FB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[RFB]

Exactly, St John's is the MIAC conference runner up while Redlands is the SCIAC Champ. The Johnnies should be making the trip West. Your attendance and gate receipts I'm sure played a big deal in giving St. John's a home game.

Did I need to say that this isn't the CIF either?  Being a conference champ gets you a first round home game in high school but it doesn't mean you get one here.  

Coming to CA wouldn't be bad in my book (I was rooting for the SCIAC champ last year as I would definitely have liked to see SJU coming to Eagle Rock than going to Spokane) but an 8-1 SCIAC co-champ definitely can't whine about not getting a home game over a 9-1 top 10 team that lost by 3 to another top 10 team.

Either way, I have a feeling it's going to be a very good game. Redlands is hungry as they have not had a season like this in almost four years.

[EastCoastStag]

Good to hear that both teams are injury free. Certainly will help Redlands as they are a physical team and might have been a little worn down by this point.  

Which reminds me RFB - must say congrats to Redlands for this season, especially after last year was a struggle at times. People could say something about Oxy letting it slip away, etc. But, Redlands did their job and played a solid year. I am sure that this year's results give them extra motivation going to MN this weekend.

[DustySJU]

Thanks for the Tailgate info Duff...It's going to be one heck of a game...See ya there!  

Paddymac

Will you be bringing Duke? Looks like he could eat a lot of Polish Dogs. 

paddymac;

For your first Stify burger, step up, present yourself and enjoy it straight up... no ketchup, no mustard, no pickles, no onions(we never have any anyway...).  Just a bun and your burger and your coooolllldddd berverage poured into your favorite mug.  

Johnnie Tailgate mandates drinking beverages from a 16oz red cup... and in this case both sides should be satisfied.

Remember - straight up!  

[DuffMan]

Exactly, St John's is the MIAC conference runner up while Redlands is the SCIAC Champ. The Johnnies should be making the trip West. Your attendance and gate receipts I'm sure played a big deal in giving St. John's a home game.

Let's see, it might have something to do with the fact that SJU is ranked 8th and their loss is to the 9th ranked team while Redlands is ranked 19th and has a loss to an unranked team.

He said based on regular season results, not rankings. One is a conference champion while the other is a runner up. Just admit you have been spoiled by home field advantage 10/14 years.

Too bad that's not how the NCAA does things, then, huh?

[paddymac]

As far as Duke goes, he sired a pup, so his responsibilities will keep him at home, however he'd probably eat everything!  It would have been nice to have had a home game, but who doesn't like to go someplace new (At least warm).  Just kidding.  A Redlands WIN and no injuries for either team will make this a trip to remember.  After we win, would we have to travel to Central for our next game (If Central wins)

[Pat Coleman]

TC-gotta agree-with that logic, many conference champs are unhappy right now.
Those East region teams must have been livid back when Ohio Northern, the 2nd place OAC team was the #1 seed in the East. Oh wait, they beat everyone and lost to Mount in the Semis-never mind.

This is a great story.

Except it was John Carroll.

And JCU was the last seed in the bracket.

[scandihoovian]

If Redlands had been undefeated this year, I don't see why they wouldn't have gotten a home game (especially with UW-Whitewater being moved).  Still, conference championship or not, the Johnnies only regular season loss was to the #2 seed in the bracket while the Bulldogs lost to a non-playoff team--I think the game being in Collegeville is the right call.

TC-

I fully agree with this statement.  If the Dogs had beaten Oxy they'd have a much stronger argument to host.

For argument's sake, however, I'd just like to throw this out there.  I am wondering what it is about St. John's and Bethel's non conference performance this season that should make them so highly regarded?  For example: Bethel lost this season to a .500 team from the IIAC.  The Johnnies non-conference wins came against losing teams (albeit from good conferences).

[Gray Fox]

1980 Olympics  US defeats a far superior Soviet Union

Actually, President Carter prevented this from happening.

And the Whitworth guys think they have something to complain about.

[paddymac]

Hey greyfox, I was talking about the Winter Oly's--- US Hockey vs Soviets

[EastCoastStag]

This is really far off, but as a DIII fan, any chance that we could get College Gameday, or at least an announcing team with the likes of a Herbstreet or one of those guys to do the Stagg Bowl? I'd love for DIII to get more love and exposure.

Pat, you've been to ESPN, any chance of pulling some strings?

Erin Andrews at the very least!

[TC]

If Redlands had been undefeated this year, I don't see why they wouldn't have gotten a home game (especially with UW-Whitewater being moved).  Still, conference championship or not, the Johnnies only regular season loss was to the #2 seed in the bracket while the Bulldogs lost to a non-playoff team--I think the game being in Collegeville is the right call.

TC-

I fully agree with this statement.  If the Dogs had beaten Oxy they'd have a much stronger argument to host.

For argument's sake, however, I'd just like to throw this out there.  I am wondering what it is about St. John's and Bethel's non conference performance this season that should make them so highly regarded?  For example: Bethel lost this season to a .500 team from the IIAC.  The Johnnies non-conference wins came against losing teams (albeit from good conferences).

I think it's more what they did in conference, actually.  St. Olaf and Concordia-Moorhead are playoff-type teams.  Both teams spent time in or around the D3Football.com Top 25 and just outside the NCAA West Regional Rankings.  They did this as the 3rd and 4th teams in the conference, while only the same could be said of Occidental in the SCIAC.  

On top of that, St. John's scheduled teams from the two most difficult conferences for their non-conference schedule, which is really all you can ask of most teams.  I know that they weren't the top teams from those conferences and non-conference scheduling is out of the control of most teams in the SCIAC, but the Johnnies' out-of-conference schedule has to be looked at as a plus.

Bethel has already paid its penance for the Buena Vista loss.  They put themselves in a position to have to sweep the MIAC schedule to guarentee a playoff spot and they followed through.  I don't like to make excuses for Bethel, but they graduated a stud at running back last year (Phil Porta) and replaced him with another stud this year in freshman Logan Flannery.  Unfortunately, there was a game in between where they had to figure out what they had at the position and it cost them a close game a Buena Vista.

If I remember correctly, D3Football.com ranked the IIAC above the MIAC (or slightly below, I can't remember my login to the Kickoff).  Buena Vista and Simpson are typically competitive in that conference (Simpson was in the playoffs as recently as 2003), so it's not like Bethel was ducking anyone by scheduling them non-conference.

[Pat Coleman]

http://www.d3football.com/columns/around-the-nation/2007-09-26/How+we+ranked+the+conferences

[paddymac]

IF Redlands wins would Redlands have to travel to Central or Olivet???

[RFB]

IF Redlands wins would Redlands have to travel to Central or Olivet???

Travel to Central, Olivet would come to Redlands.

[paddymac]

Thanks RFB

Paddymac