I thought I would chime in on the '05 Scots vs '08 Scots comment (there's not much for me to talk about on here any more).  Mitch Tanney, Evan Haffner, and Dante Daniels were about as good as you can get.  Covering Haffner was about the biggest pain and give him an inch and Tanney would fit it in.  And Dante was absoultely amazing; power and speed.  Now I know I've never played the '08 Scots, but this year's team returned 18 starters so I almost feel like I have.  I also know a year can help out a lot, but I don't see the team I played last year improving so much that it could have taken that '05 team. 

It's fun reminising about those former players.  There were some good battles (and some not so good ones too  )  Well good luck to Monmouth... this week.  I hear the Knox PF fliers are ready to put on a show    And good luck to Monmouth in the playoffs.  GET A WIN FOR THE CONFERENCE!

Great post on the end of the year awards!  Tanney hands down for offensive player of the year... and being a sophomore he has the potential to win the award 3 years if he stays healthy and keeps producing.  Defensive player of the year... call me a homer, because I probably am, but Jeremy Winter is one of the best linebackers I have seen in the conference the past few years.  Great speed, strength, and the key to Carroll's defense the past few years.  I think challenging him for the award will be Ripon's Josh Kraemer.  He's consistantly been one of the best DBs in the conference ranking near the top in interceptions, passes defended, and fumbles forced, not to mention his impact on special teams.  But special teams shouldn't matter for the defensive player of the year so I give my vote to Winter.  Coach of the year... kind of a tough pick but keeping with conference tradition I think Bell will get it for Monmouth.  Ernst had another great year for RC once again establishing that program as a conference contender and Carroll's Hiemenz did a great job this season potentially winning 7 games after losing a lot of key players from last year.  I can't say enough about the turnaround Brann had at Beloit this year, and if it were up to me he'd get some love.  But seeing as it's not up to me I'll embrace the fantastic job Bell did and say that he deserves the award.

This post season talk hasn't given some of us other guys a chance to post so by all means, keep talking about the regular season to keep me and others interested.

I was gonna come on here and make some completely sarcastic remark about how LU stands a chance against Carroll.  Not to my surprise, members on this board with delusional thoughts from fantasy island actually think LU can win their first game over Carroll?!?!?!?!  Whoever predicted that, thanks for the laugh.  You know it's been a long season when someone thinks that's a legitimate pick.  Senior day for the Pios and a chance to finish the season with 7 wins (which would be one of the best season in a long time).... I think the Orange and Blue have a big day and Lawrence goes home with their 0-win season still in tact.  The victory goes to Carroll in the first ever "Battle of the U".

Until the conference champion from the MWC wins a few games in the playoffs our conference will never see much love.  And I hate to admit it, but the average teams in the WIAC could prolly take our conference champion.  Case and point, UWEC over SNC last year (and that was a pretty darn good SNC team if you recall).  I want Monmouth to run the table and represent the conference well so we can have more playoff hopefuls in the future, but if you let Ripon play Whitewater I'm guessing blowout.  It's just a different game with those schools.  I mean their enrollments are about 10,000 so they just have that many more people to work with.  Plus a lot of those schools are establishing themselves as playing competitively in arguablly the nation's best conference.  So my guess for the next couple years is that the MWC will only have 1 representative.  Is it fair?  I think yes.  Our conference is competitive amongst itself (and not really even with a lot of the teams being consistently bad year in and year out).   The seasons not over yet, but when it is the Scots will have earned my cheers and respect.  Until then, get after 'em Carroll.  A 7 win season wouldn't be a bad way to finish off the year.

Wow sncfballfan, you are amazing.  Calling me biased by putting my own team's facilities at #5?  Are you kidding me?!?!  You get defensive even about something as trivial as this.  I just wanted to see what people thought about the conference fields and stuff.  I didn't want to stir the pot and try to make people feel bad about how crummy their facilities are.  I unbiasedly ranked all of these.  Had there been any bias Carroll would have been #1, but on this issue I tried to be completely rational.  Sorry that Carroll makes you change in LOCKER ROOMS.  That's a weird idea... SNC should try it.

Larry - I understand the homefield advantage argument.  I've never really felt it exists in the conference (many will disagree with me) but I personally played a below average game there.  The LU players were way more confident with their footing than I was so the field definately played a major role.  I love the look of the Banta Bowl and the seating is awesome.  Does LU have any plans for improving the other aspects of its facilities?

All this facility talk got me wondering... we should rank the conference facilities.  I played in the conference the previous 4 years and have a pretty good idea about all of the facilities, minus the new Knox and Monmouth improvements.  I would really like to hear some feedback from people about this and rank each on your own.  These are my rankings and reasons:

1. Beloit – Could their new complex be any nicer?  Maybe field turf?  No, let's keep this place natural.  Just an awesome experience for visiting teams with terrific locker rooms.

2. IC – Still quite a walk for visitors but what a great atmosphere and field.

3. Monmouth – Field turf in for next year, new seats and press box, entrance way, not to mention the open space a beauty of the campus itself.  Nice weight room.  2 rooms for offense and defense... pretty cool.  If only the locker rooms didn't look like storage areas...

4. Knox – Great new field, but still a hike for visitors.  Weight room is awesome though.  I haven't seen the new field in person but if I voted on the old Bowl it would have been near the bottom.

5. Carroll – Field turf is nice, but getting a little old.  New locker rooms are nice but should have been designed better (they should have made room for visiting teams and put in more than 10 shower heads).  The visiting lockers are not bad, but not great by any means.

6. Grinnell – Natural grass is always in great condition.  Construction this year hurt the appeal, but still pretty nice.

7. LFC – Good venue, especially if the visiting team wants to walk a mile before the game.

8. Ripon – Nice field turf, but what's the deal with the locker rooms?

9. St. Norbert – I know plans are being made to improve the facilities.  I just wish the conference powerhouse had a little more to offer.

10. Lawrence – Tradition or not, the Banta Bowl is cool to look at, but the field is terrible, plus the visiting team locker rooms leave a little to be desired (and the 3 mile walk)

This list is just my person opinion.  Of course I liked playing at Carroll the most but there's no doubt other schools have outdone themselves.  Let's hear what you all have to say.

Any comments on the CU/SNC game?  Nobody was surprised?  I sure wasn't but I figured I'd hear some chatter about it from the SNC fans.  Great game it sounds like.  Right down to the wire.  How did the game shake out... SNC make mistakes?  CU better than people thought?  Key penalties?  Someone give me the run down.  I knew my guys would be fired up, and although we haven't played well there in the past it was about time a Carroll team showed up and put up a hell of a fight.  Too bad they couldn't get a win but it doesn't take anything away from that team.  Sorry, I'm being a homer but I love those guys and I would have loved for somebody I actually know to beat a SNC team.  I'm not convinced anyone has the MWC locked up yet.  The Scots still need to finish out against some games that have "trap-like" potential.  I got Carroll big this weekend over the fightin fire.  Ripon/SNC is the game of the week.  Which team will bring their "A" game?  Ripon off a tough loss or SNC off a tough win?  Tough to say, no predictions from this guy yet.

Upon further review and a clear head I take THE U over SNC this weekend!!!!  If Carroll puts it together they are dangerous.  They haven't played a flawless game yet and what better time to bust one out than on the road against the Knights.  I talked with some guys today and they are fired up for the opportunity to play an elite conference team.  I also think Carroll's defensive scheme matches up well with what the Knights will do on offense.  Bold prediction but sometimes even the irrational makes sense.

Get fired up Pio Nation... loud and proud on Saturday!!!!!!!!

fightintitan2006 - Carroll's running back situation has certainly been a surprise to me this year.  Sophomore Jon Singer ran hard last year for us as a freshman, giving a nice shifty change of pace when Crocker came out.  I think I expected him to start but I knew all along the backfield would need some help.  In came Josh Zank (a kid from the Green Bay area) who was getting some larger looks outside of the MWC.  This year as a freshman he impressed everyone with his combine numbers shattering the RB bench record and running a fast 40.  I watched quite a bit of camp and helped a little and could tell that he's a bruiser but needs a little time to learn what his running style is an run accordingly.  So he didn't quite pan out, and as the weeks went on Beckstrand looked more impressive every day.  He's only 5'9" 170 but he runs hard, hard to tackle, and quite shifty.  Carroll's O-line is really good this year with multiple year starters and all-conference performers in Corey Drake, Mike Pogue, and Alex Willing.  Beckstrand seems to fit with what Carroll is doing now and I hope the success in the running game can continue.  I don't think he'll do for Carroll what Bryce Crocker did for us, but it will definately take a Crocker-like effort to pull out a W this weekend.

Jeez I was in Arizona this weekend and I come back and the conference board has blown up... awesome!  It appears to me that college students love tailgating before football games at nearly every school.  When you mix copious amounts of alcohol consumption with football you get some pretty immature behavior come game time.  It's not moral or enjoyable for some to experience but it's just what happens.  I went to the UW vs. OSU game 2 weeks ago.  The behavior there makes even the most extreme MWC fan look like a saint.  So students get drunk and make themselves look like idiots, but if they didn't football undoubtedly wouldn't be the same.  And if people didn't get hammered no one would paint their bodies or go to Packer games in Jan. without shirts.

2 big games this weekend - Can SNC rebound and keep their hopes alive for a conference championship against a tough Carroll team that saw some positive production out of their running game last week?  Does Monmouth stay focused and roll over Ripon or does Ripon's terrific secondary hold Tanney and the rest of the boys in check?

I hate betting against my guys but SNC needs to have this game more than Carroll.  It should be a good game with Carroll's defense playing well again this year but I think their offense isn't consistant enough to put together a winning effort against the Knights.  I think Monmouth takes care of business and all but locks up the conference with a win this weekend on Homecoming.

Well we finally got the board going a little bit and all it took was some harmless insulting and a huge conference championship showdown to spark some interest.  Now you've gotta be crazy if you think I don't respect SNC and Purtill.  Playing in the conference has taught me a lot of things about coaching... both good and bad.  SNC has an inate ability to win and I truly believe this stems from the coaching and the program tradition.  But in professional sports a lot of coaches are rewarded for turning programs around and becoming contenders.  I think Ripon is a prime example of this in probably the past 2 years.  SNC is expected to win and usually does so.  This creates tons of pressure on the team to win every game and Purtill does a good job of keeping his teams motivated.  What I'm saying is that even the best coaches in the NFL don't win Coach of the Year every year.  If they did Sean Payton probably wouldn't have won it a few years ago.  Purtill's great and I have seen that, just consider other coaches.

Sorry I don't have any MWC rings on my finger.  In hindsight that's not all that important to me.  I went to Carroll to win games and get a good education.  I did both, and although we fell short of our team's goal of a conference championship I'm not bitter at other programs.  I'm not even bitter at my program.  I worked tirelessly for 4 years to be the best football player I could possibly be.  The experiences I've had have been great and just because we couldn't win every game doesn't take anything away at all from my college experience.

The cheerleader remark was a joke!  Get over it.  A lot of people on this board have been in college.  I'm sure you've all made remarks to get a laugh about the same topic.  Don't be so hypocritical and make me out to be a bad guy for one overtly masculine comment.

In response to a past post from a Ripon fan, I think Carroll has become undisciplined, not classless.  Players can't control the fans, but they have to control their emotions.  From what I hear Carroll is pretty frustrated and it appears to be taking its toll.

If anyone objects to me using college humor please let me know.  Additionally, if anyone objects to me speaking my mind about the Coach of the Year please let me know.  I went to SNC's homepage and it had 15 coaches listed.  I'm sorry I got confused about all of the support staff.  I was unaware that I needed to censor my posts so much.

Scots4 - lookin for girls in DePere huh?  good luck  I remember watching film on SNC my freshman year at Carroll.  Sorry if I'm not being p.c. but I think the cheer squad could have put together a 60 yard scoring drive on Knox.       I got my money on the Scots this weekend.  I said it from the beginning of the year.  And if Purtill gets coach of the year again I'll file a complaint.  Other coaches are doing great things around the conference and just because they don't win a championship means they don't deserve recognition?  SNC has 15 coaches!!!!  I'm not saying he's a bad coach because he's obviously one of the best, but vote for someone who truly has to work to win.

Well I guess SNC took care of LFC's running attack that I praised when it propelled them in a win against IC the previous week.  What a lopsided win in a game I thought would have been closer.  Watch out for SNC vs Monmouth again... only 2 more weeks til the showdown.  As for CU vs MC, really tight game - 20-20 at half, but a muffed punt recovered inside Carroll's five led to a quick TD followed on the next possession by a pick returned to Carroll's 15 leading to another quick score.  Within the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half the game was out of reach and Carroll's valient first half effort was once again thwarted by the Scots.  Tanney's the real deal!  Any word on Ripon's QB?  He's a great player and they'll need him this weekend for Homecoming weekend at Carroll.  None of the other games really interest me this weekend.  I have a hard time seeing upsets, but this year already seems a little unpredictable so ya never know.

Well the only game I predict I get wrong.  I still doubt the HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE in the MWC though.  I hate to argue with other Carroll alumns but if you look at the start of the game IC's first 2 possessions were the result of created turnovers.  We agreed that away games throw off your rhythm but obviously not IC's who got a fumble and then missed an opening FG.  Anyway, the rushing stats from LFC surprised me and I guess I doubted their ground attack.  Way to prove me wrong LFC!  A lot of good games this weekend but I'm lookin at the CU vs MC game.  Carroll's been a pleasant surprise, Monmouth is as dominant as predicted.  Should be fun.  As for me, no more predictions.  1 year out of playing Carroll football and LFC all the sudden has a great rushing attack.  I must be taking crazy pills.

I think that we are all in agreement that there is only one game that should be close this weekend... IC vs LFC.  (I'd love to see an upset somewhere in the conference but I don't think this is the week with too many outmatched opponents.)  Both IC and LFC boast some of the best receiving cores in the conference.  Jennings and Darwent for IC will match up very well to the skills possessed by Christensen and Carter.  Trust me, I've had to cover all these guys before and it's not easy.  The DBs and LBs in coverage will have to be on their A games for both teams.  I think the game comes down to how much pressure LFC can get on Niekamp for IC.  If he has all day to sit back in their pass-happy offense and deliver strikes to Jennings it could be a long day for LFC.  15 returning starters for both teams, key lossess at skill positions, it could be a fun day to watch football in Lake Forest.  I hate making predictions because I hate being wrong but if I had to bet I'd put money on IC because their QB is more experienced.  All other games go as predicted.  I don't know what happened to Carroll's offense last game - defense looked awesome - but hopefully they'll get it going against that other Pioneer team.  Go pack!  Go pack!