FB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[sflzman]

Hey MIAA posters, I need some info about Adrian. I'm heading down for a game on September 17 for a 4:00 p.m. game with some other folks.

1) I need some ideas for an establishment for pre- and post-game refreshments.

2) I've visited the college and have seen the football field, but I don't remember that they have lights.(?)

3) What does Adrian have coming back. I understand that they are picked to be a top-tier team in the MIAA, but I'd like some specific info.

4) and most importantly, I NEED SOME IDEAS FOR AN ESTABLISHMENT FOR PRE- AND POST-GAME REFRESHMENTS.

Thanks in advance.

Best sports bar in town i've seen is Fricker's

720 South Main Street
Adrian, MI 49221-3722

A mile and a half away from the football field. Super easy to get there....

[Uncle Rico]

Thanks all for the conversation. This is a really nice blog thing you have here. Nice people! I have just one more probably stupid question to ask. What is the reason or reasons that Trine is so heavily favored after loosing so many players? I'm just trying to figure out the conference. Huge Depth?

Even with Watt leaving, they have a great running back core returning, as well as some other key players that may not have had the attention that Eric had but were impact players in their own right.  IF there is any dropoff in the passing department, I think you may see the running game become more dominant.

[ThunderHead]

I think one reason Trine is so well respected is because of their "talent in space".

Schools that run the spread have to have vertical and horizontal threats from their WR core, along with a QB who can make a read and put the ball in spots. When you have those components a defense can not put 8, or rarely even 7, in the box without causing serious coverage flaws after the first 2.5 to 3 seconds of play post snap, so - assuming an opponent defends the air with 5, the potential air attack can open up the ground game in a gap responsible offensive system and if you have a shifty back or a scat back, and he can avoid first contact, he's probably getting to the second level with little effort.

Teams that are successful with the spread generally make the defense stack that second level mesh point somewhere around 5-8 yards behind the Line Of Scrimmage.

Because Trine has a talented core or WR's, and if Trine can find a Quarterback who can vertically and horizontally stretch the field with this arm and at times extend the play with his legs, then I think the Trine ground game can have a big year, both on the ground and in the passing game coming under the coverage, either to the flats or to the seams and sink zones, especially with an experienced guy like Biller coming back.

Trine will need to find a quarterback that does more then just "run" the offense, to be a team that competes for a National Championship they mush have a quarterback that can make the throws the system requires beyond the deep sink and hook zones. If they can't find that a good defensive coordinator will use an array of man coverage, or man and high zone coverage to give them the ability to contain the run game by focusing on the back, controlling the gaps and "fronting" shallow coverage, thus forcing Trine to throw the ball into open but deep holes and seams. If the quarterback floats the ball or lacks arm strength the safeties can re-cover and cover by playing "middle tree" two deep responsibilities.

So - in a round about way, I guess because Trine seems to have a few possible strong armed answers at Quarterback, a returning running back who's proven he can be successful, and a group of WR's who have had game experience, they're the logical choice to win the MIAA this season.

This all said, success is a fickle thing, sometimes when guys get complacent they can get beat, and though I'm sure Coach Land and Co will do everything they can to motivate guys to bring it each game, these are still 18-22 year old kids, and sometimes despite a coaches best effort, they simply "check out" during  a week against an opponent they think they will easily beat.

Then before you know it, it's 24-14 at the end of the 3rd, and one team smells an upset and the other teams starts playing "tight". Alas, that's why you play the game.

[emma17]

Excellent answer Thunder- a little to detailed to be a lucky guess.
Plus k for you.

[MasterJedi]

While I don't know much about what Trine has lost here's my thoughts:

If they can replace Watt (I seriously doubt if they'll get anyone as good as him, at least not right away) but if they can get a solid QB in there I think they'll do fine in their conference and could make some noise in the playoffs again. Just need to get that defense up!

[TUAngola]

Hey Trine posters, the roster is now up on the athletics page on the website.  Didn't study it too much but 2 names that I did not see on the roster that I was expecting big contributions from this year were RB Jonathan Ayers and WR Westly Verner.  Anyone know what happened to them?  Ayers was very impressive as a freshman backup RB last year, big kid, ran hard.  Did he transfer to another school?  Verner had some quality minutes spelling the WR's and had nice hands.  Wasn't a big kid but ran solid routes.  Hey Boya, can you fill me in a little?

Other than the much talked about 3 new guys at QB I didn't recognize many of the new names.  Guess I will find out at the scimmage tomorrow night against St Francis if any of them push the upperclassmen for playing time.  I did see Kyle Monk from Churubusco, IN is on the team, great pick up.  Watched him in HS, he was a man playing among boys.  Was QB and DB and is now listed as DB on the roster.  Wouldn't be surprised if he pushes into the 2-deep roster.  Anyone esle I need to keep an eye on tomorrow night Boya?

[LetItRain]

And let's not forget what happened at the scrimmage last year with Mario Brown.  A scrimmage can be a very dangerous thing... 

[Diezel1]

Go win that softball championship Boya

[TUAngola]

Lastly tonight for the scrimmage I think you might be more suprised by who you dont see on the field rather than who you do see.  I think some injuries to the line-up are causing the staff to be a little more cautious to make sure their starters are healthy for week 1.  We will probably get a healthy dose of young guys tonight but will still be fun to watch.

I hope nothing too serious in the way of injuries.  I doubt we will be as deep as last year so can't afford to lose any starter for a significant length of time.  Is the scrimmage timed like a normal game or do both teams agree to run a certain number of plays, maybe situational type stuff like goal line and 2 minute drill?  I agree, no need to give a lot of minutes to the key guys that would risk injury, especially if St Francis is bigger and stronger and out to hurt us! 

[sflzman]

Go win that softball championship Boya

I agree lol. Good luck! 

[BOYA87]

TUAngola,

The scrimmage will be set up with situationally.  Red Zone, Goal line, 2 minute drill, special teams, probably even have 7-7 and linemen drills at the beginning.

Diezel,

we will probably win.  We are the first place team in the league.  The only reason we lost last weeks game is because this one kid showed up who hadnt been there in awhile.  He is really really bad and he hurt our team big time!  Luckily I heard he wont be here tonight so I imagine we wont have any problems

[LetItRain]

Hey Pat - nice upgrades on the site!

[Pat Coleman]

Thanks. I am still learning some of the new features but if nothing else, you might like the fact that it's much more efficient for mobile browser. (Click the WAP2 link at the bottom of a page to switch to it, if the site doesn't recognize your phone.)

[hazzben]

My remarks were not intended to piss any one off. And I am not saying that HS football is at the level of college. However I am approaching my 70's and have been a D3 fan for many years. Last year Waunakee was impossible to run against. When you study the match up you find that Waunakee and Whitewater would have been a very tough game. To say that because a team is college that they would kill all high school teams is just not right. Wisconsin has many D3 schools and some would have a very tough time with our top HS teams.
Note, This year Wisconsin will be fielding a much improved D3. Look for Oshkosh, Stevens Point, and Stout. These teams could upset UWW. I am a UWW fan but look at the match-ups.

Yeesh! I realize this comment is a few days old but I just can't not bite (a very satisfying double negative).

No doubt some of the guys playing DI would be stars at UWW, but countless starters would never see the travel squad in college as freshman. 'm sure Waunakee has some great HS players. Some of whom go on to be great college players. But in football, the maturation process that happens in college is just way too much.

I've seen countless HS All-Star (Shrine Bowl, etc.) players get buried on the depth charts of DIII schools when they arrived as freshman. Many ended up being very solid, some did not. But the competition, position by position that an elite HS team faces week in and week out simply has no comparison to college football. Great, Waunakee was impossible to run on...against HS competition. No HS in Wisconsin featured UWW's oline and RB, not to mention their offensive balance throwing the ball. Sure a given HS team had an Olineman or RB here and there that were better, but not as a complete offensive unit. And this is what would matter most.

The players are bigger, stronger and fast in college. The coaching, fundamentals and schemes are much more involved and complex.

[sflzman]

All this talk of Trine's scrimmage and I almost forgot to mention the Scots scrimmage North Park (IL) tomorrow! Unfortunately I won't be able to see it as I am playing in a 3 on 3 basketball tournament (Boya, what is with these rec sports getting in the way???  )

But anyways,
Go Scots!