FB: American Rivers Conference

[Charlie Kohawk]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Cornell doesn't lose this week. It will be the last time this season I make such a bold prediction for the scRams.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Floyd,

Glad you made the trip.  The Norse are much better this year IMHO than last with the running game.  They can control the ball and Sherden was a horse.  (all the running backs did well for Luther)  I think that they will give the Knights all they want and maybe even score a victory.  I am struggling who to choose on the pickem board right now.  Your D line was huge and in the backfield a lot on saturday.  Good Luck to the Norse the rest of the season.  If they get to winning watch out cause they may get to rolling then.

Thanks for the positive report DutchFan!  It was another close Central-Luther game just like the last five years at least, but the Norse have only won one of them.  I wish I could say that playing the Dutch tough and the Oles tougher means that the Norse are going to bounce back this year, but I need to see more from the defense and special teams.  Central gave up fewer big plays defensively (although not by much) and their punt team kicked the Luther punt return unit.

The Norse do have talent in the trenches, but more so on offense.

I would pick the Knights if I were you.  That is the smart pick.

[Ash Park]

Wow we got us a fight going on:) Its like Im back in middle school again...hahaha jk guys, dont rip on me for that one!

On to football, granted, Central is no where near where they need to be, which isnt necessarily a bad thing...3-0 is 3-0. Missing the best player in the conference and still winning is good enough for me as of right now. Although we better step it up this weekend at Loras. That and Id rather win 10 ugly games than lose 10 pretty games, but hey, if stats is where you like to compare teams, be my guest. Wartburg looks tough, I think we will have a better idea on burg n Central after this weekend, so Ill chill till then. Anyway I forget my train of thought:)

Heys - Sherden is three fold better than anyone on Cornell so I dont see why your bashing on him, hes having an MVP like start to the season, even when you know hes going to get the ball he can gain yards. If you look at my pick em I predicted that he would even against Centrals D, he probably will against Wartburg as well. Either way Im not bowing down to Cornell so I dont know what that was all about. Ill guess well just have to wait n see. If I can guarantee you one thing its that Central over looks no one and all they are worried about is Loras at the moment.

Dutchhawk-
I agree Sherden is one helluva an athlete/football player. Although I would say that Hardman from Cornell is also one helluva an athlete and football player.  Now before MNBeev puts words into my mouth, I'm not saying he is the best bleeping rb in the nation or that the Rams are going to win the stagg bowl or we have the best coach in the nation. I'm just simply stating that I think Hardman is also a pretty good back. I think Cornell has a pretty good offense. I think our Defense lacks depth. I also think and have thought this before our two wins this season that we have a legitimate shot to win 4 conference games. We didn't beat loras but we had a shot to win that game in the fourth quarter. MNBeev you keep going back to what BV did last year to Cornell well Cornell wasn't as good on offense last year as they are this year and no i'm not saying we have the best damn offense in the conference but it is much better than last year.(yes I know defense wins games) I think Loras can agree with that.

[Walston Hoover]

That's a huge stat regarding defense.
Are the Knights the third best team in the state???
No but according to the Massey ratings they are.
UNI-25
Drake-41
Wartburg-72
ISU-89
BV-136
Iowa-214
Wm Penn-258
UIU-304
Coe-322
Loras-374
Central-386
Simpson-453
Cornell-456
Ud-495
Luther-585

[Walston Hoover]

Ash Park-What 4 games do you think you can win?

[Ash Park]

Well I said legitimate shots at winning and one of those four was Loras. The other three are Simpson, BV and since they are our rival I will go with Coe.

[Ash Park]

Do I wish we were going to win every game? Hell yes I do but I'm realistic and I know it takes more than two years to turn a program around but I don't think it is unrealistic to say that the Rams could win 4 conference games now 3 with the recent loss to Loras.

[dbljay21]

Besides the four Norse turnovers last week and the poor version of a high school punt return unit, the Knights also have a huge advantage on defense.  The Knights are allowing only 3.5 ppg on defense while the Norse are giving away 35 ppg.

Forget about who has blah blah blah for weapons on offense or how many stud OL guys or suspect QBs each school has, one team plays great defense every week and one team since 2006 plays only enough defense to only stay in games.

Well said Floyd...that is a great point about the defenses.  The Norse defense hasn't been consistently good for a few seasons now and the Knights always seem to have a balanced team.  Offense wins games.  Defense wins championships.

[dbljay21]

That's a huge stat regarding defense.
Are the Knights the third best team in the state???
No but according to the Massey ratings they are.
UNI-25
Drake-41
Wartburg-72
ISU-89
BV-136
Iowa-214
Wm Penn-258
UIU-304
Coe-322
Loras-374
Central-386
Simpson-453
Cornell-456
Ud-495
Luther-585

Excuse the ignorance Walston, but what exactly are the Massey ratings and who comes up with them 

[Walston Hoover]

Some computer-generated rankings that I was alerted to by some Hawkeye fans.
I've heard of them before, but never looked them up before.

[dbljay21]

Interesting.  And the lower the number, the better the ranking.  Just like golf. 

[Floyd in Iowa City]

dbljay21,

With your involvement in the program in past years, why has the defense fallen the way that it has from just a few years?  Luther used to be a defense-first school long before John Jaeger, Romens, or McDonald were playing defense for the Norse.

It appears as if recruiting on the offensive side of the ball has been solid to very good for many of the recent teams.  The overall numbers and overall talent have been solid to good with the program, but the last couple of seasons it seems like the Norse are missing 1-2 impact guys on defense that could provide stability and make the jobs of everyone else easier.  I know a couple of guys on the offense so I don't hear as much about the defense, but I can't believe all of a sudden Coach Marlow got "football-challenged" as far as development and Xs and Os.

Guys like Jaeger and Sherden don't come around every year for most programs, but it has been a few years and I am still talking about all-league defenders from 2004.  That does not happen to consistent football programs.

[DutchFan2004]

Floyd,

Thanks for the kind words.  I think that Luther's run defense may be a big factor in the game with the Knights.  If Yordi for Wartburg can throw the ball as well as we did last week then you might be in a bit of trouble.  I think the key for our win not only was the punt team difference but the ability of our QB to get up after getting flattened nearly every play after throwing a strike to a receiver.  Those d ends were huge and were hard to stop.  When we ran your LB's filled the holes very well.  If Luther can make Wartburg one demensional like you did us I think your d can be successful as Yordi while he played some last year was not a full time starter and it takes time to progress into a good QB in this league.  If Luther can get to the Knights QB as much as they did against us then I think there is a chance.  That's why I am having the trouble with the pick for Saturday.  I understand what you are saying about the smart pick being Wartburg.  The Wartburg D is as solid as anyone's in the country IMHO but it is the offense that is the question in my mind.  Can they score? That is why we won last year.  We could stop their O. 

[Pat Coleman]

Interesting.  And the lower the number, the better the ranking.  Just like golf. 

Or like any Top 25. That's the teams' rank overall in all of college football.

[Pat Coleman]

I believe Massey himself says his rankings aren't very reliable until five or so games have been played.