FB: American Rivers Conference

[DBQ1965]

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.

Been quiet for a week.  Had to go to some meetings in Cleveland and then took a a few days "R and R" (is it really that when you are already retired?) at Niagara ... even rode the "Maid of the Mist" this time!

Anyway ... I think this week's meeting with Coe is the pivot point in UD's season.  If the Spartans win against the Kohawks, then the rest of the IIAC had better look out for the remainder of the season.  A loss and it is "tent-folding-time" for my Alma Mater.

[doolittledog]

You're retired, yet you're going to meetings in Cleveland???

Is retiring from the ministry like retiring from the mob in the Godfather?  Everytime you think you're out they pull you back in 



If UD loses to Coe this week I don't think they fold their tent.  This team seems to have a different mindset than past UD teams.  They could lose to Coe and still end up with a decent season.  I'm still thinking 5-5...we will see.  They could win out...they could lose the rest of the season.  Should be fun to find out. 

I will be at a wedding this weekend.  Gone friday until sunday without being near a computer.  The anticipation of finding out IIAC scores is going to kill me

[AZDutchman]

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  

Putting an Arizona touch to the conversation.....

In a conversation I had with some of the Arizona State baseball players, I asked them how they looked this year? The answer I got was, "We're pretty young". I suggested that could be an advantage. They responded with, "That's what the coach said".
They ended up third in the College World Series!

I remember when the University of Arizona had a young and small basketball team.
That was the year they won the National Title!

Just a thought???

[AZDutchman]

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???

Putting a little twist on this subject...
I also believe there's such a thing as a good loss.
Goes toward the mental fortitude mentioned before. It's not how the team responds to a good win or a good loss, but how the individuals collectivally feel about what happened in that particular game. Would that collective be considered 'the team'? I don't believe so.
My sons team had a perfect season in 2005. Except for one loss by one point. I'll never forget when he got in the truck after the game. He was so pissed. I said to him, that was a good loss! He looked at me like I was crazy.
They ended up winning the State Championship that year!
He said to me later, "I understand what you told me in the truck that one night".

[AZDutchman]

Crazy High School Rule (Arizona)

copied and pasted off a high school board

Higley's Kelvin Fisher, 31-yard TD run.

Although it was a great play, Fisher's run and leap was ILLEGAL by HS rules. Rule 9-4-3 states, No player (or nonplayer) shall: (there are 10 items listed...) the fourth one is... d) hurdle an opponent. (page 71 of the HS rulebook). The definition of hurdling is (rule 2-22, page 34 of the HS rulebook): Hurdling is an attempt by a player to jump (hurdle) with one or both feet or knees foremost over an opponent who is contacting the ground with no part of his body except one or both feet. CLEARLY the video shows the defender closing in to make a tackle, still on his feet, and Fisher made an incredibly athletic move and hurdled him and went into the end zone. Athletic-Yes, Legal-NO! And if it was called correctly by the officials, they would have been booed and villified for doing their job! The Maricopa coaching staff and fans should have been livid that it WASN'T called. It is a personal foul by rule, clearly written in the rule book, and a play that is covered during the pre-season rules meetings. The assigned officiating crew missed the call!

It was an incredible leap. They showed on all the news stations. It was agrued whether it was legal or not?

I'm still trying to figure out who a (non player) would be? The coach?  

[DutchHawk]

I don't think there is such a thing as a "good loss". One loss could knock you out of the playoffs...or if you do get in your the 8 seed going against UWW/MUC rather than Olivet. Just a small difference. I wont deny there are benefits to be had and lessons to be learned from a loss. If you happen to suffer one then a good coaching staff will turn it into a positive. Of course 10-0 is always better than 9-1 regardless of lessons learned Just my opinion for what its worth.

[Thunderbolt]

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.

I'm still young and stupid at 51 years of age. And I would say, the prospects of that changing any time soon is not great.

[Mr. Ypsi]

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.

I'm still young and stupid at 51 years of age. And I would say, the prospects of that changing any time soon is not great.

Probably true.  I'm still 'young and stupid' at 61!

[Thunderbolt]

..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

Don't believe everything you here. I heard his pre-game interview before the UWP game on a Platteville station. This time he only kept 14 players from last year, as opposed to the 24 he mentioned in other interviews, as opposed to the 34 that I count when comparing last years roster with this years.
But by getting rid of the pass happy offense of the past and replacing it with a power running game, they have increased their pass to run ratio and have the two leading recievers in the conference, to go along with the leader in passing yards.

[doolittledog]

Wait a second...Mr. Ypsi is young and stupid at 61, Thunderbolt is young and stupid at 51,  and I happen to be young and stupid at 41.  I'm sensing a pattern here

Thunderbolt, you are right about taking what you hear in a pregame interview with a grain of salt.  But, there were 8 freshmen starting against Cornell...maybe they were taken out after 1 play   And I have been chuckling at the thought of the UD power running game and the thought of Hansen and all his passing yards to go along with Zweifel and all his catches and Fleming and all his yards.  Though, I think UD has the ability to go with a power running game with their line and Spaulding running the ball.  I think defenses have been loading up to stop the run so UD is taking what the defense gives them and throwing.  Right now they seem to be able to run or throw depending on what the situation calls for. 

Maybe Zweifel is just the master of the art of the interview BS.  It seems to be working for the Spartans...and I will take that.   

[warthog]

Thought for the day:

Individual commitment to a group effort -- that is what makes a team work a company work, a society work, a civilization work.

- Vince Lombardi

[Purple Heys]

...I think defenses have been loading up to stop the run so UD is taking what the defense gives them and throwing.  Right now they seem to be able to run or throw depending on what the situation calls for. 

From the Ram perspective, the primary goal was to deal with the outside receivers...there wasn't much in the way of special adjustments to deal with the running...although there was a lot of respect given to the fact that UD had a legitimate ball-carrying threat.  With the exception of a couple of big carries late in the game, we did a good enough job versus the run.

The biggest problem for us, and I said it at the outset, was the play of SENIOR QB Hansen.  He was accurate short-range and deep, made only 1 mistake...which he learned from and took the air out of the rest of his deep throws.  He also did a good job of play-faking and avoiding the rush.  In short, he was the player that it began and ended with.  Having a complementary pair of receivers and hard running tailback gives UD a nice balance.  If they could shore up their defense they'll real trouble.

I would not be surprised to see UD beat either Coe or Wartburg.

[DBQ1965]

You're retired, yet you're going to meetings in Cleveland???

Is retiring from the ministry like retiring from the mob in the Godfather?  Everytime you think you're out they pull you back in 



If UD loses to Coe this week I don't think they fold their tent.  This team seems to have a different mindset than past UD teams.  They could lose to Coe and still end up with a decent season.  I'm still thinking 5-5...we will see.  They could win out...they could lose the rest of the season.  Should be fun to find out. 

I will be at a wedding this weekend.  Gone friday until sunday without being near a computer.  The anticipation of finding out IIAC scores is going to kill me

Retiring from ministry may be more like retiring from the mob than most people realize.  But by doing some consulting, I get to travel around some on someone else's dollar.  The Cleveland trip did give me a chance to re-visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ... it is even better than I remembered it.  Rock On.

You have the advantage of having seen the Spartans play this Fall ... so my "prediction" was on the basis of past experience and not on any "reality."  I would like nothing better than to have the Spartans leave Coe with a big W!

[Walston Hoover]

This talk of youth got me started wondering, so I checked Wartburg's numbers

Of the starters for Loras
O-4 srs
   4 jrs
   3 sophs

Good mix, throw in Freshman Reese THompson and we are in good shape.

D-5 srs
  4 jrs
  2 sophs

nickle DB is a jr and a 2 sophs and a freshman that play.

While there is a fair amount of srs, there is plenty of reason to be optimistic for the future as well.

[DutchHawk]

Just for fun...
Centrals lineup for Cornell this week includes...

Offense:
4 Seniors
4 Juniors
3 Sophs

Defense:
4 Seniors
3 Juniors
4 Sophs

I like that balance of youth and leadership, I believe Bandow is a Junior as well splitting time super efficiently at QB so far this year.