FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[jamtod]

My question about waaaaaaaaaaay too early Pool C teams made it into the podcast this week.

Pat - jamtod is actually an acronym for the members of my family, but back when I was still jamto (before D was born, now 15 months), a friend gave me the "just airing my thoughts out" moniker so I ran with it. I added "daily" but it's probably time for a new twitter handle.

[TheChucker]

Can anyone provide insight on what happened with the Cobbers and the Toms?  I was not expecting a blowout.

***
2. Cobbers with a QB who can't throw are very beatable for top MIAC teams. They only threw 7 passes in a 51-0 pasting. Clearly Horan and Co. know they can't throw either. In non-con they can survive that easier because of how unique the offense is. In conference games, where they are a known quantity, teams like Bethel, UST, SJU, etc. know how to scheme against them. The offense is dangerous when they have a true dual threat QB. In other years, they get overmatched. ..

The Cobs self-imposed liabilities seem obvious to everyone outside the school, yet never change. The conference season is still young so there is hope for them, but recent history suggests that the Cobbers will have difficulty pulling together enough offense to beat the likes of SJU, Bethel and GAC.

[MiacMan]

Can anyone provide insight on what happened with the Cobbers and the Toms?  I was not expecting a blowout.

Well, the Toms played pretty well. I have to give them that. Night and day from the week before. They seem to play with some urgency and purpose (rightfully so). However, for some reason the Cobs never play very well against UST. I can't remember when the last time they beat UST (Caruso's 1st or 2nd year?).

Concordia has never beaten St. Thomas under Caruso.

Thanks Pat! Even further back than I thought.

[hazzben]

Can anyone provide insight on what happened with the Cobbers and the Toms?  I was not expecting a blowout.

Well, the Toms played pretty well. I have to give them that. Night and day from the week before. They seem to play with some urgency and purpose (rightfully so). However, for some reason the Cobs never play very well against UST. I can't remember when the last time they beat UST (Caruso's 1st or 2nd year?).

Concordia has never beaten St. Thomas under Caruso.

Thanks Pat! Even further back than I thought.

Speaks well of Horan and his support for UST staying in the MIAC. It's not like the Cobbers were giving as good as they got the last decade with UST. Rather, Horan wanting to go up against the best ... because you know, sports is about competition and all. Kudos to him.

[sjujohnnie]

I'm with Duff! After next season St Thomas will be an afterthought & as for hockey, very few outside of Minnesota give a crap about it whatsoever!

[57Johnnie]

Can anyone provide insight on what happened with the Cobbers and the Toms?  I was not expecting a blowout.

Well, the Toms played pretty well. I have to give them that. Night and day from the week before. They seem to play with some urgency and purpose (rightfully so). However, for some reason the Cobs never play very well against UST. I can't remember when the last time they beat UST (Caruso's 1st or 2nd year?).

Concordia has never beaten St. Thomas under Caruso.

Thanks Pat! Even further back than I thought.

Speaks well of Horan and his support for UST staying in the MIAC. It's not like the Cobbers were giving as good as they got the last decade with UST. Rather, Horan wanting to go up against the best ... because you know, sports is about competition and all. Kudos to him.

I suspect a lot of coaches were against Tomtoss but administrators who think an athletic supporter is a sports fan came up with the scheme. 

[ChicagoTommie]

You know what? I will miss the banter between the Tommie’s and the Johnnies on this board in years to come…I actually will in the future still hound the Johnnies fans, but I will be following them and probably watch the big game that the Johnnies might have. So now who is going to be the new rival in the MIAC for Johnnies?  Bethel or who? Its sucks it like my beloved Bears and the Packers not playing again! its going to be weird!

[MiacMan]

Can anyone provide insight on what happened with the Cobbers and the Toms?  I was not expecting a blowout.

Well, the Toms played pretty well. I have to give them that. Night and day from the week before. They seem to play with some urgency and purpose (rightfully so). However, for some reason the Cobs never play very well against UST. I can't remember when the last time they beat UST (Caruso's 1st or 2nd year?).

Concordia has never beaten St. Thomas under Caruso.

Thanks Pat! Even further back than I thought.

Speaks well of Horan and his support for UST staying in the MIAC. It's not like the Cobbers were giving as good as they got the last decade with UST. Rather, Horan wanting to go up against the best ... because you know, sports is about competition and all. Kudos to him.

Yikes! I just thought of something, it means I was on the Tommie's staff the last time they were beaten by the Cobs. No wonder I'm no longer in the game.

[DuffMan]

Yikes! I just thought of something, it means I was on the Tommie's staff the last time they were beaten by the Cobs. No wonder I'm no longer in the game.

Perhaps this was the key to the Tommie Turnaround all along.  Everyone that gave St. Glenn the credit was wrong! 

[MiacMan]

Yikes! I just thought of something, it means I was on the Tommie's staff the last time they were beaten by the Cobs. No wonder I'm no longer in the game.

Perhaps this was the key to the Tommie Turnaround all along.  Everyone that gave St. Glenn the credit was wrong! 

You might be onto something here. A little secret, Hamline beat us that year too! 

[DuffMan]

A little secret, Hamline beat us that year too! 

Ouch. 

[OzJohnnie]

The gusting wind is far more concerning than the snow IMO. But yeah, SJU isn't gonna be afraid to throw it Saturday with Jackson under center. If it really is miserable (aka, no can throw the ball effectively) I think it favors Bethel. But Bethel is actually a very balanced offense this year. Roste is completing 70% of his passes and hasn't been sacked on the year.

Bethel had a run heavy game plan against GAC (2/3 of plays on the ground) but went to the air against UWRF.  On the ground against CAR but a large part of that was keeping the game reasonable.  Still, given the weather and the approach to GAC, which has proven a tough side, I think BU will try to run to win. The Johnnie defence has proven softest against the +15 yard pass, far too frequently giving up long completions, so hopefully BU prefers the run and attacks our strength when they have the ball.

Offensively, the Johnnies are pretty well-known but a big question is outstanding on how the receiving corp will develop. We had a very experienced and deep five-wide group of targets for Jackson last year that was a problem for any defence's depth. It's a lot of work to get that again. This year started very shaky against Stout with a lot of dropped balls and Erdmann forcing throws but last week (AUG yes, but that's besides the point) saw the Jays running five-wide a lot and the targets were varied. The passing game looks like it is maturing again this year and could become real trouble for defences.  I wish the weather weren't so crappy this weekend, but I still think the Jays will air it out.

[MadRedFan]

I've seen both home games + watched Carleton on "TV" and I would say the receiving corps is at least solid, if not better.  Alston and Van Erp are pretty dependable for the most part and get open.  Hodge is fast and nimble and getting better.  Hard to say they're better than last year's group, or maybe even better than anyone else in MIAC, but they're pretty good.  Mohr plays and is pretty solid.  I still think Blake Patrick could do more if given the chance, he can run! Kemper's getting there at TE.  So I agree the pass offense is getting there.

Running, Barber is very solid (also a good receiver) and Trost is a "classic" Johnnie RB, probably faster than most.  Udoboik hasn't show much this year but looks like he's just waiting to bust loose.  I think they'd be just fine in a game they had to "carry" so to speak.

[OzJohnnie]

Running, Barber is very solid (also a good receiver) and Trost is a "classic" Johnnie RB, probably faster than most.  Udoboik hasn't show much this year but looks like he's just waiting to bust loose.  I think they'd be just fine in a game they had to "carry" so to speak.

That is a good point. We have three good RB's who all offer a slightly different capability. We hardly get a good look at them because AirJohnnie(tm) is so dominant at the moment. But if backed into a corner I imagine those three could put a good game together.

[faunch]

It's really unfortunate that the weather will be so crappy this Saturday's. If we had a day like today, (67, sunny ☀️ and gorgeous) there would likely be a crowd around 10k.