FB: American Rivers Conference

[notlongago]

^ Nice hedging and backpeddling mister...

How so?

[d-train]

^ Nice hedging and backpeddling mister...

How so?

Ah...oops (sorry).  I thought you made the original comment (rather than Willie University) and had been backpeddling ever since.  I'd lean towards Pat's assessment - but as DutchFan2004 notes, you really aren't that far apart.

KCCO

[Purple Heys]

There are only 2 west coast D3 conferences, NWC and SCIAC which is sad for playoff travel because they almost have to face off in the 1st round regardless of ranking.

The NWC easily tops the SCIAC as the superior conference.  The drop from 1 to 4 in the NWC is far less steep than the SCIAC.  The best IIAC teams I've seen over the years would be competitive with Linfield - however the past couple of years (2010, 2011) just seems to me that the IIAC has dropped a notch  if not more - to the extent I do not think the IIAC has a team that would in fact be competitive with today's Linfield.

I've attended a good many SCIAC games over the last few years - even their best teams have not particularly impressed me and the drop from today's Cal Lu to the next team (my hometown Bulldogs) is kind of sad.  It will be interesting to see if Cal Lu can keep it going over the long haul too and until they beat Linfield, they have not proven the are in that class.

A couple of weeks ago my old college roommate who is a DC at one of the SCIAC schools (not Cal Lu or UofR) offered us tickets, so I took him up on the offer and took Heys Jr. and Rev. 3 to the game.

These teams were not good.  They shall remain nameless out of respect to my buddy and to parents of kids that I know on both sides of the ball.

Jr. wished he got the chance to play against the types of players we saw out there (smaller, slower).  In his time at Cornell he faced some pretty good Central, Wartburg, and Coe teams.  Luther was competitive and Dubuque was on the upswing.  Loras, Simpson and BV easily compared favorably over CMS, P-P, Whittier, and La Verne.

Rev. 3 was a bit shocked and unimpressed at the relative level of play (not as good as he remembers watching when we went Jr's. games)

What's this all mean...I dunno...but it's an easy call that the NWC is better than the IIAC which is better than the SCIAC, looking top to bottom.

[Old Dutch]

Tally up for me the conferences that Central and Buena Vista would walk through. You need 14 for a majority.

http://www.d3football.com/columns/around-the-nation/2012/ranking-the-conferences

No I don't because I said they probably can't walk through the majority, but they(central and BV) would probably win 10-12 conferences.

Not this year though, perhaps again soon, but for now you are looking through the red shades.

[Klompen]

Agreed, red are usually well justified, but this year's Central team has played very average THUS FAR.  I am counting on the Dutch seniors showing their leadership tomorrow and hopefully again next week against Coe.  The Dutch have not yet shown us their best, outside of maybe the UD game and that is hard to judge with UD being down this year from their triumphant climb of last year.  If Central goes in with the same attitude as they did against UD, I think they can win tomorrow. 

I hate to say it, but Wartburg could have more athletic ability this year, I am hoping to see the Dutch have more heart and win it for the seniors and the parents that have come to see their kids' last home game.  I'm not going to say I think we can beat Coe this year, but I would not have said that last year either.  It all comes down to how bad they want it, willingness to go all out for 60 minutes or more, if necessary, and if they can stop shooting themselves in the foot with penalties and turnovers.  Improved special teams play would help too.

[D3Dutchman]

Yeah, the teams from out west are no joke.  I often think of one that got away against PLU in Pella in the second round of the playoffs.  I would say that Lute team was on par with the upper tier teams in the IIAC that year.  I don't remember exactly how that went, but either PLU or Whitworth squeaked in the playoffs past Wartburg that year.  Certainly didn't shed a tear for the Knights at that time, but looking back that was really a travesty.  Wartburg was by far the superior team to PLU that year...who barely beat Whitworth in the first round.  If's and but's I guess...anywho, Coe is obviously paying the price for a relatively weak IIAC this year.

Yeah, that '01 PLU was a couple of notches down from the '99 Lutes and/or the more recent Linfield teams.  Just to clarify, PLU was awarded a Pool B bid in '01 and was not chosen 'over' Wartburg - you'd have to look up the last team or two that got a Pool C bid that year.  The NWC didn't have an automatic bid until '08, and Pool B teams were not allowed to earn a Pool C 'runner-up/at large' bid until very recently.  But yes, the NWC got two Pool B bids a few times.   

Fair enough...couldn't remember how that went.  That year was still under the old format with the first round bye (Central was actually the 1 seed in the west).  Wartburg handled the Dutch on a rough afternoon in Waverly that year.  The loss that they had to Cornell really hurt them.  They would have been in under the new format I believe.  Maybe a rematch in Pella would have been in order. 

Really pulling for the Dutch tomorrow....Dutch win, Kohawks and Storm lose...IIAC championship game in CR next weekend 

[Klompen]

Hey, with all this NWC talk and the mention about the "Dutch radio" article on the Central website, do you thiink we could get a repeat of the Linfield radio finish if we win tomorrow.  DUTCH WIN!  DUTCH WIN!  DUTCH WIN!

[wartknight]

Hey, with all this NWC talk and the mention about the "Dutch radio" article on the Central website, do you thiink we could get a repeat of the Linfield radio finish if we win tomorrow.  DUTCH WIN!  DUTCH WIN!  DUTCH WIN!

I remember listening to that game like it was yesterday. I actually made my wife come listen to the replay when the Dutch announcers recapped the game!! I still watch that replay once in awhile; classic! Clip not a big favorite on the NWC board.

About today's game:
Big rivalry (recent) game today!
The Knights need to rebound after last week's poor performance. I haven't stated my thoughts on the loss to Coe, but in summary I felt  once they lost the momentum in the first half with the 14 point swing following the fumble, they were somewhat flat. I attribute much of that to Coe, but it was still a 7 pt game @ the half & expected the Knights to come out strong in the 3rd. Disappointing to say the least! Hopefully they can respond today knowing conference/playoff hopes are out the door.

[desertcat1]

Hey, with all this NWC talk and the mention about the "Dutch radio" article on the Central website, do you thiink we could get a repeat of the Linfield radio finish if we win tomorrow.  DUTCH WIN!  DUTCH WIN!  DUTCH WIN!

[/b]
I remember listening to that game like it was yesterday. I actually made my wife come listen to the replay when the Dutch announcers recapped the game!! I still watch that replay once in awhile; classic! Clip not a big favorite on the NWC board.

About today's game:
Big rivalry (recent) game today!
The Knights need to rebound after last week's poor performance. I haven't stated my thoughts on the loss to Coe, but in summary I felt  once they lost the momentum in the first half with the 14 point swing following the fumble, they were somewhat flat. I attribute much of that to Coe, but it was still a 7 pt game @ the half & expected the Knights to come out strong in the 3rd. Disappointing to say the least! Hopefully they can respond today knowing conference/playoff hopes are out the door.

We want a rematch too.  no mud this time ..

[doolittledog]

UD up 7-0 over Loras in the 1st quarter.  I believe Wyatt Hanus became the career passing leader at UD on that drive. 

[D3Dutchman]

Congrats to the Dutch!  More interesting than it needed to be, but I'll take it.  Tons of young guys making contributions...the future looks bright!  Chance to go to CR and ruin a perfect season for the Kohawks. 

[doolittledog]

Yesterday at this time it was a foregone conclusion that Central would have their 1st losing season since 1960.  Nobody thought anything at all about BVU. 

Now the conference standings are...

Coe         6-0
BVU        4-2
Central    4-2
Dubuque  3-3
Simpson  3-3
Wartburg 3-3
Loras       1-5
Luther      0-6

I suppose this is where the saying "This is why we play the game" comes into play. 

[DBQ1965]

Yesterday at this time it was a foregone conclusion that Central would have their 1st losing season since 1960.  Nobody thought anything at all about BVU. 

Now the conference standings are...

Coe         6-0
BVU        4-2
Central    4-2
Dubuque  3-3
Simpson  3-3
Wartburg 3-3
Loras       1-5
Luther      0-6

I suppose this is where the saying "This is why we play the game" comes into play.

And in this week's "pick'ems" ... I had BV over Simpson!

[Klompen]

Hey, with all this NWC talk and the mention about the "Dutch radio" article on the Central website, do you thiink we could get a repeat of the Linfield radio finish if we win tomorrow.  DUTCH WIN!  DUTCH WIN!  DUTCH WIN!

[/b]
I remember listening to that game like it was yesterday. I actually made my wife come listen to the replay when the Dutch announcers recapped the game!! I still watch that replay once in awhile; classic! Clip not a big favorite on the NWC board.

About today's game:
Big rivalry (recent) game today!
The Knights need to rebound after last week's poor performance. I haven't stated my thoughts on the loss to Coe, but in summary I felt  once they lost the momentum in the first half with the 14 point swing following the fumble, they were somewhat flat. I attribute much of that to Coe, but it was still a 7 pt game @ the half & expected the Knights to come out strong in the 3rd. Disappointing to say the least! Hopefully they can respond today knowing conference/playoff hopes are out the door.

We want a rematch too.  no mud this time ..

The Dutch and the Wildcats had a virtual game last night, you creamed us.       I would not want a rematch this year. 

Way to go Dutch for securing the non-losing streak today!!!  I wasn't sure we could do it, and we almost didn't, but the streak is safe for another team to have as a monkey on their back.      I think we need to start downplaying the streak as it just adds too much pressure. 

[notlongago]

Hey, with all this NWC talk and the mention about the "Dutch radio" article on the Central website, do you thiink we could get a repeat of the Linfield radio finish if we win tomorrow.  DUTCH WIN!  DUTCH WIN!  DUTCH WIN!

[/b]
I remember listening to that game like it was yesterday. I actually made my wife come listen to the replay when the Dutch announcers recapped the game!! I still watch that replay once in awhile; classic! Clip not a big favorite on the NWC board.

About today's game:
Big rivalry (recent) game today!
The Knights need to rebound after last week's poor performance. I haven't stated my thoughts on the loss to Coe, but in summary I felt  once they lost the momentum in the first half with the 14 point swing following the fumble, they were somewhat flat. I attribute much of that to Coe, but it was still a 7 pt game @ the half & expected the Knights to come out strong in the 3rd. Disappointing to say the least! Hopefully they can respond today knowing conference/playoff hopes are out the door.

We want a rematch too.  no mud this time ..

The Dutch and the Wildcats had a virtual game last night, you creamed us.       I would not want a rematch this year. 

Way to go Dutch for securing the non-losing streak today!!!  I wasn't sure we could do it, and we almost didn't, but the streak is safe for another team to have as a monkey on their back.      I think we need to start downplaying the streak as it just adds too much pressure.

Usually we win 5 games quick enough it's not an issue ;-)