FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mugsy]

Nice to see him getting some love. I'm sure he will get more as the season wears on. I know Wheaton is looking forward to seeing him again 

For the 7th year in a row... it seems.   

[cardinaldad]

Bluejay4ever-  I played DE at Elmhurst and know about both Coach Krohn's and the current EC defense. You make some good points and are correct about the schemes.  What I have noticed over the years is Elmhurst gets beat in the second half (look at some of the Augie games recently at Langhorst too) because of adjustments or lack there of.  They have been outfoxed by several coaches (i.e. Eash, Barnes, Swider and Thorne annually) and while the players might have executed the scheme correctly,  the mastermind(s) behind the call have been off.

I agree with you that the players have to execute and win the 1 on 1 battle.  That is for any team to be successful.  What I would disagree and point out is that if Elmhurst starts to lose the 1 on 1 battles, then you need to make the proper adjustments which I have not been seeing from this regime lately.

I just do not agree with you on these points. The current staff is starting to get the athletes they need to perform their scheme. Halftime adjustments are made on every team. I would put our coaches up against anyone in the conference or the nation for that matter. Most of the full time guys have D1 coaching experience or playing experience. They know what they are doing.

I know you have some sour grapes towards the programs as pointed out in previous posts but I feel you just look at teams that have better records or have had recent success against Elmhurst and you think that automatically means they are better coaches. I am not discounting the talents of the other coaches so I want to make that clear here. That is why the CCIW is one of the best conferences in the nation.

Don't forget where we have come from. We were annually a door stop in this conference and now on the verge of becoming an elite team. The talent is at an entirely different level then a decade ago and the wins and the talent are a direct reflection of the talent that is on the staff.

I'm going to come to Jaybird's defense here.  Elmhurst has certainly been on the cusp for a lot longer than you're making it seem like.  6-8 years ago they had some pretty outstanding athletes (Dom Demma, Todd Evans, Jake Allen, Eric Luna, Ward Brady, Andy Brogan) that were incredible playmakers; and that Bluejay team was far from being the "door stop" that you describe.  They battled with NCC in 2003 and it came down to a single (very controversial) play in the endzone to end the game.  That being said, Elmhurst has always fallen short against the CCIW elite.  While this Elmhurst team looked great against its non-CCIW slate and hopes were riding high, Saturday showed that the possibility exists that Elmhurst's trend will continue for yet another year.  As for Jaybird, he once sat in your position and was always saying that Elmhurst was "about to turn the corner" and on the verge of challening for a top position in the conference, but other posters were quick to call him out and point out that there was litereally zero evidence to support that claim based upon their performance against the CCIW powers.  Jaybird is simply pointing out to you what other posters have pointed out to him in the past.

Hey Jaybird! How are you? NT beat me to it. I was wondering if child has changed you, or what? Before this year, you always looked at the Jays through your blue tinted glasses and took a lot of grief for it (from me included). You've never posted like this about your Birds. I was hoping that everything was ok with you.

[cardinaldad]

Random thoughts after the NCC/Augie game:

Interesting that Dicken, a true freshman, is now the starter at QB.  I think he is going to be great, but will have some growing pains.  He made a great throw from his end zone in the 4th quarter on 3rd and long only up 7. 

Too many penalties again.  This is just killing them.

Wasting timeouts continues to be an issue.   Be it personnel or confusion, this continues to be something that could cost us in a close game.

Defense was outstanding!  The speed in the secondary is the best I have seen at NCC.

Disagree with you on Dicken. Not ready for prime time--yet. I'm not sure if he will still be the starter next week, will know more later during the week.

Agree with you on the defense--getting better every week.

Wasting time-outs has been an issue during the past few seasons and the stupid penalties are just killing the momentum.

The offense needs to step up and get on the same page as the defense. The road gets very tough starting next week-end and with IWU, Elmhurst and Wheaton in three consecutive weeks, there is no room for mediocrity.

I agree with all assessments! I've been quiet on the Board cause in my opinion, the jury is still out on the Cards. The qb play, the mental errors and penalties and better use of time outs better improve or NCC could be in for a rude awakening during this stretch of the schedule.

[Son of Tailgater]

At least we have da Bears tonight! Makes Monday morning work a little less awful

Always.A.Titan - Welcome back and making Monday work a little less awful turned in to a terrible Tuesday morning. This quote on Twitter today said it best: "If someone said the Pope is Catholic, Lovie Smith would challenge it."

LOL!

This brings up a question for your d3 football guys on here. Which poll/rankings do you believe in most? There are a handful of them out there including the d3 one, the afca one, ill throw in the d3posters one, lindys, etc...

I just wonder because they don't always seem to match. But I am interested as to which one you guys think is the one to trust most.

I am sticking with d3football.com here. They seem very consistent and even this week the fact that IWU will remain ahead of Wheaton until they lose proves they are paying attention. Also, how many times do they correctly pick the #1 and #2 team playing against each other in the national championship...quite often.

Heck d3football.com were the only ones who made me an all-american (deserved or not  )

[79jaybird]

cardinaldad- Thanks for the kinds words.  I, along with the 19 month old little Jay are doing very well and as you know, fatherhood is better than any sporting event.

As much as I hope a future 8+ win season is in the cards for Elmhurst, I just don't see it happening any time soon.  It's been a broken record since Krohn's last year as HC,  "We have the tools, but, but ... 6-4 record at best is the outcome.  Until Elmhurst is able to mount a 7 win season and beat the Wheatons/NC's/ upper eschilon teams consistently,  who (including me) is going to praise them?  You know I had the most colored glasses on as anybody,  but realized those glasses had been worn for many years, and no results. 

I have always thought that Elmhurst has athletics "just to say they have" athletics and only sporadically over time has put any constructive input into their Bluejay teams.  I have experienced many of these factors and have seen it first hand many other occasions. 

[79jaybird]

...Having said this,  looking at the remainder of the Jays schedule,  I would say other than the NC game which looks like a far stretch,  EC has a good chance in every game.  Even Augie on the road is not as ominous as it has been in the past.  On the flipside, I could just as easily see Elmhurst dropping most/all of their remaining games. 

Then what happens and what will people think if Elmhurst goes 5-5 or worse?  The "we had our opportunities" chorus will resume.

[Always.A.Titan]

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/football/article_4b0e0172-f51a-11e0-b1ce-001cc4c03286.html

The sophomore qb is the headliner this week. And Stinde may be back in action.

[oldnuthin]

Nice article in around the region on IWU

http://www.d3football.com/columns/around-the-region/midwest/2011/iwu-play-speaks-for-itself

[Son of Tailgater]

Unanimous picks across the CCIW pick em's so far this week:

Carthage College
Illinois Wesleyan
North Central
Wheaton College

I am still thinking that Carthage at Augie is the one to watch this week. If Augie does in fact lose to Carthage and Wheaton beats North Park..... the game next week would be a 3-3 North Park hosting an 0-6 Augie team. I would assume this has never happened...

Can't look ahead for Carthage as this is a must win. BEAT AUGIE!

[79jaybird]

Congrats to former Elmhurst RB and standout Eric Luna who will be enshrined into the Bluejays Athletic Hall of Fame tomorrow.  Eric was one of the best RB's I ever saw and called on the air, to wear an Elmhurst jersey.  Also a super guy if you ever meet him. 

[Gregory Sager]

I am still thinking that Carthage at Augie is the one to watch this week. If Augie does in fact lose to Carthage and Wheaton beats North Park..... the game next week would be a 3-3 North Park hosting an 0-6 Augie team. I would assume this has never happened...

Correct, because the last time that Augustana could've possibly been 0-6 -- the 1958 season -- North Park was an independent and did not play Augie. The two schools first met on the gridiron in 1962.

[bluejay4ever]

Congrats to former Elmhurst RB and standout Eric Luna who will be enshrined into the Bluejays Athletic Hall of Fame tomorrow.  Eric was one of the best RB's I ever saw and called on the air, to wear an Elmhurst jersey.  Also a super guy if you ever meet him.

A great player and better teamate and person. Well deserved. Looking forward to attending the game today. See you in the beer tent Jaybird

[ncc_fan]

Fans can find a live video webcast of the North Central vs. Millikin game at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/millikin.portal#.  Coverage begins at 12:45 p.m. CDT.

[Titan Q]

IWU  24
Elmhurst 12

http://www.elmhurstbluejays.com/custompages/Football/2011/elmfb06.htm

Great to be able to watch the IWU/Elmhurst game via Bluejay TV.  A really good job by the broadcast crew, led by Tim Calderwood who always does such a nice job.  And nothing like a quick 2:30 game!

A few thoughts on IWU...

* The Titans are a very disciplined, well-coached football team.  Very rarely do the Titans do much to hurt themselves.  On both sides of the ball, IWU is just very solid (not flashy or spectacular, but just really sound).

* Sophomore QB Rob Gallik is very impressive.  With RB T.J. Stinde out, IWU's offense is now completely built around the passing game.  Today Gallik was 20-31 passing for 272 yards and 2 TD's.  He also ran for a TD.  He made a number a passes in big situations where he put the ball right on the money for his receiver.  The Titans had 3 scoring drives today of 13 plays or more, and those drives were all primarily on Gallik.  Coming into the season, QB was an enormous question mark for the Titans, but I'd say QB is now one of IWU's biggest strengths.

* IWU is deep at WR.  Even after the loss of their second leading receiver (Dayton Burnett), the Titans still have Joey Driver, Tate Musselman, Joe Musso, Brett Robinson, and Michael Sloboda.

* IWU's defense is tough.  Elmhurst came in averaging 44 points...the Bluejays scored 12 today. 

* After many years of struggling in the punting/kicking game, IWU is now good in both places.  Freshman kicker Tony Angelos made a 43-yard FG and is now 23 for 23 on extra points.  Sophomore punter Alex Garvey came in with a 39-yard average (2nd in CCIW) and had a 60-yard punt late in this one.

* I still feel like IWU has to get T.J. Stinde back on the field to have a chance to win the league.  Stinde is a difference maker and would give IWU another dimension.  As good as Gallik is becoming, add Stinde and all the sudden IWU would have a pretty dangerous offense.  I'm not clear what Stinde's status is...hoping they've been targeting the big NCC game next weekend for his return.  (With sophomores Stinde and Gallik, the Titans have a talented duo to build around in the future.)

[Mr. Ypsi]

Although Cameron Blossom had a fully adequate game today, totally agree about TJ.  And since next week is THE big game, RIGHT NOW would be good!