FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

From last night...

Benedictine 30
North Park 22

Surprised by this one. Tough start for North Park this year. More surprised by Wheaton, but they're a good team and will bounce back.

I too was surprised at this outcome. With Benedictine's destruction by Wheaton last week, I thought NP had a good chance at a win. However, as Greg Sager reported, NPU had six TOs. As NCC demonstrated last week, six TOs is the perfect recipe for disaster.

Six TO's = one long week between games .

No, as I said, NPU has a bye week.

[NCF]

From last night...

Benedictine 30
North Park 22

Surprised by this one. Tough start for North Park this year. More surprised by Wheaton, but they're a good team and will bounce back.

I too was surprised at this outcome. With Benedictine's destruction by Wheaton last week, I thought NP had a good chance at a win. However, as Greg Sager reported, NPU had six TOs. As NCC demonstrated last week, six TOs is the perfect recipe for disaster.

Six TO's = one long week between games .

No, as I said, NPU has a bye week.

My bad, Six TO's=two long weeks between games. .

[Mr. Ypsi]

Some surprising results this past weekend.  Wheaton losing to Albion was interesting as I thought the Thunder would win this on the road.  None more surprising to me than Elmhurst beating Trine.  Perhaps this is a start- And I say start, because this is the first big win for Elmhurst against a playoff caliber team (maybe ever).  Chicago will not be a good test, so figure 2 weeks when EC meets NC on the road (And the Cards prevail, but by how much?) we will see where the Jays stack up with the upper eschilon of the D3.

Trine is a shadow of what they were two-three years ago - their super qb graduated (along with a super class).  They are now just a mid-level team in a weak conference.  Don't read too much into that win (nearly everyone in the MIAA pickems chose Elmhurst as the winner).  Barring a totally unexpected run, currently Trine is NOT a playoff-caliber team.

[bleedpurple]

The fourth quarter stats made the game look closer. Redlands had 184 yards by the end of the third quarter. NCC had 318 at the end of three quarters. In the fourth quarter with second and third string in for NCC, Redlands gained 134 yards and NCC had a net of zero in the fourth. The total numbers don't reflect how much the Cardinals dominated the second and third quarters in particular.

Nice game for the Cards last night. I watched it online and they were pretty impressive.  With their defense, they will be very hard to beat if they can minimize mistakes offensively.  NCC took the game over in the second quarter and didn't look back.  As others have said, the 4th quarter was pretty inconsequential other than giving some guys some experience.  Although I don't know how much other CCIW teams have progressed since last year, from what I saw of NCC, the Cardinals will be tough to beat again this year. IMO, if they do make another run and make the playoffs (which I expect), how far they advance will be determined by how much their offense develops over the course of the season.  Congrats on a nice win. They should be a fun team to follow again this year.

[Pat Coleman]

Trine is a shadow of what they were two-three years ago - their super qb graduated (along with a super class).  They are now just a mid-level team in a weak conference.  Don't read too much into that win (nearly everyone in the MIAA pickems chose Elmhurst as the winner).  Barring a totally unexpected run, currently Trine is NOT a playoff-caliber team.

Kickoff also picked Elmhurst ahead of Trine, by quite a few spots.

[irisheagle]

NPU was absolutely awful last night. The Vikings have perfected the art of self-destruction in their first two games. In the opener at Hope, they hurt their cause with twelve penalties. Last night it was turnovers. The Park turned the ball over six times, including four fumbles lost in the fourth quarter alone. Three of those coughed-up balls in the fourth quarter came on consecutive touches -- a blown option pitch at the NPU 10, a fumbled kickoff return at the NPU 25, and a fumbled punt return at the NPU 21. Add to that an anemic offensive output that totaled only 147 yards for the entire game, and you're left wondering how NPU not only fell by only eight points, but how they actually had a reasonable chance of tying the game with three and a half minutes left. The Vikings finally did themselves in for good by fumbling yet another punt at their own 35, this one a controversial turnover in which the Benedictine defender hit PR Nick Weinstein before he had touched the ball. A flag was dropped, and it appeared as though NPU was going to take possession at midfield after a BU personal foul call for interfering with the punt returner. However, the call surprisingly went against NPU; my guess is that the referee felt that the Eagle who hit Weinstein was hit from behind by a Viking, knocking him into Weinstein. Eagles were given possession, and the game was essentially over.

So how did NPU manage to hang around, in spite of all that? Well, Benedictine is not a good football team, that's why. It has two outstanding players in RB John Borsellino and DE Ben Lockton, and a decent QB in Cyle Schultz, but not that much beyond them. It's not hard to see how Wheaton beat the Eagles by 41. But where does that leave North Park?

NPU dodged all sorts of bullets just to hang around in this game. The Vikes allowed a bunch of long BU drives, and made a couple of fourth-down stands in their own territory in the first half, while the Bennies supplemented NPU's luck by missing two field-goal attempts and turning the ball over a couple of times themselves. But eventually NPU's ineptitude on offense and the astonishing turnover display -- only one turnover of the six was really earned by the Eagles rather than being the result of a poor North Park play -- caught up with the Vikings.

The off week couldn't come at a better time for this shell-shocked NPU team.

I understand that our Internet connection was spotty last night, so I apologize to anyone who was having difficulty while trying to watch our webcast. I hope we'll get that fixed by the next home game. Meanwhile, I'll be audio-only in two weeks when the Vikes visit Olivet.

I must disagree with some of your statments here, stating that BU is not a good football team and focuses only on Johhny and Lockton. 435 yards compared to 147, 80 of which was from one drive.The BU defense is filled with great players. Limiting an option offense to under 100 yards. And 435 yards of offense split pretty evenly between passing and rushing. Don;t get me wrong Lockton and Borsellino are amazing players .. thats why there both All Americans on a couple different lists, but they are a good team. IMO the only reason North park was in the game is because of a fumble in the endzone, a kick return to the 10 yard line. That is 14 points that should not have been on the board. Both teams made alot of mistakes, 6 turnovers from NP which typically just turned into failed redzone attempts from BU. BU also had around 100 yards in penalties and I can only recall 1 penalty being called against NP. I do give alot of credit to the Viking players though for not giving up, when it seemed to be all over they got that long kickoff and just like that made it a one score game with a couple min. left. I am not saying BU is a CCIW calliber team becasue there not Wheaton showed that, but they are a good football team that is getting better and I believe could beat out a couple of teams in the CCIW. But good luck to everyones teams this year hopefully NP can break there streak this year.

[Mugsy]

Wheaton's loss to Albion snapped their 30 game non-conference win streak, their first non-conference loss since 2001 (a 33-26 loss to St. Xavier).

[izzy stradlin]

Wheaton's loss to Albion snapped their 30 game non-conference win streak, their first non-conference loss since 2001 (a 33-26 loss to St. Xavier).

Actually it was 2002 when they lost to Alma 23-16 on the road week 1.  It should be noted that the '02 team was also Wheaton's best team in the last 10 years-- I don't think they had a close game all conference season.

[Big Blue Boy]

Titans have off week now to get fully healthy again.  Not much reporting out on any key injuries, other than the ankle problem of T. J. Stinde, which does not appear to be too too serious.  We'll see.  Titans have Hope @ Hope in two weeks.  Titan defense will be good, improving every week.  Seems new linebacker crew and the new secondary are playing very well so far.  I like the looks of Tyrell Bolton.  Seems the new linebackers have studied well under the strong group from last year, all of whom graduated.  Their time has come. 

Any assessments of Millikin?  Are they as good as their first two game scores would make them appear?  They are putting up some pretty good numbers and stats.
Any comments from those who have seen the Big Blue in action this season?

Good weekend all.  (Bears looked very good today . . . no luck for Luck.  RGIII apparently had a better debut!).

IWU70

Millikin is definitely stronger this year than in the recent past.  They are playing well in all phases.  The offense is balanced so far as they are 1st in total offense, 2nd in rushing offense and 4th in passing offense, but 1st in passing efficiency.  They have two strong RB's, have proven they can run the ball and have not needed to rely as much on the pass.  Statistically the balance shows with the #1 QB in total offense, #1 receiver and #2 rusher.  There are three solid receivers and the ball is being spread around well.   

On the defensive side, they are coming together nicely.  The first half of the Greenville game was a test due to a good option QB, but since then they have been solid and gaining confidence.  While sitting #5 in total defense, most of the damage has occurred after the starters were removed in the 4th quarter of both games.

It is clearly early and they have not played a terribly difficult non-conference schedule, but it has been a solid start.  They need to cut down on the penalties or it will kill them in conference play.  Greenville was not a great test, but Hope was solid.  It will be interesting to see how IWU performs against them.  Next up is Aurora, but they are clearly anticipating the start of conference play at IWU.  As you may recall, they had IWU on the ropes last year and they feel they can compete every week this year.  It is shaping up to be an exciting year in Decatur.  There is a lot of potential, but you have to believe and learn how to win in this league.

[NCF]

Titans have off week now to get fully healthy again.  Not much reporting out on any key injuries, other than the ankle problem of T. J. Stinde, which does not appear to be too too serious.  We'll see.  Titans have Hope @ Hope in two weeks.  Titan defense will be good, improving every week.  Seems new linebacker crew and the new secondary are playing very well so far.  I like the looks of Tyrell Bolton.  Seems the new linebackers have studied well under the strong group from last year, all of whom graduated.  Their time has come. 

Any assessments of Millikin?  Are they as good as their first two game scores would make them appear?  They are putting up some pretty good numbers and stats.
Any comments from those who have seen the Big Blue in action this season?

Good weekend all.  (Bears looked very good today . . . no luck for Luck.  RGIII apparently had a better debut!).

IWU70

Millikin is definitely stronger this year than in the recent past.  They are playing well in all phases.  The offense is balanced so far as they are 1st in total offense, 2nd in rushing offense and 4th in passing offense, but 1st in passing efficiency.  They have two strong RB's, have proven they can run the ball and have not needed to rely as much on the pass.  Statistically the balance shows with the #1 QB in total offense, #1 receiver and #2 rusher.  There are three solid receivers and the ball is being spread around well.   

On the defensive side, they are coming together nicely.  The first half of the Greenville game was a test due to a good option QB, but since then they have been solid and gaining confidence.  While sitting #5 in total defense, most of the damage has occurred after the starters were removed in the 4th quarter of both games.

It is clearly early and they have not played a terribly difficult non-conference schedule, but it has been a solid start.  They need to cut down on the penalties or it will kill them in conference play.  Greenville was not a great test, but Hope was solid.  It will be interesting to see how IWU performs against them.  Next up is Aurora, but they are clearly anticipating the start of conference play at IWU.  As you may recall, they had IWU on the ropes last year and they feel they can compete every week this year.  It is shaping up to be an exciting year in Decatur.  There is a lot of potential, but you have to believe and learn how to win in this league.

You've got that right! If you don't believe you can compete, you never will.

[iwu70]

Thanks, Big Blue Boy.  Sounds like things are much improved in Decatur this year.  It will be interesting to see how IWU plays Hope, @ Hope, for comparison with MU to date.  IWU played Aurora earlier, too, so that will be another comparison.  Should be a good game matching IWU and MU to start the CCIW race, under the lights, here at B/N on 9/29.

To me, IWU looks better this year offensively, more seasoned, and still pretty good on D, though lots of new faces, less experience in LBs, and secondary.  They are coming around pretty fast.  Kicking and coverage games much improved.  One key for IWU will be having, keeping Stinde healthy for robust running game. 

IWU's D will be a good test for how far, how much MU is coming along.

Thanks again.

IWU70

[Mr. Ypsi]

Trine is a shadow of what they were two-three years ago - their super qb graduated (along with a super class).  They are now just a mid-level team in a weak conference.  Don't read too much into that win (nearly everyone in the MIAA pickems chose Elmhurst as the winner).  Barring a totally unexpected run, currently Trine is NOT a playoff-caliber team.

Kickoff also picked Elmhurst ahead of Trine, by quite a few spots.

Yeah, I knew that.  But wasn't sure how much info I was allowed to give out to the 'heathens' who didn't purchase Kickoff!

Trine was a very weak team who somehow recruited one VERY good class, and was VERY good for 3 years, but has now regressed to mediocre.  I think 79jaybird is over-remembering Trine knocking out #1 seed NCC, and not realizing that was a 'blip' in their overall history.

[AndOne]

NPU was absolutely awful last night. The Vikings have perfected the art of self-destruction in their first two games. In the opener at Hope, they hurt their cause with twelve penalties. Last night it was turnovers. The Park turned the ball over six times, including four fumbles lost in the fourth quarter alone. Three of those coughed-up balls in the fourth quarter came on consecutive touches -- a blown option pitch at the NPU 10, a fumbled kickoff return at the NPU 25, and a fumbled punt return at the NPU 21. Add to that an anemic offensive output that totaled only 147 yards for the entire game, and you're left wondering how NPU not only fell by only eight points, but how they actually had a reasonable chance of tying the game with three and a half minutes left. The Vikings finally did themselves in for good by fumbling yet another punt at their own 35, this one a controversial turnover in which the Benedictine defender hit PR Nick Weinstein before he had touched the ball. A flag was dropped, and it appeared as though NPU was going to take possession at midfield after a BU personal foul call for interfering with the punt returner. However, the call surprisingly went against NPU; my guess is that the referee felt that the Eagle who hit Weinstein was hit from behind by a Viking, knocking him into Weinstein. Eagles were given possession, and the game was essentially over.

So how did NPU manage to hang around, in spite of all that? Well, Benedictine is not a good football team, that's why. It has two outstanding players in RB John Borsellino and DE Ben Lockton, and a decent QB in Cyle Schultz, but not that much beyond them. It's not hard to see how Wheaton beat the Eagles by 41. But where does that leave North Park?

NPU dodged all sorts of bullets just to hang around in this game. The Vikes allowed a bunch of long BU drives, and made a couple of fourth-down stands in their own territory in the first half, while the Bennies supplemented NPU's luck by missing two field-goal attempts and turning the ball over a couple of times themselves. But eventually NPU's ineptitude on offense and the astonishing turnover display -- only one turnover of the six was really earned by the Eagles rather than being the result of a poor North Park play -- caught up with the Vikings.

The off week couldn't come at a better time for this shell-shocked NPU team.

I understand that our Internet connection was spotty last night, so I apologize to anyone who was having difficulty while trying to watch our webcast. I hope we'll get that fixed by the next home game. Meanwhile, I'll be audio-only in two weeks when the Vikes visit Olivet.

I must disagree with some of your statments here, stating that BU is not a good football team and focuses only on Johhny and Lockton. 435 yards compared to 147, 80 of which was from one drive.The BU defense is filled with great players. Limiting an option offense to under 100 yards. And 435 yards of offense split pretty evenly between passing and rushing. Don;t get me wrong Lockton and Borsellino are amazing players .. thats why there both All Americans on a couple different lists, but they are a good team. IMO the only reason North park was in the game is because of a fumble in the endzone, a kick return to the 10 yard line. That is 14 points that should not have been on the board. Both teams made alot of mistakes, 6 turnovers from NP which typically just turned into failed redzone attempts from BU. BU also had around 100 yards in penalties and I can only recall 1 penalty being called against NP. I do give alot of credit to the Viking players though for not giving up, when it seemed to be all over they got that long kickoff and just like that made it a one score game with a couple min. left. I am not saying BU is a CCIW calliber team becasue there not Wheaton showed that, but they are a good football team that is getting better and I believe could beat out a couple of teams in the CCIW. But good luck to everyones teams this year hopefully NP can break there streak this year.

Irish---

The fact is that Benedictine is a good football team, BUT only in a bad conference. Overall, as Greg Sager indicated, they are NOT a very good team. Since becoming a member of the NATHC in 2008, their record from 2008-2011 within the conference is 22-6. However, in non-conference games within that same time frame, they are only 3-11. The Benedictine-NPU game was an exercise matching perhaps the best team in a weaker conference with the worst team in a very strong conference. And the "good" team beat the "bad" team by only 8 points. Not exactly a strong statement by an (overall) good team.

[Gregory Sager]

I must disagree with some of your statments here, stating that BU is not a good football team and focuses only on Johhny and Lockton. 435 yards compared to 147, 80 of which was from one drive.The BU defense is filled with great players. Limiting an option offense to under 100 yards. And 435 yards of offense split pretty evenly between passing and rushing. Don;t get me wrong Lockton and Borsellino are amazing players .. thats why there both All Americans on a couple different lists, but they are a good team.

Irisheagle, I know that you're a Benedictine fan and I know that this is an unpleasant truth for you to have to read, but in fact Benedictine is really not very good. NPU, unfortunately (from my point of view), is worse -- or at least the Vikings were worse last night, which is all that really matters. Holding NPU to such a paltry offensive performance is really no big deal, because it's not as though NPU burned up the turf on Hope last week, either ... the same Hope that got creamed by Millikin this week, and Millikin's not a major player in this league, either.

The option is a solid offensive philosophy for a school that has some inherent football recruiting problems (i.e., NPU), and I believe that Scott Pethtel made a great choice by going that route. I strongly believe that he can make it work eventually ... or, at least, he can come as close as anyone is likely to come in terms of making it work at North Park. But an offense with which opponents are unfamiliar is not a substitute for good, solid, fundamentally sound play. And NPU offered none of that last night. Absolutely none. Of the six turnovers, all but one -- the Porter fumble on the kickoff return -- were NPU muffs rather than BU takeaways.

IMO the only reason North park was in the game is because of a fumble in the endzone, a kick return to the 10 yard line. That is 14 points that should not have been on the board.

I went over that in my previous post, which you don't seem to have read too closely. I talked about how many bullets NPU dodged in order to stay in the game. But in the end, the Vikings self-destructed. One ridiculous turnover after another ... kudos to Benedictine for being in the right place to take advantage of those mistakes, but NPU handed the Bennies the game on a silver platter.

Both teams made alot of mistakes, 6 turnovers from NP which typically just turned into failed redzone attempts from BU.

Benedictine scored ten points off of NPU turnovers in the fourth quarter. Benedictine won the game by eight points. Do the math.

(Also, North Park's final chance to tie the game in the last three minutes and change was aborted on a fumbled punt.)

BU also had around 100 yards in penalties

Yes, because Benedictine is not a very good football team, which is my whole point. NPU gave the ball away six times, almost all of them the result of Vikings miscues. And yet Benedictine won by only eight points in a game that wasn't decided until the waning minutes. What does that tell you about the Eagles in terms of their relative place in the D3 football universe?

and I can only recall 1 penalty being called against NP.

The biggest play of the game, the fumbled punt with 3:08 remaining, turned on a penalty flag which those of us in the press box were convinced was going to be an interference call on BU for hitting the punt returner before he'd touched the ball. Instead, the penalty was called on NPU. So the penalty bug certainly didn't miss biting North Park last night.

I do give alot of credit to the Viking players though for not giving up, when it seemed to be all over they got that long kickoff and just like that made it a one score game with a couple min. left.

NPU did a nice job of trying to fight through all of those mistakes. The defense made a number of tough stops, and Weinstein's kick return to set up the Broadway touchdown run was a huge lift. But extending credit to a team for not giving up is hollow and meaningless. It's the sports-fan equivalent of one of those blue ribbons you give to a kid for participating in something. The Vikings played a horrible, horrible game last night, and they need to seriously get on the stick and start working harder to turn things around, because they've spent two weeks now cutting their own throats. It's hard enough to win football games just having to contend with an opponent that's trying as hard as it can to beat you. It's that much harder when you also have to contend with an ER's worth of your own self-inflicted wounds.

I am not saying BU is a CCIW calliber team becasue there not Wheaton showed that, but they are a good football team that is getting better and I believe could beat out a couple of teams in the CCIW. But good luck to everyones teams this year hopefully NP can break there streak this year.

The Eagles are not a good team. I'm sorry, but that's the bottom line. And I take no pleasure in saying that, because it only makes NPU look worse.

[Gregory Sager]

Irish---

The fact is that Benedictine is a good football team, BUT only in a bad conference. Overall, as Greg Sager indicated, they are NOT a very good team. Since becoming a member of the NATHC in 2008, their record from 2008-2011 within the conference is 22-6. However, in non-conference games within that same time frame, they are only 3-11. The Benedictine-NPU game was an exercise matching perhaps the best team in a weaker conference with the worst team in a very strong conference. And the "good" team beat the "bad" team by only 8 points. Not exactly a strong statement by an (overall) good team.

Thank you, Mark. Yes, that is precisely my point. Whether it's because he's a BU fan or because he's been watching a steady diet of NAthCon football -- or both -- Irish is apparently deluded in his view of what constitutes a good football team. Is BU good by NAthCon standards? Probably; we'll see as the season wears on. Was BU good the last two years by NAthCon standards? Sure was; the Eagles won the league title both times. Were they good by overall D3 football standards? Well, you tell me, Irish. Your Eagles lost both years to an NPU program that hasn't won a CCIW game in over a decade. And the Eagles lost their playoff games by scores of 57-10 and 47-7. And, as Mark indicates, last year's Eagles seniors only went 3-11 in non-conference play for their careers.

So, no, Benedictine is not a good football team by overall D3 standards, which are the only standards that really interest anyone who reads the CCIW football room. The Eagles are the prettiest woman in the nursing home, the tastiest chocolate in a box of Ex-Lax, and the best downhill skier in Libya.