It's a Hodag world...

and we are just living in it.

So this past weekend one of the most exciting and important ultimate tournaments of the college season transpired, Stanford Invite, and I thought I would share some thoughts on the event. My cousin Alex (pharohman) was there doing some field work for me so I actually have something to go off of as opposed to my usual rants.

Wisconsin

As Gerics put it, the race for second place has begun. Wisconsin looks nothing short of dominant but in looking at the stat sheet from the finals, I had some thoughts about Wisconsin. Their main strength is easily their depth but what does this mean exactly? It seems as though Wisconsin relies heavily on 2 things, 1) legs and 2) intensity. In a game where Wisconsin is fired up, there really is no stopping them unless you have an unreal offense. The one thing you don't see a lot of from Wisconsin is their O-line or as they call it, their O-face. They collect break after break because their man defense is incredible. With more than a hundred guys coming out in Fall, Wisconsin seems to groom their most athletic recruits into great defenders. This is not surprising considering the fact that in 2006 they lost to a team that was more conditioned, Florida. I would bet dollars to pesos that the Hodgas went back to the gym that summer with the sole purpose of being the most physically fit team in the country. Fast forward 2 years and you have a 25 man roster that plays better D than any other team in the country. Think about it, if you make an opponents cutters run and run and run while replacing great defender with great defender, their O-line will wear out, mistakes will happen, layout Ds, hand blocks, and throw aways will ensue and Wisconsin's D-line will collect break after break. This game plan is all well and good for college ultimate but it seems as if Wisconsin's only potential weakness are teams with finely tuned offensive strategies. Take the Arizona TiV final for example. Double helix scoobers, bladey hucks, more or less throws that are impossible to defend, gave Arizona a chance in that game. That and just don't throw to a guy that is covered because a Wisconsin defender at 100% is pretty much better than any cutter at 75-80%. It also appears that Wisconsin's favorite game plan is more or less a huck and D up approach. They pull, they generate a D, then Muffin picks up and a flick huck is coming. Wisconsin is fast and tall and they come down with just about everything. If Mahowald, Lokke, or Hohenstein don't get it, expect the D-line to get another D. If the D-line gets scored on, bring on the O-face for crisp offense. In any event, the only way that teams stand a chance against Wisconsin is to not turn it over. The UBC game went 14-13 and the only reason the Thunderbirds did so well was because they didn't cough up the disc. They took half 8-7, and only committed 1 turn over in the second half. Sadly, that was all the Hodags needed. However, in the Finals, Wisconsin's D-line committed upwards of a dozen turnovers, but Stanford just couldn't capitalize. Exhaustion probably played a role, but in any event, focus and precession in the face of extremely tough D seems to be the only workable strategy against the baby blue. I think this is why Florida has been a team that has done so well against them. Gibson, Brodie, Cyle and Windham run a very dynamic offense and are extremely hard to cover completely. They have the ability to put up break hucks, they rely on fluid disc movement to score, and they are devastatingly patient. Complex club-like offenses are tough to defend if run well (which is really hard) but making things tough on the D-line is the only way the Hodags are gonna go down. Then again, I haven't even mentioned how good the O-face is. I think they had 2 TOs in the finals.

And another thing, if anyone is curious to know why/how Wisconsin is so good, check out their blog/website. These guys care more about Hodag ultimate than anything else in the world. While it is true that this devotion may have most people scratching their heads, it is no wonder why this team is so dominant. If you want to win at football or soccer or basketball or water polo you have to eat, sleep, and live your sport. Ultimate is no different and everybody on the Hodags bleeds baby blue, no question about it. So if you are reading this and wondering how Wisconsin is so much better than your team, read some of their literature and see where your average player's dedication compares to theirs.

Stanford

This team is very good. Maybe not as good they were last year, but they are good. Santa Barbara Invite seemed like quite the anomaly and the only good thing to come out of it was the fact that UCSD's performance put them in Centex. With a prepared and full roster, Stanford is top shelf. I didn't expect them to beat Carleton but making the finals came as no surprise to me. They definitely rely on Sherwood though. He played all but 4 points in the finals and he played 13 of the first 15. I see this to be their biggest weakness. With an obvious go to player like this, developing a game plan gets easy. If you can effectively take away Sherwood's best option, either as a cutter, defender, or handler, you effectively take away Stanford's best option. Look for them to improve however. Their Centex results will give us an idea if making Nationals is even a question mark and the Series will let us know whether or not we can expect another semis appearance.

Texas

I was really impressed with Texas' results. Yes, people like me rely on legacy and history but only because it's the only evidence a sports writer has to rely on and taking a chance on a team that has never dominated is risky. I am sure they are getting tired of losing to Stanford (semis yesterday and quarters at Nationals) but losses like this give them the lessons they need to improve. The biggest challenge for Texas (both in club and college) is that there is no regional competition. Texas does not routinely play difficult teams in their area. They get their shot at Centex, maybe Vegas if they go. Mardi Gras is a little early in the season, but when the Central, Northwest, Southwest, and AC regions are all duking it out for that bid to nationals, Texas is steam rolling their way through the series. Maybe they make nationals every year, but a simple quarters exit is as far as they get. This is a huge tournament experience for them and a few more like this and they could break into semis.

UBC

I should probably do some field reporting on this team. I know nothing about them. If I had to guess, judging from their roster, it seems like the collection of freshman and sophmores that were under the guidance of Oscar and Morgan are now leading the charge. Like Arizona, the Thunderbirds have several (10) Grad students/5th years. However, teams like this can easily fall below radar over time. Hopefully they continue to recruit. The big question on my mind is where they stack up against Stanford. It seems like after a few tournaments, Stanford has reasserted itself as the team to beat in the NW (again). Cal, Santa Cruz, Oregon, Whitman, and LPC have all shown signs of greatness but Bloodthirsty and UBC were the only two that really looked like they belonged at the top of the region this weekend. Historically, in the series, Stanford has UBC's number, but perhaps with a veteran team and no clear superstar(s) to isolate, UBC may have what it takes to make a sophmore trip to nationals.

UNC-Wilmington

The rock in the NUMP's shoe. This is a team that no one has figured out and maybe thats their strategy. They are signed up for a TON of tournaments so they will know their strengths and weaknesses come the series. I wonder if their major strength is non-regional match-ups because very few west coast or even midwest teams have even played UNC-W recently. If this is a strength than perhaps everyone in the AC knows how to handle the Seamen and despite their success, will still struggle to make it out of the region. I am curious about this team regardless and I will definitely work to catch a few of their points in Austin.

Arizona

First things first, everybody's favorite new Pirate, Joe Kershner, didn't play a point this weekend because of a sprained ankle. Sunburn's performance in his absence shows 2 things: 1) They can make nationals without their best player and 2) Wow, with their best player? They handled Tide easily without Joe and I would guess that Colorado would be a closer game but the veteran desert squad will still win without their best player. An offense like this is why Arizona did so well against Wisconsin. Lots of able players, with lots of good eyes, throws and legs. I thought Carleton was the only team that could contest Wisconsin, but I think Arizona has a chance as well. Hopefully they meet again at Centex.

Claremont

These guys have gotten so good and people need to take notice. True they are kinda weird, at least they were when I used to play against them, but they are still good. They win the qualifier and finish ahead of at least 12 other teams. Am I the only one that thinks they should have gotten an invite? I suppose it's tough offering another SoCal team a bid but I think UCSD is going to have to sit out on Stanford again. It did us good back in 2005 and I think right now, the squids aren't cutting the mustard. The brain eaters are though. Despite being from a miniscule school and facing mountains of sectional and regional competition, Claremont has really shown themselves to be a resilient program. Good luck making nationals. This maybe the one year you can catch Colorado napping, giving you two chances to get to nationals instead of one.

Las Positas

Despite a history of shady roster issues, LPC is legit in 2008, both on the field and on paper. Eligibility status aside, they are basically a club team meaning their offense is razor sharp and as long as they stay in shape, they can handle good/great college teams. Hopefully they get to play at Div 1 nationals again instead of Div 3.

Carleton

CUT came in as the 2nd seed and that was a spot they deserved. They are probably going to lose their #2 spot in the NUMP but I think one reason why they struggled this weekend was because 3 of their players (Grant Lindsley, Patrick Roberts, and Alex Evangelides) were all in Seattle trying out for the Junior Worlds. While these are basically just 3 freshman, Grant and Patrick were Junior all-stars from Paidea and Amherst and see a ton of playing time. I think it's weird that Grant is trying out for Junior Worlds again, he already has a gold medal.

Colorado

MB is falling like a shit from heaven (to borrow from "Thank you for Smoking"). I took a guess that LPC would beat them but I was still surprised when it happened. I am curious to know what the Texas game did to Colorado before hand. I suppose every giant needs to faulter and I have no pity for Colorado. I think they are an exciting team to watch but they have won the SW region every year I have played ultimate. I hope they get smoked this Spring, it will have 2 consequences: 1) Someone else will get to go to the show 2) it will give Colorado the motivation to recruit and improve. I think their biggest weakness, and this is no secret, is their handling core. Right now Jolian has to throw to Mac and that sucks. Martin will hopefully be back by Centex, but even then, you have 3 6+ footers that are fast and can jump but those seemingly endless handlers circa Parker, JV, Chicken, and Rabbit are all gone. The apex of Colorado's offense is MIA and without a confident handler to carry the torch, they are going to struggle.

Closing Thoughts

There are a lot more things I could say but I would rather not. One thing I keep wondering is how exciting this year in ultimate would be if Wisconsin was non-existent. Their is no clear cut 2nd best team, so instead of an unknown national champ, we just have an unknown Finals Runner-Up. Like I said awhile back, whoever wins Stanford Invite is going to win Nationals and that still stands. I think Wisconsin will take Centex as well but they don't have to. I know that they are focusing on not letting the hype get to them and for all intents and purposes they are doing a fine job, albeit with 2 close calls. I think the only thing that will make this murderous rampage worth watching is if they actually do go undefeated. I think the worst case scenario would be if they lost a game between now and nationals but won nationals. I hope they win every game up until sunday at Nationals and either bring home the golden disc after an unscathed season or return home broken hearted with their Patriots 2007-esk season fully documented on their website.

Oh and one more thing. How exciting was this 20 team tournament format. Come on, who would have picked the teams in semis? In quarters? Only 1 team went 4-0 on saturday and only 2 teams went 0-4 in pool play. Anybody want to see these kinds of results at nationals? I know I do.

just my thoughts

match diesel