FB: American Rivers Conference

[Klompen]

Maybe it was Central that sucked all the wind out of their sail. Sometimes a team can't recover from a loss. Who knows? Time will tell.

That can happen too.  I am among the believers that last year's squad would have had a much better season if they had pulled out the victory against WB last year instead of losing by a narrow margin at the end of the game.  I certainly believe that loss took a lot of wind out of our sail last year in terms of confidence.

[doolittledog]

Maybe it was Central that sucked all the wind out of their sail. Sometimes a team can't recover from a loss. Who knows? Time will tell.

That can happen too.  I am among the believers that last year's squad would have had a much better season if they had pulled out the victory against WB last year instead of losing by a narrow margin at the end of the game.  I certainly believe that loss took a lot of wind out of our sail last year in terms of confidence.

I think mental fortitude goes a long way.  Wartburg scraped out wins against Central and Dubuque last year, yet made it all the way to the elite 8 and gave Whitewater all they could handle.  Same thing for Central the year before.  Were those clearly better teams?  Or teams with the mentality to gut out a win against a similarly talented team???

[New Storm]

Central up to 10 in most recent poll.... 3 points seperate Linfield at 8 and Central at 10.

Bring on the Rams...Go Dutch!!!

Slow down a bit DutchHawk.  I think the Dutch may be as good as I've seen for along time, but its still early to be talking any higher than #10.  Lets just stay there and take care of business in the IIAC.  Even though its nice to have DBQ and Coe behind us, there plenty of stumbling blocks on the schedule, other than Warty I think Simpson is a possible contender, Loras and Luther did beat the Dutch last year and BV nearly got in the playoffs.   Cornell?  Lets just say I think they are better than they were last year and that one was tighter than a pair o' Daisy Dukes on Rosy O'Donnell!

That last statement will bring nightmares to a lot of people 

"That last statement will bring nightmares to a lot of people"



Sorry, I couldn't resist!

that is worse than a nihtmare  8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

[doolittledog]

The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald...which just lost Purple Heys as a subscriber

posted their predictions for this weekends college football games.

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=258319

They predict a Coe victory over UD and a Loras victory over BVU

Now those are the kind of picks I am used to from the TH

[DutchHawk]

Cool article on the SE Polk boys at Central in this weeks Around the West. Check it out!

[Purple Heys]

The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald...which just lost Purple Heys as a subscriber

posted their predictions for this weekends college football games.

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=258319

They predict a Coe victory over UD and a Loras victory over BVU

Now those are the kind of picks I am used to from the TH

An interesting matchup of UD's offense vs. Coe strength on defense.  UD hung 27 on Central (and left some points in the red zone), Coe only 6 Coe defense held Central to 24, UD gave up 41.

[Purple Heys]

On this youth thing:

Cornell has only 1 senior on offense, 4 on defense.

No need to hear excuses from you all..."oh we're sooooo young..."   

We all have young guys.  Get over it.

[DutchFan2004]

If I made it sound like I was moaning about being young I didn't make it clear then.  I am NOT moaning about being young.  I was amazed that such a young team was doing so well and has been molded into a good team. 

[Purple Heys]

If UD can run on the Ko-Hacks...and that's not a given...then the 'Hack's could be in some trouble.

On the other hand, we'll see how much focus the Ko-Hacks put on running vs. UD.  Spartie is very susceptible to the run...and Coe's corners probably can keep the UD speed on the outside in check better than we did.

[Purple Heys]

If I made it sound like I was moaning about being young I didn't make it clear then.  I am NOT moaning about being young.  I was amazed that such a young team was doing so well and has been molded into a good team. 

Not directed at you...

[Purple Heys]

If I made it sound like I was moaning about being young I didn't make it clear then.  I am NOT moaning about being young.  I was amazed that such a young team was doing so well and has been molded into a good team. 

Not directed at you...

...just wanted to put the whole pointless string to bed.   

[Purple Heys]

An interesting matchup of UD's offense vs. Coe strength on defense.  UD hung 27 on Central (and left some points in the red zone), Coe only 6 Coe defense held Central to 24, UD gave up 41.

I say this because UD had far more success running on Central than Coe did... 176-10.  UD's running game's success may keep the Coe linebackers honest in helping out on the outside receivers.

[Purple Heys]

After seeing Coe's running stats against the Wood-clogged ones, I wonder how we'll fare on the ground.  This year's Ram O-Line is improved over last but inconsistent.  We ran well against UD...but then it seems everyone has so far.

[bleedpurple]

I don't know where I said that Zwiefel was the best coach in the country, let alone the IIAC.  I don't know that I said that UD would win the IIAC.  I said that they would have something to say about who wins the IIAC.  I think they are good enough for a big upset.  That being said UD was at that level already in the IIAC if you ask me.  So having a coach new or not or with the credentials of Coach Zwiefel doing or keeping UD where they are is not all that tough if you ask me.  Brautigan got UD to where they were competing and winning some games.  Even getting an upset now and again.  From where I thought Coe was (until their success this year) I thought UD would win that game.  The Coe UD game will be a huge factor in the IIAC Crown.  The Coe Central game has it, the Coe/Central Wartburg games have it, and the UD Wartburg game has it.  I think the conference is wide open now. 


As far as Zwiefel not getting UWW I have no idea.  There is a reason and we may never know why he didn't get it.  The decision really doesn't impact the IIAC other than he is now at UD. 

All I can say is that things happen for a reason and I for one, couldn't be happier to have Coach Z at UD. had he got the UWW job, winning a confernce championship or national championship would have been expected and I believe HE could have done it. Heck, most of the players on the teams that did after him were HIS recruits!!!

BUT, at UD, with the past 2-3 decades or so (with exception of 2 seasons) of losing seasons, to win a conference championship, playoff game, or national championship..........that makes HISTORY and those are the stories that are told for generations to come. And from what I know about him, I believe it can happen.

Call me an optimist....but I prefer to think of myself as a realist.
Willie U

As a UWW backer and knowing people in the program, I've got a couple of thoughts about Coach Z. First, I think he is a  good man and will do a good job at UD. He's got a great offensive mind and is a high energy guy. However, to say the 2007 National Championship team were mostly HIS recruits is very much a stretch. UWW was already  on the National scene, they have almost unbelievable facilities for D3, and they deploy several coaches on the recruiting trails. Stan did his part in the recruiting end, but to say the team was his recruits is just not accurate.

Regarding him not getting the UWW job, the school could not have been in a better position. The job is super attractive for some of the same reasons given above. The AD made a conscious decision to legitimately open the job up. He had a very hard decision to make between Coach Z and a former UWW QB who had D1 (University of Nebraska) and D2 Coaching experience. He made a decision he felt was best for the program and it was very unpopular in many quarters. I have heard much conjecture from those favoring Stan  as to the reasons he didn't get it. After some long conversations with people, I don't believe them to be true. The job was not Stan's to inherit. I personally wanted him to get the job, but knowing more of the story than I did, I can live with the decision.

Best of luck to Coach Z. and UD. I know Stan would love nothing more than a shot to play UWW after he has a chance to develop the program. I hope he gets his chance. Of course I hope he loses, but I hope he gets the chance!

[doolittledog]

If I made it sound like I was moaning about being young I didn't make it clear then.  I am NOT moaning about being young.  I was amazed that such a young team was doing so well and has been molded into a good team.  

Not directed at you...

...just wanted to put the whole pointless string to bed.  

Just to wake it back up

Due to injuries, during the Central game there were times UD had 5 freshmen on the field on offense and 6 freshmen on the field on defense...according to the UD pregame show of the Cornell game. 

In the Cornell game UD started 4 freshmen on offense and 4 freshmen on defense!!!

Offense had 2 seniors, 2 juniors, 3 sophomores, 4 freshmen...LG, C, TE, FB

Defense had 3 seniors, 4 juniors, no sophomores, 4 freshmen...DT, DT, MLB, CB

Looks like everyone in the conference is dealing with youth this year