FB: American Rivers Conference

[Old Dutch]

What a great way for Wartburg's seniors to end their home career. Hopefully they keep the momentum through the rest of the season.


As for all the Dutch posters and all the jokes posted in the last few days; I'll hope you'll excuse me for saving my laughing until tonight.

The Knights certainly earned the last laugh.  We've got an extra week to copy some good jokes for Simpson.  Hopefully the Dutch will be well prepared too.  Playin for central pride.  Go Dutch!

[NewKnightDad]

I have noticed the white towel waivers at all the games, it is not just a Wartburg effort to distract.  I think they are trying to get the team and fans fired up.  I do not know who they are other than that they are not coaches.  Managers maybe???  Anyway, I find it annoying because the towels should be red, it looks to me like they are waiving the white flag of surrender.  Now THAT is annoying!

The Knights played very well on Saturday and the defense was tremendous on both sides.  I will give the Knights' defense credit for some of our many first half mistakes, but I wish someone could explain snapping the ball before your team, particularly your QB is even lined up.  I know that nerves can get to a kid in a big game, but that just shows how unfocused so much of our season has been this year.  I also think we are guilty of playing not to lose instead of playing to win.  Snead is a great QB, but he should not have had to carry the ball 37 times.  To me that is the coaches going with what they feel safe with, but playing it safe doesn't win games.  It's too predictable.  If my opinion mattered, which is correctly doesn't, I would  also vote for getting rid of the play calling as it is done now and go back to the huddle offense.  There have been too many times when we had to waste time outs and we sure could have used a couple towards the end of the game.  I apologize for the Monday evening coaching, it is easy to second guess after a loss.  I really have tremendous respect for all of the Central coaches and would not want to be in their positions.  I agree with them the 80 or so percent of the time when we win, except for the BV game when Mac with extremely happy with the team's play.      The similarities between the BV and WB games are hauntingly close.  And speaking of haunting, in future schedules, could we not have to play WB around Halloween, all that orange and black everywhere feels like a foreshadowing of gloom and doom.   

This post brings up an interesting question for me.  I know many on here have commented on the Dutch and their tea toteling(sp?) ways but after the game saturday one of the Central players asked one of our guys if there was a big halloween party in Waverly tonight, which there is and it is a great time by the way.  When our guy said yes he asked the same of Pella and the Central player said no we are on lock down for the entire football season.  Maybe I will be the only one on here shocked by this but really the whole season?

Our guy then asked if the Central player wanted to stay and join him for the party which he answered with a hearty man I wish I could!!!

I am sure this has been the standard at Central for a long time but it seems a little over board to me. 

[footballdaddy]

As far as the towel wavers, it's always been, at least in the games I've attended,that the players on the sideline make noise when their opponent has the ball. Possibly these guys are there to keep things going in that way.

As far as being on lockdown during the season, while I'm sure you won't find a player imbibing within the city limits of Pella or on campus, I would bet that they can be found having a cold one at Red Rock or in Des Moines. Contrary to popular belief, I know for a fact that alcohol is consumed on campus, but I'd bet the players are smart enough to do it where they have a slim chance of getting caught.

[Fannosaurus Rex]

I want the Central guys to find out what the Dubuque guys are drinking and get some of that.  I have nothing against Coe, but good luck to the Spartans as they go for their first conference title since 1980. 

[doolittledog]

Thanks for the support Rex!!!

I know there were two UD football players drinking beer at a frat party the night before the Wartburg game...wait...UD lost that game...hmm.

We also had some friends of mine say their daughter told them UD would be a wet campus next year.  That this year it was technically a dry campus, but RA's were told to go with a don't ask, don't tell type policy.  We were able to drink on a dry campus back in my day because we let the RA's drink with us

As for this Saturday, my wife and I will be in Cedar Rapids for the Coe/Dubuque game.  If UD wins, we plan to head over to Mt. Vernon to get one more outing at Chameleans.  If UD loses (they won't)  we'll probably drown our sorrows a lot closer to Coe as I will need the medication. 

[Ash Park]

Not football related really but I know we  have had this conversation on here before.

http://news.cornellcollege.edu/2011/11/cornell-license-plates-available-in-iowa/

Seriously? I always wished Cornell was doing this back when I was playing and now that we are leaving the IIAC they decide to do it??

[DBQ1965]

Not football related really but I know we  have had this conversation on here before.

http://news.cornellcollege.edu/2011/11/cornell-license-plates-available-in-iowa/

Seriously? I always wished Cornell was doing this back when I was playing and now that we are leaving the IIAC they decide to do it??

At least you have yours now.  Where is U of D?

[Phred]

Brief impression while attention to IA/MN game......Luther looked laughable.  Wartburg RULES !

Yes, congrats on that women's cross country title!  They do rule that!

They also will rule somewhere between 3rd and 6th in the football standings.

The Norse have gotten hammered three times this season already with the Rams and Knights left on the schedule.  Like Iowa, the coaching staff and administration in Decorah need to get together to talk about why this season went down the way it did and why the depth and talent on the team is so thin at multiple positions.  I am not asking for changes in the head coaches in Iowa City and Decorah, but there is some fixing that needs to take place.  A record below .500 with multiple blowout losses even though you have a 4th year starter at QB just should not happen at a school with the resources that Luther has.  Perhaps a Zweifel/Spartan conference title can push those conversations ahead in Decorah.

Since you pose as an expert, what would you recommend for Luther, Loras, Simpson, BV, Cornell (though now gone from the IIAC)  to the various college presidents to bring their respective teams into upper level competition.  What does Central, Wartburg (RULES!) and Coe so differently?  Come on Man!  Lay it on the line!

[doolittledog]

Brief impression while attention to IA/MN game......Luther looked laughable.  Wartburg RULES !

Yes, congrats on that women's cross country title!  They do rule that!

They also will rule somewhere between 3rd and 6th in the football standings.

The Norse have gotten hammered three times this season already with the Rams and Knights left on the schedule.  Like Iowa, the coaching staff and administration in Decorah need to get together to talk about why this season went down the way it did and why the depth and talent on the team is so thin at multiple positions.  I am not asking for changes in the head coaches in Iowa City and Decorah, but there is some fixing that needs to take place.  A record below .500 with multiple blowout losses even though you have a 4th year starter at QB just should not happen at a school with the resources that Luther has.  Perhaps a Zweifel/Spartan conference title can push those conversations ahead in Decorah.

Since you pose as an expert, what would you recommend for Luther, Loras, Simpson, BV, Cornell (though now gone from the IIAC)  to the various college presidents to bring their respective teams into upper level competition.  What does Central, Wartburg (RULES!) and Coe so differently?  Come on Man!  Lay it on the line!

I'll jump in with 2 cents worth.  As far as Luther, they are at or near the top in endowment.  At or near the top in annual giving.  Facilities as nice as any campus in the conference.  Largest enrollment in the conference.  Is at or near the top every year in the all-sports trophy.  The Norse are championship contenders in most sports...except for football. 

We have a poster on here (Walston Hoover) that mentioned when he went through college choices he wanted a school with a strong music program and to be able to play football.  Luther told him he could play football for 2 years and then needed to concentrate on music.  Wartburg told him he could do both for 4 years.  He chose Wartburg.  When Coach Durnin was hired 4 years ago, Luther announced that the conference average was 65k for a football coach and that they were competitive with that.  At about the same time, Simpson had a high school coach turn them down because he was making more than the 80k they had offered him. 

To me, it looks like it comes down to choice for Luther.  It looks like they are choosing to promote other programs over football and are unwilling to fund coaching staffs at the upper levels you would need to compete for a championship.  It seems they are content to be a middle of the road team.  Nothing wrong with that at all.  It just looks very strongly though, that at Luther it is a choice not compete at football. 

For other schools it is something a bit different for each school. 

Simpson spent the 80's and 90's as a conference power.  They have just upgraded their football stadium and have showed they were willing to pay more for a HC than Luther...they are also sitting at 4-2 in the conference this year and will likely be at 5-2 when they head into their season ending game against rival Central.  Maybe they are on the edge of getting themselves back in the picture. 

Cornell doesn't seem like they ever wanted to compete.  They put a MWC product out on the field and got beat on a steady basis.

BVU and Loras...not really sure what their deal is...and they don't have any regular posters on here to tell us what the deal is.   

[NewKnightDad]

So, I am going to ask the question and maybe it already has been asked.   

Is Coach Z long term at UD?  You know other programs are going to come calling and now his son will be done playing football.  How committed it Stan to the Spartan Nation?

[footballdaddy]

Definetly a good question, and one that I've not heard addressed here before. It's entirely possible that if he wins a conference title and has a decent playoff run that he could use it as a springboard back to a Wisky school or to DII. He could point at taking a 2-8 and making it a 9-1 in three years. Not that he's thinking that, but if the right offer comes around, would he refuse it and stay at UD or take another opportunity? Maybe Willie can use his influence and find out what's going on?

[Fannosaurus Rex]

Here is my view of the topic, and I fully expect someone with some actual facts to straighten me out.  It seems to me that it is the unsuccessful IIAC head coaches who move on, not the successful ones.  The successful ones seem to stick around.  I haven't been paying very close attention I admit.  I can think of a couple of IIAC head coaches who have moved out.  If any moved up, I didn't notice.  I seem to hear about IIAC assistant coaches moving up but not head coaches.  I'm sure the Coe guy had good reasons for going to Wabash but it doesn't look like a promotion to me.  Am I right or wrong?

[footballdaddy]

When Raeburn left Coe for Wabash, that was a promotion. That is doesn't look that way now is a testament to Staker. Koehler left the HC job at Wartburg for OC at Grand Valley State. Definetly a step up. Willis has been in the running for several jobs, none of which could be considered lateral or a step down. I'm sure that there are other examples I don't know about.   

[doolittledog]

As far as Coach Z...those WIAC programs are considered somewhat of a higher level...but as state schools in a budget crisis would they be able to pay more money than what UD can afford?  Money always plays a roll in all this.  Same goes for D2 schools that are in this area.  From talk I saw on the NSIC boards those coaches make similar money to IIAC coaches. 

My guess is that Zweifel likes winning and he has now built a winning program, makes decent money, lives as close to Wisconsin as you can without actually being in the state.  He isn't a spring chicken anymore, I don't know if he would want to start over again.  I think he stays.  But...I am often wrong. 

[DBQ1965]

Any ideas here how Coe and UD match up for this Saturday?