Well Concordia's online audio, is of course not working. And SJU is charging $10 to listen.

Quote from: AO on November 09, 2009, 04:50:30 PM

Quote from: cobbernation on November 09, 2009, 02:47:44 PM

Quote from: AO on November 09, 2009, 12:33:45 PM

Quote from: cobbernation on November 09, 2009, 12:01:20 PM

Quote from: AO on November 09, 2009, 10:43:35 AM

Quote from: cobbernation on November 09, 2009, 10:27:10 AM

Quote from: AO on November 08, 2009, 11:28:19 PM

Quote from: DutchHawk on November 08, 2009, 07:43:03 PM

Quote from: TC on November 08, 2009, 07:31:45 PM

Quote from: DutchHawk on November 08, 2009, 04:45:40 PM

Quote from: USTBench on November 08, 2009, 04:11:47 PM
So...what are the playoffs like?

Overlook Northwestern and it won't matter

Just because teams from Iowa can't beat crappy teams named Northwestern doesn't mean the same will hold true for teams from Minnesota.  Northwestern should essentially be a bye for St. Thomas, but still not kill them in OW%.

LOL was that a stab at the Hawkeyes?? Good one...still reeling from the 55-0 debacle last year or what?

Or was it the fact that I think Cornell is the only IIAC team to play Northwestern of the MIAC lately...

Reusse isn't the only one without his facts straight.

   Northwestern is not a MIAC school.  Northwestern has played Simpson the last 2 years.  Playing Northwestern will help St. Thomas' OWP, even though Northwestern is having its worst season in a decade at 5-4. 

UST playing Mac and Northwestern could ultimately give them a horrible seed in the playoffs.  I could see UST getting a 7 or 8 seed next Sunday. 

Better to play Northwestern (5-4 in region) than Concordia (4-4).   

I know, I wish concordia had a weaker non-conference schedule.  Playing the #8 team in the country and winning is not a great accomplishment.  Yes, I realize concordia slipped for a few games, but they have won 3 straight! 

Refresh my memory when was Northwestern in the D-3 playoffs last?

The strength of schedule ratings do not take into account the fact that you beat the #8 team in the country.  It's a bad system I agree, but your statement that St. Thomas will get a bad seed due to playing Northwestern is false.  In fact, their position will improve.  If they beat Concordia saturday, their OWP would go down.  Facts are stubborn things...

You are telling me that is UST was in the UMAC, ran the table all year it would look better than being a 1 loss team in the MIAC?  Hard to believe!  The MIAC usually gets 2 teams into the playoffs each year because it's a very competitive conference.  

Do you think Northwestern has a tougher SOS than Concordia?  No possible way, look at your loss to simpson by 20+ and they are 3-6 overall.  Does Northwestern have any quality wins?

Take Monmouth as an example of a team in a worse conference, running the table and getting ranked ahead of St. Thomas.  Northwestern does not have a better SOS than Concordia.  What's important for St. Thomas is Northwestern's in-region record.  Northwestern has been averaging 8 wins a season the last 5 years, but this year they are 5-4.  This is better than Concordia or another strong team who has played great competition, but is 4-4.

Quote from: USTBench on November 09, 2009, 03:23:02 PM
To the Northwestern rube: It's a step above scheduling Trinity Bible for a game, but not by much. Your team is the last embarrassing thing UST has to deal with from the Roney era. Hamline shouldn't even schedule your team. Northwestern football is a pit of despair. In an era where soccer moms think everyone should get a trophy, it's fitting that Northwestern thinks they're good for winning the UMAC last year. The Cobbers beat Williamette this year. They would beat your team 179 to 0. Your team sucks. They just suck so hard.

It has benefitted the Tommie's Strength-of-schedule numbers the past 2 years playing Northwestern.  It benefits Northwestern to play better competition than playing Trinity Bible.  If Northwestern is in a pit of despair, so is more than half of d3 as Northwestern was in the top 100 in the pre-season poll.  Hamline and Northwestern have scrimmaged the past few years after splitting a pair of games 5 years ago.  Your team is having a good year, my team not so much, but it should still be a fun game on Saturday.  

Concordia would shred Northwestern. Period.

Quote from: VOJ on November 04, 2009, 04:43:07 PM
WEST REGION
1. St. John's 8-0 8-0
2. UW-Whitewater 6-0 8-0
3. Linfield 7-0 8-0
4. Central 9-0 9-0
5. Monmouth 9-0 9-0
6. St. Thomas 7-1 7-1
7. Coe 7-1 7-1
8. Cal Lutheran 6-1 6-1
9. Redlands 6-1 6-1
10. St. Norbert 8-1 8-1


Well they are getting closer to getting it right...IMO it should be Whitewater and then the undefeated threesome of SJU, Linfield and Central in any order, followed by the one loss teams in any order...Lutheran and Redlands have a showdown coming up in two weeks for a berth so one of those teams will be out...and wow, St. Norbert making a case to be in the playoffs...I doubt the MWC has ever had two teams in the playoffs but the carnage that is the WIAC after WW has opened a door.  

Here is an interesting question...Bethel beats UST in a 3 point game or in OT and both finish 8-2.  Are they both out...is Bethel in or could both get in because of who they lost to and how they lost?

Anyway you look at it, Johnnies just need to take care of the next two games and hope that RF and EC win this week in the WIAC and then let chips fall where they may...

No offense to the SJU faithful, but the Johnnies are not better than Whitewater. And that will be proven. I think it should look something like...

1. UW-W
2. SJU
3. Linfield
etc...

Well I watched the game online yesterday via St. Olaf's feed. For a while, I thought I was watching a volleyball match with the Cobbers' D-Line. They had more batted down passes in one game than I think I've ever seen in a season for a team. I lost count after 5. But overall defensively, the Cobbs played much better than recent games. Still got a corner (won't mention names) that is being completely shredded by quarterbacks.

Offense had it's moments, but did sputter a lot. One major play call I didn't agree with, was with about 4 minutes to go in the game, 4th down and 7 and we run a sweep to the right. I think it gained MAYBE a yard. Other than that, not a bad day. Dunham made a few mistakes, but he's still learning.

Gotta scare a lot of people that Clark is only a soph for the Oles. That kid is good. He's fast, shifty, and can read very well. Must have been slightly agitating for him in the kick return dept since Concordia kicked away from him on nearly every punt and kickoff. The one time he was kicked to, on a punt from the Cobbers' 15, the kick was absolutely crushed and Clark had to backtrack about 30 yards to even catch it.

Good win for the Cobbs. Good to see that losing streak against the Oles end, and get the troll back up to Moorhead.

Quote from: TC on October 22, 2009, 11:27:29 PM

Quote from: TC on September 04, 2009, 11:19:51 PM

Quote from: cobbernation on September 03, 2009, 10:00:52 AM
Looks like the board has been keeping a nice pace since I last saw it.  Another exciting MIAC season is upon us.  I don't know much news about the cobbers exiting fall camp this year.  It looks like they have transferred Larson from defense to starting QB to start the year.  He might get a rude awakening on Saturday as the cobbs host 8th ranked Williamette.  I will be rooting for the cobbers no doubt, but don't be surprised if the cobbs get down early to see some rotating QB's in the game.  I just hope it doesn't turn out like SJU with 3 qb's rotating into the middle part of the season, but maybe I do because you have to do whatever it takes to win the MIAC!

Making matters even worse is the Cobbers' schedule doesn't give them any early breathers:  #8 Willamette, @ Valley City County Credit Union St., #13 St. John's, @ Bethel, @ #22 St. Thomas.  Yuck.  I think they graduated something like 98% of their offensive production from last season and are starting a defensive back at QB.  If they don't figure their offense out in a hurry, things could get brutal for what should be a pretty talented team.   And that's not exactly the easiest offense for an inexperienced team to run.

'Nation, what happened to the Cobbers?  If they don't win out (which will be tough with back-to-back trips to Northfield in a couple weeks) they'll at least match their worst MIAC record since 1951.  Unbelievable.  Did anyone in Moorhead see this coming?

Turnovers, turnovers, and some more turnovers. That and the defensive secondary has been picked apart most of the season.

Quote from: USTBench on October 16, 2009, 09:23:32 PM

Quote from: Willy Wonka on October 16, 2009, 07:48:50 PM

Quote from: miacmaniac on October 16, 2009, 07:21:27 PM

Quote from: Willy Wonka on October 16, 2009, 06:20:15 PM

That's assuming UST doesn't make a push for bigger and "better" things itself, giving him the jump he might have otherwise sought elsewhere.

Disclaimer - I have no proof of the Tommies seeking to join D1 or D2...but I've heard rumblings from a couple different sources in recent years.

That one's been around a while. Senile Sid keeps it alive, but he cluelessly thinks UST (or any school) can pick and choose what division they are in for varying sports. But then again, he seems to think Dienhart runs UST athletics  and cant pronounce the last name of his close friend, the fooball coach at SJU.

It would be the end of too many programs @ UST, it would be too too costly dollar-wise, and simply not practical (example- DI hockey requires an on-campus arena-- where would that  be built?)  I guarentee it wont happen as long as Fritz is running athletics or Dease is in charge of the institution.

As my buddy Hazzben says, agree to disagree

UST would never go D2, that's not exactly a step forward, nor does it have the commitment to academics it is looking for. But I will say that if UST is spending $130 million on a new athletic facility it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility to go DI. Conferences like the Pioneer league would be ideal for non-scholarship FCS football, where they could play schools like Butler, Valpo, Drake, etc. And would be a good fit for basketball. With 6,000 undergrads it's not exactly like UST is a "small liberal arts" college anymore. They have an enrollment bigger than many DI schools. I also believe people seriously underestimate the size of UST's endowment and ability to fundraise for different things. DI athletics would not be the death of a lot of sports, nor would it be impossible to create an on-campus arena for hockey. If UST can buy up many acres of property in downtown Minneapolis and build a Law School and Business School, it's not like they can't afford to build a hockey arena. That being said, I hope it doesn't happen and if the rumblings continue, it won't be anytime soon.

St. Thomas in the FCS? That's funny. It would take at least 10+ years to even consider them being competitive there, with the weakest teams. Teams like App. State, Furman, Georgia Southern, etc. would dismantle the Tommies. Indiana State is arguably one of the worst FCS teams and they would beat St. Thomas by 20+

Quote from: WithasilentK on October 13, 2009, 11:50:23 PM

Quote from: TC on October 13, 2009, 09:40:42 PM

Quote from: snoop dawg on October 13, 2009, 09:25:01 PM
Congrats to the Johnnies on a 6-0 start.  I know you guys don't want to talk about it much but, what are the chances of the Johnnies running the table in the regular season?

If St. John's can win this week, the last three games are all very winnable.  St. Olaf at home won't be a cakewalk, but they don't seem to be as good as they were a couple years ago.  Augsburg at the Metrodome should be a waste of everyone's time and, as close as the game was at Carleton a year, the Johnnies have never lost to the Knights and Carleton graduated a ton of studs from last year. 

This week, though?  Yikes.  It should be a good game.

Yup, that about sums it up perfectly.  NCC still has Clark, and will put up a fight, but won't win unless SJU plays a bad game.

What would be interesting though would be if...

UST beats SJU and then Bethel turns around and beats UST.  That leaves SJU at 9-1, UST 9-1, and Bethel at 8-2, with all tied in Conference play.  I don't remember the rule about who gets automatic bid, but it would leave for an interesting conversation for another bid at the end of the season.  Very interested to see what turns up this weekend, and of course, 4 weeks left, a lot can happen.

In your "scenario", St. Thomas would be the autobid if I'm not mistaken, since they haven't won the league for the longest time. Whereas Bethel and SJU have both won it recently.

Well since I have seen SJU in person, and UST yesterday online, I will give my 2 cents on what I think may happen.

The Cobbers seemed to run somewhat efficiently yesterday, with the better being that they didn't fumble. The Tommie pass defense is pretty stout. Larson was able to find some holes and get passes in, but there were also quite a few mistakes there too. 3 INT's and 2 nearly picked. Waldvogel is a tough SOB to defend. He's quick and elusive. He had 79 yards in the first Qtr.

Could be a helluva game for you 2 teams. But with the Clemens magic, I see the Johnnies winning by 9.

Thanks for the clarification. There are just some obvious mistakes in the box score there. I'd hate to see it not changed and drag the overall stats down because of it.

Whoever does the stats for St Thomas should be fired. Didn't know it was possible to fair catch a -25 yard punt. The kid didn't have anything less than 30 yards and they have him for 5 punts for 44 yards. 

One was blocked. That goes against the team. But there definitely wasn't a punt for 0 yards like it shows. Or a -25 yard one. Stats like this don't determine a game but good God.

Quote from: USTBench on October 05, 2009, 05:33:28 PM

Quote from: OzJohnnie on October 05, 2009, 05:29:49 PM
Back to the topic at hand (that's 'at' hand, Tommie coeds, not 'in' hand): the Pipers.  Is there any thought for this week?

Other news: only 9 days remaining until I board that big jet airplane to see the rivalry of the year (hard to top last weekend for game of the year).  Getting excited (insert Tommie clarification and disclaimer here).

Yawner, 56 to 7 SJU. Oh, and Hamline can't punt. Went to the game two weeks ago...they literally couldn't do it. Bad snaps, blocks, punter just missing it. Hamline finally just started going for it a la a game of Madden.

That surprises you? Swanberg was shaky at best in his days there too.

Quote from: GoldandBlueBU on September 30, 2009, 01:31:40 PM
Any Cobber fans that watched both BU and SJU in person this year want to provide their insight for Saturday's game?

From what I've seen, it'll either be close, or SJU will blow them away. If Bethel's defense plays like they did against us they'll be fine. Otherwise, good night. It should be a good game regardless. But I'm definitely going with SJU since it's at Collegeville and it's their homecoming.

Quote from: badgerwarhawk on September 21, 2009, 09:44:04 AM
I take it from the team picture that it has something to do with corn but just what is a "Cobber" anyway? 

Quote from: OzJohnnie on September 20, 2009, 08:39:11 PM
d3football.com rankings are out.  Johnnies remain at #6.  Tommies move up to #17.  Cobbers drop out and only get a few votes.  Bethel also receiving just a few votes.

I knew we'd drop out of the top-25 but I didn't think that far. A top-25 team losing to a top-10 team usually doesn't result in that much of a change. Oh well, rankings don't play the game.

Quote from: AO on September 16, 2009, 12:55:36 PM

Quote from: VOJ on September 16, 2009, 12:16:50 PM

For my next soapbox subject...if the Scots can play UST and other MIAC schools, get back in the conference where you belong...this "Notre Dame" mentality(without the network) where they can decide which conference sports they can compete in has gone on long enough, this is not the Big East and you are not stealing millions from NBC so get back in the league and TRY to compete...

MIAC football is better without Macalester.  The opponent's winning percentage would clearly decrease for all of the MIAC schools and therefore lessen the chances at an at-large bid for the 2nd place MIAC team.  If you add MAC do you eliminate a non-conference game?  The Johnnies have definitely benefitted from playing two WIAC schools.

As has Concordia for playing a then top-10 team from the West Region, and a scholarship program.