FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

AndOne · October 15, 2011, 05:22:49 PM

10/15 FINAL SCORES

NCC 61----MILLIKIN 14
IWU 24---ELMHURST 12
WHEATON 28---NPU 0

CARTHAGE @ AUGIE @ 6 PM

Mugsy · October 15, 2011, 05:24:12 PM

Wheaton wins 28-0 in Chicago. NPU with 3 turnovers, Wheaton 0. 1 NPU turnover was at their own 8 and Wheaton scored on the next play. After nearly 500 yards passing last week, Wheaton only had 118 this week, though only 18 passes were attempted by Meador (11-18 for 118, 1 TD). I'm guessing the wind played a factor, not that NPU defense didn't have a part in it either (but I didn't see the game).

Wheaton defense really took over in the 2nd half, limiting NPU to alot of 3 and outs after the 1st NPU drive of the half.

Wheaton looks like it has two significant freshman skill players who look to factor for years to come. Mark Hiben (6'4" 197lbs) at WR and Jesse Geary (5'10" 220lbs) at RB. Hiben another 3 catches today, including a TD. Geary with 17 carries for 94 yards. Geary filling in for injured Peter Garrett (another extremely talented RB for Wheaton who just can't stay healthy).

It'll be interesting to hear comments on this game from someone who attended the game. Statistically a very close game until about midway through the 3rd quarter. NPU with more yards than Wheaton to that point (NPU 187 to Wheaton 159). Then Wheaton went on a roll with 2 straight drives to seal the game. End up with Wheaton at 293 yards offense (175 rushing, only 118 passing), NPU with 223 yards offense (only 182 rushing, 41 passing).

If the wind was a factor, that could make the game closer because Wheaton's rushing attack is not as potent as in years past (at least thus far). Maybe Geary is stepping up in that area?

Mugsy · October 15, 2011, 05:25:10 PM

Quote from: AndOne on October 15, 2011, 05:22:49 PM
10/15 FINAL SCORES

NCC 61----MILLIKIN 14
IWU 24---ELMHURST 12
WHEATON 28---NPU 0

CARTHAGE @ AUGIE @ 6 PM

No surprises this week, thus far.

bluejay4ever · October 15, 2011, 05:31:31 PM

Quote from: Titan Q on October 15, 2011, 04:26:48 PM
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.)

Good write upi here. After attending the game I must say I came across impressed with IWU. The game was not very flashy on either side. A big play to open up the 7-0 lead which looked to be a blown assignment. Other then that not very many big plays on either side. I do not know if the wind effected Furco for EC but he did not seem too sharp today. Both teams played extremely hard though.

AndOne · October 15, 2011, 05:38:48 PM

Watched/listened to part of the NCC-Millikin game on Millikin TV, and really enjoyed the description of the game action by the (adult) broadcasters. Didn't catch any names.

AndOne · October 15, 2011, 05:41:12 PM

Mugsy--Little note to you in In-game Updates.

Gregory Sager · October 15, 2011, 06:48:10 PM

Tough loss for the Vikings today, who really gave it all that they had but just couldn't get the ball into the end zone. NPU couldn't catch a break -- but the Vikings did allow Wheaton to catch a couple of breaks the other way. In the second quarter, with Wheaton up 7-0, Tyler Krebs rolled right and attempted to pass at about his own ten. His arm was moving forward as he was hit, but the ref ruled that what definitely looked like an incomplete pass was instead a fumble. Wheaton, to its credit, played the ball as if it was a fumble rather than an imcompletion and fell on the ball at the NPU eight. One play later Wheaton scored a TD. Then, late in the quarter, with Jon Williams in at QB, North Park drove down the field to the Wheaton nine. Williams had wide receiver Sam Cochiaro open in the end zone, but the ball bounced out of Cochiaro's hands and right into the hands of the Wheaton cornerback that he'd beaten on the play. That's a fourteen-point swing, seven one way and seven the other.

In the second half, NPU never managed to get on track on offense. Krebs and Williams were alternating at QB possession by possession, but neither one was effective. With Vikings defenders dropping like flies -- two defensive starters sat out the game, and three more defensive players left with injuries -- NPU's thinness in terms of effective depth started showing itself, and Wheaton simply wore down the Vikings in the final quarter to add two more touchdowns.

Matt Hassan was a bright spot for the Park today, as he rushed for 105 yards on 15 carries. Freshman linebacker Kyle Leibforth also had an outstanding game for the Vikes.

It was a weird game to broadcast. The scoreboard chose to go on the fritz today, and the electricians were unable to restore function, so the game was played blind as to score, time, down, timeouts, etc. The officials kept the game clock on the field, and while I appreciate the extra strain that this put them under it made things difficult for those of us who were up in the press box. They would periodically call up to the box to update the game time, but at the end of both halves they indicated that there was two minutes plus remaining, only to have both teams walk off the field after just one more play. It made both the P.A. announcer and the broadcast teams look pretty foolish. But, as I said, it's hard to fault the officials for that, as they certainly had their hands full.

Solid effort by NPU, but the offense really continues to have a hard time putting points on the board. Now it's on to Augie next week, a game that I think a lot of people around the Park are pointing to as affording NPU a serious shot at snapping the conference losing streak.

Mugsy, the wind was not a factor today in terms of the passing game. It did play havoc with a couple of high punts, but that was all.

Mugsy · October 15, 2011, 09:38:21 PM

Quote from: Gregory Sager on October 15, 2011, 06:48:10 PM
Mugsy, the wind was not a factor today in terms of the passing game. It did play havoc with a couple of high punts, but that was all.

Thanks GS. This gives me some context I couldn't get looking at live stats. I was trying to understand why Wheaton wasn't throwing it as much. Caulk it up to part of the game plan. Sounds like NPU played hard and clearly they are making progress. Like you say, injuries are difficult to overcome when the team isn't deep.

Mugsy · October 15, 2011, 09:48:30 PM

On 4th and 6 at Augie 18, Carthage had a receiver open in the endzone, but the ball was batted away. Augie gets their first win, 19-13.

Mugsy · October 15, 2011, 09:49:26 PM

Quote from: Mugsy on October 15, 2011, 05:25:10 PM
Quote from: AndOne on October 15, 2011, 05:22:49 PM
10/15 FINAL SCORES

NCC 61----MILLIKIN 14
IWU 24---ELMHURST 12
WHEATON 28---NPU 0

CARTHAGE @ AUGIE @ 6 PM

No surprises this week, thus far.

Guess I spoke too soon.

Mugsy · October 15, 2011, 10:07:42 PM

While "anything can happen" it looks like it is a 3 horse race at this point, given all other teams already have 2 losses in conference. IWU has a leg up already, since they have the victory over Wheaton. Not only does Wheaton have the loss to IWU, they are on the road against NCC.

Next week will be a huge game between NCC and IWU at Bloomington. Then 2 weeks later on 11/5, Wheaton travels to "the other city" that is 7 miles south. Obviously the front runners could stumble at any point.

spencer1988 · October 15, 2011, 10:49:22 PM

I know Augustana hadn't won a game but I still don't think I would consider a win at home against Carthage a surprise.

USee · October 15, 2011, 11:56:26 PM

North Park is certainly closing the gap on the CCIW. It won't be long before they win a confewrence game or a few. I don't think it will be this year.

Wheaton sat several starters today (some recovering from injuries and some as a precaution. The wind was definitely a factor for wheaton there was a strong breeze across the field and from the Foster end of the field. Meadors throws were definitely affected, most notably on the 4th down in the second half when he tried to throw a deep out cut to Hiben, the nose of the ball got caught in the wind and it fluttered short and out of bounds. Also on the deep ball to Zeller that was nearly picked off, Meador does not underthrow a receiver by 7-8yds unless the wind is a factor.

The fumble by krebs I thought was a good call. He got hit (by an unblocked Defensive tackle-which has nothing to do with luck) and his arm was cocked to throw. I saw his arm move forward after the ball was out the ball popped staright up and toward the Wheaton sideline and JD east scooped it up. Looked like a good call to me. The clock was an issue. Very short game with both teams only running 53 and 56 plays respectively.

Big game in Bloomington this week. I think IWU can beat the team from naperville. I suspect that the titans are actually better than the ThorneBirds but we'll see.

And no, I'm not back.

CardinalAlum · October 16, 2011, 01:17:55 AM

Quote from: USee on October 15, 2011, 11:56:26 PM
North Park is certainly closing the gap on the CCIW. It won't be long before they win a confewrence game or a few. I don't think it will be this year.

Wheaton sat several starters today (some recovering from injuries and some as a precaution. The wind was definitely a factor for wheaton there was a strong breeze across the field and from the Foster end of the field. Meadors throws were definitely affected, most notably on the 4th down in the second half when he tried to throw a deep out cut to Hiben, the nose of the ball got caught in the wind and it fluttered short and out of bounds. Also on the deep ball to Zeller that was nearly picked off, Meador does not underthrow a receiver by 7-8yds unless the wind is a factor.

The fumble by krebs I thought was a good call. He got hit (by an unblocked Defensive tackle-which has nothing to do with luck) and his arm was cocked to throw. I saw his arm move forward after the ball was out the ball popped staright up and toward the Wheaton sideline and JD east scooped it up. Looked like a good call to me. The clock was an issue. Very short game with both teams only running 53 and 56 plays respectively.

Big game in Bloomington this week. I think IWU can beat the team from naperville. I suspect that the titans are actually better than the ThorneBirds but we'll see.

And no, I'm not back.

Got my hopes up USee was back!

lakeshore · October 16, 2011, 09:06:22 AM

my first time back at NPU in a few years for homecoming and great to see many old and new faces. I love the city! A few thoughts on the game...

1. NPU's offense although didn't score any points kept a potent Wheaton offense on the sideline for long stretches of the game. That offense has the ability to help the Viking defense stay close in games.

2. The wind played a major factor in the game on passes by both teams and punt returns that were bobbled and/or muffed. WGN news reported 25-30 MPH gusts as we were driving in from west burbs. Everyone down around field enjoyed great football weather minus the wind almost taking our hats off a couple times.

3. I was very impressed with NPU's front seven being able to stuff a couple short yardage runs and get some occasional pressure on passing downs.

4. I too thought Krebs fumble was legit. It was a bang bang play that probably could have gone either way.

5. Not having a working scoreboard or clock really sucks!

Everyone was constantly asking each other the score. One time I heard a ref come over and yell up to the press box there were 8 mins left in 2nd quarter and then a minute later I saw a different ref give a "3 minutes" signal to one of Wheaton's coaches. Really took the flow out of the game. I'm sure it's very difficult to ref a game and keep time the whole game which is why it went by so fast.

6. Still not sure if NPU is good enough to win a conf game. Wheaton is a solid team that is well coached and disciplined. Monster looking DT #77 stuffed Viking runs all day. roster says he is 6'3 320. wow.