FB: American Rivers Conference

[kohawkfan]

Throw out non-con games and you have a Coe team that went 4-4 in conference play this season.  Coe went 5-3 in conference play each of the last 2 years.  Throw in a coaching change and I think dropping to 4-4 from 5-3 the previous year isn't that drastic of a situation to be in. 

The Coe QB dilemma has to be a part of the equation, too, I'm guessing...

[LCNorse]

I get the consensus that most think that Wartburg is gonna win this weekend in a close game...I hope that it is a close game, I just don't think that Wartburg is gonna pull this one off. They havn't played a team this good all year, its going to be cold and throwing the ball in the cold is never easy. I know that they have started to find a running game the last few weeks of the year...but I don't think they will be able to run it with that amount of success this weekend. However, if they do get past this round I can see them easily getting to round 3...I guess this is why we play the games though...

[Walston Hoover]

I think the IIAC going 9-9 in their non-con games is where the perception the conference is down is coming from. 

Fair point. That seems so long ago I tried to push that from my mind. With so many new coaches and coordinators in the conference, a lot of things have changed from the early part of the season to now. I know in weeks 1 and 2, Wartburg had 2 new guys calling plays and Willis was trying to remember how to put his headset on right.

[Walston Hoover]

I get the consensus that most think that Wartburg is gonna win this weekend in a close game...I hope that it is a close game, I just don't think that Wartburg is gonna pull this one off. They havn't played a team this good all year, its going to be cold and throwing the ball in the cold is never easy. I know that they have started to find a running game the last few weeks of the year...but I don't think they will be able to run it with that amount of success this weekend. However, if they do get past this round I can see them easily getting to round 3...I guess this is why we play the games though...

Where did you get that consensus from, I've seen/heard very few people even remotely mention Wartburg winning.

[LCNorse]

Fair enough...not sure where I got that feeling...just the feeling I got from the pick-em board...and some of the talk on here...

[DutchFan2004]

But this year BV is better, Loras is better, Simpson is better, and, even though it didn't show in the W column, COrnell was better.

Those are actually the three ugly Central wins from '07 that I was thinking of.

Central 31-14 over BV I would not call ugly.  If memory serves it was very windy that day and all of the scoring was done with the wind.  0-7 BV after 1st, 21-7 Central at half, 31-7 after 3, and 31-14 final so I don't think that was ugly.  Loras Central was up 17-0 before Loras came back.  Not a stellar win but not ugly.  Simpson I will argee with ugly.  

[Charlie Kohawk]

Charlie,

Not picking on the Kohawks but you last post got me to thinking.  With Coe having field turf and I believe this is year two is it not?  Do you think that has affected them in any way changing playing surfaces?  Losing all their home games was it the change to turf or schedule with the teams you had at home this year?  I think the last time Coe beat Central, Central still had grass.  This is what got me to thinking along this line.  Your opinion and comments may have some insight.  Just curious on what you thought about it.  I know there could be and probably are more reasons but I just got to thinking about the change and the questions popped into this old brain of mine. 

Considering Coe went 2-1 on FieldTurf on the road, I don't think the playing surface had anything to do with anything. That's simply how the cookie crumbled.

[DutchFan2004]

Here is some research on why I said that IIAC is down from last year.

IIAC this year has a record of 45-45.  Given the conference record will always be .500.  We finished 9-9 as stated above for the non con so we end up .500.  If the Knights lose Saturday we will be below .500 by one game.

2007 saw the same conference record of 36-36 but the non con games were 14-4 in favor of the IIAC bringing the conference record to 50-40 with the three playoff games it would be 52-41.  That is 11 games over .500

The top of the conference did not improve or decline from second place last year.  The finished 8-2 both years.  

The improvements this year

Luther +1

BV +2

Simpson +3

Loras +5

The decliners

UD -5

Central  -4 regular season -2 playoffs

Coe -2

Cornell -2

So there were four teams up and four down.  That is to be expected as the number of wins and losses in the conference is that same year in and year out.  The non con killed us this year as a conference.  I was not speaking to particular schools being better or worse and the status of certain schools changing.  I didn't imply that the IIAC was down due to Central, Wartburg, or Coe going 10-0.  The changes in order of finish of the schools had nothing to do with my comments on the conference being down this year.

[DutchFan2004]

You were also 2-1 on grass 

[Kohawk Krazy]

You were also 2-1 on grass 

Actually, Coe was 2-0 on Grass.

[DutchFan2004]

You were also 2-1 on grass 

Actually, Coe was 2-0 on Grass.

Oh ya BV was a home game.  So Coe was perfect on grass there is a joke here somewhere I think. 

[Kohawk Remedy]

Interesting. Loras and Wartburg are at the bottom of the endowment list and near the bottom in giving. I'm no financial expert, but it would seem the only option is that they be overly tuition dependent. These are scary times to be lacking in two of three crucial pieces of the puzzle. I can't imagine what pressure the admission offices at those two schools are under. One small class and the whole house of cards might tumble.

Though all college endowments will suffer from the economy -- though hopefully not to the degree of my 201K  -- endowment growth is the main piece of Coe's $80 million capital campaign. Expansion and renovation of the science hall is also on the table. Meanwhile, Coe has embarked on a campus expansion project and has acquired 2/3 of the properties adjacent to campus in less than three years. FieldTurf was installed at Clark Field in 2007 (though the results were less than satisfactory in 2008  ) and Eby Fieldhouse has been transformed in recent years, including a new gym floor and bleachers, a first-rate weight room and improvements to the natatorium (look it up Cornell fans), etc. Wrestling room remodeling is probably complete now, but I haven't ventured over to look. A new administrative building was completed just a few years ago and Stuart Hall was totally renovated, including the addition of new classrooms. Coe worked cooperatively with the city to renovate Daniels Park baseball field into the first-rate home of the Kohawks. Then came the flood. I'd say Coe has more than held it's own in keeping up with the Joneses, and I probably forgot to mention some things (like the construction of four student apartment buildings).
[/quote]

Don't forget about the remodelling of the PUB and Cafeteria.  Might as well throw in the Racket Center in there as well.

[Thunderbolt]

  I like to think that the IIACs lack of success in non-conference games this year was a reflection of the volume of offensive talent that graduated last year. Especially at the skilled positions. Offenses always start out behind defenses early in the year, and with probably 6 QBs with little to no college snaps under their belt, it should come as no surprise we lost some close games early.

[DutchFan2004]

Thunderbolt might have something to do with it, but not sure.  Central had three new QB's play and they were 2-0, I know they were not the power house teams at all but no decline there.  BV lost one for the IIAC so your theory holds some weight there,  Loras picks up a win for the IIAC so your theory slips a little there, Luther picks up a victory for the IIAC so your theory slips some there, UD suffers a loss so your theory picks up some traction, as well as Coe losing one for the IIAC.  Now Simpson stays the same, Wartburg stays the same, and Cornell suffers two losses all with the same QB's as last year.  I know that Cornell's was a young Soph but did have PT at least half a year.  So with new QB's the IIAC loses 3 more and with a half time starter they lose two more.  I don't know if the new QB's is the whole blame maybe part of it but not all of it. 

[Klopenhiemer]

Throw out non-con games and you have a Coe team that went 4-4 in conference play this season.  Coe went 5-3 in conference play each of the last 2 years.  Throw in a coaching change and I think dropping to 4-4 from 5-3 the previous year isn't that drastic of a situation to be in. 

The QB situation might explain the record.  But I think that we were all looking for more out of Coe this season.  Lets not forgett that the coaching change at Coe was done in house.  BV did an in house coaching change and did not take a step back since that happened.