FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[badgerwarhawk]

Congrats and Merry Christmas

[AndOne]

Congratulations to the D3 All American Team. The CCIW is well represented including a clean sweep for the top 3 awards:

D3 OPOY: Broc Rutter
D3 DPOY: Dallas McRae
D3 COY: Jeff Thorne

2 of those 3 return next year!

https://d3football.prestosports.com/awards/all-americans/2019

And opponents won't be sad that the first name will be missing from next year's starting lineups. 

[AndOne]

In the 5 game playoff series NCC outscored it's opponents by combined scores of 227-109 with almost half (52) of the opposition points being scored in just one game. 🏈

[bleedpurple]

Congratulations North Central. Great team and great game. Your championship is well deserved.

[AndOne]

The Cardinals are scheduled to return home to campus between 1:30-2:30 this afternoon. Fans are invited to welcome them at a rally which will be held in Championship Plaza between Merner Fieldhouse and Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.

[ncc_fan]

The Cardinals are scheduled to return home to campus between 1:30-2:30 this afternoon. Fans are invited to welcome them at a rally which will be held in Championship Plaza between Merner Fieldhouse and Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.

Follow @northcentralcol on Twitter for updates on the team's estimated arrival time.

[New Tradition]

Still gathering my thoughts on this and will post after traveling home, but most importantly, I want to say thank you to this NCC group for finishing this and realizing our dream. You did it and  all those who came before you could not be more proud of your accomplishments. From this teary-eyed alum, thank you.

[MUC57]

Congrats to NCC on a great game and season. And congrats to Broc on the Gagliardi Award - well deserved.
I still don't understand how NCC lost to Wheaton. I think last night you could have beaten LSU, Clemson, et al.
OK, maybe not but.............!
Good luck in 2020. You'll like Canton better than Texas. 

[Mr. Ypsi]

Congrats to NCC on a great game and season. And congrats to Broc on the Gagliardi Award - well deserved.
I still don't understand how NCC lost to Wheaton. I think last night you could have beaten LSU, Clemson, et al.
OK, maybe not but.............!
Good luck in 2020. You'll like Canton better than Texas. 

Except, probably, for the temperature!

[USee]

Congrats to NCC on a great game and season. And congrats to Broc on the Gagliardi Award - well deserved.
I still don't understand how NCC lost to Wheaton. I think last night you could have beaten LSU, Clemson, et al.
OK, maybe not but.............!
Good luck in 2020. You'll like Canton better than Texas. 

Broc Rutter finishes his career as a 4 year starter and the most prolific passer in D3 history with a 45-6 career record overall and 31-3 in CCIW play. His record against teams not named Wheaton is 44-2 overall and 30-0 in CCIW play. His record against Wheaton is 1-4. Going back to John Thorne's days, North Central has a winning record against every CCIW team since 2003 except for Wheaton.

It's not a one off for Wheaton vs NCC. And this Stagg victory just throws kerosene on the fire of this rivalry, bringing it all up a notch. These two teams should both be contenders for a deep run again next year with who they bring back.

[Ralph Turner]

Congrats to NCC on a great game and season. And congrats to Broc on the Gagliardi Award - well deserved.
I still don't understand how NCC lost to Wheaton. I think last night you could have beaten LSU, Clemson, et al.
OK, maybe not but.............!
Good luck in 2020. You'll like Canton better than Texas. 

Except, probably, for the temperature!

Yeah, what is the over/under on the wind chill at Kickoff for the 2020 Stagg Bowl?  33 degrees?

;-)

[MUC57]

Stagg or Bust

Please check your PM. thanks.

[Stagg Again!!]

Congrats to NCC on a great game and season. And congrats to Broc on the Gagliardi Award - well deserved.
I still don't understand how NCC lost to Wheaton. I think last night you could have beaten LSU, Clemson, et al.
OK, maybe not but.............!
Good luck in 2020. You'll like Canton better than Texas. 

Except, probably, for the temperature!

Temperature in Chicago today is the same as it was in Shenandoah at game time yesterday.  I am sure that Canton will provide next year's finalists a tremendous experience.

[rscl70]

Congrats to NCC on a great game and season. And congrats to Broc on the Gagliardi Award - well deserved.
I still don't understand how NCC lost to Wheaton. I think last night you could have beaten LSU, Clemson, et al.
OK, maybe not but.............!
Good luck in 2020. You'll like Canton better than Texas. 

Except, probably, for the temperature!

Yeah, what is the over/under on the wind chill at Kickoff for the 2020 Stagg Bowl?  33 degrees?

;-)

It could be in the 40s or there could be a blizzard.  Not much different from Salem.  Either way, the overall experience for the teams and fans should be a good one.  It would help a great deal if the game were played on Saturday afternoon as it once was, but I'm pretty sure ESPN won't allow that.

[Stagg Again!!]

In the 5 game playoff series NCC outscored it's opponents by combined scores of 227-109 with almost half (52) of the opposition points being scored in just one game. 🏈a

I'm glad you mentioned this AneOne.  While I was on the flight back from Texas, I was thinking about all of the top defenses I got the opportunity to see this year... Wheaton, Delaware Valley, Mount Union, Muhlenberg, Wisconsin Whitewater (and even Augustana and Illinois Wesleyan in the CCIW).  These groups were all ranked in the Top 75, and each had key strengths.  That said, I am not sure I saw a group that improved as much throughout the year or as good at the end of the season (when things actually mattered) as was North Central's own defense.  From the mid-point of the game against Mount game until the final whistle in Shenandoah the Cardinal's "no-name defense" was the defensive best unit on the field.  I will readily admit that I saw some phenomenal individual defenders (McRae, Nobile, Feaster, McGrath, Harris, James, Schwartz, Rowland, and Ford) that may have been better than anyone in a Cardinal uniform.  That said, the Cardinals ran a gauntlet of Top 10 opponents without giving up more than 14 points per game (or 1/2 game in the case out Mount)!  They outplayed opponent's OLs, shut down top tier running games, held passing games in check and bent, but never broke. 

So much credit for NCC's National Championship has gone to its offense (and deservedly so!), but I wanted to shine a little light on the Cardinal's underrated defensive unit and recognize the role they played in bringing the walnut and bronze to Naperville.  Thank you Gilroy, Rich, Ayhan, and Hyland for your aggressive pursuit of the QB and holding the edge.  Thank you Martin for Ziegler for stuffing the run, staying in your lanes, getting after the QB, and all of those TFLs.  Thank you Butler, Beauchamp, and Wong for filling the wholes, blitzing, and owning the middle of the field and flats.  Thank you Bell, Beesley, Cremeens, and Lindmark for the interceptions and passes defended.  I am looking forward to seeing this unit back in Naperville next fall as one of the top-ranked defenses in the country (with several pre-season All-Conference and All-American nods).