FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mr. Ypsi]

Augie just got around to posting the boxscore to the game.  Umm... can someone tell me the last time Augie was held to -32 yards rushing on 18 attempts?

The transformation to the dark side is complete.

The Stagg Bowl teams must be wondering who hijacked their school?

The truly amazing thing is they still came only 5 points short against the #7 team in the country!

[Mugsy]

Augie just got around to posting the boxscore to the game.  Umm... can someone tell me the last time Augie was held to -32 yards rushing on 18 attempts?

The transformation to the dark side is complete.

The Stagg Bowl teams must be wondering who hijacked their school?

The truly amazing thing is they still came only 5 points short against the #7 team in the country!

4 INT's by Central offense might have played a part in that...

[Mr. Ypsi]

Augie just got around to posting the boxscore to the game.  Umm... can someone tell me the last time Augie was held to -32 yards rushing on 18 attempts?

The transformation to the dark side is complete.

The Stagg Bowl teams must be wondering who hijacked their school?

The truly amazing thing is they still came only 5 points short against the #7 team in the country!

4 INT's by Central offense might have played a part in that...

Yeah, I heard about those.  What I haven't heard is the degree to which that was inept offense or great defense.  After all, picks (like fumbles) can be either giveaways or takeaways.

[dansand]

Augie just got around to posting the boxscore to the game.  Umm... can someone tell me the last time Augie was held to -32 yards rushing on 18 attempts?

The transformation to the dark side is complete.

The Stagg Bowl teams must be wondering who hijacked their school?

The truly amazing thing is they still came only 5 points short against the #7 team in the country!

4 INT's by Central offense might have played a part in that...

Yeah, I heard about those.  What I haven't heard is the degree to which that was inept offense or great defense.  After all, picks (like fumbles) can be either giveaways or itakeaways.

Augie's defense played pretty well. Central's QB Nate Snead only threw three picks all last season, so I don't think he's prone to ill-advised throws. The real key play in the game was Augie's failed fake punt on the first series of the second half.

As far as the running game goes, they completely abandoned it in the second half. I think their running backs carried twice in the second half. Lee's really developing nicely at QB, but they've got to be able to run the ball at least to some degree.

[rocketraider]

Just listened to Coach Swider's comments on the Wheaton-Albion game and he summed it up perfectly: A good win in week 1 against a pretty good Albion team. Once the Wheaton team looks at the film they'll be able to correct the errors they made, clean up the penalties and move on. The freshman defensive tackle for Wheaton #77 could become a beast. Met his grandfather before the game--what a nice guy!--and the kid did great for his first college game. Rocky Gingg is just a horse and the Wheaton o-line played very well. Wheaton's D sure gets after people and they'll get better as the season goes on. The conditions made it hard to make plays but the score was not indicative of how well Wheaton played. I don't know much about the rest of the CCIW but the Wheaton combination of a great ball-control running game and solid defense could make for a special season for the Thunder.

[Gregory Sager]

Fantastic, exciting game at NPU last night. The Vikings were completely stymied on offense in the first half, while Benedictine had two long drives -- an 80-yarder for an eventual TD, and another that also started at the BU twenty that NPU stifled with a fourth-and-one stop at the Vikings three yard line. The Vikings were lucky to only be down 7-0 at the half.

In the third quarter it was as though someone turned on the light switch for the NPU offense. Suddenly the option started working. Matt Hassan (159 yds) squirted through the middle for seven, eight yards at a clip, while Tyler Krebs kept the BU offense honest with his quickness at getting to the edge. Down 14-0, the Vikings scored 17 unanswered points to take the lead early in the fourth quarter.

A fumble at midfield gave Benedictine a short field with which to work, and the Bennies retook the lead midway through the final quarter, although the fact that they ganked the PAT attempt off the upright gave everyone hope that NPU could tie it back up with a FG. That wasn't necessary, as the Vikings marched down the field and regained the lead with 3:53 left on a Krebs TD run that made it 24-20, NPU.

That left a lot of time on the clock, though, and BU quickly got down into the red zone with under a minute left. Facing a fourth and two at the NPU 13 with forty seconds left in the game, Benedictine quarterback Preston Earl rolled right, spotted a man open at the goal line along the right sideline, and threw what looked for a split second like the game-winning TD -- only to see senior North Park DB Nick Pantaleo (14 tackles, seven solo) jump in front of the pass, pick it off, cut back across the entire field through traffic, and arrive in the end zone along the left sideline 99 yards later. It not broke a fifty-year-old record for the longest INT return in North Park history, it also went from one sideline to the other. It was an absolutely electrifying play that turned possible defeat into victory. The stands at Hedstrand Field were rocking.

Sure was good to hear the team raise their helmets and sing "Hail to the Varsity" after that one.

[oldknight]

Just listened to Coach Swider's comments on the Wheaton-Albion game and he summed it up perfectly: A good win in week 1 against a pretty good Albion team. Once the Wheaton team looks at the film they'll be able to correct the errors they made, clean up the penalties and move on. The freshman defensive tackle for Wheaton #77 could become a beast. Met his grandfather before the game--what a nice guy!--and the kid did great for his first college game. Rocky Gingg is just a horse and the Wheaton o-line played very well. Wheaton's D sure gets after people and they'll get better as the season goes on. The conditions made it hard to make plays but the score was not indicative of how well Wheaton played. I don't know much about the rest of the CCIW but the Wheaton combination of a great ball-control running game and solid defense could make for a special season for the Thunder.

#77 is Brandon Dykstra and yes, he's a beast. In high school he played on both sides of the line, including some tight end. I felt sorry for those 160 pound high school db's who had the misfortune of seeing Brandon in the secondary with the ball tucked under his arm. Check out the link in my repost below. Brandon is an exceptionally nice kid, was a good student in high school, and has salt-of-the-earth parents. He was a good pickup for the Thunder--I don't think Wheaton plays their freshmen very often.

Wheaton's recruiting class has just been posted:

http://athletics.wheaton.edu/news/2010/5/12/FB_recruits.aspx?path=football

Couple of interesting names:
Justin Swider - RB, 6'0" 185lbs (son of Coach Swider)
Hunter Thorson - TE, 6'6" 220lbs (son of 3 time All-All American LB Chad Thorson)

Overall good looking class (on paper).  35 recruits total with a good spread of positions represented.  Some good sized OL and LB's.  

I know one of them--Brandon Dykstra, a 6'2", 300 pound bruiser from Hudsonville Unity Christian who got some interest from D1 schools. He's a three year high school starter who played both ways, including some time at tight end, with a great pair of hands, though I imagine he's strictly a lineman at the college level. His older brother Jeremy is a backup post player for Trinity Christian's basketball team. The Thunder got a good one. Check the link below for WOODTV 8's Football Frenzy show from last October when Brandon's amazing one-handed endzone grab was featured. It comes starting at the 4:30 mark after the obligatory commercial.

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/sports/football_frenzy/Frenzy_highlights_Oct_23_part_1

[Mugsy]

Just listened to Coach Swider's comments on the Wheaton-Albion game and he summed it up perfectly: A good win in week 1 against a pretty good Albion team. Once the Wheaton team looks at the film they'll be able to correct the errors they made, clean up the penalties and move on. The freshman defensive tackle for Wheaton #77 could become a beast. Met his grandfather before the game--what a nice guy!--and the kid did great for his first college game. Rocky Gingg is just a horse and the Wheaton o-line played very well. Wheaton's D sure gets after people and they'll get better as the season goes on. The conditions made it hard to make plays but the score was not indicative of how well Wheaton played. I don't know much about the rest of the CCIW but the Wheaton combination of a great ball-control running game and solid defense could make for a special season for the Thunder.

#77 is Brandon Dykstra and yes, he's a beast. In high school he played on both sides of the line, including some tight end. I felt sorry for those 160 pound high school db's who had the misfortune of seeing Brandon in the secondary with the ball tucked under his arm. Check out the link in my repost below. Brandon is an exceptionally nice kid, was a good student in high school, and has salt-of-the-earth parents. He was a good pickup for the Thunder--I don't think Wheaton plays their freshmen very often.

It is rare that Swider gives a freshman significant playing time.  It takes a exceptionally gifted player to do so.

[Mr. Ypsi]

And One,

Check out my post above.  Did you really expect credit for whupping Cornell?!!

NCC went down just one point, but the consolidation of votes left them down two slots.  (The teams that passed them did not play Cornell!)  Next year, open the season by whupping Mount Union - I guarantee you will rise in the poll

Mr.----

No, I certainly didn't expect the Cardinals to garner much extra credit for "whupping" the likes of Cornell as you succinctly state. However, I was definitely surprised that a 35 point victory resulted in a drop from #14 to #16.

So, while I didn't really expect much credit, I also didn't expect a 35 point win would result in their account being debited.

Perhaps if they had "whupped" a powerhouse like Hope by 4 points we would have seen a well deserved rise in the rankings!    

NCC basically stayed dead even (they lost one measly point).  You can't look at the ranking of a team without considering other teams.  They 'fell' two slots because Willamette (on the road) beat a ranked UWSP team and Hardin-Simmons (on the road) beat an unranked but highly regarded Whitworth team - those team passed NCC, as opposed to NCC 'falling'.

As for IWU, they DID lose 23 points for that uninspiring performance.  They 'rose' two slots because UWSP and Monmouth were both beaten and fell below them.

And the cycle continues - without playing, NCC regained their two slots because Linfield and St. John's both lost and fell below them.  (Though they also gained 23 points - apparently not playing is more impressive than beating Cornell! )

(Though some results ARE inexplicable unless you do a whole lot more analysis of almost EVERYONE else than I'm willing to do.  IWU stayed at #24, but gained back more than the 23 points they had lost by narrowly beating Hope, by beating Alma (a team roughly comparable to Cornell) by less than NCC beat Cornell.   And your BYE must have been much more impressive than UWSP's - while you rose 23 points, they lost another 22. )

[Mr. Ypsi]

Also note that your ranking is held hostage to past opponents.  Despite a 26-7 win over a mid-level MIAC opponent (Gustavas Adolphus), Wartburg LOST 3 points because their win over pre-season #17 Monmouth (who lost yesterday to Grinnell[!]) has greatly devalued the reason Wartburg made it into the ORVs in the first place.

[Mr. Flynn]

And your BYE must have been much more impressive than UWSP's - while you rose 23 points, they lost another 22. )

I think some of the voters are starting to devalue Stephens Point's win over Whitewater 2 years ago.

[Mr. Ypsi]

And your BYE must have been much more impressive than UWSP's - while you rose 23 points, they lost another 22. )

I think some of the voters are starting to devalue Stephens Point's win over Whitewater 2 years ago.

I'd assume the real reason is that the team UWSP lost to (Willamette) lost yesterday to Hardin-Simmons - though it IS interesting that Stevens Point lost more points than Willamette did.

[Pat Coleman]

Also note that your ranking is held hostage to past opponents.  Despite a 26-7 win over a mid-level MIAC opponent (Gustavas Adolphus), Wartburg LOST 3 points because their win over pre-season #17 Monmouth (who lost yesterday to Grinnell[!]) has greatly devalued the reason Wartburg made it into the ORVs in the first place.

I would also mention that when you are talking about teams that are on very few ballots, there are a lot of variables. For example, if someone has Wartburg low on their ballot and decided this week they needed to get UW-Eau Claire or Cal Lutheran onto their ballot, someone has to go.

22 points is pretty close to the break point where that doesn't happen, though. Definitely happens all the time in the single digits.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Also note that your ranking is held hostage to past opponents.  Despite a 26-7 win over a mid-level MIAC opponent (Gustavas Adolphus), Wartburg LOST 3 points because their win over pre-season #17 Monmouth (who lost yesterday to Grinnell[!]) has greatly devalued the reason Wartburg made it into the ORVs in the first place.

I would also mention that when you are talking about teams that are on very few ballots, there are a lot of variables. For example, if someone has Wartburg low on their ballot and decided this week they needed to get UW-Eau Claire or Cal Lutheran onto their ballot, someone has to go.

22 points is pretty close to the break point where that doesn't happen, though. Definitely happens all the time in the single digits.

Good point.  Having taught statistics and survey research my whole career, I was alert to that even on the basketball 'Posters Poll', though I never established a 'break point'! 

[79jaybird]

Elmhurst defeated an understaffed, undermanned Olivet 37-7.  EC scored on the 4th play from scrimmage and the game was never really close.  Olivet is in a rebuilding stage, so yes it is a W, but doesn't do much for Elmhurst in prep for CCIW competition.
The O and D lines continue to look like positives for Elmhurst. There were some dropped balls that while did not cost EC today, might cost the Jays on a pivotal 3rd down later in the season.

What is it with Olivet?  I have been there 3 times now calling the games, and EVERY time it has been storming.  Am I curse?  I joked with some of the OC staff,  I have to see the sun in a pretty part of the country.

P.S. I am sure all of you saw the conclusion to the Bears/Lions game.  I am a die hard Bears fan and we shoudl have lost that game.  That rule stinks.  IMO,  Calvin Johnson had the ball, beat his corner and the rule stole a W for Detroit.