Jay and Fatal,

Unfortunately, pretty much everything Pongo said is right. I don't know about Cooper keeping him off of the first team all-conference team (though I have heard buzz around the league that it did happen and he bad-mouthed his WR at the meetings).

I'm not siding with Pongo at all because I think he's a prick, but the information he provided about Sergo is correct.

On another note.....Elmhurst/BU in a few hours....

Elmhurst 45 BU 7

Bird,

Well...I'm not comparing North Central and Elmhurst. They are pretty equal teams for the most part...especially with Radtke and Spencer gone now. But like I said, BU would never drop North Central.

But still...I'd rather play Elmhurst than Carthage. Even if the CCIW has Carthage finishing 3rd...I'm sure Benedictine didn't base it on that. They based it on how the teams have been over the past few years...and Carthage has been better than Elmhurst.

We'll have to agree to disagree on the other point. I still believe that if a team is getting smoked by the same team every year...dial it down a notch. Losing by 40 points doesn't make you better. North Park is a better opponent for Benedictine than Carthage. You could probably say "Well, losing to Carthage big will prepare them better for Conc-Wisc, Lakeland, etc. but I don't believe that. I really don't believe you learn anything when you lose by 40 points, other than the fact that you don't belong on the field with that opponent...and that has been the case with Benedictine and Carthage games lately.

NPU/Benedictine will be a close game. Benedictine will actually be making themselves better for conference because they'll be in tight situations where they will actually have to think....and the coordinators will have to think...about which plays to run. That will help them. What's there to think about when you're down 4 TD's? Umm...let's air it out. Or umm...let's just run the clock out and run plays. You don't learn anything from getting crushed (unless it's  a once in a season thing...we'll call it a wakeup call). Getting crushed 3-4 times in a season isn't a wakeup call.

Elmhurst and NC will destroy BU as it is...why not have some momentum going into conference by getting a close win against NP...or even a close loss...rather than losing by 5 TD's to a team that will have their starters pulled midway through the 3rd?

Just my 2 cents.

79,

The post was not to imply that Carthage is a better team than North Central and Elmhurst...it was simply to inform that Benedictine has been kicked around by Carthage for the last few years ever since dropping University of Chicago for them (why, I couldn't tell you).

I wouldn't put Elmhurst in the same group as North Central and Carthage though, but that's a whole different argument which I don't care to delve into.

Here's the reasoning: BU and North Central every year is inevitable. The two schools are down the street...so it's going to happen.

Elmhurst is also "somewhat" of a local game. It's what? A 20 minute ride tops? Even if EC/BU doesn't have a rivalry...the fact that the neighborhoods are close makes it one.

Carthage is the odd man out. But even if Carthage and Elmhurst were the same distance...I would certainly rather play Elmhurst considering Carthage's history and most importantly, recent history. Benedictine figured....ok....we're getting our heads kicked in by the top-middle half of the CCIW, let's go to the bottom...maybe we'll win a game.

And "to get better, you have to play better teams" isn't always true. You've been listening to too many pep talks from coaches. Now, when you are an already established "good" team, playing "good" teams like you makes you better than playing bad teams. That's not the case with Benedictine. They are not "good" anymore. Therefore, they should play as many games against teams that are on their level. When they win those, then they should step up the competition. They stand much more of a chance against North Park than Carthage.

And to your final comment regarding BU...you're right, they'll never be in the CCIW. It just won't happen.

Let's play the Devil's advocate and say BU did join the CCIW...I can't see it doing anything for recruiting. Why would you want to a join a team who loses their conference games by 30-40 points? Especially when you have North Central down the block and Elmhurst down 294. At least in the IBC there are teams like CURF, Eureka, Greenville, and MAC that are beatable every year. In the CCIW....the only beatable team every year is North Park.

Jaybird,

It was not a surprise to me when I heard BU dropped Carthage, considering Carthage has dropped BU big 3 years in a row. I think the grounds were simple...they knew they had no chance at competing with Carthage, so rather than play one of the best in the CCIW, play one of the worst. And no, that is not to say North Park is bad, because North Park would be right smack in the middle in the IBFC.

As for your other comment, I have never heard such a thing, but that is honestly scary. If BU were to join the CCIW, that would be silly. They are already one of the worst teams in the IBC, which is probably the worst conference in the nation. One could only imagine how bad they would be in one of the top conferences.

To Gomer:

Well I asked why people aren't singing Benedictine's praises because last year at this time...people (especially AU alums) were acting as if Benedictine was going to meet Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl (obviously an exaggeration) because of the hiring of Cooper. So in turn, I question why after an improvement of last season (of the record)....why aren't they getting similar treatment (if not better) than last preseason? Especially when they've only lost 2 key players.

To 79:

I agree....just because you bring in a new coach doesn't mean you will instantly rise to success. But, I remember reading last year (as I said to Gomer above) about how Cooper is this great coach (mostly by AU players), etc.

I figured that AU "chorus" would be back again. Where are they?

Also, I just noticed that Benedictine has dropped Carthage and added North Park to try and weaken their schedule. Will that be a good game considering North Park has improved with the help of Mike Holmgren's donations to upgrade the NPU facilities?

Long-time viewer, first-time poster.

I'm curious as to why Benedictine isn't up there on everyone's lists. Can someone answer that?

Last year, people on here were saying how now that Benedictine has a new coach in Cooper that they would be so much better, etc.

Well...they won 2 more games last year than the year before...so why aren't people acting THIS year on the board like they were LAST year?

BU has basically the same team this year. They lost two key players....the rest return. In addition, they have added some 50 freshman/transfers....giving them their biggest numbers in years.

So my question is....why aren't people singing Benedictine's praises like they were last year? Is it that these same people last year found out that they were wrong, or what?