on them.  The second half throw to the corner that got intercepted at the goal line had no zip to it.  I thought that Duncan, especially in the second half, was much more effective. 

Since I've seen every game he's played in at Valpo, Seewald is not throwing with the same motion he has in the past. He's often "shotputting" the ball rather than going through a complete throwing motion with full extension. I'm sure the coaches are not going against medical advice however.

Duncan himself has had some injury issues but, I agree, I find Duncan at least as good as Seewald even in past years and certainly now. However the coaches clearly have a desire to play Seewald over Duncan and there may be a lot more that goes into that decision than what we see on the field.

[JD24]

Preview....really short and coach appears as if he'd rather be elsewhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=NOciqWzaGPQ

[VULB#62]

Here it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOciqWzaGPQ

[vu72]

Here is Dave's report to football alumni:  The team is in trouble...

This past weekend, we concluded a disappointing two-game home stand and our record sits at 0-4. In both games, we had opportunities to win, but failed to make the necessary plays in any of the three phases to close out either game.

Two weekends ago, we hosted Truman State University, a good scholarship division II program. Offensively, redshirt freshman quarterback Trey Bilinski started for the first time in his career as redshirt sophomore Chris Duncan was unavailable due to a knee injury sustained the previous week against Youngstown State. Junior quarterback Jimmy Seewald saw his first action of the season, but was not physically ready to take the bulk of the snaps as he continues his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery. Bilinski played well as he completed 15 out of 22 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns and one interception. He connected with senior tight end Mason Sutter for a nine-yard touchdown pass to give us a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.

Our defense played well in the first half, especially in the red zone, as we held Truman State to two field goals. The first followed a poor punt that allowed Truman State to start its opening drive at our 35-yard line and we led 7-6 at halftime. Unfortunately, our resourceful effort from the first half did not carry over to the second half as we failed to contain Truman State's running game, which was spearheaded by their dual-threat quarterback Jaden Barr. Our offense was able create some big plays in the passing game with completions of 40 and 41 yards to junior running back Kyle Cartales and senior receiver Jean Rene, but we were unable to finish drives and keep pace with Truman State as we lost 34-20.

This past weekend, Davidson College visited Brown field for Homecoming weekend. Davidson is a significantly improved team that features many talented players, especially on offense where they run a triple option scheme and averaged 49 points per game over their first four contests, which included a game where they scored 91 points. Our defensive struggles from the second half of the Truman State game unfortunately carried over as Davidson would score touchdowns on each of its five first half possessions and led 34-21 at halftime.

Our offense was able to keep pace early as we scored touchdowns on our first three possessions. Jimmy Seewald earned his first start of the season and played mostly in the first half and threw two touchdowns. The first went to senior receiver Griffin Norberg, who again scored on a short slant pass that he took a long way. This one went for 62 yards. The second of Seewald's scoring passes went to Jean Rene, who would finish with two touchdowns on the day. Rene's second touchdown reception came on the opening drive of the second half from Chris Duncan, who returned from his knee injury and played most of the second half as Seewald is still not 100% healthy.

Our defense responded well led by junior safety Jamari Booker and junior linebacker Austin Petrie and held Davidson scoreless for most of the second half. With 4:19 left in the game, Chris Duncan capped off an outstanding 82-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run to give us a 35-34 lead. Unfortunately, our defense was unable to come up with the critical stop as Davidson drove 75 yards for a touchdown to take the lead back. Our offense failed to answer in the final minute as we fell 40-35.

Overall, we are disappointed to be sitting at 0-4, especially considering that we have had opportunities to win, but have not played consistently enough on offense, defense, or special teams to earn a victory. At 0-1 in PFL play, we face a pivotal contest this upcoming week as we travel to perennial league power Dayton, who is coming off of a 28-17 loss to Marist and is 1-1 in league play. As we move forward, the health of our team continues to be a concern, especially on defense where we are missing several starters. We will need some of our young players to step up and contribute in bigger roles than initially anticipated in order for us to win.

It was great to see so many of you on campus this past weekend for Homecoming and we appreciate the great crowd that came out to Brown field for the game. Your continued support of our program is greatly appreciated and we hope see some of you this weekend when we travel to Dayton. The following Saturday October 13th, we return to Brown field to face in-state rival Butler as we look to retain the Hoosier Helmet.

[JD24]

I'm predicting the defensive ship gets righted and Valpo wins a 27-24 squeaker.

[VULB#62]

Is that becuase a) we are not facing an option run game and b) because Marist beat them in a "normal fb" game?  If so, maybe you are onto something. We finally see a offense that looks a bit like us and we should be able to deal with that a lot better.

[JD24]

Is that becuase a) we are not facing an option run game and b) because Marist beat them in a "normal fb" game?  If so, maybe you are onto something. We finally see a offense that looks a bit like us and we should be able to deal with that a lot better.

That's part of it although Dayton's offense more closely resembles Truman State's (and with a better QB). I just think eventually these guys pull it together for 4 quarters.

I rewatched the first half of the Davidson game and it was an absolute debacle defensively. No contain, assignments missed all over the place, dbs running into each other taking both out of plays, one Davidson player blocking two Valpo players. Whatever the coaches were asking the players to do was either wrong, miscommunicated or misapplied.

[vu72]

Valpo website says noon.  Noon has past, where is the game?

[JD24]

video:
https://www.facebook.com/DaytonFlyersFootball/videos/547182779028412/

Lots of new numbers on defense. 30, 38. Trumane Duncan playing. Haven't seen JDM on the field. Hasn't changed anything.

[JD24]

Yeah. Let's not have anyone assigned to 28 out of the backfield. I wouldn't think we'd think of having a gameplan for him. Total unknown.