FB: American Rivers Conference

[Wartburg Fan]

 not sure if Wartburg dominated Luther. couldn't get any positive yard on first downs seem like it was always 2nd and long or 3th and long. Dutchfan 2004 you were right about Luther front line they were in Yordi's face must of the day. Wartburg's defence gets the game ball. I wasn't there but listen to it on the internet and The D came up with a couple of big turn over. The biggest one was and Int on the 1 yard line when Luther was moving the ball. Dutchfan2004 you were right about the front line of Luther they were in Yordi's face alot and made him get rid of the ball.  Still a great victory for the Knights.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

4th & 6 @ luther 25, WB doesn't convert.  FG attempt there?

WB's QB is cramping up which is affecting his play/throws..

Also, the luther fake punt attempt may have not been a designed play according to the broadcast, although if it wasn't that was an awful snap if it was directly to the up back

Luther driving, to WB 35, 4:00 left 3rd qtr

It was a very poor snap.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Congrats to Wartburg for playing great defense almost all day.  They were in position to make plays and they showed good athleticism and toughness.  They also made less unforced mistakes than the Norse.  Those two things will combine to win lots of games.

Yordi took some hits, but did the job for the Knights.  He protected the ball, found the TE on some good plays (other than the huge drop, good game by the TE), and made the easy throws when Luther gave him some openings.  Teams won't be able to gang up on the Knight run game as much this year.

I am a Van Rees fan.  He didn't have a big day at all (both defenses played well today), but he usually is my type of solid runner when I see him.

Wartburg (as Central did last week) punted very well today and the Luther punt return team is still the worst in Division III.

Neither team could run the ball at all.  That is the first time that a team has shut down Sherden as a runner (60 yards on 24 carries).  Tyler did not play bad as much as the Knights just shut it down.  Ditto for Luther on Suckow and the Knight running game.  Sherden went for 200 on Wartburg in 2005 before getting hurt the next week against Coe.

Good games in a Norse uniform by LB Rost, DL Webb, RB Lamos, RB Lower, and a bunch of guys up front for the Norse Defense.

Neither team sniffed the end zone until Luther accidentally snapped a long snap to a blocker on a punt attempt in the 2nd quarter.  That gave the Knights a huge break.

Luther also had two screw-ups on punt return that they did on their own and threw a pick into the end zone when the QB and WR were on the wrong page.  Oh, they also gave the Knights a first down by roughing the Knight punter.

Wartburg's TE dropped a long potential TD pass.  He was WIDE OPEN.

Central vs. Wartburg is going to be a good game IMO.  I think most of you know that as well.  In the meantime the Knights should have a chance at Dubuque next week.  That defense should play well against the Spartan spread offense.

[Purple Heys]

Interesting scores this week.

Central's struggles continue...Cornell would love to have their "problem" with winning conference games ugly.

Either Loras is not as bad as thought or Central is not quite as good as they should be.  Looks like just enough Connell and just enough defense is their formula until Schuring heals...if he heals.  Have a hard time figuring how it is that Central had this much difficulty with Loras' defense...

Still, its hard to pick Central beating Wartburg at this point in time...

Coe beating BV.  No real surprise at the outcome or the score based on both teams' performance to date.

Wartburg beating Luther.  Not a totally dominant Kanigit win, but the game wasn't ever really in doubt either, according one observer I talked to.  Luther's D-line gave fits, but Wartburg's defense prevented Luther from getting anything going.

DBQ over Simpson...Spartans kick it into another gear for 28-0 second half.  I would take a hard look at that first half to see if Simpson exposed something...DBQ's relatively soft non-conference schedule may have lulled them into a bit of complacency...Then again maybe Doolittle's Mow The Lawn Mojo was the difference maker.  Will make note to hide his yard care equipment when they play the Rams.

[Buckwheat]

Congrats to Wartburg for playing great defense almost all day.  They were in position to make plays and they showed good athleticism and toughness.  They also made less unforced mistakes than the Norse.  Those two things will combine to win lots of games.

Yordi took some hits, but did the job for the Knights.  He protected the ball, found the TE on some good plays (other than the huge drop, good game by the TE), and made the easy throws when Luther gave him some openings.  Teams won't be able to gang up on the Knight run game as much this year.

I am a Van Rees fan.  He didn't have a big day at all (both defenses played well today), but he usually is my type of solid runner when I see him.

Wartburg (as Central did last week) punted very well today and the Luther punt return team is still the worst in Division III.

Neither team could run the ball at all.  That is the first time that a team has shut down Sherden as a runner (60 yards on 24 carries).  Tyler did not play bad as much as the Knights just shut it down.  Ditto for Luther on Suckow and the Knight running game.  Sherden went for 200 on Wartburg in 2005 before getting hurt the next week against Coe.

Good games in a Norse uniform by LB Rost, DL Webb, RB Lamos, RB Lower, and a bunch of guys up front for the Norse Defense.

Neither team sniffed the end zone until Luther accidentally snapped a long snap to a blocker on a punt attempt in the 2nd quarter.  That gave the Knights a huge break.

Luther also had two screw-ups on punt return that they did on their own and threw a pick into the end zone when the QB and WR were on the wrong page.  Oh, they also gave the Knights a first down by roughing the Knight punter.

Wartburg's TE dropped a long potential TD pass.  He was WIDE OPEN.

Central vs. Wartburg is going to be a good game IMO.  I think most of you know that as well.  In the meantime the Knights should have a chance at Dubuque next week.  That defense should play well against the Spartan spread offense.


Floyd In Iowa City - you saw the same game I saw.  I thought Luther dominated Wartburg in the first quarter.  Did Wartburg even have positive yardage in the first quarter?  The Luther botched punt in the second quarter seemed to start the "feeding frenzy" for Wartburg.  There were several outstanding players for both teams.  I was really impressed with Wartburg's Lauterbach - how many big plays did he have?  Playing in front of 6,600 people really gave this game a true college atomosphere.  Heard this from one of the Knights after the game : "we've only allowed 15 points this year - and those points were scored on our 2nd unit".   

[DutchHawk]

I listened to part of the Central game, just doesnt sound great at this point although the Dutch had a similar slow start to the season in 05 and that turned out well...I can only hope.
It sounds like the Dutch got a little conservative on the play calling, also looks like Tim was hurried a lot...what did you think DF04?
It will be helpful to get Baethke and Schuring back here hopefully soon! Big homecoming game next week.

I like what I heard one of our announcers on 92.1 say....there is no associative property in football.

Sounds like Luther gave a way a couple chances at points, although Wartburg is playing tough right now...hopefully they cool down a bit before Nov. 10...gotta get there first!!

Congrats to the winners this weekend!

[DutchFan2004]

Well I thought that Loras's defensive plan was pretty good.  I didn't think that the pressure was as intense as Luther's was.  We gave up one sack and IMO it was a coverage sack.  I am no offensive expert but that is what it appeared as.  Loras played two deep much of the time and didn't let our guys get behind them a lot.  We dropped a sure TD pass at the 5 as the TE got loose behind a backer.  There were a few other dropped balls (tuff catches but in the hands) but that is part of the game.  I think with all the troubles the Dutch have with missing players it limits what they have been able to do or have wanted to do.  I think that is a sign of a good team when you win no matter how or how ugly it is.  1 or 100 points a W is a W.  If the Dutch have played so poorly the first two games as others have stated they should be 2-2 or worse.  They have been out gained but yet win.  IMO that is a sign of a good team. All yards gained are not important yards.  Points is what win games so I will take points over yards any day.  21-0 in regular season.  Not many teams are better than that.  Hope that answers some of the questions you had Dutchhawk. 

[Purple Heys]

Good teams win when they are not at their best.  Central certainly is a good team by that measure.

They've made their own luck and taken advantaqe of a schedule that isn't as tough as it looked before the season.  St. Thomas (0-3) has been revealed to be a weaker team than thought and Hope (0-3) just got blasted 42-7 by Wheaton.  Luther is 0-3, regardless of who they played.  Loras is considered mid-level IIAC at best.  Now Central gets BV...Good D, Offense MIA in IIAC play

Loras does not have the most fearsome defense in the IIAC, and is less so when Hall is out.  The yards Cornell racked up against the Duhawks weren't junk yards in garbage time against the 2nd team.  So how does this same defense shut down a team like Central?  Interesting that Luther's defense, considered better than Loras, had more trouble with Central.

Maybe the Dutch have that knack to play to the level of their competition.  Must be giving their coaches gray hair though.

[DutchHawk]

Loras does not have the most fearsome defense in the IIAC, and is less so when Hall is out.  The yards Cornell racked up against the Duhawks weren't junk yards in garbage time against the 2nd team.  So how does this same defense shut down a team like Central?  Interesting that Luther's defense, considered better than Loras, had more trouble with Central.

Like I said earlier...no associative property in football, you cant compare Cornell and Central based on a common opponent. (Ill cite that to the 92.1 crew saturday!) Every Saturday is different. Also Central doesnt have a bye this week.

Thanks for the info DF04...How was the oline play? Id like to be winning prettier but Ill take it for now. Big game this saturday...Id like to see shut out.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Interesting that Luther's defense, considered better than Loras, had more trouble with Central.

Not sure who has been talking the Norse Defense up higher than the Duhawks (Walston? ).   Not only was Loras picked higher than the Norse in the preseason poll, but they have a stud defender in Hall.  The last time the Norse had a defense among the IIAC elite was 2004 (perhaps 2005).  The Norse played well yesterday and I like a safety and a couple of guys in the trenches, but a defense is judged on the season and not a game.

There are five schools who are hoping to get hot and end up in the upper division (B.V., Cornell, Loras, Luther, and Simpson).  None of them have shown enough as of yet to argue that they should be grouped in with Central, Wartburg, and Coe.  Dubuque will have a chance to show what they have this weekend. 

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Loras does not have the most fearsome defense in the IIAC, and is less so when Hall is out.  The yards Cornell racked up against the Duhawks weren't junk yards in garbage time against the 2nd team.  So how does this same defense shut down a team like Central?  Interesting that Luther's defense, considered better than Loras, had more trouble with Central.

Like I said earlier...no associative property in football, you cant compare Cornell and Central based on a common opponent. (Ill cite that to the 92.1 crew saturday!) Every Saturday is different. Also Central doesnt have a bye this week.

Central knows how to win games just as St. John's and other all-time programs do.  This has been going on for close to 50 years!  There is always a chance that Central is vulnerable (see 2003 and 2004), but it is going to drive you nuts if you are trying to predict how vulnerable the Dutch are based on a game score.

Luther lost to Central in overtime last year.  Central won the league and the Norse finished 8th or whatever.  The Norse missed a field goal in that game that would have won it in regulation after the refs falsely called a Luther TD back (the IIAC admitted the mistake, but the Norse still lost the game).  The Dutch were vulnerable that day, but who won the conference title?

Playing Central close still just counts as a loss in the standings.

[sportsknight]

I like what I heard one of our announcers on 92.1 say....there is no associative property in football.

Glad you liked that one...that's one of my old stand-bys and I'd be surprised if its the last time I'll say it on the air this year.
Couple other thoughts:
- First off, great win by the Knights.  I don't care how you do it, if you can keep the other guys out of the endzone for 59:30 of a game, thats pretty darned good.  I also like how varied the WB offense can be this year with the addition of Suckow and the stepping up of Yordi, Hoerner, etc.  Sounds like there are some things to improve on, but things definitely look good three games in.

- Good win by Central yesterday at Loras.  You have to be able to win ugly in the IIAC, and the Dutch did that.  Neither offense looked great through 2.5 quarters, and Central's didn't look real good for much of the game.  The Dutch will have to get the running game, the defense, or both going very soon if they want to accomplish their goals this season.  Central has shown a quick-strike ability (and the 71 yard TD to Smith proved it yesterday), but without a capable rushing attack, they won't be able to control the clock and the pace of the game.  Whenever Schuring comes back 100%, it will help, but for the time being the O-Line needs to figure out what they're doing wrong and correct it. 
As for the defense, as good as that unit is supposed to be this year, they shouldn't be allowing 99 yard drives to a team with no tailbacks.  Brondyke and Huisman were able to pin Loras a couple times in the 4th, but the defense didn't do their job and hold for a three and out.  If Loras had 3 minutes to work with on that last drive, I think they may have been able to go down and score on a very tired Central defense.  Again that goes back to time of poss., a stat that Central got dominated in yesterday.

- Sounds like a nice day for the DBQ offense.  Simpson has to learn to put together a full game.  Two good first halves does not a win make.

- Hate to break it to you, BV fans, but your boys are going to have to score if they want to win.  After the first two league games, Coe's defense probably looks better than anyone expected them to.

- I still say this thing is a two horse race, but in this league you just never know who's going to play the spoiler.

[DutchFan2004]

sportsknight,

great job on the broadcast.  I didn't think the d looked tired as they looked tenative.  I thought that they might try to put pressure on Loras when they pinned them to the one yard line, but looked to play the bend but don't break.  Maybe they thought that they could just drop a few and pick one off.  Loras did a much better job of protecting the ball than last year.  I think that was the difference this week.  Only one TO for the Dutch and that kept it close.  Teams looks much better when they are not making mistakes. 

[old school ENP Tiger]

Saturday was my first trip to the Rock Bowl...Very nice set up to watch a game.   Wasn't a fan of the screeching hawk sound after touchdown but maybe the Duhawks like it I guess.  It took the PA announcer 3 quarters to get the Dutch starting QB name right...Carrol is close to Connell...Kind of.  I thought the playcalling this game was no where near a week before that we put up 44 points.  Sometimes that is Central's worst enemy is backing off too soon.  At times in the game I think they forgot number 8 wasn't in the backfield and also forgot they can throw the ball now... Loras did drop quite a few DB's as opposed to a week ago and I would expect BV to do the same.  2 dropped td passes could have made the score look a bit better but we move on to next week.  Connell is getting 70% of the offense so far so might be an idea to try to stop the pass.  You never start the game out good when you watch your captains come out for the coin toss in jeans....

Why does it not surprise me that Iowa's wide out fell down the last offensive play of the game...Hawks could be having a great year this year if they could avoid thier own mistakes.  I thought Iowa did a better job of putting their players in spots to make plays....this season is much like Tate's soph year when all the running backs were hurt.  Ended up running the table that year!  Hey it could happen:)

[Purple Heys]

Loras does not have the most fearsome defense in the IIAC, and is less so when Hall is out.  The yards Cornell racked up against the Duhawks weren't junk yards in garbage time against the 2nd team.  So how does this same defense shut down a team like Central?  Interesting that Luther's defense, considered better than Loras, had more trouble with Central.

Like I said earlier...no associative property in football, you cant compare Cornell and Central based on a common opponent. (Ill cite that to the 92.1 crew saturday!) Every Saturday is different. Also Central doesnt have a bye this week.

Thanks for the info DF04...How was the oline play? Id like to be winning prettier but Ill take it for now. Big game this saturday...Id like to see shut out.

Clearly you are correct Du(cth)Hawk...Loras with McGrew out and with Hall out for at least some portion should have been much easier for the "#8" Central to roll over.  But they didn't.  3 of Central's last 4 are Coe, Dubuque and Wartburg.  Given the gap between the haves and the have-nots, Central is expected to be unbeaten going into that stretch...we'll see how they come out of it.

Central's doing what they need to do to win, no doubt.  Like I said before Cornell would love a couple of those ugly wins.