FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

Per the Millikin broadcasters, Nicco Stepina is starting...and so is top RB Howard.

And I know some media guys who need to check their sources a little more closely. 🧐 🤨

Now the question seems to be are they playing before completely healing and, if so, to what degree will their performances suffer from the injuries.

[Titan Q]

IWU 49
Millikin 32

* B. Bauer: 22-34, 305 yards, 3 TDs
* J. Healy: 5 catches, 94 yards, 1 TD
* M. Alexander: 31 carries, 144 yards, 3 TD

* N. Stepina: 26-46, 315 yards, 4 TDs
* G. Perry: 11 catches, 132 yards, 1 TD
* J. Smith: 7 catches, 97 yards, 2 TD


I wouldn't say IWU played great tonight, but they played well enough to win this one comfortably.  The Titans are not a flashy team in any way, but they are very fundamentally sound, and they don't do much to hurt themselves.  I think the terms "disciplined", "balanced", and "well coached" really apply to this group.

With his 22nd completion tonight, junior QB Brandon Bauer broke IWU's single season pass completions record.

Looks like #15-IWU vs #12-NCC for all the marbles next weekend in Bloomington.  Most likely the winner of that game gets the CCIW's automatic bid...and the loser stays home.

[HAMBO]

Titan Q your comments are basically accurate.  MU made many mistakes and IWU made very few.  The statistics were basically the same in terms of yards and first downs.  I doubt that the Titans felt very comfortable until mid 4th quarter.  The injured Nicco Stepina was evident in his throwing errors and his reluctance to run.  When IWU plays as fundamentally sound as they played last night, they will be hard to beat.

[iwu70]

I was at the IWU - MU encounter last night.  Great game, some back and forth, though IWU mostly in control.

Nico was superb as was #7 for MU, giving the IWU defense fits.  Both offenses are really good, putting up plenty of scoring and yards.  But, the IWU defense better than Millikin's.  Surely, even at this late stage in the season, plenty to improve and work on for the TITANS.  They hurt themselves with TOs and two messed up punts.  But the IWU D prevailed with several key INTs in the second half in the key 3Q and plenty of Bauer to Healy and others.  The IWU O has been pretty consistent all year, able to move the ball and prolong drives.  Morgan Alexander just a work horse last night -- sure seemed like he had more than 144 yards, as reported in the Pgraph today. 

Now, as Q has said, it's the big game many of us expected for weeks, after IWU got past WC.  NCC comes to Tucci and Wilder Field for the big game.  I think for IWU to win, they have to put it all together, limit the errors and TOs -- on punts, coverage, other special plays -- and somehow control the line of scrimmage vs. NCC.  It will be a battle for sure.  The two best offenses vs. two very good defensive teams.  Pretty much a toss up in my book.  Yes, for all the marbles and the AQ.   Should be fun, with a big IWU crowd there to hopefully tip the balance. 

Good turnout again of very loud, loyal TITAN supporters there at MU in Decatur last night -- on both sides of the field.

I was in Monticello earlier Saturday (my high school alma mater -- I'm MHS '66), so a tip of the hat to the Sages who are really good this year, winning in their first round state tourney matchup in 3A, 50-7.  Really skilled high school players.  A truly fun, wide-open offense to watch. 

OK, TITANS, it all comes down to this Saturday, at home.  Go Green!!!

IWU'70

[AndOne]

Despite being overly hospitable to their guests from Elmhurst, the North Central Cardinals dominated the Blue Jays to earn a 55-0 Homecoming victory in Naperville. So thorough was the NCC dominance that;
* Elmhurst was held to a -18 net yards rushing. Their top rusher ran 7 times for 10 yards.
* EC was 4 of 17 on 3rd down.
* NC had 9 sacks.
* NC QB Broc Rutter was 18 of 21 (87%) for 305 yards and 5 TDs.
* Two Cardinals had > 100 yds receiving-Cam Moore with 122 and Cory Hartema with 102. Hartema caught a 52 yd TD on NC's first play from scrimmage. Don't blink!
* The Cardinal punter was never called on to perform that duty.

THE BAD

The Cardinals gave up 2 sacks, and put the ball on the ground 4 times, losing all 4.
Do that next week at IWU and they will see their playoff hopes circle the drain and disappear into the great abyss. 👎

[Titan Q]

Nico was superb as was #7 for MU, giving the IWU defense fits. 

Especially impressive for a guy diagnosed with a torn ACL and declared out of the season by our resident chat board doctor.

[AndOne]

Nico was superb as was #7 for MU, giving the IWU defense fits. 

Especially impressive for a guy diagnosed with a torn ACL and declared out of the season by our resident chat board doctor.

Ah, but in this case the doctor was merely the messenger, passing along information gleaned from members of the media—who obviously misreported the nature and/or extent of the injury. FAKE NEWS? LOL 😏 🏈

[iwu70]

NCC up to #10 in the weekly poll, IWU up to #13. 

Should be a great game on Saturday at Tucci Stadium at Wilder Field @IWU. 

'70

[thunderdog]

Atomic Football has NCC beating IWU 34-23 in BTown on Saturday. 11 points is a big # for the visitors. IMO, this game is really a pick'em and if I were forced to declare a favorite, I'd say IWU by 2-3 points.

[USee]

My initial read on the IWU/NCC game is that these two teams are very similar. Both have high powered offenses and defenses that can be had. I like NCC's defense a little better overall but I have a hard time seeing how the Cardinals are going to cover those IWU WR's. I think both these passing games are dynamic and both teams have struggled to run the ball in games this season. It's clearly the top 2 QB's in the conference and Rutter is in the conversation for best in the country. That said Bauer has been so good in the biggest games this year. In these big games it usually comes down to special teams and turnovers. That said I actually believe the team that can run the ball the best will likely win. Running the ball keeps the other offense off the field, which may be the difference. Ultimately I like IWU's ability to run a little more than NCC's in part because of Alexander but more so because Bauer is a bigger running threat than Rutter.

[iwu70]

USee, a very fair assessment on your part.

I agree that IWU has been, in most games, able to establish some run game.  Alexander is now leading the CCIW in rushing.  Bauer and Rutter are both big-game QBs so now is the time for both to have their best games, to shine.  TOs, INTs and special teams, creating the momentum, always big in games like this, with much on the line and lots of emotion playing a part.  Both teams will have to use their experience and keep their poise, esp. when bad things happen.  I was surprised how little Bauer ran the ball at MU.  He usually does, esp. off of play action and option plays with Alexander.  The IWU receivers are hard to keep down for an entire game.  We'll just have to see which D holds up best, bends but doesn't break, and prevents big plays.  Punting and return coverage so key in games like this.  I expect a very close, hard-fought game.  Can't really see how an 11 point prediction with NCC winning is right.  But, we'll see.  My prediction is IWU winning, 27-24. 

Hoping for a huge Titan Nation turnout -- for the game of the year in CCIW football.

Looking forward to it.

IWU'70

[USee]

By the numbers I can easily see how NCC is favored by more than 10pts. They have the #1 scoring offense and the #2 scoring defense. they are #1 in the nation in 3rd down conversions at 55% and #6 in total offense.  Their offense has been consistent in every game they have played their defense has been great in all but 1 game. For IWU they are #3 i the conference in scoring offense and #6 in scoring defense. They have had trouble on defense and if their offense struggles, they go stretches in games where the other team can get back in the game (Carthage, WashU, Millikin).

Rutter is the clear #1 QB in the conference, despite the existence of some very strong QB's. What the stats don't capture is Bauer's effectiveness and ability to control the ball. IWU leads the league in Time of Possession and is second in 1st downs and 3rd down conversions. While Bauer has thrown 7 INT's he has only 1 in the combined efforts against Wheaton, WashU and Millikin. He has been very efficient with the ball and the Titans haven't made many mistakes in the biggest games.

I think NCC should be favored and if you throw out the Wheaton result for both teams I think most wouldn't think this game will be particularly close in favor of the Cardinals. I just don't think NCC can cover those Titan WR's and Bauer is a big X factor.

If I am NCC I would play 2 deep zone with soft corners and make IWU beat me running the ball more than they pass it. If I am IWU I probably do the same thing. You have to push Rutter off his spot and force him to hold the ball for a long time. All that and I'd be surprised if both teams don't score 30+ points.

[Marmac]

Wheaton is the only CCIW school to beat NCC in this decade. NCC's last non-Wheaton loss in conference play was a 6-point defeat at IWU in 2009.

NCC has not won a game by fewer than 7 points since 2007. That was a 2-point win over Franklin in the playoffs.

I think there's a good chance one of these streaks ends on Saturday. NCC may win, but I expect a high-scoring, back-and-forth game that comes down to the final possession or two.

[Kovo]

By the numbers I can easily see how NCC is favored by more than 10pts. They have the #1 scoring offense and the #2 scoring defense. they are #1 in the nation in 3rd down conversions at 55% and #6 in total offense.  Their offense has been consistent in every game they have played their defense has been great in all but 1 game. For IWU they are #3 i the conference in scoring offense and #6 in scoring defense. They have had trouble on defense and if their offense struggles, they go stretches in games where the other team can get back in the game (Carthage, WashU, Millikin).

Rutter is the clear #1 QB in the conference, despite the existence of some very strong QB's. What the stats don't capture is Bauer's effectiveness and ability to control the ball. IWU leads the league in Time of Possession and is second in 1st downs and 3rd down conversions. While Bauer has thrown 7 INT's he has only 1 in the combined efforts against Wheaton, WashU and Millikin. He has been very efficient with the ball and the Titans haven't made many mistakes in the biggest games.

I think NCC should be favored and if you throw out the Wheaton result for both teams I think most wouldn't think this game will be particularly close in favor of the Cardinals. I just don't think NCC can cover those Titan WR's and Bauer is a big X factor.

If I am NCC I would play 2 deep zone with soft corners and make IWU beat me running the ball more than they pass it. If I am IWU I probably do the same thing. You have to push Rutter off his spot and force him to hold the ball for a long time. All that and I'd be surprised if both teams don't score 30+ points.

The difficult piece to reconcile regarding NCC's defense is that in 7 games it has been outstanding giving up a total of 57 points and recording three shutouts in a season for only the second time this century (2011).  But it is tough to forget the total beat down and 52 point bomb that the Cru dropped on us. I think the onside kick with 5 or 6 minutes remaining was the coaches acknowledging that if WC got the ball they were scoring. Which is what happened. If WC could have had two more possessions they would have scored two more touchdowns. There were gaping holes for the running backs and receivers running wide open in the secondary.

So which defense will show up in Weenieton? I hope the guys who give up 9 points a game or so. If its the imposters who stole our defensive players uniforms and locked the real players in the bathroom-----that has to be what happened, IWU wins 66-31. Otherwise I like NCC's chances to keep the 7+ steak going.

[USee]

It's definitely some weird stuff going on. IWU fans look at the results of the common opponent Wheaton and think "we got this". I think both those games were anomalies for different reasons. Wheaton's offense really didn't score vs IWU. Dominant defense? If IWU had done that to some other opponents I would have said yes (like 2017). But IWU's defense has been really average most of the season outside of that. And Wheaton scores 52 vs NCC, who otherwise is performing like a top 20 defense nationally.

I definitely think a big part of Wheaton's output against NCC was inexperience by Jake Beesely and the safety  Zach Greenberg. NCC put a lot of responsibility on defense with those two and they played about as poorly as you could play. I would think they are more experienced now. But Wheaton definitely controlled the LOS against NCC, just like the IWU defense manhandled the same LOS in that game.

I do know this: If Jake Beesely tries to cover Healy and/or Walsh one on one in that game the way NCC has tried to do in many games including Wheaton, IWU might score 100 pts. And likewise, if IWU plays 3 deep and puts 7 in the box to stop the run like they have done, Rutter might throw for 1,000 yds and 20 TD's in one game.