FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[NCF]

I would like to think that Thorne doesn't run up the score in this game.

We'll see. NPU is completely at his mercy, and that sucks in more ways than I can count.

?

[NCF]

The facts seem to differ with your opinion.  I don't know what you consider as a weak team but IWU is going to the playoffs even of they lose to either NCC or Wheaton. Losing a non conference game is the fastest way to end your season in early November.  NCC has lost a non conference game in 5 of the last 7 years and it has hurt them.  Their Redlands loss last year was critical as they played @wabash vs home.  I don't see a lot of success stories built on the "tougher non conference games" theory.  When you play in a league as tough as the CCIW you are prepared for the post season.

Completely agree w USee.   I'm not sold on the tough non conference slate as I once was.  Playing in the CCIW, you're not going to run the table every year.   Not saying you're not going to win some of those tough non conference games, but if we would've beat up on, say two average teams, instead of losing to an above average UWL, we are ranked in the top three right now and in real good shape to make the playoffs if we were to split with the Weenie/Wheatie twosome worst case.   Franklin plays a psychotic schedule, has no room for error and will undoubtedly go on the road for their playoff games if they run the schedule in the conference.   Where's the reward?

If we beat UWL, we'd be sitting at 4.. If we then lose to IWU or Wheaton, we drop and end up in the same boat we're sitting in now. We'd like that game back as much as Wheaton would like Albion back, UWW would like Buff State back and Wabash would like Allegheny back. It is what it is. Can't keep looking back on what might have been or you lose sight of what's up ahead.

[79jaybird]

To add my 2 cents-  Elmhurst is 4-1, 1-1  however in the playoffs grand scale of games vs. quality opponents I would put them at 0-1.  We have seen it before, and I'm sure it will happen to some school again in the future,  that a bad loss in September comes to haunt you on Selection Day.

[NCF]

To add my 2 cents-  Elmhurst is 4-1, 1-1  however in the playoffs grand scale of games vs. quality opponents I would put them at 0-1.  We have seen it before, and I'm sure it will happen to some school again in the future,  that a bad loss in September comes to haunt you on Selection Day.

If Elmhurst should win out, they have a chance.

[Langhorst_Ghost]

don't automatically assume that two losses is totally the 'kiss of death' - last year the committee took 2-loss St. John Fisher over some 1-loss teams, and was made to look good when they won two games (just like Wheaton vindicated the selection of a 2-loss team a few years ago by going all the way to the final four).

Completely agree...

Wheaton College, circa 2008:

October 25th @ McCully - Lost to NCC by 3+ touchdowns (shut out in first half)
November 1st, the next week, @ Langhorst - Lost to EC by 2 touchdowns
Finish 5-2 in conference play and make the National Playoffs

Fast forward to November 22nd - Shutout Trine in round one, Nov 29th - Double-Up Wabash, Dec 6th - Roll Frankilin, before finally bowing out in the National Semis to the Purple Army from Ohio on Dec 13th.

Moral of the story...you just never know until the whole thing plays out.  The Wheaties were left for dead after Ittersagen and the boys left Langhorst with their second loss, but Swider rallied the troops and put up 44 on the Greenies before racking up 50 in Kenosha to roll into the postseason at-large.

The CCIW is a highly respected conference and still has more than a month to shake.  There are plenty of teams with something left to say before selection Sunday.  Should be a fun final 5 weeks!

[emma17]

I hope they at least show something against ncc since last year they lost 35-0 which I'm sure was most 2nd string, probably will be the same this year bust last year we had possession 37:57 to 22:00.

Time of possession is a meaningless statistic. Put it out of your mind. Yes, NPU keeps the ball for a long time, because that's what an option offense (i.e., a run-dominated offense) will do. But if you can't score, what good is time of possession? And if you can't stop the other team from scoring, what good is time of possession? There's no point to looking for moral victories where none exist.

Gregory I realize your post is specific to NPU but you mentioned the subject of Time of Possession.  The importance of winning the TOP battle has definately taken a hit in recent years- especially due to the many high potent offenses out there.  I do believe that TOP is a very important quality for the right type of team- one with a strong defense and a less than potent offense.  Some recent examples come to mind of teams that would have greatly benefitted from extending their time of possession: Concordia Moorhead v Bethel, NCC v Wabash, UWW v Buffalo State.     

(modified by GS for formatting purposes)

[wally_wabash]

The facts seem to differ with your opinion.  I don't know what you consider as a weak team but IWU is going to the playoffs even of they lose to either NCC or Wheaton. Losing a non conference game is the fastest way to end your season in early November.  NCC has lost a non conference game in 5 of the last 7 years and it has hurt them.  Their Redlands loss last year was critical as they played @wabash vs home.  I don't see a lot of success stories built on the "tougher non conference games" theory.  When you play in a league as tough as the CCIW you are prepared for the post season.

You're  assuming IWU beats at least one, they could lose to both. This season is shaping up to be exciting, because anything can happen on any given Saturday. Playing @Wabash was NOT the reason NC lost. The CCIW just dropped from 5th to 7th in the conf. rankings, so maybe not as tough as it used to be.  Weak teams-too many to list.

I thought USee was quite clear in implying that IWU had to win one of the two.  Also, don't automatically assume that two losses is totally the 'kiss of death' - last year the committee took 2-loss St. John Fisher over some 1-loss teams, and was made to look good when they won two games (just like Wheaton vindicated the selection of a 2-loss team a few years ago by going all the way to the final four).

I sure wouldn't want to have 2 losses on selection Sunday.  Yes, it's happened that teams have been selected in that position before, but that is very much the exception to the rule.  A couple of things to keep in mind regarding 2012 vs. 2008...week 11 in 2008 was madness.  Wheaton needed a LOT of help on that final Saturday to get a sniff from the committee and Wheaton got a lot of help (the results that day were insane!).  Also, The CCIW has not performed quite as well in 2012 as they did in 2008, which will manifest itself in the criteria down the road (namely in SOS and a lack of wins against regionally ranked teams).  I think the Brass Bell is a de facto elmination game this year. 

[79jaybird]

A 1 loss Elmhurst team at 9-1, 6-1 would definitely be in the hunt for a pool C bid, especially considering their 1-loss would be to a Nat'l ranked CCIW champ  (assuming NC was to win it).  I don't think any 2-loss team has a good shot. Just my IMO.  In fact, I would prefer to see a 1-loss team in (a strong conference) get first dibs over any 2-loss team in the nation. 

Newcardfan- Agreed Elmhurst has a stone's shot in getting looked at for Pool C if they are to win out.  That is a big IF.  They still have 2 big time games and an upset potential game @ MU to clear.  I am not jumping on the bandwagon yet and staying pretty neutral/realistic.

*Early forecast for Saturday's HC game @ Elmhurst is showers which may affect the Jays running game. I hope Lester and CO. are polishing up options 2 & 3 if the running game goes dormant.

[wally_wabash]

A 1 loss Elmhurst team at 9-1, 6-1 would definitely be in the hunt for a pool C bid, especially considering their 1-loss would be to a Nat'l ranked CCIW champ  (assuming NC was to win it).  I don't think any 2-loss team has a good shot. Just my IMO.  In fact, I would prefer to see a 1-loss team in (a strong conference) get first dibs over any 2-loss team in the nation. 

The timing of the Wheaton game hurts Elmhurst.  If Elmhurst wins on Saturday, it may keep Wheaton from being regionally ranked at all this year (unless they beat North Central later on), which hurst Elmhurst in the criteria.  Of course, not winning the game hurts Elmhurst even more.  Agree that 9-1 Elmhurst will have a good look at Pool C if things shake out such that they don't win the CCIW's AQ. 

[NCF]

A 1 loss Elmhurst team at 9-1, 6-1 would definitely be in the hunt for a pool C bid, especially considering their 1-loss would be to a Nat'l ranked CCIW champ  (assuming NC was to win it).  I don't think any 2-loss team has a good shot. Just my IMO.  In fact, I would prefer to see a 1-loss team in (a strong conference) get first dibs over any 2-loss team in the nation. 

Newcardfan- Agreed Elmhurst has a stone's shot in getting looked at for Pool C if they are to win out.  That is a big IF.  They still have 2 big time games and an upset potential game @ MU to clear.  I am not jumping on the bandwagon yet and staying pretty neutral/realistic.

*Early forecast for Saturday's HC game @ Elmhurst is showers which may affect the Jays running game. I hope Lester and CO. are polishing up options 2 & 3 if the running game goes dormant.

There's a lot of big IF's coming up in the next few weeks all around the conference. Should be an exciting late October, early November.

[matblake]

A 1 loss Elmhurst team at 9-1, 6-1 would definitely be in the hunt for a pool C bid, especially considering their 1-loss would be to a Nat'l ranked CCIW champ  (assuming NC was to win it).  I don't think any 2-loss team has a good shot. Just my IMO.  In fact, I would prefer to see a 1-loss team in (a strong conference) get first dibs over any 2-loss team in the nation. 

Newcardfan- Agreed Elmhurst has a stone's shot in getting looked at for Pool C if they are to win out.  That is a big IF.  They still have 2 big time games and an upset potential game @ MU to clear.  I am not jumping on the bandwagon yet and staying pretty neutral/realistic.

*Early forecast for Saturday's HC game @ Elmhurst is showers which may affect the Jays running game. I hope Lester and CO. are polishing up options 2 & 3 if the running game goes dormant.

There's a lot of big IF's coming up in the next few weeks all around the conference. Should be an exciting late October, early November.

I love football season.  At the beginning everyone has a shot, in the middle there are plenty of questions and possibilities for how the conference race will hash out, and at the end there is an actual playoff system. 

[New Tradition]

A 1 loss Elmhurst team at 9-1, 6-1 would definitely be in the hunt for a pool C bid, especially considering their 1-loss would be to a Nat'l ranked CCIW champ  (assuming NC was to win it).  I don't think any 2-loss team has a good shot. Just my IMO.  In fact, I would prefer to see a 1-loss team in (a strong conference) get first dibs over any 2-loss team in the nation. 

Newcardfan- Agreed Elmhurst has a stone's shot in getting looked at for Pool C if they are to win out.  That is a big IF.  They still have 2 big time games and an upset potential game @ MU to clear.  I am not jumping on the bandwagon yet and staying pretty neutral/realistic.

*Early forecast for Saturday's HC game @ Elmhurst is showers which may affect the Jays running game. I hope Lester and CO. are polishing up options 2 & 3 if the running game goes dormant.

There's a lot of big IF's coming up in the next few weeks all around the conference. Should be an exciting late October, early November.

I love football season.  At the beginning everyone has a shot, in the middle there are plenty of questions and possibilities for how the conference race will hash out, and at the end there is an actual playoff system.

AMEN!!

[USee]

The facts seem to differ with your opinion.  I don't know what you consider as a weak team but IWU is going to the playoffs even of they lose to either NCC or Wheaton. Losing a non conference game is the fastest way to end your season in early November.  NCC has lost a non conference game in 5 of the last 7 years and it has hurt them.  Their Redlands loss last year was critical as they played @wabash vs home.  I don't see a lot of success stories built on the "tougher non conference games" theory.  When you play in a league as tough as the CCIW you are prepared for the post season.

You're  assuming IWU beats at least one, they could lose to both. This season is shaping up to be exciting, because anything can happen on any given Saturday. Playing @Wabash was NOT the reason NC lost. The CCIW just dropped from 5th to 7th in the conf. rankings, so maybe not as tough as it used to be.  Weak teams-too many to list.

While there are plenty of reasons NCC got beat by Wabash last year, the science is pretty solid that home field advantage is worth somewhere between 1.5-3pts in a game. In a 28-29 game you can't confidently say that wasn't the reason! It may not be the only reason but I don't think you can overlook the fact NCC coaches/players would have preferred the game to be played in Naperville and the fact it was played in Crawfordsville was as important as any other factor.

[ncc58]

You still have to play each game and the next game on NC's schedule is NP. I would like to think that Thorne doesn't run up the score in this game.

I think that NCC will do what they formerly did to BU and did last year at NPU. They'll sit out a few players with injuries. They'll try to open up a comfortable lead by halftime. Then, they'll get game experience for for the younger players, some of whom may need to play important roles against IWU and Wheaton.

[NCF]

The facts seem to differ with your opinion.  I don't know what you consider as a weak team but IWU is going to the playoffs even of they lose to either NCC or Wheaton. Losing a non conference game is the fastest way to end your season in early November.  NCC has lost a non conference game in 5 of the last 7 years and it has hurt them.  Their Redlands loss last year was critical as they played @wabash vs home.  I don't see a lot of success stories built on the "tougher non conference games" theory.  When you play in a league as tough as the CCIW you are prepared for the post season.

You're  assuming IWU beats at least one, they could lose to both. This season is shaping up to be exciting, because anything can happen on any given Saturday. Playing @Wabash was NOT the reason NC lost. The CCIW just dropped from 5th to 7th in the conf. rankings, so maybe not as tough as it used to be.  Weak teams-too many to list.

While there are plenty of reasons NCC got beat by Wabash last year, the science is pretty solid that home field advantage is worth somewhere between 1.5-3pts in a game. In a 28-29 game you can't confidently say that wasn't the reason! It may not be the only reason but I don't think you can overlook the fact NCC coaches/players would have preferred the game to be played in Naperville and the fact it was played in Crawfordsville was as important as any other factor.

I would have liked it to be in Naperville, just because of the two hour drive and the fact that a deer ran into my side door on the way home and knocked off the  mirror, but in no way would I say the cause of the game was because it was played in Crawfordsville.  North Central was in control for three quarters and didn't finish the game. They were outplayed in the fourth quarter.My son doesn't think that was the cause either and since he played, I'll trust his opinion more than any one of us posters.  Good teams find a way to win, whether it's on the road or at home.  On a lighter note, I blame my son-in-law for the Wabash and LaCrosse games, since those were the only games he's been to in the last two years. I jokingly told him no more games for him.