FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[sjusection105]

The defense always seems to find a way, but this year the QB situation will be interesting- I certainly hope they have "the right guy" by the time Eau Claire rolls around, because that early season (in Region) game always has play-off implications for both squads.

[sfury]

Pitino. Calipari. Switzer. Coach K. Roy Williams. Saban. Urban Meyer. Amateurs compared to Caruso.

I'm not sure what the recruiting game is in D3 exactly, since - I hope - it's not like Happy and the Friends of the Program from Blue Chips.

"Well, sir, I was hoping we could talk about our arrangement," said Duffman.

"Arrangement?" said Gagliardi.

"Um, we could use a new tractor on the farm, and maybe a lifetime supply of Yuengling, I heard that East Coast beer is mighty good but can't get it here. That's what it's going to take to get me to Collegeville."

"That's it, out of my office, Duffman! None of that crap here."

AS 105 said, the defense always seems to have plenty of studs. So recruiting must be okay there. And offensively, I noted this last year and I like quoting myself so I'll post it again (it's sort of like speaking in the third-person, but not as weird):

Number of games the SJU offense had 500 yards in a game:

2010: 7 in 10 games
2009: 0 in 11 games
2008: 0 in 11 games
2007: 3 in 12 games
2006: 1 in 13 games
2005: 3 in 12 games
2004: 2 in 10 games
2003: 4 in 14 games
2002: 3 in 14 games
2001: 3 in 14 games.

There was obviously a lot of talent on offense last year, which seems to indicate the Johnnies fared pretty well in the recruiting game over the years. And that was without Lipp, who got hurt early and will hopefully be tough this year. They have great depth at RB. For all of St. Thomas' supposed superiority in the recruiting game the last three years, again, last year the Johnnies controlled the game for a decent amount of that game and were a missed PAT from another OT. It's not like they were overwhelmed physically. And if you think they were, then you have to give some credit to the coaches, including, yes, the offensive coordinator.

No, the johnnies haven't had the playoff success the last few years that they had from the mid90s-2003. But 2000-03, and especially 01-03, was something of an anomaly. In many ways, those SJU teams were exactly the same as the last seven years. Except there was a notable exception known as Blake Elliott. No, they haven't been able to land anyone like Elliott in the recruiting game the last seven years. Of course, they didn't land anyone like him the first 50 years of Gagliardi's reign either.

Still, wasn't Decker going to come to SJU until he landed with the Gophers?

Again, recruiting stories and tall tales about them - whether delivered by St. Thomas press releases or at Johnnie lunches - are part of the deal. But at D3 you do need years to really evaluate. It's hard enough believing a lot of the D1 recruiting ratings, D3 even more so. Like I've also mentioned before (again quoting myself) no one had heard of Chris Palmer when he came to SJU in the fall of 1992. If there had been message boards no one would have been bragging about him coming to Collegeville.

I don't know anything about SJU's recruiting, or St. Thomas', or whether one's a well-oiled machine and the other a bit creaky. I do feel fairly safe in saying the Johnnies are going to have some pretty impressive players this year and will have just as good a chance of winning the conference as the Tommies or Royals. Do they have the studs to go 15-0? I don't know, probably not. But maybe. But then, it seems really only two schools in the country can ever say they do. We'll see what happens. But I'm not going to worry too much about recruiting wars and who's winning them.

The QB situation on the other hand...

[GoldandBlueBU]

http://d3football.com/top25/2011/preseason

D3football.com pre-season rankings are out...

Tommies 5, Bethel 7, SJU 25.

Will be interesting to see where those numbers are at by the time they've all played eachother.

[OzJohnnie]

Great post there, sfury.  I'm getting excited about this season.

In AFL land (I can hear the groans from here) it's getting to the end of the season and the intensity is lifting as teams battle for a spot in the post season and good seeding in the playoffs.  James Strauss, playing for the Melbourne Demons, had a bad day.

[sjusection105]

  James Strauss, playing for the Melbourne Demons, had a bad day.

That's an understatement Oz 

[Ralph Turner]

  James Strauss, playing for the Melbourne Demons, had a bad day.

That's an understatement Oz 

That is worse than Joe Theisman's! 

[BleacherBum]

  James Strauss, playing for the Melbourne Demons, had a bad day.

That's an understatement Oz 

That is worse than Joe Theisman's! 

I'm not always one for sympahty pain, but my leg hurts just watching that....

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

  James Strauss, playing for the Melbourne Demons, had a bad day.

That's an understatement Oz 

That is worse than Joe Theisman's! 

I'm not always one for sympahty pain, but my leg hurts just watching that....

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! damn that looks bad...was it as bad as it looks Oz?

[OzJohnnie]

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! damn that looks bad...was it as bad as it looks Oz?

Yeah, it snapped clean in two.  He'll be very lucky to come back from that.  Actually, it's the third time I can remember that happening in the last 15 years of following AFL football.  The worst leg break I saw was when Nathan Brown, playing for the Richmond Tigers, had the shin on his planted leg snapped when an opposition player dove across it trying to block a kick.

This is a crazy full contact sport, that's for sure.  The non-queasy among you can test your mettle by watching this video of The Worst AFL Injuries.  I was only able to watch the first 18 seconds when it showed a Collingwood player get the worst broken arm I've ever seen.  Testament to his toughness, however, he doesn't wait for trainers before he stands up holding the shattered remains of his arm and trots off the field.  I see in the comments a reference to a player that put his own knee back in (at 1:03 in the video, apparently.  I don't have the stomach at the moment to watch that far and make sure).  I was actually watching that game on television.  His knee cap was ripped to the side of his leg in a collision and he banged it back around in place with the heel of his hand as he waited for the trainers to run across the field.  Pure nuts.

[tmerton]

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! damn that looks bad...was it as bad as it looks Oz?

Yeah, it snapped clean in two.  He'll be very lucky to come back from that.  Actually, it's the third time I can remember that happening in the last 15 years of following AFL football.  The worst leg break I saw was when Nathan Brown, playing for the Richmond Tigers, had the shin on his planted leg snapped when an opposition player dove across it trying to block a kick.

This is a crazy full contact sport, that's for sure.  The non-queasy among you can test your mettle by watching this video of The Worst AFL Injuries.  I was only able to watch the first 18 seconds when it showed a Collingwood player get the worst broken arm I've ever seen.  Testament to his toughness, however, he doesn't wait for trainers before he stands up holding the shattered remains of his arm and trots off the field.  I see in the comments a reference to a player that put his own knee back in (at 1:03 in the video, apparently.  I don't have the stomach at the moment to watch that far and make sure).  I was actually watching that game on television.  His knee cap was ripped to the side of his leg in a collision and he banged it back around in place with the heel of his hand as he waited for the trainers to run across the field.  Pure nuts.

How bout we watch some prison riots? 

I'm sure it's a fun sport in Australia.  I just don't live there.

[Knightstalker]

Didn't a basketball player, not sure if NBA or College break a leg like that within the last couple of years?  Went up to take a shot and came down awkwardly and either broke it or dislocated the ankle.

[hazzben]

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! damn that looks bad...was it as bad as it looks Oz?

Yeah, it snapped clean in two.  He'll be very lucky to come back from that.  Actually, it's the third time I can remember that happening in the last 15 years of following AFL football.  The worst leg break I saw was when Nathan Brown, playing for the Richmond Tigers, had the shin on his planted leg snapped when an opposition player dove across it trying to block a kick.

This is a crazy full contact sport, that's for sure.  The non-queasy among you can test your mettle by watching this video of The Worst AFL Injuries.  I was only able to watch the first 18 seconds when it showed a Collingwood player get the worst broken arm I've ever seen.  Testament to his toughness, however, he doesn't wait for trainers before he stands up holding the shattered remains of his arm and trots off the field.  I see in the comments a reference to a player that put his own knee back in (at 1:03 in the video, apparently.  I don't have the stomach at the moment to watch that far and make sure).  I was actually watching that game on television.  His knee cap was ripped to the side of his leg in a collision and he banged it back around in place with the heel of his hand as he waited for the trainers to run across the field.  Pure nuts.

It's so bad it doesn't even look real. 

[faunch]

Did any fellow SJU alums see this?  Are the Johnnies finally getting into the webcast game?  How much would OzJohnnie pay to have it streamed down under?

Chicago viewing party for Bethel / SJU game
https://www.csbsju.edu/sjualum/events/2011chicago-live-game.aspx

California viewing party for Bethel / SJU game (maybe Clark can just drive to this one?)
https://www.csbsju.edu/sjualum/events/2011california-live-game.aspx

[AO]

Did any fellow SJU alums see this?  Are the Johnnies finally getting into the webcast game?  How much would OzJohnnie pay to have it streamed down under?

Chicago viewing party for Bethel / SJU game
https://www.csbsju.edu/sjualum/events/2011chicago-live-game.aspx

California viewing party for Bethel / SJU game (maybe Clark can just drive to this one?)
https://www.csbsju.edu/sjualum/events/2011california-live-game.aspx

first it was artificial lights, now it's television, what's next for the rapidly evolving Johnnies--indoor plumbing?

[hazzben]

Heartbreaking story about the son of the Chinook pilot who was killed a few days ago in Afghanistan.

We lost 30 heroes that day. So thankful for their sacrifice for this country and my prayers go out to all the families involved.