FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[D O.C.]

Oh?So you bought your own monstrosity heater after losing to one last year?

[OzJohnnie]

Oh?So you bought your own monstrosity heater after losing to one last year?

Gary Fasching actually said in the post-Bethel-game interview that not having a heater last year against Linfield was mistake.  And that the Jays would have heaters in the cold from now on.

[SagatagSam]

Going to be back in Royalton for Thanksgiving. Plan is to head to the Johnnie game that Saturday (assuming the Johnnies don't do a Coe 2009 repeat in the first round). Looking forward to seeing anyone from the board at the game.

That being said, gotta take care of business against UNW first.

[DuffMan]

I didn't know you were from the home of Treasure City!

[Robert Zimmerman]

Looks like Saturday is going to be effing cold.  I'm not acclimated to this crap yet.  Robert Zimmerman should be fine, though.

Heh. I set the temp at 67 degrees when we turned the furnace on. My family thinks it is so warm in the house now, but actually the temp is set 2 degrees cooler than we normally keep it. My plan is to inch it downward by a degree each year. Muahahaha.

[Thunderdome21]

The Bethel/Wheaton game should be a good slugfest. Gonna need to stop the Weeks-powered run game and likely use short to mid passing game to negate their front seven.

Wheaton's passing game with D1 transfer Bowers has become just as dangerous as the Weeks-powered run game. He completes over 76% of his passes to a very deep and athletic receiving corps. 

While this year's Defensive front 7 is pretty good, they are not as dominant as they were in 2019 and 2021.  Last year's defensive Achilles was their secondary, as they lacked size and weren't as athletic. This year's secondary is a big upgrade from last year in terms of size, athleticism, and depth, and they are tied for 9th in the country with interceptions.   

Also, 19 of Wheaton's 22 starters are 4th and 5th-year seniors.

I don't know much about Bethel except their stellar QB and that their O-line has only given up 7 sacks, which is 10th in all of D-3 (which is incredible!) 

And that whenever Wheaton and Bethel have played each other, it's been close. 

[JohnnieTwice]

This why I worry about our offense. It gets really difficult to have an effective passing game when the ball is hard as a rock and if the wind kicks up it can ground an offense.

They're not going to switch schemes at this point.  Heckendorf has made it clear that we're going to throw, throw, throw.

[JohnnieTwice]

Sorry about the incomplete post. Still sorting out how to do this. Bear with me.

I was completely wrong in my predictions for the offense for the Bethel game: establish the run and then throw. Instead we saw a commitment to passing with short passes replacing the run game. I don't think we should expect a change in strategy this weekend.

On a different note, does anyone else find the music between plays annoying? Do we need this to set an atmosphere for the game? It's loud, some of it's obnoxious, and sometimes it seems that it goes too long, almost into the start of the play.

Just asking ....

[Retired Old Rat]

JohnnieTwice, i couldn't agree more about the music. I muttered to myself several times about how annoying it was. Especially going into play. At least they didn't play some of the vulgar crap Augsburg played during our game there this fall.


I need to go now and yell at some kids to get off my lawn.

[OzJohnnie]

I would like to wish AO, master of the MIAC pick 'ems, good luck this weekend.  I reckon his Eagles are gonna get plucked (proper plucked), but they play the games for a reason.  Johnnies by lots.

[art76]

Cooper Yaggie from the Johnnies made Team of the Week: https://www.d3football.com/awards/tow/2022/week11

[DuffMan]

Cooper Yaggie from the Johnnies made Team of the Week: https://www.d3football.com/awards/tow/2022/week11

No surprise there.  He had a breakout game!

[DuffMan]

On a different note, does anyone else find the music between plays annoying?

I think they're trying to get people excited about the game.  About 90% of Johnnie fans come to the game and sit on their hands for the duration.  They want yelling, cheering, people standing up...

That being said, their execution could use some work.  Some of their music choices are...interesting.  And there seems to be no flow between the play-by-play, stadium announcer, and whoever is in charge of the music, so all three routinely interrupt each other.

Also, the rendition of Queen's "We Are the Champions" that was played at the end of the game was easily the worst rendition of it I have ever heard.  It sounded like a monastic choir singing it.  Stick to the original!

ROR, when you start yelling at clouds, we're putting you in a home. 

[DuffMan]

I was completely wrong in my predictions for the offense for the Bethel game: establish the run and then throw. Instead we saw a commitment to passing with short passes replacing the run game. I don't think we should expect a change in strategy this weekend.

This is what happens when your OC was an NFL wide receiver.   

I'd personally like to see a little more life in the ground game, but Kole is tailoring this offense to the personnel that SJU has, which includes a very deep and talented, receiving corps, a very accurate QB, and an o-line that pass blocks better than they run block.

[DuffMan]

Taking a little peak at UNW-SP, looks like they like to sling the ball around and are fairly young.  QB is a frosh, as is one of their main RBs, and their leading pas catchers are a 5Y, soph, senior, and frosh.