FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[USee]

I believe Wheaton freshman QB Dave Beamer is the son of 9/11 hero (the famous "Let's roll") and Wheaton grad Todd Beamer.

http://athletics.wheaton.edu/roster.aspx?rp_id=5677&path=football

[AndOne]

Destiny. It's especially fitting that he should land at Wheaton. His dad certainly is a hero.
The Beamer Center at Wheaton is an impressive edifice.

[wally_wabash]

Alright Wheaties, here's what I saw today. 

- Bowers ran with your 1s, Peltz with the 2s.  I don't get it, but that's not my call. 
- Wheaton's score against the first team defense came on a 4th down from about the 30 yard line.  Bowers was flushed from the pocket- the play here could/should have been blown dead, but it wasn't and he ended up in the end zone.  What to do with scrambling QBs in these controlled scrimmages is a problem.  Leads to weird plays like that one. 
- In the second half Bowers gave way to Peltz and the second team Wheaton offense and they dominated the action from that point on.  Peltz had his way with Wabash's backups.  RB Stone (I believe) also was very impressive in this stage of the game.  Stone had a long TD run to compliment Peltz's passing game. 

Overall, you guys are in good shape.  Good line play, depth of quality (at least on offense)...good squad.  One Wheaton player knocked his head on Matt Penola's knee and left the game, but that's the only Wheaton player that I saw leave the game.  I think both sides walked away unscathed, which is great. 

[izzy stradlin]

Alright Wheaties, here's what I saw today. 

- Bowers ran with your 1s, Peltz with the 2s. I don't get it, but that's not my call. 

I don't get it either.  Unless Peltz has a four-game suspension to start the season we don't know about, he should be QB1.   He has completed 66% of his passes over the last 2 years to Bowers 58%,......        forget the stats,  this one just seems so obvious. 

[USee]

My pre-season predictions for each team in order of finish:

1. North Central (10-0): Cardinals have a second year QB who was good, missed the Wheaton game, and will be better (I am not a believer in the D1 transfer story). They have one of the top RB's in the country in Austin Breunig, they get Oshayne Brown back who was in front of Bruenig before his injury. They have 9 starters back from last years 2nd ranked defense and 9 back on offense. It's hard to see how they aren't going to be better across the board.

2. Wheaton (9-1): 2 all conference QB's (I think Peltz will be the starter when its all said and done), 3 excellent running backs and 4 of 5 OL are back from the #1 offense in the conference. They are gonna be good. Defensively they can't replace Dandsdill and McRae but Caleb Ashby might end up as the DPOY and their secondary is experienced and fast. Spielman and Greenlee will lead the DL. NCC and Wheaton are very close in terms of talent and these two are significantly better than the rest of the conference in my mind but the BOLBB is in Naperville this year so slight edge to NCC.

3. Carthage (7-3): It seems hard to believe that the team that was 1-9 and winless in the CCIW just 3 seasons ago is that much better but the facts don't lie. 17 returning starters including every skill position, 2 all conference LB's and 2 of the better corners in the league all of which led to a surprise 3rd place league finish last year. It's hard to imagine they are going to be worse and after a tough road game @Bethel they will be playing Wheaton, NCC, IWU and Augie in Kenosha (long trips for those last two teams) I can see the Redmen finishing 7-3.

4. Augustana (6-4): They lose Sam Frasco but the sorrow stops there. 19 returning starters including 11 back on defense means there is a lot to be optimistic about in Rock Island. They gave up a ton of points in the early going last year but by the end of the season they were allowing just 14 pts a game. Asquini at LB is one of the best in the league at the deepest position in the league. Their secondary is as expierenced and talented as any in the league with the top tackling safety, Kaible, returning and Watson and Aldridge back at corner. Their top 2 RB's return (Price and Pitra) and 4 of their 5 OL (Josh Fowler was a Junior and was listed on the spring roster but he is not on the current roster for some reason).

5. IWU (6-4): I think the rest of the leauge has caught up to IWU talent wise a bit. They return some great players but not a lot of depth and inuries have hurt them in recent years. IWU has the best LB crew in the league in Garvey, Fahey and Roth. If VanHuizen returns to form their defense will be formidable (only 1 returning DB). Contrary to Kickoff, IWU returns 7 defensive starters by my count and 7 on offense. Jack Warner stalled a bit in his development at QB last year and will need to get back to his playmaking performance of his freshman year for IWU to contend. Two great RB's in Shoemaker-Gilmore and Austin Harrell with 3-5 OL returning. They need a playmaker at WR and Quincy Butler needs to match his playmaking with his abilities. He is too talented to have just 14 catches.

6. Carroll (5-5): Carroll slots back into the CCIW in the middle of the pack. 8 starters return on offense including their QB and top RB, both of whom are very good. 4 of 5 OL and 6 starters back on defense. They have only 4 road games (@Augie, @Elmhurst, @NCC and @Wheaton) and I see them winning 4 of 5 at home and 1 game on the road.

7. North Park (4-6): North Park has 2 players who are as good at their position as anyone in the league and are AA candidates in my view. Devin Childress is a big boy receiver with great talent and Chaun Maiava is as good an LB as we have in the conference. They return 8 starters on defense and 6 on offense. TD Conway is a 3 year starter at QB and if he can complete closer to 65% of his passes NPU could finish higher as their defense will be much improved. I see a lot of optimism on Foster as the Vikings will likely win 4 of their first 5 games before finishing with a brutal slate October and November.

8. Elmhurst (2-8): Josh Williams comes back to finish his career and if he can stay healthy and carry the load, Elmhurst could surprise a few folks with 4 of 5 OL back. 7 offensive starters and 8 defensive starters return. Warsen and Wetherell are back as their leading tacklers. Not a lot of depth on this Elmhurst squad who will need more consistency from young QB Orlando Hernandez to stay competitive this year. Road games @Loras, @ Olivet, @Augie, @Wheaton, @IWU and @NCC aren't doing the BlueJays any favors.

9. Millikin: (1-9): 8 starters back on offense (6 of whom were freshman last year) and 7 back on defense for a new coach and a new system . Nicco Stepina returns at QB with Andre Colvin and Patrick Ganley at RB and all 5 OL gives the Big Blue some hope. They have a chance to win their first two games @Greenville and vs Rose Hulman but it will be tough sledding from their until their last game @Elmhurst.

I think there are 3.5 distinct tiers this year in the league. NCC/Wheaton....Carthage/Augie/IWU....Carroll/NPU..Elmhurst/Millikin. The conference has a lot of talent returning as 8 of the 9 schools have returning QB's and all 9 return their top RB. Every school has at least 14 starters back with two schools returning 18+ starters. The CCIW is poised to have a good year as a conference. Should be some exciting games.

[matblake]

Alright Wheaties, here's what I saw today. 

- Bowers ran with your 1s, Peltz with the 2s.  I don't get it, but that's not my call. 
- Wheaton's score against the first team defense came on a 4th down from about the 30 yard line.  Bowers was flushed from the pocket- the play here could/should have been blown dead, but it wasn't and he ended up in the end zone.  What to do with scrambling QBs in these controlled scrimmages is a problem.  Leads to weird plays like that one. 
- In the second half Bowers gave way to Peltz and the second team Wheaton offense and they dominated the action from that point on.  Peltz had his way with Wabash's backups.  RB Stone (I believe) also was very impressive in this stage of the game.  Stone had a long TD run to compliment Peltz's passing game. 

Overall, you guys are in good shape.  Good line play, depth of quality (at least on offense)...good squad.  One Wheaton player knocked his head on Matt Penola's knee and left the game, but that's the only Wheaton player that I saw leave the game.  I think both sides walked away unscathed, which is great.

Thanks, Wally.  IMO the Peltz/Bowers thing was probably just to get them consistent playing time instead of the back and forth per series stuff we'll probably see for the non-conference slate.  The lack of injury information is truly good news.  Also good to hear of the 2nd team domination, depth is always a good thing!   Good luck this year.  I think Wabash will be fine, despite the concerns re: the coaching change.

[matblake]

My pre-season predictions for each team in order of finish:

Great work as usual USee.  If the league turns out to be as you predict, there may be a lot of teams with similar records. 

[USee]

Every CCIW team starts play this week. Here are the games:

Aurora @ Carthage
Elmhurst @ Loras
Benedictine @ Wheaton
Millikin @ Greenville
Lakeland @ Carroll
Monterrey Tech-Mexico @ IWU
Anderson @ North Park 6pm
Augustana @ Mt St Joes 6pm
North Central @ Robert Morris (NAIA) 7pm

[79jaybird]

Reminder to go over to the CCIW Pick Em's page to enter your picks each week.

[USee]

Some story lines to watch this week:

-Josh Williams returns from injury for Elmhurst @ Loras. I want to see what Elmhurst has coming back
-Millikin begins  a new era under Dan Gritti. They played a lot of young guys last year. Will they be better?
-Carroll hosts Lakeland in their first game as a CCIW member.
-IWU plays in the burrito bowl at Tucci stadium-IWU has some key players who need to step up as playmakers-VanHuizen, Warner, Shoemaker-Gilmore, and the secondary. Including this exhibition against Monterrey-Mexico IWU has only 9 games scheduled
-NPU opens at home against Anderson. I will be interested to see if TD Conway can carry this team and step up his efficiency as a QB
-Augie @Mt St Joes--Who will be the QB for the Vikings is the only question. Mt St Joes is a tough test on the road for a young QB
-NCC opens play at NAIA Robert Morris. What will Oshayne Brown look like and how will the NCC offense balance the talent they have in both the running and passing game.
-Wheaton opens play at home against Benedictine in what will be a bit of a 'trap' game. Ex-OC Josiah Sears will be eager to take it to his old colleagues and he has some talent on offense. I expect some fireworks. How will the Wheaton coaches, with a very young and inexperienced passing game coordinator/QB coach in Eric Terrazes and a first time OC in Jesse Scott, handle the QB situation with JP11 and AB2? Who will start? Will they rotate? If the game is close, who will they go to?

[wally_wabash]

-IWU plays in the burrito bowl at Tucci stadium-IWU has some key players who need to step up as playmakers-VanHuizen, Warner, Shoemaker-Gilmore, and the secondary. Including this exhibition against Monterrey-Mexico IWU has only 9 games scheduled

If I'm Norm Eash, I'm not running any one of those guys for more than two series in this thing.  Noooo way I'm risking my top line guys for some kind of result against Monterrey Tech. 

[USee]

-IWU plays in the burrito bowl at Tucci stadium-IWU has some key players who need to step up as playmakers-VanHuizen, Warner, Shoemaker-Gilmore, and the secondary. Including this exhibition against Monterrey-Mexico IWU has only 9 games scheduled

If I'm Norm Eash, I'm not running any one of those guys for more than two series in this thing.  Noooo way I'm risking my top line guys for some kind of result against Monterrey Tech.

Many distinguished people have tried and failed at being Norm Eash. There is no telling what he may do in this game.

[matblake]

-IWU plays in the burrito bowl at Tucci stadium-IWU has some key players who need to step up as playmakers-VanHuizen, Warner, Shoemaker-Gilmore, and the secondary. Including this exhibition against Monterrey-Mexico IWU has only 9 games scheduled

If I'm Norm Eash, I'm not running any one of those guys for more than two series in this thing.  Noooo way I'm risking my top line guys for some kind of result against Monterrey Tech.

Many distinguished people have tried and failed at being Norm Eash. There is no telling what he may do in this game.

Classic +k

[matblake]

CCIW Football Previews are underway:
https://www.youtube.com/user/cciw1

[wheels81]

"What you saw is the haka that New Zealand's All Blacks do before every rugby match. The haka is a Maori tradition. (The Maori are the Polynesians who were New Zealand's original inhabitants.)"

Greg, I got the name from the Youtube link you posted
"Published on Oct 26, 2014
North Park University football team pregame ritual!! the HAKA!!

This is why I called the pregame ritual that North Park performed "the Haka" so sorry for the mistake but I am willing to enter this multicultural awareness thing. :-)