FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[matblake]

Amazing defense by the Titans in the second half.  They forced Wheaton to stagnate, but not having Olateju was noticeable. Puknaitis did an amazing job, but in the second half he had the tendency to try to bounce it outside instead of cutting it inside and taking what he could get.  The Titans forced him into that decision and took advantage. 

Wheaton cannot turn the ball over like they did today and expect to advance in the playoffs. 

Looks like Norm was right.  There were multiple other options for the long ball.  Kudos to the guys who stepped up.

9-0 is still 9-0 and as Coach Swider has said in his video wrap ups (paraphrased), "A win is a win.  It is a hard thing to get a win, especially in this conference."  It was a fun game to watch, although I particularly enjoyed the first 10 minutes and the last 5.

I enjoyed listening to the IWU guys.  They were definitely trying to be balanced, but there was just a little bit of homerism thrown in, which I think it perfect since it was the IWU broadcast. They also stated the score, down, and distance often enough, so that I could step away from the computer if I had something else I needed to do for a minute.

[GoPerry]

A bit of a weird game.  Wheaton has to feel they got away with one today and were badly outplayed for long stretches.  They went up 20-0 before IWU could blink but just as quickly seemed to forget that the game is actually 4 quarters.   The Thunder dominated the 1st Q so it was a very puzzling decision by the Wheaton coaching staff to replace QB Andrew Bowers with Johnny Peltz with 1 min left in the 1st .  Early over-confidence maybe?  Peltz came in and threw 2 incompletions before an interception(Bowers played the rest of the game), the Titans converted that to a TD and the Mo' was turned green for the entire 2nd and 3rd quarters when IWU really controlled the game.  The Titans were forcing Wheaton into multiple 3 and outs and the Green offense made several big plays to chip away at the lead.   Even when  Warner threw an unfortunate pick 6 to put Wheaton up 27-13, IWU just kept coming back and finally tied it on a nice run by Shoemaker-Gilmore.  Wheaton finally got their offensive footing with the wind at their back in the 4th and managed a couple scores to seal the game. 

Yes, it's still a W.   Plus getting one on the road is never easy and breaking a Tucci stadium drought never figured to be a cakewalk.  Give IWU a lot of credit for grit in coming back from a 20-0 1st Q deficit when nothing was working.

[GoPerry]

I enjoyed listening to the IWU guys.  They were definitely trying to be balanced, but there was just a little bit of homerism thrown in, which I think it perfect since it was the IWU broadcast. They also stated the score, down, and distance often enough, so that I could step away from the computer if I had something else I needed to do for a minute.

Thoroughly agree.  They did a very nice job and I thought were very well balanced in their commentary on both teams.

[Mugsy]

Wheaton better get their punting in order.  Way more short fields than necessary.   If not for the defense bowing up on real short field after less than 20 yard punts, this game might not have been a W.

[GoPerry]

Wheaton better get their punting in order.  Way more short fields than necessary.   If not for the defense bowing up on real short field after less than 20 yard punts, this game might not have been a W.

Was thinking the same thing.  I think the wind was a bigger factor as they were against it in the 3rd.  But still, some of those punts that netted only 15 yds was pretty bad.  IWU punter was at least able to get it out to the 50 in the 4th.

[bigz61550]

Wheaton better get their punting in order.  Way more short fields than necessary.   If not for the defense bowing up on real short field after less than 20 yard punts, this game might not have been a W.

The punting was horrible especially in third quarter.  I was standing behind the wheaton team in the end zone and the wind was blowing enough to stop the punt's forward progress and the ball fell almost straight down.  Since more windy days are very likely, they do need to do something about their punting.

(modified by GS for formatting)

[Titan Q]

I enjoyed listening to the IWU guys.  They were definitely trying to be balanced, but there was just a little bit of homerism thrown in, which I think it perfect since it was the IWU broadcast. They also stated the score, down, and distance often enough, so that I could step away from the computer if I had something else I needed to do for a minute.

The WJBC crew is Eric Stock and Joel Swanson.  They do a great job on both football and basketball broadcasts.  I was Eric's color man on Titan basketball broadcasts for a few seasons before I moved out of Bloomington in 2008 - he's just a really good play-by-play guy.  Joel knows football and basketball and does a nice job with the X's and O's and analyzing.

[shepherd]

Illinois Wesleyan played heck of a game.  That wind after the half was crazy.  You could tell the team with the wind was the team with confidence.

Congratulations to the Thunder for winning the CCIW and the automatic win.

I really liked the way Bowers is playing now that he is moving much better and has learned how to use his blockers to get more yards and protect himself.  He is a much smarter QB than he was last year.

Wheaton is going to have to get their offensive tackles healthy to make it deep into the playoffs.  When their healthy they can overpower and wear out most teams. 
There are three teams I (maybe some I haven't seen) have seen with exceptional power at the offensive line that can pound the rock deep into the playoffs if their line is healthy.
Mount Union, St Thomas and Wheaton.

Last thought. With the Wesley loss does that mean a Mount Union east seed?  Possible Wheaton north seed?
Also will the south get someone from the west due to a weak top seed and the very strong top teams in the west?

[AndOne]

Kudos........

To the play by play guy, and the color man who did the IWU-NCC game this past Saturday.
I watched/listened to the game on my iPad and thought both were excellent.
Correct terminology, clear description of the plays, good analysis/explanation, and just enough (expected) homerism without going overboard. Five stars!

I enjoyed listening to the IWU guys.  They were definitely trying to be balanced, but there was just a little bit of homerism thrown in, which I think it perfect since it was the IWU broadcast. They also stated the score, down, and distance often enough, so that I could step away from the computer if I had something else I needed to do for a minute.

The WJBC crew is Eric Stock and Joel Swanson.  They do a great job on both football and basketball broadcasts.  I was Eric's color man on Titan basketball broadcasts for a few seasons before I moved out of Bloomington in 2008 - he's just a really good play-by-play guy.  Joel knows football and basketball and does a nice job with the X's and O's and analyzing.

Just like last week. 😀

[Mr. Ypsi]

Illinois Wesleyan played heck of a game.  That wind after the half was crazy.  You could tell the team with the wind was the team with confidence.

Congratulations to the Thunder for winning the CCIW and the automatic win.

I really liked the way Bowers is playing now that he is moving much better and has learned how to use his blockers to get more yards and protect himself.  He is a much smarter QB than he was last year.

Wheaton is going to have to get their offensive tackles healthy to make it deep into the playoffs.  When their healthy they can overpower and wear out most teams. 
There are three teams I (maybe some I haven't seen) have seen with exceptional power at the offensive line that can pound the rock deep into the playoffs if their line is healthy.
Mount Union, St Thomas and Wheaton.

Last thought. With the Wesley loss does that mean a Mount Union east seed?  Possible Wheaton north seed?
Also will the south get someone from the west due to a weak top seed and the very strong top teams in the west?

It has been several years now since there were geographical regions.  The selection committee picks the four 'best' teams to be #1 seeds, then designs quadrants around them.  As of today, I would guess that the four #1's would be Mount, UWO, Linfield, and St. Thomas (in whatever order).  That might provide nearly insurmountable challenges logistically to hold down flights, but (supposedly) those considerations only arise in making pairings, not in the original selection process.  (The 'bean counters' were probably spitting nails when Wesley went down! )

[Mugsy]

I was really impressed with the speed and athleticism of the Wheaton front seven on defense, particularly the LB's. 

Dansdill was all over the field and made some amazing plays from sideline to sideline, especially on a few screen or flare passes to the RB.  He had 3 1/2 TFL, all in the open field, outside the hash.

Another key to this season is the depth of Wheaton.  I don't think there has ever been a Wheaton team with the depth this team has.  I believe the Wheaton offense was down at least 5 starters (Peltz, Thorson, Norton, Olateju, and at least one on the OLine) on offense and was still very effective against a strong IWU defense, especially in critical situations.  Those are some very talented skill players who Wheaton was without today.

Have to say I am SOOOOO happy to see the drought in Bloomington come to an end.  First victory by Wheaton in Bloomington since 2002! 

Congrats on at least a share of the CCIW title.  Let's wrap up the stand alone championship and 2nd straight 10-0 season with a victory next week!

[thunderdog]

Interesting events today. #4 Wesley, #8 Hardin Simmons, #25 St Lawrence all lost. At this point the top 25 is irrelevant, what is relevant is the NCAA regional rankings... Well, Wesley was ranked #1 in the East and St Lawrence was #3 in the East. Hardin Simmons was ranked #1 in the South. With both the East and the South regions having the #1 teams go down, this seriously opens the door for Mt Union getting moved to the east region as the #1 seed and Wheaton assuming the #1 in the North (assuming they win next week vs Carthage).

[thunderdog]

I was really impressed with the speed and athleticism of the Wheaton front seven on defense, particularly the LB's. 

Dansdill was all over the field and made some amazing plays from sideline to sideline, especially on a few screen or flare passes to the RB.  He had 3 1/2 TFL, all in the open field, outside the hash.

Have to say I am SOOOOO happy to see the drought in Bloomington come to an end.  First victory by Wheaton in Bloomington since 2002! 

Congrats on at least a share of the CCIW title.  Let's wrap up the stand alone championship and 2nd straight 10-0 season with a victory next week!

Agreed Mugsy, the D in general played great, but the front 7 was just dynamite today.

[kiko]

Illinois Wesleyan played heck of a game.  That wind after the half was crazy.  You could tell the team with the wind was the team with confidence.

Congratulations to the Thunder for winning the CCIW and the automatic win.

I really liked the way Bowers is playing now that he is moving much better and has learned how to use his blockers to get more yards and protect himself.  He is a much smarter QB than he was last year.

Wheaton is going to have to get their offensive tackles healthy to make it deep into the playoffs.  When their healthy they can overpower and wear out most teams. 
There are three teams I (maybe some I haven't seen) have seen with exceptional power at the offensive line that can pound the rock deep into the playoffs if their line is healthy.
Mount Union, St Thomas and Wheaton.

Last thought. With the Wesley loss does that mean a Mount Union east seed?  Possible Wheaton north seed?
Also will the south get someone from the west due to a weak top seed and the very strong top teams in the west?

It has been several years now since there were geographical regions.  The selection committee picks the four 'best' teams to be #1 seeds, then designs quadrants around them.  As of today, I would guess that the four #1's would be Mount, UWO, Linfield, and St. Thomas (in whatever order).  That might provide nearly insurmountable challenges logistically to hold down flights, but (supposedly) those considerations only arise in making pairings, not in the original selection process.  (The 'bean counters' were probably spitting nails when Wesley went down! )

Considering that the process involves selecting the field and THEN setting the brackets, there is no "supposedly" about it.  C'mon, Ypsi -- there has been zero indication over the entire Pool B/C era that the selection committee does anything to consider flight possibilities when selecting the field of 32.

[thunderdog]

Interesting events today. #4 Wesley, #8 Hardin Simmons, #25 St Lawrence all lost. At this point the top 25 is irrelevant, what is relevant is the NCAA regional rankings... Well, Wesley was ranked #1 in the East and St Lawrence was #3 in the East. Hardin Simmons was ranked #1 in the South. With both the East and the South regions having the #1 teams go down, this seriously opens the door for Mt Union getting moved to the east region as the #1 seed and Wheaton assuming the #1 in the North (assuming they win next week vs Carthage).

Or possibly 1 of the top 4 (St Thomas, Oshkosh, Linfield, Whitewater) from the loaded West region getting shipped South...