FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[vikes35]

Glad to see that Zeifert TD was taken with a grain of salt, I really just didn't want anyone to be offended by it so I thought I would put up the debate. If the replays show it was respect for an OT then that is cool, I just wish the game would have been a little more out of reach and Barnes would have been asked first. It shows real class that Wheaton fans respect and understand the basis of the play.

As for comments about the game. I agree with USee that the Wheaton D played great. 202 yards rushing for Augie is nothing to write home about for our team, figuring our average was well above 350 entering the game. However the D on the other side of the field was amazing. The pursuit on a couple of those picks was tremendous. Shea made up a lot of ground to get in front of his and Anthony looked like he was the receiver coming back to ball on his INT"S. They really did pressure Andrews as some of his passes just look flat, no steam , no authority, just kind of a please let the ball get to my guy type of throws. I think that Wheaton has a good team, but those QB's have to play like Roe did today and all season, have confidence in your abilities but don't push what you don't trust. I think it could be said that Augie played great, Wheaton had their moments but just shot themselves in the foot once again with INT's. I can't believe Wheaton QB's had 10 INT's total against NCC and Augie, I would have never imagined that at the beginning of the year.

Way to go Vikings, lets gear up for next week and hopefully a few more.

GO VIKINGS!!!

[vikes35]

Go Thunder,

As it seems you have watched the tape pretty well what is your second guess about the botched punt? Did your kicker still have time to kick the football, because it sure looked like it from where I was at?

[Augie6]

augiedogie,

I was the one who said the game was closer than the score appeared and I think the statistics and the way the game played out support that.  Augie had 202 yds of total offense, 80 of which came on the first drive of the game.  Augie's other scores in the first half came after an INT (where the Wheaton QB overthrew a wide open receiver) and the botched punt/fumble.  After a solid drive to end the first half, Wheaton had a golden opportunity to cut the lead to one score in the middle of the 3rd Qtr, when their QB stared down his receiver and threw it right to Shea which led to Augie's final score.  

After the first drive, Augie's O didn't do a whole lot but, thankfully, Wheaton kept making mistakes.  I think Augie's D played very well in this game, however, I have never seen a Wheaton QB play as poorly as #11 did today.  The majority of the INT's weren't a result of great plays by the Augie D but rather poor throws/decisions by the Wheaton QB.  

Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic with the way the game turned out and Augie definitely deserved to win.  I just don't think it was quite as dominant of a performance as the final score might indicate.

[Augie6]

Go Thunder,

Thanks for the analysis on the botched punt.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I thought he had more than enough time to still get the punt off despite the bad snap.  I would agree with your assessment that he panicked.  IMO, that play coupled with the 3rd qtr. interception when Wheaton was driving were the key plays of the game.  Take those two away and who knows what happens. 

Like a lot of posters, I expected a lot more out of both offenses.  However, being an old defensive player, I really enjoyed watching both defenses play outstanding games.  There was some pretty good hitting going on from both sides.

[Mugsy]

Congrats to Irish21 for the come from behind win in the Season Pickup-Em's Pool.  Irish21 and Tailgater share the title for CCIW Games Only.

Thanks to all who played.  I'll try to work out the kinks and make it more interesting next year.

[vikes35]

Go Thunder,

Thank you for the analysis (pretty dedicated to Wheaton football watching game film around and after midnight, but to be honest I like that, and if I had film I would be doing the same thing). Your thoughts after the game were what I thought during the game, the punter did panic. I also think Augie6 is right about how much that play meant. It was an absolute killer to the Thunder.

Also with regards to Roe, don't worry you aren't the first guy he has faked out. He is one shifty and elusive QB. I like to say to people who ask me about him that he is a less talented version of Barry Sanders, you think you have him and all of a sudden he is 15 yards down the field. Roe won't break many with his speed, but he sure makes alot of people miss, be it with his legs or his ball fakes. It helps in our offense to have a smart QB such as Roe, who also has the mentality of a RB.

Once again thank you for game anaysis, it really helps us people that only get one live look at the play.

[CardinalAlum]

Mugsy,

Thanks for your work on the Pick 'ems board.  I'm sure everyone appreciates it.

Well, today is as exciting a day as I can remember being an NCC Alum.  I'm looking forward to either booking my travel plans or one heck of a home tailgate party. I just saw Pat's latest revision and it would be unbelievable to host a 1st round game.  I hear Capital is a very good team, so it would be a tough game, but I'll take it.

Augie players, fans, coaches: congrats on a great season!

And of course to the beloved Cardinals, thanks for a great season to this point, let's get after people in the playoffs!!


WE'RE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS!!  TO BORROW FROM JOHNNY B, "YEAH BABY!" 

[usee]

as mentioned, we are sending two very good teams to the playoffs. a lot of interesting things happened outside the cciw and i believe those events translate into a home game for ncc in round 1. that's great since their facility is so awesome. here are pat's predictions for the north from the front page. I believe he got it right again (he has been eerily accurate the last few years in predicting this).

NORTH
Wabash
Mount Union
Augustana
North Central
Capital
Mt. St. Joseph
Washington and Jefferson
Albion
W&J coach Mike Sirianni goes against his alma mater, Mount Union. Mt. St. Joseph at Augustana, Capital at North Central

augie will absolutely destroy mt st joe in my opinion. ncc will have their hands full w a very good OAC runner up capital. but getting them in naperville is a huge advantage (see wheaton/baldwin wallace a couple years ago). this ends up being a pretty tough bracket. albion at wabash is no picnic for the little giants. albion has played its best ball down the stretch. i am looking forward to an exciting post season for the cciw. if ncc is at home i am definately going to that game.

[usee]

it should be noted that if ncc and augie win their first two games, those two would play in rock island for a chance to go to the final 4! what a game that would be!!

of course there are a couple teams in the way, one of which is in alliance ohio! 

[HURFMUC]

the team in Alliance Ohio may not be in the way of two very good teams in the CCIW CONF.

[usee]

ncc at wabash would be a great game to see. in my opinion these are two almost identical teams. great qb, spread offense (shotgun) good complimentary running game, solid defense, fast. very similar. but, i am getting ahead of myself. projecting 2nd round matchups based on pat's projections is a little out there.

[HURFMUC]

usee

Aprojected matchup between ncc and cap would be good first round game.

[dansand]

Well, it looks like the big question for the CCIW teams today is whether the selection committee moves Whitewater to the North. If they don't, that would be huge (based on Pat's predictions), especially for North Central. With Whitewater in the North, they face the prospect of playing at Mt. Union in round one. With Whitewater removed, they host Capital, with the prospect of heading to Wabash if they win. Now I'm sure Capital's a fine team and, of course, Wabash is first in the region, but I know if I was the Cardinals, I'd much prefer the latter path to the former. For Augie, It'd be great if they leapfrogged the Mount to the number two seed based on their QOW (the highest in the country for a one-loss team), but I'm not holding my breath on that one. If the Vikings get Mt. St. Joseph in round one, I would think they're chances are pretty good. I know Wheaton pounded them pretty good last year and when Augie played the Heartland champ (Defiance) in 2001, they won 54-14.

[augiedogie]

Does anybody else not like the Q.O.W index? I don't know what a better system would be, but NCC just went from 4th strongest schedule to 17th because they had to play NPU the last game of the season.  I don't know what  would be a better indicator, but it just seems like it is a useless statistic to determine how good a team really is.  I agree with Dansand hopefully Augie can jump over Mt. Union who has a worse Q.O.W index and also a conference loss, when Augie has a non regional regional loss because of the new rule.  If Pella Iowa was 30 miles further away, Augie would have the 2nd seed with a 8-0 regional record (although if they would have won they game like they should have it wouldn't matter right now).

[vikes35]

Dansand,

I was at that Wheaton game last year again MSJ and unless the MSJ team has remarkably gotten better this year, that game should be Augie's. However with that comes the possiblity of a let down, lets hope that doesn't happen. If Augie plays the way they did the last two weeks against our most challenging CCIW opponents then they should be in good shape to get to the sceond round.