Hey, if I had a nickel for every time I played on a team that completely outplayed SNC and somehow lost due to a series of unbelievably bad breaks, I'd have five cents.  Anyway, great effort Carroll, sounds like it was a real battle.  Now this sets up the determining game, but before that on to the rest of my picks for the week.

GC @ IC - The season hasn't gone like the Blueboys had hoped, but they have enough to roast the corn.        IC 38 GC 10.

LU @ BC - Larry seems to have things at least somewhat on track.  I'm thrilled.     LU 31 BC 7.

CC @ KC- The Knox Bowl plays games with minds at times, but not this time.  CC 42 KC 14.

MC @ LFC - Hopefully Monmouth still has some spring left in its step now that its title hopes have been dashed.  I'm sure they do.  The revenge element (seriously, HOW did MC lose to the Foresters last year?) gives the Scots all the spring they need.      MC 38 LFC 14.

RC @ SNC - This weeks calendar blesses us with a de facto conference championship game.  This is sort of a head vs. heart thing for this game..............Ah screw it.  LETS GO HAWKS!!!!!!!   RC 34 SNC 31.

Got back a while ago from the Scot-Hawk showdown and what a showdown it was!  Monmouth's O seemed untouchable at times, as Ripon generatd little pressure and Tanney had all day to throw.  However, it semed that MC went to the pass happy attack too quickly, as they were SHREDDING  Ripon at timeswith their running game.  Missed oppurtunities doomed MC, especially failing to score from first and goal at the 2 foot line (WHY NOT SNEAK RATHER THAN HANDING THE BALL FIVE YARDS DEEP WHEN YOU HAVE TO GAIN TWO FEET )As per usual, Ripon's Greatest Offense Ever Devised^TM was clicking, I found it interesting tht MC was giving RC the give to Perkins rather than pinching down and taking it away, which was a departure from their game plan in the past.  RC also benefitted from a couple of, errrr, dubious calls with Roeder's INT and the downed ball at the one yard line late in the game, when it appeared that the downer was laying in the endzone when he touched it.  No matter, it was a tremendous win for Ripon in the final minute of play, thus setting up the showdown of excellence with the Knights next weekend (You can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be there!).

Speaking of SNC, any word on SNC-Carroll fight to the finish besides the score?  Was anyone there?  I haven't taken a look at the stats yet, sounds like it also was quite a barn burner.  Unfortunately for the Wi-Pi's this hard fought loss means that they have been voted off the island, turn in your torch.

Some thoughts on Week Six

Carroll continues to roll, though I think something needs to be said.  As I was looking for scores last night (MWC.com was a little late in posting) I visited Carroll's website and read Benny's blog following the Ripon win, and came away thinking that someone has to stop him from saying things like "We'll try not to make the next few games so close for y'all" and stuff like that.  Here I was ready to jump on the Wi-Pi bandwagon, and now I hate Carroll again.  Ugh.  I'll say this, with the Green Machine coming in next week, the game may not be close.......

Beloit.......Ouch.  I guess Ripon was ready to recover from their lackluster showing the previous week.

Another fun week in the MWC is in store with the first true elimination game between MC and RC, as well as a monster showdown between CC and SNC.  As much as I'd like to believe it, there's NO way the Knights are going to lose two games.  Its just not going to happen, even though Carroll and Ripon are CAPABLE of beating them.  This means the Scot-Hawk loser can start re-adjusting their expectations for the year. 

Time for this weeks picks, but I don't know why I bother making them cause I claearly don't know anything about this league.

IC @ CC - trap trap trap TRAP TRAP TRAP TRAP LETDOWN LETDOWN LETDOWN LETDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That being said IC lost to Lawrence.  CC 30 IC 20.

GC @ KC - The U.S News and World Weekly Showdown, and I have to go with the greatest offensive system ever devised^TM.  KC 28 GC 21.

LU @ LFC - OK LFC I give up.  Lawrence may have found their chi, and are really getting after it defensively.  My gut says Larry but my head says.......LFC 24 LU 21.

RC @ BC - For the life of me I can't understand Beloit's offensive philosophy.  You have a smaller roster and less overall talent, why not recruit for a specific thing (Wishbone/Wing-T) and sneak up on teams by shortening the game through a powerful rushing attack?  Playing the spread only exposes your weaknesses.  However, they did put up some points on the Bear Paws, so maybe.........NO.  RC 42 BC 10.

SNC @ MC - All of these other games just to get to this one.  Every year, the talk is that SNC is vunerable, they've struggled with teams they don't usually struggle with, blah blah blah, yet they've only been toppled as champs ONCE in the last 5 years.  The offense is clicking, the D is stellar, what else do you need?  MC makes it a fight, but in the end there's just too much to overcome.  SNC 30 MC 17.

Quote from: CCAlum23 on October 01, 2007, 09:21:29 AM
Well NO one believed in CCAlum that Carroll could go up to Ripon on there homecoming and beat them!! 

Duck Duck- Carroll was very hungry on Saturday, they feasted on RedHawks!!!  But seriously it was a good game but Carroll is for real!!!

This week IC comes into Carroll's house and guess what? It's Carroll's Homecoming!!!!!!!  I am gonna tell you one thing its not gonna be pretty!  Carroll will roll over IC and be ready for St.Norberts at Home the next week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And to that Carroll Alum that picked Ripon! What were you thinking?

1 game at a time Carroll will contend for the conference championship!!!!Keep it going PIO"S

All games went as predicted for last week except for IC losing to LU!!!! Man IC can play bad!!!!

Hey CC Alum, congratulations to your alma mater on the big win, I really didn't think they had it in them.  Make sure however that you don't fall into the overconfidence trap!!!  By that I mean you, not Carroll, as heckling IC sounds a lot like me talking about Carroll's lunch after the Hawks laid the wood to IC.  Obviously I would expect the Wi-Pi's to win, but something in my bones tells me that we have not heard the last of IC.....

Speaking of that, to all the Blueboys out there, what the heck is going on

OK, some thoughts....

Carroll coming through with a HUGE win at the rockpile.  Wow, I guess they DID pack their lunch after all.  I can't wait to see CCAlum's post regarding this!!!!!!!

Congrats to Lawrence on their first win.  IC, um, what the heck?  I can't say I saw the GC beating LU, then LU beating IC sequence coming this year, but thats why they play the games.

Overall thoughts on the state of the conference race.  SNC and MC are on top as was expected going into their Uber showdown next week.  Carroll has shown both through this win and through their nail-biter against Monmouth that they are indeed a force to be reckoned with.  RC remains alive with consecutive showdowns against MC and SNC coming up after their game vs. Beloit (a win, I assume, though anythings possible in this year's wild and wacky MWC).

One more thing.  Can the mixed up nature of the MWC be interpreted as a sign of increased strength overall in the league?  A few years ago when I was in my prime it seemed much more uniform, i.e. Team A beats Team B, B beats C, and A crushes C.  Now things seem much more balanced.  Any Thoughts?

Alright, time to chime in with this week's picks, brought to all of us by the Waukesha County Department of Transportation, just get the road blocks out of the way so we can get to the stadium!!!

KC @ SNC - SNC rolls obviously, but remember they have not defended the Greatest Offensive System Ever^TM well, so I'll spot Knox a few.   SNC 49 KC 10.

LFC @ BC - Come on now Foresters, you're making my preseason statements look bad........      LFC 31 BC 7.

IC @ LU - While we have yet to obtain enough info about everyone in this league to make concrete statements, I know one we can feel pretty sure about.       IC 40 LU 13.

GC @ MC - I think MC will get into double digits in this one.  MC 45 GC 3.

CC @ RC - I've really gone back and forth on this one, not on who is going to win, but the score.  Carroll's D is a force, but so is Ripon's (Seriously, did you SEE that IC score?  Seriously??!?!?!?!! ), and the Greatest Offensive System^TM will likely be running at full throttle.  RC is on a mission this year, and its unlikely that Carroll is the one to stop it.     RC 27 CC 13.

Hey, I know as well as anyone that SNC is ALWAYS the team to beat.  They've earned it.  And MC is the only team other than SNC to win a league title in the last four years, so they've earned their respect.  I was just blown away by the IC score, since I had really come to the conclusion that they may be this year's version of Monmouth in '04-'05 in terms of being a legit contender, especially after last year's 6-3 finish.  Remember last year when every one was on the Carroll bandwagon after a big 6-3 year?  (I know, I know Rogers got hurt take it easy).

Maybe this teaches us more about IC than it does RC.  IC has NEVER defended the Greatest Offense Ever Devised^TM well, and it showed again on Saturday.  Carroll certainly dragged Monmouth into a fight on Saturday, maybe I'm not giving them enough credit.  Probably will be a hard-fought game this coming week, I say we'll learn A LOT from the result.

Amazing how MC and SNC fans come out of the woodwork when a new poster says something like "Ripon MAY be the favorite"

Overall responses to week four:

1) Once again holy crap Hawks.  I wasn't sure which way that game was going, but I thought it would be close at least.

2) Lawrence, I know the corn is scary, but losing to the I-Pi's??? Good golly.

3) Monmouth's offense? I know Carroll can be stingy, but come on fellas.  Good thing their D is suffocationg.

Looking forward, and I know Scottie and Nubs fans will be up in arms, but is it too early to declare Ripon the favorite?  I know that everyone is gunning for SNC all the time, but its hard to be more impressive than RC was today.  I guess time will tell.........

Holy Crap Ripon!!!!!!  Shows how much I know.  After two pretty average performances, RC puts a good old fashioned whooping on the Blueboys 48-17.  Good gracious.  I hope Carroll packs their lunch next week cause they're going to need it.  Wow.

Time for week four predictions, brought to you by the Sirloin Stockade.  Why else would you come to Galesburg?

BC at KC - I'd rather watch Craziest Police Chases 74 on FOX, but I guess........      KC 24 BC 7

MC @ CC - Pios have feasted on weak sisters so far, but will find this week's sister holding a gun.      MC 31 CC 10

SNC @ LFC - I'm liking LFC's gib less and less as time goes on......But they will at least keep this respectable.       SNC 34 LFC 9

LU @ GC - The corn does strange things to people on bus rides (ask SNC), but I'll take the Larrys in a close one.      LU 24 GC 17.

RC @ IC - The board consensus preseason 2nd best team in the league runs into a big test this week in a HUGE showdown.  IC is really really good.  Seriously.  Ripon's pass D can contain the Jennings show, but IC's run game is almost as potent.  Adding in the seven hour drive down to Jacksonville, and it all adds up to Blue.       IC 28 RC 21.

Obviously Monmouth's facilities are immaculate, but I was never a huge fan of having to change in the fieldhouse itself.  Beloit would probably be the best in terms of visiting facilities, at least Knox doesn't stick people down in the dungeon anymore.  The walk at IC is ridiculous, by the time we got back to the locker room during halftime the buzzer for the start of the 2nd half was ringing.

I'd like to see an across the board upgrade for all teams, but I'm not seeing it in the cards......

Time for this weeks predictions, brought to you by Rippin Good Cookies, making the north side of town smell great for a bunch of years.

KC @ RC - The greatest offensive system ever devised^TM showdown!  Too bad its not much of a showdown.          RC 42 KC 14.

BC @ MC - ARRRRRRRRRRR!  Bucs put up a great effort against the Scotties.  Relatively.        MC 49 BC 7.

GC @ CC - Pios showdown!!!!!!! Impressive effort by the Iowa Pios against SNC.  Not sure I buy it, but I'll keep this one closer than I originally thought.    CC 31 GC 14.

LU @ SNC - I really thought that the Larrys would at least make the game against MC somewhat not embarrassing.  Either MC is better than I thought (possible) or LU is worse.          SNC 45 LU 10.

LFC @ IU - The cut of the gib showdown.  LFC played RC tough, and IC romped over KC.  This one will be a war, but I'm seeing blue.     IC 34 LFC 28.

IC @ KC - The Knox Bowl is always a reverse-psychology intimidating venue, but the Jennings air display is too much.       IC 35, Knox 13

SNC @ GC - Ummmmm........  SNC 52, GC 3.

RC @ LFC - LFC will give it the old college try, but you can't contain the greatest offensive system ever devised^TM.  RC 28, LFC 17.

MC @ LU - Remember, the Larrys are the sleeper.  I want to say stunning upset, but no.  MC 24, LU 7.

CC @ BC - There are not that many events that should make a team give up hope, but losing to the Mac Scotties is definitely one of them.  CC 42, BC 7.

The Hawks have tremendous depth at RB, and I've heard through the grapevine that they will be fine there.  The secondary is somewhat of a concern though, but the depth there is fine too.

As far as the UW-O game, Hawk Sighting, I also expect a much better performance.  Things were going alright for a while last year, it "should" have been 14-7 at the half, then the roof caved in in the second half.  This team now has the athletes in the starting lineup to at least compete with the big bad state schools, though as always the depth that UW-O can produce for the purpose of special teams is always a huge advantage.  Obviously the expectation is that Oshkosh will win, but it should be a better game.

Now I'm going to stop talking about the WIAC before I get into a rant about their place in DIII.