FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Titan Q]

I hope everyone picks IWU, it will be more fuel for the Cardinal bulletin board(even though listening to a Thorne "motivational" speech should do the trick).

Coach Thorne is the only Illinois Wesleyan alum that I wish to have a terrible homecoming weekend in Bloomington!

[AndOne]

Look at all the activity. I am excited for this weekend's game in Bloomington.

A few points to hit on to start off Monday morning...

The Bears looked like a real NFL team (that was weird to watch).
I don't think NCC has faced a defense as good as IWU's to this point.
I don't think NCC has faced a receiving corps as good as IWU's to this point, which helps out Gallik in the battle of underclassmen qbs.
IWU has a very fast and hard hitting defense, they will match your team speed. I think they will be ready for the rushing attack of NCC. They have a talented and experienced secondary which allows them to focus their front 7 on the run game.

Question for the board...who gets the special teams edge? IWU's kicking game has finally come along and is now a strength. How does NCC's kicking/return game rate?

I am seeing lots of GREEN

It works both ways Always.   
I don't think IWU has faced a defense as good as NCC's to this point. The Cardinals rank #1 in total defense
I don't think IWU has faced a pass defense as good as NCC's to this point. The Cards also rank #1 in pass defense efficiency.
NCC has a very fast and hard hitting defense.
I don't think IWU has faced a rushing offense as potent as NCC's which also ranks #1 at 300 yards a game. 

As far as special teams:
IWU averages a net 34.9 on punts. NCC averages 31.3
NC ranks #1 in kick coverage. IWU is #4
On field goals, NCC is 6 of 10 for .600 and IWU is 3 of 7 for .429

[ncc58]

*Despite a pass efficiency rating of 140, and a 58% completion rate, senior QB Brad Crackel was replaced in
the starting lineup 2 games ago by freshman Tyler Dicken. Dicken hasn't faced a power anywhere near as potent as IWU.
Additionally, if you look into the more subtile nuances, one wonders what the NCC upperclassmen think of this move.
Do they believe a virtually untested freshman is ready to lead them to victory in a game against a tough opponent
that may determine whether they appear in post-season play? If they have a problem, they better get over it quick.
*Field position is always an important aspect. I suspect that it will take on even more importance that usual in this
particular game. Of course, punting and punt coverage play a huge part in your team's starting field position.
*Could this game be decided by a field goal?

Well, if you're an NCC upperclassmen, you should be used to freshmen being inserted into the starting lineup. In his first season, Thorne played Kam Kniss at QB over a returning starter (senior) QB. Dominick Sulo was inserted in the second series and was the starter after that. Derek Sulo saw extensive playing time in his second game, and was starting the next week. Dierking saw extensive action last season. Ryan Kent jumped again of several players and was a key contributor before breaking his hand. There have been several freshmen OL and DL that have started.

The Augie game was a perfect time to insert Dicken. You had two games where you could rely on your defense and allow Dicken to get his feet wet. Now, I feel that NCC is set three deep at QB (Dicken, Crackel, and Tassio) going into their three toughest games.

With Bednarz and Antonacci, I feel good about the NCC return game.

[ncc58]

On field goals, NCC is 6 of 10 for .600 and IWU is 3 of 7 for .429

Two of the misses were the "over top" call at Redlands and one this weekend that the wind didn't bring back inside.

[ncc58]

I hate to say this out loud (and it pains me to say it as an NCC alum), but I am leaning towards picking the Weenies this weekend.

Wow, I don't know you came to that choice. IWU was not impressive in their non-conference games. They beat  a middle of the pack Elmhurst team by less than 2 TDs and a Wheaton team by less than 1 TD. Even Mugsy has questioned whether Wheaton really is a top 25 team. Wheaton played closer than expected games against North Park and Olivet. I don't think this is one of the stronger teams from Wheaton.

Dicken hasn't face a top defense, but neither has Gallick.

[shepherd]

I hate to say this out loud (and it pains me to say it as an NCC alum), but I am leaning towards picking the Weenies this weekend.

Wow, I don't know you came to that choice. IWU was not impressive in their non-conference games. They beat  a middle of the pack Elmhurst team by less than 2 TDs and a Wheaton team by less than 1 TD. Even Mugsy has questioned whether Wheaton really is a top 25 team. Wheaton played closer than expected games against North Park and Olivet. I don't think this is one of the stronger teams from Wheaton.

Dicken hasn't face a top defense, but neither has Gallick.

I have the feeling IWU will be facing a hornets nest in North Central this weekend with the same demeanor as after the Redlands game.  Not picking either team just saying that North Central may be playing with a chip on their shoulder.  Either way its going to be a great game with many of us flooding the IWU video.  Hopfully they can handle the traffic.
I feel the same way about Wheaton going to Carthage after there loss the past weekend.  I really hope Wheaton plays there A game.
One last note I was impressed by the Augustana defensive play especially the way the corners cover short passes made for some good football to watch.  I hope they give the coach more time.

[iwu70]

Should be a great game on Saturday in Bloomington.  Yes, 1:30 kick-off due to Homecoming activities, alumni luncheon at Shirk.  Hope all the DIII chatsters just get on I-55 and come on down, see the game in person.  Why not?  Much better than a video stream.  Yes, video stream too -- see article, confirmation of this, links etc. on the IWU sports website now.  At iwu.edu -- then link to "Athletics."  The atmosphere on Saturday should be "game of the year" level. 

I'm picking the Titans, 24-21 over NC. 

Be there.  (Chuck and Q, are you coming for Homecoming?).

IWU 70

[Titan Q]

(Chuck and Q, are you coming for Homecoming?).

I am not...the little lady and I have some stuff going on here in the land of the Cornhuskers this weekend.  I'll be watching online for sure.

[Titan Q]

As an intangible, The fourth year seniors on the NCC team have always lost to one CCIW team. That was IWU, at IWU. That loss kept them out of the playoffs in 2009. There will be extra incentive for the seniors to win this weekend.

Not picking either team just saying that North Central may be playing with a chip on their shoulder. 

I don't buy that one team will win the "chip on the shoulder" or the "seniors with extra incentive" battle.  Both teams, and both senior classes, have plenty on the line in this game and will play incredibly hard.

[Titan Q]

There should be a video stream. I believe Titan Q said there was a live feed for all IWU home games. However, I am not sure of the quality of it, or how it has been working.

You can find archives of past games here:

http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/iwu.portal#


Go to the "On Demand" tab.  As far as football goes, you will find the Wheaton (10/1) and Aurora (9/17) games.

I think you will see that the quality is pretty good.

[shepherd]

As an intangible, The fourth year seniors on the NCC team have always lost to one CCIW team. That was IWU, at IWU. That loss kept them out of the playoffs in 2009. There will be extra incentive for the seniors to win this weekend.

Not picking either team just saying that North Central may be playing with a chip on their shoulder. 

I don't buy that one team will win the "chip on the shoulder" or the "seniors with extra incentive" battle.  Both teams, and both senior classes, have plenty on the line in this game and will play incredibly hard.

Show me another CCIW team that after a loss or bad game wins 2-3 games in a row scoring 50-80pts on their opponents.  That is only NCC.  I'm just saying you cannot deny facts and Wheaton has played North Central with a chip on their shoulder.  Kind of reminds me of people who think some aspect of their team is as good as say Mount Union.  I did that until I went their and say them spank a Wheaton team with two NFL prospects.  IWU may be the best team in the CCIW this year but its easy to say that the game means to much when the only team in the CCIW who goes on a terror is NCC.  That made me nauseous saying nice things about NCC I actually threw up in my mouth.

[CardinalAlum]

Here's something that I'm a bit concerned about.  How does Dicken respond to playing against a great defense, on the road for their homecoming, IN HIS HOMETOWN!  If he plays well there, it's a huge step for him and the beloved Cards!  This kid is for real.  He will get his money's worth on Saturday!  As much as I dislike stormin Norman, I really feel he's doing a great job with this group of Green Weenies!  Has the potential to be a great game!

[Gregory Sager]

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.

2.  The wind played a major factor in the game on passes by both teams and punt returns that were bobbled and/or muffed.

Granted, I was in the press box and thus higher up than everyone else in the stands. But I spoke to several people who were down on the field during the game, and they each stated that the wind was not a factor except on the higher punts. NPU's bobbled and/or muffed passes were all minimally-arced spirals that hit the receivers either in the hands or on the numbers.

[Mugsy]

Wheaton vs. Carthage game capsule

Records:
   Wheaton: 5-1, 2-1
   Carthage: 4-2, 1-2

Statistical Category	Wheaton	Carthage	Comment
Offense Scoring	37.0	21.2
Defense Scoring	18.0	13.7
Off Pass Efficiency	148.1	99.1
Off Pass Completion %	63.8	39.3
Off Pass YPG	277.0	110.8
Off Pass TD's	15	7
Off INT's	6	6
Def Pass Efficiency	105.9	86.9
Def Pass Completion %	50.3	48.4
Def Pass YPG	184.8	132.3
Pass TD's Allowed	8	4
Def INT's	10	9
Kick Return Ave	28.7	19.6
Punt Return Ave	8.3	5.5
Punting	35.6	27.8	Wheaton 18 punts, Carthage 37
Turnover Margin	+1.00	+1.17
Off Rush YPG	163.2	177.2
Off Yards Per Carry	4.4	3.6
Off Rush TD's	13	7
Def Rush YPG	124.0	122.2
Def Yards Per Carry	3.8	3.3
Def Rush TD's Allowed	5	4
Total Offense	440.2	288.0
Total Defense	308.8	254.5
Sacks By	11	13
Sacks Allowed	10	8	Wheaton: 210 pass attempts, Carthage: 112
1st Downs	141	96
1st Downs Allowed	104	78
Penalty YPG	75.0	41.5
Red Zone Offense	80.6	80.0	Wheaton 20 TDs, 9 FG's : Carthage 10 TDs, 6 FG's
Red Zone Defense	58.8	66.7
Off 3rd Down Conv %	45.1	33.3
Opp 3rd Down Conv %	27.6	30.1
Field Goals	11 of 13	6 of 7
PAT's	21 of 27	13 of 14
Time of Pos	32:49	29:23

Noteable Players:

RUSHING            Team   Cl  G  Att  Yds   Avg TD Long Yds/G
-----------------------------------------------------------
9. Swider, Justin. WHEA SO  6   46  298   6.5  3   41  49.7


QB Comparison:
PASSING AVG/GAME   Team Cl  G  Att Cmp Int  Pct.  Yds TD Avg/G
-------------------------------------------------------------
1. Meador, Garrett   WHEA SR  6 199 128   4  64.3 1578 15 263.0
8. Trepanier,T.J..     CART JR   6  52  22    2  42.3  348  4   58.0
10. Beazley,Trevor.   CART SR   6  30   9    3  30.0  153  1   25.5


Top Receivers:
RECEPTIONS/GAME    Team Cl  G  Rec  Yds TD Long Avg/C Rec/G
-----------------------------------------------------------
1. Watkins, Teddy.   WHEA SR  6   35  441  3   59  12.6  5.83
5. Zeller, Justin.       WHEA SR  6   24  321  3   35  13.4  4.00
    Hiben, Mark....      WHEA FR  5   20  282  4   28  14.1  4.00
   

RECEIVE YDS/GAME   Team Cl  G  Rec  Yds TD Long Avg/C Yds/G
-----------------------------------------------------------
1. Watkins, Teddy.   WHEA SR  6   35  441  3   59  12.6  73.5
5. Hiben, Mark....     WHEA FR  5   20  282  4   28  14.1  56.4
6. Zeller, Justin.       WHEA SR  6   24  321  3   35  13.4  53.5
7. Koeneman,Mike..   CART SR  6   16  320  4   39  20.0  53.3


INTERCEPTIONS      Team Cl   G  Int  Yds TD Long Int/G
-----------------------------------------------------
1. Langs, Jordan..  WHEA SR  6    3   51  0   34  0.50
3. Vitkauskas,A...    CART JR  5    2   55  1   38  0.40
    McMullen, Brian   WHEA SR  5    2    0  0    0  0.40
5. Mecozzi,B......    CART JR   6    2   12  0   12  0.33
    Markley, Micah.   WHEA SR  6    2   12  0   10  0.33


TACKLES (All positions)
Player                    Team Cl  G Pos   Solo Ast Total Avg/G Sack
-----------------------------------------------------------
11.Mecozzi,B......     CART JR  6         27  10    37   6.2  0.0
15.Fortney,Brad...    CART SR  6         27   5    32   5.3  2.0
    Langensiepen,J.    CART SR  6         20  12    32   5.3  0.5
22.Chapman, Jordan WHEA SR  6        17  13    30   5.0  0.0
25.O'Brien,Tyler..      CART JR  5         12  12    24   4.8  3.5
26.Driggers, Austi    WHEA SR  6         20   8    28   4.7  0.0
42.Williams,M.....      CART SR  6         21   3    24   4.0  0.0
    Langs, Jordan..     WHEA SR  6         20   4    24   4.0  0.0
    Dykstra, Brando    WHEA SO  6 DT    14  10    24   4.0  0.5
47.Ramsay, Robert.  WHEA SR  6 DE     15   8    23   3.8  3.0


SACKS                   Team   Cl  G Pos Solo Ast  Yds Total Avg/G
-----------------------------------------------------------
2. Merucci,Mike...   CART   JR  6        3     2   27   4.0  0.67
4. O'Brien,Tyler..     CART  JR  5         3    1   23   3.5  0.70
5. Ramsay, Robert.  WHEA SR 6 DE     2    2   26   3.0  0.50
    East, JD.......      WHEA SR  6 DE    2    2   26   3.0  0.50


TACKLES FOR LOSS   Team Cl  G Pos  Solo Ast  Yds Total Avg/G
-----------------------------------------------------------
2. Merucci,Mike...     CART JR  6         6    3   40   7.5  1.25
6. O'Brien,Tyler..      CART JR  5         5    2    29   6.0  1.20
9. Ramsay, Robert.  WHEA SR  6 DE    4    3    32   5.5  0.92


PASSES DEFENDED    Team Cl  G  Brup  Int Total Avg/G
---------------------------------------------------
2. Langs, Jordan..   WHEA SR  6    3     3     6  1.00
4. Markley, Micah.  WHEA SR   6    3     2     5  0.83

[Always.A.Titan]

I hate to say this out loud (and it pains me to say it as an NCC alum), but I am leaning towards picking the Weenies this weekend.

Wow, I don't know you came to that choice. IWU was not impressive in their non-conference games. They beat  a middle of the pack Elmhurst team by less than 2 TDs and a Wheaton team by less than 1 TD. Even Mugsy has questioned whether Wheaton really is a top 25 team. Wheaton played closer than expected games against North Park and Olivet. I don't think this is one of the stronger teams from Wheaton.

Dicken hasn't face a top defense, but neither has Gallick.

As far as IWU being not impressive...
They were starting a brand new backfield on offense as well as filling in the offensive line. They did what they had to do to win their games. That meant relying on a great defense and grinding games out. Then, they lost their starting running back for a few weeks. They have been just fine in the first 6 weeks of the year. Each snap was another little bit of experience for the offensive players and they are turning into a pretty good unit. They may not be putting up 80 and blowing people out, but they are still undefeated.