FB: American Rivers Conference

[Floyd in Iowa City]

I think Cornell has high admissions standards but there are other things that keep some quality athletes from either getting admitted or even applying in the first place. One Course At A Time isn't for everyone.

A couple of decades ago when I was looking at colleges, I did like a lot about the school, campus, town, location, and Coach Miller's football program.  One course at a time was a big change though, and one that at the end of the day got me to go elsewhere.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Seems like Wartburg and UD fans want to stay away from what's going to happen with this game.
So, how about the history?
When was the last time UD beat Wartburg? and
When was the last time UD won the IIAC Championship?

Almost forgot...Does Wartburg fans bring a trailer to set up their tailgate on away games?

I hate to say anything about the UD - Wartburg clash for fear of laying a jinx on the Spartans ... especially since I am making the drive over to see the game.  It is Homecoming afterall. 

UD last won conference championships in '79 and '80 ... and last beat the Knights in an overtime upset 17-14 in 2006.
GO SPARTANS!

That darn Walner Belleus!  The former Iowa Hawkeye PR/KR/DB helped to beat the 2006 Norse in a shootout that year.  He did everything one player could do in that game at WR/KR/PR/DB.  I am sure he played a hand in beating Wartburg as well.  A great talent!

[Ash Park]

Loras AD is thinking to himself...
"Maybe Osterberger wasn't such a bad coach afterall..." 

"Another saturday, another loss for our football team...oh well, Loras is a soccer school anyways..." 

"Our once proud Duhawk basketball team didn't even make the conference tourney last year, our football team might go 1-9, thank God our mens and womens soccer teams are nationally ranked or I might be out of a job..."

"I gotta get me some of what IdahoSoccer is drinking...that is one positive, glass is half full person..."

OR ... "Let's follow Cornell."

Salt in the wound 

I know the jabs at Cornell for leaving is mostly all in fun, but in all honesty if people think they are making the switch to the MWC SOLELY to be more competitive in football they are dead wrong. Most of the coaches of all sports would stay in the IIAC if they had it their way. Who wouldn't want to play against the best competition possible?  Unfortunately this decision was up to people much higher up than the coaches and AD at Cornell. The board of trustees and the president at the present time wanted this move and wanted it for some time. Fact of the matter is Cornell has much higher admissions standards than MOST IIAC schools and has a much longer process for admitting students. Every school in the IIAC is a great school and a student will get a great education at any of the IIAC schools in my opinion. It is the belief of the higher ups that switching conferences does put Cornell at a more level playing field as far as recruiting, financial aid, and admissions standards go. This is probably true. In this case it does make it sound like they are jumping ship to be more competitive, but not for the sole reason of being more competitive in football or sports in general. This move definitely has more to do with the mission of the school, enrollment, academics, alumni base, strong recruiting areas, etc

All this does make sense and I agree about the admissions standards as well.  It is still too bad as from a Luther fan standpoint as I thought the Rams and Norse had some academic standards and financial aid things in common.  I like visiting Mount Vernon as well for baseball and football.

I think you are absolutely right. Both schools have those things in common and face similar battles in recruiting student athletes. It was stated in an earlier post that Luther has high academic standards and still succeeds and I think the question was asked...Then why can't Cornell? I think this is a case where the one class at a time hurts them more than helps. That is just my opinion. I did run into coach Marlow two years ago and he said they definitely fight those same battles as Cornell because of academic standards. He thought once some of the sports (Football) at Cornell gained some continuity as a staff and really got a good grasp on their recruiting that their numbers would go up. I believe this to be true. Some of the athletics at Cornell that have tasted some success have been the sports who had a staff in place for at least a few years....Volleyball, Wrestling, Men's Basketball (3 years ago), and cross country has faired pretty well. I believe Coach Brautigam will get the football numbers up especially with Jay Davis there who I have heard is a great recruiter.

I would imagine Luther will still be a school Cornell schedules for a non-conference game in baseball. I think Cornell will only have one non-conference game in football which will be against Coe.

[sportsknight]

Tailgating should be interesting.  UD fans have typically filled up bars in the area during pregame before heading over to the stadium.  Never too much of a tailgating scene that I have ever seen, though they have plenty of parking space for good tailgates now that they have redone their facilities.  Wartburg fans have a pretty nice tailgating setup in Waverly...not sure how they roll on the road.

Bars?  Plural?  The Dog House and West Dubuque Tap are the only ones I can think of that are within a half mile of UD.  Fats and Whiskey River are a bit closer to the Loras neck of the woods.

[BoBo]

A little something for the Central fans. You have to page down past the distractions to find the Sports Video of the Day.

[doolittledog]

Tailgating should be interesting.  UD fans have typically filled up bars in the area during pregame before heading over to the stadium.  Never too much of a tailgating scene that I have ever seen, though they have plenty of parking space for good tailgates now that they have redone their facilities.  Wartburg fans have a pretty nice tailgating setup in Waverly...not sure how they roll on the road.

Bars?  Plural?  The Dog House and West Dubuque Tap are the only ones I can think of that are within a half mile of UD.  Fats and Whiskey River are a bit closer to the Loras neck of the woods.

The Dog House and the West Dubuque Tap were the ones I was thinking of.  Farther down Asbury you would also find some at Denny's Lux Club.  Fats and Whiskey River, while closer to Loras were always bars we felt comfortable in.  We never went near the Walnut Tap, that was considered property of Loras students...even when I lived across the street from it.  I was also remembering a sports bar across Hwy 20 near where Kmart was.  And way back in the day there was a bar named Fitzgeralds???  We just called it Fitzies, that was also across 20 by Kmart.  I drank in there with my trumpet...and not 21 years old yet before and after some games...even with my parents present...they were buying.  Also, while not technically a bar...our basement at 1920 Loras Blvd hosted many pregame/postgame parties as did most houses in that neighborhood that UD students lived in.  Those were the places we would be instead of tailgating.  In fact, my old frat is hosting a pre/post game party at their house on Loras Blvd this weekend.  Though my wife and I are thinking we will just tailgate with friends instead.  Two years ago we all ate at the Bricktown pregame and then got to the game just as it was starting.  I think Bricktown closed not too long after that. 

[Las Vegas Wildcards]

A little something for the Central fans. You have to page down past the distractions to find the Sports Video of the Day.

Have a question for any Central fans regarding that 2000 Miracle in the Mud play. What radio station in your area was covering that game?   

[CaliRamRL6]

I think Cornell has high admissions standards but there are other things that keep some quality athletes from either getting admitted or even applying in the first place. One Course At A Time isn't for everyone.

A couple of decades ago when I was looking at colleges, I did like a lot about the school, campus, town, location, and Coach Miller's football program.  One course at a time was a big change though, and one that at the end of the day got me to go elsewhere.

A lot of people get turned off by One Course At A Time. There are some that don't apply or leave after a year because of it. It's too bad cause it's a great school. I know I'm leaving myself open for jokes but I thoroughly enjoyed  all of my experiences at Cornell... minus the lack of wins in football and the baseball team choking towards the end of the season senior year.

[CaliRamRL6]

http://thegazette.com/2011/10/05/%E2%80%9Ccoach%E2%80%9D-weber-overcomes-brain-surgery-to-help-coe/

I thought this was a good story about Logan Weber. This kid was a hard worker the first day he set foot on Coe's campus. He did whatever it took to make the team better. He worked his way onto the travel squad his freshman year as a snapper and backup DL. Then he switches to OL and makes All Conference. It would've been nice to see him finish 4 years of playing but we're not promised anything. Best of luck to him in his future endeavors.

[Fannosaurus Rex]

http://thegazette.com/2011/10/05/%E2%80%9Ccoach%E2%80%9D-weber-overcomes-brain-surgery-to-help-coe/

I thought this was a good story about Logan Weber. This kid was a hard worker the first day he set foot on Coe's campus. He did whatever it took to make the team better. He worked his way onto the travel squad his freshman year as a snapper and backup DL. Then he switches to OL and makes All Conference. It would've been nice to see him finish 4 years of playing but we're not promised anything. Best of luck to him in his future endeavors.

I'm pretty sure I listened to that live on the streaming broadcast.  And I don't remember there ever being a radio station other than KNIA/KRLS that streamed Central football games.  But my memory is not to be relied upon.  I also seem to remember the Central Athletic Director being in the booth with the radio guy and saying something like, "well that's it.  I have to get down there," before the play was over.  And I don't hear that on this snippet.  Maybe someone else can tell you for sure.

[footballdaddy]

Let me just start by saying I don't claim to be any kind of football expert.  But since I'm an old guy, and you know how we are about any kind of change, I have decided I don't like the no-huddle offense.  It sure looks to me like, the offense gets up to the line, someone on the sidelines checks out the defense and signals in a play, the qb calls it, the defense shifts into some other look, everyone looks at the sideline some more and eventually the ball gets snapped.  The times I have seen Central run it, I never looked to me like they caught the defense out of position or off balance.  Again, I'm no expert.  Another thing that made me uncomfortable was toward the end of the Coe game.  Central had the ball and wanted to run down the clock.  It kind of looked to me like waiting for the play clock to run took them out of their rhythm and made it hard to pick up the last first down they needed to put the game away.

I didn't see the Central Dubuque game, but it seems to me that if your opponent is scoring quickly on you, which it seems Dubuque was on Central, that you would want to try to slow down the pace of the game.  Now that I type that it sounds a little like giving up but I prefer to think of it as playing away from your opponent's strength.  It is a football board right?  So what's the deal with no huddle and is there anyone who isn't doing it these days?  Or am I about a decade late with the issue?

The no huddle you are referring to is to limit defensive substitutions and to some extent adjustments. Obviously, the defense has the last say in adjustments but in the no huddle they are not able to substitute freely, or make major alignment changes. It's all part of the OC-DC cat-and-mouse game that goes on in every football game. As far as disrupting offensive rhythm, it probably doesn't any more than running from a huddle. It does help the QB and offensive lines with pre snap reads since the defense isn't able to make huge adjustments. I agree it's not as astheticly pleasing, but probably more effective.

[duhawk]

Tailgating should be interesting.  UD fans have typically filled up bars in the area during pregame before heading over to the stadium.  Never too much of a tailgating scene that I have ever seen, though they have plenty of parking space for good tailgates now that they have redone their facilities.  Wartburg fans have a pretty nice tailgating setup in Waverly...not sure how they roll on the road.

Bars?  Plural?  The Dog House and West Dubuque Tap are the only ones I can think of that are within a half mile of UD.  Fats and Whiskey River are a bit closer to the Loras neck of the woods.

The Dog House and the West Dubuque Tap were the ones I was thinking of.  Farther down Asbury you would also find some at Denny's Lux Club.  Fats and Whiskey River, while closer to Loras were always bars we felt comfortable in.  We never went near the Walnut Tap, that was considered property of Loras students...even when I lived across the street from it.  I was also remembering a sports bar across Hwy 20 near where Kmart was.  And way back in the day there was a bar named Fitzgeralds???  We just called it Fitzies, that was also across 20 by Kmart.  I drank in there with my trumpet...and not 21 years old yet before and after some games...even with my parents present...they were buying.  Also, while not technically a bar...our basement at 1920 Loras Blvd hosted many pregame/postgame parties as did most houses in that neighborhood that UD students lived in.  Those were the places we would be instead of tailgating.  In fact, my old frat is hosting a pre/post game party at their house on Loras Blvd this weekend.  Though my wife and I are thinking we will just tailgate with friends instead.  Two years ago we all ate at the Bricktown pregame and then got to the game just as it was starting.  I think Bricktown closed not too long after that.

Bricktown did close and has reopened as Crust, an Italian place. Pretty similar as Bricktown; probably a touch more upscale.  It must hurt a little to have the pre-game festivities on Loras Blvd.  I guess if you lived across from the Nut you've lived on University as well, and Fat's a big-time Loras hangout is on University so maybe it all evens out in the end.  I'm tempted to make the trip to UD this weekend since Loras as the weekend off, but I'm just not sure I can bring myself to do it.  Does UD air their games on a Dubuque radio station? 

[doolittledog]

Bricktown did close and has reopened as Crust, an Italian place. Pretty similar as Bricktown; probably a touch more upscale.  It must hurt a little to have the pre-game festivities on Loras Blvd.  I guess if you lived across from the Nut you've lived on University as well, and Fat's a big-time Loras hangout is on University so maybe it all evens out in the end.  I'm tempted to make the trip to UD this weekend since Loras as the weekend off, but I'm just not sure I can bring myself to do it.  Does UD air their games on a Dubuque radio station?

101.1 the river airs it...or (gasp) they stream the video on their website...but I imagine that would make you feel as dirty as attending the game in person  

I've been tempted to just skip out of work early tomorrow and arrive in Dubuque friday night...but I am way to busy with work to do that (I'm in my office now, not actually working though). 

[duhawk]

Bricktown did close and has reopened as Crust, an Italian place. Pretty similar as Bricktown; probably a touch more upscale.  It must hurt a little to have the pre-game festivities on Loras Blvd.  I guess if you lived across from the Nut you've lived on University as well, and Fat's a big-time Loras hangout is on University so maybe it all evens out in the end.  I'm tempted to make the trip to UD this weekend since Loras as the weekend off, but I'm just not sure I can bring myself to do it.  Does UD air their games on a Dubuque radio station?

101.1 the river airs it...or (gasp) they stream the video on their website...but I imagine that would make you feel as dirty as attending the game in person  

I've been tempted to just skip out of work early tomorrow and arrive in Dubuque friday night...but I am way to busy with work to do that (I'm in my office now, not actually working
though).

Thanks doolittle, I knew they streamed the games, but it's either going to be live or yardwork and a radio for me.  Hope you have fun this weekend, from what I've seen of your UD squad, they should have the upper hand. 
And seriously, Dubuque calls, work is work is work.

[DBQ1965]

Bricktown did close and has reopened as Crust, an Italian place. Pretty similar as Bricktown; probably a touch more upscale.  It must hurt a little to have the pre-game festivities on Loras Blvd.  I guess if you lived across from the Nut you've lived on University as well, and Fat's a big-time Loras hangout is on University so maybe it all evens out in the end.  I'm tempted to make the trip to UD this weekend since Loras as the weekend off, but I'm just not sure I can bring myself to do it.  Does UD air their games on a Dubuque radio station?

101.1 the river airs it...or (gasp) they stream the video on their website...but I imagine that would make you feel as dirty as attending the game in person  

I've been tempted to just skip out of work early tomorrow and arrive in Dubuque friday night...but I am way to busy with work to do that (I'm in my office now, not actually working
though).

Thanks doolittle, I knew they streamed the games, but it's either going to be live or yardwork and a radio for me.  Hope you have fun this weekend, from what I've seen of your UD squad, they should have the upper hand. 
And seriously, Dubuque calls, work is work is work.

That's why I missed so many Homecomings.  It's hard to get away for the weekend when you have to work every Sunday morning.