FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[pied]

A note to demonstrate my football nuttiness/out of whack priorities.  We knew this weekend was when we were coming up, but weren't certain when/how we were coming.  My wife found some flights ~10AM getting in ~1-2PM.  I started doing the math and said uh oh, we need to be at the hotel or somewhere by 6:30, because Texas is playing LSU and that's a must-see!

Then I realize Carleton is playing at home at 1PM, and I tell her I either want to head up Friday to get to that game (and watch the Texas game)or wait until Sunday.  Well, our son(13 years old) has his first league soccer game Saturday so I'm making the sacrifice to stay here and head up early Sunday.

I'll watch his game/s, then stream as much of the Carleton game as I can at 1, watch the Clemson - Texas a$m game(go Tigers!), then the Texas game.

I'll meet up with them Sunday afternoon.  Priorities and all. 

[bennie]

Thanks!

OK, who can give me the basic run down?  Who's the traditional power/crap team?  Sounds like St. Thomas is trying to move up the food chain so I'd guess them as a strong program. 

What about rivalries?  St. Olaf seems the easy one, and am I reading the board right that they are snitches? 

Probably a good time to ask if good natured smack-talk is allowed.  I do understand that my position as a Carleton fan, doesn't give me a ton of leverage, but it's all good.

I would say the teams that are usually at or near the top of the heap in the MIAC are (in no particular order), Bethel, Concordia, SJU and St. Thomas. The rest are just jockeying for the bottom. St. Olaf is the big rivalry for Carleton.

[OzJohnnie]

I'm ready for some game notes!

They're up. And the 40 times... the receiving corp has some quick, young players.  Erdmann had better been eating his broccoli over the summer cause he's gonna need to put some zip on the ball to keep up.

[OzJohnnie]

I'm ready for some game notes!

And this section looks interesting:

MEET THE TRANSFERS
Six new faces on the 2019 Saint John's football roster are transfers, three of which moved in prior to Spring 2019 semester (Knott, Willmott and Windsor).
-Freshman linebacker Andrew Jones (Argusville, N.D./Northern Cass), Division I North Dakota State
-Freshman wide receiver Gavin Knott (De Pere, Wis.), Division II Minnesota-Duluth -Freshman wide receiver Maguire Petersen, Division I Wisconsin (track)
-Freshman defensive back Drew Rudlong (Big Lake, Minn.), Division II St. Cloud State -Freshman defensive lineman Sam Willmott (Rosemount, Minn.), Division I South Dakota State
-Senior defensive lineman J.W. Windsor (Mesa, Ariz./Chandler), Cal Lutheran (where he was D3football.com All-West Region in 2018)

[Mr.MIAC]

I'm ready for some game notes!

And this section looks interesting:

MEET THE TRANSFERS
Six new faces on the 2019 Saint John's football roster are transfers, three of which moved in prior to Spring 2019 semester (Knott, Willmott and Windsor).
-Freshman linebacker Andrew Jones (Argusville, N.D./Northern Cass), Division I North Dakota State
-Freshman wide receiver Gavin Knott (De Pere, Wis.), Division II Minnesota-Duluth -Freshman wide receiver Maguire Petersen, Division I Wisconsin (track)
-Freshman defensive back Drew Rudlong (Big Lake, Minn.), Division II St. Cloud State -Freshman defensive lineman Sam Willmott (Rosemount, Minn.), Division I South Dakota State
-Senior defensive lineman J.W. Windsor (Mesa, Ariz./Chandler), Cal Lutheran (where he was D3football.com All-West Region in 2018)

What is all this stuff? Are you into DIII football? Sad.

[MadRedFan]

I'm ready for some game notes!

And this section looks interesting:

MEET THE TRANSFERS
Six new faces on the 2019 Saint John's football roster are transfers, three of which moved in prior to Spring 2019 semester (Knott, Willmott and Windsor).
-Freshman linebacker Andrew Jones (Argusville, N.D./Northern Cass), Division I North Dakota State
-Freshman wide receiver Gavin Knott (De Pere, Wis.), Division II Minnesota-Duluth -Freshman wide receiver Maguire Petersen, Division I Wisconsin (track)
-Freshman defensive back Drew Rudlong (Big Lake, Minn.), Division II St. Cloud State -Freshman defensive lineman Sam Willmott (Rosemount, Minn.), Division I South Dakota State
-Senior defensive lineman J.W. Windsor (Mesa, Ariz./Chandler), Cal Lutheran (where he was D3football.com All-West Region in 2018)

I have hopes too, but looking at their "stats" from last year, well, most of them didn't have any - no PT, that's why they're still mostly freshmen.  Obviously Windsor is the exception.  So, not sure how much help they'll be.

[OzJohnnie]

The Tommies are counting them D1 chickens before they’re hatched...

And, yes MadRed, no PT.  But then a certain Penn State QB had no PT either and that’s worked out OK.  At the start of the year everything is possible and no rational analysis is required. I like it that way. It’s where I excel.

[hazzben]

Good afternoon from Texas! 

Hoping to join you guys/girls in some discussion about MIAC football.  My daughter is going to be a freshman at Carleton and we're heading up this week.   

Can anyone point to more information about the team, previews, what to expect?  I tried some searches for local newspapers but didn't find much.  I understand there won't be near what I'm used to, but figure my searches just haven't been good enough.  In any case, I'm all in and looking forward to following the team and league this season!

(please forgive me if I ask stupid questions at the beginning)

Welcome aboard! Good to have some more variety on here.

There's not always a ton of info on Carleton out there. The SID posts on here from time to time, but obviously has to be a bit careful with his takes.

Smack talk, no worries. Plenty of good natured ribbing goes back and forth. Don't take things personal. And by and large, this message board community is about 100x more rational and less idiotic than your typical interwebs. Brush up on your Hamm's and general beer knowledge and you'll fit right in.

Typical MIAC pecking order:

Tier 1 - Playoff Caliber (usually means a quarterfinal threat or deeper)
SJU, UST, Bethel, Concordia

Tier 2 - Upset Caliber (a good year for these teams means 7-3/8-2, a typical year is around 5-5 or 6-4)
Gustavus Adolphus (GAC), St. Olaf, Augsburg

Tier 3 - Cannon Fodder (a good year is approaching .500, often get beat by 20+ pts by Tier 2 and even more by Tier 1)
Carleton, Hamline

If Macalester rejoins after UST leaves, they'll be a Tier 3 program. The Tiers are somewhat fluid, but a snapshot of a typical 5 year or 10 year stretch probably bears these out.

[OzJohnnie]

I’m glad you told him, hazzben. The board is a great place to be but Carleton are a “for the love of the game” squad in football, unfortunately for a rabid football supporter.

Welcome aboard, pied. +k and I hope you have a long and enjoyable time here.

[hazzben]

What about rivalries?  St. Olaf seems the easy one, and am I reading the board right that they are snitches? 

Probably a good time to ask if good natured smack-talk is allowed.  I do understand that my position as a Carleton fan, doesn't give me a ton of leverage, but it's all good.

Rivalries:
SJU v. UST - Johnnie Tommie
St. Olaf v. Concordia - Troll Trophy, Lutheran heritage
Bethel v. UST - General dislike/respect & intensity
Mac v. Carleton - Book of Knowledge
Carleton v. St. Olaf - Battle for Northfield

Also, congrats to your daughter. Carleton is a great academic school, she must have worked hard in HS!

I'm glad you told him, hazzben. The board is a great place to be but Carleton are a "for the love of the game" squad in football, unfortunately for a rabid football supporter.

Welcome aboard, pied. +k and I hope you have a long and enjoyable time here.

Yeah, I hope that didn't come across like I was trying to disrespect the Tier 3 programs. It takes a lot of guts and commitment to stick it out for 4 years when you're taking your lumps like they often do.

[DuffMan]

When is the last time the Cobbers made a quarterfinal appearance?  Seriously.  I don't care enough to research it.

[DuffMan]

Seriously, though, Pied, welcome to you.  Come take in a competitive game in Collegeville sometime.  It's worth the trip.

[pied]

All the replies and the lay of the land is much appreciated. Even my cursory research led me to understand to not get my hopes up as far as a top notch program. O can't wait to get to some games. Wish I could have made this weekend but it wasn't in the cards. Going to be up there for parents weekend in October and CAN'T wait. Been to a ton of college games but haven't been able to make it to any D3 ones.

Hope to be able to add more than ask soon.

[art76]

All the replies and the lay of the land is much appreciated. Even my cursory research led me to understand to not get my hopes up as far as a top notch program. O can't wait to get to some games. Wish I could have made this weekend but it wasn't in the cards. Going to be up there for parents weekend in October and CAN'T wait. Been to a ton of college games but haven't been able to make it to any D3 ones.

Hope to be able to add more than ask soon.

Welcome aboard, Pied!

So, how do you say your handle? Is it two syllables, like "pie-ed" - short for mathematics teacher, or one syllable, like getting hit in the face, ala The Three Stooges?

[DuffMan]

When is the last time the Cobbers made a quarterfinal appearance?  Seriously.  I don't care enough to research it.

In an effort to avoid working on a lengthy report, I checked into my question.  The Cobbers have not won the MIAC since '04, with 2nd place finishes in '05, '08, '12, '13, and '14.  Their most recent playoff appearances have been '04  and '05, where they lost in the 2nd round both years.  I had to go back to '86 to find a legitimate deep playoff run.  I'd argue that Concordia is now a "Tier 2" team.  Because of the style of football they play, they can be tough to beat, but I don't see them as a legimate threat on a regular basis.

Since you're new to the MIAC, Pied, here's my take/brief history (disclaimer--I played at SJU from '99-'02, so I have some red-tinted glasses):
SJU essentially dominated the league from the '60s through the early '00s.  You don't have to look much farther than John Gagliardi to understand why.  I began following the MIAC in the mid/late 90s, as I was playing high school football, and my dad is a Johnnie, too,  At that time, SJU was the cream of the crop.  Beginning in the late '90s, Bethel rose from the cellar to a serious contender.  They beat SJU in '99 and '00, and the race was suddenly on.  They had some seriously good teams in that era.  The latest MIAC juggernaut, St. Thomas, was mired in mediocrity in those years.

Fast forward to now.  Toward the end of the Gagliardi era, things had slipped a bit at SJU.  Not terrible, by any means, but the program had lost it's edge, and around the same time, Glenn Caruso (aka St. Glenn) was hired by St. Thomas (aka U$T) and took that program from mediocrity to a true NCAA title contender.  Following Gagliardi's retirement in 2012, Gary Fasching (an SJU alum and long-time Gagliardi assistant) was hired to take over.  Things at SJU began improving steadily, and the past few years have left us with SJU and U$T as legit threats for deep playoff runs (aside from U$T choking and placing 3rd in the MIAC in 2018).

Bethel remains very good, but not quite to the extent as SJU and U$T.  Their program attracts a different sort of athlete, and while coach Johnson never fails to put a solid team on the field, they tend to have good years with an excellent year sprinkled in every few seasons.  They're always tough to beat.

Concordia, well, we've discussed them.  They run a wing T offense, which can be a struggle to prepare for.  They always play tough, but they rarely overcome the hump.

Hazzben touched on the rest.  Gustavus and occasionally Augsburg (aka Auggie Tech) and St. Olaf can occasionally make things interesting.  Carleton and Hamline have a tough go of things.  Macalaster left the MIAC in football following the '02 season because they were that awful.

I can't really touch on rivalries other than SJU's.  SJU/U$T obviously garners the most attention.  SJU/Bethel can get heated.  SJU/Concordia used to be a great rivalry but has waned a bit in recent years.