Staff Blog

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Undermaned.......or were they?

Going in, you didn't have your starting quarterback. Your all-American right guard didn't play most of the game. Your all-American running back didn't play the second half. Two defensive starters went down in the second half. Kris Agenda and the training staff definitely earned their pay Saturday afternoon. Despite that, it was a Norse victory, and a hard-earned one at that.

The Norse were able to win three battles on Saturday that didn't go their way in the first three ballgames, but what impressed me the most against Cornell was the way the guys that were called on to step up did. Darin Schneider replaced Justy Feldt at quarterback, who sat out with turf toe. Schneider got more comfortable as the game progressed, as his mistakes early were ones of a quarterback excited to get his first start, such as overthrowing receivers and not setting his feet. He distributed the ball real well connecting with eight different receivers of his eleven completions.

The combination of Adam Lamos, Tyler Bass and Andrew Lauer did a very solid job replacing the injured Tyler Sherden in the second half. After Sherden rushed for 98 yards on 18 carries scoring Luther's only touchdown. Lamos and Bass combined for 85 yards in the second half. A lot of that had to do with the blocking of Lauer and the offensive line. It also helped you were facing the statistically worst run defense in the league.

Jon Stavast did not play the last three quarters. Obviously you want and need Stavast in the lineup, but fortunately there has been enough depth developed in the offensive line that you have more than adequate replacements. Sam Curtis moved from the left guard to the right guard position and Ben Schott moved in at left guard and did a solid job. It's also fortunate having guys that can play multiple positions on the line. It adds to the depth.

The defense played its best game of the year, holding Cornell to 250 yards and keeping them off the scoreboard for the first 39 minutes of the ballgame. The big play hurt this team big time in the first three games. That's something they did not give up on Saturday. The defensive line for the Norse continues to play at a very high level. They often affected passing plays with the pressure they put on Cornell's quarterback and running between the tackles was difficult for the Rams all day. I've talked a lot about making key plays at key times. One stat Saturday reflected that, third down conversions. Offensively, the Norse were 8 for 19, Cornell was four for fourteen. The offense was able to stay on the field. The defense was able to get their offense off the field.

Sources say none of the injuries were believed to be serious and as of this time many of the walking wounded are expected to be back next week. Of course, that could change.

What can you say about Tyler Pease. The senior from Stuart West Central Valley stepped up and not only set a school, but an Iowa conference record six field goals in the victory. (I wish I could start in the fantasy league this week.) Pease made field goals from 27, 33,27,22, 28 and 26 yards on the afternoon. Along with that, credit long snapper Chad Nelson and punter Andrew Burkle, who held on Saturday in Justy Feldt's absence.

Back to my original point, the Norse won the field position, special teams and turnover battles Saturday, something they lost the first three weeks. The average starting field position in the game for Luther was its own 44 as compared to Cornell starting at its own 29. On the special teams front, we've already mentioned Pease, but Andrew Burkle averaged a season high 38.5 yards per punt, including a season long 46 yards. Both the return coverage and return games had decent days. Also, a plus two on the turnover ratio helped out as well. These three facets have been the reason for the losses in the first three weeks. They turned around Saturday. Hence, the victory.

The number one thing to work on this week is turning the threes into sevens. As nice as it was for Tyler Pease to set a conference record for field goals, you turn three of those field goals into touchdowns, it ends up a 37-20 game and Cornell doesn't have hope inside of a minute remaining in the game.

As one member of the Norse told me after the game, "The first one is the hardest to get." Hopefully things start to snowball with three straight Saturdays at Carlson Stadium.

Posted by Darin Svenson at 10:12 AM | 1 comments

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Cornell Preview

It won't be a ranked opponent this week, but it will be a 2-1 football team as Luther will travel to Mount Vernon to take on Cornell. The Rams come into the matchup off their bye week with a 2-1 record. Two weeks ago they lost to Loras 30-20. Cornell has been the team that Luther has had the most success with recently, winning the last four matchups between the two teams.

Statisically, it appears it could be a shootout. Cornell has the second best pass offense in the league, behind Wartburg, averaging 267 yards per game. The Norse are last in the league in pass defense, giving up 285. 3 yards per game. Luther is the third best rushing offense in the league, led by Tyler Sherden who is leading the conference in rushing. Cornell is last in the league giving up 186.7 yards per game on the ground. So at least statisically it appears one teams strength offensively and can attack the other's defensively.

Turnovers have played a key factor in the Norse's three games to this point. In two of the three games the Norse have had a negative turnover ratio and their opponents have taken advantage of those mistakes. Both Luther and Cornell have negative four turnover ratios going into Saturday. Which teams defense can force the others into mistakes will play a key role. Luther came close to making some game changing plays on Saturday versus Wartburg. Those game changers mean the difference between winning and losing. As well as the defense played Saturday, they need to play that much better for future success.

What you have Saturday is two Iowa Conference teams trying to establish something and get over the hump. Cornell has dropped 13 consecutive Iowa conference games dating back to a 25-21 win over Dubuque at Ash Park in 2005. Luther's lone conference win last year was against Cornell. Both teams have to view this game as very winable. Whoever comes out victorius Saturday and lead their way to a 500 or better record in league play, while the other will have a higher mountain to climb.

From the Norse perspective, there are many things that they can control that can get them better. Both the mental and physical mistakes of the first three weeks had a lot to do with their losses. Due respect given to their great opponents, but Luther has done a lot to lose ballgames, something that can't be done against opponents in the top 25 in the nation.

Also, the focus, effort and determination was there the first three weeks. Human nature is to not take an opponent like Cornell as serious as the first three, which were all ranked opponents and are all unbeaten. It would be more of a subconsicous thing, but it's there. The Norse have to have the mental toughness to treat this game the same way as they've treated their first three opponents. Going into the season Norse players and coaches told me they'll treat this year as ten one game seasons. Saturday will be the mental challenge to keep that going.

Tune in or log on Saturday. KWLC AM 1240 in the Decorah area. Kwlc.luther.edu on the web. Jerry, Mike and I with the call. 12:30 pregame. 1:00 kickoff.

Posted by Darin Svenson at 7:12 PM | 0 comments

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Wartburg Recap

For the first time in a while, the weather was perfect for family weekend football. Shorts and T-shirts ruled the crowd of blue and white and it was a great atmosphere for college football Saturday at Carlson Stadium. Everything was great, except the scoreboard as Luther lost to Wartburg 25-8.

The first quarter and a half was my kind of football, hard-hitting, physical, smash-mouth. From both sides. I'd imagine players on both sides are very sore today. That's just the way two rivals should play it. And then everything changed.

On a fourth and 11 from its own 29, Luther lined up in a punt formation. Tyler Sherden, who was the long snapper put into that spot to help the coverage unit, ended up snapping the ball to Brian Rouse who lost two yards and the Knights received great field position. While everyone in the crowd or listening was probably saying' "What the _ _ _,"the coaching staff assured us at both halftime and after the game that it was not called. While no specifc explanation was giving to what happended,both Benny Boyd at halftime and Paul Hefty after the game said it was not a call. Another mistake on special teams to give the opponents great field position leading to seven Wartburg points.

The Norse did establish a nice drive after that, driving from its own 36 to the Luther 21. Then miscommunication between Justy Feldt and Tony Brantner and Josh Faaborg came up with an easy pick. Feldt said after the game it was a read play and the quarterback and receiver needs to read the same thing. Unfortunately, they weren't on the same page. Seven plays, 80 yards and two minutes eight seconds later, it was Nick Yordi to Nick Weber for 39 and a score to give Wartburg a 13-0 lead. Another example of a good team taking advantage of your mistakes.

The other key moment in the game came early in the fourth quarter. The Norse took over at the 50 yard line and drove the Knight eight. They tried a fade pattern to Tony Brantner. The percentages were in the Norse favor, since Brantner is 6-6 and defensive back Nick Weber is 5-10. Unfortunately, Feldt did not put enough air under the ball and Weber was able to make the pick, knocking down the Norse drive. A score there, the Knights are on their heels for the 12:31. Momentum on your side and the defense gets an emotional lift. Something they desperately needed at that time, since they had played well enough during most of the game. In my mind, that was the dagger.

Feldt spoke with us on the postgame. Justy was a stand up guy taking the blame for the two picks. He knows he can't do that. Things will need to get better next week. It starts with taking care of the ball, especially when your team has an oppotunity to score.

Defensively, the Knights were everything as advertised, holding the Norse to just 278 total yards and 81 on the ground. Tyler Sherden had 24 rushes for 60 yards, just 2.5 yards per carry. Saturday will leave people with the perception if you stop Sherden, you stop the Norse. Luther has many weapons offensively. They need the other guys to step up when Sherden is getting slowed down by an opponent.

The Norse defense had a valiant effort, holding Wartburg to 77 yards on the ground and 14 first downs, and nearly two hundred yards a game less than what they've been averaging the first two weeks of the season. But after the second turnover, it seemed they lost their moxy and emotion, just leading to flat play and the clinching score for Wartburg. Not placing any blame, but for most of the day the defense played well enough to win. But the Wartburg defense was that much better, leading to not enough help from the Norse offense, leading to the physical and mental fatigue late in the ballgame.

The toughest part of the schedule, from a rankings standpoint, is over. But the Norse cannot fall into a false sense of security. With the balance that has been shown over the past few season in the Iowa conference, there's probably not a team on the schedule the Norse cannot beat. But, there's probably not a team that can't beat them. The same emotion, focus and intensity you bring when facing a nationally ranked opponent, that needs to continue through the final seven weeks of the season.

Posted by Darin Svenson at 10:38 AM | 0 comments

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

From Great to Dominant

An 0-2 start is not what anybody wanted. Yes, you played two top 25 teams. Yes you went to two tough fields. Yes, there were things to build on. But you enter every game wanting to win, not to stay close, not to get moral victories, you play to win. So no one is satisfied at this point.

In my conversation with Coach Hefty today he talked about going from great to dominant. We've seen many good things so far. We've even seen some great things to this point. But at 0-2 sometimes great isn't good enough. You need to be dominant. Against a great team, that's whats going to win. We've talked about the issues with special teams, turnovers and big plays to this point. But even with the good things the Norse have been able to accomplish, every aspect can, and needs to get better.

The biggest example is the offensive line. Its play has been solid and satisifactory to this point. But as a collective unit, they have not taken over a game to this point. The play has been good, even great at times. But it hasn't been enough. You need dominant play to beat great teams. It's the same case with the defensive line. They did provide consistent pressure on Saturday, however being so close to sacks on many plays to getting sacks, you need to do that much better. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Dominance. That's the mentality the Norse need coming into Saturday according to coach Hefty.

At the risk of offending some in Norse nation, that's the mentality that has made Wartburg and Central the perrenial leaders in the Iowa Conference. Good enough isn't good enough. Great sometimes isn't good enough. You need to be dominant sometimes to win. That mentality is what the coaching staff is trying to instill the Norse program.

Long story longer, like I said in Sunday's entry, a good, or should I say dominant, consistent 60 minutes of play could mean success Saturday. So far, we haven't seen that in the two games. Hopefully, we'll see that Saturday and we can have a repeat of the Knights last visit to Decorah.

Improvement is needed on pass defense. In looking at the statistics, the Knights are averaging 289 yards of passing per game. In fact, sophomore quarterback Nick Yordi's back to back 200 yard passing games this season are the first for a Knights QB since 2004. Yordi has used five different receivers led by tight end Ryan Hoerner. It will be interesting to see if the Knights try to use the big play in the passing game, something the Norse have had trouble with through the first two games. Wartburg's longest passing play has been 38 yards. The Norse have given up five plays at least that long this year. It's not that the Knights cannot run either. They're averaging 213 yards per game, with the three-headed monster of Josh Van Rees, Tim Jones and Neil Suckow carrying the mail. Wartburg is averaging 5.3 yards per rush with a long rush of 36 yards. With no play of longer than 38 yards, it would seem to me that the Knights are more of a ball control team than a quick strike team. That leads me to think time of possession will be a key stat Saturday. Luther and Wartburg are the top two teams in the league in that category. The Norse are averaging 35:32 per game. Wartburg 32:42.

As much as the Knights bring to the table on offense, statisically they're among the nation's best on defense. The Knights have the conference's top ranked overall and rushing defense and the second best passing defense in the league. Nationally, they're 12th in total defense, 6th in rushing defense, seventh in scoring defense, tops in sacks and 14th in tackles in loss. With Tyler Sherden leading the league and being 4th in the nation in rushing, it's definately the irrestible force and against the immovable object. That means it's key for the Norse to get the ground game going. If they do that and the make the defense respect the run, that will slow down the pass rush and allow Justy Feldt and the passing game to make some plays as well.

A few things that need to happen Saturday. Better play from punt return and punt coverage and winning the turnover battle. The more those categories go Luther's way the better the Norse's chances will be.

Tune in Saturday for parent's weekend or stop by and say hi. 12:30 pregame 1:00 kickoff with Jerry, Mike and I right here or in the Decorah area at AM 1240-KWLC.

Posted by Darin Svenson at 8:12 PM | 0 comments

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Central Recap

Fun. Entertaining. Exciting. Wild. Weird. Back and Forth. All are words that can be used describe Saturday's 44-36 loss to Central. That and every Luther vs. Central matchup in the Jeff McMartin and Paul Hefty era. The last four games have been decided by a total of 25 points, with two going to overtime.

The difference in Saturday's game got down to turnovers, field position, special teams and big plays. The Norse lost all four of these categories and that led to the game being lost. Now, the breakdown.

TURNOVERS-The Norse turned it over four times and took it away once. In the three straight 6-4 seasons, the Norse's turnover ratio was towards the top of the league. Last year, the ratio was even. So far, this year it is negative two. Yesterday it was negative three. Luther actually scored more points off of turnovers than Central, but the costing of possessions and offensive opportunities is what hurt the most. For the second week in a row, the Norse turned it over on a punt return, giving their opponents an oppotunity inside the Norse 35. That's a trend that needs to stop. Among the two interceptions, one off the hands of a receiver, is correctable, the other came from Central's pressure, causing Feldt to shortarm the ball and the pick was made. The fumble at the end of the game came from Feldt trying to make a play for his team and those things happen. But against a team like Central, who won't beat themselves, you can't help them out as much as the Norse did Saturday.

FIELD POSSESSION-The Average starting field position Saturday was won by Central, by a good margin. Central averaged starting at its own 43. Luther averaged its own 30. On only four of 17 possessions, the Dutch started inside its own 30 yard line. Also, four times they started in Luther terrority. Luther, on ten of its 17 possession, started at its 32 or further back. Four times they started inside its own ten, twice at the one. Through a combination of the other factors being discussed, the field possession battle put both the Norse offense and defense at a disadvantage. It was especially clear in the third quarter. Luther started its third quarter drives at the 27, 6,4, 42 and the 27. Central started its possessions at the 42, 45, Luther 45 and its own 16. On the possession they started its own 16, it was one play and a score. The third quarter is when the Dutch pulled away.

SPECIAL TEAMS-Other in the kick return game, Central defeated Luther in all categories. The Norse kick returners had 200 yards in 8 returns, with Tyler Bass, Tyler Sherden and Mike Tangen all having some solid returns. Central punter Kurtis Brondyke had a great day, averaging 38 yards per punt, had three punts inside the ten, including two at the one yard line and a long of 53 yards. To go along with that, the Norse muffed three punts, lost one of them and had -17 yards in punt returns. That made the net average 40 yards per punt. The coverage unit of punt returns need to improve as well. The Dutch averaged 23.3 per return, including taking one back for a score. That needs to get better as well. The kick coverage was adequate, giving up 20 yards per return. This a battle that the coaches told me they needed to win. Unfortunately, it didn't happen Saturday.

BIG PLAYS-especially in the passing game. The Norse have given up 603 yards passing in the first two games and seven touchdowns. In the St. Olaf game they gave up plays of 47 and two plays of 40 yards. In the Central game they gave up plays of 84,33 and 22 yards. The big play has killed this team in the first two weeks. Yes, the secondary needs to improve. However, the defense as a whole needs to step up. The front line and backers did a good job of getting consistent pressure on Tim Connell, the Central quarterback, all day. Often they were just a smige away from getting sacks, and they were able to get to him twice. To Connell's credit, he took a licking and kept on ticking. But when you're that close to sacks, the line could get off the ball just that much quicker or possibly take a better angle to the quarterback to get the sack accomplished. Whether it's slight adjustements scheme or little things the players could do better, getting better against the pass will be a team effort, not just the secondary.

Of course there was positives from Saturday. Tyler Sherden had 205 yards on 40 carries and scored four times. Sherden now has five scores on the season in the first two games. He now has 30 touchdowns, tied for fifth on Luther's all-time list. The effort moves Sherden into 8th on the all-time rushing list for the Norse. By the way, the single season touchdown record is 16, set by Bernie Peters back in 1969.

The offensive line has performed very well all season. The Norse have rushed for 468 yards in two games and are averaging four yards per carry. Also after giving up four sacks at St.Olaf, they only gave up one on Saturday. Definite improvement. Most of the time, Feldt had time to throw and make decisions and reads. Most felt the line would a strength of the team coming into the season, and it definately has. Also there were very few problems with the shotgun snap between John Stohltenberg and Feldt. Definite improvement there.

We all knew the schedule was going to be challenge over the first three weeks. So far Luther is 0-2 and a nationally ranked Wartburg team comes to town next week. Another tough team. Another challenge. But not an impossible one. We've seen enough good over the first few weeks to think the Norse have an adequate chance going into next Saturday. But the offense, defense and special teams all need to perform better. Some areas need more improvement than others, but with two loses by a total of 15 points to two nationally ranked opponents, everyone can look to themselves first to get better. A good consistent 60 minutes of football with give Luther a good chance next Saturday. But, like with most things, it's easier said than done.

Posted by Darin Svenson at 10:29 AM | 0 comments

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Central Preview

The Norse will be back on the road Saturday traveling to Central. This rivalry has produced some great games over the past few years. Three years ago, the Norse defeated Central 30-24 in overtime for Homecoming. Two years ago, Luther came back from 42-14 down to pull within 42-35. Last year, it was overtime that Central beat Luther 19-13. So no matter what this game says on paper, it will be an entertaining one. Expect nothing less Saturday.

In talking to coach Hefty this morning the two weeks between games one and two have been good. Last week, focus on themselves, this week focus on Luther. It helps the Norse get healthy as well. By the way, Tyler Sherden is ready to go. All in all, a week off before the always tough Iowa Conference schedule can't do anything but help in the coaches mind.

There is definately mutual respect between the two programs. Coach Hefty said this morning Central is a class-act operation, one of the best coached teams in division three and one of the best envirorments in Division three football. Central coach Jeff McMartin told the Central sports website, "Luther does some things very well, they've had two weeks to prepare for us and they're extremely well-coached, so we've got to be ready. Tyler Sherden is one of the top backs in the league, they rely on him for big plays. He's a tough guy to bring down. He's a good athlete and a terrific competitor. They move the ball well and against us they've played great defense. They're very aggressive both offensively and defensively. They've played us tough every time we've played them since I've been here."

The Dutch defeated St. Thomas in week one 35-10 and came from behind last Saturday night with a 36-17 win at Hope College in Michigan. In the Hope game, two time conference MVP Vance Schuring, a running back, was out with an injury. Despite that, the Dutch gained 172 yards on the ground, led by Dustin Veldhuizen rushing for 71 yards and David Zachary with 46 yards. Senior Quarterback Tim Connell has definately diversified the Dutch attack. Last Saturday, he was 21 of 28 for a career high 286 yards and three touchdowns. His favorite target was Cody Huisman, a senior from Mason City (high school teammate of Tony Brantner), who had seven catches for 137 yards.

Defensively the Dutch did give up 443 yards of offense against Hope, but did pitch a shutout in the second half. Since Hope scored 17 points, I would assume they were pretty bend but don't break in that ballgame. The top Dutch players against Hope were linebacker Greg Altmaier had a game high ten tackles and linebacker Andrew Lehn had five stops, an interception and a sack.

Hefty said the emphasis has to be winning the turnover battle and making big plays. Against St. Olaf, they did one but not the other. Luther was plus one on the turnover ratio. The two Norse turnovers resulted in nine Ole points. Simple math when you lose by seven. Also the defense gave up too many big plays.

As for getting over the hump in close ballgames, Hefty says they'll do that by keep believing in what they're doing. Five of the last eleven games the program has played have been decided by seven points or less. They've lost them all. Hefty told me this morning they're all about the close games. They're comfortable in close games and once they win one of these close ones, it could snowball.

I'll be back after the Central game with a review. Listen right here Saturday. 12:30 pregame. One kickoff. Mike, Jerry and I with the call.

Posted by Darin Svenson at 1:32 PM | 0 comments

Sunday, September 2, 2007

St. Olaf Game

Fun. Entertaining. Exciting. Good. All are adjectives that can describe Saturday's season opener against St. Olaf, which the Norse lost 26-19. Many good things, many things to build on, but not enough to get the victory so the ultimate goal wasn't accomplished. Saturday's game got down to making key plays at the key times. Without looking at the flim, I would have to say if you broke down play per play, Luther would have as many, or possibly more, positives plays than St. Olaf. But as for making plays when it counted, St. Olaf did, Luther did not.

First the negatives. Going off what color commentator Jerry Jaeger said during the broadcast, too often Saturday, members of the Norse secondary were caught with their eyes in the backfield too many times and receivers came wide open and led to big plays. Whatever led to it, it is a correctable mistake that needs to be made. And it's not one person's fault. Defenses need to work as an eleven man collective unit. And that's on all plays.

Sacks. Justy Feldt was sacked four times by the St. Olaf defense. A lot of credit must go to the Oles for this, but your quarterback cannot go down four times. To add on to this, three of the sacks came late in the fourth quarter when the Norse were trying to mount a comeback. Key plays at key times. St. Olaf made them. Luther did not.

Shotgun center-quarterback-exchange. Too often snaps between centers John Stoltenberg and Kyle Grundmeyer and Feldt, while Feldt was in the shotgun, went arye. Any sort of bobble or miss handle on the shotgun snap, and the timing of a play goes to heck in a handbasket. As often as the Norse line up in the shotgun, this is a problem that needs to be corrected fast.

Two turnovers ended up hurting as well, the fumble punt by Mike Tangen and the interception thrown by Feldt, which went through the hands of Jesse Kent. Those two mistakes, which gave the Oles their best field position of the day, resulted in nine points being given up. And when you lose by seven the math isn't hard to figure out.

St. Olaf was seven for fifteen on third down conversions, including five for nine in the second half. Key plays at key times need to be made.

All of the negatives from Luther's perspective are correctable. It's nowhere near a case of not having horses. Problems are correctable and with the focus this team has talked about in the preseason, I'm confident that will happen.

Now the Positives. Running game. The Norse rushed for 201 yards Saturday afternoon and if you take away the sacks of Feldt, the total was 236. Taking away the sacks, the average per rush was four yards, which is very acceptable. The return of Tyler Sherden definately helped. Tyler rushed for 152 yards on 31 carries, including a 29 yard touchdown. But the other backs of Adam Lamos, Tyler Bass and Andrew Lower also helped out. In fact on Luther's final scoring drive, when Sherden was out of the game with an injury, Bass showed signs of being a more than capable relief man.

The play of Feldt at quarterback. Feldt went 11-18 for 121 yards and one interception. The term game manager has been used for Feldt, but late in the ballgame Feldt proved he can make some plays. For the most part, the decisions he made were correct and he didn't put his team in a situation that resulted in any negativity. For his first career start, I give him a more than passing grade.

Three turnovers forced. Jerry said during the broadcast the defense is using a philosophy of biting the ball, which means the defender should get his face mask on the ball, thus creating a precarious position for the offensive player. The Norse forced two fumbles and Trevor Theobald made an interception in which he flat out wanted the ball more than the St. Olaf receiver. Overall, the Norse were plus one on the turnover ratio. Last year, the Norse were even and forced 18 turnovers on the season. With the return of the more aggressive style of defense, expect that stat to improve this year.

Special Teams. Punter Andrew Burkle had a solid day kicking the ball. While his 34 yards per punt average may not look impressive, every punt was fair caught by the Olaf return man with the exception of the one touchback. Burkle also placed the Oles in the 20 twice. Coaches have told me that his hang time has really improved this season, allowing his teammates to get down field and prevent any big returns. Tyler Pease kicked a 37 yard field goal. With the exception of the first two kickoffs, the kickoff coverage was adequate as well. Special teams did not put the offense or defense in a position to cause harm.

So in the last 11 games, the Norse have lost five games by seven points or lease. Last year Central won the Iowa conference. Why? Because they won three overtime games. Luther, Wartburg and Coe all took the Dutch to overtime and the Dutch won those games. This program needs to find a way to win close ballgames. They often mean the difference between a good and disappointing season. The Norse cannot fall into what I call the Hall and Oates trap. "So close, yet so far away," (Sorry for the cheesy 80's reference)

I do believe the off week is well placed. Luther has played a game. They know were they're at. They know where they need to go. Now they can spend a week improving themselves, possibly putting in some new things, and then narrow in on the number eight team in Division three the next week. Central defeated St. Thomas of Minnesota 35-10 Saturday. The Dutch will be at Hope College of Michigan next week.

I'll check back in a week from Wednesday with a Central preview. What do you think? E-mail me at darinsvenson@gmail.com

Posted by Darin Svenson at 9:55 AM | 0 comments