FB: American Rivers Conference

[doolittledog]

I was thinking about small college football in the state of Iowa and took a look at other message boards.

Over on the NAIA message board the GPAC conference...which has Briar Cliff, Dordt, Morningside, and Northwestern hasn't had a post since saturday.  The Mid-States Conference...which has Grandview, Iowa Wesleyan, St. Ambrose, and William Penn had 1 post today and before that it was saturday since they had a post.  

Definatly more passionate fans for their teams in the IIAC!!!

[Walston Hoover]

Homecoming=One huge distraction. At HS and college levels. Messes with schedules and ruins a lot of prep for the week. Time to move homecoming to bball season.

[doolittledog]

Sometime back somone put the Luther Norse at the bottom of the IIAC.  I guess I will agree with my coach, Edsel Schweizer:  1) Luther doesn't have a chance at winning.  2) Everyone in the IIAC is too strong for us.  3) All the other teams are better, bigger and faster than you are.  Check 1954-58.

Good thing I have my handy dandy "The Iowa Conference Story - forty years of intercollegiate sports 1922-1961" right here!!!

1954 Luther 6-0-0 Conference champs over Wartburg 5-1-0
1955 Luther 5-0-1 2nd place to Parsons 6-0-0
1956 Luther 5-2-1 2nd place to Central 7-1-0
1957 Luther 7-1-0 Conference champs over Upper Iowa 6-2-0
1958 Luther 6-1-1 2nd place to Wartburg 7-0-1

Just for the Dubuque fans here  
1954 4-1-1
1955 2-4-0
1956 3-3-2
1957 1-5-2
1958 4-4-0

[doolittledog]

Homecoming=One huge distraction. At HS and college levels. Messes with schedules and ruins a lot of prep for the week. Time to move homecoming to bball season.

Spoken like a real life coach!!!

[doolittledog]

Wow another banner day on the IIAC board.  

Is it customary to drop 7 karma points in two days?  Not that I really care, I just did not think that I ruffled that many feathers latley.  Who knows

TECN...Nice to have you on board and nice posts.  I think you made some great points about the Rams season to be.  

Jorge Mata looks like he could be a nice new player for the Beavers.  Lets hope he can show some of those moves on the field this season.  

With camp in full swing I can just about see the opening kickoff.  

BTW:  Lets keep those Cubbies rolling well into this fall.

When you hang out on the Minny board it is...but they can be a fun bunch!!!

[DutchFan2004]

Sometime back somone put the Luther Norse at the bottom of the IIAC.  I guess I will agree with my coach, Edsel Schweizer:  1) Luther doesn't have a chance at winning.  2) Everyone in the IIAC is too strong for us.  3) All the other teams are better, bigger and faster than you are.  Check 1954-58.

Good thing I have my handy dandy "The Iowa Conference Story - forty years of intercollegiate sports 1922-1961" right here!!!

1954 Luther 6-0-0 Conference champs over Wartburg 5-1-0
1955 Luther 5-0-1 2nd place to Parsons 6-0-0
1956 Luther 5-2-1 2nd place to Central 7-1-0
1957 Luther 7-1-0 Conference champs over Upper Iowa 6-2-0
1958 Luther 6-1-1 2nd place to Wartburg 7-0-1

Just for the Dubuque fans here  
1954 4-1-1
1955 2-4-0
1956 3-3-2
1957 1-5-2
1958 4-4-0

That was a better record then that in the 90's   

[ShowMe]

Having a running QB is a benefit for the Wing T but the true benefit having an athelet is when we move the other offensive sets. We do not have the same constraints at QB now, meaning we can do more with a better athlete. The Wing T is a good offense when you don't have the strength at QB.

I personally am not a fan of the Wing T, I know it can be a successful offense but its success comes when it goes up against a speedy, aggressive, over pursuing defense that gets itself in trouble by being out of position.  And unfortunately for the Rams, most if not all the defenses in the IIAC are not overly aggressive nor do they over pursue.  The defenses in the IIAC are built to stop the run and to play solid gap control defense.  I think that this is a large reason there has not been the overwhelming success that myself and others thought there would be when Dillon brought this offense to the conference.  I could be wrong as often times I am, but there just seems to be a lack of unpredictability as well that has at times led to frustrations in the lack of ball movement by the offense.  I think if the coaching staff is willing to change the offense more to fit the athletes we do have, then success will come.  For instance, Wartburg used to do nothing but run the football down your throat and last year they switched to a spread attack that featured lots of WR screens.  Luther has gone back and forth from a TE driven passing game, to giving Sheridan the ball 50 times a game, to throwing in multiple WR sets.  Thus, if Cornell is going to succeed at all in the near future, it is the responsibility of the coaching staff to put these kids in the best possible situation to succeed.

This makes me wonder though, will Central change its style of play after losing its starting QB and All-Everything RB?  I seem to remember smaller, quicker backs when Schuring was hurt and wonder if this will cause a style change in the Central offense.  Also, I think Luther has a great chance to be great this year as their defense impressed me the most out of any team last year.  If the can find an identity on offense, I think they could be a force this year in the league.  T

There isn't a team in this league that you can take lightly on any given Saturday.  And that's what makes this conference so great!!!

The coaching staff has designed this year's offense around their talent.

This may still include some Wing-T sets because it is an effect set to run from. The problem is when the defense sees the sets in the IIAC , they stack the box, therefore harder to run inside and it's always harder to run outside because defenses usually have their best speed outside. If we can have some success passing out of the wing-t, it wuld be more effective.

The team moved the ball well at times last season, it's the problems that I have mentioned on the boards that should be repaired first. I agree with you, we have to improve the kicking game.

On the defensive side, Cornell has to stop the run. If you cannot stop the run, there's no reason for the other team to stop running, it's the least risk option. That's why I say we must win the game at the line of scrimmage, offense and defense. I would run all day until the defense stops it, basic football.

If we get the line, play, I believe you will see that the QB we have is better because of the versatility and we will have some explosiveness on offense.

[ShowMe]

is this the most Cornell fans on the board at the same time?

Yes, I told you 2008 was going to be different for Cornell.

[TrainsEqualCrowdNoise]

Homecoming=One huge distraction. At HS and college levels. Messes with schedules and ruins a lot of prep for the week. Time to move homecoming to bball season.

While it does provide distraction, I know some high schools that have homecoming during basketball season and have actually attended some of these games and it just does not have the same kind of atmosphere that football does.  And while there are all kinds of different events for the week, it just adds to the motivation of the athlete to perform better in front of all those past and present.  Though losing a homecoming game is quite depressing, the thrill of winning was just as equally if not more exciting.  Just a little extra motivation for better or worse.

One thing I would like to see changed is the appearance of more night games in the conference.  It was the thing about college football that made me miss high school ball was not being able to play under the lights.  There is just something different about a night game that a day game just can't offer.

[ShowMe]

Let's hope it works out, I've wished/hoped enough on the board for them to confuse it with smack talk.

Nothing wrong with wishing and hoping, ShowMe, as long as you remember to pair it with a good dose of reality at the same time.  It's when you forget the reality that your wishes get confused with smack talk. 

Winning is my reality, just win baby

[DutchFan2004]

Having a running QB is a benefit for the Wing T but the true benefit having an athelet is when we move the other offensive sets. We do not have the same constraints at QB now, meaning we can do more with a better athlete. The Wing T is a good offense when you don't have the strength at QB.

I personally am not a fan of the Wing T, I know it can be a successful offense but its success comes when it goes up against a speedy, aggressive, over pursuing defense that gets itself in trouble by being out of position.  And unfortunately for the Rams, most if not all the defenses in the IIAC are not overly aggressive nor do they over pursue.  The defenses in the IIAC are built to stop the run and to play solid gap control defense.  I think that this is a large reason there has not been the overwhelming success that myself and others thought there would be when Dillon brought this offense to the conference.  I could be wrong as often times I am, but there just seems to be a lack of unpredictability as well that has at times led to frustrations in the lack of ball movement by the offense.  I think if the coaching staff is willing to change the offense more to fit the athletes we do have, then success will come.  For instance, Wartburg used to do nothing but run the football down your throat and last year they switched to a spread attack that featured lots of WR screens.  Luther has gone back and forth from a TE driven passing game, to giving Sheridan the ball 50 times a game, to throwing in multiple WR sets.  Thus, if Cornell is going to succeed at all in the near future, it is the responsibility of the coaching staff to put these kids in the best possible situation to succeed.

This makes me wonder though, will Central change its style of play after losing its starting QB and All-Everything RB?  I seem to remember smaller, quicker backs when Schuring was hurt and wonder if this will cause a style change in the Central offense.  Also, I think Luther has a great chance to be great this year as their defense impressed me the most out of any team last year.  If the can find an identity on offense, I think they could be a force this year in the league.  T

There isn't a team in this league that you can take lightly on any given Saturday.  And that's what makes this conference so great!!!

The coaching staff has designed this year's offense around their talent.

This may still include some Wing-T sets because it is an effect set to run from. The problem is when the defense sees the sets in the IIAC , they stack the box, therefore harder to run inside and it's always harder to run outside because defenses usually have their best speed outside. If we can have some success passing out of the wing-t, it wuld be more effective.

The team moved the ball well at times last season, it's the problems that I have mentioned on the boards that should be repaired first. I agree with you, we have to improve the kicking game.

On the defensive side, Cornell has to stop the run. If you cannot stop the run, there's no reason for the other team to stop running, it's the least risk option. That's why I say we must win the game at the line of scrimmage, offense and defense. I would run all day until the defense stops it, basic football.

If we get the line, play, I believe you will see that the QB we have is better because of the versatility and we will have some explosiveness on offense.

If I remember correctly (and I may not)  but Cornell's troubles were stopping both the run and pass against Central the last three years.  I think stopping the run and pass will have to be the norm in the IIAC if you want to put W's on the board.

[ShowMe]

I agree that Cornell will have a difficult time on the O-line. The O-line helped them move the ball regardless of who was behind center last season. They lost two arguably good receivers in Youngblood and Krogmann.

The defense will probably be the one thing that will shine for Cornell, and keep them in a few games.

As far as Dallas, will they make him a pocket passer, option QB, or both?

Time will tell the story, lets see how they use him in the scrimmage.

[DutchFan2004]

TECN,

Welcome to the board.  The more the merrier.  I already gave you some Karma for joining.  Look forward to your posts. 

[TrainsEqualCrowdNoise]

TECN,

Welcome to the board.  The more the merrier.  I already gave you some Karma for joining.  Look forward to your posts. 

Thanks to everyone for the welcomes!!!  I've been so busy responding to the football that I forgot to say thanks.  I have always enjoyed reading the insight the posters of this board provide and look forward to talk football and whatever else happens to make the boards.

[ShowMe]

If I remember correctly (and I may not)  but Cornell's troubles were stopping both the run and pass against Central the last three years.  I think stopping the run and pass will have to be the norm in the IIAC if you want to put W's on the board.

That may be true but the running attack causes the most problems, eats up the clock, tires out the defenders, etc.

By stopping the runs, it forces the offense to be one dimensional, passing which is a higher risk.

So if Cornell can stop Central from running the ball effectively, Central will be closer to losing.