FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

North park reminds me of our teams. It's about retention.

You apparently haven't been following the discussion very closely. I said at the beginning of the season, and I've said several times since, that NPU's retention has greatly improved under Scott Pethtel. The Vikings have 21 seniors on this year's team, and lots of juniors as well.

Retention has always been a big problem for NPU, but it's not the problem now.

I've wondered about this, because I don't see how NPU is going to recruit the caliber of players to be competitive in the CCIW. They make play one conference game each year that they have a chance to win, but they're losing decisively in most of the games. NPU is competitive in other sports, so is there something that those sports are doing that the football team can leverage? In my view, Wheaton attracts the players looking for a strong Christian school. NCC, IWU, and Elmhurst are getting the rest of the Chicago area players. The top teams aren't even taking NPU seriously - their biggest decision leading up to the game is which players to sit and how soon can they pull out the starters.

Well, I think that I laid out the problem pretty thoroughly in my lengthy post on Thursday evening. The particularities of football -- i.e., the large roster size required of the sport -- prevent Scott Pethtel from doing the same things that successful NPU coaches in other sports are doing, or at least those particularities keep him from doing the same things even fractionally as well as a Luke Johnson or a John Born or an Allison Koubsky do them. Keeping attrition in mind, it takes maybe ten or so CCIW-grade freshmen or transfers per year to stock a successful soccer team. Baseball probably requires a dozen, because even though baseball uses ten players at any given moment (nine fielders plus a DH) to soccer's eleven, baseball is more specialized. It takes six to eight CCIW-grade newbies per year to stock a successful basketball team. And so on, and so forth. We can nitpick about the numbers, but I think that we'll all generally agree that the numbers I cited are at least in the ballpark.

How many CCIW-grade freshmen and transfers does it take per year to stock a successful football team in this league? Wheaton gets away with something like 30-35 or so per year (correct me if I'm wrong on that, Mugsy or MB or USee), but Wheaton's football attrition rate is extraordinarily low. (Must be the food there. ) It appears to me that everybody else who is competitive in this league brings in somewhere in the neighborhood of forty to fifty CCIW-grade football newbies per year, if not more. Do you see the discrepancy there between football and those other sports? Not only does football require vastly more players than those other sports simply to field a team, due to the specialization required (22 starters, plus kicking specialists) and the high injury rate, but football tends to have a much higher natural attrition rate, regardless of the school involved, than do those other sports. If you come to a school as a freshman to play football, chances are smaller that you'll be at that same school still playing football as a senior than your baseball- or soccer- or basketball-playing freshman classmates will still be there playing their respective sports.

In other words, to answer your question, ILGator, there's really not anything that other NPU coaches are doing that Scott Pethtel can leverage. He's got a vastly bigger and more difficult task set before him in terms of recruiting volume than do any other North Park coaches.

[NCF]

"Most Likely Top 25 team to get upset" from Triple Take...

http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/2012/10/19/triple-take-the-final-4-weeks-that-is/


Pat’s take: No. 12 Illinois Wesleyan. I admit Wheaton (Ill.) is not as strong as it has been in the past, but I think the jury remains out on Illinois Wesleyan at the moment until this game. The six teams the Titans have played so far are a combined 14-24, while the three other contenders in the CCIW are left on the schedule. And as we pointed out in this week’s podcast, IWU hasn’t won at Wheaton since 1996. This could well be the year, but until that happens, I’ll wait and see.

Keith’s take: No. 12 Illinois Wesleyan. I hate to pile on. I very nearly took No. 11 Hobart and No. 17 Rowan here, but I think they each have the defense necessary to hold off high-powered offenses from RPI and Cortland State. Both teams are on the road, making those picks even more intriguing. No. 24 St. John Fisher is on a two-game slide, but so is their opponent, Ithaca. I could have backed Ryan’s pick as well, as Lycoming has a shot. Simpson, Gettysburg and Pacific Lutheran will give top 25 teams a game, but in the end, for reasons explained below under 180, this was the pick I felt most comfortable with. IWU has a great defense as well (No. 8 nationally) but Wheaton (No. 10) can match it, plus it can score. And yes I expect we’ll hear a lot of chirping from Bloomington if the Titans do what they’re supposed to do and play like the No. 12 team in the country. Whatevs. We can dish it out and we can take it.
----------

I have no beef with this at all.  The simple truth is that I don't think anyone quite knows what to make of the Titans right now - they really don't have a signature win yet.  Now I will say that, while I can't prove it, I think the Titans are a very good football team -- very talented and very balanced.  But until we see what happens tonight, questions about IWU are very fair.

I do question the following line by Keith: "IWU has a great defense as well (No. 8 nationally) but Wheaton (No. 10) can match it, plus it can score."  I may be reading too much into this, but I almost take that to mean he doesn't think IWU has a very good offense -- that the Titans are all defense.  While that was pretty much the case last year (especially after T.J. Stinde went down), it's absolutely not in 2012.  IWU is averaging 41.3 points and 404 total yards per game.  Granted the opponents to date have not been great, but it doesn't take too much analysis to see that IWU has a strong O line, a very good QB, an explosive RB, and a bunch a strong WRs.  Again, not quite sure what Keith meant there but he may be overlooking what is a very dangerous IWU offense.

But bottom line, picking Wheaton to win this game is certainly fair -- it doesn't even feel like it would be an "upset" to me.  We'll learn a lot about the Titans tonight.

Not to worry,even if IWU loses tonight, D3 football will "most likely" pick NC as the team to lose the next two weeks:)

[Gregory Sager]

I'm all set for a long and chilly day in the Holmgren Athletic Complex press box. I'll be webcasting the Augustana @ North Park football game and serving as the P.A. announcer for the Carthage @ North Park women's soccer game and the Carthage @ North Park men's soccer game later this afternoon and this evening. I've got on my NPU soccer jacket, my NPU basketball hoodie, and my NPU baseball t-shirt. I'm just hoping that the administration decides to turn on the heater up there so that I don't have to wear all of that clothing.

For those of you who're interested, here's the link to the Augie @ NPU football webcast. It's a 1 pm kickoff.

[Titan Q]

Amazing stat -- North Central has won 19 straight CCIW games by 14 or more points.  The streak started immediately after NCC's last conference loss, @ IWU in 2009. 

That's really something.  Just complete domination of the league.

[NCF]

Amazing stat -- North Central has won 19 straight CCIW games by 14 or more points.  The streak started immediately after NCC's last conference loss, @ IWU in 2009. 

That's really something.  Just complete domination of the league.

Shhh! don't jinx us

[NCF]

I'm all set for a long and chilly day in the Holmgren Athletic Complex press box. I'll be webcasting the Augustana @ North Park football game and serving as the P.A. announcer for the Carthage @ North Park women's soccer game and the Carthage @ North Park men's soccer game later this afternoon and this evening. I've got on my NPU soccer jacket, my NPU basketball hoodie, and my NPU baseball t-shirt. I'm just hoping that the administration decides to turn on the heater up there so that I don't have to wear all of that clothing.

For those of you who're interested, here's the link to the Augie @ NPU football webcast. It's a 1 pm kickoff.

You need a track hat, some volleyball gloves, softball socks and a small electric heater to keep your feet warm-and maybe a quick trip between games down to CD, yum! LOL

[NCF]

Gotta do something while waiting toleave for Kenosha, so watching my 2nd favorite team, Purdue, up 13-7 over OSU.

[iwu70]

Basically, I agree with Q's assessment of the WC-IWU game.  Could go either way and not be a very big upset or surprise.  Just depends who makes a few big plays, who turns the ball over at a crucial time etc.  Do feel IWU's offense is very very good, if not as dramatic and flashy as some.  They know how to move the ball and have an excellent 3rd down percentage.  Gallik is experienced and he has lots of good athletes, weapons around him now with Stinde healthy and the big corps of excellent receivers.  Yes, WC will be tough to stop, but I think this is the week for the Titan D, esp. secondary, to step up and make some plays, get the deflections, make some picks etc.  Good coverage and containing the WC QB will be crucial.  Should be a very good game. 

Greg, this is the day . . . this is the day I think NP gets its CCIW win.  Good luck and go NP!!!  Sounds like you have a full day and a full wardrobe, to be sure. 

IWU70

[NCF]

Osh up 21-0 over UWW. thought it would be close, We'll see what happens in the 2nd half

[shepherd]

Osh up 21-0 over UWW. thought it would be close, We'll see what happens in the 2nd half

I'm switching between that game and Milikin v Elmhurst game.  Elmhurst taking advantage of Milkikin Penalties just like they did with Wheaton.   Scottie Williams creates a lot of over exuberant players with face masks and out of bounds penalties.  Something us former option players learned when your going against 5'6-10" players you need to play and tackle at the runners height. 
Usually have to pay for UWW video feed but I think it was free today.

Last rambling thought on the Wheaton game today and the next two.  I sure hope Wheaton fixes the over pursuit of the linebackers to the apparent hand-off as Williams was breaking backside on them last week and they face rb's the next few games who may(?) be able to do the same thing. 

[iwu70]

Augie over NP in the 3rd, 21-7.  ECC up on MU at the half, 28-20.  Other two games this evening.

IWU70

[Gregory Sager]

Augie 35
NPU 14

Same old, same old.

[Gregory Sager]

It seems that playing NPU gives a lot of opportunities for Offensive Player of the Week. Three weeks ago it was Carthage's Pete Djurickovic who had the game of his life, gaining over 200 receiving yards and two TDs, and garnered the award. This week I'd put my money on Augie's RB Eric Chandler, even though there's two games left to be played today. He ran roughshod over NPU to the tune of 204 yards on 17 carries -- an 11.9 ypc average -- and three TDs. Much of that was due to the Augie O-line, which opened up a lot of big holes on a pretty beat-up NPU front, but a lot of it was Chandler doing a nice job of showing field vision by running to daylight once he was past the line.

A pretty discouraging day for NPU. The two teams that the Park came very close to beating in CCIW play last year, teams that the Vikes thought they'd have a shot at beating this year, have knocked off NPU by 31-6 and 35-14 scores.

[Augie6]

Elmhurst & Millikin going to OT.  Elmhurst's defense is just not very good.  They've given up ~540 yards to Millikin today.  In 4 CCIW games, Elmhurst has given up 2107 yards, an average of ~525 yards per game.  Any talk of them taking the next step is thoroughly mis-guided based on their defensive play.

[Titan Q]

Elmhurst 45
Millikin 42

Final, OT

Absolute heartbreaker for the Big Blue, as their RB fumbled on about the 2-yard line, heading for the game-winning TD.  It was going to be 1st & goal from the 2.  Wow.

Two really shaky defenses in this game.