FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Touchdown Tommy]

4th and 28 to Steve Ryan still gives me nightmares...

[Horan's Heroes]

4 offensive starters, 2 defensive starters, kicker.
QB Penz was a FY on bench.  As well as many other FY there in the action

Way to early in the season to be hyping a Oct 6 matchup. No doubt it will be big for playoff implications. The MIAC still has good teams in Bethel and CC. I'm my honest opinion, there are four contenders for the MIAC title (to be brutally honest, favoring jonnies). Say Olaf beats sju... then they have to get through bethel and cc. Same with any other contending team. There isn't going to be one big game that decides the MIAC. It's gonna take the team who competes at the highest level against all of the talented teams.

[Retired Old Rat]

Anyone see St. Olaf winning in Collegeville this year?  Or too early to tell?  I think this will be their strongest team in the last three years?  They returned every all-miac player from last season.

Are those the same all-miac players from the teams that have lost 100-30 against SJU in the last two meetings...

Freebird, you keep that up and TDT is going to have to give you some +k.   

[Retired Old Rat]

Great post BDB, great post.

[Willy Wonka]

The MIAC still has good teams in Bethel and CC. I'm my honest opinion, there are four contenders for the MIAC title (to be brutally honest, favoring jonnies). Say Olaf beats sju... then they have to get through bethel and cc. Same with any other contending team. There isn't going to be one big game that decides the MIAC. It's gonna take the team who competes at the highest level against all of the talented teams.

Don't sleep on the Gusties. While they haven't won a title in around 8 billion years, they have some very nice pieces this season  — including, arguably, the best WR in the MIAC and a four-year starter at QB — and a crazy new offense to better fit their personnel. It could take awhile to work out the kinks, but the schedule lines up favorably for them to start the year:

Home vs. a bad Williamette team
At a down UST
Home vs. Hamline
At an Ole squad sure to be looking ahead to SJU

Is it likely that the 10/13 Homecoming clash with SJU could feature two undefeated teams? Perhaps not, but it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility — especially if Coach Hoag decides to jump on the bandwagon and make a triumphant return to the sidelines after a few wins.

Mongo - We'll be in touch. I work until 1 am tomorrow and am then golden, whenever I happen to roll out of bed. As for the others...the more the merrier. I'll put out a feeler for the UST tailgate and see what I can discover.

[Retired Old Rat]

Finsleft and Johnnie Red with Steve Schrantz aka "Stoutguy" and Jason Kenyon on Western Wisconsin Sports Saturday live from Bob and Steve's BP Amoco in River Falls on September 9.

Click here for a larger image

[Retired Old Rat]

Mongo - We'll be in touch. I work until 1 am tomorrow and am then golden, whenever I happen to roll out of bed. As for the others...the more the merrier. I'll put out a feeler for the UST tailgate and see what I can discover.

Thanks for the warning.  I've given my daughter a picture of you and she is passing it around the UST campus with the appropriate "beware" warning in large print.  Don't be suprised if women start running away as you approach. 

[DustySJU]

Finsleft and Johnnie Red on Western Wisconsin Sports Saturday live from Bob and Steve's BP Amoco in River Falls on September 9.

Click here for a larger image

Very nice ROR... any chance you could lend a bucket or two for Mr. Shoes?

Developing....

[AO]

The MIAC still has good teams in Bethel and CC. I'm my honest opinion, there are four contenders for the MIAC title (to be brutally honest, favoring jonnies). Say Olaf beats sju... then they have to get through bethel and cc. Same with any other contending team. There isn't going to be one big game that decides the MIAC. It's gonna take the team who competes at the highest level against all of the talented teams.

Don't sleep on the Gusties. While they haven't won a title in around 8 billion years, they have some very nice pieces this season  — including, arguably, the best WR in the MIAC and a four-year starter at QB — and a crazy new offense to better fit their personnel. It could take awhile to work out the kinks, but the schedule lines up favorably for them to start the year:

Home vs. a bad Williamette team
At a down UST
Home vs. Hamline
At an Ole squad sure to be looking ahead to SJU

Is it likely that the 10/13 Homecoming clash with SJU could feature two undefeated teams? Perhaps not, but it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility — especially if Coach Hoag decides to jump on the bandwagon and make a triumphant return to the sidelines after a few wins.

I agree 100% with Wonka, where do you cobbers get the feeling that  you're going to be in the top four automatically?  As we should continually remind the Johnnies they got the outright conference title ripped cleanly from them at home last year, we must also remember another team who went into overtime with a certain team who hosts games in a cage.----thus, by the cobber logic, Northwestern who was beat by Augsburg in the cage in a very close game should definitely be in the top four of the miac------------cobber logic, not mine ---

I suppose by the time Concordia plays Augsburg on the 29th, their playoff hopes will already be gone, so it won't matter anyways.

[smedindy]

Home vs. a bad Williamette team

I wouldn't say bad. After seeing Manchester, Hiram, Earlham, Oberlin, Kenyon (pre-2004), and some Denison squads, I know what bad is.

[Willy Wonka]

Home vs. a bad Williamette team

I wouldn't say bad. After seeing Manchester, Hiram, Earlham, Oberlin, Kenyon (pre-2004), and some Denison squads, I know what bad is.

Any team that goes 2-7 is bad in my book and that's what Willamette finished at last year. However, AO agreeing with anything I say makes me instantly leery. I've since adjusted my expectations to a 3-7 season starting with a 35-0 drubbing at UST this weekend.

However, to use some stats to back up AO's ramblings...the Cobbers finished last year 4-6 overall and 3-5 in the MIAC. By comparison, GAC closed at 6-4 and 4-4.

I'm not sure what CC did two or three years ago matters at this point. But, based on last season's clear-cut stats, CC is clearly head and shoulders above the Gusties despite having no starting QB, being gifted their opener by a retarded coach and then pounding some team from Dickinson State

[royalachilles]

At the beginning of the season, even though St. Johns brings back some great players, they do not return the most.  St. Olaf, Bethel, concordia, all return more players/starters/all MIAC players, yet here we are week 3 Bethel has lost out of conference, Johnnies were in doubt in the first half last week, concordia beat in my opinion a not so good MSU Moorhead. But only Bethel is 1-1.  The Johnnies always find a way to win, The Oles will get beat in Collegville, Concordia will lose to both St. Olaf and the Johnnies, and the Bethel/Concordia game will be a real battle.  Most everyone predicting BU to come up short this weekend. Of all the years I have watched MIAC football, this one has the makings for some teriffic games. Good luck to the Johnnies, Oles, and may the best men win in Moorhead. 

[TheStOlafFootballOles]

I agree, One of the better seasons of MIAC football is upon us...its going to be a war for the title. 

[FightingCoBB]

I just dont understand why everyone is so quick to judge the fact that the Cobbs are using two QB's.. I think that it will make is extremely versatile and I will disagree with the notion that MSU-Moorhead is a bad team.. as to the Dickinson State comment.. cripes who JUST played Valley City State of the same league to similar results not to mention SJU barely squeaking by UW-River Falls?  Concordia will be a contender this year in a very competitive MIAC race where anyone has a shot at #1.. Terry Horan has the boys ready for anything.  See you on Saturday, we can chat

[MongolianWarrior]

Mongo - We'll be in touch. I work until 1 am tomorrow and am then golden, whenever I happen to roll out of bed. As for the others...the more the merrier. I'll put out a feeler for the UST tailgate and see what I can discover.

Thanks for the warning.  I've given my daughter a picture of you and she is passing it around the UST campus with the appropriate "beware" warning in large print.  Don't be suprised if women start running away as you approach. 

Uh, there was no need to give your daughter a photo.  Women run away from Wonka all the time...

...right into my or Frank's arms.  It's science.