A Second Straight 4th-Place Prediction
MIAC football preview courtesy of Matt Higgins and the MIAC office
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BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- It's hard to imagine a more unforgettable season than the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (MIAC) 2015 football campaign.
ESPN paid the MIAC visit, with a "SportsCenter On The Road" broadcast from Collegeville, Minn., in advance of the St. Thomas at Saint John's showdown. The game that followed broke the NCAA Division III attendance record, as 17,327 fans crammed into Clemens Stadium.
The same two teams represented the MIAC in the NCAA Division III Playoffs, where they collided again in the second round in front of 8,025 fans on the Tommies home field. UST prevailed in both matchups, and in each of its first 14 games en route to a spot in the Stagg Bowl. There, Head Coach Glenn Caruso's squad built a 14-0 lead, but came up just short of a national championship in a 49-35 loss to Mount Union.
But the highlights didn't end with the league's two Playoff representatives. Yet again, the MIAC led all of Division III in football attendance both overall (167,582) and per-game (3,286). On a per-game basis, the MIAC would have ranked fifth in Division II, and even averaged more fans than on Division I FCS Conference. This marked the fifth-straight season – and 10th time in the last 11 – that the MIAC led D-III in football attendance.
In Division III, the next-best conferences trailed the MIAC by 35,000 total fans, and nearly 500 fans per game. The MIAC had three schools rank among the top 10 in attendance in the nation, led by first-place Saint John's (53,372 total, 7,625 per game), No. 6 Concordia (21,697 total, 4,339 per game) and No. 10 St. Thomas (35,376 total, 3,931 per game).
That nation-leading fan total witnessed an outstanding season throughout the entire conference. During conference play, there were 12 games decided by 10 points or less. After the MIAC-leading Tommies and Johnnies, things were exceptionally even, with a pair of 5-3 teams (Concordia and Gustavus) and two more at 4-4 (Augsburg and Bethel) making for a deep, evenly-matched, and entertaining season.
So after all that, what does the MIAC collectively do for an encore? Many of the league's teams – including those at the top – will be breaking in new quarterbacks and many of the conference's top wideouts also graduated. However, there's star power back in the backfield and up front, the defenses look loaded and each team is excited about an influx of new talent, as the league's collective success has made the MIAC a desirable destination for incoming recruits and transfers alike.
COACHES CAST THEIR VOTES
Each of the past three seasons has produced a different champion in the MIAC, with St. Thomas winning a year ago, Saint John's taking the title the year prior to that, and Bethel winning in 2013. However, the MIAC head football coaches expect that trend to end in 2016, as they picked UST to repeat as conference champs. Caurso's crew received 63 points and seven of the nine first-place votes to sit atop the poll. St. Thomas also opens the season ranked No. 4 nationally with one first-place vote and 536 points in the D3football.com Preseason Top 25.
It's hard to argue with that logic as the Tommies return all kinds of talent from 2015's 14-1 squad (8-0 MIAC) that was a few plays away from the Division III crown. National Offensive Player-of-the-Year Jordan Roberts returns after rushing for 2,092 yards and 34 touchdowns a year ago. One of his top blockers is back in All-American tackle Will Hilbert and another All-American, defensive tackle Ryan Winter, returns to anchor the always-tough Tommie defense after earning the Mike Stam Award as the conference's top interior lineman a year ago.
The coaches once again tabbed Saint John's (10-2, 7-1 MIAC) to be UST's top contender, as SJU received the other two first-place votes and 58 points in the poll to finish second. Saint John's - ranked ninth in the nation by D3football.com - loses one of the best running backs in school history, Sam Sura, along with quarterback Nick Martin and standout tight end Nick Simon, but the Johnnie defense will be stacked. Linebacker Carter Hanson and defensive lineman Peyton Thiry are both back after earning All-American accolades in 2015, and receiver Evan Clark returns from an injury to give the offense an experienced playmaker to build around as it finds its identity.
Bethel slipped to .500 (5-5 overall, 4-4 MIAC) but the MIAC coaches expect a resurgence in Arden Hills, Minn., as they tabbed the Royals to finish third with 49 points. All-MIAC tight end Drew Neuville and offensive lineman Kevin Olson give the team a strong foundation up front, and senior defensive end Steven Plocker leads the always-tough Bethel defense. Quarterbacks Trey Anderson and Andrew Dzurik both battled injury issues last season, but both should have ample weapons and opportunity to challenge UST and SJU at the top in 2016.
Concordia was slotted fourth – just five points back of Bethel – in the coaches' poll with 44 points, as the Cobbers come off a 7-3 overall season (5-3 MIAC) and spent much of the year either ranked or receiving votes. The team will have to replace some playmakers on the outside and at linebacker, but two-time All-MIAC tackle Josh Berg anchors a strong offensive line for All-MIAC Second Team running back Chad Johnson and starting quarterback Michael Herzog. Meanwhile, defensive back Matt Ahrndt returns to lead the defense after leading the team in tackles and fumble recoveries. Both Concordia and the Royals appeared in the "Others receiving votes" section of D3football.com's preseason Top 25 poll.
Each of the next two teams in the poll – Gustavus was fifth with 34 points and Augsburg was close behind in sixth with 30 – have to replace some of the most decorated quarterbacks and receivers in school history. Augsburg (5-5, 4-4 MIAC) said goodbye to MIAC Most Valuable Player Ayrton Scott and Gustavus (7-3, 5-3 MIAC) graduated Mitch Hendricks at quarterback, and each team also lost an All-American wideout – Matt Boyce for Gustavus and Joey Sonnenfeld for Augsburg.
However, both programs are hopeful they can keep piling up points and yards while tightening up on defense. Gustavus has a trio of Second Team All-MIAC players back to lead each of the three phases in defensive lineman Casey Decker, offensive lineman Joe Theiler and kicker Brendan Boche. Augsburg's defense will be anchored by defensive back Matt Bowlin, while the offense will build around offensive lineman Andrew Konieczny and running back Tiras Bolton.
Hamline was picked to finish seventh with 21 points in the coaches' poll. The Pipers (4-6, 2-6 MIAC) will look to continue their recent improvement under first-year Head Coach Chip Taylor, who was elevated from his defensive coordinator position when Chad Rogosheske left for Capital (Ohio) University. Taylor added former Minnesota Quarterbacks Coach Jim Zebrowski and former Defiance Head Coach Brian Sheehan to his staff, which will be especially stout in the defensive backfiled behind returning stars Anthony Hill and Zach Schwalbach.
The two Northfield rivals rounded out the poll's final two spots, separated by a single point, as Carleton (13) edged St. Olaf (12) for eighth place. Carleton (1-9, 0-8 MIAC) returns an experienced quarterback in Zach Creighton and some talented leadership on defense in All-MIAC First Team defensive tackle Peter Boerma and senior defensive back Dylan Saline. St. Olaf (2-8, 1-7 MIAC) loses leading rusher J.J. Strnad, but installed brand-new field turf in the offeseason, and has high hopes fueled by receiver/returner Troy Peterson and wideout Connor Yahn on offense, while linebacker Colten Yahn returns to lead the Ole defense.
The 2016 season officially kicks off on Sat., Sept. 3, with all nine teams in action against nonconference opponents. Each team will play a second nonconference game on Sat., Sept. 10, to tune up for the start of conference play on Sat., Sept. 17. From that date through Nov. 12, the league's nine teams will battle for the MIAC title, NCAA Playoff positioning, bragging rights, and much more.
The greatness of the 2015 season and the anticipation for the 2016 campaign add up to one prevailing sentiment throughout Minnesota's Division III conference: kickoff can't come soon enough.
2016 MIAC FOOTBALL PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
Coaches voted for every team in the conference except their own team. Points were assigned for each vote (eight for first, seven for second, etc.) Teams are ranked in order of highest point total to lowest with vote totals listed and first-place votes shown in parentheses.