RFC Summer Semester: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Preview (NCAA Division III)

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2012 Final Standings (courtesy of d3football.com)

Looking back: St. Thomas advanced to its first-ever Stagg Bowl in 2012, only to see the Tommies come up short in their quest to win a national championship, as Mount Union won, 28-10.  The only other MIAC team to advance to the NCAA Division III playoffs was Bethel (Minn.).  The Royals advanced to the second round before bowing out with a 37-14 loss to Wisconsin-Oshkosh.


Looking ahead:  Every team will try to topple the Tommies in 2013.  At least that will be the case in the MIAC, maybe. Oh, and for the first time in six decades, there will be a brand new head coach at St. John's, as the legendary John Gagliardi retired as the all-time winningest coach in all of college football, with 489 wins to his credit.


Predicted order of finish (2012 overall record in parentheses)

1. St. Thomas (14-1):  The win total for the Tommies has risen steadily over the past four years: 11-2 in 2009, 12-1 in 2010, 13-1 in 2011, and 14-1 in 2012.  For those of you doing the math at home, that's an overall record of 50-5 (.909 winning percentage during that span.  Take away the 2009 season, and the overall record for the last three years is 39-3 (.929 winning percentage).  So the big question in Tommie-land is this: Can the Tommies finally breakthrough, and win the national championship that eluded them last December.  It'll be interesting to see what happens.

2. Bethel (Minn.)--(9-3):  Should the Tommies tumble from the top in the MIAC, the Royals could be more than ready and able to claim the conference crown this fall.  With preseason national rankings of No. 8 by d3football.com, and No. 12 by Lindy's Sports magazine, they just might have what it takes to be tops in the MIAC going into 2013.  By the way, St. Thomas must pay a visit to Bethel on October 19.

3. Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.)--(8-2):  Despite finishing tied for second place with Bethel, the Cobbers found themselves on the outside looking in when postseason play rolled around.  A controversial loss to the aforementioned Royals in the closing seconds, as well as a loss to St. Thomas, proved costly to the Cobbers playoff hopes.  They'll try to pay back Bethel in a home game on October 12, as well as the Tommies in a road contest on November 9.

4. St. Olaf (7-3):  The Oles lost all three games of 2012 by a combined total of 36 points. That forced to settle for a share of fourth place when all was said and done.  If they hope to contend for a conference crown in 2013, they must do it under new head coach Craig Stern. He takes over the reins from Jerry Olszewski, who left St. Olaf to become the new head coach at NCAA Division II Augustana (S.D.).

5. Augsburg (7-3): The Auggies face a tough schedule in 2013, facing the likes of Concordia (Wis.), Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.), Bethel, and St. Thomas.  And that's just within the first eight games.

6.  St. John's (5-5):  For the first time since 1953, someone other than John Gagliardi will lead the Johnnies onto the football field. And that someone is Gary Fasching. Obviously, he will have some big shoes to fill in replacing the legendary coach that took home four national championships, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

7. Gustavus Adolphus (3-7):  The Gusties face a long uphill battle in trying to return to prominence in the MIAC after a disappointing 2012 season.  Their last conference title came in 1987 (10-0 overall), and their highest finish since then was a tie for second place in 1998.

8. Carleton (3-7):  The Knights also find themselves in the same boat as the Gusties after going 1-7 in MIAC action last season.

9. Hamline (1-9):  The Pipers also face a lot of long odds after going winless (0-8) in conference play a year ago.

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