FB: American Rivers Conference

[doolittledog]

Perusing the site ahead of the playoff bracket reveal. I see the pre-postseason Top 25 posted. Central still receiving one vote.

WHAT?!?!?

Maybe that voter thinks like my wife's cousins :p

Typical conversation with my wife's cousins that live in Des Moines...
Cousins - "Central wins the conference every year, right?"
Me - "Um, no...they actually haven't won the conference since 2009."
Cousins - "That's not true"

[hazzben]

Hello Wartburg, fancy meeting you here again 

[Schipper Strong]

Perusing the site ahead of the playoff bracket reveal. I see the pre-postseason Top 25 posted. Central still receiving one vote.

WHAT?!?!?

Central finished at 8-2 and one loss was in OT and the other was to a team that made the playoffs.  Both losses coming when our QB, who was leading the league in pass efficiency, was lost to injury.  Seems to me one vote was kind of on the low side.   

Gives the 15 returning starters something to think about for next season. Central graduates 21 seniors this year and will come back loaded. Lots of young players will be in the mix for a running back spot, would love to see former Pella Christian star Vroom out there.

[hazzben]

Any Wartburg or ARC posters care to give a rundown on the Knights?

Here's my take on Bethel:

• D is really legit. Kilgore at DE is a beast, but the whole line is physical. Linebackers make a lot of plays and are athletic.
• Secondary is probably the best unit on the team. #7 SS Dawson Brown is our MVP imo. They are a really big, fast, physical unit. I think this is the best secondary we've ever had. It'll be a fun matchup against Wart's solid QB and receivers.
• OLine is physical and did very well against UST's speed up front last week. Best line we've had in several years.
• WR corp doesn't have any AA type guys, but 3-4 different weapons that can all take the top off a D and are capable of making big catches. And they have surprising length. RB Gilach is very solid. Don't know how deep we are though.
• Roste at QB has come a long ways. Gophers transfer who is a load at 6'3" 235, but also fast for his size. They can get really creative going empty since he's still a run threat, but doesn't need a lead blocker. His passing (and confidence throwing and in the offense) has improved every week. He's gonna be really good by the time it's all said and done.
• Very physical team playing with a lot of confidence. They've got an identity and play really good, complimentary football. Built to play in the cold.
• Kicking game has been inconsistent. New guy did PAT's vs. Augsburg and we might have finally turned a corner. Roste also does a quick kick on 4th down that can be effective flipping the field.
• Playing surface will be an issue. Footing was hard to come by against UST for both teams. Grounds crew has done a great job keeping it playable, but the early freeze had its effect. It'll get into the 40's for two days this week, before dropping back to the 20's for Saturday. Should be a dry game, but I think the field will be a challenge again.

I know Willis will have Wart well coached and prepared, but what else can y'all tell us?

[AndOne]

Playing surface will be an issue.
Bethel still can't afford a turf playing field?
North Central won a playoff game there in Dec 2013. The temp was minus 4. When the players returned home, it looked like they had been in a knife fight instead of a football game. The frozen dirt ridges on the field, made from frozen footprints from the game the week before, cut the skin on hands, forearms, elbows, and knees to shreds.

[DuffMan]

The frozen dirt ridges on the field, made from frozen footprints from the game the week before, cut the skin on hands, forearms, elbows, and knees to shreds.

Ouch!  That sounds awful.  Yes, Bethel is still playing on grass.  My guess is that the field will be pretty beat up.  It's been sub-freezing up here for  a solid week.  It's supposed to thaw for the next couple of days before getting cold again for the weekend.

[art76]

Looking forward to hosting the first round play-off game this Saturday. Hazzben has covered this year's BU team pretty well. What can we expect from the Knights this year?

Where's Wartknight? I haven't seen anything from him in a while.

[GoldandBlueBU]

Playing surface will be an issue.
Bethel still can't afford a turf playing field?
North Central won a playoff game there in Dec 2013. The temp was minus 4. When the players returned home, it looked like they had been in a knife fight instead of a football game. The frozen dirt ridges on the field, made from frozen footprints from the game the week before, cut the skin on hands, forearms, elbows, and knees to shreds.

I wish they'd invest in artificial turf, but I haven't heard that they've made any plans to do so. 

[DuffMan]

I wish they'd invest in artificial turf, but I haven't heard that they've made any plans to do so.

They just started allowing dancing recently, so it'll take a while for those in power to warm up to the idea of artificial turf.

[hazzben]

Playing surface will be an issue.
Bethel still can't afford a turf playing field?
North Central won a playoff game there in Dec 2013. The temp was minus 4. When the players returned home, it looked like they had been in a knife fight instead of a football game. The frozen dirt ridges on the field, made from frozen footprints from the game the week before, cut the skin on hands, forearms, elbows, and knees to shreds.

I wish they'd invest in artificial turf, but I haven't heard that they've made any plans to do so.

It's being discussed. But you should both feel free to cut a check 😉

[OzJohnnie]

Any Wartburg or ARC posters care to give a rundown on the Knights?

Here's my take on Bethel:

• D is really legit. Kilgore at DE is a beast, but the whole line is physical. Linebackers make a lot of plays and are athletic.
• Secondary is probably the best unit on the team. #7 SS Dawson Brown is our MVP imo. They are a really big, fast, physical unit. I think this is the best secondary we've ever had. It'll be a fun matchup against Wart's solid QB and receivers.
• OLine is physical and did very well against UST's speed up front last week. Best line we've had in several years.
• WR corp doesn't have any AA type guys, but 3-4 different weapons that can all take the top off a D and are capable of making big catches. And they have surprising length. RB Gilach is very solid. Don't know how deep we are though.
• Roste at QB has come a long ways. Gophers transfer who is a load at 6'3" 235, but also fast for his size. They can get really creative going empty since he's still a run threat, but doesn't need a lead blocker. His passing (and confidence throwing and in the offense) has improved every week. He's gonna be really good by the time it's all said and done.
• Very physical team playing with a lot of confidence. They've got an identity and play really good, complimentary football. Built to play in the cold.
• Kicking game has been inconsistent. New guy did PAT's vs. Augsburg and we might have finally turned a corner. Roste also does a quick kick on 4th down that can be effective flipping the field.
• Playing surface will be an issue. Footing was hard to come by against UST for both teams. Grounds crew has done a great job keeping it playable, but the early freeze had its effect. It'll get into the 40's for two days this week, before dropping back to the 20's for Saturday. Should be a dry game, but I think the field will be a challenge again.

I know Willis will have Wart well coached and prepared, but what else can y'all tell us?

I think you missed the most important part: like the alpha male in a pack of wolves they have their tails up.  BU is playing with a lot of swagger and confidence at the moment which lifts their game all around.

[AndOne]

I think most playoff caliber teams play like the alpha male, with their tails up and full of swagger and confidence most, if not all, of the time. Aside from skill itself, that, in large part, is why they are still playing. And, if a team doesn't play like that, their next game will be their last. 🤔

[Schipper Strong]

In response to Hazzben's request I can't tell you much, but since nobody else has, I will give it a weak attempt. I only saw Wartburg play against Central and to tell the truth, after our QB got hurt we had a meltdown. But here is what I remember. Sacia is a top notch QB who is hard to get to. He is well protected and can scramble.  Add to that some quality receivers with speed and you have potential for big plays. McNair, IMHO is their best player. He has a ton of speed and is able to get past the defenders to be sure open making Sacia look even better. I wasn't that impressed with their running game, but then again that may have been because their passing showed our defensive weekness. The extra point kicking seemed mediocre as I think they missed two against us. They have a solid defense, but I don't think it is any better than any other team that is still playing. The offense is their strength.

Sorry for such a generic overview but hey, I am a woman and have never played the game.  What can you expect?

[hazzben]

Thanks, much appreciated!

[Alfredeneumann]

Trend. Can't speak to the Iowa schools but Beloit is cutting staff and salaries to contend with a $12 million structural deficit. Northland in northern WI has done the same. Not enough students paying enough to cover costs.

Stat that makes it look bad for IW.
"About 69 percent of students at IW are Pell Grant eligible, a subsidy the U.S. federal government provides for students who need to pay for college. Across the country, only 30 to 35 percent of college students are Pell Grant recipients, Titus said.

"We have a lot of families in financial need. It's been very expensive for us to provide that," Titus said, explaining why as enrollment at the university increases they continue to struggle financially.

Titus said he thinks IW needs 1,000 students enrolled or more and more diverse financial profile of students for the university to remain sustainable."
source: https://www.mpnews.net/subject/news/wesleyan-looks-for-innovative-solutions-to-keep-campus-open-20181106

It's a sad deal, and a real blow to these communities when a small college shuts its doors. When Westmar started its death rattle in the mid-90's it was rough on Le Mars.

That said, sadly I think we're actually going to see a lot more of these in the years to come. The higher ed bubble pop seems to be looming IMO.

One challenge for schools that are enrollment driven is if they are religiously affiliated with a declining/aging mainline denomination. There's been a drastic downtic in membership (and more importantly attendance) in many mainline denominations. As they shrink and age, there are fewer kids going to School 'X' because it's the affiliated school for Denomination 'X'. There's a definite correlation between enrollment driven budget and membership/attendance health of affiliated denomination.

Zero data to back it up, but I wonder if 1,000 students isn't something of a line a demarcation for schools surviving long term. The bummer is those schools under 1,000 also tend to be that much more important to their respective rural communities and their economies.

IW has raised enough $ to stay open for next semester.
$500K from retired professor /alumnus and $120K from local Chamber. I wish them good look but it will be VERY INTERESTING to see what their retention rate will be next semester.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2018/11/15/iowa-wesleyan-university-remain-open-financial-crisis/2013002002/