FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[kiko]

Today's matinees:

Illinois Wesleyan 26, Carroll 21 in Bloomington
Millikin 23, North Park 21 in Decatur
North Central 76, Elmhurst 6 in Naperville
Wash U 45, Carthage 16 behind the Cheddar Curtain

Tomight:

Wheaton at Augustana

[Next Man Up]

Today's matinees:

Illinois Wesleyan 26, Carroll 21 in Bloomington
Millikin 23, North Park 21 in Decatur
North Central 76, Elmhurst 6 in Naperville
Wash U 45, Carthage 16 behind the Cheddar Curtain

Tomight:

Wheaton at Augustana

Wheaton 38, Augustana 28 by the River

No surprises. Everything went pretty much as expected in the CCIW today.

[Next Man Up]

I thought NPU was getting better?

I had NPU at 4-6 but one of those was Manchester. Now I think their ceiling is 3-7 and that starts with a road game @Millkin this Saturday. After that they host Carthage and Elmhurst and those are the games they would have a chance to win. I think they end up 2-8.

Saw that in a 2 point loss to Millikin today, NPU almost unbelievably managed only a microscopic 11 net yards rushing. Not sure how you do that. Also not sure of the game details, but perhaps if they had been able to amass a still meager 50-60 yards on the ground they could have come home with a W. It appears  USee's  2-8 prediction might now be a stretch. I would however still bet on the Parkers over Elmhurst.

[CardinalAlum]

Today's matinees:

Illinois Wesleyan 26, Carroll 21 in Bloomington
Millikin 23, North Park 21 in Decatur
North Central 76, Elmhurst 6 in Naperville
Wash U 45, Carthage 16 behind the Cheddar Curtain

Tomight:

Wheaton at Augustana

Wheaton 38, Augustana 28 by the River

No surprises. Everything went pretty much as expected in the CCIW today.

I disagree a little bit....

I was surprised:
Augie scored 28 against the Thunder
IWU beat Carroll
North Park almost beat Millikin in Decatur.

[matblake]

Fun game to watch out in Rock Island last night (although I was 400+ miles away).  That Augustana quarterback was massive.  Good arm and pretty good pocket presence.  Had good protection most of the night.  From a Wheaton perspective the YAC were quite painful to watch.  There's too much emphasis on stripping the ball IMO.  Ideally, you should be both tacking and attempting to strip the ball, but the tackle must always be secured first.  Extra yards for Augustana were killer. 

Augustana had a good offensive gameplan, and if not for a case of the dropsies, could have made it interesting.  I think offenses are adapting to the bend but don't break style of defense Wheaton plays.  Also, the last few seasons having an elite defensive line really helped.  I think this group is good, but so far they've just put on a standard amount of pressure, instead of the suffocating pressure the Wheaton fans had gotten used to.  If the Naperville guys are able to get the quick pass game going like Augie did this Saturday, along with Greenfield, it could be a frustrating game for the Wheaton defense.

Offensively I don't understand why they continue to try stretch runs.  Teams have been continually able to stretch those plays to the sidelines for minimal gains.  I understand needing to keep the playbook open and keep teams honest, but I sometimes just don't get it. 

Finally, the penalties just continue to crush the Thunder.  I do not understand why the program continues to be one of the most penalized teams.  The two false start penalties near the end of the first half were agonizing.  Unfortunately, you can always count on the Thunder to have at least one unsportsmanlike and one unnecessary roughness penalties.  It's something the program has always struggled with, as far as I can remember, even when I first became aware of them in the mid-eighties when my parents would take me to the homecoming games. 

It's Naperville week.  Always a fun time.  And a challenging game coming up. 

[Stagg Again!!]

Today's matinees:

Illinois Wesleyan 26, Carroll 21 in Bloomington
Millikin 23, North Park 21 in Decatur
North Central 76, Elmhurst 6 in Naperville
Wash U 45, Carthage 16 behind the Cheddar Curtain

Tomight:

Wheaton at Augustana

Wheaton 38, Augustana 28 by the River

No surprises. Everything went pretty much as expected in the CCIW today.

I disagree a little bit....

I was surprised:
Augie scored 28 against the Thunder
IWU beat Carroll
North Park almost beat Millikin in Decatur.

This MOV caught my eye too Alum.  You have to go back to 2013 and 2014 to see Wheaton v. Augustana games where the outcome was decided by 10 points or less; you also have to go back to 2006 to find an Augie win over Wheaton.  During those 15 years of dominance, WC has defeated AC by a MOV of 20.7 ppg.  That said, MOVs have ranged from 4 pts in 2007 to 45 pts in 2021.  If you take a close look at the data, a 10 pt win is actually well within 1 standard deviation of the mean MOV during the last 15 years.  Additionally, if you pull in data going back to 1998, you find that WC's mean MOV over AC has been 12.3 ppg over the past quarter century.  I think the 10 point MOV caught our eyes, because WC's MOVs over AC have averaged 33.6 ppg during the past five full seasons (recency bias).  My guess is that last night's game says a bit more about a bit of a resurgence in Rock Island than it does about a huge fall off in Wheaton, but we will see how the season plays out.

[cciwman]

Augustana's performance yesterday and success with the pass will prove interesting leading into Bell Week.  On the flipside, NCC has struggled to get the passing game going consistently this year.  While they have had success, it has not been fluid nor have the new receivers and QB been in sync on most patterns.  The MO for the Cards is to run.  Will they be able to create the holes for Greenfield and Hill to gain the yardage needed to keep the Bell?

Actually recalling last year's game, it was Lehnen's legs that saved the day and propelled the Cards to the win.

[Next Man Up]

Augustana's performance yesterday and success with the pass will prove interesting leading into Bell Week.  On the flipside, NCC has struggled to get the passing game going consistently this year.  While they have had success, it has not been fluid nor have the new receivers and QB been in sync on most patterns.  The MO for the Cards is to run.  Will they be able to create the holes for Greenfield and Hill to gain the yardage needed to keep the Bell?

Actually recalling last year's game, it was Lehnen's legs that saved the day and propelled the Cards to the win.

I think it needs to be kept in mind that the Cardinals often don't HAVE to pass. They leed the conference in rushing by double over 2nd place Wheaton. They have six of the top 15 rushers in the CCIW. But yes, there is no doubt that NCC definitely does need to refine it's passing game. A big part of that component would be the emergence of a reliable secondary receiver (or two) who could develop a good rapport with Lehnen and complement DeAngelo Hardy in order to prevent opposing defenses from concentrating on him so much.

As far as Lehnen's legs, I believe he is said to be the fastest guy on the team so his running excellence is not entirely surprising.

[Gregory Sager]

I thought NPU was getting better?

I had NPU at 4-6 but one of those was Manchester. Now I think their ceiling is 3-7 and that starts with a road game @Millkin this Saturday. After that they host Carthage and Elmhurst and those are the games they would have a chance to win. I think they end up 2-8.

Saw that in a 2 point loss to Millikin today, NPU almost unbelievably managed only a microscopic 11 net yards rushing. Not sure how you do that. Also not sure of the game details, but perhaps if they had been able to amass a still meager 50-60 yards on the ground they could have come home with a W. It appears  USee's  2-8 prediction might now be a stretch. I would however still bet on the Parkers over Elmhurst.

The reason why North Park almost beat Millikin was special teams. The Vikings scored their first touchdown on a 2nd-quarter punt play that has to be seen to be believed. Eight Millikin players clustered around an MU punt roll inside the NPU ten. While they were waiting for the ball to stop rolling, Vikings returner Juan Nieves snuck into the Big Blue confab, picked up the ball, and ran it 90 yards to the house. It's one of the most embarrassing football plays I've ever seen, made even worse by the Big Blue fan sitting near the field mic who was yelling, "Oh, no! Oh, no-ho-ho! OH, NO!" on the air.

In the 3rd quarter, after Millikin had scored a TD to go up 20-7, the Big Blue kicked off to A.J. Harris, who caught the ball at the 11, spotted a hole in the left side of the Millikin kickoff line that you could drive a Mack truck through, and hit it with alacrity. A few seconds and 89 yards later, NPU was down by one score.

MU kicked a field goal early in the 4th to extend the lead to 23-14, but Matt Eck found Wesley McCloud for a 67-yard TD with 3:07 left that brought the Vikings to within two points. The Vikings D forced a three-and-out, they got the ball back via a punt at the NPU 34 with 1:48 to go, and Eck took the Vikings offense 36 yards downfield on the ensuing drive (which included a 4th-and-10 conversion) before stalling out with three incompletions at the MU 30. With 22 seconds to go, Kyle Rooker figured that he had a better chance of Michael Messersmith kicking a 47-yard FG to win the game than either scoring on a 30-yard TD pass or converting another 4th-and-10 with no timeouts left and then quickly following it up with a red zone TD pass. And, as you can guess, given the distance he had to cover, Messersmith kicked it low -- low enough to block, which Millikin did to win the game.

[Thunderdome21]

Fun game to watch out in Rock Island last night (although I was 400+ miles away).  That Augustana quarterback was massive.  Good arm and pretty good pocket presence.  Had good protection most of the night.  From a Wheaton perspective the YAC were quite painful to watch.  There's too much emphasis on stripping the ball IMO.  Ideally, you should be both tacking and attempting to strip the ball, but the tackle must always be secured first.  Extra yards for Augustana were killer. 

Augustana had a good offensive gameplan, and if not for a case of the dropsies, could have made it interesting.  I think offenses are adapting to the bend but don't break style of defense Wheaton plays.  Also, the last few seasons having an elite defensive line really helped.  I think this group is good, but so far they've just put on a standard amount of pressure, instead of the suffocating pressure the Wheaton fans had gotten used to.  If the Naperville guys are able to get the quick pass game going like Augie did this Saturday, along with Greenfield, it could be a frustrating game for the Wheaton defense.

Offensively I don't understand why they continue to try stretch runs.  Teams have been continually able to stretch those plays to the sidelines for minimal gains.  I understand needing to keep the playbook open and keep teams honest, but I sometimes just don't get it. 

Finally, the penalties just continue to crush the Thunder.  I do not understand why the program continues to be one of the most penalized teams.  The two false start penalties near the end of the first half were agonizing.  Unfortunately, you can always count on the Thunder to have at least one unsportsmanlike and one unnecessary roughness penalties.  It's something the program has always struggled with, as far as I can remember, even when I first became aware of them in the mid-eighties when my parents would take me to the homecoming games. 

It's Naperville week.  Always a fun time.  And a challenging game coming up.

the first time I saw this year's schedule, I felt the Wheaton-Augie game could be a dangerous trap game for Wheaton, since is was an evening game in Rock Island a week before the Bell battle.  The sluggishness, the penalties, a few blown coverages in nickel and dime packages, and missed tackles and/or overrunning the play on cutbacks...all of which extended drives and kept Augustana in the game.  Credit Augustana for executing a great game plan and keeping the game close. 

Glad to see Gio getting going with Wheaton's run game on offense.

I do fully expect Wheaton to be much sharper against North Central. But if they play as sluggish as they looked against Augustana, NC will double the score over Wheaton.

[Gregory Sager]

My guess is that last night's game says a bit more about a bit of a resurgence in Rock Island than it does about a huge fall off in Wheaton, but we will see how the season plays out.

Augie certainly didn't look resurgent against Rhodes or Elmhurst, but that's not to say that they couldn't have upped their game between EU last week and Wheaton last night.

[USee]

I am not surprised at all by the results yesterday, least of all Wheaton v Augie. Augie has 18 seniors returning and 9 on offense to Wheaton's 6 (1 on defense). Playing a road game in Rock Island against an Augie team with 30 seniors isn't going to be easy for any CCIW team and for Wheaton, with limited returning experience and the week before the Bell game, I'm sure Jesse Scott will take it.

I don't think it gives any indication about this week's Bell game. Both teams will be ready.

[WUPHF]

The reason why North Park almost beat Millikin was special teams. The Vikings scored their first touchdown on a 2nd-quarter punt play that has to be seen to be believed. Eight Millikin players clustered around an MU punt roll inside the NPU ten. While they were waiting for the ball to stop rolling, Vikings returner Juan Nieves snuck into the Big Blue confab, picked up the ball, and ran it 90 yards to the house. It's one of the most embarrassing football plays I've ever seen, made even worse by the Big Blue fan sitting near the field mic who was yelling, "Oh, no! Oh, no-ho-ho! OH, NO!" on the air.

I have watched a lot of football over the years and I assumed that this was possible, but I have never seen it.

I had to go watch it and others can as well as the 54:00 minute mark: https://athletics.millikin.edu/watch/?Archive=405&type=Archive

My favorite part was certainly the sideline fan made better by your description of it.

[USee]

Augustana's performance yesterday and success with the pass will prove interesting leading into Bell Week.  On the flipside, NCC has struggled to get the passing game going consistently this year.  While they have had success, it has not been fluid nor have the new receivers and QB been in sync on most patterns.  The MO for the Cards is to run.  Will they be able to create the holes for Greenfield and Hill to gain the yardage needed to keep the Bell?

Actually recalling last year's game, it was Lehnen's legs that saved the day and propelled the Cards to the win.

I think it needs to be kept in mind that the Cardinals often don't HAVE to pass. They lead the conference in rushing by double over 2nd place Wheaton. They have six of the top 15 rushers in the CCIW.

Given NCC and Wheaton have played completely different opponents I'm not sure this first statement has any meaning. I've noted the second point as NCC had 5 rushers at the top of the CCIW last year so that's nothing new either. NCC's offense has been 65% run for most of the past two decades. They don't look any worse in the run game than they usually are. Given their OL looks as good as it's ever been, I don't see that changing this week.

[USee]

The reason why North Park almost beat Millikin was special teams. The Vikings scored their first touchdown on a 2nd-quarter punt play that has to be seen to be believed. Eight Millikin players clustered around an MU punt roll inside the NPU ten. While they were waiting for the ball to stop rolling, Vikings returner Juan Nieves snuck into the Big Blue confab, picked up the ball, and ran it 90 yards to the house. It's one of the most embarrassing football plays I've ever seen, made even worse by the Big Blue fan sitting near the field mic who was yelling, "Oh, no! Oh, no-ho-ho! OH, NO!" on the air.

This might be one of my favorite plays in recent memory. Great awareness by Nieves. Thanks for pointing it out.