FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[USee]

In the "things may not be what they seem" camp I would point out two things.

Wheaton rushed for 240 yds against Millikin Saturday night which is a good thing considering they had 35 yds rushing in the second half against Augie. Jesse Geary had 16 for 103 which is a great night for the Senior. But the leading rusher for the Thunder was QB Johnny Peltz with 20 carries for 112 (taking out sacks). In my mind there are only a couple reasons your QB would lead the team in rushes and yards. 1-You run an option offense (Wheaton does not), 2-He is the best runner you have (Jesse Geary averaged 6.7 yds per carry, Puknaitis averaged 6.1, Peltz 4.7). There are other reasons but to me I think the Wheaton offense is struggling with it's 3rd QB in as many games. This isn't a great week to try things out and NCC has been most vulnerable via the pass, which Wheaton has not executed well the last 2 games.

On the NCC side, Dylan Warden has completed 60% of his passes with a 166.5 efficiency and 12 TD's. But Saturday against Carthage he was 10-23 (43%) for 163 yds and 1 INT. In his other most recent and relevant action against UWSP, he was 6-16 (38%) for 175 yds and 3 INT's. NCC has had some QB issues this year as well and they rely on the big play in the passing game for their offense. They are 62% run 38% pass. More on that later.

[AndOne]

SPORTS PHILOSOPHY 101 (LOL)

As GHOST imparts, it's natural for fans to gloat after a victory, usually no matter how stinky the opponent might be. We all do it, including myself. I think this is especially true in cases where our team has recently been an undistinguished participant on the national or even local stage. Look at we fans of the local pro football team. Flying high and predicting great things to come after the win over Atlanta last week, and now down on our bellies wallowing in the mud after Sunday's debacle vs. Miami. Proof that living on the top rung is fraught with the danger of a long, hard fall.
Perhaps 79JAYBIRD'S admonishment about not overly gloating about a win over lower level competition is the key. The problem with following that course is that it often goes against our natural inclination to (overly) gloat/boast about a victory. Besides, what fun is a win you can't do some crowing about? 

One thing I admire about my fellow CCIW posters is none of us has a signature line that reads "we impose our will on our opponents by pounding them................." Sounds like "we like to get the dog down and then kick it."

With specific regard to Elmhurst, I think the key will be how they do in upcoming contests vs. WC and NCC, both of which they get to entertain on home turf!

[79jaybird]

AndOne- My point isn't that it is not cool to be happy your Alma Mater won a football game.  I am too happy Elmhurst won a game.  What I am pointing out, is don't gloat over a win and big stats, when your competition is the lower 1/3 of your league.  It wasn't that long ago, EC was in NPU's shoes struggling to get a 500 CCIW record consistently.  I don't stand for gloating when your competition is not that great.  If Elmhurst beats NC and WC (which I think will be very tough), and manages to sneak out a road victory this week at IWU, then I can see sticking out your chest a little more. 

[AndOne]

In my mind there are only a couple reasons your QB would lead the team in rushes and yards. 1-You run an option offense (Wheaton does not), 2-He is the best runner you have.

Other, not quite as great football minds  might add:

1. The receivers lack the ability to run designated routes or, especially, lack the speed and/or strength to separate themselves from their defenders;
2. What seems the most obvious reason--THE QB JUST ISN'T THAT GOOD OF A PASSER.

Over the years, we have seen this time and time again even at D1 schools so its not surprising this would extend to the D3 level.

[AndOne]

AndOne- My point isn't that it is not cool to be happy your Alma Mater won a football game.  I am too happy Elmhurst won a game.  What I am pointing out, is don't gloat over a win and big stats, when your competition is the lower 1/3 of your league.  It wasn't that long ago, EC was in NPU's shoes struggling to get a 500 CCIW record consistently.  I don't stand for gloating when your competition is not that great.  If Elmhurst beats NC and WC (which I think will be very tough), and manages to sneak out a road victory this week at IWU, then I can see sticking out your chest a little more.

79--I hope you don't think I disagree with you one bit. 

[79jaybird]

Agree AO,  you "win with grace and lose with grace"  leave the arrogance, gloating, and (BS) aside.

[USee]

In my mind there are only a couple reasons your QB would lead the team in rushes and yards. 1-You run an option offense (Wheaton does not), 2-He is the best runner you have.

Other, not quite as great football minds  might add:

1. The receivers lack the ability to run designated routes or, especially, lack the speed and/or strength to separate themselves from their defenders;
2. What seems the most obvious reason--THE QB JUST ISN'T THAT GOOD OF A PASSER.

Over the years, we have seen this time and time again even at D1 schools so its not surprising this would extend to the D3 level.

Those are certainly reasons not to pass but don't explain why your QB is the leading ball carrier.

[NCC26]

USEE-

He tucks and runs too soon on pass plays.  I would keep pounding the rock with the horses we have behind him.  I thought he played alright this past weekend.  Receivers dropped quite a few catchable balls,

[02 Warhawk]

One thing I admire about my fellow CCIW posters is none of us has a signature line that reads "we impose our will on our opponents by pounding them................." Sounds like "we like to get the dog down and then kick it."

I agree. 

That BoBo is a rascal

[CardinalAlum]

USEE-

He tucks and runs too soon on pass plays.  I would keep pounding the rock with the horses we have behind him.  I thought he played alright this past weekend.  Receivers dropped quite a few catchable balls,

"Pounding the rock" is not going to work this week against a very good Wheaton defense.  Coach Swider is one of the best defensive minds in the country and I will bet he will try to take away the run and make the pass beat him.  We shall see.   Sorenson in one on one situations is a tough assignment for anyone but they have to be able to get him the football if Wheaton stacks the line.   That will be the key to this game in my opinion. 

[NCC26]

USEE-

He tucks and runs too soon on pass plays.  I would keep pounding the rock with the horses we have behind him.  I thought he played alright this past weekend.  Receivers dropped quite a few catchable balls,

"Pounding the rock" is not going to work this week against a very good Wheaton defense.  Coach Swider is one of the best defensive minds in the country and I will bet he will try to take away the run and make the pass beat him.  We shall see.   Sorenson in one on one situations is a tough assignment for anyone but they have to be able to get him the football if Wheaton stacks the line.   That will be the key to this game in my opinion. 

Might not work this week, but this last weekend they should have kept running the ball.  I know they were going for the record for the Sorenson kid, but it seemed to be very distracting.  One of the peeves i have with this team is the "O" coming out on the field after punt/kick/turnover and then getting a delay penalty.  Don't know if the kids don't know the play they should run, or don't have the right personnel out on field as i see guys coming in and out very very late.  Just seems very undisciplined from last years team IMO.

I think the other receivers need to pick up their game for this weekend.  They dropped several balls that were very catchable.  With the height advantage the three of them have Warden needs to get it too them and let them make some plays.  The D needs to make stops on third and longs too.  I think they play better with a 4 man front, just seem to get better pressure on qb.  Don't know if I'll be at game, going to the wheaton/NCC soccer game earlier and then taking daughter out for dinner (save her from Kaufman for a night.) 

[robertgoulet]

I don't think the receivers are the problem. Sure, they dropped some catchable balls, but Warden also missed some wide open receivers on multiple occasions (and we're talking WIIIIIDE open). Either by being very inaccurate (the same thing I, and many of the other NCC posters have seen) or just flat out not seeing them. The QB play is going to be the reason NCC either makes another run in the playoffs, or (more likely) they're out in the first 2-3 rds.

Can't go into the playoffs without a multi-faceted attack. NCC has the skill position players and O-Line for the offense to be ridiculous, the QB play has held them back thus far.

[Gregory Sager]

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.

Elmhurst played well on defense, but NPU's anemic numbers and inability to stay on the field were more a matter of T.D. Conway's misfiring than anything that EC did. The vast majority of those 22 incompletions that he threw were simply off-target passes (as was the interception, which was a serious underthrow); Elmhurst was credited with only five pass breakups, in spite of the fact that a home-team stat crew tends to err on the side of generosity in that department. North Central and Wheaton have better defenses than Elmhurst's, and T.D. had dramatically better days against the two other DuPage teams than he did against the 'jays. And that's because Saturday was just a day in which he didn't do anything right.

One thing that the Bluejays did do well on defense was to make the halftime adjustment to have the middle linebacker stay at home, which took away the draw play. Drew Walkington made hay running the draw in the second quarter, and that vanished in the second half.

I notice that you conveniently left out my laudatory comment about Camiliere and his wide receivers, seeing as how it didn't fit your narrative that:

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".

I'll direct readers back to it, just to set the record straight:

Joe Camarillo and his receivers stepped up and had an extraordinary day for the 'jays.

(My apologies to him for getting his name wrong, and my congratulations to him as well upon his CCIW OPOW award.)

But I'll stand behind what I said about Elmhurst not being all that good. The 'jays really aren't. They're a mediocre outfit that stands to benefit from an awful CCIW by the league's usual standards, a season in which mediocrity will be rewarded rather than punished in the league standings.

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.

Hey, if the preseason poll is still making smoke come out of your ears, then by all means, have at it. But those of us who post here, if you'll read back to August, were a lot more skeptical about the poll's placement of last year's three fourth-place teams ... yours truly included. Not a single one of us posited that NPU's program was further along than EC's. In fact, both my fellow NPU alumnus Mark Erickson and I agreed in August that North Park's program isn't even further along than Millikin's right now. In other words, if you want to complain about "NPU love," complain to the coaches, not to us. Because, if you're directing that diatribe at posters, then it's directed at a straw man.

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.

Thanks for your honesty, Mark. I'd say that you're being too kind, however, in describing NPU as having just a hint of disorganization. I lost count of how many times I saw Vikings running on or off the field (or both) at the last moment prior to the snap, and the Vikings incurred both a delay-of-game penalty and a too-many-men penalty during the course of the game. You could hear the NPU coaches in the visiting coaches' room of the press box screaming through their headsets to get players on or off the field. I know that the North Park two-deep is heavily salted with freshmen, but this was the fifth game of the year. Those freshmen are supposed to be on top of substitution protocol and specific play subbing by now. You hit the nail on the head when you called it a "comedy of errors."

[iwu70]

I think EC beats IWU at home this weekend, unless Warner is back from mono and playing QB again.  Titan D has been pretty bad since the first game.  Really no containment at all on the AC QB this last weekend, no one stayed home on the back side.  We'll see, but the Titans really need a gut check, as they are very unlikely to beat WC and NCC away.  Still looks like 5-5 to me, but we'll see.  Saturday was truly horrible, very disappointing.

At least basketball practices have started. 

IWU70

[Langhorst_Ghost]

Okay Sager, you win...you always do (in a will ferrell as robert goulet voice)   

What do I know anyways? You're the professional, continue to control the narrative on your board.