Saturday was Halloween. The Johnnies were on a bye week and the plan was to lounge around watching college football all day in HD and possibly change the channel to the World Series at night. As I was doing my daily website routine, I checked out the MIAC football schedule for the day. It was here that I called an audible and decided to head to St. Thomas for a sneak peek at the Augsburg Auggies.
A pre-game meeting commenced at The Nook (corner of Hamline and Randolph Ave in St. Paul) where I was joined by the venerable Adam Johnson of D3 Around the West fame. I quickly snagged a spot at the small bar where a Casburger (Cheese, Green Pepper Wheel, and Crispy Bacon) and Flat Earth Brewery Porter were devoured. We talked a little pigskin and headed our separate ways (me to UST and Adam with a busy day of Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Halloween costume hunting, and wedding invitations).
I didn’t quite make it to St. Thomas before the game started. In fact, as I was leisurely walking up Summit Ave towards O’Shaughnessy Stadium I heard “Touchdown Fritz Waldvogel” and quickly realized that the speedy little devil had returned the opening kickoff of the game for a TD. This should tell you plenty about the Auggies special teams play.
After assuming my position around the 20 yard line, I settled in for a blowout as the weather deteriorated from sunny and comfortable to cold and windy (making me question my sanity for leaving the cozy confines of the couch for St. Thomas). The Tommies were able to do literally anything they wanted against the Auggies. Run, pass, trick plays, interceptions, fumble recoveries. You name it and it happened on Saturday at UST.
I was eager to see Auggie QB Marcus Brumm (who transferred in from D-2 Mankato State before the season) and he was less than impressive. There were five interceptions and numerous “wounded ducks” to WRs who were open. He had guys open at times, but too often threw the ball behind guys. Brumm left them “hung out to dry” susceptible to being in an unprotected position leaving them open to take a big hit from a UST DB. You could try to lay the blame on the cold weather, but St. Thomas’ Dakota Tracy had no issues throwing a tight spiral all over the field.
The Auggies ran their wide open Arena League spread offense all day long. The key targets in the offensive scheme are Muneer Al-Hameed and Mike Nourie. They definitely moved the ball at times, but turned the ball over several times deep in Tommie territory. Turnovers were critical on Saturday as they tend to be in any football game. You just can’t fumble the ball going into the endzone for a touchdown and expect to be competitive. I was completely unimpressed by their dedication to the run. Now this had a lot to do with being behind literally from the get-go, but the Auggies were abysmal with the running game.
On defense, the Auggies appear to be undersized, outcoached, and lacking in talent to compete with UST. The Tommies ran for 308 yards and were breaking off huge chunks of yardage at a time. This should be interesting on Saturday at the Metrodome as running the ball is clearly the Johnnies’ bread & butter in 2009. Augsburg is definitely susceptible to trick plays and were often caught out of position (stay in your lanes, pursue the ball, and don’t get knocked down).
In summation, this is your typical Augsburg Auggie squad. All offense, no defense. They want to win 49-45 every week.
Thanks for reading. Email me at touchdowntommy@johnniefootball.com with questions/comments/concerns/hate mail etc.
