FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Retired Old Rat]

John Gagliardi in the Star Tribune:

"[I've mentioned] that some how, some way through the years, St. Thomas has managed to screw up at the end," longtime Johnnies coach John Gagliardi said. "You know, we've been lucky because they've been unlucky. And all at once, I should have never said it. And it looked like we were going to screw up. That's football. Somebody screws up."

[DustySJU]

1.  Beautiful day in Collegeville.  

2.  Agreed....the officiating was horrendous.  Those clowns didn't seem to have a flag in their pocket the first half.  I've got a picture an obvious holding and another of an obvious block in the back.  And yes...Waldvogel was friggin' mugged @ the end of the 1st half.

3.  I think Boyle's thumb is more messed up than anyone thought.  That would explain the Jays lack of a passing game.  

4.  It's funny that even though he is a right handed quarterback Morse cannot make the pass to right side of the field.  On the 1st quarter interception the SJU CB Powell fell down and still picked it off because the pass was so bad.  

5.  I keep thinking of the quote by Gags earlier this season about keeping the game close and the Tommies will find a way to screw it up.  Maybe he should substitute Tommies with Jimmy (what the hell was with that screen in the 4th quarter)?  The QB draw was a good call but the screen sucked.

6. I heard that the bad snap on the punt was a result of some mis-communication.  Evidently the Johnnines were going to fake it w/ a short snap to up back however he audibled out of it and the long snapper didn't hear it?  Can anybody confirm this?

6.  What happend to ROR on the sidelines?  

Sounds plausible as Gliadon was looking back and forth between coach Fasching and his center and it looked as though the sideline was trying to signal in a call.  Gliadon was set up on the near hash and within a few paces of where Fasching was standing.  With the ball dribbling towards Gliadon the way it did something really got screwed up.

[TC]

I know it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too early for this, but...

The Johnnies' playoff prospects certainly look a lot better tonight than they did this morning.  The win over the Tommies is huge, of course, and now St. John's has a very reasonable path to a 10-0 record.  If St. Thomas can beat Bethel, UST's regional ranking should stay juicy and make St. John's look even better.

Coming into this weekend, there were three virtual certainties for #1 regional seeds:  Mount Union, UW-Whitewater, and Mary Hardin-Baylor. 

UMHB would obviously be in the South, then there were a couple different scenarios for the other teams:
-UW-W in its natural West,
-Mount Union in its natural North, and a
-South team (Wesley) in the East

-or-

-UW-W to the North,
-MUC to the East, and a
-West team (SJU/USTd winner, Central, Linfield) in the West

Now that UMHB has lost and presumably taken themselves out of the running for a #1 seed, things start to get clearer:
East - #1 overall:  Mount Union
North - #2 overall: UW-Whitewater
South - #3 overall:  Wesley
West - #4 overall:  Your St. John's Johnnies???

Again, there are still a ton of games that need to be played, but the chances of up to 3 playoff games at Clemens Stadium this fall are a lot better now than they were yesterday.

[DustySJU]

I know it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too early for this, but...

The Johnnies' playoff prospects certainly look a lot better tonight than they did this morning.  The win over the Tommies is huge, of course, and now St. John's has a very reasonable path to a 10-0 record.  If St. Thomas can beat Bethel, UST's regional ranking should stay juicy and make St. John's look even better.

Coming into this weekend, there were three virtual certainties for #1 regional seeds:  Mount Union, UW-Whitewater, and Mary Hardin-Baylor.  

UMHB would obviously be in the South, then there were a couple different scenarios for the other teams:
-UW-W in its natural West,
-Mount Union in its natural North, and a
-South team (Wesley) in the East

-or-

-UW-W to the North,
-MUC to the East, and a
-West team (SJU/USTd winner, Central, Linfield) in the West

Now that UMHB has lost and presumably taken themselves out of the running for a #1 seed, things start to get clearer:
East - #1 overall:  Mount Union
North - #2 overall: UW-Whitewater
South - #3 overall:  Wesley
West - #4 overall:  Your St. John's Johnnies???

Again, there are still a ton of games that need to be played, but the chances of up to 3 playoff games at Clemens Stadium this fall are a lot better now than they were yesterday.

TC;  Now I like your style!

Next up - The Ole....

Will we see All American candidate Nick Gunderson again this season?

[hazzben]

@ TC:

That scenario is certainly possible. However, as I stated earlier, if SJU, UWW, MUC and Wheaton all win out I'm not sure I see UWW in the north. It seems much more likely to me that the committee would be committed to moving MUC East in order to give Wheaton, a natural North team the top seed. Especially since if they and sju win out they will probably be the higher ranked team.

The biggest downside to that scenario would be that the West would be ridiculously stacked and the North would seem to be much diluted by comparison.

Thoughts?

[D O.C.]

Evidently the Johnnines were going to fake it

If women are ever admitted at Collegeville for St. Thomas to make fun of I suggest that name.

An addition to TC's forecast would be that no one in the West would be afraid of the team playing a home game in Collegeville.

[Mr. Ypsi]

@ TC:

That scenario is certainly possible. However, as I stated earlier, if SJU, UWW, MUC and Wheaton all win out I'm not sure I see UWW in the north. It seems much more likely to me that the committee would be committed to moving MUC East in order to give Wheaton, a natural North team the top seed. Especially since if they and sju win out they will probably be the higher ranked team.

The biggest downside to that scenario would be that the West would be ridiculously stacked and the North would seem to be much diluted by comparison.

Thoughts?

In terms of his rather conspicuous omission for possible #1 seeds, you beat me to it.  (Though I suspect Wheaton may fall by the wayside next Saturday when they go to NCC, who has been absolutely dominant - over 65 points a game - since their opening loss to ONU.)

But I have trouble with 'the North would seem to be much diluted'.  Even without MUC, there are 9 North teams in the top 25 (which would MORE than fill a bracket).  Since there will be two AQs from conferences with no one in the top 25, there would currently be at least two or three ranked teams in the North who may not even make the playoffs.  How 'diluted' is that (and they will almost certainly still be the second strongest bracket, with or without the Mount).

[Retired Old Rat]

Senior running back Kellen Blaser scores from eight yards out on SJU's fourth offensive play in overtime to give the No. 6 Johnnies a 20-17 win over No. 15 St. Thomas in front of an announced crowd of 12,903.

Photo by Retired old Rat Jr.

[retagent]

bench - Does UND recruit a$$h0les to play hockey there, or does their D!@k of a coach turn them into a$$h0!es? It showed when they started a fight last year when going through the handshake line. Now, it seems as though they don't know the meaning of a whistle, or don't know that slashing an opposing player with your stick on the back of the leg, after the whistle isn't hockey.

I like good, tough, hard-nosed hockey, but when they cross the line like that, it's just called dirty play.

[TC]

Meh, I'm being Johnniecentric tonight.  

The list wasn't meant to be an exhaustive examination of potential #1 seeds.  It was just to show a quasi-reasonable scenario in which the Johnnies end up with a top seed.  And honestly, I'm sure that's all a bunch of people on this board care about.

*****

ROR:  Your handle is starting make more and more sense.  Looks like your kid will have you out of a job in no time.  Very nice picture.

[Retired Old Rat]

After the hit I took on the side line today I might have to retire.   

After I take the hit I hear some one yell "get out of the way old man."  I angrily turn around and ask the crowd of young punks behind me who said that.  A grinning Willy Wonka says "me." 

P.S.  Does anyone know a good personal injury attorney?

[VOJ]

Wow, did I underestimate SJU's defense. After seeing UST push StO around, and BU move the ball fairly well v. SJU, I felt UST would be able to move freely. Boy, was that wrong. I'll have to bring some crow to a Striffy fest for JJR to grill for me.

But I was impressed at how UST battled back. After Stantion's INT in Q3, I was ready to concede, and in the past UST would have fallen apart. Fighting back like they did, clawing their way to an OT shows a healthy change in attitude from the Roney era. Comments about choking can be retired.

The stats show a deadeven game-- 245-239 in total offense, 15-13 in 1st downs.

Awesome crowd, atmosphere & even the weather was perfect.

An 11/28 rematch would be sweet. Both teams have business to take care of between then & now.

Hopefully, Jeffrey Hilliard is OK....that was a scary scene.

T-shirt of the day was the one with "Thank God for St Ben's" and an ornate cross on the front and a clever back that would not amuse Bennie  

I would be cautious in how I used the phrase "battled back"...the Johnnies through miscomunication on the final punt allowed you back into the game, it was originally going to be a fake but the long snapper was not clued into the fact it was off because of the Tommies alignment on the play.

The SJU O line took over when it mattered most, they made it happen in OT just as they had the entire game, too many missed opportunities though...coupled with solid Tommie D after the mistakes kept it close.

Greg Morse has some tools but he is too wild and forces passes, not a recipie to hang around long should the Tommies get into the playoffs IF they can beat Bethel and win the rest of their games including the scrimage with Northwestern.

Waldvogel is a fine talent, but with the exception of the KO return to start the second half, his stat line was not bursting at the seams...

I hope Hilliard can make it back soon...

OZ...wish we could have met in the booth...sorry you had issues getting in, hope you have a great trip back down under.

[VOJ]

After the hit I took on the side line today I might have to retire.   

After I take the hit I hear some one yell "get out of the way old man."  I angrily turn around and ask the crowd of young punks behind me who said that.  A grinning Willy Wonka says "me." 

P.S.  Does anyone know a good personal injury attorney?

Need a lawyer hire a Johnnie or the mayor of the tailgate...one in the same I believe...

[Johns Knees]

Blog post with poor quality pics, poor quality vids and poor quality musings from yours truly regarding today's Tommie/Johnnie slugfest....

http://stcloudleague.com/blog/?p=80

[Veek]

What a great game today.  

Looks like TC, TDT, and Maniac will have some crow to eat at our next tailgate.  I'll bet my last dollar that TDT won't consume his portion, though.  He'll probably just hide it in a pocket of his nice girly winter coat.  And whatever you do, please do not ask him about his NICE winter coat or you will get a 15 minute story about he searched for a deal forever and then scored a girly version at an 80 % discount.  Who cares!!  

Nice seeing OAS, his bride to be, Wonka, ROR, ROR Jr, and being able to meet Oz today, albeit briefly.  

I think that today may have been the largest Stiftungsfest we have ever had.  I'm looking forward to next week.

GO JOHNNIES!!!