FB: American Rivers Conference

[Floyd in Iowa City]

At this point, I'm happy for Dubuque to be considered an "also ran" and not a "bottom feeder"    Hopefully, starting with this season, Dubuque will typically be considered a "contender"

Well said Doolittle.  I've lived long enough to see my beloved Knights go through that metamorphous.  I remember the days when we wished Wartburg could be as good as Luther or Wm Penn or Dubuque.  Wartburg hasn't been a bottom feeder for long periods of time, but after it happened the last time it took a few years of building to leave that group.  Then a lengthy stretch of also ran status.  Now being in the contender group is enjoyable.  I am often bothered by Knight fans who have come along in the last fifteen years or so who don't appreciate the fact that it hasn't always been this way.  Some of them assume we have always been on the top looking down.  Not so, over time the Knights have been up and down the ladder.

Good post Warthog!  I remember well the days of the Knights being an also ran in about everything other than Buzz Levick's Basketball program.  Things really started to change once Miller took the Wrestling job and football had the breakout year in 1990, but I still remember things like the baseball program being dead last in 1995 as not being that shocking for a Knight sports team.

The last 15-20 years have been pretty good though.

It is a distant memory to think of Luther as a football or track power within the conference.  The football power stuff really was starting to end about the time I was born.

[doolittledog]

Super!  I think if the Norse athletic department wanted to start with the Oles, a stronger Billy Penn, and Central, they should have hired Zweifel instead of passing on him.  I think the Norse have been solid in coaching and development over the past few years, but Zweifel and the Spartans are running circles around the Norse in recruiting (or so it appears).

Hopefully Iowa Wesleyan is down a bit.

This is a big week for Luther.  Hopefully they can break the Groundhog Day feeling in a positive way.  They also could be looking at 0-3 and a bad way to snap the streak of 5-5 seasons.

To be fair to Coach Durnin, Zweifel is 1-1 vs Luther with both games being hard fought contests. 

[NewKnightDad]

I just read that Chris Norton will be a Co-Captain for Luther for their home game on September 10th.  That is great news for this young man and I love how Coach Durnin and Luther are keeping Chris a part of their program.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Super!  I think if the Norse athletic department wanted to start with the Oles, a stronger Billy Penn, and Central, they should have hired Zweifel instead of passing on him.  I think the Norse have been solid in coaching and development over the past few years, but Zweifel and the Spartans are running circles around the Norse in recruiting (or so it appears).

Hopefully Iowa Wesleyan is down a bit.

This is a big week for Luther.  Hopefully they can break the Groundhog Day feeling in a positive way.  They also could be looking at 0-3 and a bad way to snap the streak of 5-5 seasons.

To be fair to Coach Durnin, Zweifel is 1-1 vs Luther with both games being hard fought contests.

Doolittledog,

I didn't mean anything towards Coach Durnin, but rather the Luther Athletic Department and the College as this is still to me about commitment and resources.

The school does a lot of things the right way, but I just think the Division III priorities stuff gets taken too far in Decorah at times over the years as it pertains to admissions, recruiting budgets, coaching salaries, etc.

Why was Coach Durnin hired instead of Coach Zweifel at the time (after the 2007 season)?  Both had credentials, but Durnin actually worked for or under Zweifel twice (Yankton College, Mankato State).  Zweifel had more head coaching experience, more experience, and Whitewater (Zweifel ran the offense) had been better than LaCrosse (Durnin ran the defense) in recent years.  National playoff success is usually a good thing!

They both were good candidates though.

It just feels like the school went with Coach Durnin or broke the tie at the time for reasons other than coaching credentials.  It felt like it was more about not wanting Zweifel than wanting Coach Durnin.  It also sounded like Zweifel wanted a financial/resource commitment from the school towards improving Norse Football.  It also sounded like at least one older assistant at the time had reservations about potential work weeks during football under Zweifel.  It even sounded like some players got scared during the interviews, but that happens to some extent during coaching changes as there is a lot of unknown.

I liked Zweifel at the time because he actually won a conference title at Minnesota-Morris (how hard is that!)!  The Whitewater and Division II (Mankato, Northern Colorado) work as an assistant also was a plus.

They are both good at what they do, but it is frustrating to see Dubuque taking a recruiting jump on paper with a guy who was talking to Luther players about jumping the recruiting in the Norse program back in late 2007.  I wonder if the difference between the two schools right now is the priorities of the schools themselves (more than the priorities and talent of the head coaches).

Hopefully I will feel better about some of this after the game on Saturday!  I want Chris Reynolds to have a good senior year in football and baseball and hope the roster is up to the challenge this year to make that happen.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

I just read that Chris Norton will be a Co-Captain for Luther for their home game on September 10th.  That is great news for this young man and I love how Coach Durnin and Luther are keeping Chris a part of their program.

Totally agree!

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Wartburg has 63 freshmen in camp.

38 from Iowa
17 from Illinois
6 from Minnesota
1 from Wisconsin
1 from Michigan

43 freshmen were on the roster at the end of last season.  32 returned for their sophomore season. 

23 sophomores were on the roster at the end of last season.  22 returned for their junior season.

21 juniors were on the roster at the end of last season.  18 returned for their senior season.

This makes for a 135 player roster.  I'm glad they have put together a decent JV schedule so the young Knights can get some meaningful playing time.  With a roster this big there is a need for a bunch of JV games.  Interestingly, I didn't identify any transfers when I did my review.  There were some huge freshman o-linemen brought in.  I hope they are muscle huge rather than momma's choclate cake huge.

It seems like Wartburg has hauled in many large freshman football classes like this over the last 20 years.  Is this as typical as I think it is?

The roster size also seems normal, but perhaps the roster retention from last offseason to this season sounds better than some years.  I am a big fan of roster retention, but things are usually great when you have that and a large overall roster.

I wonder what the largest the Wartburg roster has ever reached?  I would have the same questions for St. John's.

I hear stories of how much bigger the Luther roster was than other IIAC schools in the 1960s and early 1970s.  I haven't been that pleased at the Norse roster size since Coach Hefty was running it.  Hopefully the Norse numbers look better this year.

Given that it is the Ole week, I went back and looked to see that the Oles and Luther did not play from 1950 to 1980.  Kind of reminds me of the Luther-Loras series.

The best two eras of Luther Football?  One would be the stretch just before WWII when the Norse won the title every three years (1932, 1935, 1938, and 1941).  The two schools did play during this stretch.

The other stretch would be from 1952-77 when Edsel Schweizer (150-79-6) was coach and the Norse won titles in 1954, 1957, 1960, 1963, 1970, and 1971.  The Norse also tied for the conference title in 1978 under Bob Naslund (and have not won it since).

Go Norse!

[Voice of the Dutch]

Sorry for what is a little bit of a spammy post - but thought at least the Central College fans would find this of interest.

We're kicking off a new radio show tonight in Pella called the Central College Coaches Corner on 92.1 KRLS and www.kniakrls.com.  It'll be live at Applebee's every Monday night from 7:00-7:30 pm, starting tonight, with Jeff McMartin joining us live.  Applebee's is doing some nice food and drink specials, and we'll be giving away some dinners for two as well. 

You can ask questions live at the restaurant, or you can email in questions at trevorcastle@kniakrls.com.

Hope you guys enjoy the new show and our expanded coverage of the Dutch!

[NewKnightDad]

Drink specials?  How much can you discount a Diet Coke? 

[Voice of the Dutch]

Have you not met any of the Dutch locals?  Ten cents off moves the needle big time!!

[Old Dutch]

They are both good at what they do, but it is frustrating to see Dubuque taking a recruiting jump on paper with a guy who was talking to Luther players about jumping the recruiting in the Norse program back in late 2007.  I wonder if the difference between the two schools right now is the priorities of the schools themselves (more than the priorities and talent of the head coaches).

Hopefully I will feel better about some of this after the game on Saturday!  I want Chris Reynolds to have a good senior year in football and baseball and hope the roster is up to the challenge this year to make that happen.

Most recruits are All-Americans on paper, don't think I'd put too much stock on  the numbers at UD until they get between the white lines.  Not that I'm dissing UD, Lord knows they given the Dutch a tough game or two recently, but the Durnin vs Zweiffel debate is still a bit early IMHO.

[doolittledog]

Sorry for what is a little bit of a spammy post - but thought at least the Central College fans would find this of interest.

We're kicking off a new radio show tonight in Pella called the Central College Coaches Corner on 92.1 KRLS and www.kniakrls.com.  It'll be live at Applebee's every Monday night from 7:00-7:30 pm, starting tonight, with Jeff McMartin joining us live.  Applebee's is doing some nice food and drink specials, and we'll be giving away some dinners for two as well. 

You can ask questions live at the restaurant, or you can email in questions at trevorcastle@kniakrls.com.

Hope you guys enjoy the new show and our expanded coverage of the Dutch!

That is actually a great idea.  I wish more schools in the IIAC did something like this. 

[AZDutchman]

Sorry for what is a little bit of a spammy post - but thought at least the Central College fans would find this of interest.

We're kicking off a new radio show tonight in Pella called the Central College Coaches Corner on 92.1 KRLS and www.kniakrls.com.  It'll be live at Applebee's every Monday night from 7:00-7:30 pm, starting tonight, with Jeff McMartin joining us live.  Applebee's is doing some nice food and drink specials, and we'll be giving away some dinners for two as well. 

You can ask questions live at the restaurant, or you can email in questions at trevorcastle@kniakrls.com.

Hope you guys enjoy the new show and our expanded coverage of the Dutch!

Great show! You covered a lot of bases. It's great to hear Coach McMartin again!
Curious? What happened to taking questions from the on line listeners? I didn't hear one?

[5 Words or Less]

I'm looking forward to the start of another season of football.  There's always a sense of renewed optimism that accompanies the start of any season and this year is no different than any other in that regard.  Luther is something of a sleeping giant here in NE Iowa, just waiting for that elusive combination of talent and luck necessary to awaken and smite the devils of the southern realms. 

Wouldn't it be interesting if some team from the middle of the alphabet won the IIAC?  Wouldn't it be surprising if the largest school in the conference wouldn't have to wait four decades between outright conference titles?  Wouldn't it be great to top off the susquicentennial with a trophy?  But that would be looking at the glass completely full rather than the half-full / half-empty state that we have experienced for the past decade.  With the exception of the 2006 season, when the wheels fell off the bus and the Norse went 2-8, the boys in blue have been a model of consistency being at or just above 0.500.  Thus, I've assembled a tongue in cheek analysis of Luther's season depending on how you look at the glass.   

Sincerely yours, 5 Words or More

DATE	OPPONENT	GLASS 1/2 FULL	GLASS 1/2 EMPTY
Sept. 3	@ St. Olaf	Luther wins on grass	... except in Northfield (0.125 since 2001)
Sept. 10	William Penn	Norse maintain 26-12 series advantage	Statesmen curriculum excludes ancient history
Sept. 17	@ Central	Norse upend Dutch in Pella 28-20	... in 1978 (Luther's last victory in Pella)
Sept. 24	bye	HOORAY – we're 3-0!	CRAP – we're 0-3
Oct. 1	Loras	Luther fares well at homecoming	It's not homecoming
Oct. 8	@ Coe	Luther's rushing D leads IIAC	Coe's passing dissects rookie DB's
Oct. 15	Buena Vista	We're fine, stay the course.	Mayday! Mayday!  It's 2006 again
Oct. 22	Simpson	Large home crowds inspire Norse	It's fall break
Oct. 29	@ Dubuque	Luther wins! – Stan's canned	UD wins – please can Stan
Nov. 5	@ Cornell	Zero.  Cornell's victories in November (since 2005)	Zero.  Luther's November road wins since 1997
Nov. 12	Wartburg	Conference rivalries excite Norse	NCAA post season excite Knights

P.S.  For the players reading this, please note that I'm proud of you for truncating the long-standing records of futility and disprooving the myths of winning and losing that are posted as absolute.  Remember, never, ever give up.

[MediaGuy]

Sorry for what is a little bit of a spammy post - but thought at least the Central College fans would find this of interest.

We're kicking off a new radio show tonight in Pella called the Central College Coaches Corner on 92.1 KRLS and www.kniakrls.com.  It'll be live at Applebee's every Monday night from 7:00-7:30 pm, starting tonight, with Jeff McMartin joining us live.  Applebee's is doing some nice food and drink specials, and we'll be giving away some dinners for two as well. 

You can ask questions live at the restaurant, or you can email in questions at trevorcastle@kniakrls.com.

Hope you guys enjoy the new show and our expanded coverage of the Dutch!

I wasn't sure this was allowed but just to let the Wartburg fans know, every Wednesday night throughout the season, the Knights are featured on "the Locker Room" live from the Pizza Ranch in Waverly.  From 7-7:30 its Waverly-Shell Rock coaches and players but from 7:30-8 its all about the Knights.  Locally it is heard on KWAY 99.3 FM but anyone can listen online at kwayradio.com.

No drink specials but the chicken is awesome!?!

[Fannosaurus Rex]

Sorry for what is a little bit of a spammy post - but thought at least the Central College fans would find this of interest.

I enjoyed the broadcast, thank you very much.  Coach McMartin's enthusiasm has me pumped up for the season to start.  I will try to patronize the sponsors when I am out for homecoming.  In fact when I stop in IntVelt's for a couple of rings of bologna do you want me to ask why they didn't advertise?