FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[OldAuggie]

Looking forward to watching AUG play "the MIAC Champ" this weekend. Ok-Ok I know it's not over.

I expect to see a lot of A. Scott --------------------------------------------------> Sonnenfeld.

[sjusection105]

Looking forward to watching AUG play "the MIAC Champ" this weekend. Ok-Ok I know it's not over.

I expect to see a lot of A. Scott --------------------------------------------------> Sonnenfeld.

If you start disparaging Glenn....then it's on like Donkey Kong!
Rev'em up......SJU is on a bye, so we need some entertainment 

[retagent]

I know I'm looking at the Top 25 through purple tinted glasses but I think UST could be in front of or at least the middle of the pack with the 4 teams that start with W directly in front of them.

Wesley's D is suspect. Wartburg is obviously still good but I don't think they're nearly the team they were in 2014. Wheaton might be comparable, but I if you're not beating North Park by 50 I don't trust you. Really hard to get a read on Wabash so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

North Park isn't as bad as they used to be. They've won five conference games combined in the past two seasons.

I agree about Wartburg. I have Wesley ahead of UST but not Wartburg. Good thing is that UST will play Augie and Bethel and we'll get a good look at common opponents with Wartburg there.

I just don't know about Wesley. It seems that UWW, MUC, Linfield and UMHB will always be firmly entrenched in the top 4, but for some reason Wesley always seems to be considered in that top tier and I'm just not buying it. It seems they have the ability to put major points on the board but are willing to sacrifice defensively when they go up against those types of teams. 62 to 59 comes to mind. 70 to 21 comes to mind. 50 to 49 this year comes to mind. I'm just not confident that a team whose MO against top tier competition is trying to win the track meet belongs in the 5 spot.

I know I am bias but I think UST's defense and run game will keep them in the game against that top 4 competition (not as confident in our pass game which I think could be problematic come playoff time). I think if Wesley was to try to go toe-to-toe with any of the top 4 by throwing 50 times, they'd get destroyed.

....and I am legend.

[art76]

For those Hawthorn fans, here's the Grand Final.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrD9zNWvUE4

Thanx Oz, was watching/listening to it before hitting the hay last night. From a novice's perspective, it sure looked like a rout to me.

[art76]

6 of the 9 teams in the MIAC have completed half of their seasons already in 2015, and all teams have their non-conference games in the books. There's still a lot of "what ifs" that can still happen, but we are beginning to get a pretty good feel for how things are going to shake out. In some form or other, the four "top teams" have all played one another or played someone they've played. That sorts out this way: St. Thomas beat St. John's who beat Concordia who beat Bethel. If any of those teams but the Tommies wins out, that team could still be the MIAC champion. Gustavus is the wild card, in the sense of, can they beat any of those teams.? We won't find out until they meet the Johnnies 2 games from now. They did take care of Augsburg already, to their credit. All that to say, "It ain't over 'til it's over".

On to this week's games. The Johnnies are idle this week.

Will the Oles score any more points this season? Probably, but not likely this week as they travel to Gustavus this week. This is the last "easy game" for the Gusties until they meet up with the "top four" teams which they meet in succession at the end of their season. It'll take a few more weeks for us all to see whether or not the Gusties are for real or a paper tiger.

Concordia heads down to Carleton this week. Coming off a tough and impressive win against Bethel, there may be a bit of a let down, but the Cobbers should hand the Knights another loss.

Bethel has their homecoming game this week against Hamline. Looking at games played so far this season of opponents' opponents, one could say that this will be a pretty close game.  That is my opinion as well. As a Royal fan, I am hoping that Bethel can make the Pipers have to play catch up all game which plays into the strength of the Royal defense.  If Bethel ends up dominating this game, then that builds momentum moving forward. This might be the best game in the conference this weekend.

But the game I think most will be paying attention to is the game between St. Thomas and Augsburg, because the Tommies have been pretty dominant so far this year. The Auggies are at home, which would normally play into their favor, but with the two schools being so close in proximity, there will be a lot of Tommie followers in the stands.  This game has the distinct possibility of testing the Tommie secondary in a way it hasn't all year because of Ayrton Scott.  While I think the Auggies can make the game competitive, I don't think they have what it takes to beat St. Thomas.

[OldAuggie]

Nice job Art!

[ChicagoTommie]

Augsburg passing attack scares me little, if UST can keep the Auggies's offence off the field and control the time of possession... ST Thomas should win.   

[GoldandBlueBU]

Augsburg passing attack scares me little, if UST can keep the Auggies's offence off the field and control the time of possession... ST Thomas should win.   

That and how many points the Auggies are giving up per game would cause me to think that UST has little to worry about.

[wm4]

6 of the 9 teams in the MIAC have completed half of their seasons already in 2015, and all teams have their non-conference games in the books. There's still a lot of "what ifs" that can still happen, but we are beginning to get a pretty good feel for how things are going to shake out. In some form or other, the four "top teams" have all played one another or played someone they've played. That sorts out this way: St. Thomas beat St. John's who beat Concordia who beat Bethel. If any of those teams but the Tommies wins out, that team could still be the MIAC champion. Gustavus is the wild card, in the sense of, can they beat any of those teams.? We won't find out until they meet the Johnnies 2 games from now. They did take care of Augsburg already, to their credit. All that to say, "It ain't over 'til it's over".

On to this week's games. The Johnnies are idle this week.

Will the Oles score any more points this season? Probably, but not likely this week as they travel to Gustavus this week. This is the last "easy game" for the Gusties until they meet up with the "top four" teams which they meet in succession at the end of their season. It'll take a few more weeks for us all to see whether or not the Gusties are for real or a paper tiger.

Concordia heads down to Carleton this week. Coming off a tough and impressive win against Bethel, there may be a bit of a let down, but the Cobbers should hand the Knights another loss.

Bethel has their homecoming game this week against Hamline. Looking at games played so far this season of opponents' opponents, one could say that this will be a pretty close game.  That is my opinion as well. As a Royal fan, I am hoping that Bethel can make the Pipers have to play catch up all game which plays into the strength of the Royal defense.  If Bethel ends up dominating this game, then that builds momentum moving forward. This might be the best game in the conference this weekend.

But the game I think most will be paying attention to is the game between St. Thomas and Augsburg, because the Tommies have been pretty dominant so far this year. The Auggies are at home, which would normally play into their favor, but with the two schools being so close in proximity, there will be a lot of Tommie followers in the stands.  This game has the distinct possibility of testing the Tommie secondary in a way it hasn't all year because of Ayrton Scott.  While I think the Auggies can make the game competitive, I don't think they have what it takes to beat St. Thomas.

UST Augsburg will be interesting indeed.  Scott can scramble and keep plays alive so UST's secondary will have to cover for longer duration plays.  That said, UST's D line and blitzing LB's have been dominant and a nightmare for opposing lines and QB's.  Best defense is to never let Scott set his feet and keep him contained in the pocket.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Auggie run some designed QB draws to try to take advantage of some open space up the middle.  Will be a fun chess match to watch as the game goes on.

UST's passing game needs to continue to develop.  They've got the running game down and frankly it's built for playing deep into November and December.  But at some point they're going to have to throw the ball with more consistency.  I think the WRs need to do a better job of getting separation.  Gould is at his best when he rolls from the pocket and can see the field better, but often times that reduces the field in half.  Just some things to watch over the coming weeks. 

[USTBench]

6 of the 9 teams in the MIAC have completed half of their seasons already in 2015, and all teams have their non-conference games in the books. There's still a lot of "what ifs" that can still happen, but we are beginning to get a pretty good feel for how things are going to shake out. In some form or other, the four "top teams" have all played one another or played someone they've played. That sorts out this way: St. Thomas beat St. John's who beat Concordia who beat Bethel. If any of those teams but the Tommies wins out, that team could still be the MIAC champion. Gustavus is the wild card, in the sense of, can they beat any of those teams.? We won't find out until they meet the Johnnies 2 games from now. They did take care of Augsburg already, to their credit. All that to say, "It ain't over 'til it's over".

On to this week's games. The Johnnies are idle this week.

Will the Oles score any more points this season? Probably, but not likely this week as they travel to Gustavus this week. This is the last "easy game" for the Gusties until they meet up with the "top four" teams which they meet in succession at the end of their season. It'll take a few more weeks for us all to see whether or not the Gusties are for real or a paper tiger.

Concordia heads down to Carleton this week. Coming off a tough and impressive win against Bethel, there may be a bit of a let down, but the Cobbers should hand the Knights another loss.

Bethel has their homecoming game this week against Hamline. Looking at games played so far this season of opponents' opponents, one could say that this will be a pretty close game.  That is my opinion as well. As a Royal fan, I am hoping that Bethel can make the Pipers have to play catch up all game which plays into the strength of the Royal defense.  If Bethel ends up dominating this game, then that builds momentum moving forward. This might be the best game in the conference this weekend.

But the game I think most will be paying attention to is the game between St. Thomas and Augsburg, because the Tommies have been pretty dominant so far this year. The Auggies are at home, which would normally play into their favor, but with the two schools being so close in proximity, there will be a lot of Tommie followers in the stands.  This game has the distinct possibility of testing the Tommie secondary in a way it hasn't all year because of Ayrton Scott.  While I think the Auggies can make the game competitive, I don't think they have what it takes to beat St. Thomas.

UST Augsburg will be interesting indeed.  Scott can scramble and keep plays alive so UST's secondary will have to cover for longer duration plays.  That said, UST's D line and blitzing LB's have been dominant and a nightmare for opposing lines and QB's.  Best defense is to never let Scott set his feet and keep him contained in the pocket.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Auggie run some designed QB draws to try to take advantage of some open space up the middle.  Will be a fun chess match to watch as the game goes on.

UST's passing game needs to continue to develop.  They've got the running game down and frankly it's built for playing deep into November and December.  But at some point they're going to have to throw the ball with more consistency.  I think the WRs need to do a better job of getting separation.  Gould is at his best when he rolls from the pocket and can see the field better, but often times that reduces the field in half. Just some things to watch over the coming weeks.

My big fear if UST makes the playoffs is what happened to Dakota Tracy in the 2011 semifinals against UWW. Gould is pretty much a carbon copy of Tracy. Light on his feet, but only 5'9" so you pretty much have to roll him out to give him some open looks. Especially when you consider that his left tackle is a full foot taller than him. Shorter QBs have proved they can play, but I haven't seen too many explosive plays from UST's WRs against top competition in the last few years, and when you start talking about Linfield, UWW, MUC and the like, you need to get separation from your WRs. it's one thing to get some misdirection and find a TE wide open, but the deeper you get in the playoffs, the less time you're going to have to let those plays develop. You need timing routes where WRs are explosive enough to get some separation and a QB that can get the ball out his hands quickly, and UST wasn't able to do that against SJU.  Every team has a game where it's a struggle to get the ground game going, and even though Roberts and Kaiser are big and talented, UST is going to have to win a game through the air at some point.

[wm4]

6 of the 9 teams in the MIAC have completed half of their seasons already in 2015, and all teams have their non-conference games in the books. There's still a lot of "what ifs" that can still happen, but we are beginning to get a pretty good feel for how things are going to shake out. In some form or other, the four "top teams" have all played one another or played someone they've played. That sorts out this way: St. Thomas beat St. John's who beat Concordia who beat Bethel. If any of those teams but the Tommies wins out, that team could still be the MIAC champion. Gustavus is the wild card, in the sense of, can they beat any of those teams.? We won't find out until they meet the Johnnies 2 games from now. They did take care of Augsburg already, to their credit. All that to say, "It ain't over 'til it's over".

On to this week's games. The Johnnies are idle this week.

Will the Oles score any more points this season? Probably, but not likely this week as they travel to Gustavus this week. This is the last "easy game" for the Gusties until they meet up with the "top four" teams which they meet in succession at the end of their season. It'll take a few more weeks for us all to see whether or not the Gusties are for real or a paper tiger.

Concordia heads down to Carleton this week. Coming off a tough and impressive win against Bethel, there may be a bit of a let down, but the Cobbers should hand the Knights another loss.

Bethel has their homecoming game this week against Hamline. Looking at games played so far this season of opponents' opponents, one could say that this will be a pretty close game.  That is my opinion as well. As a Royal fan, I am hoping that Bethel can make the Pipers have to play catch up all game which plays into the strength of the Royal defense.  If Bethel ends up dominating this game, then that builds momentum moving forward. This might be the best game in the conference this weekend.

But the game I think most will be paying attention to is the game between St. Thomas and Augsburg, because the Tommies have been pretty dominant so far this year. The Auggies are at home, which would normally play into their favor, but with the two schools being so close in proximity, there will be a lot of Tommie followers in the stands.  This game has the distinct possibility of testing the Tommie secondary in a way it hasn't all year because of Ayrton Scott.  While I think the Auggies can make the game competitive, I don't think they have what it takes to beat St. Thomas.

UST Augsburg will be interesting indeed.  Scott can scramble and keep plays alive so UST's secondary will have to cover for longer duration plays.  That said, UST's D line and blitzing LB's have been dominant and a nightmare for opposing lines and QB's.  Best defense is to never let Scott set his feet and keep him contained in the pocket.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Auggie run some designed QB draws to try to take advantage of some open space up the middle.  Will be a fun chess match to watch as the game goes on.

UST's passing game needs to continue to develop.  They've got the running game down and frankly it's built for playing deep into November and December.  But at some point they're going to have to throw the ball with more consistency.  I think the WRs need to do a better job of getting separation.  Gould is at his best when he rolls from the pocket and can see the field better, but often times that reduces the field in half. Just some things to watch over the coming weeks.

My big fear if UST makes the playoffs is what happened to Dakota Tracy in the 2011 semifinals against UWW. Gould is pretty much a carbon copy of Tracy. Light on his feet, but only 5'9" so you pretty much have to roll him out to give him some open looks. Especially when you consider that his left tackle is a full foot taller than him. Shorter QBs have proved they can play, but I haven't seen too many explosive plays from UST's WRs against top competition in the last few years, and when you start talking about Linfield, UWW, MUC and the like, you need to get separation from your WRs. it's one thing to get some misdirection and find a TE wide open, but the deeper you get in the playoffs, the less time you're going to have to let those plays develop. You need timing routes where WRs are explosive enough to get some separation and a QB that can get the ball out his hands quickly, and UST wasn't able to do that against SJU.  Every team has a game where it's a struggle to get the ground game going, and even though Roberts and Kaiser are big and talented, UST is going to have to win a game through the air at some point.

Agreed on those points.  They're going to need to make defenses at least respect the pass and not load up for the run.  These last two games, seems their passing has been either something really deep to stretch the defense and keep them honest, or swing passes to get some space.  Dowdle is fantastic across the middle but good teams can cover him better and it can't all fall on him. 

One thing I've noticed with Gould's game this year is he's less likely to tuck and run. Seems as though Caruso and Killian want him to hang in their longer vs. taking off. 

[GoldandBlueBU]

My big fear if UST makes the playoffs is what happened to Dakota Tracy in the 2011 semifinals against UWW. Gould is pretty much a carbon copy of Tracy. Light on his feet, but only 5'9" so you pretty much have to roll him out to give him some open looks. Especially when you consider that his left tackle is a full foot taller than him. Shorter QBs have proved they can play, but I haven't seen too many explosive plays from UST's WRs against top competition in the last few years, and when you start talking about Linfield, UWW, MUC and the like, you need to get separation from your WRs. it's one thing to get some misdirection and find a TE wide open, but the deeper you get in the playoffs, the less time you're going to have to let those plays develop. You need timing routes where WRs are explosive enough to get some separation and a QB that can get the ball out his hands quickly, and UST wasn't able to do that against SJU.  Every team has a game where it's a struggle to get the ground game going, and even though Roberts and Kaiser are big and talented, UST is going to have to win a game through the air at some point.

Very true.  I believe that BU took things about as far as they possibly could have with a one dimensional game in the Wetzell / Aakre - Flannery era.  It's a bit of a catch 22, as becoming extremely proficient at it by running so often during the year can be a boon once it's November and cold / wet weather makes passing more difficult, but eventually you'll run into a team that will make you pay for not being able to pass effectively.

Does Fritz have any November / December availability for a playoff run?

[BDB]

 

Well, I picked up my Halloween costume today.

I figure being the "Lion Hunter Dentist" should work for this year anyway.

(click to embiggen)

[hazzben]

New Vince Flynn book is out - The Survivor! Sad he's not around for the release, glad I still get to read along as Mitch Rapp kicks some tail.

Vince is hands down my favorite Tommie (sorry Bench) 

[GoldandBlueBU]

New Vince Flynn book is out - The Survivor! Sad he's not around for the release, glad I still get to read along as Mitch Rapp kicks some tail.

Vince is hands down my favorite Tommie (sorry Bench) 

Interested to see how much it still has the Vince Flynn feel, as he only partially authored it. 

I ended up reading all of the other Mitch Rapp books based on positive reviews on this board!