FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[02 Warhawk]

So it begins with Bethel. Fully expected UWW to be in a bracket with NCC or UWL.

Looks like 4/5 teams will be fighting to play Mount. Once again they can sleep walk to the finals

It sure gets old after awhile.... Literally five of the top six teams on one side while #2 MUC is all by themself...

Agreed, but not sure how they can fix it when over half of the D3 teams are east of Mt Union

It can't be fixed. It is what it is, as they say. Geographically, it makes sense having Mount play those teams. Saves the NCAA $$$$ on traveling expenses.

From a competitive standpoint, yeah it sucks.

[colinsteinke]

So it begins with Bethel. Fully expected UWW to be in a bracket with NCC or UWL.

Looks like 4/5 teams will be fighting to play Mount. Once again they can sleep walk to the finals

It sure gets old after awhile.... Literally five of the top six teams on one side while #2 MUC is all by themself...

Agreed, but not sure how they can fix it when over half of the D3 teams are east of Mt Union

It can't be fixed. It is what it is, as they say. Geographically, it makes sense having Mount play those teams. Saves the NCAA $$$$ on traveling expenses.

From a competitive standpoint, yeah it sucks.

Agreed. I think the problem is that people just assume that the NCAA favors UMU and gives them a cakewalk. But travel costs money. It's not Mount Union's fault that no one geographically close to them can compete. And it's not their fault that the vast majority of top 10 teams other than them and Trinity are in WI/MN/IL/IA.

I do think that UMU has been hindered by the easy road to the Stagg Bowl in the past. Walking through cupcakes definitely left them unprepared for some of the UWW teams of the past who were battle tested through the gauntlet.

[hazzben]

Alright U Dub posters. I've been following y'all from afar all season. You've got things humming and at first glance look a lot like the Stagg teams of yore ... gulp. I know the Bethel boys will fight.

Our D is really good. Finished 1st in the Conference in Every Major Defensive Statistic. 2nd in D3 in Red Zone Defense. 3rd in D3 in Turnovers Created. Jung and Williams in the secondary are exceptional and AA caliber IMO. The former is a ball hawk and tied for the national lead in picks. Latter is super physical (knocked Linfield RB out of the game last year). The real question is how do we stack up against your rushing attack. We've been salty against the run all year, but haven't faced one like you since maybe Wart.

On O, we've got some great pieces. Kidder at WR is an AA and Niewald is right on his heels. Since Geebli went down vs Wart we've developed a solid 1-2 punch with Ellingson and Gritz. Oline is good. Question mark is QB. Bolt struggled early, and improved as the year went on. He's been a bit banged up, which resulted in Kidder playing some wildcat at QB. Million dollar question is can we get enough out of QB and through the air to open things up for the run game. I'm not naive enough to think we can lean as heavily on the run as we did the last few games and beat UWW.

So Bleed, 02, Emma, et al ... what ya got for me??

[colinsteinke]

Alright U Dub posters. I've been following y'all from afar all season. You've got things humming and at first glance look a lot like the Stagg teams of yore ... gulp. I know the Bethel boys will fight.

Our D is really good. Finished 1st in the Conference in Every Major Defensive Statistic. 2nd in D3 in Red Zone Defense. 3rd in D3 in Turnovers Created. Jung and Williams in the secondary are exceptional and AA caliber IMO. The former is a ball hawk and tied for the national lead in picks. Latter is super physical (knocked Linfield RB out of the game last year). The real question is how do we stack up against your rushing attack. We've been salty against the run all year, but haven't faced one like you since maybe Wart.

On O, we've got some great pieces. Kidder at WR is an AA and Niewald is right on his heels. Since Geebli went down vs Wart we've developed a solid 1-2 punch with Ellingson and Gritz. Oline is good. Question mark is QB. Bolt struggled early, and improved as the year went on. He's been a bit banged up, which resulted in Kidder playing some wildcat at QB. Million dollar question is can we get enough out of QB and through the air to open things up for the run game. I'm not naive enough to think we can lean as heavily on the run as we did the last few games and beat UWW.

So Bleed, 02, Emma, et al ... what ya got for me??

UWWs secondary seems improved this year, to the point where they've been able to shut down high octane passing attacks, while still shutting down the run without packing the box, leaving out the difficulty they had with UWL (though, I feel like they learned from that very quickly and bottled up Blaha).

I'm curious what the loss to SJU says about Bethel, TBH. But I don't think that UWW is going to have a misstep in round 1 again. I think Rindahl is bent on proving he's the right guy, and has been preparing his team well top to bottom.

[hazzben]

I'm curious what the loss to SJU says about Bethel, TBH. But I don't think that UWW is going to have a misstep in round 1 again. I think Rindahl is bent on proving he's the right guy, and has been preparing his team well top to bottom.

7-7 at the half (I believe). Kidder and Farm, AA WR and DB respectively, got injured. They had a couple of long TD passes and our QB wasn't up to the task without Kidder playing. The loss of Kidder was actually helpful though. Early in the year we were overly reliant and tried to force-feed him the ball, even in double coverage. Bolt grew into the role and got better at spreading things around. Williams/Jung stepped up a ton in the secondary, and the whole unit got better. For reference, w/o Kidder and Farm we had a very late come-from-behind win against GAC the first time we played. With everyone healthy, we ran away with it in the rematch.

After Geebli went down against Wart it took some time for the team to find its identity. Not predicting a win, but they've been dialed in the last 5 games. Basically played Wart straight up for a half with Geebli, and gave up some long passes to lose 16-2. Interested to see how UWW compares. I'm guessing you'll have more fire power on O (and Wart had weapons). Their D was insanely experienced and good, reminded me of Iowa.

[bleedpurple]

Alright U Dub posters. I've been following y'all from afar all season. You've got things humming and at first glance look a lot like the Stagg teams of yore ... gulp. I know the Bethel boys will fight.

Our D is really good. Finished 1st in the Conference in Every Major Defensive Statistic. 2nd in D3 in Red Zone Defense. 3rd in D3 in Turnovers Created. Jung and Williams in the secondary are exceptional and AA caliber IMO. The former is a ball hawk and tied for the national lead in picks. Latter is super physical (knocked Linfield RB out of the game last year). The real question is how do we stack up against your rushing attack. We've been salty against the run all year, but haven't faced one like you since maybe Wart.

On O, we've got some great pieces. Kidder at WR is an AA and Niewald is right on his heels. Since Geebli went down vs Wart we've developed a solid 1-2 punch with Ellingson and Gritz. Oline is good. Question mark is QB. Bolt struggled early, and improved as the year went on. He's been a bit banged up, which resulted in Kidder playing some wildcat at QB. Million dollar question is can we get enough out of QB and through the air to open things up for the run game. I'm not naive enough to think we can lean as heavily on the run as we did the last few games and beat UWW.

So Bleed, 02, Emma, et al ... what ya got for me??

I think Emma's probably working on a UW-La Crosse puff piece. So I'm not sure he'll have time to respond.

You are right in that the Hawks are playing really well right now. The last couple of weeks we played against teams that are younger and less talented than the rest of our shedule. We stayed focused and played well.

You may get different answers from the rest of our posters, but to me, the strength of our team is our ability to run the ball and stop the run. Our offensive line is probably the most improved unit on the team. They are getting better and better and better every week. We've had to do some shuffling at times throughout the year and all the guys who stepped in performed really well. We have more depth there than we have in awhile.

We are careful about workload, so stats don't necessarily show it, but I believe Tamir Thomas is one of the most talented RB's in the country. He runs hard, loves contact, has great vision and great big play potential. His back up Alijah Maher-Parr might have more straight line speed than Tamir. He's also very productive and big play capable. The last couple of weeks afforded us the oppportunity to play several other running backs as well. So much young talent, it's actually kind of crazy.

Alec Ogden, our QB, is very athletic and has done nothing but get better in his decision making. He's a threat with his arm and his legs. He's a great leader. Jason Cenititi is tha backup. Jason was actually the presumed starter heading into camp. We didn't know much about Alec because he was originally ruled to have used up his eligibility. He was on the coaching staff last year. He filed an appeal and a late ruling by the NCAA deemed him eligible. He's older and really well respected by the guys. He's a good leader. So is Ceniti. I think if anything happened to Alec, the team would have full confidence in Jason.

We have a bunch of receivers who are fast and can make plays. We don't have a Kumerow or a Stanley, but as a group, these guys do get open and can make plays. 

Defensively, as Colin said, our pass defense is much improved. We are playing several young corners that are really talented. We also have AA caliber corner Egon Hein. I think the coaches believe he is the best corner in the country. A huge plus is that we have three or four young outside linebackers that are very athletic and can really run. They are excellent in pass coverage.

But the strength of our defense is unquestionably our defensive line. While there has been an exception or two, they are pretty dominant. More often than not, they (along with the linebackers) shut down the run and get after the QB pretty good. We've seen a lot of QB's running for their lives this year.

[emma17]

My take on UWW.
Helterbrand is really tough, running and passing and Studer is a stud receiver.
Oh, hold on, this is supposed to be UWW.
hazzben, you mentioned the Stagg teams of yore, so my perspective will be a comparison.
Coaching- I think this staff, especially led by Coach Rindahl, is championship caliber.
QB- In all the UWW championship teams (maybe Danny Jones was an exception), UWW had a high completion percentage QB. Odgen is definitely a dual threat with his legs and arm, but he isn't as accurate as the others. His running ability may make up for that.
Receivers- UWW certainly has 4-5 receivers that all step up and catch the ball well. I don't think UWW has (or they don't showcase) one or two go-to guys. On the championship teams, when you needed a third down conversion, you knew Mrkvicka, Rusch, Brandes, Kumerow and Howard were the guys, and they made the plays. The 2019 Stagg team that lost to NCC didn't have, or use, a go-to guy and I think it cost the team. This year though, it seems all the guys can make it happen, I just don't know if it will hurt not having the go-to guy.
RB's- I think 2023 UWW compares very well.
OL- Maybe not as big across the board, not sure if there will be an AA's as the other teams had.

DB's- Good athletes that make plays. They are playing really well now and compare favorably.
LB's-Again, good athletes and sure tacklers. Perhaps again no AA's, or four guys making all conference like 2013, but should be a strength.
DL- I like their play against the run, but I don't know if there is one dominant player like the championship teams had.
Kicking- UWW had really good punters and kickers in those championship years. 2023's team seems to have equal skill in punting and field-goal kicking.

Overall, I don't see 2023's team loaded with AA's as in championship years. However, I do feel this group plays great team football.



     

[bleedpurple]

My take on UWW.
Helterbrand is really tough, running and passing and Studer is a stud receiver.
Oh, hold on, this is supposed to be UWW.
hazzben, you mentioned the Stagg teams of yore, so my perspective will be a comparison.
Coaching- I think this staff, especially led by Coach Rindahl, is championship caliber.
QB- In all the UWW championship teams (maybe Danny Jones was an exception), UWW had a high completion percentage QB. Odgen is definitely a dual threat with his legs and arm, but he isn't as accurate as the others. His running ability may make up for that.
Receivers- UWW certainly has 4-5 receivers that all step up and catch the ball well. I don't think UWW has (or they don't showcase) one or two go-to guys. On the championship teams, when you needed a third down conversion, you knew Mrkvicka, Rusch, Brandes, Kumerow and Howard were the guys, and they made the plays. The 2019 Stagg team that lost to NCC didn't have, or use, a go-to guy and I think it cost the team. This year though, it seems all the guys can make it happen, I just don't know if it will hurt not having the go-to guy.
RB's- I think 2023 UWW compares very well.
OL- Maybe not as big across the board, not sure if there will be an AA's as the other teams had.

DB's- Good athletes that make plays. They are playing really well now and compare favorably.
LB's-Again, good athletes and sure tacklers. Perhaps again no AA's, or four guys making all conference like 2013, but should be a strength.
DL- I like their play against the run, but I don't know if there is one dominant player like the championship teams had.
Kicking- UWW had really good punters and kickers in those championship years. 2023's team seems to have equal skill in punting and field-goal kicking.

Overall, I don't see 2023's team loaded with AA's as in championship years. However, I do feel this group plays great team football.

I'm a rare participant in the karma game. But +k. Pushed over the top with your first three sentences. lol

[emma17]

Very kind Bleed.
I continue to enjoy your writing on Warhawkfootball.com.

The backups Saturday played as sharp as I can remember any UWW team playing.

[emma17]

Did anybody catch Monday Night football last night? Wife and I watched the fourth quarter. Denver's last TD drive featured some great blocking by Quinn Meinerz. So much so that Troy Aikman referred to him as one of the best blocking guards in the league. The next play after Troy's comment Quinn blocked down and buried his man. The camera was square on Quinn.
Awesome to watch and hear.

[badgerwarhawk]

Did anybody catch Monday Night football last night? Wife and I watched the fourth quarter. Denver's last TD drive featured some great blocking by Quinn Meinerz. So much so that Troy Aikman referred to him as one of the best blocking guards in the league. The next play after Troy's comment Quinn blocked down and buried his man. The camera was square on Quinn.
Awesome to watch and hear.

I did and I found myself focusing more on him than on the ball carrier.  It was really cool to hear them talk about him like that.

[Ice Bear]

Did anybody catch Monday Night football last night? Wife and I watched the fourth quarter. Denver's last TD drive featured some great blocking by Quinn Meinerz. So much so that Troy Aikman referred to him as one of the best blocking guards in the league. The next play after Troy's comment Quinn blocked down and buried his man. The camera was square on Quinn.
Awesome to watch and hear.

As an ardent fan of D3 football and it's players I'm a huge fan of Mr. Meinerz.
As an ardent fan of the Denver Broncos and it's players I'm a huge fan of Mr. Meinerz.
In conclusion, I am a huge fan of Mr. Meinerz.

+k emma for this great post!

[KitchenSink]

Did anybody catch Monday Night football last night? Wife and I watched the fourth quarter. Denver's last TD drive featured some great blocking by Quinn Meinerz. So much so that Troy Aikman referred to him as one of the best blocking guards in the league. The next play after Troy's comment Quinn blocked down and buried his man. The camera was square on Quinn.
Awesome to watch and hear.

Didn't see much of the game but put it on just in time for that. Big smile. Way to go, Beast.

[timmyturtle]

Saw it and it was awesome...wife came down and asked why I was still up (it was like 10:30pm)...said "Quinn is playing",  she just smiled.  Don't even know the kid, just thinks it's super cool

[bleedpurple]

If you missed the game last night, here's a flavor of what you missed.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1724456677636784234