FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[OzJohnnie]

Yes, we will still do a mock bracket!

Well, good luck predicting how this year will be set up.

[SagatagSam]

Made it up to Collegeville this weekend. Perfect football weather. I had my kids with me, so getting over to the tailgate was not a real possibility. Would have been nice to see some familiar faces.

My wife is an athletic trainer and she knew Wheeler's injury was bad right away.

[DuffMan]

I had my kids with me, so getting over to the tailgate was not a real possibility.

Weak excuse!  You should have brought them over!

[Ice Bear]

Royals O now has two games of putting up 70 or more, 4 games of 50 or more, and 7 games of 40 or more. ****, that's promising. I just haven't been able to catch my Royals as much this season being on the road for my daughter's travel softball but man, for having a new coach and some new players they are certainly gaining some real momentum. Averaging 56 a game and only giving up an average of 9 a game is something. I know the level of competition has not been consistent but still. This is giving me hope that if they can stay in line to face St.John's again there may be some reason to believe the rematch may be closer than the first encounter.

Probably some happy mother****ing Baptists in Arden Hills right about now.

[hazzben]

Royals O now has two games of putting up 70 or more, 4 games of 50 or more, and 7 games of 40 or more. ****, that's promising. I just haven't been able to catch my Royals as much this season being on the road for my daughter's travel softball but man, for having a new coach and some new players they are certainly gaining some real momentum. Averaging 56 a game and only giving up an average of 9 a game is something. I know the level of competition has not been consistent but still. This is giving me hope that if they can stay in line to face St.John's again there may be some reason to believe the rematch may be closer than the first encounter.

Probably some happy mother****ing Baptists in Arden Hills right about now.

I was just talking with my brother about this. The offensive identity has really gelled as the season progressed. We seem to be playing faster, which makes sense as you get settled into a new offense.

And the competition hasn't been great. But kudos to the O and D for playing exceptionally well, even when it's clear a B- game would still be a BU win. It's harder than it seems to lose your edge a bit when you are aware there's a talent gap.

Augsburg is a good case in point. They played SJU closer than I expected and then just beat Olaf (probably a paper tiger) in OT. We were better, but it could have easily been one where it ended up 45-14 or something. But the backups have played really well in reserve, especially on D, closing things out. Hopefully more of the same against Carleton.

Cobbers will be an interesting matchup. They control their own destiny and will be hungry, assuming they hold serve against Augsburg. That will be a good test for us. And a needed spike in competition going into SJU.

Given the C. Wheeler news, here's to everyone staying healthy for the stretch run!

[DuffMan]

Given the C. Wheeler news, here's to everyone staying healthy for the stretch run!

Was just talking about this at the tailgate on Saturday.  It's not enough to have elite talent and play well, you have to stay healthy.  I don't recall which season it was, but it was one with Erdmann at the helm where SJU went deep in the playoffs, but I remember being amazed at how healthy that team stayed all season, which is why they did so well.

The loss of C. Wheeler hurts, but thankfully, SJU is pretty deep at RB.  I hope his injury is less serious that speculation.

[hazzben]

Avoiding the injury bug and depth are two under-appreciated components of a deep run. Your elite talent can't get hurt. Inevitably you're going to lose some guys for a game or two, but you need to have depth behind them, or hope those losses come during lulls in the schedule.

BU's Oline is starting to gel, but we are still short of what could have been if we hadn't lost a key transfer this summer to an achilles. It's also left us very thin going forward at that spot.

Guys that BU can't afford to lose because they are elite or we are thin ...

BU: Kidder, Jung, Devon Williams, Cooper Drews, Niewald, any Olineman

SJU List??:
Syverson, Dylan Wheeler ... who else?

[AO]

I was watching a little bit of the Ohio State-Nebraska game Saturday and one of the Buckeye's offensive linemen went down with an injury. The Buckeyes reached deep into their roster after this was the 2nd left tackle to go down this year and they managed to find a guy who was merely a 4 star, #1 recruit in Ohio who is a sophomore but has been with the program since January of 2023. Just another guy at Ohio State but would have been most programs best recruit in a decade. Depth is definitely underrated.

[SJU13]

I think Gendreau, Frank, and our linebacking unit would be people that would be difficult to potentially replace like for like or cause us to have to change things to accommodate their absence.

Given the spread of their wins I can't help but feel like Bethel would be rising in the rankings if they didn't get knocked out of the top 25 after playing SJU.

[Pat Coleman]

I think Gendreau, Frank, and our linebacking unit would be people that would be difficult to potentially replace like for like or cause us to have to change things to accommodate their absence.

Given the spread of their wins I can't help but feel like Bethel would be rising in the rankings if they didn't get knocked out of the top 25 after playing SJU.

Beating the snot out of Gustavus (OK), Macalester, Augsburg and Hamline doesn't move the needle for a Top 25 voter. Similarly Brockport beat the snot out of St. John Fisher, Hartwick, Hilbert and Morrisville State (OK) and it didn't get them ranked either.

[faunch]

I think Gendreau, Frank, and our linebacking unit would be people that would be difficult to potentially replace like for like or cause us to have to change things to accommodate their absence.

Given the spread of their wins I can't help but feel like Bethel would be rising in the rankings if they didn't get knocked out of the top 25 after playing SJU.

Every SJU fan, player and coach know who the irreplaceable piece is this year. In 2021 he was our MVP until he got hurt. Chris Backes filled in admirably but we weren't the same team after we lost him at Gustavus.

[hazzben]

I think Gendreau, Frank, and our linebacking unit would be people that would be difficult to potentially replace like for like or cause us to have to change things to accommodate their absence.

Given the spread of their wins I can't help but feel like Bethel would be rising in the rankings if they didn't get knocked out of the top 25 after playing SJU.

Beating the snot out of Gustavus (OK), Macalester, Augsburg and Hamline doesn't move the needle for a Top 25 voter. Similarly Brockport beat the snot out of St. John Fisher, Hartwick, Hilbert and Morrisville State (OK) and it didn't get them ranked either.

Augsburg looks a little different than it did a week ago. But the others are as much an indictment of the bottom of the MIAC as they are a compliment to BU. Again for me it's the consistency of domination from week to week. That's what is hard to sustain without letup.

[DuffMan]

If I'm understanding this NPI business correctly, any ranking other than the NPI means diddly squat this year--that means regional rankings, results against regionally-ranked opponents, etc. have no bearing on seeding and pool C selection.

Sure, rankings can be fun to look at, but come selection Sunday, the NCAA is just going to take all the pool A teams and the top 12 NPIs that aren't pool A (i.e. pool C teams) and create a bracket, presumably seeded based on NPI with travel costs factored in, as well.

So, if you can't get a pool A bid, you'd better have a high NPI.

[faunch]

Given the C. Wheeler news, here's to everyone staying healthy for the stretch run!

Was just talking about this at the tailgate on Saturday.  It's not enough to have elite talent and play well, you have to stay healthy.  I don't recall which season it was, but it was one with Erdmann at the helm where SJU went deep in the playoffs, but I remember being amazed at how healthy that team stayed all season, which is why they did so well.

The loss of C. Wheeler hurts, but thankfully, SJU is pretty deep at RB.  I hope his injury is less serious that speculation.

I felt that Cayden Wheeler looked like one of the best running backs SJU has had in a number of years. Against Bethel he seemed to really set the tone for the running game. Not to take anything away from Blakey of Christofferson, but Wheeler just seemed to be bit better of a runner. Blakey doesn't shy away from contact...that said he's had two fumbles on big hits.

[sjusection105]

Over the years SJU has a RB who "gets his chance" it may be because of an injury or that he has the most experience and graduation of previous starter presents an opportunity. I'd venture to guess next week will be a run heavy play selection visiting Duluth and every opportunity will be given for a couple RBs to showcase their talents.