MIAC Football Preview - Week 10

Nov 03, 2011

http://miac-online.org/news/2011/11/3/FOOTBALL_1103111509.aspx

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Though many of the important questions in the MIAC in 2011 have been answered along the way as the schedule has played out, these final weeks of the season go a long way in terms of clarity, both in the conference standings and in the potential playoff picture.

For the second-straight year, the MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs has been claimed by St. Thomas, the third-ranked team in the country. The Tommies - who will end their season next week on the bye - are 9-0 overall and 7-0 in the conference and, barring a loss this week, they'll be the MIAC's outright champs for the second time in a row as well with a week to rest up for another playoff run. They'll close the regular season this weekend against Carleton, which started strong but faded quickly last week in a loss to Saint John's.

However, things below UST haven't gone exactly as planned. St. Olaf - now ranked No. 19 and No. 24 by the two Top 25 polls - is alone in second with a potential playoff bid on the horizon and a chance to crack the St. Thomas-Bethel-Saint John's triumvirate atop the league standings. The Oles already have a win over Bethel, and Saturday they'll head to Collegeville to take on Saint John's in one of the weekend's best matchups. St. Olaf has a lot on the line, but Saint John's has played better in recent weeks and wants to win its final two games to finish above .500. Plus, it's rare to see the Johnnies in the role of potential spoiler, so it will be interesting to see how Saturday unfolds.

Meanwhile Bethel -ranked 23rd - scored a big win over Concordia last week and now hosts Hamline, hoping to still sneak into second place in the conference and maybe even into the Playoff field as well after last year's trip to the Division III semifinals. Saturday's other game sends Augsburg to Gustavus. The Gusties are hoping a recent string of moral victories finally produces a win they can count in the standings, while Augsburg can clinch a winning season with a win.

Concordia is idle this week with a 6-3 overall record, and a 4-3 mark in the MIAC.

Below is a game-by-game look at all four MIAC contests this weekend, followed by other important news, notes and numbers from around the conference this week.

No. 19 St. Olaf (7-1, 5-1) at Saint John's (4-4, 3-3) - Collegeville, Minn. - 1 p.m.

Saint John's is hoping this weekend's guest from Northfield will produce similar results to last weekend's. The Johnnies played their most complete game of the season, flashing big-play ability on offense and locking down on defense after a shaky start in a 47-14 win over Carleton. SJU receiver Brent Graboski caught five passes for 216 yards to lead a much more explosive Johnnie offense, so it will be interesting to see if that big-play ability is back this week against a good Ole defense.

Meanwhile, St. Olaf is also coming off a rout (40-0 over Hamline) and has a second-place finish within its reach. The good news is Leon Clark is running like his 2010 self, with more than 170 yards last week, and QB Dan Dobson is still among the league's best with talented wide outs Stephen Asp and Jake Schmiesing in his arsenal. The Oles showed a flair for the dramatic earlier this season in their comeback win over Bethel, so even if the home team gets in front early, St. Olaf has enough to formulate a response.

Augsburg (5-3, 3-3) at Gustavus (1-7, 1-5) - St. Peter, Minn. - 1 p.m.

On the air: | GAC Radio: KNUJ 860 AM | Web cast | Live stats | AUG: Web cast |
Augsburg appeared like it was giving way to more of a running attack behind freshman sensation Tyler Maxwell, but QB Marcus Brumm wasn't going to hang up his helmet without a few more signature performances, resulting in last week's 356-yard, 3-TD day against Macalester. The balance continues to aid Augsburg's explosive offense, as Maxwell leads the MIAC with 121 yards per game on the ground and a school-record 13 rushing TDs.

Meanwhile, Gustavus continues to pile up moral victories in search of actual wins, so this may be a chance for that trend to finally end. The Gusties gave St. Thomas one of its toughest battles last week, losing just 20-7 to the usually-dominant Tommies, so if they can bring that same fight - along with home-field advantage - to Saturday's game, the Gusties should give the Auggies a good battle.

No. 3 St. Thomas (9-0, 7-0) at Carleton (2-6, 1-5) - Northfield, Minn. - 1:10 p.m.

Carleton appeared to be headed in the right direction. It scored an overtime win over Macalester two weeks ago, then marched down the field for a 7-0 lead at Saint John's to start last Saturday's game. However, the Johnnies responded in a big way to beat the Knights' 47-14, so this week's game against third-ranked St. Thomas suddenly looks even more daunting. However, if Carleton can control some clock behind RB Jon Lien and its veteran defense slows down St. Thomas using Gustavus' blueprint from last week, the Knights could make things interesting on their home field.

St. Thomas will be the first MIAC team to 10 games this week, as its bye awaits next week, and with a Playoff spot locked up, the Tommies won't just want to win Saturday. They'll want to execute and look sharp doing it before taking two weeks off before the first round of the postseason. WR Fritz Waldvogel and RB Colin Tobin continue to be two of the league's dominant playmakers, and LB Tony Danna has come into his own with 14.5 tackles-for-a-loss this season.

Hamline (0-8, 0-6) at No. 23 Bethel (6-2, 4-2) - Arden Hills, Minn. - 1 p.m.

On the air: | Web cast | Live stats |
The clock operator won't have to work too hard Saturday in Arden Hills, as both Bethel and Hamline like to keep it on the ground and churn both yardage and clock in the process. However, the Royals are the blueprint of what Hamline is hoping to build in its first season under John Pate. The Royals' ground game averages 273.2 yard per game, while the Pipers manage just 78.5 yards despite their option running attack.

Bethel hopes to get freshman RB Brandon Marquardt back on track after struggling in his last two games, and it hopes he and Jesse Phenow continue to be the conference's most dangerous rushing tandem. A pair of Pipers - Olajuwon Stiffler and Marc McDonald - both average 7.8 tackles-per-game and will be charged with leading the way against Bethel's vaunted running game.

MIAC IN THE POLLS
The MIAC's three teams in the rankings didn't change much, although the league now has all three teams securely in both Top 25 polls with some minor movement this week by both Bethel and St. Olaf. St. Thomas - now 9-0 - is holding strong at No. 3 in both polls behind No. 1 UW-Whitewater and No. 2 Mount Union. Bethel is also consistent across the polls now, holding the No. 23 ranking from both the AFCA and D3football.com. St. Olaf stayed at No. 19 in the D3football.com Top 25 this week, but rose from the "Others receiving votes" category to No. 24 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll. The Oles even headlined that poll's release this week, moving into the AFCA's Top 25 for the first time since 2007. This is the final week all three ranked teams will be in action, as St. Thomas will have its bye next week.

| AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll | D3football.com Top 25 |

ATHLETES-OF-THE-WEEK
This week's MIAC Football Athletes-of-the-Week featured a pair of Johnnies sandwiched around a Royal, with Saint John's and Bethel claiming the honors. SJU receiver Brent Graboski caught five passes for 216 yards and two TDs in his team's big win over Carleton to receive MIAC Football Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors. Additionally, his teammate Jimmie Mattson was named the Special Teams Player-of-the-Week after kicking two field goals and five PATs, as well as a 63.4 average on kickoffs. Bethel LB Billy Morgan received his second MIAC Football Defensive Player-of-the-Week honor of the 2011 season thanks to his 12 tackles, tackle-for-a-loss and fumble recovery in the Royals' win over Concordia.

In addition, Augsburg TE Adam Carl was honored for his contributions to the Auggie's win over Macalester with his selection to the D3Football.com Team-of-the-Week. He had career highs of 10 catches, 103 receiving yards and two scores in the victory.

| MIAC Athletes-of-the-Week | D3Football.com Team-of-the-Week |

IN THE TRENCHES

Each week, the MIAC Football preview takes a minute to honor the guys who don't receive enough love and credit in the stats and highlights: the offensive and defensive lineman. "In the trenches" honors a unit on each side of the ball for doing the dirty work and serving as the front line for their team's success.

It's an all-St. Olaf edition of "In the trenches" as the Oles' offensive and defensive fronts both played big in a 40-0 win over Hamline. Starting on offense, St. Olaf ran for 290 yards, three TDs and an average of 6.0 yards per carry against the Pipers, including 174 yards and two scores for Leon Clark. Also, the Ole line allowed just one sack on 33 drop backs en route to 456 total yards on offense and a 15-minute advantage in time of possession. St. Olaf's starters up along the line were: center Ethan Smith, guards Garrett Dick and Alex Hsu and tackles Shea Corrigan and Daine Jensch.

Defensively, the Ole front four was just as good. Hamline managed just 49 rushing yards on 29 attempts for a 1.7 yards-per-carry average. St. Olaf garnered four sacks and seven tackles-for-a-loss while forcing five turnovers and allowing just 127 total yards to the Piper offense. Those totals were the lowest rushing and total offense yardages in the MIAC last week. St. Olaf's starters on the defensive line were: tackle Lordson Jonassaint, nose tackle Dustin Heiser and ends Brian Albrecht and Colin Ferrian.

BY THE NUMBERS

Here are some of the most important numbers from around the league after one week of action.

38 - The number of PATs made by St. Thomas kicker Tim Alrbright in 2011 - all without a miss. He is 38-for-38 on PATs to lead the MIAC, while Saint John's Jimmie Mattson is a perfect 6-for-6 on field goals to lead the conference as well.

43.2 - Yards per catch by Saint John's WR Brent Graboski in the Johnnies' win over Carleton. Graboski nearly set school records with 216 receiving yards, and he did it on only five catches. A 70-yard score on a trick play was among his big plays in the career day.

20 - Points allowed by Gustavus' defense in Saturday's 20-7 loss to third-ranked St. Thomas. It was tied for the Tommies second-lowest offensive output of the season, and 17.1 points below their per-game average.

7 - The number of sacks Bethel's offensive line has allowed this season through eight games. That's less than one sack per game for Royals' opponents this season.

14.5 - Tackles-for-a-loss racked up by St. Thomas LB Tony Danna, which is at least three more than anyone else in the MIAC in 2011.

2011 MIAC Football Statistics

Courtesy of MIAC