FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hazzben]

Heard Bethel won, but lost Landon Mathis for the season. How big of a loss is that for their defense?

Only caught bits and pieces of last night's game, and hadn't heard that.  Haz would know for sure, and probably be able to provide more commentary on their depth.

That is a major loss...he went down last year early enough in the year with an ACL as well that he got a medical redshirt.  Tough break for him, and definitely the loss of a significant leader.

Only know he limped off the field in the 2nd half, haven't heard if he's out for a while, the season or back for Warburg. He'd be a big loss, especially in terms of leadership. At the same time, his having missed most of last year means there are a lot of experienced young guys and they have some talent there.

On the whole, I thought it was a solid opening outing for Bethel.

Positives: RB's, WR's/TE's and the D played really well.

The D gave up yards, but was put in some really tough situations due to the turnovers. They were really good in the red zone, which showed guts and maturity. They were on the field for what seemed like the entire 2nd and 3rd quarters, but only gave up 2 field goals in that stretch.

Dzurik had a really solid first start at QB. One INT wasn't his fault as it bounced off the WR's hands. The other wasn't a terrible throw (still not one an experienced QB probably makes though), the UW-Stout DB made a really nice play on the ball and I thought our WR should have gone up for it more aggressively. His TD pass to Marquardt was a beauty of a deep ball. The Stout color guys said "you won't see a nicer pass than that all year long." Not sure about that level of hyperbole, but it was a great ball that he dropped in down the sideline between coverage. Even more impressive was his pocket presence on the pass. He stepped up to avoid the pressure coming off his right and delivered the ball in the face of pressure coming in front of him. Very nice. A few other TD passes where wide open guys, owing to great routes and even better playcalling. Still, good to see him making the right read and deliver the ball on time. And I loved how he bounced back after the INT's. He's got some mobility and confidence. And he's throwing the ball to some serious playmakers.

We've got some studs at the skill positions. Neuville at TE continues to impress, he's been a really solid contributor since his FR year and I think he makes the leap to being the best TE in the MIAC this year. With Johnson, Marquardt and Tusler, they've got tons of speed on the edge.

Special Teams: Hey, we made all our extra points (and none of them were ugly)!! Seriously though, that was nice to see. Also, our return men have a ton of confidence. Enough to make you nervous when they take a ball out of the end zone from 8 yds back or field a punt on the 1 yd line. But they are playmakers and none of those decisions ended up badly. They'll be a threat every time we are back to receive a punt/KO.

Moxy. When it got to 14-13 in the 3rd, Stout had all the 'momentum.' We didn't blink and proceeded to reel off 3 straight TD's. Both sides of the ball answered the bell when it mattered most.

Needs Work:

Turnovers - this is the major reason Stout was able to hang around as long as they did. Gotta protect the ball better against better opponents. We won't survive against Wartburg with sloppy play like that.

OLine - We lack depth here. We'll have to watch how they develop, but at this point, they're an inexcperienced unit that maybe isn't as imposing as they were in the past. Granted, we averaged 5.2 ypc, so I'm probably nit-picking. It's hard to know how good Stout is up front on D. On the positive side, with as many weapons as we have at the skill positions, we'll also spread teams out a good deal as well. And Klitske and Tusler have plenty of 'make you miss' to help an inexperienced Oline get their sea legs. With that, Richards is a great coach and I'm confident he'll get the most out of them as a group.

In the end, we went on the road with a brand new starting QB and got a solid win. There's stuff to improve on and sharpen up, but we've also got a long week to get ready for Wartburg. Great to be watching MIAC football again!

[art76]

Heard Bethel won, but lost Landon Mathis for the season. How big of a loss is that for their defense?

Only caught bits and pieces of last night's game, and hadn't heard that.  Haz would know for sure, and probably be able to provide more commentary on their depth.

That is a major loss...he went down last year early enough in the year with an ACL as well that he got a medical redshirt.  Tough break for him, and definitely the loss of a significant leader.

Lead Article on D3 Football says this, "But Bethel suffered a big loss on the field and the postgame mood was a little somber. "We lost Landon Mathis, who's the best player on our team. That's a hard deal." Mathis, the undisputed leader of a young defense, went down with a season-ending injury. " The quote within my quote is not attributed to anyone, but it sounds like something Coach Johnson might say.

[GoldandBlueBU]

Lead Article on D3 Football says this, "But Bethel suffered a big loss on the field and the postgame mood was a little somber. "We lost Landon Mathis, who's the best player on our team. That's a hard deal." Mathis, the undisputed leader of a young defense, went down with a season-ending injury. " The quote within my quote is not attributed to anyone, but it sounds like something Coach Johnson might say.

Very unfortunate.  Have to feel for a kid who misses most of last year with an injury, rehabs all off season and gets knocked out for the year in game 1. Opportunity for someone to step up!

[Pat Coleman]

Heard Bethel won, but lost Landon Mathis for the season. How big of a loss is that for their defense?

Only caught bits and pieces of last night's game, and hadn't heard that.  Haz would know for sure, and probably be able to provide more commentary on their depth.

That is a major loss...he went down last year early enough in the year with an ACL as well that he got a medical redshirt.  Tough break for him, and definitely the loss of a significant leader.

Lead Article on D3 Football says this, "But Bethel suffered a big loss on the field and the postgame mood was a little somber. "We lost Landon Mathis, who's the best player on our team. That's a hard deal." Mathis, the undisputed leader of a young defense, went down with a season-ending injury. " The quote within my quote is not attributed to anyone, but it sounds like something Coach Johnson might say.

Whoops -- I edited out the attribution in the rewrite. Good catch.

[BDB]

I agree with most of what Hazz posted on the BU/Stout game. Turnovers because the offense was sloppy or because the defense caused them? Depends who you are rooting for. The Blue Devils getting +300 yards passing because the turnovers gave the BU defense a short field to defend, maybe not.

Like I say, I agree with most of what Hazz says. My additional takes on the game:

1) Offensive skill set on BU is quality. If that wasn't "the best pass you will see all year," you won't see any better. Running backs are strong.
2) BU defense is suspect. I'm sorry to hear #5 is hurt. I was watching him early and could see his skills.
3) Student fans traveled well. A couple bus loads of bright neon clad college kids showed up and were awesome fans. I was very impressed.
4) After being a hockey Team Manager for 10 years I thought I had seen it all in poor parent behavior. This one prick Bethel Dad (he looked Dad age) was loud and weird wanting the Bethel defense to "TAKE HIM OUT" when the Stout QB ran the ball. (Note: this slender QB was taken out last year in the first game and was playing his first game since. As a hockey guy I would have the guy thrown out.) (2nd Note: Seems like every team has some azzhat like this. Just don't high five and encourage them.)

That's all I have. Bethel is a nice team. I was on their campus 2 weeks ago and thought it beautiful. I kept looking for where the ski lifts were.    Peace. BDB

[warthog]

It will be fun to see how the round robin of games with Bethel, UW Stout, and Wartburg shakes out. It is kind of fun having three teams from three different conference playing one another for the non-conference portion of their schedules.  For now Bethel is leading with a 1-0 record.

[OldAuggie]

I am expecting the Auggies to be prepared for Wartburg this year.  You will see a confident Auggie team take the field in Waverly.

[DuffMan]

Game day!  Let's go, Johnnies!

[57Johnnie]

Game day!  Let's go, Johnnies!

Amen. I'm ready but my computer hasn't been on for a couple of months and it is a little cranky.
Will use the iPad for Stretch if it works this year otherwise will rely on posters.
Dusted off my John bobblehead .......... so
GO JOHNNIES 

The old iMac is feeling its age. Clear cookies, history and restart helped

[hazzben]

I agree with most of what Hazz posted on the BU/Stout game. Turnovers because the offense was sloppy or because the defense caused them? Depends who you are rooting for. The Blue Devils getting +300 yards passing because the turnovers gave the BU defense a short field to defend, maybe not.

Like I say, I agree with most of what Hazz says. My additional takes on the game:

1) Offensive skill set on BU is quality. If that wasn't "the best pass you will see all year," you won't see any better. Running backs are strong.
2) BU defense is suspect. I'm sorry to hear #5 is hurt. I was watching him early and could see his skills.
3) Student fans traveled well. A couple bus loads of bright neon clad college kids showed up and were awesome fans. I was very impressed.
4) After being a hockey Team Manager for 10 years I thought I had seen it all in poor parent behavior. This one prick Bethel Dad (he looked Dad age) was loud and weird wanting the Bethel defense to "TAKE HIM OUT" when the Stout QB ran the ball. (Note: this slender QB was taken out last year in the first game and was playing his first game since. As a hockey guy I would have the guy thrown out.) (2nd Note: Seems like every team has some azzhat like this. Just don't high five and encourage them.)

That's all I have. Bethel is a nice team. I was on their campus 2 weeks ago and thought it beautiful. I kept looking for where the ski lifts were.    Peace. BDB

I definitely think the one INT was a great play by the Stout defender. Fumbles, IMO almost always start with ball security, even though a good defensive play is usually part of that equation. And ball security is something that you can work on.

That's unfortunate about the 'dad.' In my experience, yahoo's like that usually are parents (at the D3 level anyway). Especially at an away game like this on a Thursday night, I'm guessing most of older fans have a relative playing. That said, I wouldn't assume someone yelling for a guy to get taken out is necessarily hoping he gets hurt. It's often just a euphemism for laying a big hit on someone, and no doubt the fan had no idea he'd been hurt last year. But, having lost Mathis back to back years, BU has a fresh reminder of just how much injuries stink. I had one my Sr year and it was a brutal disappointment, even as I tried to play through it. No one should be cheering or hoping for an opposing player to get hurt, it's poor form.

I actually thought Stout's QB was a pretty good player. There were several drops and more difficult catches that weren't made by the WR's that affected him down the stretch. But he throws a good ball and seemed to progress through his reads pretty well.

Stout was competitive. I think a big hurdle for them will be figuring out how to close out, whether that be drives in the redzone or games in general. Turning that corner is often the difference between teams in the 2-5 win range and teams at least in the hunt down the stretch. Good luck the rest of the way BDB!

[SagatagSam]

With all due respect to Andy Williams, THIS is the most wonderful time of the year.

LET'S GO JOHNNIES!

[carletonknights]

Go Knights and win back that Book!

[Capn34]

When is SJU gonna get a decent video company, very choppy

[johnniepress]

Due to the extreme heat today, the computer that provides the video webcast is overheating and is causing disruptions in the stream. We understand your frustrations and appreciate your patience.

[hazzben]

It's hard to believe it's game week already!

Well, sort of. You guys play Dubuque.

It might be closer than you think.

True.  Or it might be a double monkey stomp out! 

Duff might still have the double stomp portion right