Congratulations to Coe. Very tough loss for the Dutch today. Hindsight is 20-20 and all, but I hated Central's offensive game plan. Normally we are a hurry up offense and today we used every single second before snapping the ball and we were determined to try to run against the #4 rushing defense. I get they wanted to slow down Coe's high powered offense by keeping them off the field, but let's get a lead first. The defense played phenomenal all day.

To me it was a let's hope we are still in the game at the end and we might pull it out strategy that was disrespectful to a defensive unit that has been beyond solid all year. I would rather play to win. They finally let Ketchum in to play in the last three minutes of the game. No pressure or anything. I think they could have strategically inserted him throughout the game on obvious passing plays. He is the better pure passer and if it is already an obvious passing play it doesn't give anything away. Today Ketchum's stats weren't as high as normal, but he only got in after we were in dire need of points. I will say his scrambling and finding a receiver in OT was amazing. Tough game to be without our starting kicker, but our freshman from Waverly was 2-2 on field goals and made his only extra point attempt. Coe's kicker missed two easy FG attempts that would have won the game in regulation.

Duhawks were able to pick up a win this weekend. It was over Luther and we all know where that program is currently but with the season that they have had I sure enjoyed it. Gotta take what you can get I suppose. A win next weekend and this whole season is worth it...

I watched the 2nd half of the Central/Coe game, the Simpson/NWU game, and the Luther/Loras game. 

Two strong defenses with Central and Coe.  All defense during regulation and then offensive fireworks on OT.  Fun game to watch. 

Simpson was a team of two halves.  Seemed to go up and down the field in the 1st half, then was stopped in the 2nd.  Not sure if NWU figured the Storm out or what happened. 

Luther looks small.  Their D line looked dwarfed next to Loras.  That will wear you down as the game goes on.  Wish the Norse luck, that is a fun road trip, and we have friends there.  They need to recruit some bigger guys.  Think my kids are travelling the 1/2 mile over to Loras to watch the Key City Clash on Saturday.  I'll be back here watching on my TV.   

If you're a fan of defensive football, the UD/Loras game was not for you.
Final score 49-42 Spartans win over the Duhawks.
UD win the turnover battle 5-0 and won a one score game. That won't be successful against Central or Wartburg. Nor will all the personal foul penalties UD was guilty of today. Spartans need to clean things up.
Tip of the hat to Loras. Many teams would have packed it in after the start of the Duhawks season. This team came ready to play today. Good for them.

Shout out to UD qb Ben Gultig, coming back from injury throws for 488 yards, 6 td's, and no int's. 3 different UD receivers (Za'Cameron Brice, Wade Sheets, Hunter Preston) all with over 100 receiving yards.

Serious question:  In Grand Rapids, MI, I live too far away from IIAC/ARC to make an informed decision,  but I wonder how a 1 loss Wartburg team is ranked ahead of an undefeated Coe team?  Was the St. John's game that big for the Knights?

Quote from: DBQ1965 on October 20, 2024, 07:01:12 PMSerious question:  In Grand Rapids, MI, I live too far away from IIAC/ARC to make an informed decision,  but I wonder how a 1 loss Wartburg team is ranked ahead of an undefeated Coe team?  Was the St. John's game that big for the Knights?

Wartburg gets a lot of credit for the past two years' playoff runs and their only loss being to the current number 3 team. Each round of the playoffs tends to require a significantly stronger team and making in to the semifinals twice proved they had made those steps. I think Coe deserves to be rated right up there with  Wartburg honestly.

Central lost to both Coe and Wartburg by only 4 points in each game with Coe going to double OT. I came away from both games feeling that they were winnable for Central. In the Wartburg game we really shot ourselves in the foot. The only TD scored in regulation time against both teams was when a pass to the player along the sideline got blown backward by the strong wind. The receiver didn't comprehend that it wasn't a forward pass and didn't jump on the ball or attempt to stop the WB player who picked it up and ran it in for a TD. That was enough to cost us the game. I would have played Brady Ketchum at QB all season and last year. He got to start Saturday and only got two offensive series before he was benched because of the score, but he was 6 of 6 in passing with two TDS.

Oops, got off topic. Back to Coe and Wartburg. I would say that on the days we played each team, I thought Coe was the better of the two. That is subjective of course as we actually took Coe to double OT. Coe was able to run against our defense that has been tough on the run all season better than Wartburg. Defensively they were both strong. I think the  Wartburg vs Coe game will be a real showdown. I will have no real idea how to pick when they play each other. Wartburg found their offense against Luther and beat them worse than we did, though we substituted earlier than I have ever seen. Then Wartburg didn't do as well against Simpson as we did. Maybe they substituted earlier because the Simpson coach was a WB grad or maybe it was because the coach knew what to expect out of WB because he was a grad.

Quote from: Schipper Strong on October 20, 2024, 10:55:46 PM

Quote from: DBQ1965 on October 20, 2024, 07:01:12 PMSerious question:  In Grand Rapids, MI, I live too far away from IIAC/ARC to make an informed decision,  but I wonder how a 1 loss Wartburg team is ranked ahead of an undefeated Coe team?  Was the St. John's game that big for the Knights?

Wartburg gets a lot of credit for the past two years' playoff runs and their only loss being to the current number 3 team. Each round of the playoffs tends to require a significantly stronger team and making in to the semifinals twice proved they had made those steps. I think Coe deserves to be rated right up there with  Wartburg honestly.

Central lost to both Coe and Wartburg by only 4 points in each game with Coe going to double OT. I came away from both games feeling that they were winnable for Central. In the Wartburg game we really shot ourselves in the foot. The only TD scored in regulation time against both teams was when a pass to the player along the sideline got blown backward by the strong wind. The receiver didn't comprehend that it wasn't a forward pass and didn't jump on the ball or attempt to stop the WB player who picked it up and ran it in for a TD. That was enough to cost us the game. I would have played Brady Ketchum at QB all season and last year. He got to start Saturday and only got two offensive series before he was benched because of the score, but he was 6 of 6 in passing with two TDS.

Oops, got off topic. Back to Coe and Wartburg. I would say that on the days we played each team, I thought Coe was the better of the two. That is subjective of course as we actually took Coe to double OT. Coe was able to run against our defense that has been tough on the run all season better than Wartburg. Defensively they were both strong. I think the  Wartburg vs Coe game will be a real showdown. I will have no real idea how to pick when they play each other. Wartburg found their offense against Luther and beat them worse than we did, though we substituted earlier than I have ever seen. Then Wartburg didn't do as well against Simpson as we did. Maybe they substituted earlier because the Simpson coach was a WB grad or maybe it was because the coach knew what to expect out of WB because he was a grad.

Couple of insights from a Wartburg Fan...

As to why Coe is ranked lower than Wartburg with a better record...it's a subjective poll with human inputs, so there is always a latency bias weighted on what a team has done the last few years vs just this season.  There are always 4 or 5 WIAC teams ranked in the middle of the season because nobody knows who will come out of that mess on top.  Then by the end of the year, there is always 1 team in the top 10, and a few others from 11-25.  But I've seen most of those teams the last few years, and if the top 25 was just the top 25 teams, the top 4 or 5 teams in the WIAC should be ranked...but humans have a hard time ranking a 3 or 4 loss team in the top 25.  Also, I've always thought that a team needs a road playoff win in the previous few years to get some extra love in the polls.  Wartburg got that at St John's 2 years ago and followed it up with a 2nd semi final run.  What the head to head results really give you when looking at the polls is it gives teams "floors and ceilings".  Wartburg will not get above St. Johns without SJU losing 2 times, and SJU wont fall below Wartburg with 1 loss.  Hopefully the new NPI system will cut through the BS and actually rank teams accordingly...if those numbers were public, I would think Coe and Wartburg would be much closer than they are. 

As to the Wartburg/Central Game...
That was the worst played game from both teams I've seen in the series in quite some time.  Wartburg's QB had lost a lot of confidence after the bad game at SJU, and Wartburg just got crippled with little injuries.  In the 4th quarter, we were playing our 1st, 5th, 6th, 8th and 10th best o-lineman, some out of position.  And both teams made some horrendous mistakes, we had waaaay to many penalties and didn't play well on 3rd down.  I wish that game was in week 10 or 11 instead of so early in the season.

As to the Wartburg/Simpson Game...
Central was able to get ahead of Simpson and on tape it looked like the Storm was broken spiritually pretty early in that game. Wartburg had one of those weeks were Wartburg was great on 1st and 2nd down, and just came up short on 3rd and 4th.  In this league, most of the teams are capable of beating anyone, but the Wartburg/Central/Coe's of the league have historically been able to make the other teams believe they can't win pretty early in the game, thus the success.  If you get to halftime and the "lesser" team still believes they can win, you're in for a dogfight until you prove otherwise. Having seen Wartburg play everyone from North Central and Mount Union, to Luther and Greenville, I'm a believer that pretty much any team receiving votes in the Top 25 is capable of beating anyone on any given day...it all comes down to poise and play-making.  Wartburg has had a nasty habit of falling behind in big games, and somehow winning at the end, and it's been because the coaches don't panic, the players trust each other and everyone believes they can win.

As for this week's Coe/Wartburg Game...
I think it's an interesting match-up between 2 teams who have a similar game strategy...run the ball, take a few shots, and wear down the defense so they can run the ball late.  I expect to see more of an old-school Big 10 game, low scoring, good defense, and field position, rather than a SEC or PAC-10 game shootout.  I think that Coe will still get a Pool C with a loss and Wartburg will need St. John's to win out to get a Pool C with a loss.

Quote from: MediaGuy on October 22, 2024, 02:26:05 PMHopefully the new NPI system will cut through the BS and actually rank teams accordingly...if those numbers were public, I would think Coe and Wartburg would be much closer than they are. 

Those numbers are public:
https://stats.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/nitty_gritties/39608

Quote from: Pat Coleman on October 22, 2024, 02:30:56 PM

Quote from: MediaGuy on October 22, 2024, 02:26:05 PMHopefully the new NPI system will cut through the BS and actually rank teams accordingly...if those numbers were public, I would think Coe and Wartburg would be much closer than they are. 

Those numbers are public:
https://stats.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/nitty_gritties/39608

Thanks, I've been looking for those all year, and it does in fact rank Coe higher than Wartburg, proving my point...any chance I can call you for backup the next time I'm arguing with the wife?...

Quote from: MediaGuy on October 22, 2024, 03:30:21 PM

Quote from: Pat Coleman on October 22, 2024, 02:30:56 PM

Quote from: MediaGuy on October 22, 2024, 02:26:05 PMHopefully the new NPI system will cut through the BS and actually rank teams accordingly...if those numbers were public, I would think Coe and Wartburg would be much closer than they are. 

Those numbers are public:
https://stats.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/nitty_gritties/39608

Thanks, I've been looking for those all year, and it does in fact rank Coe higher than Wartburg, proving my point...any chance I can call you for backup the next time I'm arguing with the wife?...

The first publication of them by the NCAA was Sunday night and we talked about it on our podcast and tweeted about them but the D3Datacast folks have been publishing them all season.

Quote from: MediaGuy on October 22, 2024, 03:30:21 PM...any chance I can call you for backup the next time I'm arguing with the wife?...

Ha!! +k (if karma was still a thing)

Another year. Another one score loss to the school up the street. Somehow in a year where I felt like I was apathetic towards this team, they had one more heartbreak left in them. A lot of the young players played well but again came up just short of the goal that has eluded the Duhawks for the last 13 years. 6 out of the last 7 years the Duhawks have been unable to keep the crosshairs from pointing at their own feet in this game and it has resulted in one score losses. -5 in turnovers is simply not going to win football games but the last two hurt when they had an opportunity to tie/take the lead. I hope this team doesn't quit on the season but we may have already passed that point unfortunately...

I am very excited to watch the Coe vs Wartburg game this weekend. I have not had a chance to get my eyes on Wartburg much this year but I have watched Coe play Loras in person and rewatched their game against UD. I guess I would say that while their offensive line plays hard and is very physical nothing about their team really jumps out at you. This could be taken as a slight but it can also be seen that they do not have any weak points through their starting 22. That being said historically teams who have seen the most amount of success in D3 have had one or two (or 6/7) guys who do not belong in D3 and somehow slipped through the cracks. While I haven't been able to watch Wartburg much this year they have been able to show that they can recruit and develop these types of players. My lean would be Wartburg pulling this game out in Cedar Rapids.

Quote from: DriftlessDuhawk on October 22, 2024, 08:46:40 PMAnother year. Another one score loss to the school up the street. Somehow in a year where I felt like I was apathetic towards this team, they had one more heartbreak left in them. A lot of the young players played well but again came up just short of the goal that has eluded the Duhawks for the last 13 years. 6 out of the last 7 years the Duhawks have been unable to keep the crosshairs from pointing at their own feet in this game and it has resulted in one score losses. -5 in turnovers is simply not going to win football games but the last two hurt when they had an opportunity to tie/take the lead. I hope this team doesn't quit on the season but we may have already passed that point unfortunately...

Central really has a strong team. In the big games we had the same problem as Loras. We pointed the crosshairs at our own feet too. I've already mentioned the errors we made against Wartburg. Against Coe they had a shank punt that would have given us the ball in fantastic field position and we couldn't get away from the ball. Coe got it back. In a game that went to double OT that was huge. I was also wrong saying we lost by 4 twice. I forgot the no extra point kick on Coe's 2nd OT TD. I don't know that it makes it any better though.

Media Guy gave a great review of the ratings issue.

Klompen calls all year for Ketchum to start at QB. He finally gets the start against UD and it's 28-7 Dutch at halftime. Argh.