FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Pat Coleman]

The selection process is not just math, however.

[AO]

correct, which is why I thought st. john's could host a game against Northwestern as if there's two west coast teams making the playoffs the NCAA probably isn't going to fly a midwest team out there in the first round.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Cant help but wonder what things would look like now if SJU had been able to recruit Henfling from their own backyard. Add an opportune injury in his FY and he'd be back next year, too.

He is hands down the MVP this season. Ramler is COY (even AO could get those 2 right). Stam will go to some big lineman that nobody but his teammates and family has heard of. IF there was a Defensive POY, I'd say it would go to Ziller at Carleton.

Should be an interesting game at Laird...Carleton's passing game is much better than Auggie's or at least not as vulnerable to weather conditions. Henfling isnt afraid to run, and they have a couple of modest backs who can and do get the job done. Frank/Gardner is a more potent 1-2 punch than Winford/Al-Hameed. Winford is the top WR in the league (although Arlt and Frank are nearly his equal) but Gardner gives Carleton TWO explosive potential game-breaking WRs.

(Oh, and UST should mop the field with NW, crushing AO's delusion about the Eagles being capable of contending in the MIAC...46-17)

[Sabretooth Tiger]

We'd love to have you all out for a visit . . . sunny and 74 degrees outside as we speak . . .

Hope it works out that Oxy can host some of our MIAC friends in a few weeks!  I'm guessing that it won't be round 1 though . . .

Io Triumphe!

[AO]

Cant help but wonder what things would look like now if SJU had been able to recruit Henfling from their own backyard. Add an opportune injury in his FY and he'd be back next year, too.

He is hands down the MVP this season. Ramler is COY (even AO could get those 2 right). Stam will go to some big lineman that nobody but his teammates and family has heard of. IF there was a Defensive POY, I'd say it would go to Ziller at Carleton.

Should be an interesting game at Laird...Carleton's passing game is much better than Auggie's or at least not as vulnerable to weather conditions. Henfling isnt afraid to run, and they have a couple of modest backs who can and do get the job done. Frank/Gardner is a more potent 1-2 punch than Winford/Al-Hameed. Winford is the top WR in the league (although Arlt and Frank are nearly his equal) but Gardner gives Carleton TWO explosive potential game-breaking WRs.

(Oh, and UST should mop the field with NW, crushing AO's delusion about the Eagles being capable of contending in the MIAC...46-17)

You might want to wait a week as well before naming the giving Carleton the sweep of post-season honors.  Would it really surprise you to see the Johnnie defense hold henflinger to maybe a single touchdown.  He didn't exactly have a great day last time they played the Johnnies. 

[PRF07]

Cant help but wonder what things would look like now if SJU had been able to recruit Henfling from their own backyard. Add an opportune injury in his FY and he'd be back next year, too.

He is hands down the MVP this season. Ramler is COY (even AO could get those 2 right). Stam will go to some big lineman that nobody but his teammates and family has heard of. IF there was a Defensive POY, I'd say it would go to Ziller at Carleton.

Should be an interesting game at Laird...Carleton's passing game is much better than Auggie's or at least not as vulnerable to weather conditions. Henfling isnt afraid to run, and they have a couple of modest backs who can and do get the job done. Frank/Gardner is a more potent 1-2 punch than Winford/Al-Hameed. Winford is the top WR in the league (although Arlt and Frank are nearly his equal) but Gardner gives Carleton TWO explosive potential game-breaking WRs.

(Oh, and UST should mop the field with NW, crushing AO's delusion about the Eagles being capable of contending in the MIAC...46-17)

You might want to wait a week as well before naming the giving Carleton the sweep of post-season honors.  Would it really surprise you to see the Johnnie defense hold henflinger to maybe a single touchdown.  He didn't exactly have a great day last time they played the Johnnies. 

He also didn't exactly have his best receiver on the field last time they played the johnnies.  But I definitely agree to wait and see what happens as far as awards go.  This game will go a long ways in deciding the season awards.

also... if i have to read one more stupid AO comment i'm calling it quits.   

Prediction for northwestern game this weekend:

USTD- 75
Northwestern-6

I have never seen northwestern play... and for some reason I really don't like them.

[johnnie_esq]

Esq:  Nice article, however I think I have done a bit more research on the strength of schedule of Northwestern, and I wouldn't mind somebody else checking my work over on the pool b board.  My math has Northwestern likely to get the third pool B bid if they beat St. Thomas.  Maybe something crazy will happen and we'll see St. John's get a home game against Northwestern.

My math works out if (when) UST beats Northwestern on Saturday.

Given where they rank the other Pool B candidates-- really, Wesley, since CWRU and Huntingdon/LaGrange winners are shoe-ins, I stand by my predictions.  The math is important-- but the NCAA is realistic and seems to look at who they play as much as the numbers aspect-- Wesley's "quality" wins are over 7-2 Salisbury and DI-AA Iona.  In contrast, Northwestern's "quality" wins would be over 6-4 St. Thomas and 3-6 UWRF-- with both teams losing to a 6-3 squad currently.  Wesley is hurt by playing fewer regional games-- but they didn't schedule Crown twice, either-- they went and played a DI-AA school and a D-2 school.

The West is just not this strong this year, and I think even if Redlands loses to Cal Lu and NW beats UST, I think the NCAA still shafts the UMAC and moves a team over from the North region.  I think, for Northwestern to make the playoffs, they need Wesley to lose soundly to Galludet (bad, bad humor) or both UW-Whitewater and Redlands to lose.  Short of either of those happening, I think NWC stays home.

[AO]

You agree with me, yet you call my comments stupid?

I really have no idea how the Northwestern-St. Thomas game is going to go.  Northwestern is coming off a bye week, while the Tommies are coming off an impressive win.  No common opponents and this is the first game between the two teams.  

Esq:  Wesley is a shoe-in,  not Huntingdon/LaGrange, Northwestern will have better OWP than either team while they both play in the SLIAC, which was actually rated below the UMAC last time they came out with the conference rankings.

[johnnie_esq]

Esq:  Wesley is a shoe-in,  not Huntingdon/LaGrange, Northwestern will have better OWP than either team while they both play in the SLIAC, which was actually rated below the UMAC last time they came out with the conference rankings.

"They" have no conference rankings. 

Keep in mind that either Huntingdon or LaGrange will have a victory over another playoff contender-- their quality win will be against a 8-2 opponent as well-- and a loss (in Huntingdon's case to a 8 win team and in LaGrange's case to a non-D3 team) that beats NWC's loss to Simpson.  Remember, the IIAC is given very little respect this year-- even when Wartburg could have made the regional rankings last week, they still were excluded in favor of other two-loss teams Gustavus and Linfield.  So even though the Simpson game was close, I don't see the NCAA rewarding the Eagles-- especially when two of their victories came against the same team-- when, in theory, the Eagles could have sought a non-conference game against a strong team.  Hindsight being 20/20, to be sure-- but it isn't like UWRF or Simpson or UST have been powers in their traditional conferences.  Beat Central and we'll chat.

[Rugman]

You agree with me, yet you call my comments stupid?

I really have no idea how the Northwestern-St. Thomas game is going to go.  Northwestern is coming off a bye week, while the Tommies are coming off an impressive win.  No common opponents and this is the first game between the two teams.  

In your inaccuracy is your ray of hope.  From the MAC schedule:

Sep. 6  1:00 PM  MAC at St. Thomas •  L, 35-10 
Oct. 4  6:00 PM  Northwestern (Minn.) •  L, 49-13 

MAC lost to USTD by 25 and lost to NW by 36.  NW better than USTD by 11. 

[AO]

You know a lot of teams who had open dates the last couple weekends?   The UMAC has been doing the DomeDay forever.  Playing Crown twice is better than playing Trinity Bible or Principia, which is what Northwestern has done in previous years.  

When I was referring to "they" i was referring to d3football.com.  http://www.d3football.com/dailydose/2008/10/02/conference-rankings/

Like I said, I calculated the OWP used by the NCAA and I predict Northwestern will have a better OWP, than either Huntingdon or LaGrange and they will also be regionally ranked higher than either team if they beat St. Thomas.

I don't know if Macalester counts as a relevant common opponent in this circumstance as St. Thomas was in its first game under a new head coach, but I definitely made a mistake when I said no common opponents.

[johnnie_esq]

Come now, Northwestern had TWO open dates at the end of its schedule.  It chose to fill it with UST.  Linfield scheduled Western Oregon last week-- that perhaps could have been an option; Whitworth is free this weekend as well.  Even East Texas Baptist had an open date last weekend.  Yeah, sometimes it is expensive to show off-- but instead of picking up 3 teams that have made a combined one playoff appearance in the past five years, you could have picked up several that have tasted the playoffs.

While the Dome Day may be the UMAC's thing, that doesn't make it 1.) right, or 2.) a benefit to Northwestern.  How many other 5-team conferences in D-3 have championship games? 

[AO]

I don't think the UMAC expected to lose half its teams this year.  In past years Northwestern has played a southern division opponent they hadn't faced in the regular season for the championship.  The point is, it doesn't matter, Northwestern's schedule is statistically tougher than the two other pool B hopefuls for the third bid.

[tmerton]

Isn't there a UMAC board?

[Rugman]

You know a lot of teams who had open dates the last couple weekends?   The UMAC has been doing the DomeDay forever.  Playing Crown twice is better than playing Trinity Bible or Principia, which is what Northwestern has done in previous years.  

When I was referring to "they" i was referring to d3football.com.  http://www.d3football.com/dailydose/2008/10/02/conference-rankings/

Like I said, I calculated the OWP used by the NCAA and I predict Northwestern will have a better OWP, than either Huntingdon or LaGrange and they will also be regionally ranked higher than either team if they beat St. Thomas.

I don't know if Macalester counts as a relevant common opponent in this circumstance (hence the  ) as St. Thomas was in its first game under a new head coach, but I definitely made a mistake (keep admitting your mistakes; it is the way back to positive karma)  when I said no common opponents.