FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Brian Carroll]

   Eagles trail Asuza Pacific 10-6 at the end of Q1. Eagles fumble on own five and own eleven to give AP both of their scores. LC broadcast says WW leads 17-0 at Oshkosh.

[Mr. Ypsi]

There was a great article this week in the La Crosse Tribune addressing the issue of D3 teams in the Midwest refusing to schedule games against teams from the WIAC.  The article, written by Joel Badzinski, comes on the eve of UW-Lacrosse's game vs. Azusa Pacific just up the street from the Rose Bowl in metro Los Angeles.  The Eagles were unable to schedule a 10th game for the second season in a row. 

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2006/09/21/sports/wiac.txt

The following excerpt from the article puts the issue into solid focus...

"The WIAC's traditional football success and reputation for physical play has alienated teams from other Division III conferences based in states bordering Wisconsin.

For example, there are a total of 36 Division III teams in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Midwest Conference and the Illini-Badger Conference but only three — St. John's (Minn.), Ripon (Wis.) and Lakeland (Wis.) — scheduled games against WIAC teams this season."

Enough said!

I agree with this, though the article conspicuously failed to mention the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (which, I admit, should be re-named the CCIIIIIIIW, since only Carthage is in Wisconsin (and even they reportedly mainly recruit greater Chicago)!  Even as I type, the Augustana-Platteville game is going on.

Still, I wish the CCIW and WIAC would play each other a whole lot more often - with the new definition of in-region (overlapping administrative regions of the NCAA, where Wisconsin and Illinois are in the SAME region, on top of the traditional regions), perhaps this will become a reality!  I'm especially hopeful in bball (where it is generally felt that WIAC is #1, CCIW #2, and 'Avis' is anxious to try to put it to 'Hertz'!), but also in fball (where WIAC is perhaps accorded the status of #1 top-to-bottom, but clearly viewed as less than the OAC near the top; and the CCIW is a hungry 'near-elite' conference, probably about 4 or 5 since Augustana is two decades away from inflating our importance - though we'd have much more success if we didn't meet up with Mount Union early on EVERY stinkin' year!).

[Brian Carroll]

   Eagle FG cuts lead to 10-9. Eagles outplaying AP, but fumbles will kill you.

[Brian Carroll]

    29yd TD pass from Schu' puts LC ahead. 2 pt conversion run by Hall. 17-10 3 mins. in half.

[Brian Carroll]

  Another Eagle FG. 20-10 at half. Eagles actually dominated the half.

[gordonmann]

Brian:

Thanks for the updates.  I'm posting the score on our scoreboard while monitoring 4 other games.

[kubiack78]

 Start of the 4th:

WW 17  Oshkosh 3

[kubiack78]

 Beaver back on track  30 carries 188 yards at the end of the third

[Brian Carroll]

  Steve Teeples intercepts AP in the endzone to thwart a long drive. Eagles drive 80 yds on next series. 27-10. Late 3Q

[kubiack78]

Final:  WW 17  UWO 3

Beaver  218 yards rushing

[Brian Carroll]

   Teeples breaks up 4th down AP pass in endzone. 27-10 Eagles. 2 mins. to go.

[Brian Carroll]

  UWL outplays NAIA power Asuza Pacific. 27-10 is the final. Nice win for the Eagles.

[Brian Carroll]

  OK, here is my stab at spicing up our rather quiet board. In the spirit of sports commentary hyperbole, I suggest that the upcoming LaCrosse-Whitewater game be dubbed the "WIAC Game of the Century." This occured to me when I heard the stories about the '66 Notre Dame-Michigan State game being re-told this week. Why do I make this suggestion ? Purely for fun. Is it too outlandish ? Remember, this century is only in its seventh year. Have we had two teams ranked as highly as these during those years ? I can't think of any example. This won't preclude a future game from earning the same description, so I think we should run with it and hype the game. Come to think of it, this is only the seventh year of the millenium, but I won't go there, as that would be silly. Are my Warhawk friends even a little bit nervous about the resurgent Eagles ? I know both teams have to stay focused on their next opponent, but we have the luxury of thinking ahead. Let the discussion begin.

[Mr. Downtown]

take away Beaver's 98 yard TD, and he avg. 3.2 yards per carry.

I like how Oshkosh's D played tonight, Stenbroten was awesome, but cmon offense. Yeesh...we looked bad.

[bulk19]

OK - I'll bite...

UWL has been the longstanding powerhouse team in the WSUC/WIAC over the years. But last year, one of the most impressive teams to ever be produced in this conference, UWW, at least in my opinion, ruled the roost. And the Eagles didn't have a season in 2005 that met their high annual standards...

But I think the swagger is back, and the Eagles will be playing the whole season with a chip on their shoulders. UWW is the defending champ, though, and UWL will most likely be the only team that can beat them in this conference.

So, although it's early in the century, ha, yes, this is the game of the century. Or at least the game for the conference title this year... Should be a great game...

That being said, this is the WIAC, and someone will probably come along and pull an upset here or there and throw the whole scenario out of whack, right?

Wonder how the Blugolds will rebound after a tough OT loss and respond to Whitewater next weekend. It's HOF weekend, with several former 'Golds being inducted into the school's HOF... Not sure that is an intangible for the 'Golds, but it should bring a good crowd. Maybe that, and a week off to prepare, will enable UWEC to hang around with the Hawks...

What kind of wheather should I hope for to maybe slow down the Hawks on Saturday? Rain, snow, sleet, or 95 degrees? Ha... Don't have the muddy field any more, so that won't be a factor...