FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Next we're going to identify the lack of Coke as the big recruiting issue now that the mess hall (can't remember what it was called) has a contract with Pepsi.

Now that actually would affect my decision...Pepsi, yeck

Then again, Bethel did the same switch so maybe we need to investigate if UST is still a Coke campus (the drink, not the drug guys  ) and hence has a soft drink edge in recruiting.

at UST game venues, Pepsi is proudly served (altho in tiny cups at basketball games). Both brands are available at various locations on campus

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

There was some discussion on here a few years back about rugby....I read this and cringed:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/08/sport/woods-testicle-warrington-rugby/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

[USTBench]

The schedule is stacking up with all the tough games still coming for UST. Bethel,Augsburg & Concordia all present a different challenge. To defend their MIAC title, the Tommies are going to have to play mistake free ball- are they up to it? Time will tell.

I don't see much difference between Bethel and Concorda-- they both play steady, hard-nose, pound-the-ball football with an emphasis on the ground game. both running attacks are stellar. Augsburg is another story, with Scott, they run a MIAC-Wildcat styled offense. All three will be big challenges to UST (as will Olaf). In UST's favor is their rush defense is superb, and among the nation's best. That said,  six turnovers is 5 or 6 too many!!!!  Anything more than 2 turnvoers vs Bethel spells defeat. I am confident Caruso and his staff will be emphasizing the importance of turnover-free football this week.

I am really looking forward to Saturday-- not just because its Homecoming and the stands will be mostly full at O'Shag, but for the limo and Lambo sightings along the streets and most importantly for THE GAME! Bethel has dodged a few bullets in the past 2 weeks....can their good fortune hold out? UST/BU has grown into a bona fide rivalry not only in football but in all sports. The last 4-5 football games have been as intense as one can hope for....this week should continue the trentd!

Even in my playing (ahem...practicing, mostly) days, the game felt more intense than the others (outside of SJU). We had some okay back-and-forth, (lost in 00, 01, won big in 02, lost big in 03), but I think one of the things that really ampliphied the intenstiy was we sometimes played them up to twice a year at the JV level. So for a lot of guys, I'm sure a large chunk of their college football memories are of playing Bethel on a Sunday or Monday night, then having that spill over when they cracked the varsity lineup. For me, at least, it seemed like we played Bethel a thousand times. No secrets anyway.

[repete]

For Christ's sake.  I mean really.  The football team loses four games in a row and suddenly the school can do no good.  Damned disgraceful display in my opinion.

The schadenfreude of those watching the SJU faithful lash and flail in helpless in-futility must be intense.  And the pity of those who have befriended many Johnnies here must be almost as great.

See you all later.  I'm taking a break.

Excellent use of shadenfreude.

I'm certainly not taking pleasure in SJU being down, but I am definitely a bit surprised at how knee-jerk some of the reactions are.  As others have said before, I think it is just a cyclical move of the MIAC...SJU was up for a long time, now they're down, Tommies were down, now they're up...what the conference standings will look like in 5 years, who knows?  I doubt that anyone (other than an Auggie insider, perhaps) would have predicted that Augsburg would leap into relevance as quickly as they have, but they'e suddenly a contender.

I personally have no doubt that SJU will be back.  Maybe next year, maybe 2 or 3 seasons after that, but they'll eventually get a crop of players with the ability to make it happen.

Yeah, I guess we have to wait for "Sturm und Drang" until Oz's self-imposed exile ends ...

Don't feel too qualified to comment on what's needed because I have no active connections to the program these days and haven't seen SJU live for a while. I got a good view of the carnage at Auggie, however. I had the laptop HDMI'd to the big screen and also had the game running on the PC. The buffering varied and gave me the effect of replay if I jumped from screen to screen (drove wife out of the man cave). Needless to say it was rough to watch.

But if there is one thing I can add, it's a long-term look. SJU went 4-4 when I was a sophomore and the fall after I graduated I was driving to Phenix City, Ala., to watch a great title game victory over Towson. Feels somewhat like the uncertainty of a bear market, and -- as ROR says -- I hope this is the bottom.

[BDB]

Maybe this pause in the on field success of SJU is due to the MIAC getting better overall as a conference as much as anything else. Outside looking in it appears that there are many more solid teams than in the past.

[sjusection105]

Maybe this pause in the on field success of SJU is due to the MIAC getting better overall as a conference as much as anything else. Outside looking in it appears that there are many more solid teams than in the past.

True that BDB. This is what is driving Johnnie fans crazy. It used to be SJU got the cream of the crop of players & the rest of the schools sorta took the scraps (heck, in 2009 UST had our 2nd string kicker from 2008) and that just was how things went. Now other schools are taking kids that have narrowed their choice to SJU and School X- then when that kid has success on the field against SJU the fan base goes wild.Let me be clear, the coaches haven't forgotten how to coach, but other schools are winning the recruiting game.

[faunch]

I really don't know...maybe I've got it all wrong...maybe SJU just needs to stay the course and everything will work its way out...kind of like a stock market correction.  Keep the course and everything will be fine.  As the Queen once said,

KEEP CALM
AND
CARRY ON

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

this is sad news:
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/20516243/report-former-lions-pro-bowler-actor-alex-karras-close-to-death

I admit liking Webster....Mongo was a classic role
I think his wife on Webster was/is his wife in real life, too

[Mr. Ypsi]

this is sad news:
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/20516243/report-former-lions-pro-bowler-actor-alex-karras-close-to-death

I admit liking Webster....Mongo was a classic role
I think his wife on Webster was/is his wife in real life, too

I moved to Michigan and became a Lions fan only after Karras had already retired (but obviously have read A LOT about his career), and was not a fan of Webster, but I LOVED Mongo!  (And yes, Susan Clark was his wife both on Webster and in real life.)

[Chubbs]

Haven't seen the Concordia contingent back here after what happened Saturday.  I'm sure that was nauseating for all concerned, to say the least, but am interested to hear their perspective. 

Apparently clear video and photographic evidence wasn't enough to convince Coach Horan, or perhaps he hadn't seen it yet.

[GoldandBlueBU]

Apparently clear video and photographic evidence wasn't enough to convince Coach Horan, or perhaps he hadn't seen it yet.

I'd wager that if you sat down and watched it with him today, he'd admit that the right call was made.  It was probably just the raw emotions at the moment, and wanting to believe that they got screwed, rather than that they had screwed themselves.

[sjusection105]

I spoke to one of the officials (a Johnnie) who was situated on the opposite side of the field. If the kid (CC D-lineman) would have jumped on the ball or left it alone- the play would have been over. By picking the ball up & running he kept the play alive and allowed the penalty,too many men on the field,to be called. The officiating crew discussed at length before making their final ruling.

I feel bad for the kid,but that's why everyone has to have their head in the game, if the bench players would have stayed on the sideline the TD would have counted & Cobbers win 20-7 (or ) 21-7 depending on making the PAT.

[Chubbs]

I spoke to one of the officials (a Johnnie) who was situated on the opposite side of the field. If the kid (CC D-lineman) would have jumped on the ball or left it alone- the play would have been over. By picking the ball up & running he kept the play alive and allowed the penalty,too many men on the field,to be called. The officiating crew discussed at length before making their final ruling.

I feel bad for the kid,but that's why everyone has to have their head in the game, if the bench players would have stayed on the sideline the TD would have counted & Cobbers win 20-7 (or ) 21-7 depending on making the PAT.

I'm not sure that explanation makes sense.  Had the bench maintained discipline until after the change of posession at recovery, then the game would have ended.  The players and coach left the bench before the D-lineman even had a chance to fall on the ball, so the defensive infraction had already been commited regardless of what action he took.  Also, no way that play gets blown dead if he had simply left the ball alone.  If he doesn't get it, somebody else would have.  There was nothing he could have done to alleviate the situation already in progress on his bench.  His having to weave through his teammates on the way to the endzone only served to make more obvious what had already happened.  I agree that if the player had just fallen on the ball it would have been much less likely that the officials would have called the penalty, but that's just conjecture. 

The kid to feel bad for is #27.  What an infamous picture to take away from your senior season that would be.

The lesson learned is that just one breakdown of discipline can be enough to undermine a tremendous 60 minute effort.  As someone else pointed out, that penalty was their only one of the day.

Also, lost in all of that is the tremendous plays made by Bethel receivers on the last drive, particularly the one by Hallstrom.  I've only seen one catch more impressive than that one on that field, and it was by some guy wearing #86 for SJU...think his last name was Elliot?  Yeah, something like that.

[sjusection105]

Yes Chubbs, I explained that poorly- you are correct that leaving the ball alone would allow to play to continue until someone else picked it up or fell on it.
The bottom line is that the CC bench,in their excitement created a very costly penalty- the only one of the day.

[Chubbs]

Yes Chubbs, I explained that poorly- you are correct that leaving the ball alone would allow to play to continue until someone else picked it up or fell on it.
The bottom line is that the CC bench,in their excitement created a very costly penalty- the only one of the day.

Hope that didn't come across as confrontational, Section, and thanks for sharing that conversation.  In the chaos of that moment, it was amazing that the officiating crew handled that whole mess as well as they did.  Kudos to them, and here's hoping the Cobbs run the table from here in.