FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[cardinaldad]

North Central - nothing until 1975 - so you walked the sideline - the first time they used it in 1975 there was no pressbox just a concrete slab on top of cinderblock box - it was a night game and the lights weren't focused real well.  I remember North Central had a 99-yard scoring drive in the final minute to win the game, compliments of three 15-yard personal fouls on the Millikin Big Blue, all called by umpire Kevin Donlan.

dennis_prikkel - how the heck can you remember the umpires name in that game? Did you know Kevin Donlan?

DENNIS_PRIKKEL - I have asked this a couple of times earlier. Did you know Kevin Donlan? How can you remember the umpires name from the game that you referred to?

[Titan Q]

Good points MB. I am having a hard time with where IWU is going to come up with points. For the talk about their offense if you look through their games they don't consistently move the ball, put up stats or score. Their defense is definately the opportunity maker. last week they came up with points off special teams where they had previously given up special teams points.

On the flip side I have a hard time seeing how Elmhurst and Kudyba will score either. This could easily be a low scoring affair (Jaybird-remember last week you saw a low scoring game v ncc and I said high ball? )

usee, I think you're underestimating IWU's offense a bit.  The Titans certainly do not dominate the line of scrimmage (their offensive line is very young - 4 sophs and a senior), but do they have a lot of weapons on offense.  Sophomore QB Kraig Ladd is becoming a very good player...the RB tandom of Marcus Dunlop and Bo Lanter is pretty solid...the receiving corp (Ceisel, Scalcucci, Almanzo) is one of the best in the league.

Against Augustana, IWU put together a 7:53, 15 play, 98 yard drive late in the 4th Q to take the lead.  Against Carthage, Ladd threw for 404 yards and 5 TD's.  Last week vs Millikin, the Titan offense was not very good for 3 quarters (although they did drop 2 TD passes that would have changed that), but in the 4th Q they put together an 11 play, 61 yard drive for a FG and then threw a TD pass to Ceisel to put the Big Blue away.  In CCIW play, IWU is 4th in scoring offense (27.0).

IWU's offense is a little inconsistent, but when I hear you say, "I am having a hard time with where IWU is going to come up with points", when they are playing a team that gives up 28.0 per game in CCIW play, I don't totally understand it.

Here is the Pantagraph's article on the game...

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/10/20/sports/doc471959c9e5dce609225781.txt

I think the Titans have to commit to the run to win the game.   Marcus Dunlop needs to have a big game today.

[Titan Q]

  The AC/CC matchup and MU/NC matchup are pretty even, and the IWU/EC is no runaway. 

Jaybird,

I don't think you are saying Augie/Carthage and Millikin/NCC are pickem games are you? I think the closest game of the weekend is in Bloomington where IWU has to show they can score on offense against a decent defense and Elmhurst has to be able to generate some offense against a top D.  I make IWU a slight favorite because they are at home but I think this game will be closer than most suspect. I would be surprised to see either augie or ncc struggle in their matchups. I do think NPU will be closer to the Thunder than anyone cares to say but should still win handily in the end.

Personally, I'm going with Elmhurst this weekend.  If the Elmhurst D shows up and they can establish a running game I think they pull this out.  Kubdya must protect the ball as well.  Being balanced is really important against a good defense.  Since the IWU strength is defense, it is hard to make comparisons, but I keep on going back to the common foe of Olivet.  20-9 for IWU, 42-14 for Elmhurst.  However, IWU played on the road, Elmhurst had them at home.  This game is looking better and better.

The common opponent game is always tough to play.  I'd argue that IWU is just a very different football team than the one that played Olivet September 8.  The Titans were fresh off a loss @ Coe in the opener (and a 2-5 CCIW campaign the year before)...I think it is safe to say that the IWU team that traveled to Olivet was not the most confident group.  Now, at 3-0 in the league, they are playing with a ton of confidence.  And we all know how much confidence matters in athletics.

Also, this was Kraid Ladd's first collegiate game as the starting QB.  He was just trying to find his way @ Olivet.  His relationship with his offensive unit certainly was not was it is here 5 weeks later.

Finally, just in looking at the comparative scores (IWU 20-9, Elmhurst 42-14), remember that the Titans basically gave Olivet all of their points.   This was in the middle of their punt team debacle -- the Titans snapped one into the end zone for a safety, and the resulting field position after the free kick led to an easy Olivet TD.  If that snap is good, there is a chance IWU wins that game 20-0.  That would make the respective margins of victory a little closer.

[Titan Q]

For the record, I think it is going to be a very close game in Bloomington today.  It seems like these are two pretty even teams.  At IWU, I think the offense will make enough plays to put points on the board and the defense will find a way to win the game.

This is a huge game for the Titans.  With a win, IWU is in great shape to play for the CCIW championship.  (A win today would put the Titans 4-0...they would just have to beat a struggling North Park team next week to be guaranteed that the November 10 game vs Wheaton in Bloomington is for at least a piece of the title.)

[usee]

Good points MB. I am having a hard time with where IWU is going to come up with points. For the talk about their offense if you look through their games they don't consistently move the ball, put up stats or score. Their defense is definately the opportunity maker. last week they came up with points off special teams where they had previously given up special teams points.

On the flip side I have a hard time seeing how Elmhurst and Kudyba will score either. This could easily be a low scoring affair (Jaybird-remember last week you saw a low scoring game v ncc and I said high ball? )

usee, I think you're underestimating IWU's offense a bit.  The Titans certainly do not dominate the line of scrimmage (their offensive line is very young - 4 sophs and a senior), but do they have a lot of weapons on offense.  Sophomore QB Kraig Ladd is becoming a very good player...the RB tandom of Marcus Dunlop and Bo Lanter is pretty solid...the receiving corp (Ceisel, Scalcucci, Almanzo) is one of the best in the league.

Against Augustana, IWU put together a 7:53, 15 play, 98 yard drive late in the 4th Q to take the lead.  Against Carthage, Ladd threw for 404 yards and 5 TD's.  Last week vs Millikin, the Titan offense was not very good for 3 quarters (although they did drop 2 TD passes that would have changed that), but in the 4th Q they put together an 11 play, 61 yard drive for a FG and then threw a TD pass to Ceisel to put the Big Blue away.  In CCIW play, IWU is 4th in scoring offense (27.0).

IWU's offense is a little inconsistent, but when I hear you say, "I am having a hard time with where IWU is going to come up with points", when they are playing a team that gives up 28.0 per game in CCIW play, I don't totally understand it.

Here is the Pantagraph's article on the game...

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/10/20/sports/doc471959c9e5dce609225781.txt

I think the Titans have to commit to the run to win the game.   Marcus Dunlop needs to have a big game today.

Q, I think you realize scoring offense is calculated based on points scored no matter where they came from. So a blocked punt for a td or a 3 yd drive after a turnover all count. You highlighted IWU's scoring drives that made a difference. Championship teams have these drives with regularity. You and I both know these drives have to happen consistently against good teams. the 98 yd drive vs augie to win is a huge indicator for me. if they can do that more often they will have arrived. They are a young offense with good players and playmakers. I think their offense will be at its best at the end of the season. The reason IWU has won is because they have a mature defense that has kept the games close and allowed the other areas to mature. If IWU wants to win the cciw title they will need consistency from their offense, defense and special teams to win games like the one they have today but even more importantly against ncc and wheaton.

I don't think IWU can drive the ball on offense against Elmhurst. If they had a better running game I would feel differently but the ground game has been very unproductive. I agree with you that if dunlop has a big game IWU wins easily today. I just don't see it happening. outside of that it is hard for me to see where IWU is going to score its points. They will have to rely on their defense creating scoring chances and given Elmhurst's season that won't be that hard.

[usee]

  The AC/CC matchup and MU/NC matchup are pretty even, and the IWU/EC is no runaway. 

Jaybird,

I don't think you are saying Augie/Carthage and Millikin/NCC are pickem games are you? I think the closest game of the weekend is in Bloomington where IWU has to show they can score on offense against a decent defense and Elmhurst has to be able to generate some offense against a top D.  I make IWU a slight favorite because they are at home but I think this game will be closer than most suspect. I would be surprised to see either augie or ncc struggle in their matchups. I do think NPU will be closer to the Thunder than anyone cares to say but should still win handily in the end.

Personally, I'm going with Elmhurst this weekend.  If the Elmhurst D shows up and they can establish a running game I think they pull this out.  Kubdya must protect the ball as well.  Being balanced is really important against a good defense.  Since the IWU strength is defense, it is hard to make comparisons, but I keep on going back to the common foe of Olivet.  20-9 for IWU, 42-14 for Elmhurst.  However, IWU played on the road, Elmhurst had them at home.  This game is looking better and better.

The common opponent game is always tough to play.  I'd argue that IWU is just a very different football team than the one that played Olivet September 8.  The Titans were fresh off a loss @ Coe in the opener (and a 2-5 CCIW campaign the year before)...I think it is safe to say that the IWU team that traveled to Olivet was not the most confident group.  Now, at 3-0 in the league, they are playing with a ton of confidence.  And we all know how much confidence matters in athletics.

Also, this was Kraid Ladd's first collegiate game as the starting QB.  He was just trying to find his way @ Olivet.  His relationship with his offensive unit certainly was not was it is here 5 weeks later.

Finally, just in looking at the comparative scores (IWU 20-9, Elmhurst 42-14), remember that the Titans basically gave Olivet all of their points.   This was in the middle of their punt team debacle -- the Titans snapped one into the end zone for a safety, and the resulting field position after the free kick led to an easy Olivet TD.  If that snap is good, there is a chance IWU wins that game 20-0.  That would make the respective margins of victory a little closer.

I agree w Q that IWU is a totally different team. I do think this game highlights the difference of maturity in elmhurst vs IWU's offense. IWU wasn't very productive against Olivet but Elmhurst was. I also think IWU's offense is better now than it was then. Elmhurst and IWU are very similar teams in my view. I think IWU's defense is better than Elmhursts and Elmhurst offense is better than IWU's.

[Titan Q]

IWU/Elmhurst game live stats and radio links...

http://www.iwu.edu/~iwunews/sports/live/football/xlive.htm

http://www.wjbc2.com/


This is a 1:30pm start.

[Tailgater]

Is the Augie at Carthage game at risk because of the staph outbreak?

No. The team has been on antibiotics for over a week now and any player with symptoms has been pulled from the available rooster. The football facilities are not the issue. The game will be played as scheduled. I just hope Carthage will show their spirit and pride and make life difficult for Augie.

I'm not usually the 'typo police', but some are just too rich to pass up:

With the concerns about avian flu, it is good that Carthage is keeping symptomatic players from infecting fowl - maybe they will return the favor!

As you know, the Bird flu was the big issue last year world wide and was going to wipe out the population of many countries. With my creative spelling you can say Carthage is post-active in treatment, since the bird flu amounted to basically nothing. Now you know one reason why I'm such a skeptic toward the cause of climate change (global warming) which I'm all for as I hate winter most of the time. Thanks for gently jabbing me, my bad. I had spelled roster correctly in the previous post

[burly]

IWU/Elmhurst game live stats and radio links...

http://www.iwu.edu/~iwunews/sports/live/football/xlive.htm

http://www.wjbc2.com/


This is a 1:30pm start.

0-0 after the first.

[usee]

IWU/Elmhurst game live stats and radio links...

http://www.iwu.edu/~iwunews/sports/live/football/xlive.htm

http://www.wjbc2.com/


This is a 1:30pm start.

0-0 after the first.

hmmm. 0-0 with no stats at 12.57pm of a 1.30pm start? interesting. 8)

[usee]

Elmhurst 7 IWU 0

1.21 to go in half.

elmhurst running the ball 24 times to 6 passes so far. trying to shorten the game and make IWU drive to win.

[Mr. Ypsi]

IWU goes 65 yards in last minute of the half.  7-7 with 10 seconds to go.

[usee]

Elmhurst 7 IWU 0

1.21 to go in half.

elmhurst running the ball 24 times to 6 passes so far. trying to shorten the game and make IWU drive to win.

Titans answer with a 2min offense drive. TD pass to Ceisel w 21 seconds to go in half (15 yd personal foul kept drive alive)

Elm 7 IWU 7

halftime

[usee]

IWU takes the opening kick of second half down the field w mostly Dunlop on the ground. Ceisel w his 2nd td pass and a 2pt conversion added.

IWU 15 Elm 7

IWU w 120 rushing yds so far today

[usee]

IWU scores again and misses a 2pt conv.

IWU 21 Elm 7

Dunlop w 110 yds+ rushing so far

Onsides kick by IWU..........Titans recover but didn't cover the requisite 10.