FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[NCC_alum62]

Three CCIW teams in the preseason top 25 from D3 Football.com

13. Wheaton (I would have rated them a bit higher considering the amount of talent they return)

18. NCC (no complaints, with the loss of Kam and the seniors who realy made significant contributions last year this is a good spot to be in, and I feel they return the talent to deserve being in the top 20)

20. Auggie (I feel like this is kind of a reach, but with a win over Wheaton last year (despite the non-conference losses they are a tough team and return alot of talent as well)

[Redmen96]

Carl Spackler:   So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one - big hitter, the Lama - long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga... gunga, gunga-galunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

[matblake]

Carl Spackler:   So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one - big hitter, the Lama - long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga... gunga, gunga-galunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

Ah, the Caddyshack quotes.  You can always tell when the DIII fan is going stir crazy waiting for the season to begin.

[lakeshore]

Three CCIW teams in the preseason top 25 from D3 Football.com

13. Wheaton (I would have rated them a bit higher considering the amount of talent they return)

18. NCC (no complaints, with the loss of Kam and the seniors who realy made significant contributions last year this is a good spot to be in, and I feel they return the talent to deserve being in the top 20)

20. Auggie (I feel like this is kind of a reach, but with a win over Wheaton last year (despite the non-conference losses they are a tough team and return alot of talent as well)

unless I'm mistaken the only other conference with 3 teams in the top 25 is the OAC.  Hopefully the CCIW can maintain these ranking for much of the year and make some noise in the national playoffs.

Still among the top athletic conferences in the country though.

[washdupcard]

I know this because a friend of mine coached there several years ago.

Things could change in several years. Just a thought.

Change....we fear change.

[79jaybird]

I think it's a reach to have NCC ranked preseason wise.  They lost a lot of talented Seniors last year, not just AA Kniss.  I would have had Augie ranked much higher (IMO) because their defense is most likely going to be one of the best in the CCIW this year, along with Wheaton's.

I too agree that Wheaton should have been higher.  I would have had them in the top 10,  but that gives the Thunder something to shoot for.

I still think this is going to be a 2 team race between Wheaton and Augie.

[Pat Coleman]

Actually, NCC returns 17 of 22 starters, by my count.

[matblake]

On a personal level as a fan, I am disappointed with where Wheaton is ranked.  However,  if you look on a national scale, I think 13 is pretty fair.  With the exception of the annual spanking by the Purple Raiders, I think the Thunder would be able to compete with all the teams above them and probably be able to win 50% of the time.   Factor in that the CCIW had a down year as far as non-conference goes last year and I can't really argue with #13 in a preseason poll.

I was kind of surprised at the North Central Ranking.  Maybe the pollsters know something.  Isn't the offensive line stable? And they still do have Sulo.  Or maybe they just looked and saw Kniss listed on the roster and thought that Kam was still there instead of realizing it was his brother.    

I was also surprised to see Augustana up there.  However, as much as you try, you just can't ever count out the Vikings, especially since they seemed to have righted the ship vs Wheaton the past 2 years.

[matblake]

Actually, NCC returns 17 of 22 starters, by my count.

Hmmm, it appears that the loss of Kniss may have overshadowed that many returnees.  Good stat Pat, thanks.

[CardinalAlum]

I think it's a reach to have NCC ranked preseason wise.  

You're right, Elmhurst is much more deserving!      17 returning starters has to count for SOMETHING!  Yes, Kam is gone, but last I checked, All-Americans graduate at other schools and they still succeed.   Radtke, Holden, Tyke and Mario Smith were  "irreplaceable"  last year too!

[79jaybird]

CardinalAlum I did not say Elmhurst should be ranked, and we too, lost many key guys last year. 

I think NC has many great tools in the shed (Sulo looked good last year), but I think there are still many question marks, whereas Wheaton is pretty much set on D and Augie on D also.

But a poll is just that- a hunch,  and until they start playing 2-3 games we don't really have any substantial info on anybody.

[usee]

I had said a few pages back I thought wheaton was a top 15 but not yet top 10. So I think 13 is very fair. I am also not surprised by augie or NCC based on what they have returning. the reality is that the CCIW needs to perform better in the preseason slate as well as the playoffs if they want to progress as a conference in stature compared with the likes of the OAC and WIAC. two blowout playoff losses to OAC foes last year doesn't help. I think Wheaton can make some noise this year. if they go undefeated they should be a #2 seed in the North and host 2 playoff games before the annual march to  Alliance. If Augie or NCC were to upset Wheaton and run the table they should have the same opportunity. either way, the CCIW will have a chance to re establish itself against the nations best this year. can't ask for much more than that.

[NCC_alum62]

I think it's a reach to have NCC ranked preseason wise.  They lost a lot of talented Seniors last year, not just AA Kniss.  I would have had Augie ranked much higher (IMO) because their defense is most likely going to be one of the best in the CCIW this year, along with Wheaton's.

I too agree that Wheaton should have been higher.  I would have had them in the top 10,  but that gives the Thunder something to shoot for.

I still think this is going to be a 2 team race between Wheaton and Augie.

We could not disagree more.  Pat hit it on the head 17/22 starters 19/24 if you include the kickers.

Auggie returns talent its true, but that talent went 7-3 last year and when it really mattered against NCC they got blown out 27-0.  Now I'm not trying to insult them, but that was the game that would have given Auggie the AQ and a trip to the NCAA play-offs not to mention an outright CCIW championship.  They didn't come out and play good football that day.  They have alot returning on D and an OL, those are good steps, but they seemed to have an off year in the trenches last year and thats surprising.

NCC is a top 20 team and if they solve some questions and Kyle plays anything like his brother they could be a top ten team.  The OL is big, strong, and experienced.  They have good backs, and recievers, albeit no Tyke Spencer, Chuck Earnst, or Eric Studeman, but kids with speed and big upsides in Welch and MacIntosh as well as some kids who have been in the program a bit and have been lower on the depth charts and its thier turn to make an impact.

The defense returns two excellent LB's in Wenger and Kostellic, two good DB's, and three experienced DL in Imbordino, Eric Schmidt, and John Guzaldo.

I believe that this team will continue the winning ways and challenge Wheaton for the conference title.  I believe Wheaton is the best team returning on paper comming into next year (and I say on paper because there are so many things that can happen between now and the first game) Auggie will be in the mix no doubt, but I would not consider it a two horse race between them and Wheaton.

[Titanwatcher]

I think it's a reach to have NCC ranked preseason wise.  They lost a lot of talented Seniors last year, not just AA Kniss.  I would have had Augie ranked much higher (IMO) because their defense is most likely going to be one of the best in the CCIW this year, along with Wheaton's.

I too agree that Wheaton should have been higher.  I would have had them in the top 10,  but that gives the Thunder something to shoot for.

I still think this is going to be a 2 team race between Wheaton and Augie.

We could not disagree more.  Pat hit it on the head 17/22 starters 19/24 if you include the kickers.

Auggie returns talent its true, but that talent went 7-3 last year and when it really mattered against NCC they got blown out 27-0.  Now I'm not trying to insult them, but that was the game that would have given Auggie the AQ and a trip to the NCAA play-offs not to mention an outright CCIW championship.  They didn't come out and play good football that day.  They have alot returning on D and an OL, those are good steps, but they seemed to have an off year in the trenches last year and thats surprising.

NCC is a top 20 team and if they solve some questions and Kyle plays anything like his brother they could be a top ten team.  The OL is big, strong, and experienced.  They have good backs, and recievers, albeit no Tyke Spencer, Chuck Earnst, or Eric Studeman, but kids with speed and big upsides in Welch and MacIntosh as well as some kids who have been in the program a bit and have been lower on the depth charts and its thier turn to make an impact.

The defense returns two excellent LB's in Wenger and Kostellic, two good DB's, and three experienced DL in Imbordino, Eric Schmidt, and John Guzaldo.

I believe that this team will continue the winning ways and challenge Wheaton for the conference title.  I believe Wheaton is the best team returning on paper comming into next year (and I say on paper because there are so many things that can happen between now and the first game) Auggie will be in the mix no doubt, but I would not consider it a two horse race between them and Wheaton.

Alm, is Kyle going to start? Do you know something we don't?

[Jim Matson]

Obviously the pollsters don't have time to do the extensive research that we have!  Maybe Elmhurst is going to be better this year - and (Matt) maybe Wheaton is a bit OVER rated.  At any rate, we'll have to wait a bit to find out.

Now about that annual spanking in Alliance...