FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[OzJohnnie]

Good rant, Duffman.

So they look like they aren't there to win?  WTF?  How do they get a lack of desire like that?  (other than then obvious complaint on O coaching, of course).

Getting beat by a better team is not fun, but not playing to win is disheartening.  Interesting because it didn't look like it would happen this badly.

[sjusection105]

Not trying to me rude to you SJU posters but have a question.  Have things changed now that the Johnnies lost to Bethel three years in a row?  I know things have changed down here in the IIAC.  Wartburg is now not in the drivers seat and I think the Dutch are now all but eliminated from the running for the IIAC crown.

DF2004, This is a great question- not rude at all. There is a definite shift in the MIAC this year. Concordia had some real tough early season losses in 2007 & it appears they have used them to their advantage this year. Carleton is on the rise as Coach Ramler (former SJU QB) has them buying into his system. Augsburg has the best QB/WR combination in the MIAC.

St. Olaf lost talent to graduation and their coach to the Washington Redskins.

SJU lost talent to graduation. The Johnnies always lose talent to graduation but, the motto is "we don't rebuild, we just reload" they may need to reconsider this motto after the 2008 campaign.

Bethel beating SJU now 3 consecutive times -Steve Johnson can game plan the Johnnies like a champ. Johnson gets his guys so focused to play the Johnnies it's very scarey to be a Johnnie fan against Bethel. You usually know (not today, but in years past) the Johnnies should win, but Johnson has his guys believing they will come up with that one play that will turn the game around. SJU does not in recent years have this mind set against Bethel. From the outside looking in it appears they have the mind set "don't mess this up", so naturally they mess it up.

Bethel had a do or die mission today, and they completed that mission. Now SJU has the rest of the season to try to save face for the program because there are teams on the rise who can offer a recruit instant playing time when he picks their school. The size of the SJU roster works against them in a situation like that.

I hope that answered your question DF2004.

BTW, is your son the former Central QB in Grad school this fall?

[usee]

I suspect the difference in conference rankings is depth (or the perception thereof).  We haven't had a team as strong as SJU has (previously?) been since Augie won the 4 straight national titles in the early 80s (but we also had not had a tourney team lose to ANYONE in at least a decade outside of the OAC until they imported UWW to the North region last year), and North Park MAY be weaker than any MIAC team, but I'd bet good money that our middle would beat your middle most years.  (Oh, man, way to kill your karma, Mr. Ypsi! )

Late to the game here, sorry. I agree with Ypsi here but will add other possible conserations: the CCIW is 5-0 vs the MIAC since 2004 and has sent 6 different teams to the NCAA playoffs in the last decade. STJU has certainly had more success in the past few years than any CCIW team but the rest of the CCIW has done at least as well or better subsequently.

That said I do think these two conferences are 2 of the better D3 conferences and will consistently be top 5ish going forward. I would love to see more games between the two.

[Willy Wonka]

Duff - Is that my cue to call you a bitter, bitter man? 

[DutchFan2004]

Not trying to me rude to you SJU posters but have a question.  Have things changed now that the Johnnies lost to Bethel three years in a row?  I know things have changed down here in the IIAC.  Wartburg is now not in the drivers seat and I think the Dutch are now all but eliminated from the running for the IIAC crown.

DF2004, This is a great question- not rude at all. There is a definite shift in the MIAC this year. Concordia had some real tough early season losses in 2007 & it appears they have used them to their advantage this year. Carleton is on the rise as Coach Ramler (former SJU QB) has them buying into his system. Augsburg has the best QB/WR combination in the MIAC.

St. Olaf lost talent to graduation and their coach to the Washington Redskins.

SJU lost talent to graduation. The Johnnies always lose talent to graduation but, the motto is "we don't rebuild, we just reload" they may need to reconsider this motto after the 2008 campaign.

Bethel beating SJU now 3 consecutive times -Steve Johnson can game plan the Johnnies like a champ. Johnson gets his guys so focused to play the Johnnies it's very scarey to be a Johnnie fan against Bethel. You usually know (not today, but in years past) the Johnnies should win, but Johnson has his guys believing they will come up with that one play that will turn the game around. SJU does not in recent years have this mind set against Bethel. From the outside looking in it appears they have the mind set "don't mess this up", so naturally they mess it up.

Bethel had a do or die mission today, and they completed that mission. Now SJU has the rest of the season to try to save face for the program because there are teams on the rise who can offer a recruit instant playing time when he picks their school. The size of the SJU roster works against them in a situation like that.

I hope that answered your question DF2004.

BTW, is your son the former Central QB in Grad school this fall?

Yes he is.  He is getting his masters at University of Redlands.  He is coaching there as well.

[DuffMan]

Duff - Is that my cue to call you a bitter, bitter man? 

Bitter doesn't begin to describe my feelings, but mine are not directed towards another team/coach.

[Retired Old Rat]

O.J. Seeks Bailout
Juice: Incarceration Would Hurt Cable Nets' Bottom Line

Minutes after being convicted of robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas, former football great O.J. Simpson said he would seek government intervention, claiming that his imprisonment would cost the nation's cable news networks untold billions of dollars.

"My three trials have generated billions of dollars for the cable TV industry, not to mention the tabloids," Mr. Simpson told reporters outside the Las Vegas courthouse.  "All those billions go away if I go away."

Mr. Simpson made his case for the government bailing him out of jail, arguing that as long as he is a free man he is likely to become involved in other criminal cases that could generate much-needed television revenue.

"As long as the Juice is loose, there's no telling what trouble I'll get into," he promised.  "And that means one thing to the TV networks: cold hard cash."
The former Heisman Trophy winner said that with the nation's economy teetering on recession, the U.S. could ill afford "putting a major financial asset like O.J. Simpson out of circulation."

"You'll see, the cable networks will miss me, and their bottom lines will show it," he said.  "They can't keep reporting about Lindsay Lohan being a lesbian forever."

At the University of Minnesota's School of Law, professor Davis Logsdon said there is "a valuable lesson to be learned" from Mr. Simpson's conviction: "Apparently, in America it's easier to get away with murder than stealing sports memorabilia."

[FightingCoBB]

Who would have thought the MIAC standings would look like this so far at the beginning of the year:

2008 MIAC Football
School            MIAC   Overall
1. Augsburg     2-0        4-0 
Carleton          2-0       4-0 
Concordia       2-0        3-1 
4. St. Thomas   2-1       3-1 
5. Saint John's 1-2        3-2 
St. Olaf           1-2        3-2 
Gustavus        1-2        2-2 
Bethel            1-2         2-3 
9. Hamline       0-3        1-3

Congrats to the knights on a huge win over the Oles.  Great to finally right the ship and end the winning streak they've had going in the series recently.  They were definately the better team on the field today, a huge game by Frank today.  If he can stay relatively healthy he is impossible for teams to match up with.  Ziller at safety is a beast as well, a couple huge sacks on 3rd and 4th downs and always seems to deliver big hits.  Olaf needs to get the ball in the hands of their freshman RB/WR #5 Clark more, he seemed to be the most explosive player they had, but I didn't even notice him until the second half.  Definately not the explosive offense that we've seen from Olaf in recent years.

Looks like it's going to be a good one down in Northfield for homecoming next weekend in a battle of the undefeateds.  I'm excited and curious to actually see Augsburg play this year.  It should be an interesting matchup of two teams that like to throw the ball around, although Carleton's been much more balanced as of late, some of which could be attributed to playing with leads later in the games.  Should be fun.

The eagle is finally pointed in the right direction again...Go Knights!

I'm not sure whats happening in Minnesota this season, but if I were to ask ANYONE where we would be this far along in the season.. there is no way we could possibly have seen this coming.  Upsets everywhere, teams out of the basement after years of disapointment, a defending MIAC Champion simply struggling to stay afloat, and the usual dominant teams being snuffed out.  I find it interesting that the D3 top 25 always seems to favour the beloved Johnnie hopeful simply because of who they were, not ever on who they ARE.  As long as I have followed the MIAC since going to CC as a student in '04 it has been this way regardless on how SJU is actually playing!  For once the Johnnies may actually be OFF the poll, its time to see the Augsburgs and Carletons of the world to get their chance to shine.  Even though I love my Norwegian brothers at STO, hats of to the Knights for taking the Goat, Bowl, and most importantly EAGLE to keep things interesting, a true rivalry goes back and forth, not one way as its been for years in Northfield. I will be very interesting to see what happens at the end of this escapade that is called MIAC Football 2008. I myself can't see any clear Champ, we'll just have to wait and see..

Cobbs Win!! Cobbs Win!!

[57Johnnie]

I had to leave here yesterday after 3 quarters of the Johnnie game so couldn't make an appropriate 2500 post. I can Now.

$hit

[Rugman]

I have never seen a Johnnie team display such a lack of desire and discipline as I did today.  What kind of effort was that? 

I would have thought that after what happened the last two years, they would have come out like hounds on raw meat.  

Switching over to the glass half full side of things, as bad as we have played we're only two plays away from being undefeated.

[janesvilleflash]

Nicely done 57.

[Freebird]

Who would have thought the MIAC standings would look like this so far at the beginning of the year:

2008 MIAC Football
School            MIAC   Overall
1. Augsburg     2-0        4-0 
Carleton          2-0       4-0 
Concordia       2-0        3-1 
4. St. Thomas   2-1       3-1 
5. Saint John's 1-2        3-2 
St. Olaf           1-2        3-2 
Gustavus        1-2        2-2 
Bethel            1-2         2-3 
9. Hamline       0-3        1-3

Congrats to the knights on a huge win over the Oles.  Great to finally right the ship and end the winning streak they've had going in the series recently.  They were definately the better team on the field today, a huge game by Frank today.  If he can stay relatively healthy he is impossible for teams to match up with.  Ziller at safety is a beast as well, a couple huge sacks on 3rd and 4th downs and always seems to deliver big hits.  Olaf needs to get the ball in the hands of their freshman RB/WR #5 Clark more, he seemed to be the most explosive player they had, but I didn't even notice him until the second half.  Definately not the explosive offense that we've seen from Olaf in recent years.

Looks like it's going to be a good one down in Northfield for homecoming next weekend in a battle of the undefeateds.  I'm excited and curious to actually see Augsburg play this year.  It should be an interesting matchup of two teams that like to throw the ball around, although Carleton's been much more balanced as of late, some of which could be attributed to playing with leads later in the games.  Should be fun.

The eagle is finally pointed in the right direction again...Go Knights!

I'm not sure whats happening in Minnesota this season, but if I were to ask ANYONE where we would be this far along in the season.. there is no way we could possibly have seen this coming.  Upsets everywhere, teams out of the basement after years of disapointment, a defending MIAC Champion simply struggling to stay afloat, and the usual dominant teams being snuffed out.  I find it interesting that the D3 top 25 always seems to favour the beloved Johnnie hopeful simply because of who they were, not ever on who they ARE.  As long as I have followed the MIAC since going to CC as a student in '04 it has been this way regardless on how SJU is actually playing!  For once the Johnnies may actually be OFF the poll, its time to see the Augsburgs and Carletons of the world to get their chance to shine.  Even though I love my Norwegian brothers at STO, hats of to the Knights for taking the Goat, Bowl, and most importantly EAGLE to keep things interesting, a true rivalry goes back and forth, not one way as its been for years in Northfield. I will be very interesting to see what happens at the end of this escapade that is called MIAC Football 2008. I myself can't see any clear Champ, we'll just have to wait and see..

Cobbs Win!! Cobbs Win!!

I used to feel this way but if you look back on those seasons they almost always played great and backed up their early season ranking.

[Freebird]

I kind of thought both teams were pretty bad yesterday. Maybe I wasn't as engaged as I usually am but I thought it was pretty lackluster till the last 9 minutes. How close was that last play to being a touchdown? I was at the opposite endzone.

[DuffMan]

How close was that last play to being a touchdown? I was at the opposite endzone.

A couple of yards.  Stupid throw.  You gotta hit the endzone.  No point in catching it short of the endzone.

[Rugman]

How close was that last play to being a touchdown? I was at the opposite endzone.

A couple of yards.  Stupid throw.  You gotta hit the endzone.  No point in catching it short of the endzone.

So much better to have quickly thrown it away if no-one was wide open in the end zone or on the sideline...or even spiked the ball.  Then you have one play left, you can huddle up, you can run something tricky...anything but a desperation pitch to a guy with lots of traffic between him and the endzone. 

Would have expected that their Freshman QB would have made bad plays instead of our Junior QB.   Anyone out there that would not trade all three of our QB's for Aakre.  Has a lot to learn and I'm not sure how strong his arm is because he never threw long once that I can remember, but seems to have good legs and a good head on his shoulders?