FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[faunch]

Johnnies were sad....BU still SUCKS BIG WEINIE!!!!

YES I am one angry, hostile, drunk MF!

WHAT  the hell is wrong with SJU???

[Rugman]

Johnnies were sad....BU still SUCKS BIG WEINIE!!!!

YES I am one angry, hostile, drunk MF!

WHAT  the hell is wrong with SJU???

They're human.  WTH is wrong with Ohio State, BC, USC and everyone that lost games they were supposed to win this year?   If the Vegas odds makers gave a sh!t about D3 football, I would guess they would have made Bethel about a 2 point favorite in this game, so at least we covered the spread.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

RT has it right...you cant pin the blame in the 2nd half on the offense-- they weren't on the field enough.

SJU's offense was lame/putrid/a non-factor the entire game. BUT, despite playing solid in the red zone, the SJU D could not do waht it needed and stop BU drives in the 2nd half.

However, I dont put the blame on either SJU's O or D. I give full credit to BU's offense, especially the line. They burned so much time off the clock  and then came thru HUGE in the clutch. That catch by Bernstetter was as good as any I've seen in any D3 game and couldn't have come at a more critical time.

Flannery is incredible. MVP of the game, no question. Hats off to Bethel-- they clearly EARNED the title.

[Rugman]

RT has it right...you cant pin the blame in the 2nd half on the offense-- they weren't on the field enough.

SJU's offense was lame/putrid/a non-factor the entire game. BUT, despite playing solid in the red zone, the SJU D could not do waht it needed and stop BU drives in the 2nd half.

However, I dont put the blame on either SJU's O or D. I give full credit to BU's offense, especially the line. They burned so much time off the clock  and then came thru HUGE in the clutch. That catch by Bernstetter was as good as any I've seen in any D3 game and couldn't have come at a more critical time.

Flannery is incredible. MVP of the game, no question. Hats off to Bethel-- they clearly EARNED the title.

Flannery is a Justin Beaver in the making and his best days are still ahead of him....but I'd have to MVP Wetzell.  Only bad stat was 8-18 for 90 yds, but 0 Int, 0 Fumbles, 0 Sacks, 88 yds rushing and several key first downs through second and third efforts.  He was the guy I was afraid of and he did what I was afraid of.  Jeeze we still shoulda won it though.

[OleFan]

Sounds like a good one up in Arden Hills.  Congrats to Bethel.  I think SJU might have a 1 and done playoff run.  They don't seem to jump out at me like they have in years past.  I am not sure how good Bethel would be, but I think they get 1 win.

After watching the UST/STO game this week I realized how wrong I was with last week's comments on the thrashing St. Olaf gave Carleton.  Someone in Minnesota needs to learn how to run out the clock when you are losing.  You don't throw the football unless necessary (get the first down when it is 3rd and long).  You don't go out of bounds.  It is all about keeping the clock moving.  You play to the final whistle.  St. Olaf should have done the same thing to St. Thomas.  We take a knee inside the 5 to show some sportsmanship, but the Tommies start throwing deep on us with a minute to go.  That is crap.  I apologize to the Oles for my comments last week.

[bcflyguy1]

I completely agree about the trick plays though.  I havne't seen bethel pull any stupid fake punts yet this year, so I wouldn't be surprised to see johnson pull it out at a horrible time and make a jacka$ out of himself.

Wow, this was an ignorant statement when it was made and it sounds even dumber now.  A phenomenal job done by Coach Johnson and his staff today and in the week of prep!

What stands out to me is that SJU has their defense in the red zone to thank for keeping this game close.  Sounds like both teams missed opportunities, with SJU's failings highlighted and Bethel getting a field goal blocked and at least one pass dropped in the End Zone.  Very, very proud of the BU players and coaches on managing the game and playing to their strengths so well.  250 yards rushing, only two penalties, no turnovers, and keeping the SJU offense off the field for long stretches of the game.  Now it's time to take the next step forward.  Can't wait for the pairings to come out!

Could be wrong, but I think today might be just the medicine SJU needed to cure what's ailing them.  Unless they get sent to UWW, I think they get a win next weekend.

I missed on the final score, but did get the margin right!

[AO]

Great game today at Royal Stadium.  Good to see everybody and much thanks to freebird for saving a seat.  Kofoed wasn't great, but it was quite cold and the wind was a force.  I didn't see bad play-calling by the johnnies- I saw a dominant Bethel offense that moved the ball at will to keep the potent Johnnie offense off the field and deep in Johnnie territory.   I'm still not sure exactly why a blocked field goal returned to the Johnnie 4 was given to the johnnies at the 20. 

The Johnnies were soundly beaten in the trenches and still could have won the game if not for the heroics of cornish, flannery, wetzell and Bernstetter---not to mention the 34 yard field goal by Gutshall providing the winning margin, he was 0-4 on tries beyond 27 yards on the season, before his kick today into varying winds.

Maybe it was the Deeefense defense DEEfense defense that held the johnnies back on third down?  Not quite as funny to the johnnie faithful when Kofoed doesn't manage to scramble around for 15 seconds on third and long to find a wide open receiver as he's done so often in the past.

Don't lose hope Johnnies-wouldn't surprise me a bit to see another Bethel-SJU matchup.

[bcflyguy1]

UW-Whitewater Bracket
1. UW-Whitewater (A)
2. Central (A)
3. Bethel (A)
4. St. Norbert (A)
5. St. John's (C)
6. Redlands (A)
7. Whitworth (C)
8. Concordia, Wis. (A)
Whitworth would be the first team in a non-automatic bid conference to earn a Pool C bid. And of course, the money saving NCAA would put No. 7 seed Whitworth at No. 6 seed Redlands, even though it's the only flight of the bracket. Concordia (Wis.) gets the honor of the short trip to UW-Whitewater, with St. Norbert at Bethel and St. John's at Central.

Gotta think that both BU and SJU would like their chances if the the draw does indeed shake out this way.  Bethel gets a home game against Norbert?  Yes, please.  Central is 10-0 but they've had some very close calls this year.  This would also set up the possibility of a second round rematch with the West Coast winner getting fed to UWW.  Nice!

I must say that the finger pointing at Kofoed surprises me a little bit.  The guy is the MIAC's career passing leader, having broken the record set by Scott Kirchoff who was an absolute hoss.  Something tells me it's not QB play that's holding this SJU squad back, although I could be wrong.  He did throw two picks today.

[TC]

Could be wrong, but I think today might be just the medicine SJU needed to cure what's ailing them.  Unless they get sent to UWW, I think they get a win next weekend.

I missed on the final score, but did get the margin right!

I certainly hope you're right.  If St. John's was the second/third best team in the West coming into the game, beating Bethel by 4 or losing to them by 3 doesn't change that.  Obviously losing makes the road tougher--and a home game or two would have been nice--but the result of this game doesn't change what kind of team both St. John's and Bethel have.

Thank you again for your contribution to www.JohnnieFootball.com.  Much appreciated!

[bcflyguy1]

I certainly hope you're right.  If St. John's was the second/third best team in the West coming into the game, beating Bethel by 4 or losing to them by 3 doesn't change that.  Obviously losing makes the road tougher--and a home game or two would have been nice--but the result of this game doesn't change what kind of team both St. John's and Bethel have.

Thank you again for your contribution to www.JohnnieFootball.com.  Much appreciated!

Anytime, my friend!  Glad the game turned out to be another tightly contested battle.  Here's to a rematch in two weeks!

[TC]

UW-Whitewater Bracket
1. UW-Whitewater (A)
2. Central (A)
3. Bethel (A)
4. St. Norbert (A)
5. St. John's (C)
6. Redlands (A)
7. Whitworth (C)
8. Concordia, Wis. (A)

Gotta think that both BU and SJU would like their chances if the the draw does indeed shake out this way.  Bethel gets a home game against Norbert?  Yes, please.  Central is 10-0 but they've had some very close calls this year.  This would also set up the possibility of a second round rematch with the West Coast winner getting fed to UWW. 
Nice!

I must say that the finger pointing at Kofoed surprises me a little bit.  The guy is the MIAC's career passing leader, having broken the record set by Scott Kirchoff who was an absolute hoss.  Something tells me it's not QB play that's holding this SJU squad back, although I could be wrong.  He did throw two picks today.

You can see my earlier post where I laid out pretty much this exact scenario--I think it's the best both teams can hope for.  Don't get me wrong--I still hate Bethel with a passion--but they'd have to play a Buena Vista-type game to lost to St. Norbert at home.  So far as the Johnnies are concerned, they've put themselves in a position where they should, as the likely lower seed, be an underdog in their first game.  That said, I'd take my chances on a roadtrip to Pella.

As far as your second point is concerned, take it up with ZIP.  I still think Kofoed is the least of the team's concerns, but I'm done defending him.

[bcflyguy1]

Sounds like a good one up in Arden Hills.  Congrats to Bethel.  I think SJU might have a 1 and done playoff run.  They don't seem to jump out at me like they have in years past.  I am not sure how good Bethel would be, but I think they get 1 win.

After watching the UST/STO game this week I realized how wrong I was with last week's comments on the thrashing St. Olaf gave Carleton.  Someone in Minnesota needs to learn how to run out the clock when you are losing.  You don't throw the football unless necessary (get the first down when it is 3rd and long).  You don't go out of bounds.  It is all about keeping the clock moving.  You play to the final whistle.  St. Olaf should have done the same thing to St. Thomas.  We take a knee inside the 5 to show some sportsmanship, but the Tommies start throwing deep on us with a minute to go.  That is crap.  I apologize to the Oles for my comments last week.

Good on Olaf for taking a knee, but you lost me with saying that UST trying to score at the end of the game is crap.  They're down 20+ points with a minute to go, and you don't expect them to throw it?  Would you rather that they ran the victory play in return?  "People should know when they're conquered." "Would you, Quintus?  Would I?"  I don't get it.

[Johnnie Red]

Congrats to the Royals and coach Johnson. Frustrating game to watch for the Johnnie fans. I suppose we should count our blessings and be thankful that we have only one regular season loss and should get into the playoffs. Keep in mind that we could have easily lost the Carleton and St. Olaf games. Johnnie Magic was with us then; it wasn't in Royaland yesterday.

Here's hoping for a trip to Pella next Saturday. The Dutch town is the place to be, thanks in large part to Jaarsma's Bakery and the Dutch letters.

Kilted Rat, Freebird and AO, great to see you at the Stiftungsfestitivies yesterday. Thanks to everyone who helped make it a great tailgate. Hopefully it will be on the road next weekend.

Carl Spackler and Kilted Rat, thank you so much for serving our country. A big thanks to all our veterans today. God bless all of you.

[sju56321]

TC-I never said Kofoed was to blame for yesterday's loss, I didn't hear the first half and will not comment on his play. I was surprised that the offense did not sustain a drive in the second half, but that seemed like play calling rather than QB.
What is very problematic is if you believe Kofoed is the least of the offensive worries, what does that say for next year? You will have all these prolems, plus an unproven QB-yikes! Maybe there is another Seiler on the bench right now, waiting his turn.
I still think that this is the time for the NCAA to reward the MWC for an undefeated season and give them their first home playoff game against SJU. Norberts could be ranked ahead of Bethel in the final standings.

[Buckman]

 I'm still not sure exactly why a blocked field goal returned to the Johnnie 4 was given to the johnnies at the 20. 

I believe it's because it was blocked behind the line of scrimmage.  I looked at it this way, say it was blocked but still rolled/kicked around into the end zone and the Johnnies fell on it there, would it have been a safety for Bethel?  It was the correct call to move it to the 20.