FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[CardinalAlum]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned about last night's game is the injury to RB Hamid Bullie for the Green.  That will not help their cause from here. 

[USee]

This week's top performers:

Offense:

NCC WR Andrew Kamienski 10 rec 154 yds 2 TD's in a 55-7 win over IWU
WashU QB Matt Rush 16-25 224 6 TD's 0 INT in a 55-13 win @Millikin
NPU QB Matt Eck NPU 25-42 359 yds 2 TD 0 INT
Carroll WR Austin Eichstaedt 10 Rec 108 yds 3 TD's (including winning TD in OT on 4th and 4) in 29-26 win @Augie
Wheaton RB Sam Singleton 12 carries, 164 yds,13.7 ypc, 3 TDs  in a 69-20 win over Carthage
NCC RB Ethan Greenfield 21 carries, 199 yds 9.5 ypr 0 TD in a 55-7 win over IWU

Defense:

NCC LB Sam Taviani 10 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 pass break up in a 55-7 win over IWU
NPU LB Jaydin Miller 7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 pass break up 1 QB hurry in a 45-3 win over Elmhurst
Wheaton DB Caleb Egbert 3 tackles, 2 INT (1 for a pick six) and 1 pass break up in 60-29 win over Carthage
NPU DB Juan Nieves 4 tackles, 1 INT (for pick six) and 3 pass break ups

[CardinalAlum]

This week's top performers:

Offense:

NCC WR Andrew Kamienski 10 rec 154 yds 2 TD's in a 55-7 win over IWU
WashU QB Matt Rush 16-25 224 6 TD's 0 INT in a 55-13 win @Millikin
NPU QB Matt Eck NPU 25-42 359 yds 2 TD 0 INT
Carroll WR Austin Eichstaedt 10 Rec 108 yds 3 TD's (including winning TD in OT on 4th and 4) in 29-26 win @Augie
Wheaton RB Sam Singleton 12 carries, 164 yds,13.7 ypc, 3 TDs  in a 69-20 win over Carthage
NCC RB Ethan Greenfield 21 carries, 199 yds 9.5 ypr 0 TD in a 55-7 win over IWU

Defense:

NCC LB Sam Taviani 10 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 pass break up in a 55-7 win over IWU
NPU LB Jaydin Miller 7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 pass break up 1 QB hurry in a 45-3 win over Elmhurst
Wheaton DB Caleb Egbert 3 tackles, 2 INT (1 for a pick six) and 1 pass break up in 60-29 win over Carthage
NPU DB Juan Nieves 4 tackles, 1 INT (for pick six) and 3 pass break ups

I'll add Dan Gilroy of NCC.  Had 5 TFL, 3 of those were sacks.

[matblake]

Kudos to the Wheaton broadcast team for honestly going over the perilous situation Wheaton is in with its Pool C status. Detailed explanation of the selection process and criteria as well as distinguishing from Division I. Good reminder for the well versed and tutorial to someone newer to D3.

[CardinalAlum]

Kudos to the Wheaton broadcast team for honestly going over the perilous situation Wheaton is in with its Pool C status. Detailed explanation of the selection process and criteria as well as distinguishing from Division I. Good reminder for the well versed and tutorial to someone newer to D3.

What were the key points in that discussion?

[WUPHF]

I am not sure what it takes to qualify as a top performer in CCIW country, but Cole Okmin finished with 100 yards and 5 of the 7 touchdowns scored for Washington University.

[USee]

I am not sure what it takes to qualify as a top performer in CCIW country, but Cole Okmin finished with 100 yards and 5 of the 7 touchdowns scored for Washington University.

Cole had a great game, no doubt and 5 TD's is impressive. My subjective threshold was 100 yds, 10 catches and multiple TD's, both of which the other two WR's had. I was trying to pare it down to the likely players on the list for POW in the CCIW and if you are choosing a WashU player, I think Matt Rush's stats are the right pick.

[WUPHF]

That seems fair, though 5 of 7 touchdowns.  Not 4.  The fifth is listed under rushing as it was scored on a 4 yard run.

[USee]

Sorry, yes 5. But Rush had 6 TD's so I picked him.

[matblake]

Kudos to the Wheaton broadcast team for honestly going over the perilous situation Wheaton is in with its Pool C status. Detailed explanation of the selection process and criteria as well as distinguishing from Division I. Good reminder for the well versed and tutorial to someone newer to D3.

What were the key points in that discussion?

1.  Pool A (Automatic Bids)-Given to conference champions
2.  Pool C (At Large Bids)- At Large Bids which covers all 6 regions-5 Pool C berths available this year
3.  Assuming that both North Central and Wheaton win out or that both Wheaton and North Central finish with identical 8-1 records, Wheaton not eligible for a Pool A Berth, as NCC won head to head.
4.  Each region will have a final ranking of teams within that region decided by a committee from that specific region
5.  Pool C Bids decided by a National Committee based on specific criteria from remaining regionally ranked teams not given an automatic bid by Pool A.
6.  One of the criteria is strength of schedule.
7. Strength of schedule is partially determined by both opponents winning percentage and the opponents opponents winning percentage (the winning percentage of the teams your opponent played).
8.  Wheaton will have a low strength of schedule in light of playing Northwestern who has a poor record and plays in a conference with a poor out of conference winning percentage.
9.  Wheaton will also have a low strength of schedule as the CCIW performed uncharacteristically poor in their non-conference games this year.  As a result, Wheaton's CCIW opponents will also have lower strength of schedule.
10.  There is no such thing as the "eye test" with regards to selection.
11.  With there being 6 regions and only 5 at large berths, Wheaton may be blocked from being considered by other teams from other regions with identical records and better strength of schedule.
12.  Where Wash U and Chicago are ranked regionally will be important for the Thunder's selection.

[Gotberg]

This week's top performers:

Offense:

NCC WR Andrew Kamienski 10 rec 154 yds 2 TD's in a 55-7 win over IWU
WashU QB Matt Rush 16-25 224 6 TD's 0 INT in a 55-13 win @Millikin
NPU QB Matt Eck NPU 25-42 359 yds 2 TD 0 INT
Carroll WR Austin Eichstaedt 10 Rec 108 yds 3 TD's (including winning TD in OT on 4th and 4) in 29-26 win @Augie
Wheaton RB Sam Singleton 12 carries, 164 yds,13.7 ypc, 3 TDs  in a 69-20 win over Carthage
NCC RB Ethan Greenfield 21 carries, 199 yds 9.5 ypr 0 TD in a 55-7 win over IWU

Defense:

NCC LB Sam Taviani 10 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 pass break up in a 55-7 win over IWU
NPU LB Jaydin Miller 7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 pass break up 1 QB hurry in a 45-3 win over Elmhurst
Wheaton DB Caleb Egbert 3 tackles, 2 INT (1 for a pick six) and 1 pass break up in 60-29 win over Carthage
NPU DB Juan Nieves 4 tackles, 1 INT (for pick six) and 3 pass break ups

All 3 npu players listed are freshman.  Rooker and his staff are getting it done... I hope it's just the beginning.

[WUPHF]

Sorry, yes 5. But Rush had 6 TD's so I picked him.

And the rationale to only pick one Washington University player?

[matblake]

Kudos to the Wheaton broadcast team for honestly going over the perilous situation Wheaton is in with its Pool C status. Detailed explanation of the selection process and criteria as well as distinguishing from Division I. Good reminder for the well versed and tutorial to someone newer to D3.

What were the key points in that discussion?

1.  Pool A (Automatic Bids)-Given to conference champions
2.  Pool C (At Large Bids)- At Large Bids which covers all 6 regions-5 Pool C berths available this year
3.  Assuming that both North Central and Wheaton win out or that both Wheaton and North Central finish with identical 8-1 records, Wheaton not eligible for a Pool A Berth, as NCC won head to head.
4.  Each region will have a final ranking of teams within that region decided by a committee from that specific region
5.  Pool C Bids decided by a National Committee based on specific criteria from remaining regionally ranked teams not given an automatic bid by Pool A.
6.  One of the criteria is strength of schedule.
7. Strength of schedule is partially determined by both opponents winning percentage and the opponents opponents winning percentage (the winning percentage of the teams your opponent played).
8.  Wheaton will have a low strength of schedule in light of playing Northwestern who has a poor record and plays in a conference with a poor out of conference winning percentage.
9.  Wheaton will also have a low strength of schedule as the CCIW performed uncharacteristically poor in their non-conference games this year.  As a result, Wheaton's CCIW opponents will also have lower strength of schedule.
10.  There is no such thing as the "eye test" with regards to selection.
11.  With there being 6 regions and only 5 at large berths, Wheaton may be blocked from being considered by other teams from other regions with identical records and better strength of schedule.
12.  Where Wash U and Chicago are ranked regionally will be important for the Thunder's selection.

If you want to listen, starts at about 2 hours 43 min and sort of wraps up at 2 hours 58.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG75quDPVcA

[Gregory Sager]

This week's top performers:

Offense:

NCC WR Andrew Kamienski 10 rec 154 yds 2 TD's in a 55-7 win over IWU
WashU QB Matt Rush 16-25 224 6 TD's 0 INT in a 55-13 win @Millikin
NPU QB Matt Eck NPU 25-42 359 yds 2 TD 0 INT
Carroll WR Austin Eichstaedt 10 Rec 108 yds 3 TD's (including winning TD in OT on 4th and 4) in 29-26 win @Augie
Wheaton RB Sam Singleton 12 carries, 164 yds,13.7 ypc, 3 TDs  in a 69-20 win over Carthage
NCC RB Ethan Greenfield 21 carries, 199 yds 9.5 ypr 0 TD in a 55-7 win over IWU

Defense:

NCC LB Sam Taviani 10 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 pass break up in a 55-7 win over IWU
NPU LB Jaydin Miller 7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 pass break up 1 QB hurry in a 45-3 win over Elmhurst
Wheaton DB Caleb Egbert 3 tackles, 2 INT (1 for a pick six) and 1 pass break up in 60-29 win over Carthage
NPU DB Juan Nieves 4 tackles, 1 INT (for pick six) and 3 pass break ups

All 3 npu players listed are freshman.  Rooker and his staff are getting it done... I hope it's just the beginning.

Great point. Other North Park freshmen who had an impact yesterday included RB Tritian Zornes (6.5 rushing avg., 25-yd TD catch), RB Marcel Love (4.1 rushing avg., 2 TDs), WR Caleb Jones (4 catches for 122 yds), and QB Hunter Hughes (TD run). There's a large crop of freshmen DL who are getting playing time now, including A.J. Henry (who's been a starter since the third game), Ryan Bartolomei, Myron Spencer, and Magrady Ellis. I've called LB Cole Woodward's name a few times on the air. And CB Jereme Ombogo and DE Thomas Ainsworth were starting before they got hurt.

If what I'm hearing pans out, the Vikings will return 17 of their 22 starters next season. And 12 of those 17 are currently either freshmen or sophomores. That's not an unusual configuration for an NPU starting lineup, of course. But in this case we're talking about an NPU team that's already won two CCIW games (one by a rout), fell a single score short in two others, and has two games left in which the Vikings have every reason to think that they'll be competitive.

It takes a large influx of good players to build or rebuild a football program, much more so than in other sports -- I always say that turning around a basketball program is like doing a U-ie in a pickup, while turning around a football program is like doing a U-ie in a semi -- but I'm seeing signs that Kyle Rooker and his assistants are turning up some guys along the highways and byways that can actually make a difference in this league.

Rest assured, nobody's kidding ourselves over here in Vikingland. We all realize that NPU has a very long way to go and a lot of good players to add to the roster before it can compete with even a team like Wash U for four quarters, let alone any of the three ranked teams that the Vikings have played or will play this season. But there is some promise here. And the best part is that we're seeing some results in the present, rather than simply projecting it into the future.

[USee]

Sorry, yes 5. But Rush had 6 TD's so I picked him.

And the rationale to only pick one Washington University player?

I'll give you a multiple choice answer:

A. Because I felt like it
B. Because there were 2 other WR's who were better IMO
C. Because the POW honors can only go to 1 player so I picked 1 offensive player from each (winning) team (except NPU defensive players as I didn't want to offend Sager 2 weeks in a row)
D. If you want to highlight a player from your team on here...Go for it!
E. All of the above
F. None of the above