FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[vikes35]

diehard,

To answer your question about does Augie really need to play a varied game, I would say yes. I watched 25 or so games in the last 4 years (while I was there) and they could get away with that in conference for the most part, but when they faced good or great teams (Wheaton, MUC, NCC (last year and 2004)) they struggled big time (especially when they got down 10 or more in any of those games). In order to get back to what many Augie fans think is there potential (the mid 80s) they are going to have to move with the times, and the times say you need to be able to air the ball out with some moderate success.

And the question about the BW loss, I feel that isn't as big of a deal as it seems. They have lost non-conference games at home the previous 2 seasons (Central in OT in 2005 and UW Stevens Point in 2004) and they were playing to make the playoffs, or were in the playoffs, the last game of the season in those 2 years. Now if they lose a game early in the CCIW season then the red flag will probably go up. They should have won that game (YES!!!) but they can't let that game carry over at all (because as we all know the CCIW champ gets the auto bid, and they should focus on that).


To answer the "why is Augie throwing the ball more" question from the page before, the best answer is that they can. I agree with Mugsy that once they get the running game clicking they will calm it down a little (but IMO not much), but unlike Roe and Wendell before him, McGinnis can actually throw the ball like a college QB, and if Barnes has that tool, he should use it. They have seen what a clock game can do when it goes bad (MUC last year), and I believe that they are going to start instituting more pass when they can. Like I said the times have changed in football, and if Augie wants to be dominant again, they are going to have to change also. 

[Tailgater]

Back to Carthage evalutaion

The Defense has been the big and pleasant suprise so far this season. With only 4 returning starters, 3 whom have seen little to no playing time due to injuries, the D has stepped up to the plate and dilevered. They look like the defense of the past few years. Active, swarmming, blitzing, gang tackling, making plays. The surprising part of it all is the many different personnel packages used and all the new faces making contributions. Shows some real possitve depth for the D. They have allowed only 20 points in the first three games, held 2 opponents to under 200 yds in total offense and intercepted 4 passes against Whittier returning 1 for a TD. They had an opportunity against Whittier to scoop a fumble which would have been returned for a TD, but messed up the scoop part. My hat is off to the D they have risen to the challenge! Keep up the good work.

Special teams continues to be special in the kicking department for Carthage. Matt Denny holds the Carthage kicking records after 2 seasons and has picked up where he left off last year. He is always a threat to add 3 points. Carthage will miss special teams guru Steve Rucks who will miss the rest of the season with a broken leg. Steve did it all as he was on every special team unit. He would block kicks & punts and has 2 TDs to his credit on returns after blocked kicks. Punting has been out of character this year with the abscense of Donovan Moore who has missed every game so far with a hamstring problem. Moore in my opinion is the most dangerous athlete in punt formation in the CCIW if not in all of D3 football. His speed, ability to pass and ability to kick with either foot makes him unpredictable to defend. It's amazing how many times he has been able to preserve a drive because of converting a 4th down play. So far in 3 games Carthage has not attempted a fake punt and has 2 punts blocked. Matt Denny did convert an on-side kick against Whittier which worked to perfection.

Hope that paints a picture for you all. Good luck today for all CCIW teams in action!

[vikes35]

Based on the first 3 weeks of the season, has anyone changed their opinion on who they picked to win the CCIW?

Or who the favorite is? 

Or who the dark-horse is?

What is surprising to this point?

Which teams still have some serious questions going into CCIW schedule?

Favorite: Wheaton (Swider seems to have his team back)
Darkhorse Carthage or Millikin
Surprises: The number of CCIW non-conf losses (very unusual)

I think all the teams have questions brewing every week, but serious question for Augie is how fast is the O-line progrerssing (HUGE KEY!!!)

[kenoshamark]

Thought the Redmen faithful might like an update on the injury situation.  This was pulled from the Carthage website but there was an article today in the Kenosha News as well.   

Injury Report:  Safety/punter Donovan Moore (Sr., Spring Grove, Ill./Richmond-Burton) suffered a severe hamstring injury during pre-season drills and will miss the entire season.  Moore plans to return in 2007 as a fifth-year senior...cornerback Franko Shenault (Jr., Hanover Park, Ill./Roselle-Lake Park) had foot surgery in August and will miss the entire 2006 season...outside linebacker Steve Rucks (Sr., Elgin, Ill./Larkin) broke a hand during pre-season drills, attempted to play with that injury and then broke a leg in an Aug. 26 scrimmage against Concordia University (Wis.).  Rucks will miss the entire season... ...defensive end Mike Powers (Jr., Fox Lake, Ill./Grant Community), hampered by an Achilles tendon injury, played briefly in the Sept. 2 season-opener at Carroll College (Wis.) but will miss the rest of the season...also out of action for the year are fullback Shaun Jozwiak (Jr., Johnsburg, Ill./McHenry-Johnsburg), wide receiver Chris Dunn (So., Tampa, Fla./Jefferson) and defensive lineman Travis Rische (Fr., Trevor, Wis./Wilmot-Union).

[usee]

wheaton leads hope 28-0 in the 3rd qtr. chaz black just ripped off an 80+ yd td run.

[usee]

chupp to chupp for 57 yds and a td. 35-7 wheaton w 7 min left in the 3rd

[usee]

wheaton wins 35-21. didn't hear the end of the game to see how hope scored but wheaton was safely ahead by end of 3rd qtr.

[usee]

interesting in the wheaton game it sounds like jeremy chupp and ullrich split time in the first half. they both threw 2 td passes. hope scored 2x late in the game. hope only had 36 yds rushing for the game. chaz black had 16 carries for 130+ yds. fossum had a nice game w 8 catches and 2 tds.

millikin will be the toughest test yet down in decatur and vs wallick who has owned the Thunder the past two yrs.

[Jim Matson]

Elmhurst defeated Olivet 33-16.  Now I'm one for one...

[mr_b]

North Park dropped its homecoming game 25-0 to Rose-Hulman.  The Vikings just couldn't generate any offense, while the Engineers had a strong running game.

[augiefan]

Early in the 2nd quarter Augie is getting waxed by Platteville 14-0.

[RedmenFB44]

I suppose this would be as good a time as any to offer my evaluation of Carthage following their 3-0 non-conference start. For you Alumni out there I hope this gives you at least a snap shot of what the team looks like.

The offense remains the key as to how far the Red Men can go this year. With 9 returning starters there has been high expectation for their success. After an unproductive start at Carroll the offense has shown signs of being worthy of their expectation. They put up 3 TDs against Lakeland and 3 more against Whittier (also had a 30+ yard TD pass called back & settled for a field goal) and over 300 yards in total offense in each of those games. In my opinion, the key for the offense to succeed rests with the RBs and FBs who both opperate by committee. They are all very good athletes, but are not the Randall Baker or Dante Washington style of runner we have been spoiled with for many years. They need to hit the holes quick & hard. RedmenFB44 was the last BIG fullback who played at Carthage. The importance of that solid lead blocker to your running game is unquestionable. While the Carthage FBs are very capable athletes they are not your prototypical size FB. It becomes a challenge taking on larger LBs, DEs & DL. Brennan O'Boyle (QB) adds another running back in the backfield. He is as effective with his running skill as he is passing. Nice to have the versitility. I have not looked at rushing stats, but O'Boyle is at or near the team top in rushing yards.

When I came to Carthage I was only 200lbs. In high school I carried the ball 20-30 times a game and then I got to Carthage and found that fullback only carries the ball about 5 times a season! So I figured why not put on the weight. By my senior year I was about 245. That weight really helped against the big physical linebackers that I faced in the CCIW.

Thought the Redmen faithful might like an update on the injury situation.  This was pulled from the Carthage website but there was an article today in the Kenosha News as well.  

Injury Report:  Safety/punter Donovan Moore (Sr., Spring Grove, Ill./Richmond-Burton) suffered a severe hamstring injury during pre-season drills and will miss the entire season.  Moore plans to return in 2007 as a fifth-year senior…cornerback Franko Shenault (Jr., Hanover Park, Ill./Roselle-Lake Park) had foot surgery in August and will miss the entire 2006 season…outside linebacker Steve Rucks (Sr., Elgin, Ill./Larkin) broke a hand during pre-season drills, attempted to play with that injury and then broke a leg in an Aug. 26 scrimmage against Concordia University (Wis.).  Rucks will miss the entire season… …defensive end Mike Powers (Jr., Fox Lake, Ill./Grant Community), hampered by an Achilles tendon injury, played briefly in the Sept. 2 season-opener at Carroll College (Wis.) but will miss the rest of the season…also out of action for the year are fullback Shaun Jozwiak (Jr., Johnsburg, Ill./McHenry-Johnsburg), wide receiver Chris Dunn (So., Tampa, Fla./Jefferson) and defensive lineman Travis Rische (Fr., Trevor, Wis./Wilmot-Union).

Those are some major injuries for the Redmen expecially Moore. He is the best pure athlete on the team. He will be missed. Powers is also a very solid DE and Jozwiak is the biggest and most experienced fullback they have. Franko is a good cover corner with great speed. These injuries kinda worry me but I know the coaching staff will have the backups ready to go.

[augiefan]

UWPlatteville 21 Augie 7 at the half. Augie cut it to 14-7 early in the 2nd quarter and stopped UWP on the next possession, but McGinnis immediately fumbled on Augie's 29 and Platteville scored off that turnover to take control going into the intermission. Time to head out for the evening, so I'll be spared the rest of this debacle. When doe basketball practice start?

[79jaybird]

Elmhurst 33 Olivet 16  final

I drove up on Friday and stayed overnight in Charlotte, MI. Coincidentally, the waitress that waited on me was the wife of one of the assistant coaches at Olivet.  I along with Coach Sparks and his wife (the waitress) "shot the breeze" until 1:30 EST.  Good times Coach Sparks
I want to compliment the Olivet Staff and the MIAA. Their facilities, assistance, and accomodations were A+!    (Geoff    )
Born and raised in the urban sector,  I appreciate the rural setting of Olivet and the Ma/Pop  style to the town.
As for the game.  Olivet needed velcro on their hands early because they fumbled twice and an interception--- led to 17 EC points.  Elmhurst led the entire game.
Somebody questioned Elmhurst' slow start(s). 
The only real "slow start" was the Chicago game, I attribute that to the bye week.  I was worried the team would have a slow start today, because of the long bus ride/travel etc.,  but the Bluejays were prepared and played very well.
Really, Elmhurst gave up 10 points, because the 16 came on the final play of the game with Elmhurst' 2nd/3rd strings in the game going vs. Olivet's #1 guys

While the Bluejays did give up some yardage, Elmhurst made the clutch plays when they had to.
Actually, one of the strangest plays I have seen occurred today.  A Bluejay receiver  caught a pass along the sidelines.  He shed a few tackles and was ready to break it open down the sidelines around the 30.  Suddenly he is hit from behind jarring the ball loose.  The ball bounces (literally) 20-25 yds. into the endzone recovered by EC for the touchdown.  How bizarre?

Actually, the only downer of the entire trip was traveling home in heavy rain the entire way.  From Olivet to Mt. Prospect  wall to wall rain and dark ominous sky!  Ugh!  I hate driving in inclement weather.

Glad to see Wheaton win, though I think it is a concern that Hope was able to post 21 points on the Thunder late.

Next week looks to be a good early CCIW between Carthage and Elmhurst.  I know EC will be looking for revenge after Carthage was able to knock us off at home last year.

[79jaybird]

With Elmhurst's win:

Extend their non-conference winning streak to 13 Last loss was 2002 to  Chicago 46-40
Start out the season 3-0 for the 4th straight year.
Today's win over Olivet was the first ever for Elmhurst in the state of Michigan and against a MIAA opponent.  They were previously 0-4 losing all 4 games to Alma between 1994-97.  (Taken out of the MIAA book- thanks formerd3db  )

I know some will want to use Olivet as a common opponent to compare Elmhurst with IWU.  I don't think it is fair to this mostly because both IWU and Elmhurst won their games mainly due to Olivet turnovers or miscues:  fumbles, ints, blocked kicks, etc.

I have said this since the opening broadcast,  each week you have to be prepared to play and there are no more cupcakes.  I don't buy North Park as a cupcake either.