FB: American Rivers Conference

[Airborne Dutch]

MerryChristmas to Everyone..............even if they are from Wartburg!

[dutchfan1]

Wishing you guys warmest holiday wishes -- I hope you have a Merry Christmas with your family and friends. May your blessings be plentiful and your bowl Pick 'Ems be accurate.

[Storm Chaser]

From sunny San Diego to snowy Iowa:  Merry Christmas everybody!

It didn't look all that warm last night at the Poinsettia bowl.

OK PH rub it in -  I have a 4 foot drift in my driveway, Simpson son is home but son, daughter -in-law and grandson from Sioux Falls have no chance of making it home for the Holidays so a "Not so warm San Diego" doesn't look too bad -
Merry Christmas to all - even the Dutch.

[doolittledog]

Dubuque Telegraph-Herald with a year in review piece on the UD football team.

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=267787

[oldNorse]

Allright, how about a few questions to ponder.

What was your best/favorite win in the IIAC?

What was your worst loss in the IIAC?

And explain...don't just put a school down and leave it at that. 

Is this a fans perspective of this year or all time or games guys actually played in?

any of the above

OK guys........so much for Christmas and New Year greetings.  Let's get back to football.

What was the best/favorite win and worst loss with IIAC schools?  Doolittle poses a great historical question.

[Airborne Dutch]

Tough to have just one win. For me, the 2002 Central-Coe game was amazing. Down 20-0 with 17 minutes left in the game, Central comes back and wins it 21-20. Also, I would have to go with 2005 Central-Wartburg. We went up to Waverly and won in pretty dominating fashion.

Worst loss: 2002 vs. Wartburg. Tough call to find two teams more evenly matched that year but WB got two big breaks with the long interception return and that damn bubble screen. It was also the game of the most tremendous hit I have ever seen in person. CUI's Jeff Jones laid out WB's Brad Hodapp and bent his facemask causing what should have been a fumble recovery for Central but the refs were too distracted by the hit to even notice.

[sportsknight]

It was also the game of the most tremendous hit I have ever seen in person. CUI's Jeff Jones laid out WB's Brad Hodapp and bent his facemask causing what should have been a fumble recovery for Central but the refs were too distracted by the hit to even notice.

I remember seeing the Field-level video of that hit, and it was indeed vicious.  I've never seen another like it, before or since.

From a Wartburg perspective, it'd be tough to top the playoff win down at Monmouth last year.  The 1999, 2001 & 2002 wins over Central, the 2000 Homecoming victory over BV, and all of the other playoff wins would also be on the short list.

As far as losses go, the two against Linfield, 2005 and 2007 against Central, 2002 against Coe, and 2004 against BV immediately come to mind. 

[Walston Hoover]

Worst loss: 2002 vs. Wartburg. Tough call to find two teams more evenly matched that year but WB got two big breaks with the long interception return and that damn bubble screen. It was also the game of the most tremendous hit I have ever seen in person. CUI's Jeff Jones laid out WB's Brad Hodapp and bent his facemask causing what should have been a fumble recovery for Central but the refs were too distracted by the hit to even notice.

That was the first one that came to mind as best win. Shutting you guys out in Pella was a huge deal. I don't remember Hodapp's facemask being bent, but I remember thinking right there on the field that we caught a huge break by the refs calling the pass incomplete. In today's college football world, that would be a 15 yarder. Its a shame they've wussified the game so much.

Worst loss is a tie between losing to Cornell in '01 or a few weeks later outgaining COe 421-143, and having 23 First downs to their 9, but losing 10-6.  Never have been able to explain that one. Yet somehow we were able to dominate conference champ Central that year. It was an interesting team.

[doolittledog]

I can't think of anything from when I was actually at UD. 

As far as recent history.  When Dubuque won in OT @ Wartburg in 2006 ranks near the top.  I had an inspection up near Greene and then another one in Waterloo that afternoon.  While driving past Waverly I listened to the game on the Wartburg station.  I came very close to turning off the highway and going to the game but continued on.  After my last inspection I went in to my office and listened to the 2nd half and then the OT on the computer while I wrote up my reports.  I had a lot of fun jumping up and down at the end of that game in my empty office building. 

As far as worse loss, Luther 77-0 over Dubuque in 2000.  I wasn't at the game, and I didn't listen to the game.  I looked up the score in the Sunday paper and couldn't believe the score.  Then on monday I had to listen to a co-worker of mine that was a recent Luther graduate telling me the score was 70-0 at the half and that half of the UD team didn't come out of the locker room after half time.  That was also during the time of the finantial crisis at UD and we weren't sure if there was even going to be a school in another year as well as there was talk of whether Dubuque should switch over to the NAIA to better compete.  I think I remember talk of the IIAC discussing if they should kick UD out of the conference because of their lack of competitiveness in all sports.  That was a very depressing time to be a UD fan. 

[sportsknight]

Best win...
When one played in the middle of the previous century thoughts go to games without facemasks and Riddell helmets that scared ones nose. 

Best win was Luther vs Western Illinois in 1955.  There were two divisions in college football..University (Big 10 etc) and "small college" (WI was considered small college).  Western Ill. was the dominant team in the midwest and had a team of transfers from U of Illinois. Luther was invited to play in the "Corn Bowl" at WI.  The IIAC rep had 2 coaches, Western had 8.  Luther had 50 players, Western 100.

First half Luther scored 3 TD and lead 21-0.  Western stormed back in the second half with 2 TD and a field goal.  So 21-17.

The story our QB later tells is that Western Ill was cursing and swearing on every play and the refs called repeated penalties for "unsportsman-like conduct" that stalled Westerns final drive.  He had reminded the refs that Luther had a bunch of pre-seminary students playing!!

Luther 21, Western Ill. 17  Western Illinois fired their President and coaching staff !

Not sure which is more noteworthy: that oldNorese actually remembers this game, or that Luther hasn't had anything that would qualify as a "best win" since the Eisenhower administration!

[Airborne Dutch]

WH, I'm not sure that that would have a been a 15 yarder. Watching the replay over and over again, Jones made a textbook tackle. What wouldn't have happened in today's football world is that Hodapp would have played the next week after getting knocked out.

[BB]

Saw on the hawkeye rivals site that Coach Martin is leaving Grand Valley to become the DB's coach at ND.  Wonder how this will shake out for all the Wartburg guys that have are at or have ties to Grand Valley?

[Thunderbolt]

Not sure which is more noteworthy: that oldNorese actually remembers this game, or that Luther hasn't had anything that would qualify as a "best win" since the Eisenhower administration!

I'll take note of the fact that oldNorse was a great player on a great team and that you are a di*k with ears.

[footballdaddy]

Obviously not one of the pre-seminary students Old Norse was talking about.

[warthog]

BB:  Rumors concerning the topic of your post have found there way here.  Perhaps the GV staff will stay together with the old boss.