I don't think the Stagg Bowl will be particularly close. Two score edge for North Central, maybe more.

North Central is where they want to be. As healthy as they could be now.

Limited the reps for Lehnen and Sacco all year long and they still have gas in the tank.

Last year it was a tired NC team in the Stagg.

I was present at the Shirk last night for IWU-WashU game and Wesleyan was impressive.  Multiple weapons on offense and they are a problem on defense and on the boards.

WashU was a little beat up.  Yogi did not dress.  Something must have happened to Drake and Kapral, they were both limited in some ways.


But credit to Wesleyan on the win.  WashU only hope to beat them is when they are healthy and on a neutral court.

Any idea what's up with Sacco?

Quote from: robertgoulet on December 09, 2024, 09:12:41 AMWould be interesting to be in the NCC practices this week. Being the same age as Coach Spencer, we are at the tail end of the generation where you would run into the triple option in jr tackle/high school a couple of times/season. I can't believe he saw it as a player at NCC (and if he did he certainly wasn't scheming to defend it, as he was a WR). They may have to call in a favor to an old-head for scheming this week!

It would be interesting to see how NC would prepare for Springfield.  I would love to see them practice.

First of all, they are dealing with what is now an unusual scheme. 

Second of all, it is the time of year where you can't afford to spend a lot of time on contact, especially with the depth situation mentioned above.

Springfield runs a lot of non option plays also according to their highlights.  A lot of success on rocket and jet sweeps.

I have a feeling North Central will be able to come up with a plan.

Watched the IWU/Carthage live stream last night.  Impressed with Carthage.  Better than I thought they would be.  Really surprised by IWU.

Not a IWU hater here at all, we are a Wesleyan family.  But they appeared not ready to play, and a little soft inside.  But this might be a game they can learn a lot from.

I have a feeling any of those QB's would take a national title over AA honors.

Stats have a lot to do with the role each of those QB's play for their team.

Are all playoff games on ESPN+ this year? 

Pay to watch? 

North Central people on the board.  How are you feeling about your team this year. I only saw them Saturday against IWU.

Healthy?

As strong as the last couple of years.  I would love to see a CCIW champion.

IWU is very good by the way. I can't see many D3 teams beating them this year, if any.

Any idea where Calvin's returning all conference player was last night?  Rohrer I think is the name.

Listed as a redshirt on the roster. Is that a thing in D3 for medical reasons? 

It's no secret that a lot of Titan fans have hoped for Rob Zvonar from LW East to take the job. Not sure how well that times out as he is a few years from teacher retirement. I do think he has a son that either is attending or will attend IWU.

They are looking for the Bob Reade/John Thorne effect there.

WashU DC Jeff Fisher also gets mentioned by alums. I'm not sure if life circumstances are set for him to go for it.

That is all speculation. I'm not an alum and don't know Rob or Jeff personally. I'm guessing it will be someone else.

Watched entire IWU-Augie game. Great one to watch, literally came down to last drive.

Beautiful day to play.

I think IWU ability to run the ball and stop the run was the difference in the game. Titans looked more physically developed in both lines.

What happened to original Augie QB that started last year?  Bhardwaj?

Do D3 football coaches have contracts for a certain number of years?  Or are they year to year like high school coaches?

Who wins Augie/IWU game?  I saw IWU play again WashU. I have not seen Augie play yet other than a few minutes against Carroll.

Quote from: Gregory Sager on October 27, 2024, 11:53:08 AM

Quote from: markerickson on October 27, 2024, 10:12:43 AMWilliams ran for Elmhurst, not Millikin.  My bad.

Greg embellished Eash's demonstrativeness and reactions after the final play. I too specifically watched the coach during the handshake line, recalling ppl here have described him as classless, cantankerous, and curt.  Since he held his trusty clipboard in his right hand as he sauntered, chin down, parallel to the line, I saw two NPC coaches extend a left arm to Eash. Eash did not reciprocate.

As I said, I watched the play again on the Boxcast archive right before I posted yesterday. This was after I got home. I also reviewed it before that in the press box after we went off the air, because several of us wanted another look at it. It happened how I described it. Eash was standing off to the side, he theatrically held his hand to his chest rather than shake Kyle Rooker's, he barked something at Rooker for a few moments, he threw his hands up in the air and backed away from the group of NPU assistant coaches who tried to shake his hand, and then he pointedly refused to shake the hand of the lone NPU assistant coach who came up to him later.

It was an altogether disgraceful display on his part.

Quote from: markerickson on October 27, 2024, 10:12:43 AMGreg is spot on with the INT feat!  Someone has to ask Mt. Butler if he intentionally ran out of bounds or got pushed on the final play. He coulda cut toward the center on his return (there was a LOT of green between him and the endzone) ala his celebration sprint to the endzone and back to the team.

I wish you had been in the press box with us yesterday, Mark, because that would've been a great question to ask Butler during our interview. Wish I'd have thought of it! My guess, since neither Sam nor I thought to ask it, is that he suddenly realized as he was running the ball back that the game wasn't over as long as he was still in the field of play -- and that if he intentionally stepped out of bounds the game would immediately end and North Park would win. As long as he was still running in bounds with the ball, in other words, there was a one-in-ten-million chance that he could've fumbled or had the ball stripped and that IWU could run it back the other way for a touchdown.

One of the most entertaining things about that final play, and something that I didn't notice until I watched the game at home, is that, after he'd stepped out of bounds and then jubilantly sprinted in a long arc over to the NPU sideline, Butler ran into the cheerleading section, grabbed a pair of pom-pons from the hands of a surprised cheerleader, waved them three or four times, and then tossed them back to her and continued on into the jubilant arms of his teammates celebrating on the sidelines. I got a big laugh out of that!

Quote from: markerickson on October 27, 2024, 10:12:43 AMHaving watched <50% of the game...but the entire 4th qtr while walking during a glorious fall day...just soaked it all in.  SKOL!

That was definitely one of the most fun fourth quarters I've ever called, hands down.

Are you serious. Did Norm seriously not shake hands?