FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

Yes, very impressive, amazing numbers for Williams.  Congrats to him on a fine season and career.  Sounds like an excellent student-athlete all'round.   Hope the Titan D will give him some good resistance on the final day of the regular season.  That will be a good challenge for him in his final home game, regular season game.

IWU at NCC quite a challenge now, with all the injuries, letdown from the WC loss.  I expect the Titans to bounce back, pull together well as a team, no doubt. But without Gallik, perhaps without Bolden or Stinde, it's going to be tough.  I'd given NCC a 1-2 TD advantage in the best of times, so not sure about this weekend.  NC beat us last year 24-0, so you can see the separation from the CCIW pack by NCC in that game.  Yes, new year, different teams, but the overall quality levels haven't changed that much, IMHO.   I'm sure Norm and company will come up with a good game plan and do the very best they can with the skills and talents of the remaining teammates, backups for Gallik and Stinde.  Jones had an excellent game last weekend and I expect the Titans to utilize the backup talent in an effective way.  Probably will see more run-oriented offense, and I would bet a bit more trickeration to try to come up with some big plays.  But, still a huge challenge to face NCC with this loss of talent, esp. Gallik.

Go Titans!!!  Would love to see a big big upset this weekend. 

IWU70 

[bluejay4ever]

Great stats on Williams, Ghost. What really gets me about him is what a humble person he is. He is always saying thank you to everyone on campus for anything. A great role model for the younger players to show how to be on and off the field. I think he is the very definition of what a Division III Student Athlete is and should be.

It is difficult to overcome a ton of injuries from IWU's perspective as we all know at this level it is difficult to have quality depth. I will be interested to see how IWU handles NC being depleted. Like I mentioned when the Jays played NC. Against a top level team a game can get ugly quickly if you are not executing or being efficient. It may not reflect an accurate talent level when comparing the teams. There is something to be a said for a team that has been there before which in this case I think both teams have. Still given all that I see NC winning by 3 touchdowns or more.

[79jaybird]

BJ4Ever- personality upgrades and humbleness is something that has really been improved with the EC character starting with the Journell era.  When L-Ghost and I played, we had a few guys who were so ME, ME, ME, I, ETC. that there was a lack of character and humbleness which showed.  We had some guys who were just "in their own world".  Happy to see that the team's personality and overall good persona has been improved because the college's atmosphere is just that. 

[Mr. Ypsi]

Prior to 'Decimation Saturday', I would have predicted IWU would be the first conference team to lose to NCC by less than 2 TDs in 'forever' (with a slight, but real, chance of actual victory) .  Now I fear it could get very ugly in the second half.  I trust the Titan defense to be good enough to keep things respectable for quite a while, but I doubt the offense can keep the defense off the field, so eventually I anticipate a Cardinal explosion against a weary defense.  Prediction: at the half, NCC 10-7; at the end, NCC 45-10.

I NEVER surrender, so I'll be watching and hope I'm proven to be 'full of it'.  But that is what my head says will happen.

(Apparently Mr. Y's 'green-tinted' glasses have been misplaced! )

[ncc58]

To give context for those "youngsters", leading CCIW rusher of all time Jim Jodat enjoyed a 7 year NFL career (predominantly with the Rams and Seahawks).

As a fan of an opposing team, I can't wait for his career to finish.  Of course now we have to deal with his brother!   

Mugsy, you're a youngster.

We loved to watch Jim Jodat on tape. The expresssion of the time was "Whodat Jodat."

[CardinalAlum]

Complaining about karma usually gets you hit even more!  I don't give it much thought on what mine is.  If you are fine with what you post, who cares if you get dinged a couple of times.  The CCIW basketball board is a great place to get dinged, btw!   

Yeah... I make it a point to slam CardinalAlum's karma on a daily basis.

Ahhh yes.......was only a matter of time before a shot came flying!   

[iwu70]

Ypsi, you've lost your tinted, tainted glasses and your mind, it would seem.  You have NCC over our Titans by 5 TDs.  I think that's a bit extreme, and perhaps underestimates the Titans pulling together after last week's tough, bitter outcome, and also underplays the creativity of the coaching staff in coming up with a good game plan, even with the injury losses.  I think you are right that it will be difficult for the Titans to hold on at NC, and I too hope the O can make some good pushes, better than last year, and that the D plays well, as they have been doing, but gets off the field for reasonable breaks, of course tougher on the NC home turf, NC's Homecoming this time.  My thought is more like 24-10 or 28-10, and an improvement over last year's Homecoming loss here at Tucci.  I don't see NC scoring 45 on Saturday.

IWU70 

[Gregory Sager]

One interesting thing about the CCIW schedule this season is that NPU, Millikin, and Carthage fans have all had the opportunity to see both Illinois Wesleyan and North Central live in back-to-back weeks. This is what I said after the NCC @ NPU game:

After having seen both teams the past two weeks, I'd have to say that North Central is better than Illinois Wesleyan by a healthy margin. Not to say that the Titans can't pull off the upset, but I see NCC as being about two touchdowns better.

In the wake of those key Wesleyan injuries, I now think it's gonna be a significantly bigger separation than two mere touchdowns.

My more immediate interest is Scottie Williams. He's rushed for 155, 186, and 235 yards in the three games that he's played against NPU in his career. My fear is that he's going to break every CCIW rushing record in the book on Saturday at Langhorst against a Vikings defense that's proved very porous against the run. I expect Elmhurst to beat NPU by a healthy margin on Saturday, but I'd rather not see Williams set any new CCIW records against the Park.

I'd also love to see NPU get at least a few points against a Bluejays team that really hasn't played very good defense this season. The Vikings did gain 319 yards of offense last Saturday against Augie, but they only got 14 points out of it ... and yet it was the first time in four league games that NPU's broken into double digits on the scoreboard. While I don't think that they can come anywhere close to keeping up with Elmhurst score for score, it would at least be good to see the Vikes break the 20-point barrier in a CCIW game this season.

[Mugsy]

Ypsi, you've lost your tinted, tainted glasses and your mind, it would seem.  You have NCC over our Titans by 5 TDs.  I think that's a bit extreme, and perhaps underestimates the Titans pulling together after last week's tough, bitter outcome, and also underplays the creativity of the coaching staff in coming up with a good game plan, even with the injury losses.  I think you are right that it will be difficult for the Titans to hold on at NC, and I too hope the O can make some good pushes, better than last year, and that the D plays well, as they have been doing, but gets off the field for reasonable breaks, of course tougher on the NC home turf, NC's Homecoming this time.  My thought is more like 24-10 or 28-10, and an improvement over last year's Homecoming loss here at Tucci.  I don't see NC scoring 45 on Saturday.

IWU70

If Wheaton scored 38 on IWU, missed a FG, and had 4th & 1 from IWU 2, NCC will score 45.

[kenoshamark]

Here are portions of the article from the Kenosha News today:

KENOSHA — Carthage football coach Tim Rucks will be on medical leave for the rest of the 2012 season, Carthage athletic director Bob Bonn announced on Monday.

Begrudgingly, Rucks was taken to a hospital due to an undisclosed illness during the second half of Saturday night's 42-10 loss to ninth-ranked North Central at Art Keller Field.

"That wasn't so hard," Bonn said. "Telling him that I was putting him on a medical leave was the hard part."

Bonn informed the Red Men that their head coach would not be returning this season.

The 18th-year coach, who was released from the hospital Monday afternoon, would not divulge any medical information when reached at his home early Monday evening.

Calling it a "three-week medical leave of absence," the 51-year-old Rucks said he has every intention of coaching in 2013.

"Oh, yes. Oh, yes," he said. "This is a short-range thing.

"This is extremely, extremely hard for me. It's not what I envisioned and it is not anything that I like. If they tell you to rest comfortably, it's going to be very difficult."

In January of 2005, Rucks suffered a myocardial arrhythmia while attending the American Football Coaches Association Convention in Louisville, Ky. He subsequently had surgery to insert a defibrillator.

On May 31 this year, Rucks fell twice on campus due to "some issues with blood pressure, which I didn't know about," he said earlier this season. "The blood pressure was extremely low. My equilibrium was all off."

Upon returning home, the Carthage coach fell down stairs and the fall was a costly one. He ended up tearing the patellar tendons and upper quadriceps tendons in both knees. After a double-knee operation on June 2, Rucks spent 28 days in the hospital.

"When they originally did the surgery, they said, 'You're not coaching this year. It's going to be five months before you can even walk,' " said Rucks, who returned to campus in the final week of July. "In less than three weeks, I was coaching a game, so that's not bad."

All in all, it was rough summer for the coach.

"It's been a rough spring, summer and now fall," Bonn corrected. "Really incredible. We thought everything was under control. It kind of jumped up and got him a little bit here.

"He's tough. That's the way he is. He knows that he has to get this under control. If you're not feeling good enough to coach, you're not really helping much. We're going to make sure that he gets everything squared away before we put him back on the field."

[Mr. Ypsi]

Best wishes to Coach Rucks for a full and speedy recovery.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Ypsi, you've lost your tinted, tainted glasses and your mind, it would seem.  You have NCC over our Titans by 5 TDs.  I think that's a bit extreme, and perhaps underestimates the Titans pulling together after last week's tough, bitter outcome, and also underplays the creativity of the coaching staff in coming up with a good game plan, even with the injury losses.  I think you are right that it will be difficult for the Titans to hold on at NC, and I too hope the O can make some good pushes, better than last year, and that the D plays well, as they have been doing, but gets off the field for reasonable breaks, of course tougher on the NC home turf, NC's Homecoming this time.  My thought is more like 24-10 or 28-10, and an improvement over last year's Homecoming loss here at Tucci.  I don't see NC scoring 45 on Saturday.

IWU70

If Wheaton scored 38 on IWU, missed a FG, and had 4th & 1 from IWU 2, NCC will score 45.

Mark, I hope your predictions are better than mine (in fact, I hope the outcome is even reversed from your predictions! ), but I fear Mugsy is closer to the mark.  Unless the Titan offense can keep the Card offense off the field (and I don't see how), I'll stick with close at the half; a blowout in the second half.

[Titan Q]

Here is an article on my IWU classmate Rob Zvonar, the head coach at Lincoln-Way East...

http://www.csnchicago.com/preps/news/Zvonar-builds-a-powerhouse-at-Lincoln-Wa?blockID=792289&feedID=629


Rob seems like a great candidate to replace Norm Eash someday.  I have no idea if he'd be interested, but seems like a perfect fit.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Here is an article on my IWU classmate Rob Zvonar, the head coach at Lincoln-Way East...

http://www.csnchicago.com/preps/news/Zvonar-builds-a-powerhouse-at-Lincoln-Wa?blockID=792289&feedID=629


Rob seems like a great candidate to replace Norm Eash someday.  I have no idea if he'd be interested, but seems like a perfect fit.

Norm only turned 59 last month*, so I assume 'someday' is not imminent - or do you know something the rest of us don't?

(By John Gagliardi standards, he's still got 3-4 decades to go! )

But agree that Zvonar seems a good candidate - if he lives long enough!

*It is a disturbing sign of age when the 'forever' football coach at one's alma mater is over five years younger than oneself!   (Though he still has seven years to go to catch up to the football coach when I was there - Don Larson.  Yes, folks, IWU has had only 2 HCs for the last 59 years.)

[kiko]

Yes, folks, IWU has had only 2 HCs for the last 59 years.

I hadn't realized this.  That's pretty amazing.