FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[wally_wabash]

There it is, the inevitable, "just win your league" default argument. None of the 5 Pool C's won their league's AQ so it's an irrelevant comment and not appropriate for this discussion. We are talking about teams that get in as an at large. And it's a process that has objective criteria that are subjectively applied. And I completely understand what the North RAC did even if I don't agree with it. They used number of losses to rank the entire North, then they used secondary criteria to rank teams with similar W/L.

The unintended consequence is to send a message to every North team not to schedule good teams in the non conference slate.

And winning is definitely better than losing.The committee and I both agree with NCC as #2 over JCU. I think 2 win's over RRO's is much better than 1, which IWU likely had and Wabash didn't. If WashU didn't get ranked in the final set, I will understand a bit more. It's too bad Monmouth lost to St Norbert in the last week as Wheaton would have definitely had 2 wins v RRO's in the final rankings.

Any way you look at it the North RAC inconsistently applied the criteria.

But next year new people on that committee could rank in a way directs teams to schedule really good teams in the non conference portion of the season.  It's a moving target that is impossible to hit from years out as teams are looking ahead to fill out their schedules. 

"Win your league" isn't irrelevant.  That's how teams qualify for the tournament.  Teams that don't win their league are at the mercy of a dozen different variables that they have absolutely no control over.   

[USee]

It' absolutely irrelevant "For the purposes of this discussion".

This discussion is about non AQ's via Pool C. By definition they didn't win their league and are part of the subjective criteria picking RAC's. We are trying to figure out how reasonable people, all looking at the same criteria, can come up with completely different outcomes.

One thing is clear, there is no playoff experience on the North RAC. Those schools and committee members haven't sniffed the playoffs in years. And I don't know if its a coincidence or not but the East RAC is the only one of the 4 committees with multiple people on it from playoff schools (3 Pool C's for the East)

[wally_wabash]

0 C's from the East.  Three South, one W, one N. 

[jamtod]

Do we have any reason to believe the national committee would have taken IWU over Muhlenberg?

[wally_wabash]

Do we have any reason to believe the national committee would have taken IWU over Muhlenberg?

No, but it's probably a longer conversation than it was with Wabash on the board. 

[USee]

0 C's from the East.  Three South, one W, one N.

Ah yes, I read that wrong. No RAC in the grassy knoll theory here.

[Pat Coleman]

DJ Warkenthein for DPOY. To the victors go the spoils. 

IDK about anyone else, but it seems strange, even dumb, that in basketball the COY/CO-COYs is/are automatically the coach/coaches that win/share the conference championship, but in football the COY is evidently determined by a vote.

Last year there were 4 WRs on the first team so maybe the same will happen this year. There were also 2 QBs on the second team offense.
Also, while all the QBs USee mentioned had great years Nicco Stepina, who isn't even on the list, is certainly no slouch. Nobody else threw more TD passes.

* Lastly, here is a case for NCC freshman kicker Derik Judka to not only be the first team ALL-CCIW kicker, but 1st Team ALL-AMERICAN kicker.

+ He made all 14 of his FG attempts. Only one other kicker in the nation was perfect, and he was only 9/9.

+ Only one player made more FGs. And that player only made one more (15). But, he had five more attempts—19 compared to Judka's 14.

+ He made 56 of 57 PATs.

You left out one of the key things I care about: 4-for-4 from beyond 40 yards, long 49. There are some really good kickers in D-III this year but Judka will at least find himself on All-North, I'm sure, and we'll see from there.

[Augie6]

Looks like this answers the question if Coach Bell will remain in charge of the program at Augie:  https://qconline.com/sports/college_sports/bell-co-continue-to-rebuild-viking-program/article_90df6933-e1a7-581a-8203-901a81ec1d0a.html

I guess success for Augie football is now defined by the number of applications that the football program generates as opposed to wins on the field.  In that case, congrats on a great season.

Is that supposed to be a story or a column? It's formatted like a news story, but it's chock-full of unabashed subjectivity on the part of the writer, who even at one point writes, "I don't think that there is any doubt about that."

GS - I find it to be a really odd article, and difficult to reconcile with the reality of where this program is at.  The writer's comment "I don't think that there is any doubt about that", came after a quote from Coach Bell that said "we're in a much better place than we were a year or two ago".  Since they were 1-9 last year, I can see how the writer would agree, but the fact is, Coach Bell has been there for 4 seasons now (not a year or two) and they have yet to even achieve a .500 record.  And that was after taking over a program that had gone 5-5 for 3 seasons prior to Bell becoming the coach.  To give this a little historical perspective, from 1960 to 2010 (the year Coach Barnes resigned), Augie had a grand total of 5 losing seasons during that 50 year period.  In the 8 years since, Augie has had 5 losing seasons, including the last 4 in a row. 

Another part of the story I found really strange was the comment that "many, both inside and outside of the program" are calling Bell & Co. "an elite coaching staff".   Curious if the writer talked to anyone who actually said this.  An elite coaching staff doesn't have a 12-28 record, four seasons in.   Here is a comment that Coach Bell made upon his hire at Augie:  "I think every scenario is a little bit different," Bell said. "I know I'm not walking into (the Monmouth situation). They (Augustana) are definitely not that far off and it's just buying into one common theme and direction."  For a program who, in his own words, wasn't that far off four years ago, I believe the program is even further away from being competitive in the CCIW than it was when he took over.  Hardly what I would call elite.  Maybe success as measured by wins and losses is not the goal at Augie, anymore.  Based on some of the comments by the AD, he seems to be ok with mediocrity (or less) as long as the program is generating applications for the college.  If that's the goal of the administration at Augie, then that's their prerogative.  Just stop peddling the narrative about wanting to be a successful program on the field.

[Augie6]

Looks like this answers the question if Coach Bell will remain in charge of the program at Augie:  https://qconline.com/sports/college_sports/bell-co-continue-to-rebuild-viking-program/article_90df6933-e1a7-581a-8203-901a81ec1d0a.html

I guess success for Augie football is now defined by the number of applications that the football program generates as opposed to wins on the field.  In that case, congrats on a great season.

Augie6,

I find it interesting that the article you quoted mentions that 250 football "recruits" have already completed applications to attend Augie next year. Looks like AC is gonna' have to lay out major bucks for more uniforms. 
Also, the question I sense the reporter forgot to ask is how many of those 250 are actually RECRUITS in the sense of kids at or near the top of Augie's wish list that they are actively/aggressively pursuing, and how many are kids who just played football in HS and are basically recruiting themselves TO Augie. Also, how many of the 250 are skilled enough to play at the next level, especially in an upper level conference like the CCIW with teams like NCC, Wheaton, IWU, and WashU?

Also—-And you might know as much about this as anyone—
A few years ago I seem to remember a series of posts about Augie de-emphasizing and decreasing funding to many sports other than men's basketball. Any idea is this was/is the case either previously or currently?

AO,

I don't think there has been an issue with the number of football recruits coming into Augie the past several seasons, but the quality has certainly been lacking.  Not sure if this lack of quality is related to not being able to secure the top recruiting targets or coaches misjudging the ability of some recruits to compete at the CCIW level, but I'm guessing it's a combination of both.  They have just not been getting the talent to be competitive in the CCIW over the past several years and that hasn't changed during Coach Bell's tenure. 

The discussion a few years ago wasn't so much decreasing funding for sports, but was more related to the leadership at the college not being committed to the success of the athletics programs. IMO, the AD's comment in the article underscores that theme, as he mentions the "success" in generating applications for the school, but doesn't really address wins/losses.   The school has recently been pretty successful in generating funds for the athletic program through Alumni donations, and that includes significant upgrades to the football stadium and track, Carver Center, weight room and amenities associated with the football program, such as the newly christened Players Lounge for the football team. That is part of what makes Augie's continued lack of success within the football program very frustrating.  After having substandard facilities for so many years, there has finally been an investment made that gives Augie some of the best football facilities in the CCIW, but this has not translated to any improvement within the program. 

[hazzben]

* Lastly, here is a case for NCC freshman kicker Derik Judka to not only be the first team ALL-CCIW kicker, but 1st Team ALL-AMERICAN kicker.

+ He made all 14 of his FG attempts. Only one other kicker in the nation was perfect, and he was only 9/9.

+ Only one player made more FGs. And that player only made one more (15). But, he had five more attempts—19 compared to Judka's 14.

+ He made 56 of 57 PATs.

You left out one of the key things I care about: 4-for-4 from beyond 40 yards, long 49. There are some really good kickers in D-III this year but Judka will at least find himself on All-North, I'm sure, and we'll see from there.

I was wondering about that.

And the other side, how long were the extra 5 misses for the other guy. If he's got a long of 50+ and 5 misses from 50+ that's a relevant point.

All that said, he'll be a major weapon for NCC in the playoffs. Consistent kicking can be the difference in a tight game.

Signed, Captain Obvious

[USee]

Final Regional Rankings Released.

http://www.d3football.com/playoffs/2018/final-regional-ranking

North Region   SOS    Notes
1 Mount Union 10-0, .544 SOS, 1-0 vs RRO (JCU)
2 North Central (Ill.) 9-1, .542 SOS, 2-1 vs RRO (IWU, WashU)
3 John Carroll 9-1, .538 SOS, 1-1 vs RRO (BW)
4 Trine 10-0, .503 SOS, 0-0 vs RRO
5 Wabash 9-1, .484 SOS, 1-0 vs RRO (Witt)
6 Wittenberg 9-1, .504, 0-1 vs RRO
7 Illinois Wesleyan 8-2, .555 SOS, 2-2 vs RRO (WashU, Wheaton)
8 Washington U. 8-2, .552 SOS, 1-2 vs RRO (Wheaton)
9 Wheaton (Ill.) 8-2, .558 SOS, 2-2 vs RRO (NCC, Monmouth)
10 Baldwin Wallace 8-2, .516 SOS, 0-2 vs RRO

[Mr. Ypsi]

Just as I expected and feared, the North RAC kept Wabash and Witt as blockers to guarantee no North team would reach the table who had any chance of selection!  Since none of the schools they represent ever have a chance at the postseason, I guess they want to keep North others out too!

[AndOne]

* Lastly, here is a case for NCC freshman kicker Derik Judka to not only be the first team ALL-CCIW kicker, but 1st Team ALL-AMERICAN kicker.

+ He made all 14 of his FG attempts. Only one other kicker in the nation was perfect, and he was only 9/9.

+ Only one player made more FGs. And that player only made one more (15). But, he had five more attempts—19 compared to Judka's 14.

+ He made 56 of 57 PATs.

You left out one of the key things I care about: 4-for-4 from beyond 40 yards, long 49. There are some really good kickers in D-III this year but Judka will at least find himself on All-North, I'm sure, and we'll see from there.

I was wondering about that.

And the other side, how long were the extra 5 misses for the other guy. If he's got a long of 50+ and 5 misses from 50+ that's a relevant point.

All that said, he'll be a major weapon for NCC in the playoffs. Consistent kicking can be the difference in a tight game.

Signed, Captain Obvious

Captain Obvious,

The kicker who made 15/19 is Jake Tanner of DePauw. The four kicks he missed were from 30, 38, 37, and 35 yards. So he wasn't missing long ones from 50+. His long was 43—same as Judka.
JMHO that Judka has the better credentials. 

[Gregory Sager]

Looks like this answers the question if Coach Bell will remain in charge of the program at Augie:  https://qconline.com/sports/college_sports/bell-co-continue-to-rebuild-viking-program/article_90df6933-e1a7-581a-8203-901a81ec1d0a.html

I guess success for Augie football is now defined by the number of applications that the football program generates as opposed to wins on the field.  In that case, congrats on a great season.

Is that supposed to be a story or a column? It's formatted like a news story, but it's chock-full of unabashed subjectivity on the part of the writer, who even at one point writes, "I don't think that there is any doubt about that."

GS - I find it to be a really odd article, and difficult to reconcile with the reality of where this program is at.  The writer's comment "I don't think that there is any doubt about that", came after a quote from Coach Bell that said "we're in a much better place than we were a year or two ago".  Since they were 1-9 last year, I can see how the writer would agree, but the fact is, Coach Bell has been there for 4 seasons now (not a year or two) and they have yet to even achieve a .500 record.  And that was after taking over a program that had gone 5-5 for 3 seasons prior to Bell becoming the coach.  To give this a little historical perspective, from 1960 to 2010 (the year Coach Barnes resigned), Augie had a grand total of 5 losing seasons during that 50 year period.  In the 8 years since, Augie has had 5 losing seasons, including the last 4 in a row. 

Another part of the story I found really strange was the comment that "many, both inside and outside of the program" are calling Bell & Co. "an elite coaching staff".   Curious if the writer talked to anyone who actually said this.  An elite coaching staff doesn't have a 12-28 record, four seasons in.   Here is a comment that Coach Bell made upon his hire at Augie:  "I think every scenario is a little bit different," Bell said. "I know I'm not walking into (the Monmouth situation). They (Augustana) are definitely not that far off and it's just buying into one common theme and direction."  For a program who, in his own words, wasn't that far off four years ago, I believe the program is even further away from being competitive in the CCIW than it was when he took over.  Hardly what I would call elite.  Maybe success as measured by wins and losses is not the goal at Augie, anymore.  Based on some of the comments by the AD, he seems to be ok with mediocrity (or less) as long as the program is generating applications for the college.  If that's the goal of the administration at Augie, then that's their prerogative.  Just stop peddling the narrative about wanting to be a successful program on the field.

I wasn't so much concerned with the content as with the tone and approach. It's extremely subjective, yet it's formatted like a straight news story. Heck, it's practically reads like a paid ad for Augustana football. It leads the casual reader who is unfamiliar with the newspaper to think that The Dispatch-Argus must be a fifth-rate paper, because this piece is lousy journalism.

[bleedpurple]

David Simmons ended his career with 11 blocked kicks, two short of the D3 career record of 13 set by Frank Lyle of Millsaps in 1979-82. Six of them were PAT attempt blocks, three were FG attempt blocks, and two were punt blocks. One of his three FG attempt blocks was returned by another Viking 76 yards for a touchdown against Elmhurst three seasons ago, and his two punt blocks set up NPU at the 37 and 10 yard lines of their opponents, respectively, leading in both cases to North Park touchdowns. Simmons therefore prevented opponents from likely scoring fifteen points with his b~~AZlocks (all three FG attempts were from pretty close distances), directly caused six points for NPU, and indirectly set up twelve more.

That is super impressive.  What I love about the blocked kick stat is that it shows extraordinary effort on a play that too many guys take for granted.  Yes, it requires explosion and speed. But to get there requires extraordinary effort. Says a lot about Mr. Simmons. Kudos!