FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[SJUrube]

Good win for the Tommies. Disappointing loss for the Johnnies. Opportunities all day long to take control.

I continue to be impressed in the ways UST makes offensive adjustments - big TE set, inverted wishbone (or whatever the 3 back formation was). I think your QB will be a problem during the season. Missed a lot of throws.

SJU defense hung tough but the two big play TDs were the difference. Can't give those up - especially when it looks like sustained drives weren't going to happen for either team. Would have loved to see us mix up the offensive flow a little more. Clark needs more than 3 touches and always being in 3rd and 10 isn't going to be successful.

The pass interference call towards the UST student section was a joke. If memory serves me right that led to points. SJU is an equal, or possibly better, but we played safe. Not sure if that was intentional, to play conservative or if there was timidmess because of the environment. Whatever the reason it was a disappointing result.

[PurpleReign]

I caught most of the game, but don't recall if SJU put in Alvord for a couple series just to mix things up?  Clearly it wasn't working for Erdmann, and if I remember correctly, Alvord is a much better athlete than Erdmann.

[miac952]

This is capitalism and so let's keep any socialist "spread the wealth around" for, let's say Venezuela or some other particular "group", but not MIAC football.  I would 100% support that UST get's 65% and SJU get's 35% of allocated revenue and vice versa if SJU decided to hold a game at, let's say the new soccer stadium or TCF or the Stearns County Fairgrounds Grandstand aka Linfield.

That's my two "cents."

I am no socialist, you're going to have to trust me on that point. But as a league, it makes more sense to all play in the sandbox together. Being selfish seldom is helpful in maintaining good relationships.

It sounds like a good idea and theory, but even for a large scale event like this it would be pittance to get distributed.

let's break down the numbers a bit. Let's say the gate is around $1.2m. And let's say the Tommies get to keep all of it (not close to true btw). If they shared 30-40% with the rest of the league members, each em ever would be getting an equivalent payout of 2-3 full tuition students. That's chump
Change compared to the massive budgets for these schools. Plus, this is a one time thing. It isn't an ongoing tv contract.

[faunch]

I caught most of the game, but don't recall if SJU put in Alvord for a couple series just to mix things up?  Clearly it wasn't working for Erdmann, and if I remember correctly, Alvord is a much better athlete than Erdmann.

Alvord did not paly...Not taking anything away from Erdman but probably should have given Alvord a shot in the 4th qtr...team needed a spark.

[faunch]

This is capitalism and so let's keep any socialist "spread the wealth around" for, let's say Venezuela or some other particular "group", but not MIAC football.  I would 100% support that UST get's 65% and SJU get's 35% of allocated revenue and vice versa if SJU decided to hold a game at, let's say the new soccer stadium or TCF or the Stearns County Fairgrounds Grandstand aka Linfield.

That's my two "cents."

I am no socialist, you're going to have to trust me on that point. But as a league, it makes more sense to all play in the sandbox together. Being selfish seldom is helpful in maintaining good relationships.

It sounds like a good idea and theory, but even for a large scale event like this it would be pittance to get distributed.

let's break down the numbers a bit. Let's say the gate is around $1.2m. And let's say the Tommies get to keep all of it (not close to true btw). If they shared 30-40% with the rest of the league members, each em ever would be getting an equivalent payout of 2-3 full tuition students. That's chump
Change compared to the massive budgets for these schools. Plus, this is a one time thing. It isn't an ongoing tv contract.

I heard last night from a reliable source that U$T made about $9 per ticket....do the math on that.

[Tom Thumb]

I have a slightly different view, in my opinion it felt like the Tommies should have won the game by 14-21 points. The Tommie's offense and the special team's mistakes kept the Johnnies in the game. It was clear who controlled the ling of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

The Tommie defense was lights out, almost perfect. One rushing yard...one. The Johnnies were 0-11 on third down. I listened to Erdman during the press conference and he sounded a little surprised by the adjustments UST made on Clark. He was expecting UST to blitz a few times, but they dropped back in coverage on Clark.

Personally, I think playing the game early in the season the past three years has benefitted UST. We've all touched on it the past few weeks, but I think if SJU wants to be a little more prepared for this game they need to strengthen their non-conference schedule. This was the first time they had to make real in-game adjustments. Not a good thing one month into the season for both the SJU players and coaches. It's hard to know what areas you need to improve on when you haven't been tested.

[miac952]

That was quite the spectacle yesterday. The crowd size was legit, though for large parts of the game, a lot of that crowd was having a party in the concourse.

I said going into the game I didn't think the Tommie D had lost a beat, and they surpassed my thoughts. The stats were gaudy. 1 rushing yard, 6 first downs, 150 total yards.

And while the offense didn't sustain drives with points they moved the ball well. Perra slid around the pocket well and made big throws when he needed to. The three back set was slick. The offense ended up with 350 or so yards and 19 first downs. Not bad against a tremendous Johnnie D.

It was an interesting game. Caruso had a conservative offensive game plan built, with some selective shots downfield included in it. UST felt very calm and in control throughout from my perspective. Even after the muffed punt and Clarks late TD, I wasn't clenching tight. Maybe it was the Defensive game plan or the large total yardage differential.

Among many other things SJU has three amazing things going for them. 1&2 Clark and Streit are legit D1 talents. The problem is getting enough time to get them the ball and having a running game to balance the threat 3. The SJU d line is deep and strong. When UST had offensive challenges it was entirely due to the strength and disruption of SJU's d line.

7 of 9, 4 in a row, and coming up on 1100 days since the last time the john's beat the Tommies feels pretty darn good!!!!

[miac952]

I have a slightly different view, in my opinion it felt like the Tommies should have won the game by 14-21 points. The Tommie's offense and the special team's mistakes kept the Johnnies in the game. It was clear who controlled the ling of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

The Tommie defense was lights out, almost perfect. One rushing yard...one. The Johnnies were 0-11 on third down. I listened to Erdman during the press conference and he sounded a little surprised by the adjustments UST made on Clark. He was expecting UST to blitz a few times, but they dropped back in coverage on Clark.

Personally, I think playing the game early in the season the past three years has benefitted UST. We've all touched on it the past few weeks, but I think if SJU wants to be a little more prepared for this game they need to strengthen their non-conference schedule. This was the first time they had to make real in-game adjustments. Not a good thing one month into the season for both the SJU players and coaches. It's hard to know what areas you need to improve on when you haven't been tested.

Good summary. Reusse's column had a similar sentiment.

I think the soft schedule really hurt SJU's running game plan. When you are used to a total physical mismatch for 3 games, and you suddenly get pushed back physically and see some sideline to sideline speed it is REALLY hard to adjust in game. UST isn't playing world beaters but the WIAC teams they have played meet the muster physically, and have gotten their shots with wins or nail biters like this year and 2012.

[Mr.MIAC]

I have a slightly different view, in my opinion it felt like the Tommies should have won the game by 14-21 points. The Tommie's offense and the special team's mistakes kept the Johnnies in the game. It was clear who controlled the ling of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

The Tommie defense was lights out, almost perfect. One rushing yard...one. The Johnnies were 0-11 on third down. I listened to Erdman during the press conference and he sounded a little surprised by the adjustments UST made on Clark. He was expecting UST to blitz a few times, but they dropped back in coverage on Clark.

Personally, I think playing the game early in the season the past three years has benefitted UST. We've all touched on it the past few weeks, but I think if SJU wants to be a little more prepared for this game they need to strengthen their non-conference schedule. This was the first time they had to make real in-game adjustments. Not a good thing one month into the season for both the SJU players and coaches. It's hard to know what areas you need to improve on when you haven't been tested.

Good summary. Reusse's column had a similar sentiment.

I think the soft schedule really hurt SJU's running game plan. When you are used to a total physical mismatch for 3 games, and you suddenly get pushed back physically and see some sideline to sideline speed it is REALLY hard to adjust in game. UST isn't playing world beaters but the WIAC teams they have played meet the muster physically, and have gotten their shots with wins or nail biters like this year and 2012.

I talked with a lot of rabid Johnnie fans during and after the game. For all the barbs that get passed back and forth, you've got to respect the passion and commitment of Johnnie fans (and their superior beer-drinking abilities). The soft schedule came up repeatedly as a contributing factor in the Johnnie loss. Some Johnnies were angry and said the scheduling left SJU wholly unprepared. I guess that's on Fasching. I was also a little surprised that some folks were pretty vocal about placing blame directly on Jim Gagliardi. To say that his play calling was conservative and unresponsive is an understatement, but Johnnies in my section were calling for him to be fired. What happened to the Gagliardi family love? Recruiting came up as an issue. Some Johnnies were saying that unless their entire recruiting system is reworked, SJU will continue losing out to UST on recruiting. I offered that the Johnnies clearly have the talent and they're drawing players from out-of-state (including California and Louisiana), but with a coaching staff (the recruiters) made up of locals and alums, SJU might be missing some prospects outside Minnesota. I think having a diverse cadre of coaches benefits UST recruiting. Some of the Johnnies seemed to agree. Finally, a few Johnnies pointed out that a number of bad calls/missed calls favored the Tommies. I tend to agree, especially the late pass interference call against SJU that was questionable at best, and the missed late pass interference that probably should have been called on UST. That being said, the Tommies were clearly the better team yesterday. I hope we do this at Target Field again in a few years.

[BDB]

How were the sight lines? Seems like there are a couple of very nice football stadiums in the neighborhood. 

I will say the video production was awesome. HD, multiple cameras, very well done.

[jamtod]

How were the sight lines? Seems like there are a couple of very nice football stadiums in the neighborhood. 

I will say the video production was awesome. HD, multiple cameras, very well done.

I was upper deck 50 yard line so our view was great and we were in the shade. Even up that high I was able to see all of the action and read player numbers. I wonder what it was like in other spots though, with viewing angles etc

[Mr.MIAC]

How were the sight lines? Seems like there are a couple of very nice football stadiums in the neighborhood. 

I will say the video production was awesome. HD, multiple cameras, very well done.

Not bad from where I was sitting. It was a real benefit to have flat-screen televisions showing the game every few feet in the Legends Club. It was hotter than hell yesterday and many folks spent most of their time partying/watching the game in the air-conditioned space. 

[art76]

Special podcast this morning on the game - enjoy: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/2017/09/24/atn-podcast-176-special-edition-from-tommie-johnnie-game/

[sju#57]

Didn't get to attend the game yesterday as my daughter decided that was the perfect day to get married but did get to watch the entire game on the laptop.  A few observations. 1. St. Thomas is a good team, not great but good.  SJU is a good team, not great, but good.  2.  Probably one the of the sloppiest most undisciplined SJU teams I can remember.  Not sure if it was the noise or the pressure or what but the mental errors were unacceptable. I understand you will have a holding call now and then or a questionable interference call now and then but the Johnnies were like brain dead yesterday. 3. YES Jimmy's play calling was F$#&ing horrible but that has always been his MO.  No, I am not a fan, never have been.  4. Looked like quite the show to be at.  5.  Hope to play again in playoffs.  Maybe SJU gets lucky and UST looses to Concordia and the Johnnies can run the table the rest of the season.  Hope everyone had a great time and Fasching can get it figured out. 

[jamtod]

A few observations from yesterday's game:
1. Target Field was lit! Also, literally lit in purple. St Thomas and the Twins/Target Field did a great job of giving this the feel of a home game, despite the being a bit more red in the stands than purple. I'm not sure how much the tickets and sections were divided other than the student section, but the upper deck near us was heavily purple and we did our part to be nice and loud. Lots of little touches to give it a nice home game feel for us too. I imagine somebody from St Thomas was involved in the video replay board, as the replays that they chose to show did not include a few of the controversial penalty calls that went in our favor.

2. Having heard some of Caruso's comments about Parks (and Franzese - did he play?) availability for this game, I suspected that if he played, he would be involved. He was, getting the first non-Roberts touches and every time he touched the ball, with his body flailing all over very quickly, I felt he had a chance to break one loose. He didn't get huge yards, but he's an important weapon to have and he did rush for about 60x more yards per carry than SJU, so that's nice.

3. I freakin' love Jeremy Molina and really enjoyed seeing him get some carries.

4. Also loved seeing Gabe Green with a few touches, and I think his presence will grow as the season goes on. Both the long TD and the superb theatrical skills to help get that PI call.

5. All in all, I had a ton of fun and really enjoyed meeting the various folks wearing red throughout the day.