FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[repete]

So I'm taking the Red Line into downtown DC tonight for dinner and at Union Station a guy gets on with an ugly purple hat.

I know that shade, I think, and sure enough it is a UST(d) model. As I get out at Metro Center I walk past and look at the guy, "Hey, St. Thomas is having a great football season," I say. "5-1 is a great record for them."

And the Tommie smilingly agrees.

[Redtooth]

Couple quick points I'd like to make:

On the Elliott vs Hvistendahl issue- this conversation is getting silly.  Not only did Elliott excel statistically, his leadership was unmatched.  He led his team to 2 Stagg Bowls, winning in 2003, 4 West Region Championships and 2 MVPs.  While Hvistendahl had strong stats, even the strongest Augsburg supporter has to admit the end of his career (while chasing the Rice record) felt a little like a carnival side show.  Osberg went to great lengths to get Scott catches in any/all situations.

On the mention of UST moving to FCS- this program has not sniffed an MIAC title in almost 20 years...win one first.  Living in a town with one of the dominent FCS programs in the country (University of Montana) I can assure everyone that USTd would get absolutely eviscerated at this level.  If they want to get it a try I would be happy to help arrange a non-conference game with UM here in Missoula next year.  

Have a great game tomorrow SJU!!!!!

[Pat Coleman]

I suspect that if St. Thomas ever moved to D-I FCS, those 64 football scholarships would help level the playing field a bit.

[Willy Wonka]

Couple quick points I'd like to make:

On the Elliott vs Hvistendahl issue- this conversation is getting silly.  Not only did Elliott excel statistically, his leadership was unmatched.  He led his team to 2 Stagg Bowls, winning in 2003, 4 West Region Championships and 2 MVPs.  While Hvistendahl had strong stats, even the strongest Augsburg supporter has to admit the end of his career (while chasing the Rice record) felt a little like a carnival side show.  Osberg went to great lengths to get Scott catches in any/all situations.

That's one of the most ridiculous rationalizations I may have ever heard. If you have a great player, you get the ball in his hands as often as possible. Regardless of position. Period. I mean, TC just did a decent job arguing that BE was better specifically because SJU started handing him the ball.

I never had the pleasure of seeing Hvisty play, so I don't have anything to compare it to. But I know BE absolutely tore my Gustie teams apart.

[VOJ]

TC;  Put your head in the toilet.

We have Flash; now we have Flush.

I can't believe how some folks are rolling over for this friggin New Yorker and his current team (give me the over/under on how many years Caruso stays at UST - I'd say 4).

We just have to keep it close.

Well he keeps saying D3 is where he wants to be and he likes it here. I hope he's here for awhile.

I wouldn't believe a word that comes out of his mouth.  I'll take the push, assuming UST wins 2 MIAC championships and gets deep in the playoffs one of the years.

Just because he's bounced around a bit doesn't mean he's looking for a bigger spotlight. Have you ever been to Vermillion, SD or seen the trainwreck known as the "Dakota Dome?" It's just awful. And uprooting from Mac to go to a school that actually has a chance of winning some football games, and was in the course of fundraising to drastically improve their facilities wasn't exactly a bad move.

Actually, I have been to Vermillion, SD and been on the field in the Dakota Dome several times.  I'm not questioning his decision to move schools.  Neither move was a bad move.  I just don't think he seems like a guy that will settle in at D3.  I get the feeling he'll move up in divisions as high as he can go.  That's not a bad thing.  A coach I respect very much once told me, "Don't believe anything a coach tells you about his desires, he's always trying to get to the next level."  I'm not sure that applies in every situation, but likely in most.  If Caruso has a great couple years, he'll have some calls from D2 schools, and it's not a knock on him to take one.

I still don't like the guy, but I wasn't trying to say anything bad about his decisions.

Good thing John is cut out of a little different mold...

prediction time...SJU 24 UST 14

I have seen an evolution this year in the Johnnies D, from a unit that struggled early, to one that is playing the way a normal Johnnies defense does, taking things away and making a team one dimensional.  This change happened right after halftime of the Concordia game...they shut out and shut down the Cobber offense in the second half, the lone score came on a pick-6, since then they have played like the unit we expected to see.

They only allowed 14 points to Bethel...one score on a flea flicker, the other on a short field situation after an interception...on a 4th down pass

Hamline was shut out by the defense, ok maybe that is not saying much given the injuries Hamline has suffered and the difference in talent levels but if not for a blocked punt the Pipers would have been held without a score...

The Tommies have talent, great skill players, but Morse is a tall target in the pocket for a defense that has shown they will bring the blitz more this year than in the past.  Morse likes to lock onto Waldvogel he has roughly 5X as many receptions as any other receiver on the Tommies roster, this could spell trouble if a Johnnies secondary player picks up on a familiar play and jumps the route...

Wartman is a very good back, but here is one stat to remember, the last time he didn't get 100 yards, it was against SJU...Logan Flannery had the quietest 100 yards in a game I have ever seen and that Bethel line is very talented, I see him being a factor and I see his backup Tobin helping with the load, they should combine for over 100 yards, but if the Johnnies can do what they do best, make running the ball very tough, this will tip the scales.

Watch the special teams from a standpoint of the Tommies punting game...they are LAST in the conference in punting...this is a hidden yardage issue  and in a game like this that could help the Johnnies much like Hamline going into the wind last week created short fields early in the game and paved the way to a 21-0 lead.

Joe Boyle did not play as well as he wanted against Bethel, but in his big game before that against Concordia he was superb especially in the second half...is UST's D as good as Bethel?  Maybe but probably not, he will make plays he will take what is there and that will frustrate the Tommies...good teams that beat St. John's stay with what they do best, teams that struggle against SJU go away from what they do best and the Johnnies take advantage of that and will do so today...

Have fun at the game everyone

[57Johnnie]

Game day!

GO JOHNNIES

[sjusection105]

It's time to Johnnie Up everyone!

I see VOJ agrees with my prediction of a couple days ago that the Johnnies win by 2 scores. 

If the Tomcats can regroup after yet another loss at the hands of the Johnnies and beat Bethel in Arden Hills, they could get a Pool C bid. My dad always used to say "if only if and buts were candy and nuts, then everyday would be Christmas" so after today we will have to see how the Tomcats fair. For today Johnnies do enough to be in solo first place in the MIAC.

Go Johnnies!

[DustySJU]

Take it to the field Johnnies!

[Willy Wonka]

Take it to the field Johnnies!

Frank Rickard can't make it up to Collegeville today, but he wanted me to pass along a message to you. It seems to have slipped my mind at the moment...hopefully I can remember by the time I see you 

[sjusection105]

Take it to the field Johnnies!

Frank Rickard can't make it up to Collegeville today, but he wanted me to pass along a message to you. It seems to have slipped my mind at the moment...hopefully I can remember by the time I see you 

Wonka,

Make sure you wear Frank's "Tommies Suck" football jersey.

[repete]

It's time to Johnnie Up everyone!

I see VOJ agrees with my prediction of a couple days ago that the Johnnies win by 2 scores. 

If the Tomcats can regroup after yet another loss at the hands of the Johnnies and beat Bethel in Arden Hills, they could get a Pool C bid. My dad always used to say "if only if and buts were candy and nuts, then everyday would be Christmas" so after today we will have to see how the Tomcats fair. For today Johnnies do enough to be in solo first place in the MIAC.

Go Johnnies!

Just to play Maury Povich for a second here, but would the test reveal this guy as your dad, 105???

[57Johnnie]

ZIP, bennie: keep the troops under control, I have Special Olympics project until about 2;30 (ZIP time).
Hope the JOHNNIES have lead by then.

bennie: How about the Habs failure to beat the Avs even with 7 skaters I think things could get ugly at Joe Louis this evening 

GO JOHNNIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

[familyguyfaneightyfour]

Remember a few years ago when an undefeated St. Olaf team went up to Collegeville to play an undefeated St. John's team and lost 63-9?  I have a feeling that St. Thomas is going to have a similar experience today.

[ozzie679]

I have two free tickets for the SJU/UST game today.  email me at ozzie679@gmail.com if you want them.  They can be picked up at my store in Waite Park.

[TC]

Remember a few years ago when an undefeated St. Olaf team went up to Collegeville to play an undefeated St. John's team and lost 63-9?  I have a feeling that St. Thomas is going to have a similar experience today.

I sure hope you're right.  Do you think Pat Coleman would start audibly sobbing during the broadcast if that happened?