FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[matblake]

The lack of sports support at Wheaton always surprised me too.  Wasn't always that way.  Back in the 50's when Wheaton was a basketball power they needed 2 sets of tickets for the game.  There were so many fans, you either got tickets for the first half or the second half. 

[thunderwearer]

Pat,

Will there be  a way to listen to you calling  the game at NCC or is can you only listen online?

[matblake]

Ok, back to football.  Millikin and Carthage should be a litmus test for both teams.  I really believe that both teams have been an enigma thus far and this will be the game that sets the tone for the rest of their seasons.  Obviously there will have to be a loser, but how competitive this game is should shed some light on which direction each team is heading.  

Augie over North Park.  Not much else to say.

I struggled for a while on who to pick for Elmhurst and IWU.  Decided I had to go with a gut feeling and go with IWU.

Wheaton and NCC is a toss up.  NCC on paper is outstanding.  Pretty good on the field so far too.  Wheaton has had a grip on the CCIW.  So, the homer pick goes to Wheaton.

[redman04]

When I played at Wheaton, we always joked that if you closed the library on Saturday afternoon, attendence to the football games would double. 

Mugsy,

I don't think the same thing applies to Carthage, I didn't even know that we had a library! 

In all seriousness I think that Carthage has always had pretty good student support.  Even better now that they are doing well.

[Mugsy]

redman04,

Yeah... slight embellishment on my part regarding library attendance vs. stadium attendance.  Still there were a number students who needed to lighten up a bit and enjoy their weekends more, IMO...  I mean a few hours to support any of the sport teams isn't going to put your grades at risk. 

However the Wheaton swim team often made up the difference... those guys are nuts.  Often shirtless, always rabid regardless of the weather.

I always recall a very raucous crowd of students hanging out on the hill next to the Carthage football field, usually louder than those in the stands.  Is that still the case?

[robertgoulet]

boy oh boy. i haven't been this excited about a football game in a long time. what a year for my alma matres so far. North Central is 3-0 and may be ready to break out into the bigtime and my old HS A-FC is #5 in the class A football polls.

i can't wait for saturday! hopefully the weather is nice....but regardless, i will be there to cheer on the cards. this outta be fun!

[redman04]

Maybe I'm missing something and have been known to be wrong in the past, but what is it about NCC that has everybody thinking that they are world beaters?  I know that the game is not played on paper, but here is a quick look to show my point 

I use the IBC Stats as a reference
IBC vs Carthage/ NCC

Vs Carthage               IBC   CC
FIRST DOWNS...................      7    21     
Take away the 4 first downs they hade off of penalties and they totaled 3 against Carthage
Vs NCC               IBC    NCC
FIRST DOWNS...................       17     21
Not sure how many were off of penalties?
Vs Carthage               IBC   CC
NET YARDS RUSHING.............      23   178     
  Rushing Attempts............      35   39       
  Average Per Rush............      0.7   4.6     
Vs NCC               IBC   NCC
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............      74   169
Rushing Attempts............      36   36
Average Per Rush............         2.05   4.69
Vs Carthage               IBC      CC
NET YARDS PASSING.............      50   336     
  Completions-Attempts-Int....  3-13-0   20-31-0   
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS...........      73   514       
Vs NCC               IBC   NCC
PASSING YDS (NET).............      274     395
Passes Att-Comp-Int...........  34-15-1     32-23-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   70-348   68-564
What does all this mean? 
(Offense)         NCC   CC
First downs; Tie      21   21 
Rush yards; Carthage     169   178
Pass yards; NCC      395   336
Pretty close in comparison Slight advantage in pass yards (50) for NCC
(Defense)         NCC   CC
First downs; Carthage    17   7
Rush yards;  Carthage   74   23
Pass yards; Carthage   274   50
Big advantage in comparisons for Carthage's Defense

[robertgoulet]

no one has said that they ARE world beaters, but that they have the potential to BE the top team in the conference this year. when you look at the paper, you have North Central with more pre-season all-american's (and all conference) selections than any other team in the CCIW. wouldn't you normally say that that would make them the team to beat?

i agree that they haven't accomplished anything yet, but i think that ON PAPER (which is about all we have to go by until the CCIW conference play starts) they are a darn good team.

[Mugsy]

redman04,

The statistic seem to support your claim, although I'd caution using a single common opponent as the sole measuring stick.  Especially IBC...  Yikes. There are a lot of factors at play.  I think most look at what NCC had returning both offensively at the skill positions and defensively.  It has been debated often in the offseason who will be better on defense in 05' - Carthage or NCC.  It's a close call.  Offensively (on paper) most would give NCC the node based on Kniss, Holden, and Spencer.  NCC probably has a more favorable schedule as well.

What really counts, obviously are the W's and L's.  All key contenders are starting at the same point, 3-0, except Augustana who is still very much a contender.  Time to see the important differentials - head to head competition.  This week will begin to help sort out some of these questions.

[Mugsy]

Personally, I like the way this kind of debate takes the attention off of Wheaton - you know the 3 time repeat CCIW champions.

[Mugsy]

5 CCIW teams currently receiving recognition in D3Football Top 25 Poll.

Carthage 16th
Wheaton 18th

Others receiving vote:
Augie 34th
NCC 36th
Millikin 37th

5 teams in the top 40, not bad.

[usee]

aaah yes, opponents. it should be noted that north central and wheaton's combined record this year of 6-0 is against opponents whose combined record is 1-20. wheaton hasn't beaten anybody with a win and ncc really hasn't either (nor has north park or elmhurst btw--the vaunted cciw W/L record is against opponents who are a combined 19-66).

it is on ncc to prove they belong. they really haven't won any big games yet and this is their chance. on paper they look good. but wheaton has been getting it done for several years.

[redman04]

it is on ncc to prove they belong. they really haven't won any big games yet and this is their chance. on paper they look good. but wheaton has been getting it done for several years.

Usee
That is the point.  I am not ready to give NCC anything yet.  If they beat Wheaton then lets talk about how good they are.  The same can be said for Carthage

[Mugsy]

mugsy- i agree about the dline, they are very athletic, but it is amazing how good your defensive line can look when you actually cover people.

Usee,
You aren't implying that Wheaton's Dline only looks good because the secondary?   Yes, a Dline will look better if your secondary can cover people (especially man-to-man) because it forces the QB to hold the ball longer - thus increasing likelihood of sacks, ints, etc... 

But there is a point where even the best coverage will break down if nobody gets to the QB.  Right now I think Wheaton's D looks very balanced, with each functional area complimenting the others.  They have very athletic, aggressive DLine that is causing havoc not only from the QB in passing situations, but also against the run.  The secondary has shown the ability to cover people well enough so that the QB can't just drop and fire, not to mention they are really laying out some punishing hits.  LB's seemed to be the question area coming into the season, but thus far have been playing very well.

[formerd3db]

Mugsy:
Thanks for the review of the game.  Unfortunately, like you say, it appears the same pattern and could be a long season for us.

Good luck to your Wheaton the rest of the season, and yes, I too will look forward to the continued Wheaton/Hope series.  Hopefully, we can meet in person at one of those; maybe next year.