Here are the final stats. Clearly there is dramtic improvement and what is also clearly demonstrated is that this team was more consistent, more disciplined and was better offensively than it's predecessor. And the defensive improvement was off the charts.
TEAM STATISTICS (With some selected comparisons to 2013)
VALPO OPP
SCORING 287 337 (202 496)
Points Per Game 23.9 28.1 (18.4 45.1)
Points Off Turnovers 35 81
FIRST DOWNS 231 256
Rushing 94 114
Passing 118 133
Penalty 19 9
RUSHING YARDAGE 1824 2258 (1275 2836)
Yards gained rushing 2007 2458
Yards lost rushing 183 200
Rushing Attempts 445 492
Average Per Rush 4.1 4.6
Average Per Game 152.0 188.2
TDs Rushing 17 26
PASSING YARDAGE 2489 2619 (2398 - 3121)
Comp-Att-Int 219-386-15 220-375-8 (285-429-12 217-324-3)
Average Per Pass 6.4 7.0
Average Per Catch 11.4 11.9
Average Per Game 207.4 218.2
TDs Passing 15 18
TOTAL OFFENSE 4313 4877 (3673 5957)
Total Plays 831 867 (817 770)
Average Per Play 5.2 5.6
Average Per Game 359.4 406.4 (333.9 541.5)
KICK RETURNS: #-Yards 48-1045 48-846
PUNT RETURNS: #-Yards 14-208 16-125
INT RETURNS: #-Yards 8-78 15-245
KICK RETURN AVERAGE 21.8 17.6
PUNT RETURN AVERAGE 14.9 7.8
INT RETURN AVERAGE 9.8 16.3
FUMBLES-LOST 14-5 14-4 (20-9 24-12)
PENALTIES-Yards 56-482 69-698 (82-757 77-759)
Average Per Game 40.2 58.2
PUNTS-Yards 55-2040 56-2004
Average Per Punt 37.1 35.8
Net punt average 32.6 30.6
KICKOFFS-Yards 58-3035 61-3397
Average Per Kick 52.3 55.7
Net kick average 37.3 34.9
TIME OF POSSESSION/Game 30:33 29:27
3RD-DOWN Conversions 67/183 61/167
3rd-Down Pct 37% 37% (38% 49%)
4TH-DOWN Conversions 21/35 11/28
4th-Down Pct 60% 39% (54% 44%)
SACKS BY-Yards 11-72 5-39 (13-81 26-154)
MISC YARDS 17 -6
TOUCHDOWNS SCORED 36 45
FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS 13-16 9-14
ON-SIDE KICKS 0-1 2-3
RED-ZONE SCORES (37-46) 80% (43-51) 84%
RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS (24-46) 52% (35-51) 69%
PAT-ATTEMPTS (30-33) 91% (38-40) 95%
ATTENDANCE 14231 17475
Games/Avg Per Game 6/2372 6/2912
Neutral Site Games 0/0
Score by quarters 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
Valparaiso 64 64 96 63 287 (38 46 70 42 6 202)
Opponents 78 84 87 88 337 (150 184 62 93 7 496)
* * * * *
SAGARIN RATINGS -- Valpo no longer last!!!! :dance:
189 Jacksonville AA = 44.70 9 2
206 Lehigh AA = 41.40 3 8
213 San Diego AA = 39.60 9 2
217 Drake AA = 37.55 7 4
219 Dayton AA = 36.89 8 3
235 Marist AA = 27.05 4 7
238 Butler AA = 25.58 4 7
241 Campbell AA = 23.66 5 7
246 Morehead State AA = 20.00 4 8
247 Stetson AA = 19.41 5 7
248 Valparaiso AA = 19.35 4 8
249 Columbia AA = 19.07 0 10
250 Miss. Valley State AA = 18.93 2 9
251 Savannah State AA = 15.51 0 12
252 Davidson AA = 9.96 1 11
MASSEY
24 W Illinois MVFC 5-7
57 Jacksonville PFL 9-2
62 San Diego PFL 9-2
80 Dayton PFL 8-3
81 Drake PFL 7-4
88 Lehigh PL 3-8
103 Marist PFL 4-7
109 Butler PFL 4-7
111 Campbell PFL 5-7
112 Austin Peay OVC 1-11
113 Stetson PFL 5-7
114 Cornell Ivy 1-9
115 Robert Morris NEC 1-10
116 Morehead St PFL 4-8
117 Delaware St MEAC 2-10
118 Valparaiso PFL 4-8
119 Nicholls St SLC 0-12
120 MS Valley St SWAC 2-9
121 Columbia Ivy 0-10
122 Houston Bap SLC 2-9
123 Savannah St MEAC 0-12
124 Davidson PFL 1-11
Instead of Missouri Baptist, we should schedule Nicholls State, MS Valley State, Columbia, Houston Baptist, or Savannah State :-). Several of these teams are scholarship, so maybe we can say that we finally beat a D-1 FCS scholarship program!
Awesome improvement across the board. I am sure that Hoffman would have liked the protection that Lehman received this year, though Eric did hold onto the ball too long at times.
Quote from: valpotx on November 24, 2014, 11:01:17 AM
Instead of Missouri Baptist, we should schedule Nicholls State, MS Valley State, Columbia, Houston Baptist, or Savannah State :-). Several of these teams are scholarship, so maybe we can say that we finally beat a D-1 FCS scholarship program!
Awesome improvement across the board. I am sure that Hoffman would have liked the protection that Lehman received this year, though Eric did hold onto the ball too long at times.
I was surprised to see that Ben actually had more passing yards than Eric (+91) while we shifted to more runs (+549) Total offense was +640.
As for scheduling, I'd like to see us go back to playing some Ivy League teams. I believe we have historically only played three of them and only one within the last 80 years! We played Yale between 1997 and 1999, Harvard in 1920 and Columbia betwen 1924 and 1928. I suspect Coach C's contacts in the East will help with this.
I'd also like to see us schedule fellow Lutheran schools. Many of these are D3 but play at a high level. Wittenberg was ranked #12, Texas Lutheran #24 and Muhlenberg #25. These could be competitive games and winnable for sure. We could also try to schedule Wagner which is also FCS D-1. School like St. Olaf, Luther, Augustana or Concordia St. Paul, all play very solid football and could draw some alumni interest if they saw teams like this on the schedule.
Yes, schedule St. Olaf and Luther. I could gain bragging rights over my father/mother and cousin from my mom's side (St. Olaf), as well as two cousins on my dad's side (Luther) :).
Speaking of schedule, ML told me after the game that we drop Campbell and Marist and pick up Jacksonville (FCS Scholarship ;) ) and Stetson next year. I'm pretty certain we will go back to WIU (for the $$$$$). I agree, 72, a Columbia (Ivy) and maybe Wagner (Lutheran, NEC-FCS) would fill out an 11 game schedule nicely. Already know that both Cecchini and ML have nixed any D-III games for the future. But Luther, I believe, is NAIA. BTW Lehigh and Georgetown were at the bottom of the Patriot League -- possibilities there. Lehigh has a 12K seat stadium and has great attendance -- maybe that is a $$$ game too? Another possibility is Robert Morris (NEC - FCS) in Pittsburgh -- their Sagarin was 242 (between Campbell and Morehead).
Quote from: VULB#62 on November 24, 2014, 01:04:55 PM
Speaking of schedule, ML told me after the game that we drop Campbell and Marist and pick up Jacksonville (FCS Scholarship ;) ) and Stetson next year. I'm pretty certain we will go back to WIU (for the $$$$$). I agree, 72, a Columbia (Ivy) and maybe Wagner (Lutheran, NEC-FCS) would fill out an 11 game schedule nicely. Already know that both Cecchini and ML have nixed any D-III games for the future. But Luther, I believe, is NAIA. BTW Lehigh and Georgetown were at the bottom of the Patriot League -- possibilities there. Lehigh has a 12K seat stadium and has great attendance -- maybe that is a $$$ game too? Another possibility is Robert Morris (NEC - FCS) in Pittsburgh -- their Sagarin was 242 between (Campbell and Morehead).
Unfortunately Luther, St. Olaf, Capital, Texas Lutheran et al play D3. I didn't any Lutheran schools ranked in the top 25 in NAIA either. Beside Wagner, (FCS D-1), I did find that Concordia St. Paul does play D2, as does Augustana (SD) and Lenoir-Rhyne.
Coach Cecchini's Season Wrap-up:
Valpo Football Preview 11|24|14 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZZZJPfwDmI#ws)
Glad to have a football coach that is well-spoken, and has the coaching experience to find players on the roster that could fill positions that they weren't originally recruited for. Hearing that our long snapper was also a candidate for QB is nice to have, as it means that Ryan Clark was glad to have a role on this team, instead of saying, "If I'm not getting any looks at QB, or first team snaps in practice, then I'M OUTTA HERE!" Can't wait to see what players will be returning, and who will fill roles held by players we got to know over these four years, and will be the guys we get to know over these next three years.
I'd have to concur on the significant improvement this season. Great job by the coaching staff--it will be fun to see what happens when they have a full off-season to prepare and recruit.
If we're going to play a good scholarship team (Western Illinois is #24) Why not bite the bullet and schedule Eastern Washington on the red turf or Montana--I hear that's a great college scene?! We've tried NDSU--that didn't work out so well...BUT, that was one helluva atmosphere up there in Fargo.
NDSU wouldn't be a bad game, with a winning program, but let's hold off for a couple of seasons on that one.
I'd actually like another shot a YSU. This last year they lost to Western Illinois 30-24, lost to Indiana State 27-24 and beat Butler 44-13. With some improvement we could make it competitive. I's suggest Indiana State (an old part of the ICC who we played every year) but they might end up dropping football. Only averaged about 5000 per game so the pay day guarantee would be not worth it. Is Ball State too much of a jump??
Ball State -- differnce is 85 scholarships vs. 65 -- MAC is FBS. UMass went from the FCS CAA where they were always in the hunt for an NCAA tourney bid to 4 wins in three years (3 this year) at the FBS level in the MAC. We don't want to go there.
Among the OVC, MVFBC and Big Sky there are plenty of guarrantee ($$$) game options to help the program. Personally, I want us to play Montana State at Bozeman. My daughter and family live in Bozeman. Stadium is great (20K+) and the valley is surrounded by majestic mountains.
Indiana State dropping FB? That would be a real shame.
Quote from: VUOR63 on November 24, 2014, 04:08:33 PM
If we're going to play a good scholarship team (Western Illinois is #24) Why not bite the bullet and schedule Eastern Washington on the red turf or Montana--I hear that's a great college scene?! We've tried NDSU--that didn't work out so well...BUT, that was one helluva atmosphere up there in Fargo.
I believe that was UND, not NDSU -- NDSU has been the perennial National Champ. We were lucky to escape with a 69-10 loss in 2013, but at least it was not as bad as the 77-13 loss at YSU in 2011 or the 86-7 beating at home against Jacksonville-- FCS Scholarship ;) --- in 2010 ot the 72-12 loss to Butler last year too.
Man, I am glad those days are in the past.
BTW, for comparisons, PFL champ USD lost badly to Cal Poly of the Big Sky last Saturday 34-3 and Cal Poly did not get a NCAA bid.
Eastern Kentucky and Sacred Heart, two FCS playoff teams will likely be on the schedule for next season.
Whoa! With WIU or will EKU replace WIU? And will that be the guarrantee $$$ game?
VULB 62-
I think we may have played UND more recently but we definitely played NDSU in 2004--I was on the team. It was a 52-0 beat down in their first D-IAA game in school history (moved up from a lower division). If you haven't been, the Fargo Dome is a fantastic place to see a game if you're not on the opposing team!
Quote from: VUOR63 on November 25, 2014, 01:10:17 PM
VULB 62-
I think we may have played UND more recently but we definitely played NDSU in 2004--I was on the team. It was a 52-0 beat down in their first D-IAA game in school history (moved up from a lower division). If you haven't been, the Fargo Dome is a fantastic place to see a game if you're not on the opposing team!
And so we did. Just checked the All-Time Results. Mia culpa..... unfortunately, my recallable timeframes are the 60's and post 2008. That was Tom Horne's last team, but you guys beat Butler, so it was a pretty successful season. In 2005 VU went to South Dakota State and lost 69-6 (but beat Butler again).
Heck, if you are considering NDSU, you might as well consider Iowa State!
How about MIT? 9-1 and an NCAA Tourney bid!
MIT had an outstanding season and it ended in quite an abrupt manner last weekend. Here is an interesting story about them:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ct-mit-football-spt-1129-20141128-column.htm (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ct-mit-football-spt-1129-20141128-column.htm)
Regarding Valpo:
Before the season started, I thought a 4 win season was achievable and a great accomplishment for these guys with better things to come. I agree that they could have won more games with some luck, but everyone should be optimistic right now.
Has anyone seen an actual list of seniors from this year's team. There may have been 20-22 though I never saw any mention.
Also, what happened to Brandon Doepke? He played in every game as a freshman and apparantly no games this year. Also curious what became of Cody Cotton, Denzell Conway, Derrick Estill and Bryson Eppinger. All played early then disappeared.
Not sure this has been posted, but our Conference Champ lost in the first round of the FCS playoffs, 52-14. They were at 52-0 before, apparently, the dogs were called off. The Pioneer teams have "a ways to go"! :(
http://www.usdtoreros.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/112914aaa.html (http://www.usdtoreros.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/112914aaa.html)
If 24 teams make the play-offs and the top 8 seeds get byes, then USD got beat by the #13 team in the country. Incidentally, this is a Montana team that lost to FBS school Wyoming 17-12.
I don't have the time nor the desire to click through all 24 teams but I have to assume that most of the top 24 play a FBS school in the regular season for a "money game". When Valpo and other PFL schools can do that, I think we can say we have arrived.
I was at the UNI game on Saturday, and their running back, David Johnson, was awesome. UNI has a great team; I would love to see Valpo play at the UNI dome someday.
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I have never understood the willingness to play teams like North Dakota, Youngstown State, etc. We may get a bigger payday but at what cost? Seems like the chatter before such games focuses not on whether we win or lose, but whether we will be embarrassed by a blowout loss and whether any of our key players will get hurt. Not a great way to start the season.
Another thing I don't understand is the apparent unwillingness to schedule DIII teams. I have always thought of the Pioneer League as being a very good DIII league even though we may not be called that. Frankly, I don't understand the whole FBS/FCS nomenclature, nor do I care to learn.
We used to play teams like Luther and Wheaton and Washington University in St. Louis and Wabash and Wittenberg and Wagner (whew, a lot of W's in there!). I know this not only because I went to many of those games, but also because the Lowenstein's ruler I have from 1974 with the VU sports schedules printed on the front, which is proudly hanging on the peg board in my garage, says we played Luther to start the 1974 season. And many of the teams I've listed -- particularly Wabash and Wheaton -- play great football and would be a real challenge for VU. Plus I think we would draw better alumni and student interest in those games than we would by playing teams like Missouri Baptist etc. Better visiting crowds, too. Maybe we could start up a real rivalry with one or more of these teams. We used to play Wheaton every year and the winner would get the "Crusader Shield" (both teams were named the Crusaders until Wheaton fell victim to PC and changed its name to the Thunder). We compete with these schools for students -- I say, let's play them on the football field and show them who's the boss!
Paul
The level of competition in the PFL has risen significantly over the past 10 years. The skill level of the players and of the coaches has risen. When we reviewed recruiting, what was working and what was not working, we found that our schedule was a factor. The PFL is classified by the NCAA as Division I, FCS. The better recruits want to see a schedule that is more representative of that level.
I have had a number of conversations with the members of the football team over my tenure here at Valpo. One message has been clear over the past 5 to 6 years, the players want to play the tougher schools. They prefer having Western Illinois or North Dakota on the schedule instead of a DIII game. They understand the chances of winning are lower against the FCS scholarship programs but many of them had aspirations of playing at one of those schools. They want to see what that level of competition is like.
Over the course of my 10 years here my thinking on scheduling has changed. I now firmly believe these games better prepare us for success in PFL play instead of playing DIII games. We want to be best prepared for the 8 PFL games each year. That is the championship we are after.
The guarantees from those games have also allowed us to do more of the things that DI programs do. The days are now gone when the players had to buy their own workout gear. We now stay in nice hotels instead of off brand hotels where the logistics of rest and meals were more difficult. So far we have not had any worse injuries in a guarantee game than the other 10 on the schedule.
Is it possible a DIII school may show up on a future schedule, yes. As of right now we don't have any scheduled in the near future, although we still need a game to complete next year's schedule. We have future games already scheduled with Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, and Northeast Conference schools as well as a local NAIA team. We are trying to schedule games with Ivy League schools. We will likely schedule Midwest DII teams like St Joe's or William Jewell.
Thanks ml for taking the time to respond. Perhaps Wagner would be a good choice as they are Lutheran and the only other D1 Lutheran school.
As usual, ml comes up with an explanation that makes perfect sense. Thanks for responding!
Paul
Quote from: vu72 on December 02, 2014, 06:32:06 PM
Thanks ml for taking the time to respond. Perhaps Wagner would be a good choice as they are Lutheran and the only other D1 Lutheran school.
We actually had Wagner scheduled in the past two years but I understand they backed out. I may be mistaken, but that resulted in us scheduling WJC the past two years.
It's as I have always said, that our athletes WANT to play these games. We always enjoyed playing the better baseball teams while I was in school, just like basketball enjoys playing the better basketball teams. It isn't about winning during those games, but getting to say that you played against 'so and so,' and seeing how you do. If any of you are connected to Stalin Ortiz or Ali Berdiel on Facebook like I am, you will notice that every so often, they post pictures of themselves playing against NBA players while at Valpo (Carmelo Anthony, Duke players, etc).
Division I is either important to you or it is not important to you. This shows up in scheduling as well as the level of intensity the players take their commitment to playing football. Games against the bigger D-I FCS schools are justification to the athlete for choosing to play at Valpo over a Division III school.
Quote from: ml on December 02, 2014, 06:18:36 PM
The level of competition in the PFL has risen significantly over the past 10 years. The skill level of the players and of the coaches has risen. When we reviewed recruiting, what was working and what was not working, we found that our schedule was a factor. The PFL is classified by the NCAA as Division I, FCS. The better recruits want to see a schedule that is more representative of that level.
I have had a number of conversations with the members of the football team over my tenure here at Valpo. One message has been clear over the past 5 to 6 years, the players want to play the tougher schools. They prefer having Western Illinois or North Dakota on the schedule instead of a DIII game. They understand the chances of winning are lower against the FCS scholarship programs but many of them had aspirations of playing at one of those schools. They want to see what that level of competition is like.
Over the course of my 10 years here my thinking on scheduling has changed. I now firmly believe these games better prepare us for success in PFL play instead of playing DIII games. We want to be best prepared for the 8 PFL games each year. That is the championship we are after.
The guarantees from those games have also allowed us to do more of the things that DI programs do. The days are now gone when the players had to buy their own workout gear. We now stay in nice hotels instead of off brand hotels where the logistics of rest and meals were more difficult. So far we have not had any worse injuries in a guarantee game than the other 10 on the schedule.
Is it possible a DIII school may show up on a future schedule, yes. As of right now we don't have any scheduled in the near future, although we still need a game to complete next year's schedule. We have future games already scheduled with Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, and Northeast Conference schools as well as a local NAIA team. We are trying to schedule games with Ivy League schools. We will likely schedule Midwest DII teams like St Joe's or William Jewell.
Thanks for this response. You have alluded to the upgrading of the schedule to reflect the PFL and a true Division I schedule. Former players have suggested on this board before that they really enjoyed the challenge of the guarantee games - a measuring stick of their ability and preparation. The schedule is something that I've always looked to the players, coaches and administration for guidance on what is needed and desired. Fans may want wins, but the players and coaches need the challenge. Challenging oneself is part of the learning process, and I believe our student-athletes use this process in their future endeavors.
Quote from: VUOR63 on December 03, 2014, 01:59:28 PM
Division I is either important to you or it is not important to you. This shows up in scheduling as well as the level of intensity the players take their commitment to playing football. Games against the bigger D-I FCS schools are justification to the athlete for choosing to play at Valpo over a Division III school.
It's more then just the schedule. Coach C will tell you that the nature of our schedule, as much as the individual opponent, is equally as important. A D2 and D3 teams, for the most part, play a "bus ride" schedule where they hardly leave their own state. Valpo plays a truly national schedule with trips to Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, New York and California in addition to bus rides to Indiana, Kentucky, Iowa and Ohio. That's 9 states with five airline trips. Does Notre Dame travel more?? I doubt it.
Also, there's value in making a trip to the great city of Des Moines. Perhaps Valpo can also someday consider a trip to Ames to face ISU. Seriously, the Cyclones could use a win.
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I'd like to see the PFL play the IVY League every year in a PFL/IVY Challenge similar to how the ACC/Big Ten does in basketball. I'm sure the IVY League is stronger currently from top to bottom but it would be the fairest challenge for PFL teams overall competing against non scholarship D1 athletes.
Quote from: valpochgo on January 19, 2015, 10:00:53 AM
I'd like to see the PFL play the IVY League every year in a PFL/IVY Challenge similar to how the ACC/Big Ten does in basketball. I'm sure the IVY League is stronger currently from top to bottom but it would be the fairest challenge for PFL teams overall competing against non scholarship D1 athletes.
Maybe not every year and all teams, but definitely 3-4 games every few years. I'd think that the IVY's would want to visit some areas that their alumni might be able to attend.