I agree that the passing was pathetic in that game, but the plays calls also had no creativity in the run game as well. They for some reason seem to run less counters and less outside runs this year than I have seen in the time I have followed the team. If Augie has to pass to win games they are in trouble, but the fact that they have done less and less to try to deceive the defense this year is even more distrubing.  I guess from the fan standpoint the last few seasons I had a very hard time following the ball (Roe and others had tremendous fakes), whereas this year even in the stands I have a better idea of where the ball is actually at. I agree with Augie6 about the Augie on the helmet, this game showed that the Vikings need to once again earn that right.

NCC fans and players, great game by the Cardinals. They beat Augie from play one and just kept going. The first half was the worst football I have ever seen Augie play. 4 possesions with no first downs. I am not quite sure but I am assuming that Augie had less yards than NCC had first downs in the 1st half (and that stat is staggering). Also the Augie sideline was quiet from 10-0 on as if they thought they were going to lose that early in the game.  I know he came across with poor taste but TrueAugieAlum has a great point about the Augie playbook. On two consecutive drives (if you can call them that) Augie on 3rd and more than 5 went right up the middle with Guzman, and NCC stopped them like they were in the huddle. I don't know who is calling the plays, but something at Augie needs to change and change fast because the lack of creativity in that offense is pathetic and is really slowing down the progression of Augie football. I hate to sound so negative but it was seriously embarassing to be an Augie football fan today (no heart, no grit, no points, and of course no win, all signs that Augie football is going in the wrong direction). Once again, as badly as Augie played, I would like to give credit where credit is due, and NCC showed up to play, and made Augie pay for a flat performance by sticking it to them on both sides of the ball.

Another point on the Augie crowd/ support argument is that students (or anyone who looks close to a student) don't have to pay, so who knows how accurate those numbers are. I know that even adding 200-300 students (which is probably a good estimate) would make it look a little higher. But as many have said,  Augie has very good road support. I know being in Chicagoland post graduation I was able to make the EC game and I will be at the NCC game this weekend. The parents also make it out to those games more often because, as was mentioned earlier, the students come from around this area.  In fact the road seats were packed at the EC game and I ended up sitting on the EC side.

As for the sociology of "Augie vs. the QCA", recent grads could attest that that is getting worse. Augie had to destroy homes to build that new res. hall, residents do not tolerate the Augie culture, and the clash between blue collar and white collar seems to harm the schools rep in the QCA.  I know that when I was around the QC and people asked what I was doing I got a lot of glares when I said I was an Augie student. It is probably safe to say that 80% of the people that are at Augie games are there because of ties to the school, not many people show up just because a local college is playing. With all that being said though it is still hard to find a parking spot and anyone who looked at the parking lots would have thought there were many more than 2300+ at that Wheaton game.

I agree with augiedogie and dansand about the Augie situation. Augie nation is no where near as disappointed with a 4-0 conference start as TAA is.  The goal for Augie is not just to win the CCIW, but as many said also play in Salem at the end of the year. Jaybird we are happy that they win the CCIW, but also disappointed because we know they can do more. As Usee mentioned it is that Augie is expected to win the CCIW (just like Wheaton), and then the fans are happier as we get further in the playoffs. The game in Naperville should be a start to something if they win, not a finish to another probable CCIW title. This isn't me saying that they will win, it is just me saying that if they do win they can't be satisfied with it, they need to want more.


augiedogie,

You would want to be at the Augie game Saturday, but Ann Arbor is a little bit bigger of a stage.

Usee,

Very good comments and overview.

I am pretty confident in saying that Augie didn't win that game, they just didn't get beat (if that makes any sense). Neither team executed very well for 3 quarters. Augie had the 1st and Wheaton had the 4th and other than that it was very boring to watch. I agree with Usee that it wasn't a great game overall, but I would say that about both teams. Those early turnovers killed Wheaton and the poor play by Augie almost let Wheaton have a comeback not too far from Carthage/IWU previous.  The officials did help the Vikings with slow spots and a few generous and a bunch of questionable spots as well (on both offense and defense I might add). It was a tough all out effort by two good conference teams, and luckily for us Vikings fans, Augie came out on top, because neither teams played what could be called their A (or B) game. 


As for the 4th and 1 call, that to me was the game no matter what. If we give the ball back to Wheaton they do what they did to get the 39-38 win in 2003, if we don't make it they probably score to tie or win the game as well. The reward was well worth the risk on that play, and I commend Barnes for the guts to make the call. In the QC Times this morning he said he decided right away (which make the TO strange), but he knew that his D was on the ropes and that trying the keep the ball there was the best move for his football team.

hscoach,

If Wheaton was playing the same Augie team that BW played then the 9.5 would sound good, but IMO they aren't.  As was said earlier Augie was missing their big play TE/WR in the BW game and that was a big factor in helping Augie win the Elmhurst game, and should also help against Wheaton. Also the O-line has played much better since the BW game and McGinnis is starting to get that confidence that comes with experience. The last point to make is that this is Augie's homecoming game and that always seems to get the home team pumped up to play. I would have to agree with augiedogie with picking Augie in this game with that spread, but also understand how 0-3 points would not make the pickems much fun.

After having a day and a half to ponder over the Augie/Elmhurst game I have come to the conclusion that it was a solid football game that was won by the team that executed better (as other have also said).  Augie was able to control the ball very well against a very disciplined Elmhurst D (Jaybird that D should be proud of their overall performance). Whereas watching the Augie O make some D's look silly through fakes and jukes in past years, the Bluejays were burned only a few times by fakes and made Augie drive 4 yards a play for most of the game. 

As augiedogie and jaybird have said already those potential 14 points that Elmhurst left on the field loomed large at the end.  There is no excuse for not being able to punch the ball in from the 1, and that they tried to push that play off tackle surprised me even more (probably should have kept it between the guards). And the INT was weird because they had the QB roll opposite his strong side and the throw showed that he didn't have the arm strength to make such a tight throw. With those drives the game would have been even more exciting than it already was.

As for the Augie woes that we have talked about over the past few weeks, I didn't see them as much in this game. It wasn't a blowout, but it was a very good game (for the most part) by both sides of the ball for Augie. The O-line is getting its feet under them and they played very well opening up some good holes (which Elmhurst LB and DBs closed quick to stop the big gain from occuring). McGinnis played a solid game, but still had a few flaws. Augiedogie and I commented on how he is very slow to pitch the ball and doesn't do it nearly as in stride as Roe did the past 2 seasons. There were at least 5 plays where he actually slowed to an almost halt before releasing the ball (which I am sure the Elmhurst D read as a sure sign he was going to pitch). Overall however I was pleased with the offense's production and I think that this group is starting to get that experience they needed to get better.    The Defense played good except for the fact that they didn't wrap up very well and they allowed alot of YAC for the WRs and the RBs. Augie is not in the "world of hurt" that many of us thought they might be in, and this tough road win against a very good  Elmhurst squad showed that Augie still has what it takes to be at the top of the CCIW. Next week will be a tough test, but I think that Saturday's game is a good stepping stone for the Thunder this weekend.

Also I would like to make a quick comment about how hospitable the Elmhurst fans were at Saturday's game. Augiedogie and I got there far too late to secure seats on the Augie side so we sat with the Bluejay fans. They were very knowledgable and very friendly, even though they knew the 2 of us were "enemies".  Good showing by the Bluejay FB team and their fans!!!!

Wheaton posters, anyone going out to RI for the game?

I will be at the Augie/Elmhurst game today, and hopefully might be able to find something significant as to why they are performing so poorly on offense. As Augiefan said they are not as good of a team as years before by far, but as of now I can only attribute it to being inexperienced. I however wouldn't say that Augie winning today would be an "upset". This however should be the first time in years that the game could go either way based on the "stats" leading into the game. It should be a close game, but more importantly it will be Augie's first real conference test (and on the road no less). 

GO VIKINGS!!!

Quote from: TitanBacker on September 27, 2006, 08:04:55 PM

Quote from: dansand on September 27, 2006, 07:09:30 PM

Quote from: TitanBacker on September 27, 2006, 05:58:26 PM
Any news out of the Augie camp on this week's game?  I've been hearing rumors that McGinnis may not be starting this weekend.  Could be a big weekend in Rock Island with a 2nd string QB and a weak OLine.  You hear anything dansand?

GO TITANS!!!

No I haven't, but I'm far from an insider when it comes to the Viking football program. I have have a little better connections when it comes to the hoops team.

That's just what the birds tell me as they fly by my office window.  Vikes35, any input?  Is McGinnis hurt or am i making things up?  I believe it's going to be a VERY close game and can't wait to hear the outcome.

GO TITANS!!!!!!!

Like I said in the previous post I think McGinnis is the guy. Barnes can't destroy his confidence because the O-line hasn't played its best. CCIW action will show what Augie is made of, and IWU should be a test.

Quote from: Mugsy on September 27, 2006, 07:15:49 PM

Quote from: usee on September 27, 2006, 06:43:08 PM
as a side note we should all be encouraged by the increased activity (and civility) on this board. we have just passed the NCAC for second place in the north region in post patterns frequency.

I was just thinking the exact same thing.  

Nice to have a good overall representation of posters too.  That said it has been considerably more quiet from the Augie contingent compared to years past, even before the current struggles (some from DanSand, sporatic from vike35).  Strong representation from Carthage, Wheaton, North Central and Elmhurst.  A decent amount of information coming from North Park and IWU faithful, but could use more.  Pretty quiet on the Millikin front...

Mugsy,

Haven't been around the team nearly as much. Garduated in May and have been in the Chicagoland area since, so I don't have the info that came to me last year through players, friends, others.  I would have to say that it is early to put McGinnis on the bench. Roe had his struggles early in 2004 and we all saw what happened as that season progressed before the TEAM collapsed the last 2 games. If I had more info I would be glad to share, but as dansand said earlier in the week, not being at a game yet makes it very hard to give reasons as to why Augie is struggling other than having stats say the O-line isn't doing the normal Augustana job.

Augie's field also runs east-west. At that point the Mississippi River actually runs east-west and the field runs parallel with the river. I played many late afternoon IM games on Ericson and I can tell you it was not always fun. Since I have not been to NPU, Carthage, Millikin, or IWU's fields I will take the board's word on those, but Augie's field also runs east-west.

Quote from: Mugsy on September 22, 2006, 09:39:37 AM
Based on the first 3 weeks of the season, has anyone changed their opinion on who they picked to win the CCIW?

Or who the favorite is? 

Or who the dark-horse is?

What is surprising to this point?

Which teams still have some serious questions going into CCIW schedule?

Favorite: Wheaton (Swider seems to have his team back)
Darkhorse Carthage or Millikin
Surprises: The number of CCIW non-conf losses (very unusual)

I think all the teams have questions brewing every week, but serious question for Augie is how fast is the O-line progrerssing (HUGE KEY!!!)

diehard,

To answer your question about does Augie really need to play a varied game, I would say yes. I watched 25 or so games in the last 4 years (while I was there) and they could get away with that in conference for the most part, but when they faced good or great teams (Wheaton, MUC, NCC (last year and 2004)) they struggled big time (especially when they got down 10 or more in any of those games). In order to get back to what many Augie fans think is there potential (the mid 80s) they are going to have to move with the times, and the times say you need to be able to air the ball out with some moderate success.

And the question about the BW loss, I feel that isn't as big of a deal as it seems. They have lost non-conference games at home the previous 2 seasons (Central in OT in 2005 and UW Stevens Point in 2004) and they were playing to make the playoffs, or were in the playoffs, the last game of the season in those 2 years. Now if they lose a game early in the CCIW season then the red flag will probably go up. They should have won that game (YES!!!) but they can't let that game carry over at all (because as we all know the CCIW champ gets the auto bid, and they should focus on that).


To answer the "why is Augie throwing the ball more" question from the page before, the best answer is that they can. I agree with Mugsy that once they get the running game clicking they will calm it down a little (but IMO not much), but unlike Roe and Wendell before him, McGinnis can actually throw the ball like a college QB, and if Barnes has that tool, he should use it. They have seen what a clock game can do when it goes bad (MUC last year), and I believe that they are going to start instituting more pass when they can. Like I said the times have changed in football, and if Augie wants to be dominant again, they are going to have to change also. 

Augie normally uses a bye week just as they did this year. They play 2 non-conf games then a bye and then play the final 8 weekends of the year. I feel that it helps them otherwise they probably wouldn't have keep doing the schedule that way. I also like that they don't take the week off before conference play because it keeps them sharp to play their conference opener, instead of having a bye week right before it.  I think the bye week is a good thing overall, I don't know if 10 straight weeks of football is really healthy for anyone (IMO), but Wheaton and recently NCC have shown that 10 weeks in a row doesn't do much harm to the team later in the year.

Congrats to Wheaton WR Noah Dreyer for making the D3football.com front page through his performance on Saturday. Nine catches for 98 yards and 3 TDs is a great game no matter who it is against. Sounds like the Wheaton offense has once again found its stride again after a subpar 2005. Looking forward to the Oct. 14th game at Augie.


As for the conversation about the Bears and Super Bowl XLI a few pages back, they have a very good shot at making it to the Super Bowl and possibly winning it. But as all of us football fans (and especially the former players) know they will have to stay healthy and not look too far ahead. They got cocky last year in the playoffs and it bit them in the rear. They could have a very good year, but it is still way too early to guarantee a good season.