FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

IWU over MU 35-21.  Devonte Jones with a huge rushing day, over 200 yards.  Either MU is better than we thought, esp. at rushing the football, or the Titans D had a pretty bad day.  More first downs for MU than for the Titans.  Gotta keep improving.  Game wasn't really decided until the 4th quarter. 

Other games still out there -- though WC is up big now.  NP - CC game in a weather delay.

IWU70

[markerickson]

North Park/Carthage game in a significant delay due to many lightning strikes.  NP led at half, and the margin should have been greater.  NP threw an INT inside the five on the opening drive, had another TO on the wrong side of the 50, and a WR dropped a beautifully thrown 30+ yarder in the endzone.  Also, NPU had first and goal and rushed a 5'3" 140 lbs RB between the tackles TWICE for no gain.  Missed a chip shot field goal at the end of the first half.  NPU's D created two TOs. Carthage lacks an adequate passing game.  NPU stripped the ball on the first offensive play of the second half.  NPU scores, but missed the PAT.  16-3.  Carthage took the kickoff back to the 10 yard line, and then scored to make it 16-10.  NPU punted and then stacked the box with nine players only to see awful tackling result in a 40+ yard TD run.  Extra point was good, giving Carthage its first lead of the game at 17-16.  Then the storm arrived.  I waited and waited and then returned home under the deluge. 

[kiko]

Yesterday's Chicago Tribune has a half-page article regarding NPU football, written by Philip Hersch.  He defies the moratorium and mentions the conference losing streak.

I am sure Dennis fired off a letter to the Colonel admonishing him for the Tribune's transgression. 

Phil Hersch was apparently unaware that the streak is the CCIW equivalent of the fight club.

... and now there's nothing to not talk about.

Final from Foster and Kedzie - North Park 22, Carthage 20.  Congrats to the Vikings for breaking the streak!

[markerickson]

I didn't quite follow the online script...NPU missed another FG but then scored a TD?  Carthage also missed a chipshot FG.  NPU D had another INT.  Seems like a sloppy nailbiter in the last half of the fourth quarter.  Yes, Vikings emerged victorious today.

[wally_wabash]

How about that. Your first place North Park Vikings! Very cool.

[NCF]

OK G.S. you can smile now! Congats Vikings!

[New Tradition]

Oh my goodness! Congrats NPU!!!

[mr_b]

W

Congratulations to the entire North Park football family on today's hard-fought victory!

[Kovo]

Carthage and Millikin take notice-North Park is knockin' on the door and this could be the year they get one or two conference W's.

Man, I can't tell you how tired I am of seeing stuff like this.

Yes, Carthage and Millikin look bad this year, in what has shaped up to be a season in which the CCIW is extra-soggy on the bottom. And, yes, Olivet is a genuinely improved team from a year ago; the Comets team that NPU thumped in Michigan last season was almost completely made up of freshmen, but talented freshmen, most of whom stuck around and are now rounding into genuinely good football players.

But let's be realistic. NPU got outgained by about two to one yesterday. The Vikings' offense never really got untracked. And. although the defense did a great bend-but-don't-break job of holding down the Comets on the scoreboard, they got pretty banged up in the process -- and that's a serious concern for a defense that isn't loaded with depth and will probably be on the short end of time-of-possession in every CCIW game it plays (including against Carthage and Millikin). And, to be perfectly honest, what kept the game so close was Olivet's lack of discipline. The Comets are an underclassmen-dominated team, and it looked like it as far as penaties were concerned; 11 penalties for 157 yards, with several of those penalties being very costly on both sides of the ball for the Comets. Plus, NPU's lone touchdown was set up by an Olivet punt snap that sailed over the punter's head and gave the Vikes a gift-wrapped drive start at the Olivet 11.

The Vikings played with a lot of moxie yesterday, and had a legit chance to win it at the end. But they were still pretty badly outplayed by the Comets. And they will come limping into next Saturday's Homecoming game against Carthage with some pretty important players injured.

Every year people talk about how this will be the year that NPU gets a conference win. And every year I shake my head in disbelief, because they seem to make those comments without having actually seen the Vikings.

Nobody wants to see North Park win a CCIW football game more than yours truly. (Aside from the players and coaches, of course.) I think that that's pretty well established. But I'm being realistic. It's a banged-up 0-3 team that doesn't have much defensive depth, has a freshman QB and (mostly) underclassmen at the skill positions, and is still learning a new offense.

Can we please have a moratorium on the "NPU is gonna win a CCIW game this year" stuff for at least one week?

Ok Gregory, you got it.  No way that I say North Park is going to win a CCIW game this year.

[ExTartanPlayer]

Congrats to North Park.  It's just one game and the journey doesn't stop here - I know that the real goal is to become competitive week to week, not just win one game every 10 years.  But nonetheless, that is a terrific step for today.  Great job!

[iwu70]

Well I'll be!  NP has done it.  Congrats to North Park -- enjoy the week on a winning note.  It's been a long long time in coming.  Greg, even your own team has surprised you now!

Looks like Augie came back a bit to give WC a better game, but still went down. 

Again, congrats to North Park on ending the streak.

IWU70

[Dennis_Prikkel]

Doxology.

To keep it in perspective.

North Park began playing football in 1934 as a junior college.

North Park's fourth (and last) winning season was when I was a senior in college in 1968.

I retired last June.

Glad to see they won a game this year, because I think this year's head coach is a step above any of the last bunch of coaches (going all the way back to Tim Rucks), and I would have hated to see him go 0 and 10.

dgp

[Dennis_Prikkel]

Yesterday's Chicago Tribune has a half-page article regarding NPU football, written by Philip Hersch.  He defies the moratorium and mentions the conference losing streak.

I am sure Dennis fired off a letter to the Colonel admonishing him for the Tribune's transgression. 

Phil Hersch was apparently unaware that the streak is the CCIW equivalent of the fight club.

don't get the Tribune, and the first I heard of the article was this morning at NPU.  Phil Hersch been with the Tribune for years, he even wrote about North Park's championship basketball teams in the late seventies.

[mr_b]

Yesterday's Chicago Tribune has a half-page article regarding NPU football, written by Philip Hersch.  He defies the moratorium and mentions the conference losing streak.

I am sure Dennis fired off a letter to the Colonel admonishing him for the Tribune's transgression. 

Phil Hersch was apparently unaware that the streak is the CCIW equivalent of the fight club.

don't get the Tribune, and the first I heard of the article was this morning at NPU.  Phil Hersch been with the Tribune for years, he even wrote about North Park's championship basketball teams in the late seventies.

Here's a link to a follow-up article:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/chi-heavens-rain-success-on-north-park-football-20131005,0,7758225.story

[Kovo]

Doxology.

To keep it in perspective.

North Park began playing football in 1934 as a junior college.

North Park's fourth (and last) winning season was when I was a senior in college in 1968.

I retired last June.

Glad to see they won a game this year, because I think this year's head coach is a step above any of the last bunch of coaches (going all the way back to Tim Rucks), and I would have hated to see him go 0 and 10.

dgp

Oh, so you where one of the guys who dropped 104 points on North Central?!    Which has been followed by 40+ consecutive losing seasons?!  Let me ponder that one for a minute.