FB: American Rivers Conference

[the_mayne_event]

As for the Coe Cornell thing - Yes, Coe's offense is still struggling.  They have yet to find a coheasive offensive line, which comes with time, but they have good players there, and also have good players in the skill positions.  They have struggled the first couple games, but that was to be expected for them loosing so much from last year.  
Two parts of their game that isn't struggling - Defense and Special Teams.  Kicking and punt/kick returing is up from a year ago.  Defense is too fast to be caught against a wing-t offense.  
I'm sure we will talk more about this when the game comes closer, and when that times comes, I'm sure the offense will have some wind in their sails.
It doesn't matter if Luther is more one dimensional this year, that one dimension is pretty good.

[doolittledog]

Is there something wrong with me if after reading all this I am now hungry???

I'm off to BK to order anything other than cereal!!!

[DutchHawk]

Wow we got us a fight going on:) Its like Im back in middle school again...hahaha jk guys, dont rip on me for that one!

On to football, granted, Central is no where near where they need to be, which isnt necessarily a bad thing...3-0 is 3-0. Missing the best player in the conference and still winning is good enough for me as of right now. Although we better step it up this weekend at Loras. That and Id rather win 10 ugly games than lose 10 pretty games, but hey, if stats is where you like to compare teams, be my guest. Wartburg looks tough, I think we will have a better idea on burg n Central after this weekend, so Ill chill till then. Anyway I forget my train of thought:)

Heys - Sherden is three fold better than anyone on Cornell so I dont see why your bashing on him, hes having an MVP like start to the season, even when you know hes going to get the ball he can gain yards. If you look at my pick em I predicted that he would even against Centrals D, he probably will against Wartburg as well. Either way Im not bowing down to Cornell so I dont know what that was all about. Ill guess well just have to wait n see. If I can guarantee you one thing its that Central over looks no one and all they are worried about is Loras at the moment.

[digger]

purpleheys  are you kidin about loras whinnin all day  or did you watch a different game than me....  cornell,s  o line was holdind on (almost ) every play  I was there to................

[Walston Hoover]

Everyone's just fired up about it being Wartburg/Luther week.
For the rest of the week for me...the gloves are off.
Wartburg has something to prove from the last time they visited Decorah and gave the ball away something like 5 times.
For all of you that want to say there is parity in the league-Right now I'm starting to believe that there is 1, maybe 2 teams that are head and shoulders above everyone else this year.
Luther will come out with something to prove Saturday-Prove that they are the most overrated team in the league year in and year out.
That was fun-All the other posters got me excited.
I wish I could be up there for the game, but Winona is playing their closest game to me this year in Fayettenam so I'll be supporting the bro instead.
Wartburg 30+ to 7 for Luther. Sherden gets free for a LONG (60+) run and has 120 yards on 34 carries.

[digger]

heys  i think cornell is probably a better team than anyone (other than their own fans ) knows  but for you to say that they were better than loras is crazy  loras looked terible in the first half  much better in the second  i think loras over looked the rams  because they were not as good last year  as for the loras  defense my son is a two year starter and i know for a fact that they changed alot of what they normally do to change it up and make cornell try to beat them by throwing the longer ball

[dbljay21]

Everyone's just fired up about it being Wartburg/Luther week.
For the rest of the week for me...the gloves are off.
Wartburg has something to prove from the last time they visited Decorah and gave the ball away something like 5 times.
For all of you that want to say there is parity in the league-Right now I'm starting to believe that there is 1, maybe 2 teams that are head and shoulders above everyone else this year.
Luther will come out with something to prove Saturday-Prove that they are the most overrated team in the league year in and year out.
That was fun-All the other posters got me excited.
I wish I could be up there for the game, but Winona is playing their closest game to me this year in Fayettenam so I'll be supporting the bro instead.
Wartburg 30+ to 7 for Luther. Sherden gets free for a LONG (60+) run and has 120 yards on 34 carries.

I don't think many people had the Norse rated very high in the conference this year, Walston.  Everyone seems to be talking about Central, Wartburg and Dubuque being the top 3 teams and a lot of people have Coe ahead of the Norse...so I don't think you can call the Norse over-rated...at least not yet.  Lets just see how this week and the rest of the season plays out before we throw that label around.

And we don't really need to even ask who you think 1 of the 2 teams that are "head and shoulders" above everyone else in the conference...

[dbljay21]

doolittle,
How did the party go this weekend?

[doolittledog]

doolittle,
How did the party go this weekend?

Pretty good.  I was chasing kids or getting chased by kids most of the time.  I have no idea how the brauts turned out.  My wife's chili was great.  She says the pretzel dip recipe she got from here is going in her recipe book.  I...I mean my son now has a lot of tractors, race cars and army men to play with.  The party was pretty evenly split between Hawkeye and Clone fans.  Not how I wanted the game to turn out but it was exciting and better than 23-3. 

Thanks for all the recipes we got from here.  Much appreciated. 

Now for next week our daughters start dance class so while my wife is with them I am thinking of stealing my dad and uncle and taking them and my son up to Decorah for the rivalry game, and then making it back home in time to see Iowa take on Wisconsin.  Either that or just sit in front of the tv all day while also keeping an ear to the computer for the Dubuque/Simpson webcast. 

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Lets see UNI over ISU, ISU over Iowa = UNI "mythical state champions" in football!

RE: Cornell Kicking Luther ars in the future?  Not gonna happen.  The Norse have a quality offense, the right side o f their O-line is excellent.  .  Connell had a huge game congrats to him, good decisions, ran well, threw well, don' t know about MVP year, but he's carrying the Dutch O right now.  Also HUGE game for Huisman, not only great catch in the end zone, but downed two punts at the 1.  It'll be  a great year in the IIAC.

Go Dutch

The punt team for the Dutch was excellent on Saturday!  The punt return team for Luther was not.  The Norse now have lost two fumbles on punt return and could have lost two more against Central.

I love statistics as much as anyone, but Central just finds ways to beat people in different ways each week.  Luther had their moments in the game, but I never really felt like the Norse had them on the ropes even when they were winning. 

As far as statistics go, turnovers forced is a great category.  Central has now forced 13 on the season.

I agree about the OL as they have looked pretty good for much of the season (St. Olaf and Central).  RG Stavast has always been good and Allan is having a great senior year so far at RT.  Sherden makes any OL look better, but Lower and Lamos have been consistently effective as well when they touch the ball.

Sherden did a ton again on Saturday, but he did not carry the ball 40 times like the stats say (more like around 34 to 36).  Lamos had a few of those carries on one drive, and I think Lower and Bass maybe were shortchanged a few as well.  Both teams could have used the FB a little more at times.

[dbljay21]

As far as statistics go, turnovers forced is a great category.  Central has now forced 13 on the season.

That is a stat that tells you a lot about a defense...and it tells me the Dutch get to the football and strip it from runners, or catch it when its in the air.  13 in 3 games=4.33 turnovers per game=3 victories for the Dutch    Good defenses take it away from their opponents.  Good offenses take those turnovers and turn them into points.  And Central scores 35.5 points per game   

And they have good special teams, too...sounds to me like Central is the team to beat this year.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

MNBeev...

I hear you, but you lack 1st hand experience on watching the game the Rams played today. 

Loras supposedly was credentialed having beaten St. Thomas and taking the Peacocks to the mat.

The Rams didn't protect the ball and didn't capitalize and That, however, is why the Rams are 0-1.  They will kick the (expletive deleted) out of Luther in two weeks.  I think Cornell beats Simpson.  Your Beavers are at risk as are the Kohawks.  Your BVD will be a challlenge.  I think the Kohawks are overrated.

My opinion.

And with all due respect, you are entitled to yours...

2006 - Luther 37, Cornell 6
2005 - Luther 29, Cornell 23
2004 - Luther 52, Cornell 13 (Sherden played RB in this one)
2003 - Luther 35, Cornell 14

The Norse have proven last year and this year so far that close losses have no more significance to the program other than the fact that they are losses.  However, one thing the program has been pretty good at over the last five years is playing competitive and interesting games most of the time (whether they were winning a majority of them from 2002-2005 or losing them 2006 and so far this year).

Cornell beat Northwestern Bible College (UMAC school) and some other school by one point.  Congrats to that as those are wins, but I am not sure how one then assumes that the Rams "will kick the (expletive deleted) out of" out of Luther or any other Iowa Conference school.  I did not attend the Loras-Cornell game (I was in lovely Pella), but I also did not attend the 38-11 Upper Iowa win over Loras.  I thought the St. Thomas win by the Duhawks was pretty solid, but St. Thomas just fell to 0-3 after losing to Gustavus Adolphus (lower division MIAC school).

This is Wartburg week!  I know all of the stats and recent history for why Luther gets crap from the Knights and Dutch (and Beavers actually as well), but the Rams now as well?  Wait your turn as the guys that survive the Wartburg game will be down in Mount Vernon soon enough.

[DutchFan2004]

Floyd,

Glad you made the trip.  The Norse are much better this year IMHO than last with the running game.  They can control the ball and Sherden was a horse.  (all the running backs did well for Luther)  I think that they will give the Knights all they want and maybe even score a victory.  I am struggling who to choose on the pickem board right now.  Your D line was huge and in the backfield a lot on saturday.  Good Luck to the Norse the rest of the season.  If they get to winning watch out cause they may get to rolling then.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Everyone's just fired up about it being Wartburg/Luther week.
For the rest of the week for me...the gloves are off.
Wartburg has something to prove from the last time they visited Decorah and gave the ball away something like 5 times.
For all of you that want to say there is parity in the league-Right now I'm starting to believe that there is 1, maybe 2 teams that are head and shoulders above everyone else this year.
Luther will come out with something to prove Saturday-Prove that they are the most overrated team in the league year in and year out.
That was fun-All the other posters got me excited.
I wish I could be up there for the game, but Winona is playing their closest game to me this year in Fayettenam so I'll be supporting the bro instead.
Wartburg 30+ to 7 for Luther. Sherden gets free for a LONG (60+) run and has 120 yards on 34 carries.

I mostly agree that the parity is mostly about who is going to finish between 4th and 9th (perhaps 3rd as well).  There is more stability in the MIAC right now between who is in the 1st division and who is in the 2nd division.  In the Iowa Conference you can go from 5-3 over a few years to 1-7 pretty quick (see Luther).  Other than two years from the Dutch (2003 and 2004) and one season from Coe (2003), the top three teams in the Iowa Conference have mostly been very stable in recent years.

Luther was way overrated according to preseason Iowa Conference coaches polls in 2006 and slightly overrated in 2005.  I think you are digging hard for something on this one Walston, but maybe some people in Waverly have extra sensitive ears as it pertains to Luther.  I know the opposite is true in Decorah about the Knights.  There was almost no mention of Luther in the first couple of weeks until after the Central game, but that game surprised many because the Dutch don't get into shootouts too often.

Besides the four Norse turnovers last week and the poor version of a high school punt return unit, the Knights also have a huge advantage on defense.  The Knights are allowing only 3.5 ppg on defense while the Norse are giving away 35 ppg.

Forget about who has blah blah blah for weapons on offense or how many stud OL guys or suspect QBs each school has, one team plays great defense every week and one team since 2006 plays only enough defense to only stay in games.

[DutchFan2004]

As for the suspect comment the afore mentioned turnover margin is now + 9  13 forced and 4 lost.  So to have an average of +3 in the turnovers a game average is pretty good.  Yards don't mean a thing if you don't put points behind it.  


The other thing with Schuring not playing all the time the production of the offensive side of the ball has been about the same yardage wise.  I think this is a sign of a good productive team.  The Dutch O has taken what the other D has given them.  The opposing D's have wanted to stop the running game by put 8-9 guys in the box.  So what did the Dutch do they threw the ball.  After they burned Hope and Hope backed off some what they ran the ball in the late third and fourth quarter.  Luther stopped the run but they didn't stop the pass.  Career highs for the QB in TD's and yards.  The Dutch as have said before just find a way to win.  Two punt returns for TD's 2 pick 6, and a fumble returned for 6.  The D and return teams have put 5 scores on the board and only 3 games.  1.67 per game.  9 points a game from the d and special teams I think anyone would love.