FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[WarhawkDad]

New topic - perhaps less contentious - how is Bethel going to beat North Central? What does BU need to do against them? (I mean beyond the cliché "we have to stop the run/pass and make them one dimensional".) For instance, Bethel has a habit this year of starting in pretty good field position after kick offs and punts - at least in the games I saw. Some time in the stat charts may make that previous statement seem a bit irrelevant - I just don't know honestly. What about BU's yards after catches? If the Royals can average such and such then they stand a good chance of defeating the Cardinals. Conversely, are there inherit weaknesses on the NCC side that we should watch for to know they are in trouble? Like, they start to line up in a Wing T or double flanker set - does those kind of things indicate anything? I want to be a more informed fan to better see the nuance of the game being played out on the field.

In playoff performances past, the key to beating NCC was turning them over (Stanek was turnover prone in big games in his early years). Stanek only has 1 INT this season, so it appears that those problems are behind him, but you never know. BU would appear to have the best D that NCC will have faced all year, combine that with the cold and you'd think that would be a recipe for a few errant passes.

In prior years, NCC has also had trouble with teams that can execute the short, quick passing scheme and keep their front 4 from getting home. They've also had a penchant for letting QBs get loose outside of the pocket, IMO. The MLB (Slezak) moved to the position this year after being a Safety in previous seasons. He's not as good against the run as MLBs past (NCC has had some dominant ones), but he's arguably better against the pass (that statement may seem to indicate that he's only a pretty good player, but he was the CCIW DPOY this season) so they may not be as susceptible against the short passing game as they used to be, but may be more susceptible to a power run game than in years past.

How are the QBs of BU in regards to their scrambling ability? How is the running game?

Edit: Actually wondering if I should have kept this private and off the boards, as to not give BU an advantage!

This is false, at least statistically. I think for NCC the Bethel D will be fairly close to the Wheaton D in both Scheme and physicality. Wheaton is ranked #12 in defense nationally (Bethel is #22). Wheaton held NCC to 379 yds this year but lost 35-16.

Also, Slezak was NOT the DPOY, Shane Dierking  was.

I really don't have a dog in this Bethel vs NCC fight, although I am a fan of both teams and conferences.  In my opinion you have to be really careful about quoting NCAA statistics at this time of year.  It really depends on who they have played.     I am looking forward to checking the progress on this game over my phone while I sit at the Perk.   Good Luck to both teams.'

WHD

[USee]

Warhawk Dad,

I totally agree with you which is why I said it the way I did. My opinion also comes from having seen Bethel live in previous seasons as well as on video this year. I know what kind of ball they play and the toughness they bring to the table. I also think the CCIW and the MIAC are relatively similar, depending on the year (this year the MIAC was a better top to bottom conferrence), in the level and style of play. Bethel and Wheaton battled to the wire in 3 games over a 3 year period. Elmhurst took St Thomas well into the 4th quarter last year, Wheaton has played Gustavus, NCC vs Augsburg a few years back, etc.

In my opinion, the defense NCC will face is very similar in scheme and toughness to Wheaton's defense this year.

[GoldandBlueBU]

Classic Bethel game v. Augsburg - featured in Sports Illustrated

I love how the majority of the players in this picture aren't wearing long sleeves.

If only it were a team like UMHB coming up this weekend...that would have been a true home field advantage.

[hazzben]

Classic Bethel game v. Augsburg - featured in Sports Illustrated

I love how the majority of the players in this picture aren't wearing long sleeves.

If only it were a team like UMHB coming up this weekend...that would have been a true home field advantage.

Yep, I don't think the cold itself is a major advantage. It's not like the Windy City is really balmy in the winter months. Both teams will be full of guys who aren't afraid of a little cold weather.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Does Bethel have a tarp to cover the field? If not,what is the snow removal procedure with the fresh snow today & forecasted snow Tuesday & Wednesday followed by an Arctic Blast

Actually, Bethel does not have a tarp. My sources say that is UST's tarp being used by Bethel. The same tarp was used by the U of MN when the Metrodome roof collapsed a few years ago to put on TCF Bank Field. The U blew warm air underneath for a few days to try to keep the field softer when the Vikings played the Bears on a Monday night game. No word if Bethel I using hair driers as Coach J suggested 

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Get your calendars out, here are the 2014 and 2015 SJU football schedules!

http://www.gojohnnies.com/sports/2008/10/16/FOOTBALL_1016085736.aspx

I have a question maybe someone here can answer. Looking at SJU's schedule for next year, 5 out of the 8 MIAC games are at the same location as this year (at St. Thomas, at St. Olaf, at Gustavus and home games against Bethel and Hamline). Why don't they just alternate locations each year?

I also noticed that they put the first round playoff game on the schedules. At least they didn't list it as a home game. 

I believe all scheduling oddities can be attributed to Macalester leaving the conference in football at the end of 2001.

No, Mac leaving the league has nothing to do with this whatsoever, although they make a good scapegoat. The only impact Mac's has on the MIAC schedule is that there are 3 dates open for non-conference games out of the 11 week season.

The MIAC schedule is a two-year schedule, reversing host site in the 2nd year of the cycle. It start in an even-numbered year (2010, 2012, 014, etc.) the 2014 & 15 schedules are the same except the host institution is flipped. Any similarity between 2013 & 2014 is purely coincidental and unrelated to the cycle or Mac's decision.

[Robert Zimmerman]

Gary Fasching was at my high school today recruiting a couple of excellent football players!

[art76]

Gary Fasching was at my high school today recruiting a couple of excellent football players!

I was under the impression that you were older than that. 

[SagatagSam]

Gary Fasching was at my high school today recruiting a couple of excellent football players!

I was under the impression that you were older than that. 

Have there been any sightings of the purple-clad used car salesman? He and Gary usually battle over a lot of the same athletes.

[sjusection105]

Gary Fasching was at my high school today recruiting a couple of excellent football players!

I was under the impression that you were older than that. 

Have there been any sightings of the purple-clad used car salesman? He and Gary usually battle over a lot of the same athletes.

Ah, Sam....you are giving previously owned transportation advisors a bad name. Perhaps you could rephrase your statement and instead use a purple clad Barrister ... 

[SagatagSam]

Gary Fasching was at my high school today recruiting a couple of excellent football players!

I was under the impression that you were older than that. 

Have there been any sightings of the purple-clad used car salesman? He and Gary usually battle over a lot of the same athletes.

Ah, Sam....you are giving previously owned transportation advisors a bad name. Perhaps you could rephrase your statement and instead use a purple clad Barrister ... 

I think we've established the pejorative phrase is "purple clad." Need we go any further?

[OzJohnnie]

Get your calendars out, here are the 2014 and 2015 SJU football schedules!

http://www.gojohnnies.com/sports/2008/10/16/FOOTBALL_1016085736.aspx

I have a question maybe someone here can answer. Looking at SJU's schedule for next year, 5 out of the 8 MIAC games are at the same location as this year (at St. Thomas, at St. Olaf, at Gustavus and home games against Bethel and Hamline). Why don't they just alternate locations each year?

I also noticed that they put the first round playoff game on the schedules. At least they didn't list it as a home game. 

I believe all scheduling oddities can be attributed to Macalester leaving the conference in football at the end of 2001.

No, Mac leaving the league has nothing to do with this whatsoever, although they make a good scapegoat. The only impact Mac's has on the MIAC schedule is that there are 3 dates open for non-conference games out of the 11 week season.

The MIAC schedule is a two-year schedule, reversing host site in the 2nd year of the cycle. It start in an even-numbered year (2010, 2012, 014, etc.) the 2014 & 15 schedules are the same except the host institution is flipped. Any similarity between 2013 & 2014 is purely coincidental and unrelated to the cycle or Mac's decision.

I'm not saying it's their fault; I'm saying that I blame them.

(Hat tip to the Ancient Greek general starting with Y who posts here and I can't remember the name at the moment. I've used this about 10 times at work since he first dropped it here about 4 months ago.)

[Pat Coleman]

A Capital One Academic All America Team has been announced....

http://www.ascsports.org/documents/2013/12/3/2013_CapOne_D3_AAA_Football_Team.pdf

As expected, there are 4 1st team All-Americans from the UMAC, the Ivy league of the MidWest.

All of them from St. Scholastica.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Oz, I suspect you are talking about me.

Demetrius Ypsilanti was not an Ancient Greek, but a hero of the Greek war of independence in the 1820s against the Ottoman Empire.  What REALLY got the attention of the town fathers of then Woodruff's Grove was the defense of Argos.  With 220 soldiers, he held out against an army of 8,000.  When all provisions were depleted, he (and his entire army) slipped away one night, not losing a single man in the entire siege!  Soon thereafter, Woodruff's Grove became Ypsilanti (though he had no connection at all to the town).

Though we do have some really good Greek restaurants!

[DuffMan]

Gary Fasching was at my high school today recruiting a couple of excellent football players!

There are good football players from there???