FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[GusD]

Is Wartburg going to get smoked by North Central?

I doubt it. It's at Wartburg, they play well at home. I'll be interested to see how Wart compares up front.

It would be nice to see an upset & North Central dethroned or at least knocked down a few notches! Nice to see Mount Union fall to Wheaton!

A wildly quixotic thought. 

[GusD]

What a gut-wrenching way to lose! Mount Union trailed Grove City 17-14, but found the endzone with 12 seconds remaining in the game to survive what would've had to have been their biggest upset (against an unranked team) in decades. Shoot! Would've loved to have seen Grove City hold on! North Central leads WArtburg 17-14 late in the 4th quarter. Looks like La Crosse is going to drop to 0-2. Hardin-Simmons holds a 21-13 lead with under 3 minutes remaining.

Mount Union should drop out of the Top 10

Yes, but don't hold your breath. 

[OzJohnnie]

The top 25 is out.  SJU at #5, BU at #7. GAC doesn't even get a point.  We'll see how that turns out in a few weeks.

[OzJohnnie]

A huge game this Saturday evening for the Hawks against two-time defending premiers Brisbane.  Very few seats remain so we'll see something over 95k+ in the MCG and an electric atmosphere.  The Preliminary Finals are the most intense games of the year as teams vie for a spot in the Grand Final.  The Lions are 2.5 point favourites, which is nothing in this game.

Anyways, I've got my ticket.  Going with some mates who are also members of the Melbourne Cricket Club.  $200 seats for the general public.  $12 for a reserved seats in the Members.  The benefits of membership is the world's oldest sporting club.  I could ruck up when the gates open to get an unreserved seats at no cost, but I can part with the $12.

[hazzben]

Olaf looks terrible through two games. I expected the Cobbers to be solid with a lot returning, but 51-0 beatdown is a crazy swing from last year.

[sjujohnnie]

Does anyone know if the St John's/St Olaf game will be streamed?

[The Third Division]

Does anyone know if the St John's/St Olaf game will be streamed?

If I recall correctly, St. Olaf is technically the host in this matchup so it's unlikely st. john's will swoop in with a paywall. Plus, who wants to pay to watch a triple monkey stomp anyway?

[sjujohnnie]

Does anyone know if the St John's/St Olaf game will be streamed?

If I recall correctly, St. Olaf is technically the host in this matchup so it's unlikely st. john's will swoop in with a paywall. Plus, who wants to pay to watch a triple monkey stomp anyway?

Per Google, I live 274 miles or approximately 4 hours 30 minutes away from Eagan. I think it would be fun to come up and watch St John's at the Vikings' practice facility, but have tickets to an Iowa women's basketball game the next afternoon. If St Olaf will not be providing a stream, I guess I'll be coming up.

[sjusection105]

Does anyone know if the St John's/St Olaf game will be streamed?

If I recall correctly, St. Olaf is technically the host in this matchup so it's unlikely st. john's will swoop in with a paywall. Plus, who wants to pay to watch a triple monkey stomp anyway?

Per Google, I live 274 miles or approximately 4 hours 30 minutes away from Eagan. I think it would be fun to come up and watch St John's at the Vikings' practice facility, but have tickets to an Iowa women's basketball game the next afternoon. If St Olaf will not be providing a stream, I guess I'll be coming up.

That's dedication!

[sjujohnnie]

@SJUJohnnie did you go to the NWC vs Morningside game on Saturday? I watched online. Interesting to see how both teams finish down the stretch. Duncan at QB was wild to watch. Not sure if they can run him that much all year. Hough looked really solid for the mustangs. He took over the 3rd quarter for a stretch.

I don't recall if I mentioned that Northwestern has a female kicker who was just named to the Good Works Team. Also just saw that Northwestern raised $10.9 million in 9 months to renovate their football stadium. Driving by it, it looked like a high school stadium so definitely needed. It's conceivable that Northwestern may become the team to beat in the GPAC. Young coach. Morningside's coach, Steve Ryan, is in his upper 50s if I had to guess. Their stadium is large, but old. Time will tell! If I had 3 wishes I'd use one on having Morningside and Northwestern join the MIAC. Could add Dordt as well. Not sure what's lead to their improvement in football. Coaching? Monetary support? A combination? A little bit of money in Sioux County.

[hazzben]

@SJUJohnnie did you go to the NWC vs Morningside game on Saturday? I watched online. Interesting to see how both teams finish down the stretch. Duncan at QB was wild to watch. Not sure if they can run him that much all year. Hough looked really solid for the mustangs. He took over the 3rd quarter for a stretch.

I don't recall if I mentioned that Northwestern has a female kicker who was just named to the Good Works Team. Also just saw that Northwestern raised $10.9 million in 9 months to renovate their football stadium. Driving by it, it looked like a high school stadium so definitely needed. It's conceivable that Northwestern may become the team to beat in the GPAC. Young coach. Morningside's coach, Steve Ryan, is in his upper 50s if I had to guess. Their stadium is large, but old. Time will tell! If I had 3 wishes I'd use one on having Morningside and Northwestern join the MIAC. Could add Dordt as well. Not sure what's lead to their improvement in football. Coaching? Monetary support? A combination? A little bit of money in Sioux County.

Their stadium is actually pretty nice for a small college as is. They did a press box upgrade a few years ago, nice scoreboard, and field house off the north endzone. But in tearing down Colenbrander Hall to make room for new Colenbrander Plaza, including what looks like a new facade should look really sharp, and pull the stadium more into the flow of the campus commons area between Zweimer Hall, Christ Chapel, etc.

New HC is the main upgrade. Bub Korver (inducted into CFB HOF this year with Blake Elliot) was a legend. But Orv Otten and and Kyle Achterhoff were both good coordinators, but not head coach material (side note, Korver feels a little like Osborne, stepped aside probably a decade too early to hand the reigns to a key assistant). Current HC Matt McCarty is young, had a vision and hunger to get back to playing for and winning national titles, and has great connections in NW Iowa. He's a grad of West Lyon, one of the best HS football programs in all of Iowa. Won a state title there as a SR and has strong inroads with the HS HC's. Great balance of recruiting IA, tri-state area (Sioux Falls, Sioux City, Omaha) and nationally with West coast alumni connections. He's also done a really good job of tapping into the Alumni network to amp up fundraising for his staff, scholarships, and facilities. Their non-stadium facilities are as good as any small college out there. Weight room, training room, locker room, indoor facility, etc. are absolutely top notch.

I'd selfishly love to see Morningside and Northwestern in the MIAC, but can't imagine a world where that happens. More likely you could pitch them joining the ARC, along with Dordt. But there's a lot of NAIA national championships and history they'd be loathe to leave behind. Ironically Bethel used to play in the old Tri-State conference with NWC, Yankton (think Lyle Alzado), USF and Concordia St Paul. My dad's first reaction to me playing for Bethel instead of going to Morningside, NWC or Navy was "Bethel, we used to destroy them in football..." He came around eventually! 

[sjujohnnie]

Thanks for the insights and reply, Hazz! We can dream about regular matchups between the MIAC and GPAC powers!

[OzJohnnie]

Sydney v Fremantle tonight.  Hawthorn v Brisbane tomorrow.  The biggest weekend in footy.  The Prelims are so intense. I'm worthless at work today.

[art76]

BU vs. Gustavus preview: https://athletics.bethel.edu/news/2026/9/17/football-no-7-royals-to-face-gusties-in-2026-home-opener.aspx

[GoldandBlueBU]

BU vs. Gustavus preview: https://athletics.bethel.edu/news/2026/9/17/football-no-7-royals-to-face-gusties-in-2026-home-opener.aspx

I see no Rundell on the depth chart still.  Hopefully a silver lining is that they'll get some guys reps and passes who wouldn't normally get the chances.