Just wanted to post some quick game info and get people's thoughts.
Game notes and information.
Additionally, Western is 10-5 overall against current Pioneer League teams, although all 5 losses were against Drake University, and the last loss to them was over 30 years ago.
There's a couple of online game simulators that I use to get an idea of what the "numbers" say we should do.
For one, in a 100 game series, Western wins all 100 games by an average margin of victory of 39 points. Projected score of 49-10.
The other one gives a point spread of 46.39 points, projected score of 52-6.
Valparaiso has not had a lot of success lately (1-10 last year...3 total wins in the last 4 years), but you never want to underestimate a team. The goal, I think, is to spend the first half getting the starters refreshed on gameday situations and to make sure we've got the players that we want in the starting positions. Ideally we should have the majority of our lead by halftime...being up by maybe 30 or so points. Put the backups in in the second half and get them some experience so they're more comfortable. As long as the players stick to what they know and treat it like any other game, they'll be fine. Valpo comes away with a score or two in the second half but so do we, and I don't see them finishing within 30 points of us.
My guess....52-7 and a Leatherneck season opening win for my birthday.
8/28 - Leathernecks vs Valparaiso
Scott Lawson - Board AdminWestern Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
After a long wait here it is again the first week of football! I can't express how excited I am for this year and it has seemed like ages since watching the last game. For starters I hope they have all of their glitches worked out and the video board puts on an impressive first show. Secondly I am expecting a big win to start of season, but I will not be counting out Valparaiso and throwing them to the curb, but I am expecting at least something like 38-7 to be the final score with us kicking one field goal and having 5 touchdowns. This game needs to be a learning experience for all once again and hopefully it is a confidence builder.
The game appears will be aired on Leatherneck Live Streaming video as a pay per view item on the new http://www.goleathernecks.com site. I plan on watching it on the ESPN 3 site which is an online streaming video channel. According the the ESPN site it will be showing the full game on ESPN 3 (http://espn.go.com/watchespn/) which for most people who use Comcast (and many other providers) is a free online only channel that you can stream to your computer (you do have to have an online account set up with your cable or satellite provider to login with for them to verify that you are a customer). I typically stream this channel and hook my laptop up to my TV using an HDMI cord, though many people are now using the Chromecast which is cheap and can be plugged in to your usb port, which all computers have, and it then sends via Bluetooth to your TV by plugging in the the receive to back of TV ( I think the HDMI port). So for those of you who want to watch the game this may be a good option to send game to your flat screen television instead of watching on a computer screen. I guess any bestbuy or electronics store may have them in stock, but it does say that Target and Walmart carries them and looks like the run around $35.
The game appears will be aired on Leatherneck Live Streaming video as a pay per view item on the new http://www.goleathernecks.com site. I plan on watching it on the ESPN 3 site which is an online streaming video channel. According the the ESPN site it will be showing the full game on ESPN 3 (http://espn.go.com/watchespn/) which for most people who use Comcast (and many other providers) is a free online only channel that you can stream to your computer (you do have to have an online account set up with your cable or satellite provider to login with for them to verify that you are a customer). I typically stream this channel and hook my laptop up to my TV using an HDMI cord, though many people are now using the Chromecast which is cheap and can be plugged in to your usb port, which all computers have, and it then sends via Bluetooth to your TV by plugging in the the receive to back of TV ( I think the HDMI port). So for those of you who want to watch the game this may be a good option to send game to your flat screen television instead of watching on a computer screen. I guess any bestbuy or electronics store may have them in stock, but it does say that Target and Walmart carries them and looks like the run around $35.
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sealhall74
- Posts: 6000
- Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:18 pm
- Location: Wherever, Windblows
Always fun to get inside the mind of a head coach to see what he has in mind for these "almost sure win" season-opening affairs. Does he use predominantly a small part of the playbook and personnel and strive for consistent execution with them? Or does he go with a lot of book and lots of personnel changes to get an early feel for what might click best in the coming weeks? My read on Coach N from last year is that he leans more toward the former than the latter, at least in this rebuilding stage of his program. Couple that with the fact we head to Camp Randall the following week, he will not want to get embarrassed up there so he will lean even further to the former. I am going with the MVFC Pigskin Pick'em Massey "Most Likely Estimate":
WIU 45 Valpo 6
As for Chromecast, the gotchas that I have found with it are 1) works best if laptop is in fairly close proximity to TV and 2) some TVs (I have one of them) apparently do not support sound from it. My pref is the over-priced HDMI cable in my particular living room setup.
Expect a few choreographic "hiccups" with the video board on the first time out.
Enough said, looking forward to Thurs night.
WIU 45 Valpo 6
As for Chromecast, the gotchas that I have found with it are 1) works best if laptop is in fairly close proximity to TV and 2) some TVs (I have one of them) apparently do not support sound from it. My pref is the over-priced HDMI cable in my particular living room setup.
Expect a few choreographic "hiccups" with the video board on the first time out.
Enough said, looking forward to Thurs night.
Embrace the pace of the race.
I also just noticed this: Western Freshmen Invited to Run Out with Football Team at Season Opener which I think does a couple of things.
1. Gets new freshmen interested in the football team right off the bat, especially with a likely impressive win. It should be a fairly entertaining game.
2. Helps inform new students that admission to the football games is free with student ID.
3. Increases attendance for the first home game, which should translate into increased attendance throughout the season. The more people that are there, the more fun the experience is for everyone.
I'm sure there'll be a glitch or two with the new scoreboard, but hopefully nothing too major. Like, if we lose the video portion for a few minute here or there, I don't think that's a huge deal for now, as long as they can figure out the problem and fix it for next time (losing the time and score for a substantial amount of game time is not acceptable...like what happened last year, I think).
I'd imagine that Coach Nielson won't open up the playbook too much this early, wanting to focus on fundamentals. If the team can execute the important stuff well, then the game shouldn't be close and I don't think they'll want to open up a crack in the door for Valpo to take a lead or anything by completely botching an attempted trick play. If they get that stuff down well this game, then I think you'll see them bust out a trick play or two against Wisconsin, mostly because I don't think we stand a chance of winning that game otherwise.
It's a little more expensive than the Chromecast, but I love my Roku box. Tiny little box that plugs into your network (or uses wifi) and plugs into your TV. Then you can stream stuff from a bunch of different providers. We mostly use Netflix and the ESPN app ourselves. If you've got a cable subscription that offers the various ESPN channels, you can set it up to stream any of those channels, plus if you have a provider that allows access to ESPN3, then you can access all of that stuff as well. Those are just a few of the apps though...they've got a bunch of sports ones that you can access if you happen to have subscriptions to stuff like MLB.tv Premium, NBA Gametime, NHL Gamecenter, etc.
1. Gets new freshmen interested in the football team right off the bat, especially with a likely impressive win. It should be a fairly entertaining game.
2. Helps inform new students that admission to the football games is free with student ID.
3. Increases attendance for the first home game, which should translate into increased attendance throughout the season. The more people that are there, the more fun the experience is for everyone.
I'm sure there'll be a glitch or two with the new scoreboard, but hopefully nothing too major. Like, if we lose the video portion for a few minute here or there, I don't think that's a huge deal for now, as long as they can figure out the problem and fix it for next time (losing the time and score for a substantial amount of game time is not acceptable...like what happened last year, I think).
I'd imagine that Coach Nielson won't open up the playbook too much this early, wanting to focus on fundamentals. If the team can execute the important stuff well, then the game shouldn't be close and I don't think they'll want to open up a crack in the door for Valpo to take a lead or anything by completely botching an attempted trick play. If they get that stuff down well this game, then I think you'll see them bust out a trick play or two against Wisconsin, mostly because I don't think we stand a chance of winning that game otherwise.
It's a little more expensive than the Chromecast, but I love my Roku box. Tiny little box that plugs into your network (or uses wifi) and plugs into your TV. Then you can stream stuff from a bunch of different providers. We mostly use Netflix and the ESPN app ourselves. If you've got a cable subscription that offers the various ESPN channels, you can set it up to stream any of those channels, plus if you have a provider that allows access to ESPN3, then you can access all of that stuff as well. Those are just a few of the apps though...they've got a bunch of sports ones that you can access if you happen to have subscriptions to stuff like MLB.tv Premium, NBA Gametime, NHL Gamecenter, etc.
Scott Lawson - Board AdminWestern Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
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letsgonecks
- Posts: 998
- Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2014 6:19 am
Been excitedly awaiting the two deep to see who's in the mix to start the season. A few things that stood out to me.....
Eddy over Chip at DE. Could have beat him out straight or might have to do with Chip not being 100% the last few months after last year's injury.
Chungong over McDaniel at CB. Could have beaten him out or just speculating could have to do with the off season arrest and maybe having to sit a few quarters. Both should be solid CB's either way.
David Griffith, true freshmen listed as the backup SS with Josh Smith. Minus fellow Indiana native and future WIU first baseman Gabe Burkhardt as backup LS, only true freshman.
Matt Zobrist looking to start the opener at RT. Thought Sam Kachanuk might take that spot if not starting the at RG.
Adam Brott backing up Kintzel at SLB. Love to see young guys getting a chance at some reps and getting better for the future.
24 players listed on the offense. Only 4 SR and 8 JR.
24 players listed on the defense. 11 SR and 7 JR
There are actually 3 players on the 2 deep/roster that have experienced a winning season at WIU. Durley, McDaniel and Kachanuk were all Redshirted during the 2010 playoff season. Happily, they'll go out on the same note. Not on his bio, but believe Zach Konstanzer was also a redshirt in 2010, but not with the program 2011 or 2012.
Eddy over Chip at DE. Could have beat him out straight or might have to do with Chip not being 100% the last few months after last year's injury.
Chungong over McDaniel at CB. Could have beaten him out or just speculating could have to do with the off season arrest and maybe having to sit a few quarters. Both should be solid CB's either way.
David Griffith, true freshmen listed as the backup SS with Josh Smith. Minus fellow Indiana native and future WIU first baseman Gabe Burkhardt as backup LS, only true freshman.
Matt Zobrist looking to start the opener at RT. Thought Sam Kachanuk might take that spot if not starting the at RG.
Adam Brott backing up Kintzel at SLB. Love to see young guys getting a chance at some reps and getting better for the future.
24 players listed on the offense. Only 4 SR and 8 JR.
24 players listed on the defense. 11 SR and 7 JR
There are actually 3 players on the 2 deep/roster that have experienced a winning season at WIU. Durley, McDaniel and Kachanuk were all Redshirted during the 2010 playoff season. Happily, they'll go out on the same note. Not on his bio, but believe Zach Konstanzer was also a redshirt in 2010, but not with the program 2011 or 2012.
They opened up the live video streaming now and you can do it in a bunch of different ways. Go over and check it out.
http://www.goleathernecks.com/news/2014 ... 43315.aspx
http://www.goleathernecks.com/news/2014 ... 43315.aspx
Here's the pricing: http://goleathernecks.com/watch/purchase.aspx?Live=1
They've got a 24-hour pass (great for visiting fans wanting to just watch one game) - for $5.95
3-day pass - $9.95
Monthly subscription (recurring fee) - $10.95/month
3-month pass - $24.95
Yearly pass - $79.95
They've got a 24-hour pass (great for visiting fans wanting to just watch one game) - for $5.95
3-day pass - $9.95
Monthly subscription (recurring fee) - $10.95/month
3-month pass - $24.95
Yearly pass - $79.95
Scott Lawson - Board AdminWestern Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000