Johnnies have Erdmann and Syverson for eight years and make zero Staggs and one semifinal. That stings.

And as amazing as Syverson was all year, did worry about being one-dimensional after Wheeler broke his leg and figured it would cost them at some point. The D not being able to get stops played biggest role but the lack of running didn't help.

So add it to the pile of Johnnie heartbreak the past 35 years. Incredible how many absolutely crushing losses they've had in postseason. Dayton 1991, Albion 1994, LaCrosse 1996, Eau Claire 1998, PLU 1999, Mount 2000, Trinity 2002, Coe 2009, UMHB 2018, Whitewater 2019, Wartburg 2022. Today.

Ah well. I've matured in old age so can say I hope Bethel keeps going.

I posted something similar to this on one of Duffman's X posts:

Sus ran 84 plays we ran 55
We had 9 running plays (I think a couple of those were Syverson running for his life) we came out on the first drive trying to run and then just said f-ck it.
Time of possession was 2:1
...we could have won but shouldn't have and didn't.


I really was never convinced this squad would make a serious championship run. Too many hiccups and miscues all season. If you look at the programs playoff record since Covid we haven't won more  than one playoff game in any of those seasons. For all the resources SJU pumps into football they need to do better. I know it's not easy.

Ok off my soapbox...that's all I'm gonna say for while. It's my 56th birthday today...time to celebrate another year around the sun with my wife, daughter and the boyfriend (even if he is a Tommie).

First and foremost Happy Birthday to faunch! I'm sorry your Johnnies didn't get you the W. I appreciate and respect the SJU program so much. Great history and so much more to come. Congrats on the great season and I know today was a tough loss.

As an "East Guy" it does make me happy to see some eastern teams having success recently as it's been quite a painful almost two decades of getting our asses handed to us come playoff time. I know as a Union fan who's been watching Dutchmen/Garnet Chargers (vomit...)football for almost five decades I aspire for Union to have a program like SJU.

Huge congratulations to my newly beloved Baptist Bethel Royals on a great W over Wartburg today on the road! It was a great game and my focus while also checking in on the Johnnie's game and the Springfield/Cortland game.

 I've been a closet Springfield fan for at least two decades now. It began my love of the triple option (as long as only a couple of teams run it) and of course my well known man crush on former Pride QB and 2006 Melberger Award winner Chris Sharpe. ****ing guy ran for a total of 4,152 yards behind center leading that trip op O.

I can say with confidence though that the Pride's great run of 24 will end next week. Keep in mind I was way off on my pick of the Johnnie's game today for whatever that is worth. Let's go Bethel!!!!

Hey-don't forget Dayton 89 and Mount 93-although they were clearly better, but we didn't know.
It has to be an indictment on this coaching staff that they had two of the best QBs in the nation and made only one semi. The D seems to have fallen so far-SJU was dominant on D for many years. D wins championships is so true-we have to get the focus back on D.

IMHO, the inflection point was the dropped pass on 4th down when the Johnnies were driving to possibly go up 24-10. Instead they let Susq drive to tie the game right before the half.😕

That was a bummer today. Susquehanna is a very good squad though.

Not sure we can fully blame the coaching staff for 0 national titles with the last two QB's. After all, the coaches are the reason those players came and developed the way they did. SJU has had many all time QBs who didn't win a title either (Seiler, Ramler, Linneman, Koefed). I think it is just really really hard to win it all. Everything has to go your way and you have to be supremely talented. You need to stay healthy and get every bounce.

To be clear-all I am saying is SJU should have been playing in the semi or even quarter finals more. I am not saying SJU should have won championships-not with ncc and uww out there at the time.

Quote from: sju56321 on December 07, 2024, 08:06:59 PMTo be clear-all I am saying is SJU should have been playing in the semi or even quarter finals more. I am not saying SJU should have won championships-not with ncc and uww out there at the time.

That's fair. Was really looking forward to North Central coming to Collegeville this year for the semis. Damn.

Happy Birthday faunch 

As the local KFAN radio host "Common Man"/ Dan Cole said many years ago (he was talking about professional sports, but it applies to all levels) What are the sports teams selling? What is their product? It's not entertainment, though many would say it is. No, the product is HOPE. We are now in our (SJU's) off season, but we will be looking for bread crumbs of information all through the off season. Who are the incoming Freshmen? Who are the transfers? Is there a couple of D1 athletes who are jaded by D1 that were recruited out of high school and decided to go the PWO route with a D1 school and now are coming to SJU because of the great experience they had on their recruiting visit? That's the thing...we don't know but not knowing makes us more hopeful than knowing. It's like you are 7 years old opening presents on Christmas morning.

And then there was one left from Region 6, (the old West) - Bethel. Wow, what a weekend of football. Never having been near Susquehanna football before today, it was intriguing to hear on the radio (WBHR) at work how they handled themselves throughout the game. Between customers it seemed to me that they never really lost their composure (not implying that the Johnnies did) - rather, they worked hard to keep the Johnny Offense off the field by chewing up the clock and sticking to a game plan they had developed for this game. When the Johnnies scored their last touchdown I shared with the guys hanging around my desk keeping tabs on the games that there was too much time left on the clock and that the Johnnies were in trouble. Sure enough the Riverhawks methodically maneuvered into scoring range and left no time on the clock for any Johnny Magic to be uncorked.

The Royals will need an "A game" effort to go into Pennsylvania and attempt to beat a team that beat the only team that defeated them twice already this year. Definitely have a common opponent in St. John's. Hopefully Susquehanna will be lulled into thinking that Bethel will be an easy mark because of that history and get caught flat footed. Yeah, probably a fleeting dream, right? It's gonna take a lot of preparation to be ready for this next game. Onward and upward...

Syverson didn't practice all week with a sore shoulder?

He played well, but weird you'd call nearly 50 passes for a guy with a sore shoulder.

General thoughts about this round of play: 5 of 8 games won by the visitors resulting in some somewhat bizarre match-ups for the quarter finals. Bethel, the only "West" team left has the opportunity to fly East into the middle of Pennsylvania as the 28 seed taking on the 16 seed Riverhawks. Springfield, the 10 seed goes the opposite direction to play in the CST zone to take on North Central, the 5 seed. UMHB as the lowest seed left standing at 35, now gets to fly Northeast to take on Johns Hopkins, the 11 seed. And while UMU is still standing as the 6 seed, they now have to hit the bricks traveling to the number 3 seed Salisbury. It's a topsey-turvey tourney.

In all this, is ESPN now involved in determining which games get played when? Or is this round still all played at noon local time?

Yeah I don't think it's a disgrace or anything Johnnies didn't win a title with Erdmann and Syverson but when you look at them and the overall talent, particularly on offense they've had, it does come as a bit of a letdown that they only made one semi in those years. But obviously winning the whole thing is damn hard. It's one title in 46 years going back to John's era too so you need a lot of talent and a lot to go right.

That drop was huge, unfortunately, for the kid. If they score there eventually, it's 24-10 (or at the least 21-10) and we get the ball to start the second. All of a sudden it's maybe 31-10.Their coach mentioned that being key swing, with them then scoring. And kudos to their kicker too. When it was 17-7, he booted career best 43 yarder to keep them in it.

Agree with Faunch that it didn't always feel like this was going to end in a title but this also seemed like the year to do it. The team we had, coupled with there seemingly not being the overwhelming favorite like there has been in years' past, whether Mount, Whitewater, UMHB, North Central. Seemed like everything was in place.

Syverson putting up those numbers while battling shoulder injury is a testament to his talent and guts.

Defense: I too long for those Johnnie D's of the 1990s and early 2000s but I also think we have to acknowledge...offenses are harder to stop now. More sophisticated offenses now, so many good QBs, great receivers, backs, schemes. Look at some of the Mount teams and the ridiculous defensive numbers they used to post but over the years they started to win (or lose) a lot more shootouts in big games. Or even Alabama. Early Saban they'd win like 9-6. That wasn't happening anymore his later years. With the way the game has evolved, I just don't think you're going to totally shut down folks like some of those memorable SJU defenses of the past did.

That said, it is frustrating and has seemed to be a theme in some of the big losses over the years that we can never get that big stop in a close game after we score. Even today: Go up 10-0, give up a TD. Up 17-10 late, give up a TD to end half. Go up 24-17, give up TD. We get the stop after cutting it to 38-31 but then after we tie it they drain clock to win it. So in the big moments we are going to have to be better to get and win another Stagg but I also think the days of us holding a team like Mount Union to 10 and 6 points isn't likely to happen in the postseason. 

Some of you lament playoff losses of the past, others mention playoff games not achieved.

Still others fondly remember championships previously won.

Be thankful you passionately follow a school with a football team that creates those emotions and makes those kinds of memories on an annual basis.