Great response by the Wartburg Knight's team, beating Luther 47-7. I know the past week was rough for the team and coaches, and so this was a great way to get the sour taste out from the Dubuque game. I think this is what most expected Wartburg to do this season to a few of the earlier opponents. They came out with focus, intensity, and the offensive line played with physicality. Schrader had his best game of the season in my opinion and was throwing darts to his receivers. Maybe the Dubuque game was just what the Knight's needed to wake up and end the season on a strong note!

Very rough outing for Wartburg. I was unable to see any of the game, but then again I think I'm glad I missed it. Haven't checked the stats, but then again I don't think there is a need to. I think all of the mistakes previously brought up (short-yardage situations, goal line offense, big plays being let up defense) finally added up for the Knights. I hope this is a wake up call for the entire program and the guys are able to refocus and win out. Don't remember the last time a Wartburg team has been beaten by 32 points. Congrats to UD, they clearly had an excellent game plan put together and went out and executed in front of their big homecoming crowd.

If you look back at my recent posts, you'll see me questioning a lot of what is going on at Wartburg right now. Am I surprised Wartburg fell back in the polls? No, absolutely not, and that's not my issue. Being ranked #8 in the country is a great thing for any program. You'll see me mention, if you look back, that a lot of what they have done has not been reminiscent of a what a #6 team in the country should be doing. To me, it was just odd that Oshkosh jumped them, being a one loss team.

Would not be surprised to see a Wartburg-St. Thomas/St. Johns game in the making for the first round of the playoffs. Both of which would be a very tough matchup, especially with how great of a season St. Thomas is having thus far.

The scariest thing to think about is when Wartburg executes for an entire game, and it will happen - It's going to be a tough day for the opponent it happens against. Look, they've improved each week, there's no doubt about it. If they continue that upward trend, work on the goal line offense (that adds 2 scores to the Central game and at least one more to the Coe Game - since scoring is apparently the most important thing now, and then those games are not even close) develop a couple more weapons at WR, I think they will be a very sound team in November. I also believe that Central will continue to play well as the season goes on and will continue to improve - they should win out.

Now, I realize Wartburg's wins recently haven't been super impressive, with their best win being over Bethel...but for UW-Oshkosh to pull an upset and be ranked ahead of Wartburg still with 1 loss? That's ridiculous.

Although Wartburg's wins have seemingly been less than impressive this season, they have won, and they haven't lost a regular season game dating back to November 2, 2013. This is where the regular season D3 rankings really fall short and mean anything. There aren't a lot of voters, and there is plenty of bias. #8 is good, but to have two 1 loss teams ranked in front of that? Complete joke.

And yes, I realize that Oshkosh's loss was to Robert Morris. However, two of their wins are over Finlandia (1-5) and North Park University (1-4).

Wartburg had a nice win over a steadily improving Coe team yesterday. Some thoughts on the game:

It is still obvious Wartburg has not put together a full 60 minutes. This game had major potential to get out of hand for Coe, but the Knights consistently hurt themselves on offense with penalties.

The defense is still letting big plays happen. Some thoughts on this: Cole Hinders was out with a concussion yesterday, and the pass rush really lacked with an undersized an under experienced defensive line playing without their leader, Hinders. Without this pass rush, the secondary, led by senior Logan Pitz at corner, has given unquote a few explosive plays, including a big scoring play yesterday.

The offense seemed to have rhythm on a few drives, but the zone stretch play with a big back was a play they kept going back to for some reason. Coe did a nice job of stringing that play out and keeping the gains very minimal all day. I don't understand why they didn't run Domeyer more into the teeth of the defense as he is a big powerful guy. Anstoetter continues to be the go to guy at wide receiver, complimented nicely by the TE Mitch Rahm. It would be great to see a real consistent threat develop as a #2 wide receiver, which I think could be Riley Brockway. He is getting better but still makes mistakes that younger guys make. That brings us right into the next point...Goal Line Offense.

the Goal Line Offense for Wartburg has been nothing short of completely awful this season. Yesterday, they chose to run to toss sweeps on the goal line to Domeyer. Stopped both times. This is two weeks in a row where a team who is supposed to be 6th in the nation cannot score from inside the 5 yard line (twice last week against Central). It's absolutely horrible to watch. When they did score, they used Schrader on the QB keep. Right now, unfortunately that is the #1 play call (it's scored multiple times this year). That is especially concerning when giving the ball to your 225 pound running back right up the gut isn't your top play call. As for the back to back toss sweep plays, I will never know or understand. Toss sweep is about the easiest play to string out and stop within the tight confines of the goal line area. Unless they were looking to fake the toss and roll out to a play action later on, I'm not sure why this was the go to call yesterday. The Knights need to get back to having the physical presence on the goal line and scoring with their big back on a consistent basis.

Wartburg's Special teams were okay yesterday. Coach Willis hasn't been too happy with that facet of the team this year, and Bohlke made a nice 35 yard FG with some rough cross wind. He did, however, follow that up by kicking off out of bounds right before half, a dangerous mistake with about 35 seconds on the clock.

Overall, Knights improve and although the fact that the exact same problems keep occurring week after week, there is only so much to complain about when you win. A win is a win. Coach Willis echoed these same things on the radio after the game, and there wasn't much excitement from him post game, although he loves to beat Coe College, no matter how it happens. He has very high expectations as a coach, and the fact that he can keep an undefeated team motivated and hungry to improve is one of his best characteristics.

Still, as the 6th ranked team in the nation, this game definitely should have been more than a 17 point margin of victory. Again, it is very concerning that these same issues seem to keep popping up each week, and although the Iowa Conference can be tough to play in because the teams and coaches know each other so well, the Knights need to do more and be more convincing in their victories. Otherwise, come playoff time, they are in real trouble of getting dismantled immediately by a more fundamentally sound opponent.

Quick recap of the Wartburg-Central game:

Central played tough today. They made a few plays, but ultimately not enough. Two stops inside the red zone on fourth down, with one coming on the goal line were very impressive. Goal line offense will definitely need to be worked on in order for the Knights to make a run in the post-season.

Wartburg defense: Still giving up a number of big plays. Credit this to good play calling by the Dutch, but the tackling on the Wartburg side was poor. The defense came up with a big interception to end the game. The Dutch must have thrown some new formations at the Knights because a couple of times the Knights were caught with receivers being left uncovered, including in the red zone where they barely got a timeout called to stop the play. As they often do, Central ran their play action to perfection on the goal line finding a back out to the flat for an easy score.

Coming out of half and being down a score, Coach Willis seemed extremely calm and confident that if they took care of their miscues in the first half, they would be alright. Wartburg did a nice job of coming out and taking control. Getting a stop on defense right away after an impressive kickoff return and then marching down the field 78 yards for a score to go up 1 (Central kicker missed the PAT) was huge.

Schrader and Anstoetter had good days. Schrader was 23-30 with two interceptions. Both interceptions were off the hands of receivers and not really his fault at all. Domeyer had a good day rushing and ran hard. Overall, I predicted it would be a two score game. Central played very tough and kept it to an 8 point game, and keeping the recent trend of close games between the two going. It was a great day in Waverly for the game, with Walston-Hoover jam packed. Wartburg did not exactly look like the #6 team in the country in the first half, but I would say they took care of business in the second half and did what they needed to do. It's hard to tell if that's because they really aren't, or if Central played that well today. Credit to Central for playing extremely tough and giving the Knights all they could handle. For the Knights, it's time to evaluate the film and find a way to keep improving defensively. The positive is that they found a way to get a tough win against a tough team, and I'll take that any day, especially against Central. On to the next one vs Coe.

Quote from: notlongago on September 30, 2015, 10:38:08 PM

Quote from: WB_Knights13 on September 27, 2015, 08:15:12 PM

Quote from: 5 Words or Less on September 27, 2015, 10:25:11 AM
This week's match-ups are interesting

Coe @ Loras ... Which hawk will fly offensively?
Buena Vista @ Simpson ... Conference litmus test for both
Luther @ Dubuque ... Spartans hope for revenge
Central @ Wartburg ... Perennial title contenders square off

Coe @ Loras: Coe over Loras in this one. Loras has improved offensively, but has not shown the ability to play much defense this season. Coe may be a bit down this season, but will handle the Loras offense by keeping their offense on the field and controlling the clock.

Buena Vista @ Simpson: Tough pick here. I haven't seen many stats from either team, and the scores I have seen have been ugly. Simpson gets the nod as they have the home field advantage.

Luther @ Dubuque: I am going to take Luther on this one. I think UD will be frustrated by the Luther Triple O, and Luther will run the ball, run the clock, and win the game.

Now, for my favorite pick of the week: Central at Wartburg, Wartburg Homecoming.
Year in and year out, this is always a great game between two excellent schools, and two great coaches. Central always has a great plan in place for Wartburg. If this game follows the trend of many past games, it will be VERY close. I think Central makes a few plays - attacking the secondary with a few post routes, and runs their misdirection toss on the goal line to perfection for a score perhaps. Also, look for Central to attack the flats near the goal line with some play action - they will look to run the FB or TE quickly into the flats, making the WB linebackers work hard to gain the leverage to cover them.

As for Wartburg - They will continue to mix it up offensively. They will be balanced behind Domeyer and Schrader, with Schrader looking to get the ball out to Anstoetter. Domeyer and Anstoetter will have both need to have big games for the Wartburg offense to put points up.

With the Knights having the past week off, they should be rested, and come out with a good game plan offensively and defensively. Walston-Hoover will be jam packed and the Knights will have plenty of energy for homecoming. I think the Knights win, 35-31. Not without a battle, however, I think the Knights are going to need to make a few critical plays on defense, possibly special teams, down the stretch to seal the win. This should be a close, physical match up and should be exciting.

It seems every wb/central game comes down to one score late in the 4th, except for the 09 and 14 games...so you're probably right, this one will be close too. I just don't see how. The only thing going for Central is the starters have had 2 consecutive weeks off.

Here's the Scores from the last 5 years:

2009: 33-41 Central
2010: 20-17 Wartburg
2011: 20-13 Wartburg
2012: 28-31 Central - A battle in Pella. The Knights walked into the endzone on a running back flare out of the backfield with no one home as the Dutch run an all out blitz. A Dutch defender falls down behind the play and draws a phantom holding call - Knights lose a heartbreaker. All after coming back and recovering an onside kick at the end of the game. I'm still salty about that one to this day.
2013: 16-14 Wartburg
2014: 35-14 Wartburg - The only outlier of them all.

And thats just 6 games, a tiny sample. 2 games over 7 points, with one still being a one score game. This matchup goes back way farther than that and there have been many more close games.

Here's what it comes down to:

1. Winning one on one matchups - OL-DL, Secondary vs Receivers

2. Making a play on special teams - The knights have been known to get after teams in punting situations. This week will be no different with the special teams coordinator dialing something up and exposing the Dutch's punt formations. I would expect the Knights to at least get close or block a punt tomorrow - I'm guessing the 2nd or third punt of the game after a few adjustments have been made.

3. Making a play when needed (offense or defense) - whether recovering an onside, NOT HOLDING (whether actually holding, or the phantom hold the IIAC refs have been known to call  ) on scoring plays or the big plays in general.

4. Who gives up more explosive plays? The Knights defense has no doubt used the bye week to shore up the defense and I 100% expect Coach Willis to have the team excited to play in a physical matchup, AND the secondary will be coached up and ready to play under Coach Winter.


Knights come out and play their best game of the season so far tomorrow. Knights 35, Dutch 24.  - I am guessing it will be a 2 possession game, although the rivalry trend tells me will likely be one score game.

Quote from: 5 Words or Less on September 27, 2015, 10:25:11 AM
This week's match-ups are interesting

Coe @ Loras ... Which hawk will fly offensively?
Buena Vista @ Simpson ... Conference litmus test for both
Luther @ Dubuque ... Spartans hope for revenge
Central @ Wartburg ... Perennial title contenders square off

Coe @ Loras: Coe over Loras in this one. Loras has improved offensively, but has not shown the ability to play much defense this season. Coe may be a bit down this season, but will handle the Loras offense by keeping their offense on the field and controlling the clock.

Buena Vista @ Simpson: Tough pick here. I haven't seen many stats from either team, and the scores I have seen have been ugly. Simpson gets the nod as they have the home field advantage.

Luther @ Dubuque: I am going to take Luther on this one. I think UD will be frustrated by the Luther Triple O, and Luther will run the ball, run the clock, and win the game.

Now, for my favorite pick of the week: Central at Wartburg, Wartburg Homecoming.
Year in and year out, this is always a great game between two excellent schools, and two great coaches. Central always has a great plan in place for Wartburg. If this game follows the trend of many past games, it will be VERY close. I think Central makes a few plays - attacking the secondary with a few post routes, and runs their misdirection toss on the goal line to perfection for a score perhaps. Also, look for Central to attack the flats near the goal line with some play action - they will look to run the FB or TE quickly into the flats, making the WB linebackers work hard to gain the leverage to cover them.

As for Wartburg - They will continue to mix it up offensively. They will be balanced behind Domeyer and Schrader, with Schrader looking to get the ball out to Anstoetter. Domeyer and Anstoetter will have both need to have big games for the Wartburg offense to put points up.

With the Knights having the past week off, they should be rested, and come out with a good game plan offensively and defensively. Walston-Hoover will be jam packed and the Knights will have plenty of energy for homecoming. I think the Knights win, 35-31. Not without a battle, however, I think the Knights are going to need to make a few critical plays on defense, possibly special teams, down the stretch to seal the win. This should be a close, physical match up and should be exciting.

Quote from: Phred on September 20, 2015, 07:22:59 PM
Seems to me that both Loras and Luther will be spoilers this year.  Last year both were predicted to be at the bottom of the final standings but both seem to have found a game....one in air and one on ground essentially.  The trick will be if they can sustain a season with only half an offense.

Loras will have the greatest difficulty, I think, as it seems to have little defense so far.  Luther,s defense has done well enough even against La Crosse.

Coe, UD, Simpson, BV could all find challenges from these two.  Wartburg however will walk away with the championship AND.........will challenge for the D3 title.  Getting by Whitewater is the trick.   In my very humble opinion.

Just trying to "stir the pot" a bit.

Hey everyone, new to the board. As a former player, I've been a long time reader of D3 Sports and the board, but decided it was time to throw in my two cents.

It's been an interesting start to the fall, but what I want to get everybody's opinion on is the Wartburg defense. The Knight's offense has proven they can score points behind Schrader, Domeyer, and Anstoetter, but if a team locks the offense down or the offense has an off day, I think the Knights are a beatable team this year. Through the three games, they have put a full 60 minutes together. The defense does not look like that of a classic fast, physical Wartburg defense this year. The secondary has looked extremely spotty. They have played against a couple of very talented receivers, and while they do make some good plays, they also tend to give up big plays.

Through three games they have given up 27 points to a middle of the road Augsburg team, 14 points to a solid Bethel squad (which could have been more if not for some timely errors on Bethel's part), and 33 points to a low-mid WIAC team in UW-Stout. There's just something about watching this defense that makes me question if they have the horses to make another run in the playoffs this season.