Well, here we go! After five straight win-or-else games in MIAC play, the Johnnies have reached the ultimate win-or-else portion of the season: the NCAA D-III Playoffs. Up first: only the defending national champion UW-Whitewater Warhawks. Piece o’ cake, right? Yeah…no.
Do our fearless fortune-tellers see the third straight UWW win over SJU or is the “third time the charm” for the Johnnies, much like UWW’s own third crack at Mount Union in the 2007 Stagg Bowl? Let’s find out.
DuffMan: I’m having nightmares of the 2005 game between these teams. Although, if this season has shown us anything, it’s that you can never discount the “Johnnie Magic”, I think UWW is another caliber of team than the MIAC has produced this season. I hope I’m wrong, but don’t foresee this one going well for the Johnnies. UW-Whitewater 34, St. John’s 7.
DustySJU: The familiar sound of fans erupting in the last seconds of play continued this past Saturday in Northfield. This time it was in regulation play and for the MIAC championship. Since October 11th The Johnnie Footballers have done nothing but win. It hasn’t always been in predictable fashion but never the less the results have been positive. Why should this Saturday be any different? Although the Warhawks have just one defeat by one point this season their performance has been uneven also. Unfortunately for the Warhawks that “Johnnie magic” keeps working its mojo! St. John’s 27, UW-Whitewater 24.
Mr.Shoes: We’re not losing to ****ing Whitewater. St. John’s 16, UW-Whitewater 13.
(Billy Beane’s “s*** doesn’t work in the playoffs”, will mine?)
sjusection105: Johnnies Football version 2008 has had some twists and turns, ups and downs with just enough Johnnie Magic sprinkled in. The trip to Whitewater has become a familiar one for the Johnnies and I think the third time will be the charm. This game pits two of the four stingiest defenses in all of Division III football. Don’t look for an offensive highlight reel from this game. St. John’s 7, UW-Whitewater 6.
TC: The playoffs were supposed to be the proving grounds for my theory that, while the Johnnies may be a little down this season, the extent of the supposed downturn was exaggerated by how good the rest of the MIAC has become. Unfortunately, the Johnnies drew about as tough an opponent as possible for a first round playoff game.
It’s possible that the Johnnies will be matched up against the toughest offense AND toughest defense they’ve faced all season on Saturday, and for a team that has already lost two games and struggled in a handful of others, that’s a tough combination to overcome. I’m not too concerned on the defensive side of the ball. While the Warhawks have a skilled offense, they prefer to move the ball on the ground, which plays right into the Johnnies’ stregth.
I don’t see how St. John’s is going to score enough points to stay competitive. The Johnnies struggled to put up points against teams like Concordia and Carleton that spent the rest of their seasons in shootouts with nearly everyone else they played. At the same time UW-Whitewater, playing in one of the toughest conferences in the nation, only allowed one opponent to score more than 16 points all season.
I sure hope I’m wrong. As the Johnnies proved in the 2003 Stagg Bowl, anything can happen in a one game playoff. If St. John’s hopes to advance past this weekend, their best bet is the same kind of game they’ve been winning all year: a low scoring, hard fought contest that goes down to the wire. Unfortunately, I just don’t see it happening. UW-Whitewater 24, St. John’s 7.
