FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[AlmostEx]

Randy Shannon should be the #1 candidate at the U of MN given he has been asked to pack his bags.

This will set is one of two scenarios:  #1 -- UST wins out and the St. Paul to Miami pipeline is once again activated and Caruso goes to the U.

#2 -- Rich Rodriguez pulls the pin aka RichRod@UWV and goes to the U.  Jim Harbaugh interviews at Michigan while in town this week and accepts the job.  That leaves an opening on the Farm, and while UST wins out, Caruso is passed over for the Stanford job.

All speculation on my part except for Shannon.  The AD and current/new president have my support for that hire.

[DoubleO]

I am anticipating a street fight on Saturday. I'm sure Bethel is dying for another crack at UST and there's probably nobody the Tommies want to see less. Either way, these are two teams that know each other too well. Can't wait for Saturday.

I'm also very much looking forward to saturday...I hope that BU can show up and deliver an entertaining game.
For someone who's never been to a football game @ UST, how early do you think I'd have to show up to get seats this saturday?

Hard to say. The price will probably keep some fans away, but Bethel had to pay during the regular season and still brought a very nice crowd (I'd estimate they were 40-45% of the attendance). You've got to think the West Region final will raise the stakes enough that we can draw big numbers. Love to see upwards of 5-7k...but we'll have to see. No idea how early you need to get there for seats though? My advice, get there before 11 and enjoy warmups!

@USTBench: Yeah, this is such an intriguing remarch. Can Bethel's D repeat its performace? Can UST do the same? What happens with the kicking game for BU?

And they do know each other so so well. They've got to have almost every game from the season on film...Heres hoping it lives up to the hype!!

The thing that worries me about UST is their receivers outside of Waldvoget get the yips. On Saturday they had some bad drops against Linfield. If UST's webcast wasn't terrible I could verify for sure, but I think Margarit dropped an easy 40+ yard go route, and either Nohering or Gliesner dropped a for sure 1st down late. Tracy also needs to protect the football, but if he doesn't trust his other receivers to step up, he's going to force the ball where it doesn't belong. Someone outside of Wartman, Tobin, Waldvogel and Tracy NEEDS to step up. Obviously those four guys are capable of putting a lot of points on the board, but it makes Bethel's job easier if they only have to worry about one receiver.

In re: Bethel's kicking game.

You have 100 guys on the roster, I would've hosted open tryouts yesterday.

I think if UST tackles better than they did on Saturday, and establishes the run early, then goes for the deep ball, I think they win. Obviously Bethel's D will make you regret trickeration, so a steady dose of the run even if you have to punt a few times is the way to go. And if the last Bethel matchup is any indication of which RBs style is more suited to this game, I think we see more Tobin than Wartman.

I am sure it was probably because of Linfield's pressure and the fact that he hasn't faced pressure like that thus far this season, but someone needs to get with Tracy and teach him to throw the ball into the bleachers or tuck it and run a little more.

Also, I would like to see more underneath crossing routes and a presence of a TE in the passing game.

All that being said, I have all the faith in the world that the coaching staff will make the necessary adjustments and have the team well prepared come Saturday.

[Freebird]

Does anyone think this game will be decided by more than 3 points? It is also very difficult to pick a score due Bethel's kicking game. How does 15-13 sound? 20-19?

[usee]

I wouldn't pick a score for Bethel with an odd number to it they could score 6, 8, 12, 14, 16, 18 or 20 in my book. I like 14-12

[Mr. Ypsi]

Does anyone think this game will be decided by more than 3 points? It is also very difficult to pick a score due Bethel's kicking game. How does 15-13 sound? 20-19?

In the OAC Pickems, HScoach has UST as an 8.5 point favorite (and some are picking UST to cover), so obviously some do expect more than a 3 point margin.

Personally I expect a very close game.

[Freebird]

Does anyone think this game will be decided by more than 3 points? It is also very difficult to pick a score due Bethel's kicking game. How does 15-13 sound? 20-19?

In the OAC Pickems, HScoach has UST as an 8.5 point favorite (and some are picking UST to cover), so obviously some do expect more than a 3 point margin.

Personally I expect a very close game.

That is a very surprising. 8.5 is a ton of points for this matchup. I doubt USTd even makes it to 9 points Saturday 

[hazzben]

In re: Bethel's kicking game.

You have 100 guys on the roster, I would've hosted open tryouts yesterday.

Open tryouts weren't held yesterday, they were held the week after UST, with invitations to the soccer players as well. To no avail. Obviously Johnson would love to have a better kicker, but its not like he hasn't looked. You play with what you've got.
FWIW, I think the kid who failed against UST is hitting a Chuck Knoblauch mental hurdle. He was 27 of 37 on PATs and 6 of 11 on FGs last year. I'm pretty sure it was the same kid. Not great numbers, but far and away superior to this year.

[stanbob]

My take on this weekends tilt:  hopefully no one gets hurt.

[Freebird]

In re: Bethel's kicking game.

You have 100 guys on the roster, I would've hosted open tryouts yesterday.

Open tryouts weren't held yesterday, they were held the week after UST, with invitations to the soccer players as well. To no avail. Obviously Johnson would love to have a better kicker, but its not like he hasn't looked. You play with what you've got.
FWIW, I think the kid who failed against UST is hitting a Chuck Knoblauch mental hurdle. He was 27 of 37 on PATs and 6 of 11 on FGs last year. I'm pretty sure it was the same kid. Not great numbers, but far and away superior to this year.

The soccer idea seemed to come up a few times post the Cheese era but I just don't think soccer players have any desire to play football. One of my friends kicked a 50 yard field goal during halftime of a game during our junior year but he wouldn't even consider leaving the soccer team, even as a benchwarmer.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Wouldn't necessarily have to leave the soccer team - I think it is not at all uncommon for active soccer players to 'moonlight' as kickers.  (Of course, if there is a game time conflict, a choice would have to be made, but soccer season is over for all but the national finalists.)

[OzJohnnie]

In re: Bethel's kicking game.

You have 100 guys on the roster, I would've hosted open tryouts yesterday.

Open tryouts weren't held yesterday, they were held the week after UST, with invitations to the soccer players as well. To no avail. Obviously Johnson would love to have a better kicker, but its not like he hasn't looked. You play with what you've got.
FWIW, I think the kid who failed against UST is hitting a Chuck Knoblauch mental hurdle. He was 27 of 37 on PATs and 6 of 11 on FGs last year. I'm pretty sure it was the same kid. Not great numbers, but far and away superior to this year.

Dipping into the soccer team or preserving your dignity and going with a two-point strategy...  I say Bethel made the right choice.

Of course, an alternate interpretation of events could be that Bethel football sucks to such a degree that even soccer players won't join.

[GoldandBlueBU]

[/quote]
Dipping into the soccer team or preserving your dignity and going with a two-point strategy...  I say Bethel made the right choice.

Of course, an alternate interpretation of events could be that Bethel football sucks to such a degree that even soccer players won't join.
[/quote]

Ha!

Who says that there would have been a soccer player who could kick it well enough that the football team would be interested in them?

http://athletics.bethel.edu/schedule.aspx?path=msoc&

The BU soccer team's 3-13-2 record suggests that they have plenty of problems effectively kicking a soccer ball, let alone trying to kick a football through the uprights.

[retagent]

How about a rugger. When I was at SJU, it went the other way. The kicker on the football team (also an O Lineman) played rugby.

[DuffMan]

I got a chance to have a couple of Fulton "Sweet Child of Vine" IPAs tonight, brewed by several Johnnies (a couple o-linemen, to boot).  It's tasty!  I would recommend it if you happen to be at a bar that has it.

[tommiegun]

I got a chance to have a couple of Fulton "Sweet Child of Vine" IPAs tonight, brewed by several Johnnies (a couple o-linemen, to boot).  It's tasty!  I would recommend it if you happen to be at a bar that has it.

Drank it. Loved it. Can't believe Johnnies brewed it. puking.