FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[SagatagSam]

I didn't care about the heaters--more found it funny.  We've had our fair share of cold games at SJU, and I don't recall ever seeing such excessive heaters.  It doesn't really make sense as there is nothing to hold the heat in.

Those things were big enough to heat the quad. I didn't venture over to the visitor bleachers, but I wouldn't have been surprised if they made for some obstructed views in the visitor bleacher.

[SagatagSam]

Oh, another thought from Saturday's game:  I loved the southern drawl from the referee. 

I leaned over to my wife and said, "Jeez, they plucked this guy straight out of southern Georgia."

[hazzben]

Oh, another thought from Saturday's game:  I loved the southern drawl from the referee. 

I leaned over to my wife and said, "Jeez, they plucked this guy straight out of southern Georgia."

Gotta keep the Yankees and West Coast hippies in line somehow 

[SagatagSam]

Hats off to the seniors. It's been an especially wild ride when you throw in the COVID year. Depending how you want to define this seniors' career (whether as being 4 or 5 years long). They were either 35-4 (4 years) or 44-6 (5 years).

Here's a snapshot at the guys SJU graduates that started or saw significant playing time this year. (My apologies in advance to anyone I've missed.)

WR Matt Mohr
WR Blake Patrick
WR Ravi Alston
LT Tyler Johnson
C Nick Neumann
RT Cameron Murphy
QB Chris Backes
RB Henry Trost
RB Devin Vouk

DE Seth Morem
DT Metoriah Faoliu
DE Collin Franz
LB Kyle Kornovich
LB Carder Seymour
CB Tommy Deters
CB Dwayne Wade, Jr.

Also, I'm guessing with the COVID year there are some guys that are eligible as juniors who are seniors in terms of credits that will graduate in the spring and not come back. It's going to be an interesting off-season to say the least. And we haven't even begun discussing beer, ice fishing, the futility of other Minnesota sports franchises, and Aussie Rules football.

[SagatagSam]

Tough to watch the Johnnies in the postgame news conference, but did get a nice laugh out of the Linfield section when Coach Smith let loose a shot at the (l)East region.

That was good. I didn't catch it right away. Ball's in your court, East Region(s).

[DuffMan]

Ha, just heard that on the ATN podcast.  Hilarious.

[wally_wabash]

Tough to watch the Johnnies in the postgame news conference, but did get a nice laugh out of the Linfield section when Coach Smith let loose a shot at the (l)East region.

Minutes after knocking off the top seed in an historic venue, advancing to a regional final for the first time in six years, and that's what the HBC is worried about?  Not a great look, iyam, and detracts from a pretty significant moment in this season and these playoffs.  Also this.

[wildcat11]

Tough to watch the Johnnies in the postgame news conference, but did get a nice laugh out of the Linfield section when Coach Smith let loose a shot at the (l)East region.

Minutes after knocking off the top seed in an historic venue, advancing to a regional final for the first time in six years, and that's what the HBC is worried about?  Not a great look, iyam, and detracts from a pretty significant moment in this season and these playoffs.  Also this.

It was a throw away line that didn't distract away from anything.  Good lord. 

[DuffMan]

It was a throw away line that didn't distract away from anything.  Good lord. 

X2.

[wally_wabash]

Tough to watch the Johnnies in the postgame news conference, but did get a nice laugh out of the Linfield section when Coach Smith let loose a shot at the (l)East region.

Minutes after knocking off the top seed in an historic venue, advancing to a regional final for the first time in six years, and that's what the HBC is worried about?  Not a great look, iyam, and detracts from a pretty significant moment in this season and these playoffs.  Also this.

It was a throw away line that didn't distract away from anything.  Good lord. 

Detract- not distract. 

It's just a tired conversation.  Joe Smith has been in the division and on the geographic island long enough to know not just what the deal is but why it is.  What gets accomplished with that line?  Is there a solution in there somewhere? 

Anyway, moments after the biggest win the program has had in at least 6 years seemed like a weird time to take completely unsolicited shots at the NCAA over a thing that isn't at all new or unexpected. 

[wildcat11]

Your initial post made it seem like Coach Smith went on a rant about the East Region.  It was a little zinger that fans out west chuckled at and made you go search box scores.

[OzJohnnie]

Your initial post made it seem like Coach Smith went on a rant about the East Region.  It was a little zinger that fans out west chuckled at and made you go search box scores.

I found exclusive footage.

[crufootball]

Tough to watch the Johnnies in the postgame news conference, but did get a nice laugh out of the Linfield section when Coach Smith let loose a shot at the (l)East region.

Minutes after knocking off the top seed in an historic venue, advancing to a regional final for the first time in six years, and that's what the HBC is worried about?  Not a great look, iyam, and detracts from a pretty significant moment in this season and these playoffs.  Also this.

It was a throw away line that didn't distract away from anything.  Good lord. 

Detract- not distract. 

It's just a tired conversation.  Joe Smith has been in the division and on the geographic island long enough to know not just what the deal is but why it is.  What gets accomplished with that line?  Is there a solution in there somewhere? 

Anyway, moments after the biggest win the program has had in at least 6 years seemed like a weird time to take completely unsolicited shots at the NCAA over a thing that isn't at all new or unexpected.

As a fan of a team in the islands it didn't detract or distract...it delighted me. You seem to like to defend the shield on this subject Greg, but for the schools that repeatedly get hit by the shield the thing Coach accomplished was a funny line as his team advances to the quarterfinals.

[wally_wabash]

Tough to watch the Johnnies in the postgame news conference, but did get a nice laugh out of the Linfield section when Coach Smith let loose a shot at the (l)East region.

Minutes after knocking off the top seed in an historic venue, advancing to a regional final for the first time in six years, and that's what the HBC is worried about?  Not a great look, iyam, and detracts from a pretty significant moment in this season and these playoffs.  Also this.

It was a throw away line that didn't distract away from anything.  Good lord. 

Detract- not distract. 

It's just a tired conversation.  Joe Smith has been in the division and on the geographic island long enough to know not just what the deal is but why it is.  What gets accomplished with that line?  Is there a solution in there somewhere? 

Anyway, moments after the biggest win the program has had in at least 6 years seemed like a weird time to take completely unsolicited shots at the NCAA over a thing that isn't at all new or unexpected.

As a fan of a team in the islands it didn't detract or distract...it delighted me. You seem to like to defend the shield on this subject Greg, but for the schools that repeatedly get hit by the shield the thing Coach accomplished was a funny line as his team advances to the quarterfinals.

Offer a solution, please.  I'm sympathetic to this.  It stinks that ASC and NWC teams have had to play conference opponents in the first round- they fixed that.  I think it stinks that we're not mixing and matching pods a little bit better.  They did this really well for a just a couple of years before austerity came back and that one extra flight that made all the difference went away. I think the existence of the "travel pod" stinks.   But given these realities and constraints:
- Certain conferences, and consequently their champions, are fully isolated from the rest of the division
- The concentration of great teams is not dispersed evenly across the country
- The Division III Football Championship does not have an unlimited budget and the committee that creates the pairings have pretty strict rules to follow about how much air travel they can create

what is the solution?  How do you even this out for the isolated teams?  We're not getting more money.  Linfield or UMHB aren't relocating to western PA (that I'm aware of).  There are some teams really pushing to join that upper tier east of the Alleghenies, but they just aren't there yet.  Maybe they'll get there, maybe they won't. 

Past committee chairs have openly acknowledged that this is imperfect.  It's not being done purposefully or with malice toward the island teams.  I think that's the part that irks me most- the inference that this whole thing is a set up to jam the Texas teams or the northwest teams.  It isn't.  It's one thing for fans to use Post Patterns to gripe about it and literally NEVER get over it or accept it, and quite another for an accomplished head coach to do it in a postgame presser totally unprovoked.  So instead of taking shots at the committee or the NCAA, use that 32 seconds to offer a solution.  Something real that works given the constraints that this championship tournament has- and will continue to have.  Add something productive to the conversation. 

[OzJohnnie]

This debate caught in real time...