FB: American Rivers Conference

[DrDutch]

Able to see the 1st half of the Central/UD game and 4 turnovers in one half is a sure way to lose a football game and give credit to UD for capitalizing. Finish strong Dutch and run the table Spartans!

[doolittledog]

Final scores...

Dubuque 35-17 over Central
Coe 37-34 over Wartburg
NWU 27-24 over Luther
BVU 34-24 over Loras

[Phred]

Tuned into Luther a little.  They look like Cornell when Rams went 0-22.
Can,t change to Dubuque colors and expect to play like UD.  Takes more of something.

[Klompen]

Congratulations to Dubuque on having the better team and playing the better game today. 

I was expecting a high scoring event with whoever had the ball last winning.  But the UD defense was able to take away Sam Markham after some exceptional early catches and the Central offense looked to be playing with a greased pigskin as they could not hold onto the ball most of the day.  When they could make a nice move down the field they shot themselves in the foot with untimely penalties at critical junctures.  The defense had some of the same problems, but I have to give credit to the Dutch defense. I expected the number one passing team in DIII to pick apart the defense to a much greater degree than they did.  Given the number of turnovers, I would have expected a far more lopsided game, even taking into account that UD showed class in just downing the ball in the last minute to end Central's misery.  UD made some of those turnovers by stripping the ball with very aggressive tackling.  Over all, on the day I expected the offense to shine for both teams, it was the defensive efforts from both teams that really showed up.  This is a game Central will wish they could replay. 

The bright spot for Central's offense was that we did find a very capable running back with the top two out with injuries.  Nathan Fitzgerald, our 4th strong RB, had a lot of truly outstanding runs racking up 217 yards rushing and another 21 on a punt return.  The road doesn't get easier with Coe next week and Wartburg the week after that.  That said, I still think Central has the ability to run the table through the rest of the season if they can take care of the football.  I also think that Dubuque may well stumble before the season is over as not every team is going to give up six turnovers like we did.

So put this loss behind you and move on to Coe with the knowledge that you can fix the things that went wrong today.  As always, go Dutch!

[5 Words or Less]

Tuned into Luther a little.  They look like Cornell when Rams went 0-22.
Can,t change to Dubuque colors and expect to play like UD.  Takes more of something.

Nattering nabob of negativism

[Fannosaurus Rex]

Sure sign of the apocalypse.  Central Dutch half time show is sponsored by a brewery.

I was in town for homecoming and picked up two six packs of Peace Tree Brewing's product and patronized the Royal Amsterdam all in appreciation for their sponsorship of Central sports broadcasts.

I don't know what to say about the football game except that, a couple of times I was amazed at how wide open UD receivers were, and then a couple of other times, at how well covered they were and then came down with the ball anyway.  It wasn't the result I wanted, but it never was dull.

[warthog]

Sure sign of the apocalypse.  Central Dutch half time show is sponsored by a brewery.

I was in town for homecoming and picked up two six packs of Peace Tree Brewing's product and patronized the Royal Amsterdam all in appreciation for their sponsorship of Central sports broadcasts.

I don't know what to say about the football game except that, a couple of times I was amazed at how wide open UD receivers were, and then a couple of other times, at how well covered they were and then came down with the ball anyway.  It wasn't the result I wanted, but it never was dull.

This doesn't bode well for my beloved Knights.  From my perspective, the Knights would have a hard time covering the apple pie at a family picnic

[Old Dutch]

Had to go full streaming audio from my iPad as I was on the road yesterday.  Not sure that was safe with the frustrating # of gifts lobbed at DBQ during this one.  If you saw a guy on I-90 in a Jeep banging his head on the steering wheel now you know why.

We knew either team had to play real well to win this one and it is true DBQ played well.  Holding the Dutch to 15 of 35 passing was a big key.  But 6 turnovers, all in Spartan territory; 81 yards in penalties, many at critical times;  not stopping Dubuque on 4th downs, I think two touchdowns were on 4th down plays!  Bottom line Dutch need serious medical attention for all the gunshot wounds to their feet!

Fortunately we did find a running game and I think the defense played very well.  They had to be gassed and still held the Spartans to 1 TD in the 2nd half.  Now they have to have a short memory and attack Coe with confidence.  Congrats to Dubuque on the win, well played. It could well be one of those seasons where we have co-Champs.  Its going to be fun!  Go Dutch!

[doolittledog]

I was able to see bits and pieces of the UD/Central game in between checking off items on the honey-do list yesterday. 

Central has a strong running attack.  I think the Dutch passing game was grounded yesterday due to a strong Spartan secondary.  I think against other conference schools, Central will be able to display a nice diversified attack on offense that will prove successful.

It looks to my untrained eye that the Central D goes all in for stopping the run, figuring your typical D3 offense can't throw the ball all day long, so when they go up against a team with a strong aerial attack they give up some yards.  Dubuque had NO success on the ground, but were able to move effectively through the air yesterday.

Everybody has 5-6 games left to prove themselves.  I'm nervously awaiting each Saturday.  It's still anyone's title to win.  But I like what I've seen so far from my Spartans...on both sides of the ball. 

[coocooforcoekohawk]

CooCoo for Coe and staying tough, Kohawks!

Way to stick it to the Burger Burglars!

Gonna be tough to beat Central next weekend.

Even tougher the next week in Dubuque.

Nice win, but the next two weekends make or break the season.

GOOD LUCK!

[coocooforcoekohawk]

I could listen to Eric Oliver all weekend long. He kills it doing color commentary for the Kohawks!

[doolittledog]

This week in the polls...

AFCA coaches poll
18 - Dubuque
RV - Coe (29)
RV - Central (40)


D3fooball.com poll
23 - Dubuque
RV - Coe (39)
RV - Central (40)


Hansen Ratings
21 - Coe
22 - Dubuque
30 - Wartburg
34 - Central
88 - Simpson
110-BVU
123-Luther
126-Loras
135-NWU

[Phred]

looks like the Coe - Central is the game of the week.  Coe looks like a winner.  Have to pick soon.

Nice talking to y'all.

[Klompen]

Central actually has been favoring the pass compared to the run this year.  UD just did a good job of covering the receivers and shutting down Markham after some early catches.  Last Saturday's success running came from putting in a 4th string RB who was able to successfully run at will it seemed.  Problem is the aforementioned foot wounds the Dutch kept incurring with penalties and turnovers at the most inopportune times. 

I think the Dutch will bounce back against Coe this weekend.  If we were ready to fold when the chips are down, we would have lost by more last Saturday.  It is easy to overlook things that went well in a loss, but Central's defense did a great job given that they were out on the field much more than the offense and that the offense put them in some crappy positions with the turnovers.  We found a great running back, we had more offensive yardage than the team with the number one passing offense in DIII.  We had more first downs.  UD created some of those turnovers, I don't want to take anything away from them.  Take care of the ball Saturday and cut down on penalties and the Dutch win on Saturday.  I'm a believer.

[doolittledog]

In case you want to watch the UD coaches show recapping the Central game and previewing the NWU game, here you go...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZZbPaaKSEE&feature=youtu.be