FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Congratulations to North Park junior safety Gary Anish upon being named to d3football.com's Team of the Week for his three-interception, eleven-tackle performance this past Saturday.

[matblake]

Wheaton's Patrick O'Connell also made the team of the week from d3football.com.  He also joins WashU's John Fisher (Offense) & Millikin's Wyatt Fox (Special Teams) as the CCIW Players of the Week

That was a monster game by Anish as judging by the stats!

[AndOne]

I noted Wheaton RB TJ Williams, is no longer listed on the roster online, indicating he is off the team. With Stone Watson apparently limited, RB becomes an area of concern for the Thunder. We didn't see much of newcomer/transfer Will Smith, but the fresh prince will be needed for Wheaton to have the balance they desire on offense.

Did he suit up vs Monmouth? If so, he apparently didn't participate so perhaps his absence won't cause much of a decrease in the crescendo of the Thunder as they crusade through the season.

But yes, whoever Watson's complement turns out to be will need to average more than ONE yard per carry as the above mentioned Will Smith did on Saturday-especially when you consider that 4 of his total of 5 yards came on just one of his five carries. Rushes of 1, 0, 0, and 0 yards certainly won't provide what is needed against the tougher competition ahead.

[izzy stradlin]

I noted Wheaton RB TJ Williams, is no longer listed on the roster online, indicating he is off the team. With Stone Watson apparently limited, RB becomes an area of concern for the Thunder. We didn't see much of newcomer/transfer Will Smith, but the fresh prince will be needed for Wheaton to have the balance they desire on offense.

Did he suit up vs Monmouth? If so, he apparently didn't participate so perhaps his absence won't cause much of a decrease in the crescendo of the Thunder as they crusade through the season.

But yes, whoever Watson's complement turns out to be will need to average more than ONE yard per carry as the above mentioned Will Smith did on Saturday-especially when you consider that 4 of his total of 5 yards came on just one of his five carries. Rushes of 1, 0, 0, and 0 yards certainly won't provide what is needed against the tougher competition ahead.

Williams was in camp but removed the the roster prior to the opener.  Not sure what happened.  I think he was by far the most talented RB coming back.  I agree with USee in that Wheaton looked fantastic at every position talent wise except for RB.   Williams could've been that 20 carry guy but I don't really see that on the rest of the roster and agree that Watson looked tentative.  I think you'll see a more NE Patriots style of 40 pass attempts per game, QB in the pocket, and RB by committee this year from Wheaton. I actually liked the style Goldsmith ran with when he got touches for those potential quick hitters.

[AndOne]

Not many senior citizens in the current flock of Redbirds..........

A peek at the NCC 2 Deep chart for the season's opening game Sat vs. Lake Forest reveals that the Cardinals plan to start a grand total of only 3 seniors from among the 22 starting players. 4 freshmen will be in the starting lineup.

Offensively, the only senior starter will be wideout Michael Sfikas. On the defensive side, DJ Warkenthien starts at LB, while Pat Cravens mans one of the safety spots.

On offense, freshman Cameron Moore will be a starting WR. The Cardinals #2 men at both QB and RB are also freshmen. Defensively, freshmen starters are Isiah Ziegler at DT, Alec Wolff at OLB, and Braden Lindmark at CB. Freshmen serve as the primary backups at DE and CB.

Special teams wise, LS Jake Rogers is a senior. However, the Cardinal FG/XP kicker Derik Judka is also a freshman, as are both KRs, Jonathan Mitchell (5'4, 134#) and Ethan Greenfield. 🏈

[USee]

AO,

Thanks for the heads up. As I look at the NCC 2 deep a couple things stick out to me:

-Offense: very talented group and will be one of the best in the conference. Cam Moore at WR (transfer from Grand Valley)will make this offense even more dangerous
-OLine: 2 starters back and lots of inexperience elsewhere. This will be their growth area early. Sharmore Clarke is one of the best OL in the country in my opinion
-I would expect to see lots of 4 wide with Moore, Kamienski, Sfikas and Hartema.

-Defense is the biggest concern for the Cards. The addition of transfer DT Tommy Hyland is a huge. 6-4/260 transfer from SW Missouri State is big.
-a 326 lb freshman at the other starting DT spot?
-Only 2 returning starters among the front 7 and only 4 among the top 11
-Only 8 of 22 from last years 2 deep are on this years 2 deep.
-WR Jake Beesley is slated as starting CB
-3 freshmen starters on defense

Very interested to see how this team comes together. They have Wheaton 3 weeks from Saturday. #bellstayshome #36seniorsbeats4freshmen#2halfsover2daysagain?

[AndOne]

Lots of new faces in the NCC lineup for sure. Reloading or rebuilding? How soon the combination of both coaching and veteran player leadership can mold the offensive and defensive squads into cohesive units will be a big factor in the ultimate success of this year's team. Looking forward, losing only 3 senior starters this year gives rise to a high degree of optimism for the future. With regard to the current season, the Cardinals were ranked #7 in the pre-season poll. Certainly the voters must have felt many of the pieces necessary for a successful season were present despite the fact that several of those pieces have only recently been unwrapped. Starting tomorrow, we'll see. 🏈

[USee]

IWU has a huge opener tomorrow. Even bigger than last year. The Titans have the skill players to compete in the CCIW and to beat LAX. The biggest question mark I have is if they can compete in the trenches. I am not worried about LB, they have the guys in the program for that. But they come into this season with just 1 returning starter on the OLine from a group that started every game and played most of the time, which means they have little experience. On the Dline DuBose and Hilliard are all conference type players but that's it up front. The talk is about moving a couple LB's to DE which gives the Titans more athleticism but less beef against a bruising attack like LAX.

I'll be watching the battle in the trenches. If IWU can hold their own and compete against LAX, that bodes well for their ability to contend in the conference. If they get pushed around up front on both sides, it could be a tough year. Jeff McDonald is a great DC and he will have the Titans moving around quite a bit on defense, which will allow them to use their athleticism.

Should be a great game at Tucci tomorrow.

[USee]

Biggest thing to watch for me for NCC @Lake Forest (I dont' expect the Cardinals to struggle much) is the efficiency of Rutter with his WR's. Last year he had all new WR's and it showed. He was still OPOY but his numbers fell from his freshman year. He has an experienced group and, by all accounts, Cam Moore is an explosive addition to the WR core. I anticipate Rutter getting back to his freshman year form of elite numbers with this group of skill players and that will be a dangerous thing for CCIW teams. Last year his WR's didn't make enough plays against Wheaton or UWO and their inexperience showed. This year I expect big things from Kamienski, Sfikas and Hartema. Add Cam Moore to the mix as well as 2 returning TE's and Rutter has a smorgasboard of options.

[Titan Q]

IWU opens today at home vs UW-La Crosse, 1pm.  Sounds like starters are as follows...

Offense
QB - Brandon Bauer*, 5-11/190 Jr. 2nd Team All-CCIW

RB - Morgan Alexander*, 5-9/180 Sr. 2nd Team All-CCIW

TE - Anthony Ryan, 6-1/210 Sr.

WR - Jack Healy*, 6-5/225 Jr. 1st Team All-CCIW
WR - Liam Keffer*, 6-0/180 Jr.
WR - Zack Walsh*, 6-2/190 Jr.

OL - Jack Moroni*, 6-4/325 Sr.
OL - Kyle Cook, 6-0/300 Sr.
OL - Carsten Anderson, 6-3/295 Sr.
OL - Ethan Emerson, 6-5/260 Jr.
OL - Michael Norwood, 6-2/270 So.

Defense
DE - Emmett Zima, 6-3/240 So.
DT - Eric Dubose*, 6-0/275 Sr. 1st Team All-CCIW
DT - Chance Hilliard*, 6-2/260 Jr.
DE - Francis Urbanski, 6-0/220 Jr.
(DE - Dave Lux, 6-0/240 Jr.)

LB - Andrew Ostrowski, 6-1/210 Sr.
LB - Ryan Swift, 6-4/235 Jr.
LB - Michael Connolly, 6-0/215 Sr.

DB - Trevor Staley*, 6-2/180 Sr. 1st Team All-CCIW; Preseason All-American
DB - Trevor Koepke*, 5-11/175 Jr. 2nd Team All-CCIW
DB - Quintin Walters*, 5-10/170 Sr.
DB - Nico Gubenko*, 6-0/185 Jr.

Special Teams
K - Patrick Tata*, 5-10/190 Jr.
P - Brock Krohe, 6-4/240 Fr.
LS - A.J. Lust, 6-6/265 Fr.

* returning starter

[AndOne]

On paper, and based on experience, it looks like you might want to attack the Green Weenies with sweeps, passes in the flat, and short passes over the middle.  🤔 😉
That's some especially impressive experience in the secondary. 👍 🏈

[iwu70]

Season opener IWU vs. LAX should be a good one.  Likely played in the rain all day.  Yes, key is how well the new TITAN OL settles in, and how the new D pieces all come together.  Lots of experience there, some very good LBs getting their chance to shine.  Great combos with Bauer and his many targets, an excellent All-Conference RB.  I'm looking for a 8-2 season or better again.  Lots of good volleyball around Shirk this weekend too, with a big tournament.  The IWU women ranked 10th in the country, their best ranking ever. 

Good luck to all the teams, players, and coaches this year.  Let's hope for a great season, good close games well-played, and very few injuries.

IWU'70

[shepherd]

Monmouth 24 #13 Wartburg 18 also
Johns Hopkins loses in the top 25 to  Susquehanna 37-35

[Titan Q]

UW-La Crosse 34
IWU 31

The Eagles kicked a short FG as time expired.

Surprisingly, IWU's secondary was a problem today - gave up a number of big pass plays.  And I'd say the O-line is a concern - Brandon Bauer was on the run quite a bit today.

[iwu70]

Final at Tucci at Wilder Field -- LAX 34, IWU 31.

A great game, back and forth.  Titans down 15 in the second half, two quick good drives to tie it at 31 all, including a 2 point conversion after a botched PAT earlier.  But, just could not get the third drive to go with about 2-3 minutes to go.  LAX got the ball back and drove the length of the field, kicking a winning FG from the 20 with 2 seconds remaining. 

Lots of good things for the TITANS, esp. passing offense, the emergence of #3 as a real threat, good receivers.  A big day for Bauer.  Not enough OL protection, not enough rushing yardage.  D play pretty well most of the time, though allowing a few big plays and at key moments soft in the middle.  Some 1st game mistakes, misreads, and too many penalties.   Several key injuries for the Titans -- not good.   One beautiful misdirection TD play by IWU called back by a penalty.  That one hurt big time.

But, overall a very good, competitive outing, the Titans fighting back well in the second half against a very good LAX team.  Very few TOs by both teams.  Only wish the result a bit different.

We'll know more how good the Titans are, how fast they can improve and correct problems, in next week's game at home vs. WC.

IWU'70