FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[usee]

I will say that this IWU defense is probably the best defense that North Central will see all year, until the playoffs should the Cards run the table.  They made alot of plays, mixed up coverages and played extremely well.

Bulletin board material!   

I think it's probably more accurate to say that's the first good defense NCC has seen all year.

[Pat Coleman]

What is with kicking in this league??!!  The Titans are so bad, they have only even attempted ONE FG all season (I nearly had a heart attack when it was good! ).  Wheaton missed a PAT-length FG at the end of the first half, and now have 4 TDs for a total of 25 points.

Have all the decent kickers joined the soccer teams?

I believe as the gap grows wider between a scholarship and private D3 school tuition, the harder and harder it becomes to find good kickers at this level.

That's just my theory.

A lot of D-I kickers are not actually on scholarship, though.

[CardinalAlum]

I will say that this IWU defense is probably the best defense that North Central will see all year, until the playoffs should the Cards run the table.  They made alot of plays, mixed up coverages and played extremely well.

Bulletin board material!   

I think it's probably more accurate to say that's the first good defense NCC has seen all year.

Agreed!

[FormerCard]

I will say that this IWU defense is probably the best defense that North Central will see all year, until the playoffs should the Cards run the table.  They made alot of plays, mixed up coverages and played extremely well.

Bulletin board material!   

I think it's probably more accurate to say that's the first good defense NCC has seen all year.

Agreed!

That is probably true...the point I was trying to make was how good the defense opposite the Cardinals played on Saturday.

[HScoach]

Nice recovery by Wheaton yesterday.  Hopefully both NCC/Wheaton take care of business next week to keep the Week 9 showdown alive. 

[labart96]

We at "In the HuddLLe" (www.inthehuddLLe.com) are very excited to announce a very special guest coming onto the show this Sunday at 7:30 PM ET!!!

We will be welcoming Dr. Tony Strickland of the David Geffenn School of Medicine at UCLA and the Sports Concussion Institute (http://www.concussiontreatment.com/). 

Dr Strickland has recently appearred on both ESPN's Outside the Lines and the NFL Network to discuss concussions and the work SCI has done in the diagnosis and treatment of the same.

Dr. Strickland has requested we encourage fans, players and otherwise interested parties to please dial into the show to ask their questions.  That said we would like to solicit you to call in and drive the dialogue with Dr. Strickland given the prominence of this topic in the national headlines.   Our switchboard line is 646-200-0576.

Again the date of his appearance will be tonight Sunday, Oct 24 at 7:30 PM ET. 

Thanks in advance your assistance in making this special opportunity to get a refreshing and informed perspective on this nationally relevant topic!

[usee]

North Central 30
IWU 7


These are simply two teams on different levels.  After watching this one (which was nice to be able to do, I might add) I am convinced that North Central is a legitimate national power, and I think the Cards may even be able to compete with the 2 big boys.  The Cards have a ton of playmakers on both sides of the ball.

I also watched the Wheaton/IWU game earlier and was very impressed by the Thunder.  The NCC/Wheaton game should be a good one...but I think the Cardinals are the better team.

If NCC wins out, I have to believe they will be a #1 seed.  They could really make some big noise.

Q- good assessment and very fair. The only difference in opinion I have is the NCC offense. I don't see the playmakers on that side of the ball they have had in the past. If you want to compete with UWW and MUC you need a Cecil Shorts/Lavell Coppage type or 2. NCC has Tassio and Llavac (and they may become those guys) but right now, if NCC faces a defense as good as theirs (which will certianly happen in the playoffs) I think they may struggle to score. Its still early to make that assessment confidently and I may have a different opinion in a couple weeks but that's what it appears to me now. Their defense (giving up just 3.7 yds per play) is excellent and good enough to compete with the big boys. Offensively, they are still a work in progress. Special teams have been outstanding and show how much depth and talent they have.

Keep in mind the Cardinal defense shut down IWU yesterday with Willie Hayes in street clothes, Wenger missing much of the 2nd quarter and Garza was also dinged a bit during the game. They didnt' appear to miss a beat while I was watching.

[Tailgater]

BUMMER! So much promise at the conclusion of the first half for the Red Men to continue their successful ways in Wheaton, but where did they disappear to in the second half? Kinda reminded me of this political hope & change crap. We had a lot of hope at the intermission, but change came quickly and badly in the second half. Yes the Carthage D gave up a lot of offensive yardage in the first half, but the bend don't break style D they play coupled with Thunder mistakes was surely building confidence in the ranks of the Carthage faithful. Hats off to Wheaton for making solid adjustments, playing consistent through the lightening delay and persevering through their mistakes and (sorry to say it this way) pathetic kicking game to capture victory from what appeared would be another head hanging defeat to Carthage at home. I don't know anything about the consistency or not of Wheaton's kicker, but this type of performance will potentially cost them a game down the CCIW stretch or in the playoffs should they get there.

[TCrawf5825]

I will say that this IWU defense is probably the best defense that North Central will see all year, until the playoffs should the Cards run the table.  They made alot of plays, mixed up coverages and played extremely well.

Bulletin board material!   

I think it's probably more accurate to say that's the first good defense NCC has seen all year.

[TCrawf5825]

I will say that this IWU defense is probably the best defense that North Central will see all year, until the playoffs should the Cards run the table.  They made alot of plays, mixed up coverages and played extremely well.

Bulletin board material!   

I think it's probably more accurate to say that's the first good defense NCC has seen all year.

Eau Claire had a good defense as well.  Nobody has been able to stop the cards with any consistancy

[usee]

Eau Claire is giving up 28.7 pts per game and 180yd rush per game. I don't consider that good defense. Against IWU (who has a good, not great defense) NCC's TDs were on drives of 51 (1 play), 27, and 13 yds. The other TD was wengers fumble recovery.

If NCC wants to compete w UWW and UMU they need consistent production on both sides of the ball. I think their defense is there but their offense needs to continue to improve and their playmakers develop IMO.

[ncc58]

This is an honest, fair, and accurate asessment of NCC. They seem to be head above on every CCIW team, including Wheaton. The offense needs to find a groove in order to compete with the top 4 teams.

Q- good assessment and very fair. The only difference in opinion I have is the NCC offense. I don't see the playmakers on that side of the ball they have had in the past. If you want to compete with UWW and MUC you need a Cecil Shorts/Lavell Coppage type or 2. NCC has Tassio and Llavac (and they may become those guys) but right now, if NCC faces a defense as good as theirs (which will certianly happen in the playoffs) I think they may struggle to score. Its still early to make that assessment confidently and I may have a different opinion in a couple weeks but that's what it appears to me now. Their defense (giving up just 3.7 yds per play) is excellent and good enough to compete with the big boys. Offensively, they are still a work in progress. Special teams have been outstanding and show how much depth and talent they have.

[Mugsy]

As expected not much movement in the new Top 25, North Central moves up to #5, Wheaton remains at #17.

[Son of Tailgater]

Has anyone taken a gander at the first SOS numbers of the season?

SIX CCIW teams in the top 17!

This is one tough place to play!  

(And that should put an end to the garment-rending sobs about the 'weak' CCIW non-con schedule - it can't have been THAT weak!   Though NCC brings up the rear at #70 - maybe their non-con schedule WAS kinda soft. )

I would like to see NCC step up their non-conference schedule in the future. I know you cannot change these right away but having two 0-7 teams and a 3-4 team might hurt them if they don't win conference. Remember I said might and if   as they should take care of Elmhurst and NP with only Wheaton to compete with them in week 9. The first time I saw Wheaton was this weekend and I know they are capable of better but if they play like that against NCC I do not seeing them come back from a 17 point deficit.

I know that Carthage has made the effort to schedule more competitive teams in their non-conference schedule. We used to have Benedictine, Carrol and Hope on the schedule. Lakeland has always been a 1-6 point game even though they typically finished with a .500 or so record.

[FormerCard]

Has anyone taken a gander at the first SOS numbers of the season?

SIX CCIW teams in the top 17!

This is one tough place to play!  

(And that should put an end to the garment-rending sobs about the 'weak' CCIW non-con schedule - it can't have been THAT weak!   Though NCC brings up the rear at #70 - maybe their non-con schedule WAS kinda soft. )

I would like to see NCC step up their non-conference schedule in the future. I know you cannot change these right away but having two 0-7 teams and a 3-4 team might hurt them if they don't win conference. Remember I said might and if   as they should take care of Elmhurst and NP with only Wheaton to compete with them in week 9. The first time I saw Wheaton was this weekend and I know they are capable of better but if they play like that against NCC I do not seeing them come back from a 17 point deficit.

I know that Carthage has made the effort to schedule more competitive teams in their non-conference schedule. We used to have Benedictine, Carrol and Hope on the schedule. Lakeland has always been a 1-6 point game even though they typically finished with a .500 or so record.

There is no advantage at this point to have a tougher non conference schedule IMO.  Winning the CCIW and going to the playoffs is more than likely NCC's goal every year and having a tough non conference schedule does not help either cause.