FB: American Rivers Conference

[Walston Hoover]

I fell asleep at the end of regulation and am not surprised at all to see the final score this morning. Lack of a ground game again , though this time it does the Knights in. There's something about Augsburg that the Knights can't get over. All but one game in the 5 years now they have been playing has been decided on the final play of the game, regardless of how good the Knights are or how bad the Auggies are.
Perhaps the guys up there believed us when we said they should be good this year.
IIAC is not the Big 10 conference of D3, because no one outside us thinks we're any good and we don't have media drooling over us thinking we're good.
Suffice to say with the IIAC's performance in non-conference games, only the conf champ will be going to the playoffs this year. Probably the way it was going to be anyway.
Wartburg has backed itself into a corner, I'll be in Pella next weekend to see how they respond.
I still think as far as the IIAC goes, Wartburg runs the table. They have to, otherwise this year will go down as one of collosal dissappointment.
One thing going for the Knights-IIRC, a Rick Willis coached team has never lost 2 game in a row. Someone may be able to confirm or deny that for me. I need to go get ready for church. I probably need to spend some extra time there as a lot of "questionable words" slipped out between the weather Friday, a close game (relatively, for us) and watching the teams I pull for get taken down yesterday.

[doolittledog]

I fell asleep at the end of regulation and am not surprised at all to see the final score this morning. Lack of a ground game again , though this time it does the Knights in. There's something about Augsburg that the Knights can't get over. All but one game in the 5 years now they have been playing has been decided on the final play of the game, regardless of how good the Knights are or how bad the Auggies are.
Perhaps the guys up there believed us when we said they should be good this year.
IIAC is not the Big 10 conference of D3, because no one outside us thinks we're any good and we don't have media drooling over us thinking we're good.
Suffice to say with the IIAC's performance in non-conference games, only the conf champ will be going to the playoffs this year. Probably the way it was going to be anyway.
Wartburg has backed itself into a corner, I'll be in Pella next weekend to see how they respond.
I still think as far as the IIAC goes, Wartburg runs the table. They have to, otherwise this year will go down as one of collosal dissappointment.
One thing going for the Knights-IIRC, a Rick Willis coached team has never lost 2 game in a row. Someone may be able to confirm or deny that for me. I need to go get ready for church. I probably need to spend some extra time there as a lot of "questionable words" slipped out between the weather Friday, a close game (relatively, for us) and watching the teams I pull for get taken down yesterday.

I can't think of anybody outside of Big Ten fans that thinks the conference is any good...and I have yet to find any media (this year) that is drooling over the Big Ten...common theme among anybody outside of conference fans is the Big Ten isn't any good...somewhat how I suspect many are thinking of the IIAC right now 

[Klopenhiemer]

I'll add some observations here:

4.  With due respect to the Clones  - Iowa still hasn't beat anybody to be particularly proud of.  although the D looked awesome today, ISU's youth and or lack of communication skills in the red zone was a big part of that.

5.  Earlier this preseason  we heard this Wartburg squad compared with their 2003 bunch.  2003 Knights were an exceptional bunch, 2008 has a ways to go, looks like next week is their playoff game already.  (Go Dutch!!!)

6. Coe definitely had the toughest non-con schedule and hung tough in their games.  Dubuque had an uphill battle today, with the travel and all, so neither team should be discounted as an IIAC contender.  Simpson may be 2-0, but see comments above about Iowa.

7.  IIAC now 6-9 in non-con,with three winnable ones to go lets hope for a 9-9.

Though I tend to agree with what you are saying....ISU's communication in the red zone was piss poor.  Gene C's command of the team at times was lack luster, especially coming from a second year coach.  I am an Iowa fan, but I also hope both teams do well and it sheds more positive light on the state.  ISU has not beaten anyone either.  Kent State had a terrible decade and SDSU just became a D1AA team within the last 2 years.  Both teams have a lot to prove in the next 9 games before I am ready to hail either as bowl contenders or even conference contenders.  If both teams could get to 8-4 I would think that would be a wonderful season and something to hang your hat on considering where they were last season. 

[footballdaddy]

A few obsevations on the Wartburg game. I've had a chance to sleep on it after getting home from Minneapolis at 2:15am.

Augsberg is for real. Their QB/WR combo will test teams all year with their short passing game. They use them like runs throwing quick slants and outs for 3-5 yards an attempt. Their long game suffers a bit with protection.

That said,WB left opportunities on the field again. We took a bit to shake off the bus trip and late start. The running game was much improved, but the passing game was not as sharp.We need to turn the rocket screen upfield instead of taking the ball straight out of bounds for little gain. The defense hit hard (ask the Auggie WR's). Our tackling was better but still needs some improvement.

And the officials were some of the worst homies I've ever seen. We seemingly wre flagged evey time somone spit on the turf, but they couldnt find their flags when obvious holding, interefence, etc. happend in plain sight ten feet in front of them. At least three times game-changing plays in the Knight's favor were offset by questionable penalties.

Nvertheless, a game we should have won against a team we should have beat. Let's hope we have that out of out system for the rest of the season.

[Wartburg Fan]

 Well the Knights did it again lost a game they should've of won. I don't know what it is about the auggie but We have a hard time with them every year.  I can't  believe we went to the Rocket screen all night long when it wasn't working, Someone needs to step up in the running game. Auggie with three down lineman and we still struggle to run the ball.  Well we have our backs to the wall, now we need to win the conference.  WH I believe your right Willis hasn't lost two games in a row.  I do believe with the auggies passing game they give anyone problem in the IIAC, not saying they win, just give everyone problems.

[du-sz]

Despite the overall woes for the IIAC, I had an amazing weekend sports-wise. GMG whips up on Highland and Loras runs away from Millikin. Then I get back to Dubuque and the Loras women's soccer team beats the #1 team in the nation! Sorry, thought, I'd throw some happiness on to the board 

[TC]

2 wins this weekend for IIAC  (Reds 36-DBQ3 in third)  Simpson and Loras.  Congrats to you two.  I believe we're 0-3 vs bottom half of the MIAC.  Augsburg may very well be a contender in the MIAC,highly underrated in their preseason poll (6th), Gusties 7th and Carlton 8th, all beat IIAC teams.  IIAC =  the Big Ten Conference of D3.

Augsburg contend in the MIAC? I think they're still a long, longshot,

Last year Wartburg lost but because they could only muster 13 points against the Aug defense.  In league play, meanwhile,  Augsburg gave up 62 to SJU, 70 to St. Olaf, 51 to Concordia, 50 to St. Thomas, 42 to Bethel and 38 to Gustavus ... finishing at 43 PPG in league play.

But the MIAC is wider open this year and who knows? If you're right, I'll certainly come back here and eat crow ....

The thing that I still don't understand is the Johnnies getting the ol' baby seal treatment in Pella last fall.  In the grand scheme of recent MIAC/IIAC matchups, that's the one that really sticks out (especially after Augsburg hung with Wartburg again tonight). 

Regardless of tonight's win and the surprising support they got in the preseason poll, the Auggies are not a contender in the MIAC.  They've made huge strides towards relevance and have a really nifty QB/WR combo, but they have no defense or running game to speak of.  I was beyond shocked when they beat Wartburg last year.  This year, too?  Wow.

That was just a good old butt whooping, not muhch to understand about it. I think the point some IIAC'ers are making is that our teams aren't beating the "bottom tier" MIAC teams as they should. I.e Wartburg vs Augsburg. Our #2 should beat Augie regularly...follow? Central has perennially competed with and beaten all levels of MIAC competition and others. Everyone in the IIAC needs to step up and win the games we should, while pulling a few upsets along the way!

Ugh.  No one is disputing that.  St. John's got 6 different kinds of dog crap kicked out of them last year by Central.  If you'd stop and look at what I'm saying objectively for a moment (rather than assume that I'm taking a shot at your team and acting all condescending...follow?) you'll realize I'm making the exact same point that you are.

Consider these scores from last season:

St. John's 62, Augsburg 7
Bethel 44, Augsburg 35
Augsburg 14, Wartburg 13
Central 17, Wartburg 14
Bethel 17, St. John's 14

Bethel 27, Central 14 in the playoffs

I think it is pretty widely accepted that St. John's and Bethel were relative equals and the class of the MIAC in 2007.  The same can be said of Central and Wartburg in the IIAC.  Augsburg was a non-contender in the MIAC and was able to beat one of the top two teams in the IIAC (and did it again this year).  That suggests that the IIAC might struggle against the MIAC, like you suggest.

The two scores that don't make any sense in the chain listed above are Buena Vista 21, Bethel 16 and (as I mentioned earlier) Central 37, St. John's 7. 

It will be interesting to see how this develops come playoff times this season.

[Klompen]

Its a final in CR...Gustavus 27 Coe 19.

The Oldest Rivalry West of the Mississippi will be a battle of winless teams next Saturday.

Wow, I bet that is a first.   

[Klompen]

Pregame vs. Coe:

IF(?) we can neutralize the Coe defensive surge to a manageable degree AND keep Tommy Brightback (I know, spelling     ) from taking over on returns and INT's

We have a shot.  We did last year, and Coe was better offensively.  TeKippe was held for 3.5 quarters, but he showed his experience and ability in the last half of the 4th quarter.  Coe does not have that safety net this year.

I don't see us coughing up 4 fumbles again this year...as long as it doesn't rain!  Short passes to the TE involve reduced risk of INT.

One can hope!   

I've figured it out. PH, Ash, Speed, and I should all get together and just coach.  PH will run the show with his motivation and over all direction.  Speed will showcase a fast hard hitting defensive scheme, while Ash and I will tailor our offense to the strengths of our athletes.  Automatic victories right there  

I know I know, sounds good to me on paper though.  Hey it could happen  

Why not?  There's only one direction you could go at this point.  Go for it.  We want to see Cornell start winning too, as long as it isn't against Central.   

[Klompen]

Look,

I am as myopic as they come...but there is an IIAC win to be had here.

Can you imagine how annoying I would be if Jr. went to Central or Wartburg?

Can you imagine how happy you would be if Jr. went to Central.  Maybe we have some roofing jobs available next summer.   

[Klompen]

Tough losses around the rest of the conference. Does this do anything for perceptions of strength of the IIAC?

Central won big last week and dropped in the polls.  Other higher rated teams lost this week, but given WB's loss, we might drop in the polls again as WB is/was the perceived best team in the conference this year.  That loss again this year, combined with our non-conference record, means we can pretty much stop talking about anyone other than the conference champ in the playoffs. 

[Klompen]

2 wins this weekend for IIAC  (Reds 36-DBQ3 in third)  Simpson and Loras.  Congrats to you two.  I believe we're 0-3 vs bottom half of the MIAC.  Augsburg may very well be a contender in the MIAC,highly underrated in their preseason poll (6th), Gusties 7th and Carlton 8th, all beat IIAC teams.  IIAC =  the Big Ten Conference of D3.

Augsburg contend in the MIAC? I think they're still a long, longshot,

Last year Wartburg lost but because they could only muster 13 points against the Aug defense.  In league play, meanwhile,  Augsburg gave up 62 to SJU, 70 to St. Olaf, 51 to Concordia, 50 to St. Thomas, 42 to Bethel and 38 to Gustavus ... finishing at 43 PPG in league play.

But the MIAC is wider open this year and who knows? If you're right, I'll certainly come back here and eat crow ....

Just have my Red shades on and worried about the Dutch win against the Wart next weekend . . . but with your observation, perhaps I shouldn't worry.

You ALWAYS have to worry about Wartburg, particularly when they lose the week before.  Just what we need is the Knights in a bad mood.

[Klompen]

The thing that I still don't understand is the Johnnies getting the ol' baby seal treatment in Pella last fall.  In the grand scheme of recent MIAC/IIAC matchups, that's the one that really sticks out (especially after Augsburg hung with Wartburg again tonight). 

Regardless of tonight's win and the surprising support they got in the preseason poll, the Auggies are not a contender in the MIAC.  They've made huge strides towards relevance and have a really nifty QB/WR combo, but they have no defense or running game to speak of.  I was beyond shocked when they beat Wartburg last year.  This year, too?  Wow.

I think the Johnnies looked at all of Central's close games last year and made the mistake of not giving them the credit they deserved.  Last year's team really was a GREAT team, but much of the season they were playing games with one or two really terrific players out entirely or playing well below 100%.  The Johnnies caught us healthy and that was something we were not for most of the regular season. 

This year could be a repeat of the injury bug with the TE out for the season and a promising option at QB on crutches after last week's game.  Have not heard anything official on his injury though.

[Lone Auggie Backer]

A few obsevations on the Wartburg game. I've had a chance to sleep on it after getting home from Minneapolis at 2:15am.

Augsberg is for real. Their QB/WR combo will test teams all year with their short passing game. They use them like runs throwing quick slants and outs for 3-5 yards an attempt. Their long game suffers a bit with protection.

That said,WB left opportunities on the field again. We took a bit to shake off the bus trip and late start. The running game was much improved, but the passing game was not as sharp.We need to turn the rocket screen upfield instead of taking the ball straight out of bounds for little gain. The defense hit hard (ask the Auggie WR's). Our tackling was better but still needs some improvement.

And the officials were some of the worst homies I've ever seen. We seemingly wre flagged evey time somone spit on the turf, but they couldnt find their flags when obvious holding, interefence, etc. happend in plain sight ten feet in front of them. At least three times game-changing plays in the Knight's favor were offset by questionable penalties.

Nvertheless, a game we should have won against a team we should have beat. Let's hope we have that out of out system for the rest of the season.

Sir-

I'll agree that the officials were very bad.  However, I highly dispute the fact that they were bad in one teams favor.  The "fumble" attributed to Berg was blatantly an incomplete pass.  The referee's own description of the play (head ref, mind you) was that he saw his arm go up, didn't see what happened, but then saw the ball on the ground. The only problem is that the ball ended up 6 yards in front of where he was hit at.  So, for his arm to go up, end up 6 yards further up-field, I struggle to see that that was anything but an incomplete pass.  I will immediately agree, he should have been flagged for intentional grounding at that spot.  However, the turnover of the ball was a terrible call.  Secondly, the block in the back on our punt team that was a punishment call for our coach arguing with the umpire, further illustrates that I think that the officials were bad, but were far from bad in one direction.  Please explain the egregious imbalance of calls that were un-warranted before simply saying that we won because of the zebras!

ON another note.  I thought that both teams were impressive last night.  WB's safeties are legit.  They are into the run game immediately, and do a good job of getting over to help with the outside third when they go cover one.   And, WOW do they hit!  I thought that the safeties hit significantly harder than the corners, but that could also be attributed to the "20" scheme that they seemed to run a fair amount (2 over the top, 0 under)  I don't know why WB went away from the running game.  They seemed to have some success with it at times, and would put two or three good running plays together, but then would go to a pass play, which confused me.   I was surprised how much pressure we were able to get on your QB.  I watched film of your game with Norbert's and your QB seemed to have HOURS to survey the field.  However, last night, he seemed to get a bit more pressure.  

I was impressed the way the WB defense was able to limit Royce's reception numbers.  However, he showed why he is such an amazing player, catching two HUGE TD's for us as well as the key reception.  I know he got frustrated a bit with the lack of catches, but he made up in quality what he lacked in quantity.  

#99 for WB is also great.  A true man-child-beast on that D-line.  I don't know what year he is, but he will be a great player to give some good pressure allowing WB's DB's to tee off!

I am glad my boys played well when they needed to.  The WB/Auggie wrestling rivalry has passed on well to the gridiron.  You are right, we always play very well against you guys, and I'm sad that in my two games with you guys we were on the short end of the stick, but glad to see that Coach Haege has started to get some much better players into camp, and now have put us in the position to come up with wins vs. the vaunted Knights.

Best of luck to your club in the upcoming conference season.  Heck, WB winning the IIAC will only make our victory last night look that much more important!

LAB

[Klopenhiemer]

A few obsevations on the Wartburg game. I've had a chance to sleep on it after getting home from Minneapolis at 2:15am.

Augsberg is for real. Their QB/WR combo will test teams all year with their short passing game. They use them like runs throwing quick slants and outs for 3-5 yards an attempt. Their long game suffers a bit with protection.

That said,WB left opportunities on the field again. We took a bit to shake off the bus trip and late start. The running game was much improved, but the passing game was not as sharp.We need to turn the rocket screen upfield instead of taking the ball straight out of bounds for little gain. The defense hit hard (ask the Auggie WR's). Our tackling was better but still needs some improvement.

And the officials were some of the worst homies I've ever seen. We seemingly wre flagged evey time somone spit on the turf, but they couldnt find their flags when obvious holding, interefence, etc. happend in plain sight ten feet in front of them. At least three times game-changing plays in the Knight's favor were offset by questionable penalties.

Nvertheless, a game we should have won against a team we should have beat. Let's hope we have that out of out system for the rest of the season.

Sir-

I'll agree that the officials were very bad.  However, I highly dispute the fact that they were bad in one teams favor.  The "fumble" attributed to Berg was blatantly an incomplete pass.  The referee's own description of the play (head ref, mind you) was that he saw his arm go up, didn't see what happened, but then saw the ball on the ground. The only problem is that the ball ended up 6 yards in front of where he was hit at.  So, for his arm to go up, end up 6 yards further up-field, I struggle to see that that was anything but an incomplete pass.  I will immediately agree, he should have been flagged for intentional grounding at that spot.  However, the turnover of the ball was a terrible call.  Secondly, the block in the back on our punt team that was a punishment call for our coach arguing with the umpire, further illustrates that I think that the officials were bad, but were far from bad in one direction.  Please explain the egregious imbalance of calls that were un-warranted before simply saying that we won because of the zebras!

ON another note.  I thought that both teams were impressive last night.  WB's safeties are legit.  They are into the run game immediately, and do a good job of getting over to help with the outside third when they go cover one.   And, WOW do they hit!  I thought that the safeties hit significantly harder than the corners, but that could also be attributed to the "20" scheme that they seemed to run a fair amount (2 over the top, 0 under)  I don't know why WB went away from the running game.  They seemed to have some success with it at times, and would put two or three good running plays together, but then would go to a pass play, which confused me.   I was surprised how much pressure we were able to get on your QB.  I watched film of your game with Norbert's and your QB seemed to have HOURS to survey the field.  However, last night, he seemed to get a bit more pressure.  

I was impressed the way the WB defense was able to limit Royce's reception numbers.  However, he showed why he is such an amazing player, catching two HUGE TD's for us as well as the key reception.  I know he got frustrated a bit with the lack of catches, but he made up in quality what he lacked in quantity.  

#99 for WB is also great.  A true man-child-beast on that D-line.  I don't know what year he is, but he will be a great player to give some good pressure allowing WB's DB's to tee off!

I am glad my boys played well when they needed to.  The WB/Auggie wrestling rivalry has passed on well to the gridiron.  You are right, we always play very well against you guys, and I'm sad that in my two games with you guys we were on the short end of the stick, but glad to see that Coach Haege has started to get some much better players into camp, and now have put us in the position to come up with wins vs. the vaunted Knights.

Best of luck to your club in the upcoming conference season.  Heck, WB winning the IIAC will only make our victory last night look that much more important!

LAB

LAB....Where do you see your squad finishing this season.  Other MIAC poster came to the board this morning (all of whom I like) and stated that Auggie was a middle of the road team in the IIAC who gives up big time points to the upper echelon of the conference.  Is this a year that Auggie could make a run at the top?  Its seems as though SJU trying to find its QB and Bethel might not be as tough as last year either.  I like changing of the guard, and I hope you guys have a great reast of the season.  I am not Knight backer, I just like seeing things skaken up a bit.