FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[sowilson]

I think the problem Concordia is suffering from is that they are trying to run a "system" without regard to the players they have on the roster or in their recruiting pipeline.  Is an option offense the best use of the players on Concordia's roster?  In recruiting does an option offense still sell these days?  Other teams in the MIAC suffer somewhat by being stuck on a "system" instead of building your system around what will put your players in the best position to win, but Concordia might be the most glaring example.

[GoldandBlueBU]

I think the problem Concordia is suffering from is that they are trying to run a "system" without regard to the players they have on the roster or in their recruiting pipeline.  Is an option offense the best use of the players on Concordia's roster?  In recruiting does an option offense still sell these days?  Other teams in the MIAC suffer somewhat by being stuck on a "system" instead of building your system around what will put your players in the best position to win, but Concordia might be the most glaring example.

I definitely agree that there's something to that.  Tyler Ledyard was a high school teammate of mine, and was a stud tight end in high school...Cobbers didn't have the position, so he ended up playing D-line, and was all conference first team in that position in the mid 2000's, but it definitely didn't take advantage of his athleticism to the full degree.

That's just one example, but I'm sure it has played out frequently for the Cobbers.

[TheChucker]

I think the problem Concordia is suffering from is that they are trying to run a "system" without regard to the players they have on the roster or in their recruiting pipeline.  Is an option offense the best use of the players on Concordia's roster?  In recruiting does an option offense still sell these days?  Other teams in the MIAC suffer somewhat by being stuck on a "system" instead of building your system around what will put your players in the best position to win, but Concordia might be the most glaring example.

This system versus talent argument is where I'm at. In my humble opinion, there are plenty of QBs available in D3 that have throwing talent but aren't running back type talent. The MIAC has a few. In contrast, true talented dual threat QBs are a rarity in D1 much less D3. In today's game, a team has to be able to throw the ball to be competitive at the national level. That doesn't mean only passing teams win. Even very good run heavy teams like UMHB and Bethel (UWW and MU too?) need to pass the ball to keep talented defenses honest and/or mount late game heroics.

In other words, a run heavy option offense (without a dual threat QB star) can beat up on weaker teams but won't be able to beat the nationally relevant teams consistently. That's the position the Cobbers have found themselves in repeatedly. Just my armchair quarterback opinion.

[MIAC23]

Griffin Neal was the last true threat at QB for the Cobbs. I think Herzog is a little misremembered as being a little better with the ineptitude that is there right now. Soph year Herzog had decent numbers: 84-144 with 10 TD and 2 picks, 124 yds/game. Side note he also had Brandon Zylstra and Jon Baune to throw to, so maybe the numbers should have been a little better.....

Jr. year was 70-134, 7 TD and 2 picks, at 71 yds/game.

Sr year before injury was 29-59 with 2 TD and 1 pick, 94 yrds/game.

Cobbs haven't done much since Neal.

[hazzben]

Another major piece is that many HS offenses have switched from running option concepts to running spread systems. Hence, why you see so many really good QB's in college football these days. They are light years ahead of the curve when it comes to passing compared to what many HS QB's were asked to do 20+ years ago. On the flip side, with fewer option offenses in HS, many of those guys who in the 70's, 80's, and 90's would have been an option QB are now a WR or RB. Used to be, you put your best athlete at QB and lived with whatever he could accomplish as a thrower, because it was a secondary feature of a HS offense (speaking in broad generalities).

I think the Cobbers problem is somewhere in the middle. There are still guys who can run that offense, they are just in the middle of one who isn't very good at it. But the guys who can run it are also much rarer to find. On the flip side, what other colleges in the Dakota's, Iowa, and Minnesota are recruiting option QB's?? They do probably have close to the corner on that market. In the end though, I think it's a net negative for them. Does Horan have the X's and O's chops to change it up (that's an honest question, not a dig)? Does he have the guys on staff that could make that change with him? That's a huge shift for the OC, and position coaches at QB and OLine.

[SagatagSam]

I mean, 97-0 is bad, but there's something about hitting triple digits and the scoreboard doesn't have enough places to go over 99 so the score just shows up as "03."

http://www.startribune.com/football-playoff-time-in-south-dakota-pierre-103-spearfish-0/564219811/

[Mr.MIAC]

Here's a little glimpse of where the MIAC will be in ten years: https://nypost.com/2019/10/31/long-island-hs-football-coach-suspended-for-running-up-the-score/.

[jamtod]

I mean, 97-0 is bad, but there's something about hitting triple digits and the scoreboard doesn't have enough places to go over 99 so the score just shows up as "03."

http://www.startribune.com/football-playoff-time-in-south-dakota-pierre-103-spearfish-0/564219811/

Since 98 is too much (it's more than 97 last I checked), I'm hoping for a mere 95 tomorrow in Northfield, as revenge for the Protestant reformation. Hammer those 95 points to the scoreboard.

[OzJohnnie]

A section in the Johnnie game notes has a list of a bunch of QB stats and the player who owns the MIAC record.  I knew that Ayrton Scott was dangerous, but Jordan Berg slung it as well.  Of the 17 stats they list AUG own 9 (AS with 2 and JB with 7!!), SJU 4 (Erdmann only has one), GAC 2, UST & CON both 1.

AUG played airball for a long time with those two QB's.  I knew it was a lot but I didn't realise how extraordinary it was.

[57Johnnie]

Game Day

GO JOHNNIES! 

[jamtod]

I just remembered something I heard on KFAN the other morning in an interview with Fleck. They asked him about a walk-on, Pete Bercich Jr. He was on UST's roster last year, but I don't think he played much. Interesting to hear he walked on at the U then

[corn horn]

So many posts related to the Cobber offensive woes this season, and I am in agreement with much of what has been said. In all fairness, Kragness is pretty athletic...decent runner and capable arm, but there is a certain instinct that has to be present to run the option effectively. Getting a defensive read both before and while play is in motion and making well timed decisions is so critical, and this has been soft this year. It certainly hasn't helped that the backfield support can't seem to catch a pitchout...causes a lot of second guessing.

Defense is decent, but can't overcome multiple short offensive possessions and turnovers.

No serious dreams of an upset at SJU today...just hoping the Cobbers can put together a good game.

[OldAuggie]

I just remembered something I heard on KFAN the other morning in an interview with Fleck. They asked him about a walk-on, Pete Bercich Jr. He was on UST's roster last year, but I don't think he played much. Interesting to hear he walked on at the U then

Hi guys, long time no post! I see Bercich Jr. each game on the sidelines at Gopher games, no pads. He is there though and I wondered where he came from, now I know.

As far as STO vs UST today, I hope UST really puts the hammer down on them not only for creating this MIAC mess but also due to the recent move by the AD to drop wrestling at STO. The wrestling community is trying to reach him and he will not even return an email. A total coward showing his "elitist" stripes.

[TheChucker]

So many posts related to the Cobber offensive woes this season, and I am in agreement with much of what has been said. In all fairness, Kragness is pretty athletic...decent runner and capable arm, but there is a certain instinct that has to be present to run the option effectively. Getting a defensive read both before and while play is in motion and making well timed decisions is so critical, and this has been soft this year. It certainly hasn't helped that the backfield support can't seem to catch a pitchout...causes a lot of second guessing.

Defense is decent, but can't overcome multiple short offensive possessions and turnovers.

No serious dreams of an upset at SJU today...just hoping the Cobbers can put together a good game.

I've the seen the Cobs drop into a more traditional spread formation at times in recent games with some success. Trips, a tight end, shotgun and single back. You probably watch them a lot more than me. Do you think this might be a trend? Have they run this in the past very much?

[corn horn]

So many posts related to the Cobber offensive woes this season, and I am in agreement with much of what has been said. In all fairness, Kragness is pretty athletic...decent runner and capable arm, but there is a certain instinct that has to be present to run the option effectively. Getting a defensive read both before and while play is in motion and making well timed decisions is so critical, and this has been soft this year. It certainly hasn't helped that the backfield support can't seem to catch a pitchout...causes a lot of second guessing.

Defense is decent, but can't overcome multiple short offensive possessions and turnovers.

No serious dreams of an upset at SJU today...just hoping the Cobbers can put together a good game.

I've the seen the Cobs drop into a more traditional spread formation at times in recent games with some success. Trips, a tight end, shotgun and single back. You probably watch them a lot more than me. Do you think this might be a trend? Have they run this in the past very much?

Good observation. They will give this look a few times a game. It gets the defense scrambling, and I appreciate the wrinkle it adds. It may be a trend to use the alternate formation on occasion, but it does not appear to be a trend in the sense of going that direction with any increased frequency.