FB: Midwest Conference

[fulbakdad]

Smarmy guy? No, I was a Marine.

You seem to reply to mine though.  It only took you 2 minutes on that one.

[fulbakdad]

Titon Pride, you missed it.  I was being sarcastic.

[Pat Coleman]

Smarmy guy? No, I was a Marine.

You seem to reply to mine though.  It only took you 2 minutes on that one.

Yep. Because it's not game day. We're all sitting around waiting for the bracket like everyone else.

[gbpuckfan]

Fulbakdad - thanks for the review of the game. Even without the playoff bid, LFC did have a great season and can still hang a banner!

As for the playoffs...  not sure this is the year anyone from our league would be springing upsets but that's why they play the games!

[fulbakdad]

It's been a great season in the MWC.  There wer 5-6 teams that could have won it all.  Slugfest to the end!  That's football in my mind.

As for the review, I try to be objective...seen great players on every team.

[gbpuckfan]

SNC at UST.

Let's play hockey!

[tommiegun]

What's the scuttlebutt on SNC?

Are they as good or better than the previous two times St. Thomas has played them?  In my opinion, this St. Thomas team is as good (but very different) from the teams that played St. Norbert's.  As a DI equivalent, I'd say last year St. Thomas was a lot like "Oregon" (just straight pounding people with an impressive offense) and this year they are a lot like "Notre Dame" (balanced, prone to turnovers, and just keep winning).

[hazzben]

What's the scuttlebutt on SNC?

Are they as good or better than the previous two times St. Thomas has played them?  In my opinion, this St. Thomas team is as good (but very different) from the teams that played St. Norbert's.  As a DI equivalent, I'd say last year St. Thomas was a lot like "Oregon" (just straight pounding people with an impressive offense) and this year they are a lot like "Notre Dame" (balanced, prone to turnovers, and just keep winning).

They've got a much better QB, relatively speaking, than Notre Dame. IMO

[gbpuckfan]

I don't think this SNC team is as good offensively as what UST saw the last two years - and those Green Knight teams only managed 7 points each time. The QB is a freshman. He has steadily improved throughout the year and I'm optimistic about 2-3 years from now, but still a freshman. There are a couple of playmakers offensively.

What I noticed from the previous two UST/SNC games was how the Tommies dominated the line of scrimmage. Simply more size and power in purple than green. Presuming that's still the case, could be a long day for the visitors. But SNC only has to win once (as opposed to a best-of-7) so anything's possible!

[hazzben]

What I noticed from the previous two UST/SNC games was how the Tommies dominated the line of scrimmage. Simply more size and power in purple than green. Presuming that's still the case, could be a long day for the visitors. But SNC only has to win once (as opposed to a best-of-7) so anything's possible!

IMO, UST is stronger on both lines this year. And that's saying something because they've been exceptional in those areas for about 3 years now. There pass pro is impeccable. When someone does get through, O'Connell is very mobile and crafty. He rarely takes a sack and they do a formidable job of utilizing his athleticism and ability to throw on the run with designed bootlegs and rollouts. Their run blocking is solid. They don't have any game changers in the backfield, but between a good oline and good RB's they get yds on the ground.

On the Dline, they got 2 transfers (both DI FCS I believe) to add to an already good line. They are powerful, fast and deep. Their corners are physical and compete for jump balls well.

Their are two big question marks for UST right now.

1 - Are they healthy. They finished the season with a lot of guys banged up or done for the year. It's a testament to their depth how well they finished. But it's a different story in the postseason.

2 - How well their young guys perform. We've already seen that O'Connell is up to the task. But given the injuries, they've got some guys starting and playing significant minutes who normally would have been a year or more away from significant playing time. They've stepped up to the plate thus far. But again, how do they respond in the playoffs when they're tested by a more experienced and equally gifted team.

[HIT-EM-IN-THE-MOUTH]

Trying to figure out who you are, lol

I'm with 82

[HIT-EM-IN-THE-MOUTH]

31-13? 42-0? Um, not quite.

As I said last week, I hadn't watched LFC all year. So, what was different yesterday?

After that inital flurry, LFC's defense did a really good job of shutting down SNC's offense. Was the Forester OL line play much different than it had been? I give the QB credit for getting back up over and over, but he really took a pounding. Was LFC not used to playing from behind?

SNC came out fast but really had to just hang on. Play like that this week and SNC loses by 42 to the Titans, Tommies or UMHB (if d3football.com is right).

As much as I need to swallow my pride after Saturday's loss, I have to stick up for LFC and say this was not the team that was 8-0 in the MWC. The offense never got their feet under themselves. The defense was there, they only gave up 3 points. LFC beat LFC, it wasn't SNC. That said, the Knights did show that they wanted this game, everything fell into place for them.

It's a shame that the top three teams in the MWC aren't going to the playoffs. Hopefully SNC can knock off the Tommies to get the MWC a little street credit in D-III. In order to do so, they are going to need to find a few more weapons other than just #4.

[gbpuckfan]

Final
St. Norbert 17
St. Thomas 48

Congrats to the Tommies. A little big bigger spread than I had hopes for but UST had a great first half.

Congrats to SNC on another title.

[SNCOLDAD]

My hardy congratulations to all the SNC players. You guys were supposed to finish third or fourth in the conference. But come November, you pulled it together and represented the Midwest against a top 5 D3 team. Do not hang your head. Do not feel down. By now you should be back in DePere celebrating your season success. Enjoy it. Revel in it. And stand down for the day. Then start working toward next year. Juniors, you are the leaders from this point forward. Get to work on Monday. Lead the team to ANOTHER conference championship next year. I look forward to seeing pictures posted of the St. Norbert Green Knights.

Now, on to hockey.

[Maverick]

So is it time to start looking ahead to 2013 yet???