FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hazzben]

D3Football appears to have doubts about / unsure what to do with SJU.
- Picked BU to win MIAC championship (close)
- Bracket capsule says SJU will go as far as they outscore opponents. Either that's a clever quip based on the recent last second win or another example of the most cliched 'guide to winning' phrase ever used. Compare it to other 1 seeds, or even some of the 2 and 3 seeds.
- Logan has SJU with the 6th (barely) best championship odds: https://twitter.com/loghanratings/status/1461410923160215553?s=21.

Logan's first round spreads for anyone interested: https://twitter.com/loghanratings/status/1461358432691187716?s=21

Not at all unique to Bethel and SJU, but health is a huge piece of this. NCC, Linfield, UMHB, Mount, UWW all seem pretty healthy. It's a war of talent - attrition. 

Backes is smart, athletic, but not the passer of Syverson. Trost is a beast when healthy, but Voulk is an All conference caliber backup. The trick for Backes to lead SJU on a run is that SJU needs healthy weapons at other spots. He's more Kirk Cousins than Aaron Rodgers IMO.

For Bethel, depth isn't as strong as SJU. So staying healthy is enormous. We've lived the world of an MVP caliber QB getting injured (Wetzel 07, Petersen 13) or an AA RB (Porta 06).

Players will get injured on any deep playoff run, it's all but inevitable. The role of those players, the severity of injury, and the quality of the backups are all huge variables. My guess is that some of hedging on SJU is that people are aware they're already running with a backup QB, so the margin of error is naturally less.

[USee]

To be fair, no one (even Johnnie Fans) really knows how good you are. The MIAC has been a top 3 league in the past so some may assume if they are an undefeated champ, they must be a National Champ contender. And Bethel is considered a playoff threat by virtue of going toe to toe with said champ twice. But the league's signature win is a Johnny Magic win over Aurora who lost the next week by 64. That may not mean anything either. Bethel's game against Central is another barometer. Most people remember the Central team that got squashed in 2019 against tougher competition. Some may think Bethel is that tougher competition and if they aren't, then the 2nd weekend is. At a minimum I think St Johns, Wheaton and NCC all face some pretty serious 2nd round issues, should they all survive as expected this weekend. 

I for one was always taught that when its going well, you are never as good as you think and when it's going poorly, you are never as bad as you think. So the next two weekends will tell us all a lot about our relative chances and go a long way to identify the contenders.

[Schipper Strong]

Ask her if she knows my friend Carol who used to be the FA director at Northwestern.

Oh yeah, Carol B is one of her coffee pals!

My mom's maiden name is Korver, to give you an idea of where the other NWC/OC and Central/Pella ties are for us. My dad and uncle were an AA lineman and WR for the Red Raiders national championship teams in the early 70's. Vern Den Herder went to HS with my dad, and bought my grandpa's farm land a few years back ... wanna keep playing Dutch Bingo!! 

Heck no, you already took all the fun names, not to mention the pro football and basketball player names! I watched Vern play basketball at Central before I started going to Central football games. I think I started watching football when he was a jr of sr. I learned to love the game watching him in the pro games where every play was shown in slow motion and explained. Great way to teach young girls how to understand football. So I forget, weren't the Den Herders related to Lance Kooiker who took Central to the 1988 stagg bowl? I remember sitting in some dinky little restaurant in Whitewater eating breakfast and being heckled by some old guys laughing about us coming to watch our team play when we didn't even have a QB anymore. We couldn't say much, they were right. But low and behold partway through the 1st qtr they moved Kooiker from his receiver position to QB and we left with a win. Should give you some encouragement given Bethel's unknown QB status.

For my part in Dutch Bingo my mom's maiden name was Ver Meer. Same as the Vermeer equipment family, they just took out the space. Carol B took me under her wing when I met her. We became fast friends and went on a cruise together a year after losing the men in our lives 10 days apart.

To be fair you have always been classy until you called me old.  I do think this could be an excellent game, but if Roste is out you could use a Kooiker type player or it might be a long day.

[sju56321]

I think we all know this isn't 2003 or even 2019 team-but who knows is right-it will fun to watch, at least and I will have them losing to lake forest in my first post, I am sure. I still remember Dayton-for you young guys.

[Schipper Strong]

Most people remember the Central team that got squashed in 2019 against tougher competition.

Yeah, that was a shocking result for all of us and I think that game was the impetus for a vastly better 2021 Central team. A comment by Doolittle Dog had me going back to review 2019 conference games to 2021 conference games. We increased the margin of victory over every conference team this year. Our only conference loss of 2019 was a 21 point loss to Dubuque. This year we beat them by 49 for the biggest swing between the two seasons. On average we won by 34 points more per game than the winning margins of 2019. Not sure many teams can say that.

[Schipper Strong]

Okay Hazzben, you got me over here by yanking my chain. Thought you might like a little light reading.
https://athletics.central.edu/news/2021/11/18/football-daunting-opening-football-playoff-draw-for-central.aspx

[BU5758]

Just want to let Schipper Strong know that there is another 80+ year old lurking on the MIAC board and have been for a long time.... I turn to the posts several times a day for great entertainment.  Can't beat it.
From my posting archives...2004... got hammered pretty good, but OnearmedScot was sort of kind...  " Keep in mind BU5758 is a 65 year old retired minister according to his profile. So, while his heart is in the right place, his thought process might be a bit distorted."    Two days later, Sept. 25,  OnearmedScot was in Puyallup for the PLU-River Falls game. Half time, I saw him on the PLU sideline and proceeded to knock his head off. Asked him if he recalled a recent post and we became friends (sort of).

Even though I live near Tacoma, I was in MN in 2007 and because of the snow forecast, my nephew (Dale Turnquist) and I rode the student bus from BU to Central for that playoff game. Stood the entire game because of the ice on the metal seats. Great win. We stayed overnight in Ames, Iowa, returned to Roseville Sunday morning with a BU fan.

Friday, we were in the car driving to Alliance for BU's semi-final game with the Mount.. My brother-in-law had just retired from teaching at Mt. Union and several times over the years had been the acting athletic director. Mts coach, Larry Kehres gave us eight reserved seats on the Mt. side, but since we were all BU grads we traded them in for seats with our BU friends on the other side of the field. Third play for Mt., Pierre Garcon left the BU db wondering what happened. (Mt. 62-BC 14)

Nice to see seven on the BU football team from WA state, four from Lakes HS in Tacoma.  Just talked to the mother of Roste's roommate (Richardson, Bellevue WA) and she told me Roste.......

Looking  forward to a deep run again for BU starting in approx.. 40 hrs.

[OzJohnnie]

Nice to see seven on the BU football team from WA state, four from Lakes HS in Tacoma.  Just talked to the mother of Roste's roommate (Richardson, Bellevue WA) and she told me Roste.......

Heh.

[hazzben]

Okay Hazzben, you got me over here by yanking my chain. Thought you might like a little light reading.
https://athletics.central.edu/news/2021/11/18/football-daunting-opening-football-playoff-draw-for-central.aspx

Carol B and her new husband were in our kitchen with a casserole for my mom when my dad passed last year. They had gone on a number of double dates the last few years prior to his passing.

And in my defense. I remember you saying you'd retired and in my mind that was like 10 years ago that I'd read that. Good to know you're still a Spring chicken like my mom 

[Schipper Strong]

I am not in the least surprised Carol was over with a casserole. She is extremely thoughtful and kind. You have a good memory, I left Centrsl in 2010. Love Central, loved working with the students, hated not having a big enough financial aid budget or having everyone else thinking their way of spending it was better. I am still shy of retirement age at 61, but I often get a ride on a golf cart from the parking lot to the game. 

Carol's grandson is a freshman on the team this year. I know she is pulling for Central.

[OzJohnnie]

Your teams need to tie this weekend.

[DuffMan]

I can't wait till OzJohnnie discovers a distant connection with a Lake Forest fan.  I guess Lake Forest would need some fans for that to happen, though. 

[art76]

I know I lurk a lot more then post in here these days, but man this has to be the most boring and quiet week going into a first round play off game in my 20+ years of following and posting on this board.  Ice Bear not withstanding.... Maybe we should pay someone to pretend to be Lake Forest fans and stir the pot in here!!!  I know Central has posters, where the hell are they?!?!?

Going back to my cave...

My repartee will not be witty, nor sassy, but I do have to wonder who poked the (Ice)bear from slumber...

It's a welcome change - +K

As a BU fan, I was super excited when Bethel's name was announced this past Sunday (and my coworkers probably thought I had lost it) when I stood up with both fists in the air with a loud "Yes!!!". So glad the NCAA got it right - at least in my eyes.

It's already on record on this hallowed board that I am uncertain if BU has the depth of talent to go further than the quarter finals this year - and I stated that before teams were even selected for the tourney. Now realizing they have to go through Pella, IA and most likely, Wheaton, IL, just to get back to Whitewater, WI is almost unfathomable. But it's one game at a time, and I like BU's chances this weekend.

As an aside, in full disclosure, as one of the voters in the West Top 10, I had Bethel ranked higher than Central through week 3, flopped for a week, then didn't have them ranked higher again until week 7. Guess we'll find out in the head-to-head game which should be ranked higher, eh? It's going to be a good game, and I wish I could travel to see it in person. As it is, I'll be out on the launch range again this weekend tuning in on my phone. Go Royals!

[Retired Old Rat]

I have a feeling next week will more than compensate for the lack of trash talking from the Lake Forest fan.

[D O.C.]

BU5758 was one of the best posts I've ever read on this board.

Ii wonder if Touchdown Tommy can finagle me a couple tickets to the week 2 Redlands game? I