FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[DuffMan]

Also, Mount Union (who's got an OK team  ) has an enrollment under 2100.  HOW CAN THEY COMPETE?!?!

[(509)Rat]

As far as I'm concerned, it's only a matter of time before Whitewater is back to who they were historically prior to Leipold showing them the ropes comparable to the boat Iowa St will be in when Campbell sets sail!

Recruiting would have to fall off in a major way. Or I guess another WIAC team would have to become equally dominant for a sustained period of time. MUC, UMHB, UWW are more often than not getting a different breed of athlete/player across the board than the rest of d3 football. What's probably most impressive is the consistency at which they've gotten those guys into their program. It's not the every 5-10 years of assembling a supremely talented team that the next tier does (I think Linfield, SJU, STU, maybe an Oshkosh, Wesley, etc.), but almost every single year they are more talented across the board than the rest of the country.

UMHB D against the SJU O I think would be the most interesting and/or entertaining story line of the entire post-season...

[02 Warhawk]

Also, Mount Union (who's got an OK team  ) has an enrollment under 2100.  HOW CAN THEY COMPETE?!?!

That's what I've always came back with when UWW gets the "larger school has advantages" crap 6 times a year. Then that's always - without fail - followed up with "Well....Mount Union is the exception". No sh** you think that, because it goes against your argument.

[02 Warhawk]

As far as I'm concerned, it's only a matter of time before Whitewater is back to who they were historically prior to Leipold showing them the ropes comparable to the boat Iowa St will be in when Campbell sets sail!

Maybe I'm missing the blue sarcasm font here ... but UWW was building a pretty solid program under Bob Berezowitz.

The perception before Berezowitz of WIAC teams was that they were often huge, but slow. Berezowitz  upped the talent level and made them national contenders. The enrollment numbers, for the most part, has been discussed and is not the issue many want to make of it.

Hate to stick up for anything purple, but no matter what folks might think of their tradition, it's something probably 99 percent of d3 teams would gladly take.

Yup, Brez built that team to compete at a national level. But Lance was the one who took it over the top and got them 6 championships in 8 years.

I don't think it's a coincidence that when Lance left the team started to regress over the following three seasons (even though enrollment, tuition and academic standards remained the same). Although this year has been a great bounce back year, but I'm still curious how good this team really is because the top of the WIAC didn't really push UWW this year like in years past. We'll see.

[02 Warhawk]

Who was Whitewater BEFORE Leipold? What is Bullis' connection to the school prior to Leipold? Time will tell if Whitewater can sustain a winning tradition beyond a decade or two. Out of 13,000 students, only a moron couldn't put a team together!

I'll try and answer these questions:

Brez took the team to two Stagg Bowls ('05 and '06) before retiring. UWW was just a very average team for decades before their run. Nothing great, made the playoffs here and there, got their annual beat down from UWL most years. During my time at UWW (98-02) they only made the playoffs once (which was my freshman year - only to lose in the first round). In the late 90's Brez wanted to take the team to the next level. So he began scheduling nonconference games against St. John's, Hardin-Simmons, Mount Union and solid NAIA programs. Just to get an up-close look at what it took to be a national contender. He noticed right away his boys lacked athleticism and (most importantly) speed. I remember interviewing him when I wrote for the school paper, and I asked Brez why the need to schedule such great teams. He responded with "If you want to be the best, you'll have to beat the best." Obviously UWW lost all those non-conference games, but what he learned was far more valuable.

Lance hired Bullis in 2008 from UW-River Falls where he was a D-Coordinator there for 13 years. He served as UWW's Defensive Line coach until he was named interim coach in 2015 when Lance got his DI offer. He was named interim because he was basically one of the few left standing after Lance took most of his coaching staff with him to Buffalo.

Mind you, that enrollment has been basically the same for decades even when UWW was nothing but a .500 team in DIII. Nobody made a stink of it until they became good. How convenient. 

[DuffMan]

So he began scheduling nonconference games against St. John's, Hardin-Simmons, Mount Union and solid NAIA programs.

The 2002 SJU/UWW game was my senior year.  That UWW team was very typical of the WIAC teams we were used to playing.  Very tough, but nothing special.  We trounced them but took a physical beating.  They've definitely turned it on since!

[art76]

Although this year has been a great bounce back year, but I'm still curious how good this team really is because the top of the WIAC didn't really push UWW this year like in years past. We'll see.

Whoever wins the game between Bethel and North Central will probably be the first test for the Warhawks for the year. Trust me, I'm not saying the remainder f the WIAC is chopped liver, far from it, but unlike the MIAC this year, UWW stands heads and shoulders above the remainder of the conference, as I see things. I am really hoping the Royals defense gets a crack at the Warhawk running game. I know, I know, be careful what you wish for. 

[02 Warhawk]

Although this year has been a great bounce back year, but I'm still curious how good this team really is because the top of the WIAC didn't really push UWW this year like in years past. We'll see.

Whoever wins the game between Bethel and North Central will probably be the first test for the Warhawks for the year. Trust me, I'm not saying the remainder f the WIAC is chopped liver, far from it, but unlike the MIAC this year, UWW stands heads and shoulders above the remainder of the conference, as I see things. I am really hoping the Royals defense gets a crack at the Warhawk running game. I know, I know, be careful what you wish for. 

Yup, I pretty much said the same thing (almost word for word) on the WIAC thread.

[jamtod]

Well. Now that the football season is over, let's revisit this from last year. At some point maybe I'll put together a forward looking one with the depth. I'm going to focus on starters for now and if anybody from the depth wasn't on the team this year.

Deviations:
* RB Trettel got hurt but Parks looked great. Aleksuk is not with the team.
* OL - Ruggeri and Wawracz stepped up to fill the starter holes. Koppelman was hurt.
* D-line - Heller did not return.
* LB - Dowdle shifted over here and was a beast. Sad to see him go.
* CB - Gerrety stepped in to a starting role.
* K - Knutson took over, looked pretty decent.
* P - Dowdle ended up as our punter aside from the QBs. Not sure what happened to Petitjean.

All classes are noted as expected for 2018. I welcome your input on this.

Offense:
QB1: Jacques Perra (Sr)
Key graduation: None (although one of these guys might step in as holder for Dylan Andrew)
Expected to compete 2018: Ronnie Jones (Jr), Michael Frankl (So)
Perra struggled at times but should return with some safety to the QB role. The two backups should be solid options also.

RB1: Tucker Trettel (Sr)
Key graduation: Jordan Roberts
Expected to compete 2018: Josh Parks (Jr), Stephen Wagner (Jr) - maybe mostly at FB, Tom Loeffler (So), Emitt Peisert (Jr) - converted to WR?, Keeshawn Aleksuk (So)
Getting a healthy Trettel back for a 1-2 punch, with Wagner and Loeffler as alternative options makes this a position of strength.

FB1: Jeremy Molina
Key graduation: Molina
Expected to compete 2018: Jack Foley (Jr), Stephen Wagner (Jr), Noel Ortiz (So)
Foley got the early reps while Molina was out, as Wagner transitioned to the FB role.

TE: Matt Christenson and Jackson Hull
Key graduations: Christenson and Hull
Expected to compete 2018: Jackson Finn (Sr), Jack Foley (Jr) - although maybe at FB?, Grant Slavik (Jr)
Some big losses here and we will need guys to step up.

WR: Vinny Pallini (Jr) and Gabe Green (Jr)
Key graduations: Luke Iverson, Tanner Vik
Expected to compete 2018: Emmitt Peisert (Jr) - maybe here or at RB, Will Toonen (Jr)
WR is a position where we lack major depth. Pallini and Green stepped up and took over the starting roles as the season went on. Nobody outside of those listed had receptions so I'm not sure who the next guys to step up are. Peisert has transitioned to WR and should leave us with another option there. Loeffler is listed at WR on the depth chart although looks to be a solid RB.

OL: C, Matt Beck (Sr); G, Michael Greene (Sr) and Chandler Lamke; T, Damon Longstreet and Elijah Rice (Jr)
Key graduations: Lamke, Longstreet, and Gavin Dauwalter (struggled with injuries some)
Expected to compete 2018: Michael Ruggeri (So) is an OG I think and could step in nicely for a few years. Garrett Prentis (So) is the backup C. I am not an O-line expert so maybe somebody else can help me out here. I think Joey Koppelman (Jr - OG) and one of the Brockwells (Jr and Sr) also saw some time.

Defense:
DL: Austin Jochum, Johnny Heller (Super Sr?), Matt Mitchell (Sr)
Key graduations: Jochum, maybe Heller, Jack Newell
Expected to compete 2018: David Danhauer (Sr), Jake Levahn (So), Alex Zwaschka (Jr), Alex Panos (So)

LB: Steve Harrell, Dylan Andrew, Adam Brant (Sr), Blake Weber (Sr)
Key graduations: Harrell, Andrew, Adam Kraft, George Hottinger, Tobias Knight
Expected to compete 2018: Peder Olson (Sr), Luke Swenson (Jr), Alex Taylor (Jr), Carter Greguson (So), Parker Hlavacek (Jr), Sam Herriges (Jr)

CB: Mark Dowdle (Sr), Michael Franzese (Sr)
Key graduations: Austin Lorch (key ST contributor)
Expected to compete 2018: Logan Petersmeyer (Jr), Joe Hird (So), Austin Coates (Jr) has seen some special teams PT but I don't recall seeing him at corner.
Nice to have some starters back. Need to develop some more depth at this position.

S: Isaac Seering, Chris Fondakowski (Sr)
Key graduations: Seering, Jack Dummer (special teams)
Expected to compete 2018: Jordan Lundell (Sr)
We saw Fonda move to CB some late in the year and Lundell got some more PT at Safety. I don't know who else is in line to see time here.

Special Teams:
K: Bryan Steinsapir
Key graduations: Steinsapir
Expected to compete 2018: Carter Schmitz (Sr), Vinny Pallini (Jr), Tyler Knutson (Jr)?
Steinsapir was great. Schmitz has kicked some but struggled to get the height on his kicks. Pallini has kicked a few and looked great but not sure if he would be a full-time K and WR.

P: Jacques Perra (Sr) and the other QBs. Occasionally Robert Petijean (Jr)
Key graduations: None
Expected to compete 2018: Should be in good shape here. Hopefully we don't have to punt much.

Longsnapper: Zach Bennett (So) did a nice job and will keep the job I imagine.

KR: Peisert and Loeffler are back.

PR: Loeffler and Pallini are back.

[Pat Coleman]

Out of 13,000 students, only a moron couldn't put a team together!

Not how any of this works.

[02 Warhawk]

Out of 13,000 students, only a moron couldn't put a team together!

Not how any of this works.

Pat gets it

#NotHighSchool

[OzJohnnie]

Out of 13,000 students, only a moron couldn't put a team together!

Not how any of this works.

The UofM has 35k undergraduates.  They could sure use some help on understanding how this does work.

[Pat Coleman]

Out of 13,000 students, only a moron couldn't put a team together!

Not how any of this works.

The UofM has 35k undergraduates.  They could sure use some help on understanding how this does work.

Clearly they have to hang better signs in the dorms to get kids out to tryouts.

[02 Warhawk]

Out of 13,000 students, only a moron couldn't put a team together!

Not how any of this works.

The UofM has 35k undergraduates.  They could sure use some help on understanding how this does work.

Clearly they have to hang better signs in the dorms to get kids out to tryouts.

Notre Dame must have some really good signs. They get the most of their 12K enrollment.

[hazzben]

Anyone else having trouble with the podcast? It plays the first 15 seconds and then stalls out