FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mugsy]

Final in Wheaton: 32-20 Thunder.

Wheaton offense not quite clicking yet under the new offensive coordinator.  2nd game this year won by Norris, IMO.  Norris had some huge passes.  17-30 for 225 yards and 3 TDs.  Wheaton offensive line is not getting it done on the running attempts.  Gingg only 77 yards on 23 carries.  Norris was sacked 3 times as well.  Wheaton did have 394 yards of total offense, but I just came away that they aren't quick in-sync yet.

Wheaton defense was dearly missing Nick Theobald in the middle.  Hope rushed for 218 yards on 48 carries.  100 yards rushing in the 3rd quarter alone - with over 13 minutes of possession.   Hope had 364 yards of total offense.  Hope QB struggled mightly - 10 of 34 for 150 yards, 1 TD & 1 INT.

As much as Hope dominated the 3rd quarter, Wheaton took over in the 4th.  Blocked punt was HUGE.  Wheaton scores 2 plays later - proves to be the decisive score.

As already stated, Wheaton missed 3 extra points and that is 6 misses in 16 attempts.  NOT GOOD!  That is cost a game down the road if not resolved - mark my words.

Hope is a much improved team and the MIAA had better be ready.  Very impressed with their OLine and mixture of power and finesse RB's.  QB play needs some improvement however.

[Mugsy]

From this weeks ATN

"Also seeking feedback on Ten Best (top 10 of the past 10 seasons), moments to remember for the year-in-review and road trip suggestions for October and November (ATN especially likes non-Saturday afternoon kickoffs that can be paired with a game at a traditional time)."

What are the "top 10" for the cciw?  I was thinking one of the many great endings to the Wheaton/Augie rivalry.  It seems like most of the games this decade went down to the last play. Luckily, for my liking, Wheaton won most of the close ones.

Any other thoughts?

Interesting question... I need to give it some more thought.  I'll reply early in the week.

[Mugsy]

One other thought...

To me it is clear Wheaton is still working to be familiar with the new offensive coordinator and the switch from a 4-3 defensive scheme to a 3-4.

Those adjustments take time... but time is up. CCIW slate starts now.

Congrats to Wheaton on continuing the 23 game non-conference win streak, but time to push it up a notch.  Cut down the stupid mistakes, shore up the rushing defense (we absolutely need Nick Theobald back at Nose Guard), and get Gingg on track.  

[Mugsy]

CCIW completes the non-conference slate with a 20-4 record.  Another solid start to the season.  Bring on the CCIW schedule..

[Mr. Ypsi]

CCIW completes the non-conference slate with a 20-4 record.  Another solid start to the season.  Bring on the CCIW schedule..

You beat me to it.  Has the conference ever had a gaudier record?

And NPU vs. RHIT may have been the only unwinnable game; NCC is probably better than ONU, Augie is probably better than Coe, and NPU is probably better than BU (those would be my bets if there were rematches).  WOW - if could have been 23-1!

[Tailgater]

I have to say that I'm really looking forward to the Wheaton/Hope game this week.  With Hope having played both IWU and Carthage tough, we'll get to play the comparision game headed into conference play.  At this point, Hope appears to be much improved over last season.

I'm wondering what comparisons you may have arrived at now that 3 CCIW teams have played Hope?

[Tailgater]

I have to say that I'm really looking forward to the Wheaton/Hope game this week.  With Hope having played both IWU and Carthage tough, we'll get to play the comparision game headed into conference play.  At this point, Hope appears to be much improved over last season.

We might get a gauge from the Carthage vs. Valpo game as well.  Valpo lost to Concordia Wisc., to whom Wheaton demolished.

Not sure there is much to gauge from here as there are way to many intangibles. Valpo actually beat Concordia 20-17. Wheaton beat up on Concordia, Valpo got a narrow win over Concordia, Carthage beats Valpo. I could list a bunch of intangibles, but that would take too much typing. Like a test taken in school.....the test judges the state of mind and the capability of the one being tested for a snap shot in time on that given day. Given the same test on different days the outcome could potentially be different depending on the state of mind and well-being of the one being tested. I believe the same applies to sports teams. What is their state of mind and well-being on any particular game day week-to-week? Maybe Concordia knew the inevitable would occur against Wheaton so didn't play with much confidence. Then against a Div I Valpo thought they had a chance to make a statement, put it all together and played to the best of their capability. Who knows? Just a thought.

[Tailgater]

I went to the Carthage/Valpo game and was entertained from start to finish. Valpo is a decent team. They have some big guys and some very capable talent. If they were in the CCIW I would equate them to a middle tier team. Their offense was very productive. They out-gained Carthage on the day 440yds to 389yds. They won the time-of-possession 33-27 minutes. Carthage was the only team to capitalize on turnovers as they returned an INT for a TD.

The Carthage offense can flat out score points scoring on 4 of their first 5 possessions. Evan Jones has developed into a very good field leader and looks very comfortable in action (28-41 for 323yds, 2 TDs). He also had 2 nice pooch punts that ended up inside the 1 yd line. He did throw an INT at the Valpo goal line, but the Carthage defense soon converted that mistake to a score on an INT 3 plays latter. The running game has not yet gelled. Only 66yds on the ground today (41yds rushing lost). The passing game is carrying the offense at this point.

The Carthage defense is a little suspect. They have a lot of speed and play with a lot of heart. It seams they get themselves in trouble allowing big plays. It felt like several 3rd and long situations were converted by Valpo. The Red Men allowed a 36yd TD run and a 63yd TD pass. Valpo's first score was set up by a roughing the kicker penalty on a 4th and 20. The revived drive netted Valpo's first TD. There is some work to be done for improvement in eliminating the big play. Carthage won the turnover stat with 2 INTs and 1 fumble recovery. One of the positives I took away from this game was that Carthage seems to have a grip on their penalties. They were only penalized 3 times for 35yds. In all 3 non-conference games their penalties were minimal. Looking forward to the start of conference play. Homecoming in Kenosha against IWU outta set off some fireworks and may be the game of the week to watch in the CCIW (I say this not knowing the other 3 match-ups)

[Tailgater]

Quoting Coach Tim Rucks on the Sept. 26 Valparaiso Game:  "At certain points, we were dying for a big play, and the two interceptions really picked us up.  We got stopped on only two drives in the first half, and we really stopped ourselves both times.  In the third quarter, we looked out of synch and out of rhythm.  We just can't quite seem to put four quarters together.  Late in the game, we went back to Jeff Koeneman and Nick Merchut.  Those two guys are just bigger, stronger and faster than we play against, and I think that will continue.  You know the ball is coming to them, but they're still hard to stop.  Valparaiso has some  big guys, and they're pretty good.  While we didn't get caught up in the Division I stuff this week, this was a nice win for us against a large school.  They play in a very good league.  We gave away a lot of size to them, but we did a good job.  We're 3-0, but I'm struggling with our overall consistency.  For an offene that sometimes looks so polished, we do some incredibly dumb things, and our defense is giving up some big plays.  We're not going to get away with inconsistent play like that when we get into CCIW play."

[Mr. Ypsi]

It looks like a very interesting first week of conference play (except, probably, for Wheaton @ NPU):

(2-1) NCC @ (3-0) Millikin - is Millikin really for real, or will this still be as one-sided as I suspect?

(3-0) Elmhurst @ (2-1) Augie - substitute Elmhurst for Millikin, and see above.

(3-0) IWU @ (3-0) Carthage - even aside from my green blood, this is the one I'm most intrigued by.  I have a feeling that one of these teams will emerge as a spoiler, perhaps even a full-fledged contender, I just have no clue which one.

[Mugsy]

It'll be interesting to see, but I suspect we'll see Wesley jump ahead of Wheaton in the top 25 standings.  Wheaton had it's hands full with Hope, while Wesley spanked LaGrange.

[Mr. Ypsi]

It'll be interesting to see, but I suspect we'll see Wesley jump ahead of Wheaton in the top 25 standings.  Wheaton had it's hands full with Hope, while Wesley spanked LaGrange.

Very close!  Wheaton lost 8 points, while Wesley gained 5, but Wheaton stays in 4th, 524 to 523!

NCC lost 35 points (racking up 69 points on Olivet is apparently VERY unimpressive) and fell from 12 to 14.

In ORV, Elmhurst (3 points) and Carthage (2 points) both entered the voting with wins, but IWU's bye opponent was obviously much tougher than Millikin's as the Titans went from 2 to 5 points, but Millikin lost all 4 of theirs!

[Mr. Ypsi]

In a north region game of interest (either or both teams may well end up as CCIW opponents in the playoffs), it appears that voters give little credence to home field.  Franklin beat Trine by 1 at home - Franklin rose from (#26) to #22 (gaining 26 points, to 80); Trine fell from #22 to (t#34), losing 45 of their 71 points.

[markerickson]

Anybody watching Mt. Union product Garzon catching passes from Eli?
   

[Mugsy]

Anybody watching Mt. Union product Garzon catching passes from Eli?

Yup... quite a talented athlete.  Could make quite an impact for Indy in 09'...