FB: American Rivers Conference

[doolittledog]

Another interesting item from the stats was the attendance. Even though all students weren't back yet, seemed liked more than the 1,452 listed. Also, you normally don't see that detail of reporting of attendance from Wart games.

Speaking of attendance ... the stats on the Iowa Conference webpage showed 3,950 at the Dubuque - Augustana game.  I'm not used to seeing those kinds of numbers for UD football, but then I've never payed that much attention to that stat before.

GO SPARTANS!

Maybe Wartburg usually has 1,452 but has been always reported as 3,000...I kid, I kid

UD game had a decent crowd.  I would say the visiting side was 50-60 percent filled and the home side 90% filled at kickoff and then slowly filled up by the end of the 1st quarter with people standing along the rails at the top of the stand. 

We were talking to parents before the game and they were telling us they were getting recruited by UD as much as their sons.  They were told UD had built new facilities and wanted fans in the stands.  They are certainly showing up now.  It's hard for old guys like myself and DBQ1965 to get used to seeing full parking lots with a lively tailgating scene with grills, games of bags, and whatnot going on. 

[duhawk]

Driving by on University Ave., I got a quick look at the UD home side and it did look much more crowded than usual.  I was impressed at the turnout for the Loras game as well, not overwhelming but considering the zero hype for the season, I thought it was good.

UD also had the lure of a fireworks show that followed the game.  Nothing brings out people like 5 min. of fireworks.  I'll just hold hold it as another ding against UD that the fireworks woke up my kids.

[DutchFan2004]

I believe there were 8 personal fouls called in the first half.

Wow! That's a lot...then again, Miami back in the day could have piled that up all on their own in 1 quarter 

There seemed to be a lot of trash talking going on and I think the refs wanted to get on top of the situation before things got ugly.  I think 3 times there were 2 players that kept hitting after the whistle so there would be off-setting penalties.  One time they called facemask.  When I asked my wife how it could be facemask when the QB was tackled around the ankles she told me when the defender got up he grabbed the QBs' facemask and pushed himself up that way.  Some late hit out of bounds stuff and there you go.

That player was lucky the ref called a facemask instead of unsportsmanlike.

[doolittledog]

I believe there were 8 personal fouls called in the first half.

Wow! That's a lot...then again, Miami back in the day could have piled that up all on their own in 1 quarter 

There seemed to be a lot of trash talking going on and I think the refs wanted to get on top of the situation before things got ugly.  I think 3 times there were 2 players that kept hitting after the whistle so there would be off-setting penalties.  One time they called facemask.  When I asked my wife how it could be facemask when the QB was tackled around the ankles she told me when the defender got up he grabbed the QBs' facemask and pushed himself up that way.  Some late hit out of bounds stuff and there you go.

That player was lucky the ref called a facemask instead of unsportsmanlike.

Turns out she didn't see what she thought she saw.  I watched the replay late last night.  The flag came out late as the kid was pulling himself up, so I can see her thinking that's when the foul happened.  It was what I would describe as ticky tack, but they were calling it that way the whole game and on both teams, so nothing to complain about.  The defender came in from behind and wrapped up, apparently his hand grazed the facemask and then he basically slid down the QB before finally getting ahold of the knees and ankles and the QB went down.  As they were getting up the flag came in. 

[Ghostbuster]

Turns out she didn't see what she thought she saw.  I watched the replay late last night.  The flag came out late as the kid was pulling himself up, so I can see her thinking that's when the foul happened.  It was what I would describe as ticky tack, but they were calling it that way the whole game and on both teams, so nothing to complain about.  The defender came in from behind and wrapped up, apparently his hand grazed the facemask and then he basically slid down the QB before finally getting ahold of the knees and ankles and the QB went down.  As they were getting up the flag came in. 

I thought that was the turning point of the game. UD already had great field position, and then instead of a sack, it's 15 yards for the Spartans, they punch it in, and go up 21-14. Then a quick 3 and out gives UD time for a hail mary, and sure enough, one receiver makes a spectacular catch in the endzone. His entire torso was above everyone else, it was pretty good.

Can't complain too much about the call, like you said it was ticky-tack, but the refs were evenhanded about it. It just seemed like that drive simultaneously gave UD the boost they were looking for and took the wind out of Augie's sails.

[5 Words or Less]

OK, here's my theory. There's going to be some "duh" statements in this, and it is very rough, so bear with me.
Why I think Wartburg, Central, and UD are the new "top 3" in the IIAC
Simple answer-Coaches
Now the extended answer-
I only have memory of the IIAC back to the mid-to-late 90's. A new program doesn't join the race for the conference title until the coach of one of the top programs leaves.
Starting point, roughly 1997. Wartburg hires Rick Willis after several years of playing 3rd chair to Central and Simpson (as was the rest of the conference) for several years. Schipper retires I believe that same year. Kac is hired. Even though Central continues to win, there is a downward spiral and they gradually change places with Wartburg being that team that is on a course to win a title every 4 years or so.
Simpson then panics seeing Wartburg climbing to the top and just a couple years after some great seasons, they show WIlliams the door.
That paves the way for another team to work their way into the top 3, and Coe hires Eric Raeburn. He takes advantage of the opportunity and leads Coe to a title in '02.
Wartburg learns from Simpson's mistake and goes in house to keep a good thing going, hiring OC Koehler, and Willis stays very close to the program, having an office right in the middle of all the football coaches.
Now Raeburn is gone. Coe did hire from within, but not by choice of their own after getting stiffed by about 5 other guys. That is why I think another team is ready to break into the top 3, and I think that team is UD. It could very well be a new coach that does it, but it won't be any other coach besides Brautigham that coached his current team last year.
I realize there are some holes here. It isn't completely thought out but hopefully the idea comes across. New teams don't work their way into the top 3 until a coach of one of the top 3 is gone. There is a spot open right now. It could go to anyone, I just think it will be UD.

Swami say: WH's vision clouded

OK, no one picked up on this thread - but ol' Swami didn't give anyone much to work with.  I know that Walston Hoover isn't here to defend his statement, so I'm not going to pick on him.  I've often pondered this quote and believe that there may be some truth to it.  If you re-read WH's reasoning, he says that historically the IIAC has supported 3 top tier teams in football and that change only comes after a coaching shakeup. At the time the statement was written, Brad Boyle hadn't emerged and the Kohawks were struggling, so they seemed the most likely to fade.   

Fast forward to 2012, Coach Staker has righted Coe's ship, UD won the conference title in 2011 and both Wartburg and Central seemingly remain strong.  BUT the none of the IIAC teams were ranked in the preseason polls and they're 1-5 in the NCAA post-season over the past 3 years.  It makes me wonder if the engorged freshman recruiting classes are thin on talent or if the kids just don't develop because there aren't enough coaches or reps available to teach all of the players.  Is it a case of the strong getting stronger, or is it more of a case that both the strong and weak are just being diluted?

My questions are:
1)  IS there anything to the Big 3 rule?
2)  CAN the IIAC support 4 top rate teams?
3)  IF not, then which school will likely fade?

Sincerely yours,
5 Words or More

[doolittledog]

My questions are:
1)  IS there anything to the Big 3 rule?
2)  CAN the IIAC support 4 top rate teams?
3)  IF not, then which school will likely fade?

Sincerely yours,
5 Words or More

I'll jump in here.
1 - As WH was saying, his perspective only went back to the mid-90's.  In that time, we had a Central/Simpson/Wartburg triumvirate.  Simpson has a coaching change and then we have a Central/Coe/Wartburg triumvirate.  Coe then had a coaching change and we see them drop to 4-6 while Dubuque went from 2-8 up to 7-3.  I suppose you could argue that a Big 3 makes sense given that history.   

2 - If you go back to the 70's you had BV, Central, Luther, William Penn with 3 titles each and Dubuque with 2 titles...Simpson, Upper Iowa, and Wartburg were the only schools that didn't have championship seasons.  And in the 70's Central won a national title, so no such thing as a big 3 and it didn't hurt Central going on to big things on the national stage. 

3 - If you have more than a big 3, you will likely only see 1 team making the playoffs each season, so that 1 team needs to start making some playoff noise.  I don't think these large rosters are a problem, we just need to find more talent. 

[warthog]

Bold prediction of the week:  Wartburg will have a closer game this week than they had last week. 

[CaliRamRL6]

Since the Knight's didn't play until 7pm last knight I decided to catch a rugby game in Waverly with former Knight Blake Suckow and former Knight NC wrestler John Helgerson playing for Bremer County.  It was John's first game and let me tell you he is going to be a beast when he gets some experience.

Sad to say but the rugby game was more interesting than the football game later in the day.

Not much can be taken from that game as the opponent was to be poilte not well prepared.

A couple of good things I saw from the WB coaching staff was 1. They didn't take the foot off the gas after getting up by a couple of TD's. 2. Danny Steifel is the receivers coach for WB now and he is working closely with the new QB.

What I saw and what I think will be succesful for the Knights are tempered right now but the defense looks legit.  The offense needs work as I thought our running game should have been better.  The new QB is an accurate thrower but I don't think he puts enough zip on the ball.  If they had been playing an IIAC opponent I believe lots of passes would have been batted away or picked as they seemed to float a little.

Coach Willis and crew will work on that this week and get the guys prepared for what will be a much tougher opponent next week in Bethel.

Go Knights!!

I thought that Blake kid looked familiar. We played Bremer County last week. They have former BVU linebacker Cody Pierce as well.

[warthog]

Bold prediction #2: 
Coe will be 5-0 when they play Dubuque on October 13th. 

Observation:
Last week's winners Coe and Simpson will have easier games this week.
Last week's winners Dubuque and Wartburg will have tougher games this week.
Last week's losers Central and Loras will have easier games this week.
Last week's losers Luther  and Buena Vista will have tougher games this week.

We could be looking at another 4-4 week for the conference.

[notlongago]

Whos the first IIAC team to crack the top 25 this season?

[warthog]

Note to myself:

Select an alternate route to Waverly for the Wartburg/Bethel game this Saturday. The traffic in and around Iowa City will be a mess.

p.s. GO CYCLONES!

[putmeincoach]

We thought week one would answer a few questions and I think it has:

My original picks:

1) Dubuque
2) Coe
3) Wartburg
4) Central
5) Simpson
6) Luther
7) Buena Vista
8) Loras

Updated:

1) Dubuque – still solid and my favorite until some team proves me wrong
2) Coe – better than I thought – along with Wartburg will be in the hunt for the IIAC
3) Wartburg – hasn't been tested but I think they at least have a QB and enough to be in the mix
4) Simpson – this may be the year?
5) Central – way too many question still not answered (or unfortunately maybe they have been answered) to be in the championship discussion
6, 7, 8) Luther, Buena Vista, Loras – "They are who we thought they were"

[doolittledog]

Whos the first IIAC team to crack the top 25 this season?

If Dubuque and Wartburg get wins this weekend I think that will be enough for each of them to get ranked.

Wartburg should have the better shot at victory this weekend.  The knights play at home in their 2nd game against a Bethel team playing their 1st game of the year.

Dubuque goes on the road (I know, it's only 20 miles) against a UW-Platteville team that should be feeling confident after dismantling Buena Vista and now getting to play in front of their home crowd for the 1st time this season. 

[doolittledog]

We thought week one would answer a few questions and I think it has:

My original picks:

1) Dubuque
2) Coe
3) Wartburg
4) Central
5) Simpson
6) Luther
7) Buena Vista
8) Loras

Updated:

1) Dubuque – still solid and my favorite until some team proves me wrong
2) Coe – better than I thought – along with Wartburg will be in the hunt for the IIAC
3) Wartburg – hasn't been tested but I think they at least have a QB and enough to be in the mix
4) Simpson – this may be the year?
5) Central – way too many question still not answered (or unfortunately maybe they have been answered) to be in the championship discussion
6, 7, 8) Luther, Buena Vista, Loras – "They are who we thought they were"

I thought Coe, Dubuque, and Wartburg all had impressive wins this past weekend. 

Simpson puzzles me a bit.  I liked that they went on the road and picked up a victory, but almost 400 yards passing to go with -1 yard rushing would have me a bit concerned in Storm land. 

This weekend should tell us a lot more about Central.  Bounce back with a win and things could be fine in Pella...another loss and Central might be looking at a long season. 

I feel for Luther.  The Norse never seem to play lousy, they just seem to come up a little short most weeks. 

Buena Vista and Loras need to find some offense...and in a hurry, or they could be in big big trouble this year.