FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[retagent]

Take note that 5 of the 9 MIAC teams received votes in the d3 rankings. Three are in the Top 25. Quite the feather in the MIAC cap.

[Capn34]

First chance yesterday to see the Johnnies play online for the whole game.  From watching the future looks bright.  I saw a lot of freshmen and sophomores contributing at high levels. 

Trevor Warner will be an All-American by the time he is through.  Sura looked good even though he may be a little small for a workhorse back.  Evan Clark played a lot and will be good. 

The real baller is Josh Bungam, totally impressed by his game.  I believe he has a chance to be as good if not better than Black Elliot by the time he is through.  Great D3 players tend to be kids who are division 1 players who God gave D3 bodies.  If he was 6'2" he would not be at SJU.  The kids that have D1 bodies and are at the D3 level are limited football wise, which is why they are in D3.

[Capn34]

Take note that 5 of the 9 MIAC teams received votes in the d3 rankings. Three are in the Top 25. Quite the feather in the MIAC cap.

That is the stuff of the WIAC glory days. 

[Retired Old Rat]

I like Josh Bungam, but he is no Blake Elliott.  Blake would have had a couple of touchdowns yesterday on the balls caught by Josh.  Josh doesn't have the strength that Blake did to break tackles.

[SJU60TX]

My thoughts on the game yesterday, but first a couple of replies:
"If you look on the In Game board, I asked if anyone else saw a block in the back on the fumbled, then recovered long punt return, right after the play. I thought I was alone."
I actually saw 2 block in the backs and a hold

Capn 34-No WAY is Bungum as good as Elliot.  He doesn't have breakaway speed and is no where near the power nor the playmaker Elliot was, no to mention the power back he displayed vs MTU in the 4th in 2003.

OK-Here are my observations from yesterday:

1.  Caruso-outcoached himself.  He got to cute and fancy.  Some gimmicks did work, some totally blew up in his face.  That being said, all the FAMILY hand holding crap, Glen Caruso halftime show (How the hell doe she get sportsmanship award after charging MTU when they kneel down?!?!?) was just all to arrogant, self serving, self absorption that makes me puke when I see him.  Classic case of little mans syndrome

2.  I think Ramler called a great 1st half, and crawled into a shell the second half.  I wished SJU was a little more daring with the play calling in the second half. Do they have any other running plays than a Zone read with no pitch option?!?!?

3.  D was soft in the middle in the 4th (Secondary) on USTs final drive.  That was the only weakness I saw in SJU D yesterday.  The reason why UST didn't run between the tackles is because ether couldn't---SJU plugged holes, displaced LOS, and even though they gave up 60lbs per player, outplayed Lineman U.

4.  I heard that SJU defense lined up wrong late, and O'Connell read it and tried to make something happen, but a last second adjustment forced him to slide on right hash.  This gets me to my point in #2-sometimes when even you throw out something you don't expect, it screws up the other team to force them not a bad play.

5.  Bruns layer very well yesterday-made very smart decisions at QB-O'Connell is a good runner, and thats it---he was terribly off and high yesterday---Bruns was precise in his placement of passes.

6.  Congrats to Gary and team.  I was definitely in the Grant camp-nothing against GAry at all, I was disappointed with the sham process Tom Stock put out there, but nonetheless, Gary deserves a ton of credit bc unlike GC, he credits his players, has stepped into this role with a tremendous amount of dignity and humility.  And, I know he recognizes how tough the Cobbers will be. 

BTW-would love to hear "Fear the Ear"s assessment-he has my vote for the best online moniker here.....

[Capn34]

I like Josh Bungam, but he is no Blake Elliott.  Blake would have had a couple of touchdowns yesterday on the balls caught by Josh.  Josh doesn't have the strength that Blake did to break tackles.

He is only a sophomore.  He will get bigger and stronger.  Wasn't Blake also a fifth year senior in 2003. 

My comment was not intended to take away from Blake who is one of the best ever in D3 history and definitely the best playmaker in SJU history.

[Pat Coleman]

Because St. Thomas has gone so deep in the playoffs lately, I've seen a lot of Tommies football the past few years.

Some gimmicks did work, some totally blew up in his face.

They call every game like this. Just the way they are. And honestly, generally they work.

[Robert Zimmerman]

I like Josh Bungam, but he is no Blake Elliott.  Blake would have had a couple of touchdowns yesterday on the balls caught by Josh.  Josh doesn't have the strength that Blake did to break tackles.

I agree, Elliot had 72 catches and over a thousand yards his sophomore season.  I don't think Josh will be there by the end of the season.  Bungum reminds me more of Adam Herbst.

[corn horn]

The Cobber/Ole "Troll Trophy" could get on ESPN College Gameday this weekend. http://peterson.areavoices.com/2013/09/18/the-ugliest-traveling-trophy-in-college-football-could-make-an-appearance-on-espn/

Is the Troll Trophy that big of a deal? I feel like I'm pretty plugged into the MIAC in general, when I'm not blinded by my Johnnie red and smokefests, but I don't remember hearing about the trophy in other years. It's been discussed on this board and I've seen multiple mentions of it in my twitter feed. Is it simply the fact that Gameday is going to be in the area so those associated with the trophy are trying to build it up? I don't ask to criticize, just curious.

I'm obviously not an Ole or Cobber, but I've heard of the troll before. I can't say how intense the rivalry is, but I think there's a little bad blood between both sides. Though I Olaf obviously hates Carleton with special level of vitriol.

Which brings up another question I guess. Who would Concordia consider their biggest MIAC rival? SJU, St. Olaf, Bethel, UST?

This is always a big game for the Cobbers and I would assume the Oles. The Troll does add excitment to the game. It was always fun after the game running over to it and lifting it up and taking pictures with it. It just worked out well that Gameday was coming to town this week to get some good pub for Concordia and the MIAC in general, and this was the unique way that it could happen.

But as a former player the St. Johns game was always the biggest.  Though the St. Thomas, St. Olaf and Bethal games are always big ones too.

I don't think it has the history of the Goat Trophy.  I want to say the Troll trophy game only dates back about 30-40 years.  It has also been known as the Lefse Bowl.  In fact I seem to remember a different trophy from when I was at St. Olaf.  Like most St. Olaf rivalries it is bigger with the older alumni than with younger students.  The Norwegian heritage of St. Olaf lends itself to rivalries also with Augsburg and Gustavus.  The other programs at several of these schools add to the rivalry.  I've been to a few athletic contests where someone has started talking trash comparing music programs.

You hit it on the head, Texas Ole. I remember addressing this issue of Concordia rivalries here a few years back. The most prominent rivalry for many years was not against an MIAC opponent, but against the school formerly known as Moorhead State. Concordia is sort of the Switzerland of the MIAC. From the Concordia perspective, St. Olaf is the most traditional school rival, but that has little to do with sports. It is a brotherly rivalry of similar schools with similar heritage, one exurban and one rural (essentially). Cobbers have to travel down I-94 a couple hours to get to its closest geographic rival--St. Johns.

In football, recent history (as in the last 20 years) would put St. Johns as the top football rival--so often at the top with a particular knack for sucking the soul out of Cobber fans in games' closing moments. The way the Bethel game ended last season could create some short term vitriol this season. We'll see.

As for the troll, it's been around since '74. It is a traveling trophy, but as was noted earlier, the Cobber-Ole game is still the "lefse bowl" not the "troll bowl" in most alums minds.

Play hard and keep the peace, boys.

[Robert Zimmerman]

SJU has a defense that might take them to a conference title, it'd be really cool to see two teams from the MIAC this year. I just hope one them is UST.

Oh, I don't think we need to go there yet.  If we can play hard against CON, BU and AUG then we'll be pretty happy.  Snag a win or two from them and make sure we don't drop any to the others and we'll have ourselves a very good season.  One to be proud of.  But I don't think we're quite back to vying for the championship.

Also, I don't think other teams will see the same UST.  I bet this splash of cold water keeps their focus for the rest of the year.

I do wonder about the distraction (or at least what would be a distraction for me) of the F.A.M.I.L.Y and hand holding.  Will it go away?  Does it distract from the decision making, discipline and execution needed to be a top team?  It's something to think about.  Every brain cycle spent on gimmicks is one not spent on considering the present situation.

I am with you Oz.  Although Saturday's win was huge, SJU could just as easily be 0-3 this season.  The season is off to a great start, but the MIAC is so tough this year.  Our offense still needs to put together a complete game and the defense, although much improved from the last 2 seasons so far, still has some mistakes to correct.  In previous years, some dominant SJU teams dropped a game early in the season, got some help from other MIAC teams, and then rattled off a bunch of wins in a row to get into the playoffs.  I could see the same thing happening to UST this year.

[Capn34]

I like Josh Bungam, but he is no Blake Elliott.  Blake would have had a couple of touchdowns yesterday on the balls caught by Josh.  Josh doesn't have the strength that Blake did to break tackles.

I agree, Elliot had 72 catches and over a thousand yards his sophomore season.  I don't think Josh will be there by the end of the season.  Bungum reminds me more of Adam Herbst.

Not to quibble, but Bungam is on pace for 86 and 1060....just sayin. 

[Capn34]

Kinda nice this board is back to being a Johnnie smokefest again 

[faunch]

My thoughts on the game yesterday, but first a couple of replies:
"If you look on the In Game board, I asked if anyone else saw a block in the back on the fumbled, then recovered long punt return, right after the play. I thought I was alone."
I actually saw 2 block in the backs and a hold

Capn 34-No WAY is Bungum as good as Elliot.  He doesn't have breakaway speed and is no where near the power nor the playmaker Elliot was, no to mention the power back he displayed vs MTU in the 4th in 2003.

OK-Here are my observations from yesterday:

1.  Caruso-outcoached himself.  He got to cute and fancy.  Some gimmicks did work, some totally blew up in his face.  That being said, all the FAMILY hand holding crap, Glen Caruso halftime show (How the hell doe she get sportsmanship award after charging MTU when they kneel down?!?!?) was just all to arrogant, self serving, self absorption that makes me puke when I see him.  Classic case of little mans syndrome

2.  I think Ramler called a great 1st half, and crawled into a shell the second half.  I wished SJU was a little more daring with the play calling in the second half. Do they have any other running plays than a Zone read with no pitch option?!?!?

3.  D was soft in the middle in the 4th (Secondary) on USTs final drive.  That was the only weakness I saw in SJU D yesterday.  The reason why UST didn't run between the tackles is because ether couldn't---SJU plugged holes, displaced LOS, and even though they gave up 60lbs per player, outplayed Lineman U.

4.  I heard that SJU defense lined up wrong late, and O'Connell read it and tried to make something happen, but a last second adjustment forced him to slide on right hash.  This gets me to my point in #2-sometimes when even you throw out something you don't expect, it screws up the other team to force them not a bad play.

5.  Bruns layer very well yesterday-made very smart decisions at QB-O'Connell is a good runner, and thats it---he was terribly off and high yesterday---Bruns was precise in his placement of passes.

6.  Congrats to Gary and team.  I was definitely in the Grant camp-nothing against GAry at all, I was disappointed with the sham process Tom Stock put out there, but nonetheless, Gary deserves a ton of credit bc unlike GC, he credits his players, has stepped into this role with a tremendous amount of dignity and humility.  And, I know he recognizes how tough the Cobbers will be. 

BTW-would love to hear "Fear the Ear"s assessment-he has my vote for the best online moniker here.....

As I'm reading this I'm also listening to Gary's post game interview.  Gary is very humble and I believe is the right man to lead the Johnnies. 

[OzJohnnie]

I like Josh Bungam, but he is no Blake Elliott.  Blake would have had a couple of touchdowns yesterday on the balls caught by Josh.  Josh doesn't have the strength that Blake did to break tackles.

I agree, Elliot had 72 catches and over a thousand yards his sophomore season.  I don't think Josh will be there by the end of the season.  Bungum reminds me more of Adam Herbst.

Not to quibble, but Bungam is on pace for 86 and 1060....just sayin. 

I, for one, hope you are right though I doubt you will be in the end. But it can happen. We'll have to see.

[bluenote]

...you guys kind of crack me up!!!   LOL !!!   

I think SJU should be in the Top 5. !!!!