FB: American Rivers Conference

[dutchfan1]

I will say this.  Posters on here are now willing to accept that there can be Cornell fans on here.  This year it seems like people are willing to let Cornell fans give them reasons why they think Cornell might do well.  Last year it almost seemed like people on here were telling PH he really had no right to even post on here until Cornell won some conference games.  

I disagree -- there was a Cornell poster on here for several years -- FloppyDog, I believe -- that people really liked and respected. I believe he is serving overseas in the Armed Forces. He is probably the oldest Cornell poster on here, and he had a ton of respect. School affiliation has little to nothing to do with how you are accepted on this board. Just be prepared to back up the claims you lead with. WH has a great BS detector. 

[Purple Heys]

As long as you have that game on tape, you would be the one to ask. What happened on your sons TD reception? I had an obstructed view. It looked like he caught it lying on the ground after it bounced off of someone else. All I could really see was a mass of humanity and Heys Jr. getting up with the ball.

I got that on tape too.  Here's what happened:

Inside the Luther 5, Jr. lined up on the right side and did a slant route over the middle.  He had a step and a half on the backer when the Cornell QB threw the ball...right to the trailing backer.

The backer was so beat he was focused on catching up to Jr. so when the ball nearly hit him between the numbers, he didn't react to it directly...Jr. reached back a big paw and before the backer could react, Jr. had deflected the ball and as he slipped from stopping and twisting to reach back Jr. juggled the ball with one hand and finally coralled it while laying on his back.

It was a very nice play and he showed some nice agility for a big moose.  

[Purple Heys]

Cornell has the players, has the skills, but the D lacks the ability to stop big plays.  

I am not trying to crack on the D, certainly our offense needs to protect the friggin' ball...but...

The number of times last year that we had 3rd and long at key game points and gave up a 1st down flat out killed us.  I am not saying anything they don't already know.  Giving up a fresh set of downs keeps 'em on the field and is where ore depth gets exposed.  They single biggest thing our D needs to improve is the ability to get an opposing offense off the field when we get a 3 and long situation.  I am sure Coach Bentz is making this a goal for this group.  They can help themselves by improving this skill.

[Walston Hoover]

'03 had a great defense, A new QB, all new recievers, a new TE, one new OL, and a new RB after Justin Beatty graduated, er finished his eligibility.

This year will be very similar to 2003 for Wartburg. Everyone knows they will be good so there's not going to be any sneaking up. The defense will be top 5 in D3 and the offense has to just not suck and they will be fine. The difference between '03 and this year-A returning starter at QB this year that has some pretty good stats on his sheet.

Wow, '03 was a heck of a team...not good for the other teams in the IIAC.  I may be remembering a different year, but didn't the '03 have some pretty good running backs?  I only ask b/c it seems one of the question marks on this year's Wart team is at RB.

[Willie University]

This year will be very similar to 2003 for Wartburg. Everyone knows they will be good so there's not going to be any sneaking up. The defense will be top 5 in D3 and the offense has to just not suck and they will be fine. The difference between '03 and this year-A returning starter at QB this year that has some pretty good stats on his sheet.

What sheet? His rap sheet? 

[ShowMe]

DF1, I think you hit the nail on the head. Its not that people disrespect Cornell, it is just that a lot of people on here are realists and want to see some proof before we start believing the hype. I remember a similar discussion like this last year when Purple Heys first joined the board. Now, PH is great poster and has some of the great quotes on here.  Biggest thing is that Cornell hasn't won a conference game since 2005. They have some talented players, but until they A) win a conference game and B) knock off a conference power, people will bristle at the "this is the year" talk.

One thing that I think hasn't gotten a lot of discussion is the reality that the conference is somewhat wide open. Look at Central, Coe, Wartburg, and Dubuque and to some extent, Luther. Lots of offensive firepower graduated. Looking at the all-conference players from last year and there aren't too many skill position players returning throughout the league. Thats the beauty of a year like this and college football in general. You have a core group of players that you've counted for a few years and now its one of those years where everybody is reloading at key positions. It will be fun to see who steps up.

Very nice also.  Work gets more enjoyable as the day goes on.  This is what I love about the IIAC, any team could possibly beat any team on a given saturday.  AND just like every other team in the IIAC, Cornell does have that shot to take down a top team.  Now have they showed it, yes in short bursts, but 4 quarters of short bursts is not going to win you a football game.  4 quarters of no mistake
football wins games.  Cornell has the players, has the skills, but the D lacks the ability to stop big plays.  

I agree with Airborne, we hear it every year, but we need some solid proof and then it will be time to believe Cornell has the ability to be a top team.  I do recall last year that BV was going to be Cornell's first conference win...well we probably all know how that ended up so I won't bring it up.  

I do however enjoy the support for the Rams, you guys are great posters but please, and I may have no room to talk, but if you dish it, please eat some yourself.  

I can accept and agree with this statement, we have to show it on the field. If we fall short this year, we will take it like a man and keep our pride. We're not loser until we beleive and I like to think there is a wnner in us.

I have eaten crow on my position with Central, they have my respect now.

[dutchfan1]

You know, ShowMe, not a single poster would dislike you like we do had you not introduced yourself to the board with the "You all are going to eat crow at the end of the season. Cornell wins, you all suck" attitude. You said that crap to elicit a response, and we responded.

For the record, I did not introduce myself as you have explained. Secondly, i have never said "you all suck". The crow response came in rsponse to all the negative talk I received when I suggested my team would be better. I know we have our challenges but it it not without pride.

Please find the quote where I said "you all suck" and I will appologize, otherwise, please do not miss quote me. It is my intent to have a respectful conversation but i will enforce the my teams pride. Thanks

Buddy, you missed the entire point of my post. I feel bad for you. Good luck this season.

"You suck" probably should not have been in quotes. How about this -- calling us arrogant and saying that we had not earned the right to talk, calling our teams overrated.... Does that make you feel better? I'm much too busy at work today to pull up multiple quotes to cite here, but you know they are there. With or without the true quotations, the meaning is the same, is it not? If you didn't mean to infer that we are all lousy, you should work on your overall word choice.

[Purple Heys]

DF1, I think you hit the nail on the head. Its not that people disrespect Cornell, it is just that a lot of people on here are realists and want to see some proof before we start believing the hype. I remember a similar discussion like this last year when Purple Heys first joined the board. Now, PH is great poster and has some of the great quotes on here.  Biggest thing is that Cornell hasn't won a conference game since 2005. They have some talented players, but until they A) win a conference game and B) knock off a conference power, people will bristle at the "this is the year" talk.

Some attempted to beat on and intimidate pretty good...at some point I got the sense that some folks around here think that because you support Cornell, you must not know anything about football.  I admit I got defensive about it.  I know what I know and like many here I have played, coached and watched the game, so I am pretty secure about my opinions.

Then I got back to one of my core values.  I can't control what others think.  I don't "need" anyone's approval of my support for my chosen team.  I can respect that someone is just as passionate about their team as I am about mine...unless you are a delusional Coe fan  

As I said before.  My kid goes to Cornell, I am a Cornell fan.  I post here because it's fun.  I enjoy the banter, the teasing, the good posts and the bad posts.

I learned not to take it personal, as I also said if most of us were tailgating and talking about this stuff, I think we'd be laughing our asses off at most of this.

[SpeedKills84]

Average GPA of applicants: 3.44
Middle 50% ACT: 24-29
Middle 50% SAT: 1070 - 1330 (on 1600 scale)

The lowest ACT score i knew of someone having while i was there was a 21, most were much much higher, and the website lists for the class of '10 32% were in the top 10% of their highschool class.  Its not very easy to get into which hurts the athletic teams.  You just cant be a good ballplayer and think youve got a golden ticket.  Much more is invested in academics and most of the administration could give less than two shakes of a d*** towards sports.  Thats not to say Cornell doesnt get good individual athletes, its just hard to find enough to be able to get the job done.  In the last couple years we had our fair share of All-Americans though....well for Cornell at least.  

[Purple Heys]

One thing that I think hasn't gotten a lot of discussion is the reality that the conference is somewhat wide open. Look at Central, Coe, Wartburg, and Dubuque and to some extent, Luther. Lots of offensive firepower graduated. Looking at the all-conference players from last year and there aren't too many skill position players returning throughout the league. Thats the beauty of a year like this and college football in general. You have a core group of players that you've counted for a few years and now its one of those years where everybody is reloading at key positions. It will be fun to see who steps up.

This is a point I was exploring earlier...the teams at the top all have question marks, though I still think they will be at the top...I just can't decide on the in what order.

Wartburg by my reckoning, should be the preseason favorite...but they have spent the last 2 years finding ways to not perform completely up to expectations.  Will Willis be that missing ingredient?  Is Wartburg the type of that cracks under pressure...that's their question in my opinion.

Central...can you really expect another year where everything seems to bounce their way when you consider the losses to graduation this year.  How will the reinforcements perform...

UD...some big shoes to fill, but it seems that the replacements are skilled and ready to take their turn.  This team is established as a contender, but with new players comes uncertainty...

Coe...New Coach, New QB...seriously, does anybody think there wouldn't be questions with this team?

[Klompen]

The difference between '03 and this year-A returning starter at QB this year that has some pretty good stats on his sheet.

On his stat's sheet or rap sheet?

[Walston Hoover]

The difference between '03 and this year-A returning starter at QB this year that has some pretty good stats on his sheet.

On his stat's sheet or rap sheet?

Willie U beat you to it.
I can't defend that at all.

[TrainsEqualCrowdNoise]

As long as you have that game on tape, you would be the one to ask. What happened on your sons TD reception? I had an obstructed view. It looked like he caught it lying on the ground after it bounced off of someone else. All I could really see was a mass of humanity and Heys Jr. getting up with the ball.

I got that on tape too.  Here's what happened:

Inside the Luther 5, Jr. lined up on the right side and did a slant route over the middle.  He had a step and a half on the backer when the Cornell QB threw the ball...right to the trailing backer.

The backer was so beat he was focused on catching up to Jr. so when the ball nearly hit him between the numbers, he didn't react to it directly...Jr. reached back a big paw and before the backer could react, Jr. had deflected the ball and as he slipped from stopping and twisting to reach back Jr. juggled the ball with one hand and finally coralled it while laying on his back.

It was a very nice play and he showed some nice agility for a big moose.  

Lol, he also made another great catch on the two-point conversion afterwards, but this time the referee made a bad call and decided it was a no catch.  Man that QB really was terrible wasnt he

[Klompen]

This year will be very similar to 2003 for Wartburg. Everyone knows they will be good so there's not going to be any sneaking up. The defense will be top 5 in D3 and the offense has to just not suck and they will be fine. The difference between '03 and this year-A returning starter at QB this year that has some pretty good stats on his sheet.

What sheet? His rap sheet? 

You beat me to it Willie!

[du-sz]

I feel like I'm slacking at advertising the Duhawks this fall.  I need to take some tips from Cornell fans and really get the talk out there. A lot of us lower tier teams (save Cornell) need some exciting topics to talk about! I could probably say that Satan is starting at linebacker for Loras and we'd go back to talking about the Rams, though.