FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[kiko]

Today's results:

Augie 7, Illinois Wesleyan 2 ====> Augie with just 39 yards passing, but 196 yards rushing in the win.  Augie's TD came on 88-yard drive in Q1; all but five of the yards came on the ground.

Elmhurst 28, North Park 0 =====> The Goldenrods(*) held North Park to nine first downs and 166 yards of total offense as they move to 3-0 in conference play.

North Central 53, Carthage 23 =====> Cardinals jump to a 21-3 lead in the first quarter and cruised to the win from there.

Wheaton at Millikin, nite game


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(* - I actually like this old-timey name..)

[shepherd]

Milikin video seems to be linked to the women's soccer elmhurst game link instead of the Wheaton football link.

[USee]

Wheaton 28
Millikin 3

Final


Bring on Bell week.

[Gregory Sager]

It was Homecoming Weekend for Elmhurst, but Bad Old Days Weekend for North Park. The Vikings looked like one of those nightmare 0-9 North Park teams of yesteryear in which a 28-0 loss (or worse) was on the menu every week regardless of who the Park was playing. The Vikings did manage to slow down Josh Williams today -- actually, the Vikings did quite well at that, to their credit -- but they didn't do anything else right all day, as Joe Camarillo and his receivers stepped up and had an extraordinary day for the 'jays. NPU stunk on offense, stunk on defense (except for keeping Williams contained), and weren't all that great on special teams, either. T.D. Conway had an abysmal day in which he brought an unfortunate second meaning to the football term "shotgun" by scattering his passes like buckshot. He had plenty of time to throw all day; he just had an insanely difficult time getting any of his passes on target. It was all I could do to keep from slapping my forehead in frustration as two passes intended for 6'4 Devin Childress when he had 5'5 Marvin Carr covering him were thrown out of the reach of Childress (Carr, incidentally, had a great day for Elmhurst). I feel for T.D., who is a great kid with enormous talent. After the game he looked as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. But QB's the spotlight position, and when the spotlight is on you as things are going good, it's a wonderful place to be. But the opposite holds true, too. Still, he had lots of help in terms of playing poorly, as a Vikings WR had a surefire touchdown go through his hands in the first quarter -- the third time in two games that that's happened -- that sort of set the tone for the day. Vikings fans just have to keep reminding themselves that T.D. Conway -- like the majority of his teammates -- is an underclassman with lots of room to grow as a ballplayer.

NPU played much worse today than it did against North Central last week or against Wheaton the week before. Much worse. This was reminiscent of the Alma game, in which the Vikings made an undistinguished opponent -- Elmhurst, if we're being totally honest, really isn't all that good -- look as though it wore purple uniforms. Improved talent or not, the Park is in serious danger of going backwards from last season's turnaround. If they don't get it together soon (and Millikin next week at Hedstrand Field may be the last best chance NPU has to salvage something of this season), this could wind up being a Bad Old Days season.

[AndOne]

Augie 7
IWU 2

Final

Ugly game in Bloomington.

If somebody told me that Augie would score only 7 points, I would have bet big bucks that the Green Weenies would have won comfortably. It's hard to comprehend how they could score only 2 points against the western Vikings. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the starting RB had only 21yards on 13 carries, a 1.6 average. Is the Augie defense that good?

[iwu70]

AO, the Augie D was pretty good yesterday, or is it the pretty horrible Titan running game??  Not sure.  In any case, AC won the game with 7 points as the Titans couldn't do anything on the ground, not much more passing, and had two very key, poorly-timed INTs.  It was a really bad afternoon for the Titans, and on Homecoming no less.  Sad to see.  I think 5-5 looks very likely for this version of the Titans, well-below the normal level of play, the normal quality and record for most of the Norm era. 

Let's see if WC can in any way challenge the NCC dominance of recent years and seasons.

IWU70

[AndOne]

It may be hard to criticize a 30 point win, that would have been 37 if not for a Carthage TD with 25 seconds left. However, I would like to see NCC QB Warden set his feet and step into some of his throws rather than seemingly almost always throwing on the run. Perhaps this would prevent so many missed opportunities due to an inordinate number of over/under throws to wide open receivers. Granted the Cards tallied 3 scores by air, but 2 of the 3 were 6 and 8 yard plays that were mostly runs, and the third was a spectacular one-handed catch of an almost overthrown pass by outstanding WR Peter Sorenson who, with the grab, became the Cardinals all time leader in TD receptions with 29.

[Kovo]

It may be hard to criticize a 30 point win, that would have been 37 if not for a Carthage TD with 25 seconds left. However, I would like to see NCC QB Warden set his feet and step into some of his throws rather than seemingly almost always throwing on the run. Perhaps this would prevent so many missed opportunities due to an inordinate number of over/under throws to wide open receivers. Granted the Cards tallied 3 scores by air, but 2 of the 3 were 6 and 8 yard plays that were mostly runs, and the third was a spectacular one-handed catch of an almost overthrown pass by outstanding WR Peter Sorenson who, with the grab, became the Cardinals all time leader in TD receptions with 29.

#9 is now 3rd in receiving yards and 4th in total receptions.  Greatest receiver in NC history?  I think that the jury is still out, but the evidence is mounting catch by catch.

[kiko]

It may be hard to criticize a 30 point win, that would have been 37 if not for a Carthage TD with 25 seconds left. However, I would like to see NCC QB Warden set his feet and step into some of his throws rather than seemingly almost always throwing on the run. Perhaps this would prevent so many missed opportunities due to an inordinate number of over/under throws to wide open receivers. Granted the Cards tallied 3 scores by air, but 2 of the 3 were 6 and 8 yard plays that were mostly runs, and the third was a spectacular one-handed catch of an almost overthrown pass by outstanding WR Peter Sorenson who, with the grab, became the Cardinals all time leader in TD receptions with 29.

#9 is now 3rd in receiving yards and 4th in total receptions.  Greatest receiver in NC history?  I think that the jury is still out, but the evidence is mounting catch by catch.

He's clearly in the conversation.  In addition to the gaudy statistical numbers, you have to consider things like the ridiculous catch he made near the goal line with the game on the line late against MUU last year.  The Purple Raiders had one more push in them, but that was a big-time catch in very difficult circumstances.

[Kovo]

It may be hard to criticize a 30 point win, that would have been 37 if not for a Carthage TD with 25 seconds left. However, I would like to see NCC QB Warden set his feet and step into some of his throws rather than seemingly almost always throwing on the run. Perhaps this would prevent so many missed opportunities due to an inordinate number of over/under throws to wide open receivers. Granted the Cards tallied 3 scores by air, but 2 of the 3 were 6 and 8 yard plays that were mostly runs, and the third was a spectacular one-handed catch of an almost overthrown pass by outstanding WR Peter Sorenson who, with the grab, became the Cardinals all time leader in TD receptions with 29.

#9 is now 3rd in receiving yards and 4th in total receptions.  Greatest receiver in NC history?  I think that the jury is still out, but the evidence is mounting catch by catch.

He's clearly in the conversation.  In addition to the gaudy statistical numbers, you have to consider things like the ridiculous catch he made near the goal line with the game on the line late against MUU last year.  The Purple Raiders had one more push in them, but that was a big-time catch in very difficult circumstances.

I agree.  And, looking back I think that Tyke Spencer was an All-American (although his numbers aren't as great because he wasted a season or two at a Big Ten school), Eric Studemann was All Region, and Steve Hlavac holds the career record in number of catches even though he did not receive the same honors as the other two mentioned.

So let's see how #9 finishes.  A touchdown or two, leading us to victory over the Crusaders this weekend would go a long way in my book.

[New Tradition]

It may be hard to criticize a 30 point win, that would have been 37 if not for a Carthage TD with 25 seconds left. However, I would like to see NCC QB Warden set his feet and step into some of his throws rather than seemingly almost always throwing on the run. Perhaps this would prevent so many missed opportunities due to an inordinate number of over/under throws to wide open receivers. Granted the Cards tallied 3 scores by air, but 2 of the 3 were 6 and 8 yard plays that were mostly runs, and the third was a spectacular one-handed catch of an almost overthrown pass by outstanding WR Peter Sorenson who, with the grab, became the Cardinals all time leader in TD receptions with 29.

#9 is now 3rd in receiving yards and 4th in total receptions.  Greatest receiver in NC history?  I think that the jury is still out, but the evidence is mounting catch by catch.

He's clearly in the conversation.  In addition to the gaudy statistical numbers, you have to consider things like the ridiculous catch he made near the goal line with the game on the line late against MUU last year.  The Purple Raiders had one more push in them, but that was a big-time catch in very difficult circumstances.

I agree.  And, looking back I think that Tyke Spencer was an All-American (although his numbers aren't as great because he wasted a season or two at a Big Ten school), Eric Studemann was All Region, and Steve Hlavac holds the career record in number of catches even though he did not receive the same honors as the other two mentioned.

So let's see how #9 finishes.  A touchdown or two, leading us to victory over the Crusaders this weekend would go a long way in my book.

You beat me to the punch.  Tyke re-wrote the record books with only 2 seasons at NCC.  He is, IMHO, UNQUESTIONALBY the best reciever to ever wear the red & white.

[Langhorst_Ghost]

Dominant day for the Jays Saturday as EC shut out North Park for the 3rd time in 5 years and run their winning streak to 14 against the Vikings.

Elmhurst racked up 23 first downs and rolled up 428 total yards in front of a lively homecoming crowd (many of whom, including myself, endured a rain soaked parking lot tailgate pre-kick off).  As i mentioned in my pre-game post, EC loves to grind teams down and NPU has been really, really bad at getting stops and getting off the field on defense - such was the case Saturday as the Jays DOUBLED the Vikings in T.O.P. - controlling the ball for 40+ minutes.

EC's D was playing with incredible enthusiasm all afternoon, limiting NPU to 11 of 33 passing and 150 yards under its season passing average, 9 first downs, and 3 out of 14 on third down.  Twice the Vikes crossed into the Bluejay redzone, and twice they were turned away.  Standing down on the field level, it was clear to feel the energy between the lines, and EC was certainly more physical and flying around in a higher gear than the Vikings.

Professor Sager presents the performance of NPU as a series of missed opportunities and bad throws against a team that, to quote the commentator, "really isn't all that good".  And while Conway certainly did not impress, the simple fact is that Elmhurst dominated in every facet of the game and blanked the 0-6 Vikings again - bad day or not, NPU was beaten soundly - and "if we're being honest," EC's defense had A LOT to do with Conway's bad day.   

And while the Jays are certainly not on the same level as their DuPage counterparts right now (CCIW shaping up to be a two-team race at the top), they are proving to be more resilient and more talented than their predicted preseason finish (which, incidentally, was behind both Augie and winless NPU...teams they have defeated). 

I expressed my disagreement with the NPU love in August, slotted two spots ahead of the Jays in the preseason poll (see below):

4-6 is definitely a down year by recent EC standards (4th most conference wins in the last decade), but i would have a hard time making the case for an NPU program having pushed past an Elmhurst program (that was one of 32 teams in the National playoffs two seasons ago), after 14 consecutive years of conference futility.

The Jays, even in their middle of the pack years, have crushed NPU - besides the 31-0 W in the special 2012 year, Jays went 59-6 in 2011, 45-0 in 2010, 47-10 in 2009, and 42-21 in 2008.  EC's program, from a depth stand-point, from a talent stand-point, from a resource stand-point, from a coaching stand-point, is further along than NPU right now, and has been for over a decade.

With Wheaton and NCC looming, the Jays have taken care of the business in front of them each Saturday and have defeated the teams they should be defeating if they expect to compete in the conference consistently.

Up next are the Fighting Norms.  IWU loses at home to Carthage and scores 2 points at home to Augie - EC needs to continue to build on their soaring momentum, break their Bloomington curse, and snuff out that eternal flame on the home sidelines at Tucci Stadium Saturday.

[79jaybird]

Nice showing for HC at Elmhurst and great to meet up with former Jays on hand.   Any time you pitch a shutout, that means your D is doing something well, however I have to agree with Greg moreso than L-ghost, that this shutout and the stats are misleading.
NPU is a struggling horse right now and while they may have some improved players,  Saturday was a comedy of errors offensively for the park.  You could tell there was just a hint of dis-organization in their offense.  IMO,  it was more of NPU sputtering than EC sparkling.  Everybody can chime in with their own thoughts,  but to be PROUD & GLOAT about EC's stats against a team not that good (right now), is not very attractive.

This is also a trap game for Elmhurst.  Yes, you won on HC convincingly, but now you go to Bloomington where you haven't won since 1985 and though IWU is struggling also,  the Titans always play us tough.  We need a game like Augie and that team to show up next week.  If the Jays walk into B-town thinking high of themselves etc.  they will be disappointed with the result going back north on I-55.

[Langhorst_Ghost]

Nice showing for HC at Elmhurst and great to meet up with former Jays on hand.   Any time you pitch a shutout, that means your D is doing something well, however I have to agree with Greg moreso than L-ghost, that this shutout and the stats are misleading.
NPU is a struggling horse right now and while they may have some improved players,  Saturday was a comedy of errors offensively for the park.  You could tell there was just a hint of dis-organization in their offense.  IMO,  it was more of NPU sputtering than EC sparkling.  Everybody can chime in with their own thoughts,  but to be PROUD & GLOAT about EC's stats against a team not that good (right now), is not very attractive.

This is also a trap game for Elmhurst.  Yes, you won on HC convincingly, but now you go to Bloomington where you haven't won since 1985 and though IWU is struggling also,  the Titans always play us tough.  We need a game like Augie and that team to show up next week.  If the Jays walk into B-town thinking high of themselves etc.  they will be disappointed with the result going back north on I-55.

Well, good thing i am just a fan and not a player or a coach - being partisan and having fun with a victory is what fans do. I'll leave it to the coaching staff and the players to prepare and to compete, meanwhile, i will root for my alma mater. Have some fun for pete's sake (Uncle Pete Langhorst, that is  ) - this is fandom, this is football, live a little.

[79jaybird]

Ah, Bell week and again this year it means more than just bragging rights in the rivalry game.     I think both teams will make it assuming they take care of business the rest of the way.  I have to think NC would have the edge on paper going into the game, but "any given Saturday".   

IWU vs. EC- I think Elmhurst has a good chance to upset IWU at home, but it will depend on a few things. IMO A) the play of Elmhurst LB's.  They need to be able to adjust on the fly shutting the gaps and then dropping back into coverage.  IWU's ground game has been spotty,  and don't know what to expect (right now) with their aerial assault.    Offensively,  Elmhurst needs Williams to have a strong game.  IMO, he was just ok vs. NPU but because Elmhurst had a weaker opponent Williams didn't have to be a 1 man show.  I think IWU's defense will try to shut down Williams and make EC a 1 facet offense.  In year's past B-Town was feared, but I think this year,  this could be a winnable game for EC.