FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[SagatagSam]

The report from St. Thomas form practice this week.
Don't be surprised to see a new starting QB and some new wrinkles on the offense. The mood was surprisingly positive after the fallout from the Bethel game coaches foucesd on the positives and worked extensively on the short comings on both sides of the ball. The team is extremely motivated and had a Great Week of practice! I will be there hitting the road in 12 hours to get a little tailgating and then grab my boy after the game for a steak dinner at Mannys for a victory meal!

Go Tommies!!!

You must live north of Chicago if you can leave at 5:00am & can still tailgate before the game.

I'll let my friends know you'll be coming through.

[OzJohnnie]

I just sent word to Kubiak and his mates.  They'll keep their eyes open for CT as well...

[57Johnnie]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN

[SagatagSam]

It's gameday!
Let's Go Johnnies!

[hazzben]

Interesting development regarding the Playoffs and Pool C 'at large' bids.

There are now 6 Pool C spots, as opposed to the originally announced 5.

Makes for a lot more intrigue as the MIAC race barrels towards a conclusion. A little more likely that a two loss MIAC runner up or co-champ (that didn't get the Pool A bid) could get an invite via Pool C. They'll at least be in the discussion, along with a potential two loss NCC and two loss WIAC rep.

[SagatagSam]

Interesting development regarding the Playoffs and Pool C 'at large' bids.

There are now 6 Pool C spots, as opposed to the originally announced 5.

Makes for a lot more intrigue as the MIAC race barrels towards a conclusion. A little more likely that a two loss MIAC runner up or co-champ (that didn't get the Pool A bid) could get an invite via Pool C. They'll at least be in the discussion, along with a potential two loss NCC and two loss WIAC rep.

Two loss team? Quite unlikely.
One loss co-champion? I would see that as a high probability.

[hazzben]

Interesting development regarding the Playoffs and Pool C 'at large' bids.

There are now 6 Pool C spots, as opposed to the originally announced 5.

Makes for a lot more intrigue as the MIAC race barrels towards a conclusion. A little more likely that a two loss MIAC runner up or co-champ (that didn't get the Pool A bid) could get an invite via Pool C. They'll at least be in the discussion, along with a potential two loss NCC and two loss WIAC rep.

Two loss team? Quite unlikely.
One loss co-champion? I would see that as a high probability.

The scuttlebutt by the brain trust on the Pool C discussion board is that there is a growing possibility of a two loss team getting in. And that was before we found out about the extra Pool C bid. 1 loss teams are dropping or have lots of H2H's remaining. No one's saying it's likely, but it's also probably inaccurate at this point to say it 'quite unlikely.'

A 2 loss team with a strong SOS has a chance, especially 1 loss teams with very low SOS. 

[sfury]

Johnnies have now had game where they completed 3 passes and scored 29 points. And game where they completed 1 pass and scored 24 points. I know those early national title teams liked to run, but I wonder if last time anything like that happened was even pre-Gagliardi. Not sure it can work against Bethel but who knows.

I was going to write something earlier this week, when someone mentioned Martin and his place among recent QBs. I think he was listed above Boyle. I think Martin's done good job "managing" the game and has brought stability and hasn't made the killer turnover, but I don't put him anywhere near Boyle. Boyle was really, really good.

That said, Martin has great chance of leading SJU to conference title and that's all you can ask for (well, other than maybe 2 completions).

(I also don't think this is a huge negative thing. I mean, yeah, you want a passing attack in this day and age, but what I always loved about Gagliardi was how the teams adapted over the years. Sometimes won with defense, sometimes with quadruple option, then turned SJU into an aerial attack ahead of its time. Win with what the personnel is and go to your strengths. These Johnnies are doing just that.)

[OzJohnnie]

Caught the end of the All Blacks v USA game. The Eagles did well to keep the Kiwis under 100 points.

[faunch]

Johnnies have now had game where they completed 3 passes and scored 29 points. And game where they completed 1 pass and scored 24 points. I know those early national title teams liked to run, but I wonder if last time anything like that happened was even pre-Gagliardi. Not sure it can work against Bethel but who knows.

I was going to write something earlier this week, when someone mentioned Martin and his place among recent QBs. I think he was listed above Boyle. I think Martin's done good job "managing" the game and has brought stability and hasn't made the killer turnover, but I don't put him anywhere near Boyle. Boyle was really, really good.

That said, Martin has great chance of leading SJU to conference title and that's all you can ask for (well, other than maybe 2 completions).

(I also don't think this is a huge negative thing. I mean, yeah, you want a passing attack in this day and age, but what I always loved about Gagliardi was how the teams adapted over the years. Sometimes won with defense, sometimes with quadruple option, then turned SJU into an aerial attack ahead of its time. Win with what the personnel is and go to your strengths. These Johnnies are doing just that.)

Having witnessed the SJU game in person today I agree in totality w/ Coach Fasching's post game  perspective on the passing game, "We set the passing game back 50 years today." 
My personal opinion is that Martin just isn't a very skilled passer and it doesn't help that he has average receivers.  I also believe that as effective as the running game has been this season our o-line doesn't do a very good job of pass blocking....kind of hard to get in a groove when you only do it 6 times in a game.

[OldAuggie]

Attended the game today and I thought the Johnnies looked good but not as dominant as I expected. Sura is a nice back and I think you could call him "Sore-a" tomorrow. Bungum is a nice player, keep him at tailback. I like the fact that several freshmen are playing a lot for AUG especially on the defensive side of the ball. Should lead to a nice defense in a couple years. WR Friesen has to be the most impressive freshman though. He will be fun to watch for the next 3 years. A. Scott was his normal one man crew today, you have to love the guys heart.

[RoyalsFan]

My observations from the BU/GAC game today. It was quite windy today which hampered both team's passing game, but GAC still put it up 48 times today. GAC controlled most of the first half today, along with help from the officiating crew. I wonder if this was the same crew that officiated the SJU/GAC game as I remember comments that the officiating in that game was pretty one sided, as it was also today. That's all I'm going to say about the officiating, if you were there or saw a video stream of the game, then you know what I am talking about.

BU just never got into any kind of rhythm on offense the first half and Peterson threw a terrible pass into the wind that got picked off. But GAC only led 13-7 at half. It was more of the same to start the second half when BU went 3 and out and GAC put a drive together and kicked a field goal to go up 16-7. That's when BU finally got things working, on both sides of the ball. Peterson hit Charlie Johnson over the middle and Johnson out ran the defense for a 58 yard td to cut the lead to 16-14. BU was driving deep in GAC territory at the start of the 4th but a pass off a receiver's hands deflected up in the air and was intercepted to stop that drive. BU held again and got the ball back on their own 16. It was 3rd and 8 and Peterson threw a deep pass to Bryce Marquardt for 49 yards, which was the play of the game IMO. It was a busted play and Peterson pretty much just threw it up and Marquardt went up high over the defender and tipped it back to himself as he was coming down. Klitzke then ran it in from 26 yards and successfully went for 2 points to go up 22-16. The defense held again and then BU put together another long drive (13 play 6+ minutes) to seal the game. GAC got a late td with 30 seconds left to make the final 30-23.

All 3 of BU's running backs got dinged up this game. Brandon Marquardt got his leg twisted badly and it didn't look good as he slammed his helmet down in frustration, but he came back in the 4th quarter and finished the game strong. Klitzke came out of the game in the 4th quarter holding and shaking his arm and never went back in, looked like it might have been his elbow. Tusler also got hurt in the 2nd half when he got hit pretty good on his leg, but he also was able to stay in the game, but was limping badly after the game. We also lost a couple of defenders during the game. I hope they all get healed up for SJU next week with the MIAC championship on the line.

Congrats on the big win today - GO ROYALS!!!!

[OzJohnnie]

Top 25 rankings prediction: BU treads water, SJU moves up one, maybe two but I don't think so with that AUG game, and CON unfortunately drops out. Maybe they can hold onto 25th but I think they are out.

[SagatagSam]

Top 25 rankings prediction: BU treads water, SJU moves up one, maybe two but I don't think so with that AUG game, and CON unfortunately drops out. Maybe they can hold onto 25th but I think they are out.

I would add that UST will probably receive more votes, but I doubt it will be enough to break back into the Top 25. They will probably be 3-7 points out.

Though GAC fought Bethel real hard, my guess is that they will not receive anymore votes.

[art76]

I thin you're taking GAC much too lightly. Bethel will be the favorite and if they protect the ball and play the way they're capable of, they should win.

What makes it interesting is that both favorites are playing on the road. UST hasn't lost to the Cobbers at home since their 2-8 2007 debacle of a season. The home field factor might be significantly diminished for UST in terms of crowd support though. Historically, when UST isn't atop the standing or in the playoff hunt, Summit & Snelling folks tend to jump on the MAC bandwagon   

This is gonna be a fun stretch run in the MIAC. I'm hoping Bethel wins out (shocker  ) but also that the Cobbers can close things out. I want to see another MIAC team in the playoffs via Pool C.

We agree that Bethel is the likely winner in this game, but I'm not taking it lightly - I just don't think GAC will stay that close. They'll want to but be unable to. It might become a Monkey Stomp and I'd be surprised it Bethel wins by less than two scores (nine points). Maybe you've seen something I haven't in the Gusties and I'll be eating crow next week, but I write 'em like I see 'em.

I would also like to see Concordia take care of business this week against the Tommies, but again, I'll stand by my words that this looks to be the better (closer score) of the two games.

Go Bethel!

Hazz,

These black feathers taste ok with lots of ketchup on them.