FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[USee]

The CCIW slate gets under way this week with the following matchups:

IWU @Carthage
Wheaton @North Park
North Central @Millikin
Elmhurst @Augie

The most interesting battle here is in Rock Island where 3-0 Elmhurst battles 1-2 Augie. Can the Vikings keep up their torrid pace against the Blue Jays who are 3rd in the conference in defense? And can Augie, ranked last in every meaningful defensive statistic, slow down Josh Williams and the Elmhurst running game?

Taking a cue from the NCAC board, here are some fun Over/Unders on this game:

Sam Frasco/Josh Williams combined rush yardage  395 YDS
Elmhurst/Augie combined point total  79 PTS
Total turnovers   4 TO
Total punts in this game 10
Total penalties 14
Total rushing TD's by Frasco/Williams 6
Who has more yards? Millikin offense or Josh Williams rush yds?

[New Tradition]

Sam Frasco/Josh Williams combined rush yardage  395 YDS
Elmhurst/Augie combined point total  79 PTS
Total turnovers   4 TO
Total punts in this game 10
Total penalties 14
Total rushing TD's by Frasco/Williams 6
Who has more yards? Millikin offense or Josh Williams rush yds?

I'll bite!

Sam Frasco/Josh Williams combined rush yardage  395 YDS OVER
Elmhurst/Augie combined point total  79 PTS OVER
Total turnovers   4 TO PUSH
Total punts in this game 10 UNDER
Total penalties 14 UNDER
Total rushing TD's by Frasco/Williams 6 OVER
Who has more yards? Millikin offense or Josh Williams rush yds? WILLIAMS

[AndOne]

I just posted this on the Wesley board but will repost it here for you guys:

So here is a legitimate question for you guys.

Team A plays a top 15 team in the country. Their defense surrenders 402 yds (261 passing and 141 rushing), 5.9 yards per play, 3.1 yard per rush and they recover 1 fumble and have 2 sacks. Their team wins by 3 in the closing seconds.

Team B plays a top 15 team in the country. Their defense surrenders 465 yards (321 passing and 144 rushing) 5.5 yards per play, 3.3 yards per rush and they recover 2 fumbles and has 6 sacks. Their team wins by 1 in the closing seconds.

Team A is considered to have a national championship defense but Team B isn't good enough to win a championship.

Makes no sense to me.

I don't know, maybe the following:
Team B gave up 3 more TD's than Team A.
Team B faced a frehsman QB, while Team A faced a 6th year senior who was first team All-American last  year.

Or maybe not.

And your Team C Stagg Bowl reference? My guess is Wesley fans wouldn't be QUITE as concerned if they played Mount Union. Wesley knows Mount Union.  North Central ain't no Mount Union.

And, except for once in the last 6 years, Mount Union ain't no Whitewater. 

Of course, you can send both your kids to Whitewater for what it would cost to send just one to the Mt. 

[wesleydad]

Fun conversation about the chances of Wesley winning the Stagg with the defense as it is currently playing.  I said it before and I will say it again, there is NO chance that they can win the Stagg without improvement on the defensive side of the ball.  I expect them to improve as they should, but will it be enough, hmmmmm, we shall see.

[USee]

Fun conversation about the chances of Wesley winning the Stagg with the defense as it is currently playing.  I said it before and I will say it again, there is NO chance that they can win the Stagg without improvement on the defensive side of the ball.  I expect them to improve as they should, but will it be enough, hmmmmm, we shall see.

I have said it before and I'll say it agin, I will take the other side of "NO chance". That's what I call good risk reward.

[AndOne]

Fun conversation about the chances of Wesley winning the Stagg with the defense as it is currently playing.  I said it before and I will say it again, there is NO chance that they can win the Stagg without improvement on the defensive side of the ball.  I expect them to improve as they should, but will it be enough, hmmmmm, we shall see.

Neither to deride Wesley's high degree of talent nor to argue with USee's differentiation between the literal and figurative "no" chance, I will come as close as possible to agreeing with Wesleydad, and say with Wesley's current level of defense (not to mention their kick return problems) they have a 1% chance of winning the Stagg Bowl. This is especially true when you consider NCC amassed considerable yardage with its second string RB, and a freshman QB making his first college start.

[Mr. Ypsi]

OK, before the conference season even begins, here's the scenario (straight from The Twilight Zone):

Wheaton, NCC, and IWU sweep everyone else and go 1-1 against each other.  NCC wins the tie-break AQ (at 7-3 they would have no chance at a C); Wheaton and IWU, each 9-1, both get Pool Cs.  Bingo! THREE CCIW teams in the postseason - see how easy it is!

Even in The Twilight Zone I haven't (yet) come up with an even semi-plausible scenario for an all CCIW Stagg Bowl.

[AndOne]

Too much of that green Kool-Aid has indeed yet again sent Ypsi to the Twilight Zone. 

[wesleydad]

Fun conversation about the chances of Wesley winning the Stagg with the defense as it is currently playing.  I said it before and I will say it again, there is NO chance that they can win the Stagg without improvement on the defensive side of the ball.  I expect them to improve as they should, but will it be enough, hmmmmm, we shall see.

I have said it before and I'll say it agin, I will take the other side of "NO chance". That's what I call good risk reward.

You can take whatever side you would like.  Wesley can not win the Stagg as they are currently playing.  You can have Wesley and I will take the field and I am certain that I win.

[AndOne]

North Central, while no Mt Union, has good players on offense. They made plays. Hard plays. I am much more worried about NCC as a CCIW rival than I was before Saturday. This same NCC program, while no Mt Union, scored 40 pts in  Alliance not too long ago. This was a semi final quality game in my humble opinion. It wouldn't surprise me to see these two meet again deep in the playoffs.

That's right, I said it. NCC will have to go 7-0 to get there but I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

USee,

Am I reading the above correctly? 
Your Thundering Crusaders are ranked #7 in the country. The Green Team is #31 and gets both WC and NCC at home. And you're picking NCC to beat both your Orange team and the Green team and run the table? It's certainly not impossible and I'd definitely love it. I just hope nothing got into your Orange Kool-Aid. 

[Mr. Ypsi]

Too much of that green Kool-Aid has indeed yet again sent Ypsi to the Twilight Zone. 

The scenario also works if you sub in Elmhurst (also 3-0) for either IWU or Wheaton.  I just thought using the latter two was borderline more plausible.

[emma17]

North Central, while no Mt Union, has good players on offense. They made plays. Hard plays. I am much more worried about NCC as a CCIW rival than I was before Saturday. This same NCC program, while no Mt Union, scored 40 pts in  Alliance not too long ago. This was a semi final quality game in my humble opinion. It wouldn't surprise me to see these two meet again deep in the playoffs.

That's right, I said it. NCC will have to go 7-0 to get there but I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

USee,

Am I reading the above correctly? 
Your Thundering Crusaders are ranked #7 in the country. The Green Team is #31 and gets both WC and NCC at home. And you're picking NCC to beat both your Orange team and the Green team and run the table? It's certainly not impossible and I'd definitely love it. I just hope nothing got into your Orange Kool-Aid. 

I know USee can defend himself, but I'll answer your question anyway.  No, you're not reading it correctly.  USee didn't "Pick" NCC to go 7-0 from this point, what he said was- "I wouldn't be surprised if they did".

I wouldn't be surprised either.  Nor would I be surprised if Wheaton goes 10-0.  They are both playoff programs, with IWU right behind.

[USee]

AndOne, What he said.

Wesleydad., another incredibly bold prediction.  I wasn't so much picking Wesley as much as I was picking the over on zero.  How about I take the color Purple and you take the field? How much we talking?

[thunderdog]

I know I'm late to the NCC-Wesley discussion, but wanted to share my thoughts.  I didn't make it to the game until the 2nd qtr had started with about 12 minutes left and NCC was up 14-7.  My early impression was that NCC just couldn't stop Wesley as they drove 82 yards in 6 plays highlighted by a beautiful back shoulder throw from Joe Callahan to 6'3" James Okike for a 15 yrd TD.  Wesley then forced NCC to a 3-and-out, got the ball back at their own 20 and drove 74 yards in 5 plays down to the NCC 6.  At this point, I'm thinking "how is this game even tied?" as Wesley looked to be the dominant team. 

Well, NCC must have heard my thoughts, because the next play, QB Joe Callahan underthrows a fade to the endzone and 6'0" senior CB Brandon Kibby outfights the taller WR Okike for the huge INT and the start of a huge momentum shift.  NCC then goes 80 yards in 5 plays highlighted by 46 yard pass from QB Justin Hunniford to 6'1" WR Alex Ulmer who made a fantastic move on the sideline to bring it all the way back thru the middle to the opposite sideline down to the Wesley 3.  NCC now leads 21-14. 

They get a great kickoff from FR Kicker Michael Sfikas and tackle the Wesley returner at the 7.  NCC's playing with a lot of mojo at this point.  Wesley would get the ball to midfield before having to punt back to NCC.  This particular drive was heavy pass oriented as 9 of the 10 plays were passes.  The reason I bring this is up is the obvious size advantage that Wesley O-line held in comparison to the NCC front 7.  It's my belief that Wesley could have successfully pounded the ball on the ground and should have had more of a balanced attack given the score and that it was only the 2nd qtr.  NCC gets the ball at their 25 and goes 75 yards in 11 plays to take a 28-14 lead.  It's at this point I'm thinking, "Justin Hunniford... wow... this kid's good... and only a freshman..."  NCC again gets a great kickoff from Sfikas and pin Wesley at their own 14.  NCC's playing w/ a ton of emotion while Wesley looks tired and uninspired.

After halftime, Wesley starts from their 20 and on the first play, SR LB Steve Liaromatis sacks Callahan for a 12 yard loss.  Wesley goes 3-and-out and NCC starts their next drive from the Wesley 46 after a short punt.  NCC goes 7 plays, including a 10 yard run from Hunniford, for the score and a 35-14.  I knew the game had plenty of time left, but if you saw the sunken heads on the Wesley defenders as they walked back to their sidelines, you would have thought the game was over, as I did.

Wesley gets the ball at their own 23, gets a first down, and is facing a 3rd and 8 from their own 41.  This would be a key play of the game and represent a HUGE momentum shift in the game.  Joe Callahan escapes a "sure" sack from Soph DL Billy Douds, and Soph DB Pat Cravens lets Wesley Jr WR Bryce Shade get behind him and Wesley scores on a 59 yard "broken" pass play.  NCC still leads 35-21, but Wesley with the momo.

That play obviously lit a fire on the Wesley sideline and in particular, Soph DE (6'2" 225lb) Isaiah Ingram who would record 3 sacks on NCC's next 2 drives and the Wesley D would only allow 1 first down on each of those drives.  Meanwhile, the Wesley offense kicked it into high gear and scored on their next 2 drives to tie it up at 35-35.  Joe Callahan not only did it with his arm but also with his legs on these 2 drives.  He first scored on a 3 yard naked boot to make it 35-28.  Then on the next drive, had a 15 yard run on a 4th-and-2 as well as a beautiful 19 yard TD run on a 4th-and-4.

At this point, 12:12 left in the 4th, score tied 35-35, Wesley with all kinds of momo, the NCC coaches make (IMO) a terrible decision.  They elect to put Warden back in at QB for the first time in the game.  I couldn't believe it.  There was zero, absolutely zero, reason to make a QB switch at that point of the game.  Before Warden gets his first play off, NCC is called for delay of game. 1st and 15.  So on Warden's 1st and only play at QB, he and RB Austin Breunig fumble the mesh handoff and Wesley pounces on the ball at the NCC 36.  Obviously a huge play.

It takes Wesley only 4 plays and 45 seconds to take it into the endzone with 2 more runs of 12 and 17 yards from Callahan.  35-42 Wesley now leads after 28 straight points.

NCC (smartly) puts Hunniford back in at QB, but promptly goes 3-and-out.  Jr Punter Dom Zavaglia booms a 50 yarder to the Wesley 33 to give the NCC defense some breathing room.  On the fist play, Joe Callahan scrambles yet again for 16 yards but #55 Billy Douds hits him hard at the end of the run, knocking the ball free, recovered by #48 Jr DL Jon Egan.  This play helped shift the momentum back to the Cardinals.  NCC would go 49 yards on 5 plays highlighted by an incredible 14 yard pass from Hunniford to Alex Ulmer for the TD in the corner.  After this play, I'm thinking, "Wow, Hunniford is REALLY, REALLY good." Score tied 42-42.  About 9 minutes left to play.

NCC's defense stiffens and forces Wesley to go 3-and-out.  Then Wesley's defense answers and causes a 3-and-out.  BUT... punt returner #80 Soph Dayshawn Reynolds tries to catch the punt on a dead sprint forward and FUMBLES! recovered by #38 Sr DB Brett O'Kane at the Wesley 30.

After 8 plays, Hunniford takes it in for a 1 yard TD run, NCC now leads 49-42.  Cards yet again get a great kick from kicker    Michael Sfikas and great coverage to tackle the Wesley returner at the 12.  Wesley also gets called for a block in the back and gets penalized 6 more yards.  1st and 10 from their own 6 with 2 minutes to play.  It's Joe Callahan time!

Wesley goes 94 yards in 11 plays, using almost the entire 2 minutes (left 7 seconds on the clock) to make the score 49-48.  Thinking we were headed for overtime, Wesley (and their balls of steel) line up for a 2 pt conversion!  NCC timeout.  Surely, Wesley will just kick it now... No, they strap on their balls of steel yet again and line up for 2.  On a somewhat ugly, broken pass play, Callahan scrambles to the NCC sideline, forcing the NCC defender to come off coverage and up to make the tackle, Callahan flips it over the NCC defender's head to #18 Jr WR Xavier Allen for the win!  49-50

It was a great game. A game highlighted by massive momentum changes and huge turnovers.  A game that featured 2 very talented QB's in Callahan and Hunniford. 2 MASSIVE, NASTY offensive lines.  2 very good football teams.  I was thankful to watch #5 Wesley (a team that's made it the national semi's 5 times in the last 10 years) in person.  It was my first ever d3 game that didn't involve Wheaton.  And it was my first d3 game of the season (in person) as I wanted to get a good feel of what to expect from NCC when I attend my next d3 game on OCT 24 (when Wheaton invades Naperville!)

Some of my other thoughts surrounding NCC:

1) QB #3 Justin Hunniford and WR #6 Alex Ulmer are the 2 most talented position players on offense.  #7 Dylan Warden as a WR also looks very good to me but didn't seem to be targeted much in this game.  The other obvious strength of the offense is the O-Line as a collective whole.  They're big & nasty good.

2) The loss of starting RB #1 Oshayne Brown is obviously huge.  Never like to see kids lose time to injuries.  #25 Austin Breunig brings some shake-and-bake while #20 Matt Randolph will find the open whole, but neither player is near what Brown is/was.  I think Brown's loss will continue to force NCC to put the game in Hunniford's arm.

3) Defensively, NCC's front 7 is solid but a bit undersized on the edges.  While the secondary has some height at the CB position but the safeties are also undersized.  I think they'll continue to have a tough time stopping the high powered offenses of Wheaton, IWU, and possibly Elmhurst in conference play.

4) Even at 1-2, NCC is still very dangerous.  They even climbed from #22 to #21 in the polls after the loss to the Wolverines.  But after blowing 21 point, 2nd half leads for 2 weeks in a row, where does that leave the psyche of the team?  On the flip side, does Wheaton and IWU take NCC lighter than they should given their 1-2 record?

I'm pretty sure I had more takeaways from the game, but now it's just late and I'm tired...

[badgerwarhawk]

FYI

The Carthage JV team tied the WARHAWKS JV team 28-28 on Sunday.  The two QBs they used #17 and #5 were both pretty decent passers.  One of the CBs (forgot #) had a pick 6.  Carthage struggled to run the ball for the most part.  One OT period was played.  The WARHAWKS failed to convert a 4th and 1 on the 5 yard line.  Carthage's QB was sacked twice and they failed to get inside the 35 yard line.  Good effort by both programs and there was some heavy hitting.