FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[thunderdog]

Congrats to Mike Swider and his Wheaton Thunder for completing back-to-back undefeated regular seasons... A feat that hasn't been accomplished in the CCIW since the 84-85 Augustana Vikings. Wow, anytime you're doing something for the first time since the mid 80's Augie teams, that's just flat awesome!

[ExTartanPlayer]

Greg, unless I am way off in my prediction, I want to apologize in advance for what IWU will do to NPU next Saturday.  I suspect that a season of frustration will result in a double (or even triple) monkey stomp.

After one of the most frustrating seasons in decades, I can't really blame them too much.  Going into the season, at this point we expected to be either 7-2 or 8-1, not 3-6.

Just a gut hunch, but yes, I think a season of intense frustration will result in a multiple TD win over NPU, possibly to embarassing proportions.

Again, based on what they did to Wheaton, I have a gut hunch that they will take out a season-long frustration against NPU, to the tune of a 40-50 point beat-down.

Chuck, I will never understand why you decide to post some of the things you do on these boards - that's your deal.  But at least realize that this kind of stuff is a huge embarrassment to many other IWU other fans.  I'll concede to being one of those, and I regularly hear from a bunch of the others.

I mean, seriously...IWU is sitting at 1 and freakin' 5 in the league, and this is the kind of stupid sh#$ you decide to post?!  Come on, man...WTF.

At least it appears that we've come a long way past this.  NPU is no longer the doormat that the bullies can kick to make themselves feel better.

I wonder where IWU will be in this week's regional rankings?

[NCF]

Greg, unless I am way off in my prediction, I want to apologize in advance for what IWU will do to NPU next Saturday.  I suspect that a season of frustration will result in a double (or even triple) monkey stomp.

After one of the most frustrating seasons in decades, I can't really blame them too much.  Going into the season, at this point we expected to be either 7-2 or 8-1, not 3-6.

Just a gut hunch, but yes, I think a season of intense frustration will result in a multiple TD win over NPU, possibly to embarassing proportions.

Again, based on what they did to Wheaton, I have a gut hunch that they will take out a season-long frustration against NPU, to the tune of a 40-50 point beat-down.

Chuck, I will never understand why you decide to post some of the things you do on these boards - that's your deal.  But at least realize that this kind of stuff is a huge embarrassment to many other IWU other fans.  I'll concede to being one of those, and I regularly hear from a bunch of the others.

I mean, seriously...IWU is sitting at 1 and freakin' 5 in the league, and this is the kind of stupid sh#$ you decide to post?!  Come on, man...WTF.

At least it appears that we've come a long way past this.  NPU is no longer the doormat that the bullies can kick to make themselves feel better.

I wonder where IWU will be in this week's regional rankings?

Just a hunch, bunch I'm guessing not above Franklin.

[Mr. Ypsi]

On my North Region fan ballot, I still had them 6th after last week.  They are now off my ballot entirely (though, running low on alternatives, they would still be 11th or 12th).

They had already fallen out of the regional rankings last week, since NCC was 10th and ya pretty much have to have IWU below NCC.

[thunderdog]

Final SOS rankings are out: Carthage #1, NCC #8, Augie #18...

Of the teams that Wheaton is competing against for a #1 seed:
Wheaton 100
Whitewater 115
St Thomas 126
Wabash 138
Linfield 139
Mt Unioun 145
Oshkosh 151

C'mon NCAA... Wheaton is a #1 seed... Pull the trigger!

[Mr. Ypsi]

At the time it happened, I thought it was horrendous that IWU needed a miracle comeback against Carthage to get the win.  That was back when I still thought Carthage would probably finish 8th.  My apologies to both the Titans and the RedMen!  It now seems fitting that they finish tied for third.  That's probably where most thought IWU would finish; I wonder if anyone outside Kenosha saw Carthage there?

[izzy stradlin]

Magnificent. Just magnificent.

I could not be prouder of these Vikings, especially the eleven seniors -- almost all of whom played huge roles in today's upset win.

I've gotta get over to the crackerbox to get ready to call NPU's basketball opener, so I'll share my thoughts on this game later.

Huge win for North Park.  I think everyone knows the talent level there has been significantly upgraded in the last few years but you'd worry that with some tough losses pilling up of late that the the momentum of their program (retention, recruiting, etc) might take a slight hit.  Aside from the enjoyment of winning a game against a program like IWU (recently in the top 25) and ending a 29 year streak, this will be a big boost to the NPU offseason and program overall.   

[DadofBashWarrior..]

Magnificent. Just magnificent.

I could not be prouder of these Vikings, especially the eleven seniors -- almost all of whom played huge roles in today's upset win.

I've gotta get over to the crackerbox to get ready to call NPU's basketball opener, so I'll share my thoughts on this game later.

Huge win for North Park.  I think everyone knows the talent level there has been significantly upgraded in the last few years but you'd worry that with some tough losses pilling up of late that the the momentum of their program (retention, recruiting, etc) might take a slight hit.  Aside from the enjoyment of winning a game against a program like IWU (recently in the top 25) and ending a 29 year streak, this will be a big boost to the NPU offseason and program overall.

Congrats North Park...coaching and hard work has paid off...

[shepherd]

Magnificent. Just magnificent.

I could not be prouder of these Vikings, especially the eleven seniors -- almost all of whom played huge roles in today's upset win.

I've gotta get over to the crackerbox to get ready to call NPU's basketball opener, so I'll share my thoughts on this game later.

Great win for the Vikings especially when they took control at the end of the game.  A well deserved win.

[USee]

Congratulations to Mike Swider and the Wheaton staff and players for doing something that hasn't been done in the CCIW for 30 years, going undefeated in back to back seasons. What a great accomplishment for the program.

Today in Wheaton the Thunder defense was absolutely dominant, holding Carthage to 8 first downs and just 156 total yds (46 rushing). This Carthage team is easily the most improved team in the league and possibly in the nation. They will be a tough team in 2016. The Thunder offense struggled today with only 4 of their top 11 on the field but they did enough to get them the win. The good news for Thunder fans is Johnny Peltz returned to the helm in the second half and was 11-16 for 158 yds and a TD. He led them on their two decisive scoring drives. He actually threw 2 other TD's that were dropped by receivers. Very encouraging performance heading into the playoffs.

[USee]

Final SOS rankings are out: Carthage #1, NCC #8, Augie #18...

Of the teams that Wheaton is competing against for a #1 seed:
Wheaton 100
Whitewater 115
St Thomas 126
Wabash 138
Linfield 139
Mt Unioun 145
Oshkosh 151

C'mon NCAA... Wheaton is a #1 seed... Pull the trigger!

I listened to the pre game show on the Wheaton broadcast and Mike Swider was asked what his team was playing for and his response turned my head...." We are playing for an undefeated season and a #1 seed in the playoffs. With all due respect to D3.com the coaches poll is the only poll that matters and we are #3".

Now I know Coach Swider has gone on record as saying he never goes on the internet so I can't give much credence to his comments since he hasn't spent the time to inform his opinion but he raises an interesting point.

I don't see any reason why the Thunder shouldn't be a #1 seed. They have the best SOS of any of the #1 or #2 seeds and are 1-0 vs RRO. They beat all but Mt Union and Linfield on the previous years performance in the playoffs. The criteria seem to favor them.

[izzy stradlin]

Wheaton did the rotating QB thing for the first 2.5 quarters today.  I think this was because they still weren't sure how comfortable and effective Peltz would be after so much time off, and because Andrew Bowers just beat NCC and IWU on the road.

Peltz led all of Wheaton's scoring drives and looked outstanding with what had been much of the 2nd team offense.  It's clear he'll be QB1 going forward.  Very encouraging for Wheaton to have Johnny for the playoffs along with Olateju and Pettway coming back.  I've heard Thorson could be back for the playoffs at some point also but I'm not certain.   

Great regular season for the Thunder.         

[thunderdog]

Listened to the d3football.com mock selection show with Frank Rossi, Pat Coleman, and Greg Thomas "Wally Wabash"... Thanks guys, very informational. Feel like I have a much better idea of how the field of 32 is selected. Well done.

Anyway, these guys had the 6 pool C teams as:
Whitewater
Wesley
Mary Hardin Baylor
St John's
Platteville
Guilford

And the pool B team as Hardin Simmons

I'll disagree with their top 4 as #1 seeds:
Mt Union
St Thomas
Linfield
Oshkosh

Excited to see the brackets get released tomorrow. Let me just quote my favorite coach "... We'll play anyone, anywhere, at any time..."

Roll Thunder!

[izzy stradlin]

Listened to the d3football.com mock selection show with Frank Rossi, Pat Coleman, and Greg Thomas "Wally Wabash"... Thanks guys, very informational. Feel like I have a much better idea of how the field of 32 is selected. Well done.

Anyway, these guys had the 6 pool C teams as:
Whitewater
Wesley
Mary Hardin Baylor
St John's
Platteville
Guilford

And the pool B team as Hardin Simmons

I'll disagree with their top 4 as #1 seeds:
Mt Union
St Thomas
Linfield
Oshkosh

Excited to see the brackets get released tomorrow. Let me just quote my favorite coach "... We'll play anyone, anywhere, at any time..."

Roll Thunder!

Without saying that it will be Wheaton instead, I'm going to venture a guess that Oshkosh won't get a #1 seed.  Their loss to Robert-Morris is substantially different than Wesley losing to Charlotte last year and getting a 1 slot.   That plus their SOS is the worst of the candidates.

I could be wrong depending on how the committee uses results vs RRO however this is the most arbitrary measure as it uses a pre-determined cut-off of teams and says that playing a team above this line is of infinitely more value than playing a team below the line.  Head scratcher.

[ncc_fan]

Results vs. RRO is a primary criterion, so it doesn't matter whether you think it's arbitrary.

Here are the resumés of the potential #1 seeds, using the d3football.com projected final regional rankings:

Mt Union   10-0, 0.493 SOS, 2-0 vs. RRO (d. North #6 ONU 51-7, North #10 John Carroll 36-3)
UST          10-0, 0.500 SOS, 1-0 vs. RRO (d. West #5 SJU 35-14)
JHU          10-0, 0.517 SOS, 0-0 vs. RRO
Linfield       9-0, 0.495 SOS, 1-0 vs. RRO (d West #8 Whitworth 52-10)
UWO          9-0, 0.491 SOS, 2-0 vs. RRO (d. West #4 UWW 10-7, West #6 UWP 63-28)
Wheaton   10-0, 0.509 SOS, 1-0 vs. RRO (d. North #8 NCC 17-9)

UWO has a non-DIII loss, but that falls under secondary criteria and is supposed to be considered only if the primary criteria don't settle the picks.

The SOS is a wash, with all teams (with the possible exception of JHU), hovering around 0.500.  So I think the committee will have to pay a lot of attention to the RRO results.  Of those, JHU's & Wheaton's look least impressive.