FB: American Rivers Conference

[doolittledog]

Perhaps someone who has been following the iiac longer than I can answer this question: when was the last time there was a 5-way tie for runner up?

I can't tell you about the last time, but this year of the 5 teams that tied for 2nd place...BVU, Central, Dubuque, Simpson, Wartburg...

All 5 lost to Coe...
BVU          0-51
Central    13-34
Dubuque 38-41 2 OT
Simpson   7-47
Wartburg  7-35

Dubuque scored 28 in regulation on Coe...which is more than BVU, Central, Simpson, Wartburg combined    Advantage Dubuque

BVU        - Beat Central 30-25 and Simpson 29-27...lost to Wartburg 21-42 and Dubuque 28-34 in OT
Central   - Beat Dubuque 31-24 and Wartburg 31-28...lost to BVU 25-30 and Simpson 18-21
Dubuque - Beat Simpson 45-40 and BVU 34-28 in OT...lost to Central 24-31 and Wartburg 31-34
Simpson  - Beat Central 21-18 and Wartburg 20-19...lost to Dubuque 40-45 and BVU 27-29
Wartburg - Beat BVU 42-21 and Dubuque 34-31...lost to Simpson 19-20 and Central 28-31

Here is another look at how closely the 5 2nd place schools faired against each other...

21 - Wartburg 42-21 over BVU
7  - Central 31-24 over Dubuque
6  - Dubuque 34-28 over BVU in OT
5  - Dubuque 45-40 over Simpson
5  - BVU 30-25 over Central
3  - Wartburg 34-31 over Dubuque
3  - Central 31-28 over Wartburg
3  - Simpson 21-18 over Central
2  - BVU 29-27 over Simpson
1  - Simpson 20-19 over Wartburg

Wartburg gets the 1 double digit win with a 21 point victory over BVU.  All other games between the 5 schools decided by 1-7 points.  Wartburg also got their BVU win on the road, Simpson was the only other school with an away win with their win over Central in Pella.  Quite a bit of parity there.  Advantage Wartburg

[Klompen]

No problem, Willie might have to go hungry anyway as UD comes back and ties it 28-28, likely will go to OT.

Looks like the only crow being served is to klompen 

Afraid not, Willie, I wasn't making any claims or offering to eat crow if I was wrong.  But it sure did look like the nearly best team in the conference had their hands full with BV today.   

[Klompen]

Just to clean the air a little bit, I do give credit to UD for the improvement they have shown over the past 3 years, they are far from the team they had been and I give part of that credit to Cornell's current coach.  Starting the change is the biggest part of that battle.  Coach Z has taken that start and run with it, particularly when his son was playing, but even without MZ, it is still a far better team that it used to be.  Even more than that, I really respect DD, Willie U, DBQ1965, and others I may be neglecting that were there and supporting UD when times were not so good.  It is not an easy thing to do, and you did it very admirably.  I am glad that UD has turned things around, you guys all deserve some good times. 

Thanks to DD for getting out of bath time and doing some stats for us, the one thing clearly evident from the review of what next year's seniors have done is that it is high time for Central to win the conference again.  This was a difficult year for the Dutch players, coaches and fans, but it has prepared us well for the future in getting young players varsity experience and teaching the team how to deal with pressure and adversity.  All of that will serve well for next year. 

Good luck to Coe in the playoffs and to all of this year's senior players, thank you for another great year of IIAC football.  You will all be missed, and some of you that play for teams other than the one each of us supports, we will be very glad to be missing you.     

[Willie University]

Wow BV up on UD at UD 21-10 at end of 3rd.  Is that the same UD that is the almost best team in the conference?   Might be at least a partial serving of crow coming up.     Open wide, Willie.   

Yes, Klompen, you can have my serving of crow this evening for this post  Had BV won, they would have been in 2nd place all alone but yes, the spartans took down the same team that did in central.

Look, you all are taking what I am saying out of perspective. In my OPINION (which is what these postboards are for), the Spartans were clearly the best of the "rest". Losses are losses, I get that so no need for a book about it. Not making excuses for anything. The Spartans were the ONLY 2nd place team to A.) Almost beat Coe- rest of the conference got DOMINATED (debate that ) B.) Blew LEADS in the final minutes of play against Coe and Wartburg were how many other teams can look at their losses and were winning or tied in the final minutes of play and not coming from behind???  C.) BTW, Both games that should have been won by the Spartans IMHO, D.) The FLUKE of the tipped pass returned for a TD against central in which BTW, the Spartans were going to take a 7 point lead late in the 4th and the refs didn't want to have the Championship team brought back for homecoming hunting them down for throwing a flag on the play  ; E.) Again, most of the those games the Spartans were in control, leading in stats or scores.

So, based on that evidence, I BELIEVE IN MY OPINION, that they were the Best of the Rest. Am I happy or satisfied about that, heck no. I wish we would have beat them all and were playing in the playoffs next week but we are not, so, as much as it hurts me to do so, I will cheer for another IIAC team to represent the conference well and earn us some respect. And after that is done, It's back to the Spartans being the best and winning the IIAC next year!!! And of course Central having another mediocre season 

Peace out, I am hunting deer tomorrow, not crow!!! 

Willie U

[Willie University]

Just to clean the air a little bit, I do give credit to UD for the improvement they have shown over the past 3 years, they are far from the team they had been and I give part of that credit to Cornell's current coach.  Starting the change is the biggest part of that battle.  Coach Z has taken that start and run with it, particularly when his son was playing, but even without MZ, it is still a far better team that it used to be.  Even more than that, I really respect DD, Willie U, DBQ1965, and others I may be neglecting that were there and supporting UD when times were not so good.  It is not an easy thing to do, and you did it very admirably.  I am glad that UD has turned things around, you guys all deserve some good times. 

Thanks to DD for getting out of bath time and doing some stats for us, the one thing clearly evident from the review of what next year's seniors have done is that it is high time for Central to win the conference again.  This was a difficult year for the Dutch players, coaches and fans, but it has prepared us well for the future in getting young players varsity experience and teaching the team how to deal with pressure and adversity.  All of that will serve well for next year. 

Good luck to Coe in the playoffs and to all of this year's senior players, thank you for another great year of IIAC football.  You will all be missed, and some of you that play for teams other than the one each of us supports, we will be very glad to be missing you.   

Thanks, but other then 1 2-8 season, the Spartans have been competitive for 6 years out of 7 so the Spartans of the past are just that and I don't believe you will ever see them like that again. That was a college struggling to keep it's doors open for 2 decades. Not that Coach Z and staff don't deserve the credit where credit is due because they are excellent coaches and recruiters, but UD has much more to offer then in the "losing" decades so now that the playing field is leveled, I see competitiveness in all sports for decades to come.

Last post, 4am comes early.

Willie U

[doolittledog]

Willie just said what I was about to post.  Everyone on this board that is a fan of one of the 5 schools that finished in 2nd place can have an argument for why their team was the better of the 5.  And everyone could probably have a very good argument in their favor.  Willie was just making his argument. 

Now, all that said...Congrats to Coe, I will be rooting for you to make a deep run in the playoffs.  Good luck!!!  Until next season

[putmeincoach]

Wow BV up on UD at UD 21-10 at end of 3rd.  Is that the same UD that is the almost best team in the conference?   Might be at least a partial serving of crow coming up.     Open wide, Willie.   

Yes, Klompen, you can have my serving of crow this evening for this post  Had BV won, they would have been in 2nd place all alone but yes, the spartans took down the same team that did in central.

Look, you all are taking what I am saying out of perspective. In my OPINION (which is what these postboards are for), the Spartans were clearly the best of the "rest". Losses are losses, I get that so no need for a book about it. Not making excuses for anything. The Spartans were the ONLY 2nd place team to A.) Almost beat Coe- rest of the conference got DOMINATED (debate that ) B.) Blew LEADS in the final minutes of play against Coe and Wartburg were how many other teams can look at their losses and were winning or tied in the final minutes of play and not coming from behind???  C.) BTW, Both games that should have been won by the Spartans IMHO, D.) The FLUKE of the tipped pass returned for a TD against central in which BTW, the Spartans were going to take a 7 point lead late in the 4th and the refs didn't want to have the Championship team brought back for homecoming hunting them down for throwing a flag on the play  ; E.) Again, most of the those games the Spartans were in control, leading in stats or scores.

So, based on that evidence, I BELIEVE IN MY OPINION, that they were the Best of the Rest. Am I happy or satisfied about that, heck no. I wish we would have beat them all and were playing in the playoffs next week but we are not, so, as much as it hurts me to do so, I will cheer for another IIAC team to represent the conference well and earn us some respect. And after that is done, It's back to the Spartans being the best and winning the IIAC next year!!! And of course Central having another mediocre season 

Peace out, I am hunting deer tomorrow, not crow!!! 

Willie U

how can you argue with that?  Dubuque is by far the best of the five 4 - 3 teams that tied for second in the conference

[warthog]

One sobering note is that Cornell played the Kohawks tougher than any IIAC team played them.  It is time to break up the Rams, they're getting too good.

[warthog]

It would be nice if the Knights had displayed some of the enthusiasm they showed today at a couple of other games.  They were apparently upset about the Central loss and really took it out on Loras early and often.  It was a beautiful day to sit outside in short sleeves and watch an old fashioned taken 'em to the woodshed butt kicking.

[warthog]

The Knight's 6-4 record goes down as the worst record since they were 5-5 in 1992.  The good news is, two decades of winning records isn't bad.

I am pleased that this improbable 5 way tie for second place in the IIAC keeps Wartburg's streak of finishing in the top three of the conference standings intact during the D3football.com era (1999-2012).

As the game wore on today in Waverly, Little Warthog and I tried to amuse ourselves by trying to calculate if a 5 way for second would be mathematically possible in a nine team league.

[Charlie Kohawk]

One sobering note is that Cornell played the Kohawks tougher than any IIAC team played them.  It is time to break up the Rams, they're getting too good.

Dubuque might take issue with that.

[D3Dutchman]

Really hoping Coe can make a run this year in the playoffs.  Might help future IIAC undefeated champs project better than a 4 seed. 

[notlongago]

Wow BV up on UD at UD 21-10 at end of 3rd.  Is that the same UD that is the almost best team in the conference?   Might be at least a partial serving of crow coming up.     Open wide, Willie.   

Yes, Klompen, you can have my serving of crow this evening for this post  Had BV won, they would have been in 2nd place all alone but yes, the spartans took down the same team that did in central.

Look, you all are taking what I am saying out of perspective. In my OPINION (which is what these postboards are for), the Spartans were clearly the best of the "rest". Losses are losses, I get that so no need for a book about it. Not making excuses for anything. The Spartans were the ONLY 2nd place team to A.) Almost beat Coe- rest of the conference got DOMINATED (debate that ) B.) Blew LEADS in the final minutes of play against Coe and Wartburg were how many other teams can look at their losses and were winning or tied in the final minutes of play and not coming from behind???  C.) BTW, Both games that should have been won by the Spartans IMHO, D.) The FLUKE of the tipped pass returned for a TD against central in which BTW, the Spartans were going to take a 7 point lead late in the 4th and the refs didn't want to have the Championship team brought back for homecoming hunting them down for throwing a flag on the play  ; E.) Again, most of the those games the Spartans were in control, leading in stats or scores.

So, based on that evidence, I BELIEVE IN MY OPINION, that they were the Best of the Rest. Am I happy or satisfied about that, heck no. I wish we would have beat them all and were playing in the playoffs next week but we are not, so, as much as it hurts me to do so, I will cheer for another IIAC team to represent the conference well and earn us some respect. And after that is done, It's back to the Spartans being the best and winning the IIAC next year!!! And of course Central having another mediocre season 

Peace out, I am hunting deer tomorrow, not crow!!! 

Willie U

how can you argue with that?  Dubuque is by far the best of the five 4 - 3 teams that tied for second in the conference

I agree, in fact I think we should all pitch in some money to make Dubuque a "the best of five teams that finished with an identical conference record" trophy to commemorate their domination over the "rest" of the conference.
I'm in for $10

[doolittledog]

I agree, in fact I think we should all pitch in some money to make Dubuque a "the best of five teams that finished with an identical conference record" trophy to commemorate their domination over the "rest" of the conference.
I'm in for $10

Um, I'll take care of getting the trophy.  I'm in my office most of the rest of the day.  Feel free to drop it off here in Reinbeck and I'll make sure your 10 bucks goes towards buying me beer...I mean, buying a trophy

[notlongago]

Wow BV up on UD at UD 21-10 at end of 3rd.  Is that the same UD that is the almost best team in the conference?   Might be at least a partial serving of crow coming up.     Open wide, Willie.   

Yes, Klompen, you can have my serving of crow this evening for this post  Had BV won, they would have been in 2nd place all alone but yes, the spartans took down the same team that did in central.

Look, you all are taking what I am saying out of perspective. In my OPINION (which is what these postboards are for), the Spartans were clearly the best of the "rest". Losses are losses, I get that so no need for a book about it. Not making excuses for anything. The Spartans were the ONLY 2nd place team to A.) Almost beat Coe- rest of the conference got DOMINATED (debate that ) B.) Blew LEADS in the final minutes of play against Coe and Wartburg were how many other teams can look at their losses and were winning or tied in the final minutes of play and not coming from behind???  C.) BTW, Both games that should have been won by the Spartans IMHO, D.) The FLUKE of the tipped pass returned for a TD against central in which BTW, the Spartans were going to take a 7 point lead late in the 4th and the refs didn't want to have the Championship team brought back for homecoming hunting them down for throwing a flag on the play  ; E.) Again, most of the those games the Spartans were in control, leading in stats or scores.

So, based on that evidence, I BELIEVE IN MY OPINION, that they were the Best of the Rest. Am I happy or satisfied about that, heck no. I wish we would have beat them all and were playing in the playoffs next week but we are not, so, as much as it hurts me to do so, I will cheer for another IIAC team to represent the conference well and earn us some respect. And after that is done, It's back to the Spartans being the best and winning the IIAC next year!!! And of course Central having another mediocre season 

Peace out, I am hunting deer tomorrow, not crow!!! 

Willie U

Wading through all the asinine comments in this post, I saw one in particular I was hoping you could elaborate on. How is central housing a pick a fluke? Central led the conference in picks by 4 (20 vs coes 16)and led in pick return yardage by an average of nearly 14 yards Per return(22.9 vs. 9.3)...how can being the best at something constitute being a fluke when it is common practice?