Valpo vs Drake

covufan · October 09, 2012, 04:11:53 PM

Valpo at home against Drake this week. Gametime weather has chance of showers and T-Storms with a high of 69 degrees.

My prediction: attendance will be 1800.

Oh, the game will be Drake 38 - Valpo 17. Valpo scores late to keep it within 3 TDs.

historyman · October 09, 2012, 04:23:30 PM

Drake 76
Valpo 17 (20 if the kicker and holder make it on the field at the same time in the first half)

Drake scores 27 in first quarter and 28 in the second quarter.

usc4valpo · October 09, 2012, 06:51:16 PM

Drake 56
Valpo 17

VULB#62 · October 09, 2012, 07:20:16 PM

Drake is the THE 2012 PFL monster.

And we gave up 56 to Butler who has lots of flaws.

Gotta go with both usc4valpo and historyman. It will ~~not be pretty~~ be an ugly scene, especially with the injuries to starters that they received v. Butler.

QUESTION TO NO ONE IN PARTICULAR: Why couldn't the PFL have matched up the bottom teams early in the schedule before they got clobbered/dismembered by the leaders? The present scheduling seems to year after year favor the haves vs. the have nots and precludes parity.

historyman · October 09, 2012, 07:48:07 PM

With schedules being made so far in advance in some instances and some teams gaining skillful transfers I don't think there is any way to really predict who will be superior over another school. Believe it or not Valpo COULD be much improved in 2 to 3 years with the correct mix of players and coaches. I won't try to tell you who might be in that mix. It might include Dale Carlson.

VULB#62 · October 09, 2012, 08:12:15 PM

"With schedules being made so far in advance in some instances"

I don't know if I can agree. The PFL knows annually that the first 3 games are out of conference. Once the conference round robin begins it is 8 or 9 straight weeks. We know who we'll play -- just not in what order. The NFL schedules 32 teams annually and adjusts. i just think that at the end of the season the PFL needs to look at the bottom of the standings and set more games with other bottom teams early in the season to foster development and parity. I realize that the "haves" might have to play earlier against each other, but that spices up the mix and makes for a tighter, more attractive race. It also improves the competition. A valpo with 2 wins and some confidence coming into Drake is a better competitor that VU right now.

milanmiracle · October 10, 2012, 10:31:13 AM

Quote from: VULB#62 on October 09, 2012, 08:12:15 PM
"With schedules being made so far in advance in some instances"

I don't know if I can agree. The PFL knows annually that the first 3 games are out of conference. Once the conference round robin begins it is 8 or 9 straight weeks. We know who we'll play -- just not in what order. The NFL schedules 32 teams annually and adjusts. i just think that at the end of the season the PFL needs to look at the bottom of the standings and set more games with other bottom teams early in the season to foster development and parity. I realize that the "haves" might have to play earlier against each other, but that spices up the mix and makes for a tighter, more attractive race. It also improves the competition. A valpo with 2 wins and some confidence coming into Drake is a better competitor that VU right now.

The counterpoint to this arguement is the playoffs. Wouldn't it be better for Drake to play Valpo or another bottom feeder at the end of the year where they can rest starters and represent the Pioneer Football League in the playoffs. It's not good for competitive balance of the league, but it might make for a better representation on a national level.

milanmiracle · October 10, 2012, 10:50:03 AM

Drake - A whole lot
Valpo - Very few

Really, do we need more than that at this point? If so, Drake 56 Valpo 7 (I'd say 10, but who knows if they can find the kicker or the holder).

VULB#62 · October 10, 2012, 05:24:44 PM

Looks like we'll see more of this if either the kicker or holder are pursuing other interests during the game:

From the Lead-in On Valpoathletics.com
The Crusaders were aggressive in going for it on fourth down last Saturday against Butler, ending the game with five fourth-down conversions on eight attempts. The five successful fourth downs was the most by a Valpo squad since the 2011 team converted seven fourth downs against Butler.

NOTE: the 2011 Butler score was 14-42, 2012 17-56. So.... the margin of victory for Butler went from 28 in '11 to 39 in '12; in 2010 it was 48, but in 2009 (when BU won the PFL at 7-1) the score was 14-23 ( a margin of only 9 points)

covufan · October 11, 2012, 11:53:40 AM

Quote from: milanmiracle on October 10, 2012, 10:50:03 AMDrake - A whole lot
Valpo - Very few

Really, do we need more than that at this point?

That is why I started by predicting the attendance.

bmlvu97 · October 12, 2012, 11:11:14 AM

Drake 45
Valpo 13

Another bad week...

Brian

usc4valpo · October 12, 2012, 12:39:15 PM

Attendance 1576 (the fans, not the squirels ...)

So if I use Saginin and add homefield advantage, Drake is a 31 pt favorite.

crusadermoe · October 12, 2012, 04:24:14 PM

Yeah, Drake by about 40.

For attendance I will take the "under" and I mean "under" 400 counting the band and the parents. Why guess 1800? Have CO Fan and others been to any 2012 games?

covufan · October 12, 2012, 05:59:29 PM

Quote from: crusadermoe on October 12, 2012, 04:24:14 PM
Yeah, Drake by about 40.

For attendance I will take the "under" and I mean "under" 400 counting the band and the parents. Why guess 1800? Have CO Fan and others been to any 2012 games?

No, I have not been to any games. However, the posted attendance for home games this season are all much higher than 1800: 3848 for St. Joe, 2177 for Duquesne, and 3676 for Butler (Homecoming). Last year also saw some good attendance for opening game and homecoming, but tapered off after that.

vuweathernerd · October 13, 2012, 06:44:01 AM

Quote from: covufan on October 12, 2012, 05:59:29 PM
Quote from: crusadermoe on October 12, 2012, 04:24:14 PM
Yeah, Drake by about 40.

For attendance I will take the "under" and I mean "under" 400 counting the band and the parents. Why guess 1800? Have CO Fan and others been to any 2012 games?
No, I have not been to any games. However, the posted attendance for home games this season are all much higher than 1800: 3848 for St. Joe, 2177 for Duquesne, and 3676 for Butler (Homecoming). Last year also saw some good attendance for opening game and homecoming, but tapered off after that.

don't believe the numbers posted. these numbers are higher than what we typically saw for basketball games last year, and i have a hard time believing that's really the case. unless we're swapping sides of the field with our opponents and they're now filling up the big bleachers every week. when i was a student, you could usually fit the valpo crowd in those smaller bleachers...

milanmiracle · October 13, 2012, 10:09:51 AM

Quote from: covufan on October 12, 2012, 05:59:29 PM
Quote from: crusadermoe on October 12, 2012, 04:24:14 PM
Yeah, Drake by about 40.

For attendance I will take the "under" and I mean "under" 400 counting the band and the parents. Why guess 1800? Have CO Fan and others been to any 2012 games?
No, I have not been to any games. However, the posted attendance for home games this season are all much higher than 1800: 3848 for St. Joe, 2177 for Duquesne, and 3676 for Butler (Homecoming). Last year also saw some good attendance for opening game and homecoming, but tapered off after that.

You could knock me over with a feather if those are true attendance numbers

KL31NY · October 13, 2012, 12:52:44 PM

Has anyone had any issues accessing the WAKE stream on wireless internet? Every place I've tried to access the stream on a wireless network this season I get the page to load but I keep getting the rotating loading circle and no audio. The FAQ only suggests having an up-to-date flash player, and I know I'm good there.

VULB#62 · October 13, 2012, 01:06:26 PM

Well, we're off to a great start. Took Drake 12 seconds to score the first TD on a KO return.

After 3 Qtrs: Butler 17 - Marist 14
0.49 before the half: Dayton 17 - Morehead 13
1:41 before the half: JU 24 - Davidson 10

Threw a pic at the Drake 2; Drake went on to a 14-0 lead.

Q 3:35: Ben Lehman in at QB

After a fumble at on a Drake punt return -- Lehman to Slenk 24 yd. TD

milanmiracle · October 13, 2012, 01:33:22 PM

It's a Christmas miracle! Valpo scored in the first quarter against a team that was actually still trying!

Drake 14 Valpo 7 at the end of the first.

After being outscored 76-24 in the first quarter on the season, being down only a touchdown is a significant accomplishment.

VULB#62 · October 13, 2012, 02:17:42 PM

Yup -- played them pretty even except for the KO-TD, gave up a TD to close the half though after a couple of 3 and outs and a costly personal foul.

This is the competitiveness that we all have hoped for, but will we compete the entire game? Second hals will tell us much.

VULB#62 · October 13, 2012, 02:41:46 PM

Apparently, the staff has changed their "system" a bit. 14-21 with 9:46 to go in the 3rd and they are running the ball with less reliance on the pass (Hoffman did not start). Defense is playing tough as well. The Drake O has not been on the field all that much in comparison to previous opponents.

milanmiracle · October 13, 2012, 02:50:55 PM

Quote from: VULB#62 on October 13, 2012, 02:41:46 PM
Apparently, the staff has changed their "system" a bit. 14-21 with 9:46 to go in the 3rd and they are running the ball with less reliance on the pass (Hoffman did not start). Defense is playing tough as well. The Drake O has not been on the field all that much in comparison to previous opponents.

I'm just following on gametracker, and it appears that this is an actual football game...what a concept!

valporun · October 13, 2012, 03:21:42 PM

Were any reasons given for both Hoffman and Ali-El not playing? I missed the pre-game and first quarter, so I didn't hear those details.

VULB#62 · October 13, 2012, 03:50:52 PM

Both Injured. Lehman appeared to do well early on, but didn't have a good 2nd half. Replaced for one drive at the end by Quinn Schaefer for the final TD. 21-35 the final.

Yes, it was a football game.

milanmiracle · October 13, 2012, 03:52:32 PM

I really need a report from somebody who actually went to the game. From the gametracker, and looking at the stats...everything seemed out of character for Valpo. More rushing attempts than passes and reasonable score at the end of the game. The starting quarterback and running back didn't play either. Huh?