FB: American Rivers Conference

[Schipper Strong]

Happy to see my Spartans go 3 QB's deep and get a 30 point road win.

Good outcome for UD in Storm Lake today. Thought you would take care of business.

Central played QB spin the wheel and came away with a 58 pt road win. Even the 4th string QB got a TD. 2nd string QB got 2 TDS, 3rd got 5 in one quarter tying a D3 record and breaking one of Hawkins' many records. Defense was phenomenal shutting NWU down. 644 yards offense for the Dutch and 178 for NWU. Sadly we really spread it around which is great, but Neu was leading D3 in receiving yards and he only got 2 receptions today. Lots of good young talent on this team. The freshman class is loaded.

[MediaGuy]

A couple of observations from Saturday games...

Luther/Simpson - Congrats to the Norse on getting the W, it's been a while but I hope they're on track to get the program back to being relevant.  And what happened to the Storm? They were on track to challenge for a spot in the upper tier of the league, then they fell off a cliff.

Dubuque/BVU - Nice comeback by the Spartans, it hasn't been easy for the Spartans to turn the ship around when things aren't going their way in the past.

Central/NWU - Looks like a potent offense is on the menu in Pella but it might come with a side of QB drama.  I would say more but I tried to watch the NWU livestream and it looked like they used a doorbell security camera from a building across campus to film the game.  It was almost unwatchable for the 10 minutes I tried.  NWU used to have one of the best broadcasts in the league, but not anymore, sad to see.

Wartburg/Loras - Wartburg defense continues to impress, and only gave up 3 points but it could have been closer score if not for outstanding defensive effort.  The Knights muffed 2 punt snaps to give Loras the ball inside the Wartburg 30 both times.  First one ended in a failed 4th down pass, the second ended when Loras missed a field goal but Wartburg was offside and gave the Duhawks another try, which resulted in 3 points. Loras is improved from last year and has some young talent, they'll be tough in the years to come. 

The scuttlebutt amongst the Knights fans after the game was along the lines of "Central lost to those guys?"  So I hope that doesn't breed overconfidence for the big game this week, when the Germans and the Dutch tangle, it's always a fight.

[Schipper Strong]

Yes Central lost to those guys. I thought Loras played very well against us and did a lot of things right. I also think we did a lot of things wrong. I think the players were feeling some pressure of keeping a regular season winning streak alive. I hate to lose and certainly wish it had not come to a conference competitor, but I think breaking that winning streak was the best thing for the players. It gave them a reboot and they played far better for it. I don't actually think we have QB drama. I do think we have been blessed with an abundance of talent at QB that gives us so many great options. Ketchum is a fantastic QB who can get the ball into the end zone quickly, very much like Hawkins was last year. The problem is, our TOP was so lopsided it wore out our own defense. Glover is a freshman with incredible flash in the running game. I honestly don't know what he can do with passing because the running game is so strong with him at QB, that passing is less necessary. He reads the field very well and finds holes. Maybe he should be a running back? Downs only played in one other varsity game and I thought he might have regretted transferring to Central. His first opportunity was less than stellar. But the QB Coach saw him making strides and he went from 3rd string to D3 record in the blink of an eye. Our JV has had two very lopsided games and I watched them both. Loaded is all I can say. The two freshmen QB's that played Saturday are not the only talented QB's on JV. We are going to have so many options that if one isn't working in a certain game we can confidently move to another without a drop off of talent. We are blessed! Not only at QB either.

Wartburg is focused and taking care of business. NWU wasn't the strongest competition to bounce back against, but I was impressed. Defense was absolutely amazing Saturday. I can't imagine too many teams have held NWU to 8 first downs. I give Wartburg the edge based on what they have done this year, but I have a lot more faith in the Dutch now than I did BEFORE we played Loras. I had a feeling that could be a cluster for us.

[Schipper Strong]

Doolittle you are right the video was worthless. I love what UD does they get great close-ups!

[doolittledog]

Doolittle you are right the video was worthless. I love what UD does they get great close-ups!

I liked the BVU video.  There were a few replays, and the the sound never cut out.  My one gripe with the UD broadcasts over the past few years is the sound will often cut out for a few minutes at a time. 

[doolittledog]

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

BVU @ Loras  1pm 
Wartburg @ Central  1pm 
Coe @ Luther  1pm
Simpson @ Dubuque  4pm

I'm taking Loras
Part of me says no way the Knights lose.  Part of me says no way Central loses two home games in a row.  No pick for me here.
Coe should get the win up in Decorah. 
Dubuque should get the home win over the Storm. 

I think BVU/Luther/NWU/Simpson will all have great battles against each other this year.  Possibly the most entertaining, well fought we see during the season.  They just won't have what it takes against the top teams in the conference. 

[Schipper Strong]

Doolittle you are right the video was worthless. I love what UD does they get great close-ups!

Oops, sorry MediaGuy.

[Schipper Strong]

BVU @ Loras  1pm 
Wartburg @ Central  1pm 
Coe @ Luther  1pm
Simpson @ Dubuque  4pm

Thanks Doolittle. I missed this.
I think Loras bounces back against BVU.
Coe over Luther, but hope Luther keeps improving.
Dubuque over Simpson. The Spartans are too much for the Storm.
Everything in me says this is Wartburg's year the way they have been playing. Prior to Saturday I would have said Wartburg wins. I guess I still think they should and I know they will be fired up for this one. Revenge is a powerful motivator. But I'm not convinced Coach Maiuri won't figure something out with all that talent he has to work with on offense.

[doolittledog]

If one finds themselves in Dubuque on the 10th, former Luther football player Chris Norton will be speaking at UD.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=526650532799947&id=100063650136984

[Outside the Crate]

Lots of interesting discussion about Wartburg and Central on this week's d3football.com podcast # 313.

[Schipper Strong]

Lots of interesting discussion about Wartburg and Central on this week's d3football.com podcast # 313.

Yes there was. I agree with them, it would have been more exciting if both teams were coming in undefeated.  On paper it is Wartburg's game all the way. But we all know games aren't played on paper. Will we switch starting QBs? If so does Cooper Downs jump from 3rd to 1st? Do we switch it up and try to be a running team against a league leading interception defense? If so Keegan Glover runs better than anyone. Did sitting on the bench the second half light a fire under Brady Ketchum? He is a terrific QB who has been incentivized. The only thing certain is we won't stay with something that isn't working long. Wartburg defense is going to have to plan for multiple looks from the Central offense. Defensively I want the same fire the Central D had last weekend turned up another notch. Go Dutch!

[Schipper Strong]

https://athletics.central.edu/news/2022/10/6/football-central-wartburg-in-clash-of-ranked-football-teams.aspx

It's official and not surprising that Cooper Downs will be starting Saturday. I think he is up to the challenge ahead. Not easy when Wartburg's defense is ranked nationally in everything. Central has a much younger team than the knights, so I believe they have grown more from week to week. We also played 17 freshmen last week, so you know they have been making great strides since arriving on campus this fall. Central will be playing the equivalent of a first round playoff game so the energy level will be high. Go Dutch!

[doolittledog]

Nice thing about the UD/Simpson game with a 4pm kickoff is I can sit in the parking lot tailgating and have my phone keeping up with the conference scores on d3football. 

[Outside the Crate]

It's interesting that all six of the reporters on this website picked Wartburg to win the game and a few of them think the margin will be significant (well, I guess one point is significant in this game).  I'll be there, so GO KNIGHTS!  My view is that defense, in the end, wins championships, and Wartburg's defense is quite good (understatement).

[Schipper Strong]

If one finds themselves in Dubuque on the 10th, former Luther football player Chris Norton will be speaking at UD.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=526650532799947&id=100063650136984

I was at the game when he got hurt. Terrible thing and he has such a powerful and positive outlook on life. We all need a little more, or a lot more, of his attitude in our lives.