FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hazzben]

Condolences to Gagliardi family and the broader SJU fb family. He left an indelible mark on all of college football, but especially D3 and the MIAC.

My favorite game as a player was SJU in 2003. I was a part of multiple victories over SJU as a player and coach. However, the magic in Collegeville my SR year was something I'll never forget, so that even a heartbreaking loss still stands as my favorite game. An honor to be a part of it and to have played against John. RIP

[hazzben]

That was a better Bethel team than I've seen in a number of years.  The Johnnies need to clean up the penalities.  Not sure why Bethel wasn't called more for holding--Brinket was held/tackled every pass play.

Not sure why Marsh isn't starting for Bethel.

Marsh has looked really inconsistent at times this year. Thought he looked like his former self on Saturday. Roste was playing hurt, tried to go back in multiple times, before they finally pulled him. When you're dealing with a lower leg injury, and you're a running QB, that's not a good situation.

My take, Marsh is a poor mans Petersen (or really poor man's Kirchoff). Whereas Roste could be as good or better than Wetzel and Aakre. That's a bold take, both were great BU QB's and MIAC MVP caliber players who led us to Semifinal appearances. But Roste has that kind of talent as a runner. He looks to be a better thrower than Aakre at this stage, but doesn't have Ben's cannon. The question is, will he develop their leadership.

My gut is, if Roste is healthy, he'll get the starts going forward. Too much upside to keep him on the bench. But it's nice that Marsh seems to be out of his slump from earlier in the year.

Also, Dawson Brown is a beast for BU. All over the field on Saturday. I remember Coach J saying he thought he was the best player in the MIAC last year (vaguely remember him saying some other coaches had expressed similar sentiments). His Sr. year is not doing anything to prove that statement wrong.

[DuffMan]

Fair enough.  I thought Roste's throws were poor.  Marsh looked good throwing the ball, but if that's not him consistently, I totally understand.

Thoughts on Gillach's 2nd play touchdown?  I've never thought he was a real shifty runner, but he sure made some Bethel DBs look foolish.

Erdmann played pretty well barring a few of the aforementioned throws.  He did makes some smart throwaways, too.  There were a few big drops that were pretty uncharacteristic of the Johnnie receivers.

All in all, I didn't like everything I saw, but they Johnnies hung tough and ground it out!  Westby's pick-6 was a thing of beauty.  I saw him break on the ball and just hoped he could hang on.  The intended target stood there like, "Aw ****."

[GoldandBlueBU]

A) Thoughts on Gillach's 2nd play touchdown?  I've never thought he was a real shifty runner, but he sure made some Bethel DBs look foolish.



B)All in all, I didn't like everything I saw, but they Johnnies hung tough and ground it out!  Westby's pick-6 was a thing of beauty.  I saw him break on the ball and just hoped he could hang on.  The intended target stood there like, "Aw ****."

A - That as a really nice run.  He wasn't breaking any ankles, or setting any speed records, but he made some really nicely timed turns / cuts that forced BU defenders to turn their backs, and he took advantage of it.  Rough start to the game, for what was otherwise a pretty solid half defensively.

B - I think that's what all of the Bethel fans were saying or thinking when that play happened.  Before that, with the two missed SJU FG attempts, I was thinking the BU really had a shot with getting the ball back down 4, 5 minutes left, and the offense having shown some life.  That sure turned on a dime.

[OzJohnnie]

So, tailgating. Are the Stiftungfestivites still in the science lot or has it all moved down to behind the Palestra?

[RoyalsFan]

All in all, I didn't like everything I saw, but they Johnnies hung tough and ground it out!  Westby's pick-6 was a thing of beauty.  I saw him break on the ball and just hoped he could hang on.  The intended target stood there like, "Aw ****."

The pick-6 happened primarily because Marsh had trouble with his grip on the ball and had to double pump. With a quick hitting bubble screen throw like that, he should never have thrown it after the first pump. It was a great/smart play by the db, but Marsh shouldn't have thrown it. In hind sight, it probably would have been a great time to fake the bubble screen and throw deep.

[OzJohnnie]

faunch told me this one:

One night he woke up to go to the toilet and he noticed St Glenn sneaking through his next door neighbor's garden.  Suddenly his neighbor came from nowhere and smacked Caruso over the head with a shovel, knocking him out cold.  The neighbor then started digging a hole, apparently to dump Caruso's body.

Astonished, faunch climbed back into bed.  His wife said, "You're shaking, my love, what is it?"

"You'll never believe what I've just seen," faunch said. "That son of a bitch next door still has my damned shovel!"

[corn horn]

A couple quick questions I have from this past weekend in MIAC football.
1. How did Concordia fall behind 27-0 to Gustavus?
2. How did Gustavus hold Concordia to 20 yards net on the ground for the game?

An unexpected result to say the least. Good for the Gusties!

What does it say for the conference too, if Gustavus is playing Concordia as well as
Whitewater did? It's hard to do the comparative but I think it speaks favorably to the MIAC.

With that result and Bethel hanging tough this weekend, things are looking up for the conference. It also might be a good result for us to pump the breaks on UST rolling too.

An emotional game with strong defense is what i would expect this weekend. Big plays and special teams may turn the tide.

I was at the game (and commented previously) and the only real explanation is the Cobbers were failing to execute at all levels, including emotionally. I've watched many Concordia games over the last nearly 40 years, and I have never seen them appear so flat. I joked at halftime that "aside from no offense, no defense and one special teams fumble, it was a pretty good half".  They lost 16 yards on a lateral into the dirt early in the game, and then netted only 14 yards rushing to finish the half -2 yards. The kept trying to go up the gut, which never worked even after a few good outside pass completions I hoped would loosen things up. They really didn't turn to the bread and butter roll out option until halfway through the 3rd quarter.

Few penalties, but they all seemed to happen (or cause) good yielding plays. The majority of Concordia's first half yardage was on one pass play. They finally looked like they came to play with about 18 minutes of game left.

On the other hand, credit the Gusties for being well prepared in all aspects, fired up for homecoming, and executing consistently well. They really mixed it up offensively and kept the Cobber defense confused all afternoon. Comparisons to UWW are not to be made, however.

[DuffMan]

So, tailgating. Are the Stiftungfestivites still in the science lot or has it all moved down to behind the Palestra?

Over near the new baseball stadium.  Can't miss it.  It's grown huge since I last saw you there. 

I forgot that you were making the trip!  Kinda weird, but there was another SJU alum from Australia sitting behind us at Bethel last weekend.

[faunch]

So, tailgating. Are the Stiftungfestivites still in the science lot or has it all moved down to behind the Palestra?

Over near the new baseball stadium.  Can't miss it.  It's grown huge since I last saw you there. 

I forgot that you were making the trip!  Kinda weird, but there was another SJU alum from Australia sitting behind us at Bethel last weekend.

Any guess thoughts if there will be spaces left in the "power plant" lot at 9:30 am?

[DuffMan]

I'd guess no, Faunch, but that is just a guess.

[OzJohnnie]

So, tailgating. Are the Stiftungfestivites still in the science lot or has it all moved down to behind the Palestra?

Over near the new baseball stadium.  Can't miss it.  It's grown huge since I last saw you there. 

I forgot that you were making the trip!  Kinda weird, but there was another SJU alum from Australia sitting behind us at Bethel last weekend.

Thanks, duffman. I'm looking forward to saying hello before the game.  And there are a few Johnnies down this way that I've come across. It would be nice if someone had the gumption to start an alumni chapter, but it seems everyone is too busy for that.

[faunch]

I'd guess no, Faunch, but that is just a guess.

You think it will be full the night before?

[OzJohnnie]

Whats the difference between UST football and a bra?

A bra actually has support and cups.

[DuffMan]

SJU has their "guide" posted, though I find the information quite generic and unreliable.

Johnnie/Tommie Event Info