FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Mr.MIAC]

Whoa, Johnnies are showing some class. When did this start?

I'm quite surprised that you recognized class.  Gold star for you!

Gold stars. Is that what they give out in the SJU honors program?

[OzJohnnie]

If the pissing contest is over, I hear that the Tommies and Johnnies and various other MIAC teams played football today. Anybody want to talk about that? Or at least complain about something egregious the Tommies did on the actual football field.

Is it an actual pissing contest when only one side does the pissing?

[jamtod]

If the pissing contest is over, I hear that the Tommies and Johnnies and various other MIAC teams played football today. Anybody want to talk about that? Or at least complain about something egregious the Tommies did on the actual football field.

Is it an actual pissing contest when only one side does the pissing?

Nah. It's not just you. There are Tommies involved too.
Wanna talk about football or just going to continue to piss?

[Pat Coleman]

... that infamous PAT!

Hey ...

[sowilson]

Reading through the post game analysis, I found the following facts:

However, next year looks like it could be a competitive year in the MIAC.  We lose a ton of talent and maybe SJU, Con, Bethel and even Gustavus can elevate.  But then I look at the talent level at the Jr. Soph, and Fr. classes.  Once again, it will be plugging in the next up, and next years team could end up being even more talented team than this year.

Gustavus won't elevate until they replace their coaching staff.  They are undisciplined and unmotivated and that is the fault of the head coach.  The problems on defense are down to incompetent coaching and personnel selection of the front seven.  I timed every play, and except for the sac, the Gusties were not able to bring any pressure on the QB; this has been a problem for the Gusties against any team of similar player quality.  They have the personnel to compete against St. Johns, Bethel, and Concordia (i.e. win 1 to 3 games a year against them) but the coaching staff refuses to put the players into position where they can compete.  I believe that St. Olaf will pass them by (with lesser talent but better coaching) in the next couple of years and the Gusties will reside in the cellar until they pull the plug on the head coach and nearly all of his coaching staff.

[sjusection105]

I hear that MIAC teams played football today. Anybody want to talk about that? Or at least complain about something egregious the Tommies did on the actual football field.

The officiating at the Hamline/SJU game was laughable. It was equally laughable for/against both teams. The funniest was a flag for too many men on the field. The ref then went down the line counting individual players, 11 as there were prior to the flag. He picked up the flag and announced "There is no flag for too many men on the field,I guess they do have 11 players". At this point the crown began to count off, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11. You may expect this on the youth level with refs either being volunteer or get $25 to officiate,but not at the NCAA level 

[DuffMan]

Gustavus won't elevate until they replace their coaching staff.  They are undisciplined and unmotivated and that is the fault of the head coach.

Wow, you've changed your tune!  I'm guessing your son will not be playing for GAC next year.

[DuffMan]

The funniest was a flag for too many men on the field. The ref then went down the line counting individual players, 11 as there were prior to the flag. He picked up the flag and announced "There is no flag for too many men on the field,I guess they do have 11 players".

That is one I've never seen before yesterday. 

[miac952]

UST broke a 7 year old conference record in giving up 1 yard of Total Offense yesterday. Bethel previously had the mark against Hamline in 2010, giving up 18 yards.

A win against St Olaf means a conference win streak of 28, tying the all-time mark by SJU 2001 - 2004 team.

Will be real curious to see how UST plays it against some of their old coaches. Given its on the road, he wont have much more than a 2 deep at positions. Add into that wanting to get some odd stuff on film for playoff opponents and this could get ugly quick.

LaCrosse has a very good shot to make a pool C. Curious if they may end up visiting Collegeville or St Paul in the first two weeks of the playoffs. I will also be curious how Wartburg gets seeded. They are undefeated, but haven't played anybody, and the IIAC has had a few years of disastrous playoff performances. UST and SJU absolutely monkey stomped Coe and Dubuque. To put it succintly I would be dissapointed to see a MIAC team traveling to Wartburg to play a team that squeaked one out against Auggie.

[wm4]

Agreed on Wartburg and MIAC teams. I trust the regional committee will revisit their view of Wartburg relative to UST, when wins over regionally ranked opponents are considered thisweek.

If anybody should be traveling in week 2 it should be Wartburg.

That said, tip of the cap to them for having a great year.

[MediaGuy]

LaCrosse has a very good shot to make a pool C. Curious if they may end up visiting Collegeville or St Paul in the first two weeks of the playoffs. I will also be curious how Wartburg gets seeded. They are undefeated, but haven't played anybody, and the IIAC has had a few years of disastrous playoff performances. UST and SJU absolutely monkey stomped Coe and Dubuque. To put it succintly I would be dissapointed to see a MIAC team traveling to Wartburg to play a team that squeaked one out against Auggie.

Not sure what you're talking about here.  Wartburg's ave margin of victory so far this year is 23.7 points, and they haven't played Augsburg since 2015 (35-27), and 2014 (40-3)...maybe you're referring to 2016 (30-6 Wartburg win), 2015 (29-10 Wartburg win) or 2014 (25-7 Wartburg win)...but those are all in Wrestling.  In college football it's not overly fair to rate a current team by results from 2-3 years ago because in a good program, there will be all new players playing 2-3 years later.  But if you still want to compare from that long ago, then 2014 Wartburg vs St Thomas (37-31 Wartburg Win) and Wartburg vs St Johns (21-10 Wartburg Win).

Don't get me wrong, I think a first round match-up between Wartburg and St Johns/Concordia (MIAC Runner Up) would be wildly unfair for both teams, but if all regionally ranked teams win next week, not counting the head to head match-ups, I don't see the region rankings changing much.  Wartburg, St Thomas, St John's/Concordia will all have wins over Regionally ranked opponents (Monmouth, St John's and Concordia/St John's respectively). I'm not a math guy, but i think it would take some wild changes in the Strength of Schedule numbers for Wartburg to drop too far in the Regional Rankings.  6 weeks ago, wins over St Scholastica and UW-Whitewater seemed like they had huge playoff implications, but now they're just a nice non-conference win. 

I've been following d3 football since 1999 and I suspect the first round match-ups will be some combination of St Thomas, Wartburg and UW-Oshkosh hosting Eureka, Lakeland and Monmouth/St Norbert Winner)...but I'm not on the committee and we've all seen some pretty weird things happen on selection sunday so who knows.

[miac952]

LaCrosse has a very good shot to make a pool C. Curious if they may end up visiting Collegeville or St Paul in the first two weeks of the playoffs. I will also be curious how Wartburg gets seeded. They are undefeated, but haven't played anybody, and the IIAC has had a few years of disastrous playoff performances. UST and SJU absolutely monkey stomped Coe and Dubuque. To put it succintly I would be dissapointed to see a MIAC team traveling to Wartburg to play a team that squeaked one out against Auggie.

Not sure what you're talking about here.  Wartburg's ave margin of victory so far this year is 23.7 points, and they haven't played Augsburg since 2015 (35-27), and 2014 (40-3)...maybe you're referring to 2016 (30-6 Wartburg win), 2015 (29-10 Wartburg win) or 2014 (25-7 Wartburg win)...but those are all in Wrestling.  In college football it's not overly fair to rate a current team by results from 2-3 years ago because in a good program, there will be all new players playing 2-3 years later.  But if you still want to compare from that long ago, then 2014 Wartburg vs St Thomas (37-31 Wartburg Win) and Wartburg vs St Johns (21-10 Wartburg Win).

Don't get me wrong, I think a first round match-up between Wartburg and St Johns/Concordia (MIAC Runner Up) would be wildly unfair for both teams, but if all regionally ranked teams win next week, not counting the head to head match-ups, I don't see the region rankings changing much.  Wartburg, St Thomas, St John's/Concordia will all have wins over Regionally ranked opponents (Monmouth, St John's and Concordia/St John's respectively). I'm not a math guy, but i think it would take some wild changes in the Strength of Schedule numbers for Wartburg to drop too far in the Regional Rankings.  6 weeks ago, wins over St Scholastica and UW-Whitewater seemed like they had huge playoff implications, but now they're just a nice non-conference win. 

I've been following d3 football since 1999 and I suspect the first round match-ups will be some combination of St Thomas, Wartburg and UW-Oshkosh hosting Eureka, Lakeland and Monmouth/St Norbert Winner)...but I'm not on the committee and we've all seen some pretty weird things happen on selection sunday so who knows.

My mistake. Must have been mixed up looking at someone else's schedule. Wartburg beat UST and SJU 3-4 years back in a couple of good games. The IIAC is a nice conference but I do believe the conference has dipped the last couple years as evidenced by the playoff results.

Unless the committee gets creative in pods and shifting a few teams, the West Region will be overweighted with a bunch of top 10-15 teams. We have seen some creativity the last few years. Sign me up for a trip out East in the semi's if it means a game against Brockport vs running the gauntlet in the West or having to go south to MHB.

[sowilson]

Gustavus won't elevate until they replace their coaching staff.  They are undisciplined and unmotivated and that is the fault of the head coach.

Wow, you've changed your tune!  I'm guessing your son will not be playing for GAC next year.

Haven't changed my tune, just know the team better.  I still believe that they are a fairly talented group of guys that should be able to compete with Bethel, St. John's, and Concordia.  The reason they don't and the reason they are with the bottom dwellers is due to coaching.  Yesterday you saw the sad sight of the head coach picking up an unsportsmen like penalty from the bench - truly a classless display by a poor coach.  They are making some changes on offense in the running game that although not perfect is at least heading in the proper direction.  The defense though is a different matter.  What disturbs me though is the lack of discipline and motivation and something is clearly wrong with the team - this lies directly with the head coach.  Last year, 5 players quit mid season including the starting center - that is not normal.  As for my son playing, that is up to him - he's a man now so his relationship to the coaching staff and the athletic department is up to him, as a parent I can't be involved.  He likes the school, really enjoys his Track and Field team and his participation in the music program so he'll probably remain at Gustavus.  If he chooses to transfer, I'll support his decision depending on cost.

[miac952]

I thought the Haugen hire was curious initially. A leap from the MPLS city conference to D3 football is a real transition. Just as D3 to D1 would be. But then Gustavus has a quite successful 2015 campaign and I was starting to think this team had an identity that could equal Concordia's success at a minimum. Since then though it's been a massive regression. And the opportunity was there for them seize a spot in the upper tier of the conference with teams that should be competitive with the top. The facilities are there with one of the more charming small college football stadiums in the Midwest. They also are sitting in a nice area where some good hs football is played and no other D3 schools are nearby to compete with in recruiting.

Two things strike me when looking at their coaching staff.

1. The staff overall looks incredibly inexperienced.

2. They have co-coordinators on both sides of the ball. I've never seen a circumnstance where having co anything related playcalling, game planning, etc. works to the long term benefit of the team. It's confusing and shows indecisiveness from the top.

[sowilson]

The facilities are there with one of the more charming small college football stadiums in the Midwest. They also are sitting in a nice area where some good hs football is played and no other D3 schools are nearby to compete with in recruiting.

Two things strike me when looking at their coaching staff.

1. The staff overall looks incredibly inexperienced.

2. They have co-coordinators on both sides of the ball. I've never seen a circumnstance where having co anything related playcalling, game planning, etc. works to the long term benefit of the team. It's confusing and shows indecisiveness from the top.

Facilities - Stadium is nice (would be nice to have lights - esp for HS playoffs). Weight lifting facilities are criminally negligent - no Power Racks and their pseudo half-racks have 6" long safety arms.  Their insurance company should ban any bench lifts from their racks; it's a decapitation waiting to happen.  They could use a better strength training facility and supposedly there are grandiose plans to build something, but the racks they have need to go immediately and replaced with anything else (6 decent racks from Rogue would see them through).  The rest of the MIAC has superior training facilities to Gustavus.

Staff Inexperience - yep, too many people on the sideline are recent Gustavus players, same with their S&C coordinator.  I don't mind schools hiring former players as coaches but they should get some experience in other systems first.  The Athletic Department needs to hire a head Strength and Conditioning coach.  My son is a multi-sport player and their S&C coordinator is clueless how to program him (I'm doing it now).

Coordinators - yep, agree completely