FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[oldnuthin]

Great game in Bloomington, I saw a definite improvement in attitude and play that has been missing over the last few years. Holmes was amazing and has really matured into a solid quarterback. Credit to the coaching staff for that also. This week will be a big barometer against NCC. Stinde ran on the D, and he is a beast, lets see how they handle Kukoc and company. It will also be interesting to see how the offense stacks up against the NCC D, but I definitive see a team with the arrow pointing up. As for the questions on the 2 point conversion, Coach Etherton answers that in the linked article below.


http://herald-review.com/blogs/millikin_sports/etherton-s-reaction-to-wesleyan-game-we-re-moving-on/article_ff1cec8a-0ce0-11e2-bcd0-001a4bcf887a.html

[79jaybird]

North Park is going to get a W soon.  I hope this happens this year.  Keep in my the Vikes had Elmhurst all but dead a few years ago, before a Jays 4th quarter comeback spoiled it.

[iwu70]

Nuth'in, thanks for the link on the MU coach's take on the last play call Saturday evening, in OT.  I admire his confidence and his "let's move on" attitude.  Hope the MU players and fans buy it.  For me, still think it was a poor play selection, esp. on the second 2 pt. try after the holding penalty.  The way Dunning was running, Holmes too, can't imagine they wouldn't have punched it in from the one.  That fade route was high risk, and it was covered well by Bolden, and the ball was actually slightly overthrown into the SE corner of the Tucci endzone.  Of course, IWU is very happy it was that play and that fortunate outcome for our OT win.  Can't imagine that the MU team and coaching staff won't rue the call, regret the outcome of that game, last play for some weeks to come.  Hard to swallow.  As I said earlier, a long long, short ride back to Decatur. 

Good luck to MU vs. NCC this weekend.  Of course, we'd love to see your team bounce right back, continue to play at a very high level and give NCC some fits as well.  I was most impressed with the MU offense, receivers' play, QB passing and mobility, and the Dunning running game.  Hope you have a breakthrough win this weekend.

Yes, hard to think of NP possibly beating Augie, but I think it's possible.  I'll be cheering for NPU to get that first CCIW win in a long, long time this year. . .  (just not this Saturday). 

IWU70

[Langhorst_Ghost]

North Park is going to get a W soon.  I hope this happens this year.

I hope they get one soon, as well.  79JB - we are definitely in agreement in our hope for the Vikes - heck, i played on the last EC team to get beat by NPU!

The one that really got away was last year - Redmen score 31 2nd half points and take their first and only lead with 35 seconds left in the game to avoid a spooky Halloween weekend on Foster Ave. 

the Vikes had Elmhurst all but dead a few years ago, before a Jays 4th quarter comeback spoiled it.

2007 is the year you are referencing...EC scores 14 4th quarter points, we shut out the Vikes in the 2nd half to hold on at Langhorst, 24-14.  Definitely some uneasy folks in the stands that afternoon.

the last four years haven't been close though...
2011 = 59-6, 2010 = 45-0, 2009 = 47-10, and 2008 = 42-21 (35-14 halftime lead)

Here's hoping they get over the hump this fall...just any Saturday except October 27th would be fine by me. 

[NCF]

Nuth'in, thanks for the link on the MU coach's take on the last play call Saturday evening, in OT.  I admire his confidence and his "let's move on" attitude.  Hope the MU players and fans buy it.  For me, still think it was a poor play selection, esp. on the second 2 pt. try after the holding penalty.  The way Dunning was running, Holmes too, can't imagine they wouldn't have punched it in from the one.  That fade route was high risk, and it was covered well by Bolden, and the ball was actually slightly overthrown into the SE corner of the Tucci endzone.  Of course, IWU is very happy it was that play and that fortunate outcome for our OT win.  Can't imagine that the MU team and coaching staff won't rue the call, regret the outcome of that game, last play for some weeks to come.  Hard to swallow.  As I said earlier, a long long, short ride back to Decatur. 

Good luck to MU vs. NCC this weekend.  Of course, we'd love to see your team bounce right back, continue to play at a very high level and give NCC some fits as well.  I was most impressed with the MU offense, receivers' play, QB passing and mobility, and the Dunning running game.  Hope you have a breakthrough win this weekend.

Yes, hard to think of NP possibly beating Augie, but I think it's possible.  I'll be cheering for NPU to get that first CCIW win in a long, long time this year. . .  (just not this Saturday). 

IWU70

I bet you would

[Titan Q]

Great game in Bloomington, I saw a definite improvement in attitude and play that has been missing over the last few years. Holmes was amazing and has really matured into a solid quarterback. Credit to the coaching staff for that also. This week will be a big barometer against NCC. Stinde ran on the D, and he is a beast, lets see how they handle Kukoc and company. It will also be interesting to see how the offense stacks up against the NCC D, but I definitive see a team with the arrow pointing up. As for the questions on the 2 point conversion, Coach Etherton answers that in the linked article below.


http://herald-review.com/blogs/millikin_sports/etherton-s-reaction-to-wesleyan-game-we-re-moving-on/article_ff1cec8a-0ce0-11e2-bcd0-001a4bcf887a.html

Thanks for sharing, oldnuthin.

"At the end of the game, they scored first in overtime. I told (Millikin assistant) coach (Tim) Connell, as soon as they scored and kicked the extra point, that, 'Hey, we're going for two. So get a two-point play ready.' So we scored, we lined up, ran a play and got a defensive holding penalty on their guy, which was right by us. We lined up for another one, ran the play and just didn't execute the way we were supposed to. It was the right play call to make. It's easy to second-guess, it's easy to sit around and watch the film (and second-guess), but it was the right play. We had a guy open, we just didn't get it done. We had zero regrets.


I gotta believe that is a pretty heavy dose of "coach speak."  I just can't buy the statement that they have "zero regrets" about that play call.  I think there is a better chance the MU coaching staff lost some sleep over it.

[79jaybird]

I remember that '07 NPU/EC game.  For most of the game NPU had Elmhurst in dire straits and just shut them down.  Then Elmhurst put it in overdrive the come from behind for the W.  Likewise L-Ghost, North Park beat us while I was a player.

[cardinaldad]

In defense of jaybird's past years' of optimism, Elmhurst always seemed to play NCC very tough. Some of the most exciting NCC games I've seen were when NCC played Elmhurst. The scores were:

'01   31-28
'02   20-13
'03   34-28
'04   31-20
'05   28-21
'08   35-28

     I remember those games being very exciting. It seemed as if the last team that had the ball either won ( which was NCC) or was knocking on the door and the NCC defense had to make a goal line stand to end the game. Granted, there is only one year on that list that NCC won the CCIW title. But, for the other years, they were on the move to the upper tier and the Jays played them tough. The years not listed............not so much.

[oldnuthin]

Great game in Bloomington, I saw a definite improvement in attitude and play that has been missing over the last few years. Holmes was amazing and has really matured into a solid quarterback. Credit to the coaching staff for that also. This week will be a big barometer against NCC. Stinde ran on the D, and he is a beast, lets see how they handle Kukoc and company. It will also be interesting to see how the offense stacks up against the NCC D, but I definitive see a team with the arrow pointing up. As for the questions on the 2 point conversion, Coach Etherton answers that in the linked article below.


http://herald-review.com/blogs/millikin_sports/etherton-s-reaction-to-wesleyan-game-we-re-moving-on/article_ff1cec8a-0ce0-11e2-bcd0-001a4bcf887a.html

Thanks for sharing, oldnuthin.

"At the end of the game, they scored first in overtime. I told (Millikin assistant) coach (Tim) Connell, as soon as they scored and kicked the extra point, that, 'Hey, we're going for two. So get a two-point play ready.' So we scored, we lined up, ran a play and got a defensive holding penalty on their guy, which was right by us. We lined up for another one, ran the play and just didn't execute the way we were supposed to. It was the right play call to make. It's easy to second-guess, it's easy to sit around and watch the film (and second-guess), but it was the right play. We had a guy open, we just didn't get it done. We had zero regrets.


I gotta believe that is a pretty heavy dose of "coach speak."  I just can't buy the statement that they have "zero regrets" about that play call.  I think there is a better chance the MU coaching staff lost some sleep over it.

I think this part of the article is more telling and gives a clearer picture of Coach Etherton's thought.

"Our kids met on Sunday and were fine. Our kids all knew, I mean we all knew, I think every kid in the program the last two years knew, we were going for two. There was probably zero question. My wife knew we were going for two and she was watching the game at home. It's just that deal, we are going to play for wins and control our own destiny. We knew if we get this, 'Hey, we win the game.' And that's what you ask for.

Given the fact that Holmes had a completion percentage of over 70%, I believe what Coach Etherton said, and see no reason to call it coach speak. Trying to revive a program takes clear plan and a clear message. I believe Coach Etherton is showing that in his statements and his actions. Regret over the over the outcome, absolutely, regrets over the play call, absolutely not. As for losing sleep, I wouldn't have direct knowledge of that   

[79jaybird]

Cardinaldad- Very true.  I recall one questionable call where it appeared Demma hit Evans in the back of the end zone. He dragged his foot and (later on video) was indeed in, but oh well. You get some calls and you miss some calls.  That's life.  The moral of these scores though is better disciplined, coached, execution team won these tight games.  Both teams had their opportunities but the W's went to the team that did not fall apart in crunch time. 
Also- Teams with solid depth are able to overcome missed calls or setbacks that don't go (your team's) way.  Teams like NC, Wheaton, IWU, etc. are able to overcome obstacles.  Elmhurst has yet to show this capability on a consistent basis.

[New Tradition]

Cardinaldad- Very true.  I recall one questionable call where it appeared Demma hit Evans in the back of the end zone. He dragged his foot and (later on video) was indeed in, but oh well. You get some calls and you miss some calls.  That's life.  The moral of these scores though is better disciplined, coached, execution team won these tight games.  Both teams had their opportunities but the W's went to the team that did not fall apart in crunch time. 
Also- Teams with solid depth are able to overcome missed calls or setbacks that don't go (your team's) way.  Teams like NC, Wheaton, IWU, etc. are able to overcome obstacles.  Elmhurst has yet to show this capability on a consistent basis.

I remember that play.  I went to high school with both Demma and Evans.  Todd is still HOT about that call. 

[ncc58]

Story on Rob Gallick in the Chicago Tribune:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ct-spt-1004-prep-college-catchup-20121003,0,5905122.story

[Augie6]

I am shocked to see where the Augie program is now.   My question is when and how did things get to this point?  Reade retiring?  Was it the coaches that were hired?  Lack of facilities?   Being on the receiving end of some stompings from the National Champ Augie teams, i just could never imagine it would get like this.  Selfishly, I also am hoping the beloved Cardinals do all possible to keep the program in a prominent position within the conference.  Augie6?  USee?  GS?  Mugsy?  Mr. Ypsi?  Bueller?  Anyone?  Thoughts?

I think there are a few things that have led to Augie's downfall, but the root cause is the current administration at Augie.  Facilities have certainly played a role, but that is (finally) being corrected with the stadium redevelopment that will be occurring after this season.  Obviously, Augie has fallen way behind many of the schools in the CCIW and other Midwest DIII schools in terms of athletic facilities.  From what I have heard from multiple sources, the current leadership of the school does not seem to think that having successful athletic programs is a necessary component to having a great academic institution. I and many alumni that I talk to, couldn't disagree more.  Having successful athletic programs not only helps in the educational process for those student-athletes, it also opens up larger pools of potential students who may choose to attend a particular school.  It's difficult to attract players who are good student-athletes to a school whose football program has sunk to the level that Augie's has.   As alumni, we're not looking for the school to be UWW or MUC (although that would be great), we just want to know that the program can be competitive in the CCIW and be relevant on a national basis.  Right now, Augie isn't even relevant in the state of Illinois.

From a coaching perspective, anyone following Coach Reade was going to have a tough time living up to what he did.  I don't believe you will find to many alumni that will complain about what Coach Schmulbach and Coach Barnes did in their tenures.  Were there some frustrations over the years, absolutely, particularly our inability to win close games against Wheaton in the early 2000's.  However, we knew that the Augie teams would be competitive and, from time to time, would be able to qualify for the NCAA playoffs.  This despite the current leadership of the college coming in around 2003 and making this more difficult by the year.  However, I and many others really question the coaching abilities of the current staff at Augustana.  As discussed when it occurred, naming Cushman as the head coach the day after Coach Barnes resigned really showed the administrations complete indifference to the program and it's success.  He was a career .500 Head Coach who managed to take a 6-4 team from Barnes final season, with many starters (somewhere around 15 if I recall correctly) and a record setting QB returning and make them a 2-8 team.  It's not looking any better this season, as the best I see Augie finishing is 3-7, with a 1-9 season a real possibility.  Good HS players and potential recruits aren't going to care that much about a shiny, new stadium if they know they'll get their butts beat every weekend playing there.

So adding all of this up, I believe it will be some time before you see Augie become relevant in football, again.  I certainly don't believe it will happen while the current administration/staff are in place.   

[Langhorst_Ghost]

Cardinaldad- Very true.  I recall one questionable call where it appeared Demma hit Evans in the back of the end zone. He dragged his foot and (later on video) was indeed in, but oh well. You get some calls and you miss some calls.  That's life. 

I remember that play.  I went to high school with both Demma and Evans.  Todd is still HOT about that call.

Good memory 79JB, yeah that one had to be in 2003 if my memory serves, down in Naperville - Lester's second year as OC for the 'Jays.

Since we are revisiting the EC/NCC tilts of the last decade - the other one that broke the hearts of the EC faithful was in 2005 at Langhorst, the first playoff year in this current run for the Cards:  NCC was 6-0, had beaten the Wheaties and the Greenies already and EC was 5-1 with a win over Norm.  NCC got out early, then the 'Jays score right before the half to tie it up.  EC up 21-14 in the 4th, Kniss hit Stuedemann to tie it with 6 minutes left then converted a 3 and FOREVER (20+ yards) late, splitting the safeties and moving the sticks to set up his own winning TD run with 2 minutes left.  Great game.  NCC goes on to a 9-1 record and thus begins their dominant run.

That's why i love these boards...memories shared reminds me of the many CCIW fans that have lived the same experiences.

[New Tradition]

Cardinaldad- Very true.  I recall one questionable call where it appeared Demma hit Evans in the back of the end zone. He dragged his foot and (later on video) was indeed in, but oh well. You get some calls and you miss some calls.  That's life. 

I remember that play.  I went to high school with both Demma and Evans.  Todd is still HOT about that call.

Good memory 79JB, yeah that one had to be in 2003 if my memory serves, down in Naperville - Lester's second year as OC for the 'Jays.

Since we are revisiting the EC/NCC tilts of the last decade - the other one that broke the hearts of the EC faithful was in 2005 at Langhorst, the first playoff year in this current run for the Cards:  NCC was 6-0, had beaten the Wheaties and the Greenies already and EC was 5-1 with a win over Norm.  NCC got out early, then the 'Jays score right before the half to tie it up.  EC up 21-14 in the 4th, Kniss hit Stuedemann to tie it with 6 minutes left then converted a 3 and FOREVER (20+ yards) late, splitting the safeties and moving the sticks to set up his own winning TD run with 2 minutes left.  Great game.  NCC goes on to a 9-1 record and thus begins their dominant run.

That's why i love these boards...memories shared reminds me of the many CCIW fans that have lived the same experiences.

Heck yeah those were great games!  As I played in both of those games, I always have memories of Elmhurst playing us VERY tough.  k+