Quote from: gobigred425 on February 05, 2026, 09:40:16 PMMy sources are telling me SJU has scheduled week 1 game with a top WIAC team. Both MIAC powers are challenging themselves out of the gate.

I hope so!  Iron sharpens iron!

Would be interesting if both SJU and BU opened against the teams that ousted them.

Quote from: Mister36 on February 05, 2026, 04:00:32 PMNCCs 2026 schedule released today...which is how we find out that Bethel is going back to Naperville start of this season - getting all we can this year from the one OOC opponent I guess.

https://northcentralcardinals.com/sports/football/schedule

I love it.  Hopefully the johns can find someone on par with Morris again.   

I saw the Gophers offered a scholarship to Jett Feeney - are they the biggest program to give him an offer so far?

Quote from: art76 on December 21, 2025, 06:42:11 PMJust watched both semi-finals highlights on YouTube - Hopkins is definitely #3 at the end of the year. I think BU is in the running for #4 - we'll have to wait to see what the voters think.

That's how I would pick it.  JHU was very good.  Couple of breaks and they would have won.  More interested / intrigued by the championship matchup than I have been in a few years!

RF committed coaching malpractice on their second to last offensive drive, not understanding the loss of down on the penalty, but the defense stepped up and bailed them out!

Incredibly entertaining game from both squads!

Quote from: RoyalsFan on December 16, 2025, 01:54:01 PMSorry to burst your bubble, but not everyone reads everything you put out. It just ins't that important to me. I asked a question and someone answered it, end of story.

It feels like the right time of year to drag this post out again.

Quote from: RoyalsFan on October 25, 2022, 04:55:55 PMOk, I see that my comments here are no longer welcome and I am not going to participate when I am criticized for every comment I make. I am done with this board - don't need the aggravation. Hasta la vista.

North Central was indeed a very impressive team.  Clearly the refs stepped in it at the end of the first half.  Obviously can't say definitively that it would have changed the game...sure would have been nice to go into the half tied, but I feel like NC's ability to pound the rock was going to wear BU down regardless.

I agree - great for Bethel to experience such a good team first-hand - Bethel is obvioulsy worlds ahead of when they played Mount Union for the first time approaching 20 years ago, and were not anywhere near the same level as MU.  Hopefully having so many guys back next year who have matched up against the best, will serve them well.

NC vs UWRF will be an interesting one.  I have a hard time thinking that UWRF's defense will adequately slow NC down, but what do I know.

Quote from: Pat Coleman on December 09, 2025, 01:08:21 PM

Quote from: DuffMan on December 09, 2025, 12:58:10 PMI heard that Wayzata hired Derrin Lamker as their new head football coach.

That's a long commute to also coach Osseo.

(I mean, I know it's not, but still ...)

I see what you did there.... 

Quote from: robertgoulet on December 08, 2025, 01:10:04 PMNice and warm compared to when NCC visited Bethel years ago.

Absolutely brutal day.  Made worse by the fact that BU still had grass then.  Didn't have kids yet at that point, so I was there, freezing my face off.  Today I'm older and wiser and would take the game in from home, if it were at Bethel.

I think that's a pretty good take on the season's outlook.  I didn't realize SJU was so young this year.

I noticed that Zach Filzen is now an assistant on the SJU staff.

Quote from: hazzben on November 25, 2025, 03:52:26 PM

Quote from: USee on November 25, 2025, 02:23:24 PMI've heard the "our guys only play 2 quarters a week" argument before. A couple of notes: 1-this is true for many of the top teams still playing and Johns Hopkins, Mt Union, North Central all still have 1,000 yd rushers. And each of those schools have 2 RB's. 2-That's because if you are beating the pants off these teams your RB's are averaging 8 yds per carry instead of 5 yds per carry. Mt Union's top guys have 131 and 75 carries, NCC's top guys have 127 and 85 carries and JHU's top guys have 176 and 94 carries. Bethel's top guys have 131 and 101 carries. This isn't a knock on Bethel, just pointing out the 2 quarters a week excuse is not really relevant. There could be other issues like RPO's, QB run schemes, etc.

Agree with the 2.5 quarters argument. Fist, Bethel wasn't pulling guys that early most games, if any. You can't argue for that if you watched the games.

What I'll say is this, Frosh Manns > Frosh Geebli (pre-broken ankle Coach J said he'd be the best back BU ever had). Manns is a talent that is barely scratching the surface of how good he'll be. Different Olines and OC's but Manns is really really good.

In this world of transfer portal, it makes me wonder if he'll be plucked by a D2...or maybe even an FCS.

Quote from: hazzben on November 24, 2025, 02:35:14 PM

Quote from: Mister36 on November 24, 2025, 02:32:46 PMI think based on many factors (Scoring, defense, etc) you could say this is the best BU team ever.

It's too early to say that IMO. We are just finally about to find out how they stack up. Rd 1 exit vs. getting to NCC and going toe to toe.

I think I'd put my money on 2013 as perhaps their best team ever.  Peterson was slinging it, Hallstrom had an increadible year, with over 1k receiving yards, marquardt rushed for over 1K, Seth Mathis had a monster year on defense.

Unfortuanately didn't stand a chance against NCC after Peterson got hurt the game before and couldn't play.

Quote from: hazzben on November 21, 2025, 02:38:05 PMI think Monmouth made Logan's recent top 10 for offensive and defensive efficiency, which included opp adjustments. They look legit. I could see either Bethel and SJU making a deep run, and also getting bounced their first game. Neither is facing a Crown. 

UWP in the second round scares me, particularly given our light schedule outside of the SJU game.  Glad we'll probably see a pretty good Coe team before that.

Quote from: hazzben on November 19, 2025, 04:47:13 PMNot to mention the experience of playing a Mount or NCC. Going toe to toe with NCC helps to benchmark where you are. And if you get another matchup in years following that experience matters, as does the confidence of having competed with them prior. I think the 2000 Stagg Bowl no doubt played some part in the 2003 SJU team feeling fully capable of taking down what was being billed as "the best Mount team ever." I know UWW said similar things about the importance of playing Mount in the regular season and playoffs a few times before they broke through.

I think that's certainly the case.  With this year's BU team being quite young, I think there's going to be tremendous value, if they get to face NCC, as it will show them where the bar is really set, and have most of their horses back next year to try again.

Certainly shouldn't go without saying that I think UW Plateville will also present a very good test, before even getting to North Central.

Quote from: USee on November 18, 2025, 04:37:48 PMThe biggest bummer is the battle of attrition. It's hard to make it through the playoffs without injuries and playing higher level competition earlier increases the risk.

This was one reason I was happy to see the MIAC championship game go away.  It always seemed like BU came away from the "extra" game with SJU, with additional injuries right before the playoffs.

Quote from: Retired Old Rat on November 18, 2025, 09:30:12 PMI've been following D3 football for a long time.  I used to get all worked up about where SJU got seeded and placed in the bracket.

Theres the champ and everybody else.  No trophies for losers.

I still love the analysis many of you do.

There is certainly part of me that feels this way.  I do think it is good for programs to have a positive playoff experience and win a game or two, but ultimately, whether you lose to North Central in an early round, or in the championship, being able to say you were "2nd place" by having a path that didn't cause you to face them until late in the tournament, is sort of a distinction without a real difference.