FB: American Rivers Conference

[Klopenhiemer]

I think the Central fans are crying wolf a bit here.  You have lost two games this year by a close margin.  You graduated a 3 year starting QB who was decent.  You graduated a 3 year starting RB who was pretty decent as well.  You have had injuries and had to move a kid back over from defense to take the QB position.  All of this and you still have only lost two games.  You have 3 games to go and a legit shot at finishing 7-3.  That is a damn good season.  I understand the Dutch have the storied traditions of winning conference championships, but 7-3 is a great season and something to build on with the young talent you have in the program. 

I am failing to understand how any of you can say that these kids are not playing with heart and fire.  Heart and fire won the Cornell game.  That is knowing how to win when you have your back against the wall.  This is something that Cornell does not know how to do, thus why they are at the bottom of the IIAC. 

If there is a disapointment this season I say its in Waverly where they have been all over the board, but less than dominating.  I think all would agree we looked for Yordi to tear the conference apart.  This has not happened.  And they still have only one loss in the conference and still in the thick of things. 

I am not stepping off my soap box. 

Sincerely,

Klopensoapbox

[doolittledog]

I wouldn't be surprised after all the dust settles we end up with Wartburg and Central at the top of the conference.  Then we will get a bunch of "same old, same old, why do the other teams even try to play against us?" posts

This has been a fun season though.  One week you think you know what's going on and then the next week you have no idea what will happen.  It's been fun but I wish that team at 2000 University Ave. in Dubuque would get a few more wins yet this year.  Starts this Saturday at home against Simpson!!!

[Walston Hoover]

\If there is a disapointment this season I say its in Waverly where they have been all over the board, but less than dominating.  I think all would agree we looked for Yordi to tear the conference apart.  This has not happened. 

I think it has happened. Check the stats.
Yordi has a higher completion percentage, 500 more yards, and more than double the touchdowns of the second best passer in the conference. If the Knights win out and share the conf title, he is a shoe-in to be league MVP, unless they give it to Vetter who is averaging over 100 yards recieving/game.

[davedevine]

This is also off topic but there's not much going on here so i though i'd post it.  my college roomie @ UNI was a wrestler and sent this to me. 
Mark Manning was head wrestling coach @ UNI  before moving to Nebraska.  I met the guy a few times and he is like most wrestlers, has a few screws loose.
this is pretty good considering Osborne set this whole thing up.   Also, Manning is 40+ years old..

Manning, and a former Husker football player, who is currently an assistant strength and conditioning coach, were talking smack about wrestlers vs. football players, and they made a little wager. The wager was that Manning could stop Rigoni once out of five tries from reaching the endzone. Coach/AD Tom Osborne got wind of it, and set up this competition after football practice.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evjejqHOtns

[Old Dutch]

I think you're right WH.  Yordi is the best QB in the conference and he's done it with virtually no running game, if they make it unscathed through the final 3 games, he's POY.  

Personally I'm hoping for a Central share of the crown with somebody.  No reason to take this group to playoffs as a number 8 seed at Whitewater.  We'll take the 30th IIAC crown to keep a streak alive, then get to work for next year..

[Charlie Kohawk]

If there is a disapointment this season I say its in Waverly where they have been all over the board, but less than dominating. 

Please. Nowhere is the disappointment greater than at old Coe College in Cedar Rapids. There's a lot of frustration to let out on the Beavers Saturday.

[dutchfan1]

I think the Central fans are crying wolf a bit here.  You have lost two games this year by a close margin.  You graduated a 3 year starting QB who was decent.  You graduated a 3 year starting RB who was pretty decent as well.  You have had injuries and had to move a kid back over from defense to take the QB position.  All of this and you still have only lost two games.  You have 3 games to go and a legit shot at finishing 7-3.  That is a damn good season.  I understand the Dutch have the storied traditions of winning conference championships, but 7-3 is a great season and something to build on with the young talent you have in the program. 

I am failing to understand how any of you can say that these kids are not playing with heart and fire.  Heart and fire won the Cornell game.  That is knowing how to win when you have your back against the wall.  This is something that Cornell does not know how to do, thus why they are at the bottom of the IIAC. 

If there is a disapointment this season I say its in Waverly where they have been all over the board, but less than dominating.  I think all would agree we looked for Yordi to tear the conference apart.  This has not happened.  And they still have only one loss in the conference and still in the thick of things. 

I am not stepping off my soap box. 

Sincerely,

Klopensoapbox

LOL -- true enough, Klop. I guess my perception is that with heart and fire, we wouldn't have had to make a 4th quarter comeback vs. Cornell. No offense to Cornell at all, but I expected that game to be wrapped up by halftime. It seems as though we are looking past teams and are once again earning the title of "comeback kids." Though the nail-biters are exciting, it's not something that we should strive for. We should be stiving to play our game - our A game - from the first snap to the final whistle. THAT is Central football. It's not only about the number of W's in the win-loss column...it's about how we get there.

Spoken like a true "old fart" Central fan, eh?   

[sportsknight]

This is also off topic but there's not much going on here so i though i'd post it.  my college roomie @ UNI was a wrestler and sent this to me. 
Mark Manning was head wrestling coach @ UNI  before moving to Nebraska.  I met the guy a few times and he is like most wrestlers, has a few screws loose.
this is pretty good considering Osborne set this whole thing up.   Also, Manning is 40+ years old..

Manning, and a former Husker football player, who is currently an assistant strength and conditioning coach, were talking smack about wrestlers vs. football players, and they made a little wager. The wager was that Manning could stop Rigoni once out of five tries from reaching the endzone. Coach/AD Tom Osborne got wind of it, and set up this competition after football practice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evjejqHOtns

That's some good stuff.  My jaw dropped on the 3rd attempt when the strength coach jumped over Manning from the 5 and made it all the way to the goal line.
In all fairness, it'd be interesting to see if the strength coach to get a takedown on Manning or some other wrestling-type thing where Manning would be more in his element.

[warthog]

Purple Heys:

To answer your question about how many years since the Dutch only played for pride:

four or five years - 2003 & 2004

2003:  5-5 record 3-5 in the IIAC
2004:  6-4 record 5-3 in the IIAC

Not all that long ago.  It should give reason to hope for some of the middle of the pack teams.

[warthog]

In looking up the info to answer the Purple Heys question concerning Central, I thought it might be interesting to look up the combined conference record for all IIAC teams between September 1999 and last Saturday.  During that time every team has played 83 or 84 conference games.  Since 1999 we have lost UIU and Wm Penn so we have gone from 10 to 8 conference games a year.  The number of conference winning record seasons includes the current record for 2008.  For some teams that could change the number up or down.

1 ) Wartburg     72-12
   *most conf. losses in any season 2  *winning seasons 10
2 ) Central        69-14
   *most conf. losses in any season 5  *winning seasons 9
3 ) Coe             53-31
   *most conf. losses in any season 6  *winning seasons 7
4 ) Buena Vista  45-38
   *most conf. losses in any season 6  *winning seasons 4
5 ) Simpson       44-39
   *most conf. losses in any season 5  *winning seasons 4
6 ) Loras           34-49
   *most conf. losses in any season 7  *winning seasons 2
7 ) Luther          33-50
   *most conf. losses in any season 7  *winning seasons 2
8 ) Cornell         19-65
   *most conf. losses in any season 8  *winning seasons 1
9 ) Dubuque      16-67
   *most conf. losses in any season 10 *winning seasons 2

I don't exactly know what this tells us.
I guess it says Wartburg is fairly consistant, yet Central has more titles during the years reviewed.
It also appears the conference can be put into four tiers.

[warthog]

More sleepless night information:
Conference finishes for each team during the nine year period 1999 to 2007. (eliminated UIU from the mix)

Buena Vista: 3rd-3 times, 4th-1 time, 5th-3 times, 6th-2 times

Central: 1st-6 times, 2nd-1 time, 3rd-1 time, 6th-1 time

Coe: 1st-3 times, 3rd-3 times, 4th-1 time, 6th-2 times

Cornell: 3rd-1 time, 6th-1 time, 7th-1 time, 8th-4 times, 9th-2 times

Dubuque: 3rd-2 times, 8th-3 times, 9th-4 times

Loras: 3rd-1 time, 5th-3 times, 6th-1 time, 7th-3 times, 8th-1 time

Luther: 3rd-1 time, 4th-2 times, 5th-1 time, 6th-2 times, 8th-2 times, 9th-1 time

Simpson: 2nd-1 time, 4th-3 times, 5th-1 time, 6th-3 times, 7th-1 time

Wartburg: 1st-4 times, 2nd-4 times, 3rd-1 time

[doolittledog]

Great stuff Warthog, I can never get enough of looking at stuff like that.

Dutchie, I like having enthusiasm for your team (I can have too much for Dubuque at times )  and I think it is great to have high expectations for your team and be dissapointed if your team does not reach those expectations.  I can understand being upset at losses.  But being upset if your team doesn't win by what you consider a big enough margin or thinking your team disrespected another team by not going out and not running up a big score I don't understand.  Last weekend could have been a case where Cornell had a good gameplan called and just played the Dutch tough.  Even last season the Dutch were "finding ways" to win games against pretty much everybody...until they ran into St. Johns .   I don't know if this years Central team is that much different than last years team.  Last year they went 10-0 and then went on to the playoffs.  This years team has a good chance of going 8-2...something last years Dutch team very easily could have done as well. 

Now, switching subjects.  Coe is 0-3 at home in IIAC play and 3-0 on the road in IIAC play!!!  Will this affect attendance???  Can Dubuque petition to play their season ending game in Cedar Rapids???  Can Warthog look up if there has ever been a team go the entire season winning every away game while losing every home game???

[Klopenhiemer]

I think the Central fans are crying wolf a bit here.  You have lost two games this year by a close margin.  You graduated a 3 year starting QB who was decent.  You graduated a 3 year starting RB who was pretty decent as well.  You have had injuries and had to move a kid back over from defense to take the QB position.  All of this and you still have only lost two games.  You have 3 games to go and a legit shot at finishing 7-3.  That is a damn good season.  I understand the Dutch have the storied traditions of winning conference championships, but 7-3 is a great season and something to build on with the young talent you have in the program. 

I am failing to understand how any of you can say that these kids are not playing with heart and fire.  Heart and fire won the Cornell game.  That is knowing how to win when you have your back against the wall.  This is something that Cornell does not know how to do, thus why they are at the bottom of the IIAC. 

If there is a disapointment this season I say its in Waverly where they have been all over the board, but less than dominating.  I think all would agree we looked for Yordi to tear the conference apart.  This has not happened.  And they still have only one loss in the conference and still in the thick of things. 

I am not stepping off my soap box. 

Sincerely,

Klopensoapbox

LOL -- true enough, Klop. I guess my perception is that with heart and fire, we wouldn't have had to make a 4th quarter comeback vs. Cornell. No offense to Cornell at all, but I expected that game to be wrapped up by halftime. It seems as though we are looking past teams and are once again earning the title of "comeback kids." Though the nail-biters are exciting, it's not something that we should strive for. We should be stiving to play our game - our A game - from the first snap to the final whistle. THAT is Central football. It's not only about the number of W's in the win-loss column...it's about how we get there.

Spoken like a true "old fart" Central fan, eh?   

This I can agree with.

[Klopenhiemer]

\If there is a disapointment this season I say its in Waverly where they have been all over the board, but less than dominating.  I think all would agree we looked for Yordi to tear the conference apart.  This has not happened. 

I think it has happened. Check the stats.
Yordi has a higher completion percentage, 500 more yards, and more than double the touchdowns of the second best passer in the conference. If the Knights win out and share the conf title, he is a shoe-in to be league MVP, unless they give it to Vetter who is averaging over 100 yards recieving/game.

Your right the stats do tell the story.  I thought that this years Wartburg team would be more noticable is all I was saying.  I expected them to roll over people with ease and Yordi to be leading the way.  I was thinking this would be a an 03 type team. 

[Old Dutch]

.  Even last season the Dutch were "finding ways" to win games against pretty much everybody...until they ran into St. Johns .   

Just a slight correction here, that would have been Bethel that ended last years season,  we put what the MIAC'ers refer to as a monky stomp on the Johnnies.  And darn proud of it, few teams can make that claim!