FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mugsy]

Wheaton beat Olivet 49-15.  Far from Wheaton's best effort.  Still a comfortable win.   

Wheaton recorded 511 yards of offense in today's game as the Thunder ran for 336 yards and passes for 175. Olivet had 229 total yards, with 130 yards on the ground and 99 passing yards. 

Sophomore tailback Justin Swider ran for a career-high 128 yards in his first collegiate start with two touchdown runs. Swider carried the ball 12 times for an average of 10.7 yards per carry. Freshman Jesse Geary had 10 carries for 64 yards, with one touchdown run and David Sjelin ran for 60 yards on six carries.

Olivet's 31st straight loss, Wheaton's 29th straight non-conference win.    Wheaton will need to play much better next week.

That said Coach Swider and staff will have the team ready to go for the CCIW slate.

True.  Here's hoping they don't!

Sorry for such lame 'trash talk'!

No need for apology.  The CCIW season is starting.  Time to take the Green Weenies down on the first night game on turf for a CCIW game in Bloomington. 

[Mugsy]

CCIW finishes the non-conference slate with a 18-6 record.  75% winning percentage.  Solid, but down from last year.  Who knew Augie would go 0-3?

[Mr. Ypsi]

CCIW finishes the non-conference slate with a 18-6 record.  75% winning percentage.  Solid, but down from last year.  Who knew Augie would go 0-3?

My how things can change.  No one else in the CCIW has ever won a Stagg Bowl.  If you leave out the ONLY team to ever win 4 in a row (UMU and UWW have never done it ), the CCIW is 18-3.  Amazing.

[spencer1988]

congratulations to North Park.  I am going to predict that North Park finishes higher than Augustana in the standings.  Anyone agree with me on this one?

[AndOne]

The Cardinals may have eviscerated (thanks GS) the Comets, but at least Olivet was principled enough to honor their contract.

One of North Central's non-conference games this season was supposed to be with Cornell IA) with whom they signed a home and away contract last year. However Cornell called the NCC athletic office in January and said after being stomped 41-7 at home by the Cards last year, there was no way they were coming to Naperville for a beat down this year. You would think that with the former NCC top ass't basketball coach now the head bb coach at Cornell, that enough of a relationship would have been established wherein such type of conduct would not have occurred.

Anyone know if there are any general implications/penalties involved with breaking a contract in D3land? Maybe it depends on the individual contract between the 2 schools.

I met some of the Olivet parents after the game. First class people who strongly support their son's efforts no matter how they compare to the competition. Hope they had a safe trip home. That white Explorer would have been a little lighter minus the baskets of apples and bananas and the cases of pop. Hope the Comets at least enjoyed their post game pizza if not the game.

Agreed (belatedly).  Olivet College's administration earned my respect by continuing to honor their contract.  The OC student athletes on the field Saturday (and last year) earned my respect by playing hard to the last minute of the game (check the box -- they scored both TDs fairly late in the game).  The OC parents and fans earned my respect by continuing to support their team at this time when the program is clearly in a rebuilding mode.  I look forward to playing OC again when they have turned the corner.  Until then, I wish the Comets the best with the remainder of their season.

I understand the sentiment towards Cornell backing out of their contract with NCC.  But didn't NCC then have a contract with Coe, only to back out because it was only for 1 year and Redlands offered a 2 year contract?  That game with Coe was showing up on the schedule.  I didn't think they released a schedule if the contract had been signed?

Hopefully, I can add a little clarity around this whole NCC/Coe matter that will help put this to bed once and for all (even for Pat).  No, there never was a contract between NCC and Coe, and no there never was a date agreed on by NCC and Coe.  Period. 

If you go back in time, you will see that NCC had three open slots on its schedule for 2010 - 9/3, 9/10 and 9/24.  NCC was having a bit of a challenge filling its schedule with local schools.  Long-time partners such as Benedictine were not interested in losing by wide margins any more (2008:  NCC 49 IBC 9; and 2009:  NCC 55 IBC 0), and other logical new partners such as Concordia of Illinois were not interested in adding more challenging opponents to their schedules.  (To avoid taking HUGE karma hits AGAIN, I thought I'd pause here for a moment and say that I am fine with the strategic decisions made by both of these schools.  I am only trying to address the issue at hand. )  NCC's administration, as you can imagine, was in discussion with every DIII college which had open dates on 9/3, 9/10 and 9/24.  Many of those schools had no interest in playing, and some of the ones that were interested in playing only wanted one year deals on their home fields.  Coe was one of those schools.  While discussions were going on with Coe regarding having a game on 9/3 or 9/10, they were also going on with Redlands and others.  Redlands came back and indicated an interest in a two-year home and away deal while the folks in Coe were still mulling things over.  The folks at Coe may have thought that once they unilaterally made a decision regarding the date that a contract would be drafted.  This was NOT the case.  NCC moved forward with their agreement with Redlands before Coe came back with their decision.  In the interim, the SID at Coe jumped the gun a bit (IMO) and posted the game on the school's website before a date was ever agreed on.

In retrospect, had the folks at NCC known that Coe was going to have a bit of an off year while Redlands was going to be able to replace its all-world QB with another talented athlete, I wonder if they would have opted for the game at Coe.  I personally doubt it as the appeal of the two year contract, the recruiting benefit of having a game on the west coast, and NCC's belief that Redlands shares many of its own core values would have led them to the same decision. 

As a fan of DIII football, I am elated that the school decided to enter into what I hope will be a long-time partnership with Redlands.  There are not enough inter-region games nationally.  The only schools which regularly are willing to travel are Hardin-Simmons, Mary Hardin Baylor, as well as a couple of the west coast schools.  Games like the NCC v. Redlands matchup will help teams like Redlands get the attention it deserves comes playoff selection time.

doo---

As Stagg Or Bust investigated and reported, we now know that there was never a contract, nor, it appears, a verbal agreement, between Coe and NCC. The game may have appeared on the Coe schedule, but it appears that was just wishful thinking on the part of Coe. The game never did appear on the North Central schedule for the very reason that not only was a valid contract never signed, but the parties never even had a verbal agreement.

If we will remember our business law, the requirement of consideration was never met.  Coe may have extended an invitation to NCC to play or even promised to play, but when NCC failed to either agree to a one game contest or tell Coe they would accept their offer if a return game was also scheduled, no consideration was ever exchanged, and thus, one of the requirements for a valid contract never existed.

Bottom line is that we should not put too much stock in a schedule which appears on a school's web site prior to the actual beginning of the season. The same thing happened to NCC last year during the basketball season. A game appeared on another school's web prior to the beginning of the season. However, in fact, no real discussion of the possibility ever took place. In this case, I believe the error was caused by
an over zealous SID staffer. It certainly does happen.

(modified by GS for formatting)

[matblake]

congratulations to North Park.  I am going to predict that North Park finishes higher than Augustana in the standings.  Anyone agree with me on this one?

I'm not ready to go there yet.  I want to see how they do against Elmhurst and how Augie does against Millikin before I'm ready to start making predictions that bold.  If the Chicago Vikings can keep it up, it will turn into a prediction of great foresight though, spencer!

[Gregory Sager]

WOW !!!!

You should've been there, Dennis. You could've given us some historical perspective. I think that Wash U ranks among the best teams that NPU has beaten in the last thirty years. Faint praise, I know, but it is something.

congratulations to North Park.  I am going to predict that North Park finishes higher than Augustana in the standings.  Anyone agree with me on this one?

I'm not ready to go there yet.  I want to see how they do against Elmhurst and how Augie does against Millikin before I'm ready to start making predictions that bold.  If the Chicago Vikings can keep it up, it will turn into a prediction of great foresight though, spencer!

I'm not going there yet, either. NPU will be an underdog in every CCIW game it plays this season, and I'm happy to keep it that way.

[Stagg Again!!]

As a fan of DIII football, I am elated that [North Central] decided to enter into what I hope will be a long-time partnership with Redlands.  There are not enough inter-region games nationally.  The only schools which regularly are willing to travel are Hardin-Simmons, Mary Hardin Baylor, as well as a couple of the west coast schools.  Games like the NCC v. Redlands matchup will help teams like Redlands get the attention it deserves comes playoff selection time.

I, too, would like to see NCC and Redlands in an extended partnership.  I suspect that the presidents of the two schools will have a big say about whether that happens; they helped initiate the current agreement, and of course they have ultimate control of the purse strings.  NCC will have to decide whether the benefits in recruiting and alumni relations (and football) are worth the cost of a bi-annual flight to southern California.  For Redlands cost may be a lesser issue, as their non-conference series always involve long-distance travel.

From this fan's perspective, week 1 (a.k.a. Labor Day weekend) is the perfect time for the game:  if you're going to follow your team to southern California (or Chicago) then let it be on a long weekend!

I can definitely see the alumni benefit, but does NCC recruit or plan to recruit west coast?    Who pays transportation cost for a team traveling that far?   It would seem to be hard to justify for an extended period of time.

Big Z, see also Titan Q's comments.  It certainly is a benefit for the coaches from any DIII program to be able to walk into the living room of a recruit's home and say, "Our team not only has a game in California every other year, but every third year we play in Europe."  NCC has paid the transportaton costs for trips to Italy in 2006, Switzerland in 2009, Los Angeles in 2011, and will pay for the transportation costs for a trip to Barcelona in June 2012.  I believe that these costs have all been critical in building a top-tier national program.  I am positive that the school's administration will assess the continuing value of a Redlands relationship after next year's game, but I can not stress enough the belief by NCC's administration that the schools share many of the same core values regarding ethics, education, and programs. 

I do know that (other than being disappointed by Cardinals' loss!) the members of the Cardinal Caravan who went to Redlands on 9/3/11 had a VERY positive experience.  The folks that we met at Redlands were very nice and accommodating, the alumni pre-game event was fantastic, the campus was beautiful, the stadium was perhaps the nicest I have seen outside of B-W (though I do like the cannons at Franklin and Capital!), the team was very good, and the game was competitive.  What more can you ask for (other than a win)?

[Stagg Again!!]

I know that it is way to early to start making CCIW comparisons, but I thought I'd throw out the first bit of common opponents data:

EC v. Olivet -  Final EC 64 OC 14
                         Starting QB out with 15:00 left in 2Q when score was 30-0. 
                         162 yds passing/233 yds rushing.
NCC v. Olivet -   Final NCC 86 OCC 14
                         Starting QB out with 2:11 left in 1Q when score was 21-0. 
                         167 yds passing/329 yds rushing.
WC v. Olivet - Final WC 49  OC 15
                         Starting QB out with 9:24 left in 3Q when score was 36-8.
                         175 yds passing/336 yds rushing.

It would be interesting to hear from OC fans or anyone who saw all three games to get a sense of what they saw from EC, NCC and WC.

[AndOne]

As a fan of DIII football, I am elated that [North Central] decided to enter into what I hope will be a long-time partnership with Redlands.  There are not enough inter-region games nationally.  The only schools which regularly are willing to travel are Hardin-Simmons, Mary Hardin Baylor, as well as a couple of the west coast schools.  Games like the NCC v. Redlands matchup will help teams like Redlands get the attention it deserves comes playoff selection time.

I, too, would like to see NCC and Redlands in an extended partnership.  I suspect that the presidents of the two schools will have a big say about whether that happens; they helped initiate the current agreement, and of course they have ultimate control of the purse strings.  NCC will have to decide whether the benefits in recruiting and alumni relations (and football) are worth the cost of a bi-annual flight to southern California.  For Redlands cost may be a lesser issue, as their non-conference series always involve long-distance travel.

From this fan's perspective, week 1 (a.k.a. Labor Day weekend) is the perfect time for the game:  if you're going to follow your team to southern California (or Chicago) then let it be on a long weekend!

I can definitely see the alumni benefit, but does NCC recruit or plan to recruit west coast?    Who pays transportation cost for a team traveling that far?   It would seem to be hard to justify for an extended period of time.

I think when he referred to "benefits in recruiting" he meant the ability to tell recruits, "Every 2 years we take a trip to California..."  I think that is a legitimate point.

TQ is correct. This is a valuable recruiting tool. I believe it works not only in football, but in other sports as well. NCC FB is going to Barcelona, Spain next year. Think that didn't/won't help recruitment?
The NNC BB team went to Hawaii this past season, and that fact was a valuable recruiting tool in the recruitment of a very large freshman class of recruits last year, several of whom made huge contributions to NCC's bb co-championship. I'm sure Augie's recent trip to China and IWU's Italian adventure had similar positive effects. 

[Dennis_Prikkel]

Wheaton beat Olivet 49-15.  Far from Wheaton's best effort.  Still a comfortable win.   

Wheaton recorded 511 yards of offense in today's game as the Thunder ran for 336 yards and passes for 175. Olivet had 229 total yards, with 130 yards on the ground and 99 passing yards. 

Sophomore tailback Justin Swider ran for a career-high 128 yards in his first collegiate start with two touchdown runs. Swider carried the ball 12 times for an average of 10.7 yards per carry. Freshman Jesse Geary had 10 carries for 64 yards, with one touchdown run and David Sjelin ran for 60 yards on six carries.

Olivet's 31st straight loss, Wheaton's 29th straight non-conference win.    Wheaton will need to play much better next week.

That said Coach Swider and staff will have the team ready to go for the CCIW slate.

True.  Here's hoping they don't!

Sorry for such lame 'trash talk'!

No need for apology.  The CCIW season is starting.  Time to take the Green Weenies down on the first night game on turf for a CCIW game in Bloomington. 

Wesleyan used to play a night game every year - their last night game that i remember was a 21-21 tie with Wheaton in 1970 (Wheaton's first CCIW football game after returning to the league in all sports but football in 1967-68).  actually the night games at iwu were like playing by flashlight - there were a lot of dark spots on the field.

[LETS ROLL]

Great recap of the Wheaton/Olivet game by Mugsy.

Coach Swider's post-game thoughts can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q_fTYZpZeA&feature=player_embedded

[Titan Q]

Wesleyan used to play a night game every year - their last night game that i remember was a 21-21 tie with Wheaton in 1970 (Wheaton's first CCIW football game after returning to the league in all sports but football in 1967-68).  actually the night games at iwu were like playing by flashlight - there were a lot of dark spots on the field.

Per IWUsports.com, the original lights at Wilder Field were removed in 1973.  Lights were reinstalled in 2000, when several improvements were made to the stadium. 

I believe IWU has played at least one night game every season since the lights returned.

[LETS ROLL]

Several Top 25 Teams fell this week

#9 Ohio Northern: 7, Muskingum: 27

#10 Wartbug: 24, Coe: 27

#22 Hampden-Sydney: 27, Huntingdon 34

#23 Mississippi College: 17, Louisiana College: 52

[markerickson]

I'll give my .02 about the Viking victory.  Despite hail and rain, and a history of losing, I chose to attend North Park's home opener against Wash U.  I may have missed NP's first possession; the home team did not have a turnover during my attendance.

Wash U's starting QB, Dan Burkett, had thown for six TDs entering the game, and threw for another in the first half.  I did not see him get injured, but his backup played a majority of the second half.  NP won the turnover battle as the Bears threw an INT in the end zone at the close of the first half when they were easily within FG range.  Halftime score, 10-10.  NP's TD came on a long pass to Sam Cochiaro who separated from the defender just before catching the ball.  He waltzed into the end zone.

NP converted a chip shot FG to take the lead 13-10.  The Vikes controlled much of the fourth qtr by, of course, running the ball.  The D was stout.  NP tried the same pass play in the second half.  Cochiaro made a great leaping grab, but the ball popped out when he hit the ground.  Krebs needs to look at a RB during passes, I think.  Wash U got the ball with what seemed would be the last possession. When a Viking got flagged for a late hit I thought, "How are we going to find a way to lose?"  Wash U had a first down, 45 yards from the winning score with under a minuted to play.  But zero timeouts.  (BTW:  Wash U had two returns for TD called back due to penalty...one featured two blocks in the back.)  Wash U got a first down, but NP deflected a pass and intercepted it.  As the Viking went back and forth, even backwards, I yelled "lay down!"  I had thought somehow he would fumble while being tackled and Wash U would recover inside the 15.  There was no fumble.  QB Krebs took a knee on the game's final play.  A Viking victory!!

On a sour note, two Wash U fans yelled constantly.  Every penalty against their team should not have been called...there was a conspiratorial line judge.  One guy was particularly offensive.  For example, he'd yell, "You're still short" at Krebs.  He mocked a Viking who had long hair.  He shouted something after nearly every play.  On one play, as the Wash U tailback leaned too far forward, he had to reposition his leg to regain his balance, but the ball got snapped before the RB could re-establish a position.  A very easy call to make.  According to the red-faced lout, the penalty should have been called on the Vikings.  The fan was beyond obnoxious.  I felt like asking the announcer to ask fans to behave in a respectful manner.  Fans all around me at this D3 game were very agitated yet remained composed.