Last week our contributors came out firing, each dismissing the UW-River Falls Falcons’ chances of winning while predicting a double-digit Johnnie win. While the 21-10 final score tells the story of a reasonably comfortable St. John’s win, any Johnnie fan staring at the 10-0 halftime deficit will tell you differently.
With another seemingly inferior opponent, Augsburg, facing the Johnnies to kickoff MIAC play, have our contributors learned their lesson about predicting blowout wins for St. John’s? Find out in this week’s gameday predictions:
DuffMan: Alex Kofoed throws 2 interceptions, but that is about all the good news that Auggie Tech gets for the day. Aaron Blackmore runs rampant. The defense pitches the shutout till the second half. Augsburg is penalized more than 10 times. St. John’s 49, Augsburg 7.
DustySJU: I absolutely love all things blue and white! Take, for instance, Augsburg coach Frank Haege. As a graduate of Virginia High School, Coach Haege wore the blue and white of his schoolboy Blue Devils. Frank wasn’t done with those Nittany colors as he moved south into western Wisconsin and made his collegiate mark with the UW-Stout Blue Devils. The city of Menomonie sports all kinds of great folks, like “StoutGuy”, “BlueDevilBob”, former head man Todd Strop now at Hamline and even Twins batting coach Joe Vavra. Look for just about everything to go right for the Johnnie Red on Saturday and blue for the Auggie Maroon. St. John’s 62, Augsburg 17.
Mr. Shoes: I can’t think of much to say this week. I used it all up in my one and only post…um, ever. That said, I don’t expect much of a contest tomorrow. While the Auggies may be improved, they just aren’t going to have the firepower necessary to beat the Johnnies on their home field—or anywhere, for that matter. I anticipate lots of beer and burgers before the game and…that’s about it. St. John’s 42, Augsburg, 13. And a bonus score: St. Cloud State 20, UW-Whitewater 17.
Sjusection105: Augsburg has been in the middle of some pretty dismal seasons recently. The 2006 season saw the introduction of a new coach and the results didn’t change. The Auggies are young and I see 2007 as the beginning of good things for the program on the football filed. Augsburg has a complete season under their belt in coach Haege’s system. They are undefeated this season, winning their opener last week against Northwestern of Roseville. Things are looking up for the Auggies, who have the potential to finish in the middle of the MIAC in 2007.
Unfortunately for the Auggies they are traveling to Collegeville and the Johnnies will be just too much for them to handle. The Johnnies will dominate both sides of the ball and the outcome of this game will be decided by halftime.
I see another big day for Alex Kofoed spreading the ball out to five or more receivers and Aaron Blackmore rushing for 90-100 yards for the Johnnies offense. The Johnnies defense will shut down and frustrate the Auggies. I predict the number of sacks for the Johnnies defense will be six. Augsburg QB Jordan Berg will have a very long day. St. John’s 42, Augsburg 6.
TC: The real question as Augsburg invades Clemens Stadium is what will be over first, the tailgating or the game? I expect St. John’s to come out looking to show that last week’s hiccup at River Falls was just that and run the score up early. I also predict that another Stearns County matchup—UW-Whitewater at St. Cloud State—will tell us more about the Johnnies’ National Championship prospects than the game in Collegeville. St. John’s 52, Augsburg 7.
