FB: American Rivers Conference

[Purple Heys]

Talked to some other Cornell people today and they think that they should easily go 2-0 for nonconference, but I think Carleton is going to be a tougher game than people think. I would say they are better than a Northwestern, but probably closer to an Alma which makes me nervous because both games with Alma were heartstoppers.

For the Rams, counting either game as a "W" is waaay too premature.

I am not a cynic, realistically the Rams should win both these games...but then Wartburg should have beat Auggie last year.

Carleton is a misleading team.  In relative terms I see them as in the same place as the Rams:  at the back part of a very tough conference.  As Alma and Northwestern found out the last 2 years; while Cornell may be looked at as something of a joke to the rest of the IIAC, that carries no weight to a lesser conference.  I'm thinking if Northwestern or Alma played Carleton last year, Carleton would probably have been on the winning end.  If Cornell underestimates Carleton, the Rams will lose this game.  It's a tough game for us regardless.

Arguably, both Northwestern and Alma were "top" teams in their respective conference.  Cornell, coming in with a last minute replacement at QB, beat both.  It is fair to say that Cornell might well have been a factor in those teams' conferences.

As for Grinnell, a team from the lower tier of a lower rung conference, if the Rams lose this I will be just plain sick.  But the Rams are not good enough to not respect any opponent and expect to win; Cornell better bring it...if they put together the same defensive intensity as they did against Coe last year, then you will hear the Victory bell ringing at the East end zone at Ash Park around 4:00 PM on September 6th.

[Purple Heys]

Wartburg goes
Norbert
Augsburg
Central

So a conference champ and both of last year's losses in the first 3 games. We'll find out how good the 2 new coordinators are right away.

That is far from a cupcake schedule for the first three weeks.  Week #3 will go a long ways in deciding the IIAC this year.  I don't think this will happen Walston, but have the Knights ever started 0-3?

Realistically the only game Wartburg needs is the Central game.  With IIAC automatic bid, NC doesn't affect them...I suspect Willis doesn't see it this way.   

[DutchFan2004]

Wartburg goes
Norbert
Augsburg
Central

So a conference champ and both of last year's losses in the first 3 games. We'll find out how good the 2 new coordinators are right away.

That is far from a cupcake schedule for the first three weeks.  Week #3 will go a long ways in deciding the IIAC this year.  I don't think this will happen Walston, but have the Knights ever started 0-3?

Realistically the only game Wartburg needs is the Central game.  With IIAC automatic bid, NC doesn't affect them...I suspect Willis doesn't see it this way.   

You are correct they or any team in the IIAC can run the table and get the AQ but I don't think that any team has gone 0-2 and run the table in the conference to get the AQ.  You have been around the IIAC long enough to know that there are no gimmes in the league.  If you don't show up and play every game then you will get surprised.  With one NC loss and 1 loss in the conference you chances of getting to the playoffs diminish greatly. 

[DutchFan2004]

Just remember, I want scouting reports from both DF2K4 AND Purple Heys after the Dubuque/Redlands game.  It should be interesting to compare and contrast their assessments of the game!!!

I am really looking forward to see how each team in the conference plays out their season.  A lot of interesting story lines going on.  

Yes there are some interesting story lines happening.  My favorite so far is the following:

"The hopes and dreams of UD's football season will all ride on the fate of one LaPorte city man's Lucky Lawnmower.  Can this man mow grass in a way that it will lead to more numbers in the win column than the loss column?  Can this man's lawnmower affect the Dutch when they head to Dubuque this season for a rematch of last season's nailbiter?  Last but not least, does this man actually have a lawn mower, or is this just some type of voodoo? "

He may not mow twice that week but take an unusually long time to get the lawn mowed that day.   

[DutchFan2004]

Just remember, I want scouting reports from both DF2K4 AND Purple Heys after the Dubuque/Redlands game.  It should be interesting to compare and contrast their assessments of the game!!!

I am really looking forward to see how each team in the conference plays out their season.  A lot of interesting story lines going on.  

You know I will give you my two cents on that game.  I look forward to meeting Purple Heys out there.  Looking forward to it.  Purple do you know if they tailgate there much?

[Purple Heys]

Just remember, I want scouting reports from both DF2K4 AND Purple Heys after the Dubuque/Redlands game.  It should be interesting to compare and contrast their assessments of the game!!!

I am really looking forward to see how each team in the conference plays out their season.  A lot of interesting story lines going on.  

You know I will give you my two cents on that game.  I look forward to meeting Purple Heys out there.  Looking forward to it.  Purple do you know if they tailgate there much?

I am looking forward to it as well...

Word from RFB of the SCIAC Board is that the tailgating scene isn't all that great and sorta on again/off again depending on the enforcement level of the campus police. 

Apparently they aren't quite as refined as us IIAC'ers in the fine art of pregame football enjoyment.


We locals don't call it Dead-lands for nothing. 

We may need an alternate plan...I will be visiting the folks across town and listening to the Cornell game on the internet at 11:00 AM.  The UD/UoR game is at 7:00PM local time.

I would like to see UD win this, but UoR has a good team returning.  It will be interesting to see somewhat of a "what might have been" had Heys Jr. stayed and played in the SCIAC.

I'd like to think the IIAC conference is tougher, even significantly so, across the board compared to the SCIAC.  I do not believe that Cornell would go winless the last 2 years running in the SCIAC.  I also think that last years' Spartans would have been SCIAC champs.

My read on this is that UD is an upper middle IIAC team this year and that UoR is one of the SCIAC favorites.  The Bulldogs will be prepared though, with Coach Connell providing valuable insight to the IIAC mentality.  I give the Bulldogs the edge for that.

[ShowMe]

Wartburg goes
Norbert
Augsburg
Central

So a conference champ and both of last year's losses in the first 3 games. We'll find out how good the 2 new coordinators are right away.

Could be 0-4 after Septemer 27th!

[Walston Hoover]

It;s 11:00. After this much drinking, you should be at the bar and not posting here.

Wartburg goes
Norbert
Augsburg
Central

So a conference champ and both of last year's losses in the first 3 games. We'll find out how good the 2 new coordinators are right away.

Could be 0-4 after Septemer 27th!

[Charlie Kohawk]

Top to bottom, the IIAC's got a pretty good batch of SIDs.  Turk at Simpson, Adkins at Wartburg, Blanchard at Luther, and Happel at Central are probably the top four, but they've also got a few more years under their belt than some of the newer guys around the league (Coe, Cornell, Loras, etc).  I'd say the high water mark for conference SIDs was around 2003-2006 when Tom Galbraith was still at Loras and Darren Miller was still at Cornell and Dubuque had just hired Paul Misner to be their first full-time SID.

Plus the IIAC office had a pretty darn good intern during the summer of '03 too. 

I'm pretty slow on the uptake, but having briefly served as SID at Coe, I have to weigh in here.
Central's Larry Happel is clearly #1.
#2 is shared by Wartburg's Adkins, Luther's Blanchard and Simpson's Turk, if only because they endured, along with Darren Miller, my brief SID tenure.
#3 is Coe's Ryan Workman, who has the luxury of the most supportive staff in the conference.
Everyone else is #4, and there's no shame in that. I know none of you read this board (nudge nudge), but you are all saints who are due more credit than you are given.

[Ash Park]

It;s 11:00. After this much drinking, you should be at the bar and not posting here.

Wartburg goes
Norbert
Augsburg
Central

So a conference champ and both of last year's losses in the first 3 games. We'll find out how good the 2 new coordinators are right away.

Could be 0-4 after Septemer 27th!

With as much "drinking" showme does...maybe he should have chimed in on that party scene discussion 

[Walston Hoover]

Workman could probably be #1 based only on the fact that he is a Cyclone fan.

Top to bottom, the IIAC's got a pretty good batch of SIDs.  Turk at Simpson, Adkins at Wartburg, Blanchard at Luther, and Happel at Central are probably the top four, but they've also got a few more years under their belt than some of the newer guys around the league (Coe, Cornell, Loras, etc).  I'd say the high water mark for conference SIDs was around 2003-2006 when Tom Galbraith was still at Loras and Darren Miller was still at Cornell and Dubuque had just hired Paul Misner to be their first full-time SID.

Plus the IIAC office had a pretty darn good intern during the summer of '03 too. 

I'm pretty slow on the uptake, but having briefly served as SID at Coe, I have to weigh in here.
Central's Larry Happel is clearly #1.
#2 is shared by Wartburg's Adkins, Luther's Blanchard and Simpson's Turk, if only because they endured, along with Darren Miller, my brief SID tenure.
#3 is Coe's Ryan Workman, who has the luxury of the most supportive staff in the conference.
Everyone else is #4, and there's no shame in that. I know none of you read this board (nudge nudge), but you are all saints who are due more credit than you are given.

[Klopenhiemer]

Slow morning.  In order to meet WH's two pages per day requirement, we better get moving

Anyone have any final summer plans before school, football season, and all the family activities take over? 

Doolittle has Pedro Cerano came by with JoBoo to bless the lawn mower for the upcoming season yet ?

[sportsknight]

Top to bottom, the IIAC's got a pretty good batch of SIDs.  Turk at Simpson, Adkins at Wartburg, Blanchard at Luther, and Happel at Central are probably the top four, but they've also got a few more years under their belt than some of the newer guys around the league (Coe, Cornell, Loras, etc).  I'd say the high water mark for conference SIDs was around 2003-2006 when Tom Galbraith was still at Loras and Darren Miller was still at Cornell and Dubuque had just hired Paul Misner to be their first full-time SID.

Plus the IIAC office had a pretty darn good intern during the summer of '03 too. 

I'm pretty slow on the uptake, but having briefly served as SID at Coe, I have to weigh in here.
Central's Larry Happel is clearly #1.
#2 is shared by Wartburg's Adkins, Luther's Blanchard and Simpson's Turk, if only because they endured, along with Darren Miller, my brief SID tenure.
#3 is Coe's Ryan Workman, who has the luxury of the most supportive staff in the conference.
Everyone else is #4, and there's no shame in that. I know none of you read this board (nudge nudge), but you are all saints who are due more credit than you are given.

I probably should have included the phrase "in no particular order" when listing the top 4.  Each has their own particular style, but they all do a great job.  Blanchard is also a hell of a golfer, so that helps too.

[doolittledog]

Slow morning.  In order to meet WH's two pages per day requirement, we better get moving

Anyone have any final summer plans before school, football season, and all the family activities take over? 

Doolittle has Pedro Cerano came by with JoBoo to bless the lawn mower for the upcoming season yet ?

Ooh, did we have a "Major League" reference today???

Summer plans for me outside of work include...mowing, trying to act like I have some sort of authority over my children, saying "yes dear" to my wife a lot, taking our kids to the pool after dinner so as to tire them out for bed time, staying on my diet...10 pounds lost in just under 2 months!!!, checking this site often in anticipation for the upcoming football season!!! 

[New Storm]

Slow morning.  In order to meet WH's two pages per day requirement, we better get moving

Anyone have any final summer plans before school, football season, and all the family activities take over? 

Doolittle has Pedro Cerano came by with JoBoo to bless the lawn mower for the upcoming season yet ?

Last day of July.. August yes finally football season starts tomorrow 8) 8) 8)