FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[USee]

CCIW Players of the week were announced yesterday:

http://cciw.org/news/2016/10/10/FB_1010162758.aspx

While I would congratulate Orlando Hernandez (Elmhurst) and Luke Sahly/Zach Feddeler (Wheaton) I would also point out the following:

Hernandez led his team to victory over Carroll with the following impressive stat line:

13 carries, 127 yds, 9.8 ypc, 1 TD
16-24-0 (67%) 275 yds 3 TD's
402 total yards of offense and 4 TD's

I would point out the following stat lines that are notable by comparison:

Hernandez' counterpart, Kyle Burlingame was 22-36-0 (76%) 336 yds 5TDs, 9 rush 38 yds, 374 total yds

Broc Rutter, N. Brainard College, 30-36-1 (83%) 356 yds 5 TD's in a 35-14 V over NPU
Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore, IWU, 26 rush 212 yds (8.1 ypc) 1 TD and 2 catches 28 yds 2 TD's

[CardinalAlum]

CCIW Players of the week were announced yesterday:

http://cciw.org/news/2016/10/10/FB_1010162758.aspx

While I would congratulate Orlando Hernandez (Elmhurst) and Luke Sahly/Zach Feddeler (Wheaton) I would also point out the following:

Hernandez led his team to victory over Carroll with the following impressive stat line:

13 carries, 127 yds, 9.8 ypc, 1 TD
16-24-0 (67%) 275 yds 3 TD's
402 total yards of offense and 4 TD's

I would point out the following stat lines that are notable by comparison:

Hernandez' counterpart, Kyle Burlingame was 22-36-0 (76%) 336 yds 5TDs, 9 rush 38 yds, 374 total yds

Broc Rutter, and N. Brainard College, 30-36-1 (83%) 356 yds 5 TD's in a 35-14 V over NPU
Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore, IWU, 26 rush 212 yds (8.1 ypc) 1 TD and 2 catches 28 yds 2 TD's

And it begins....

[79jaybird]

I think CardinalAlum and Mugsy have LBB week circled on their calendars on their refrigerators annually.   At my house it's the girl's artwork and school "stuff",  but with these two, I think it is a reminder to let the mudslinging begin. 

[CardinalAlum]

I think CardinalAlum and Mugsy have LBB week circled on their calendars on their refrigerators annually.   At my house it's the girl's artwork and school "stuff",  but with these two, I think it is a reminder to let the mudslinging begin. 

I think pretty much any Wheaton and NCC person does the same these days.  They are the two top programs in the CCIW right now and this game impacts each team's conference season more than any other.   We are a long ways away from the Big 4, Little 4 discussions that used to be the hot topic on here.   Right now it's the Big 2, Green 1 and the rest have varied in success recently.   I respect the heck out of the Wheaton program.  Swider is a great coach and continues to have success even with the staff turnover that he has been getting.   I'm expecting a great game Saturday night.

[Gregory Sager]

This will be as big of a game in the conference and for the national scene as there has been in a couple of years in the CCIW.   This game will give someone the inside track to a top seed in the playoffs and the other team a road playoff game and more difficult draw, assuming they can win out in the coming weeks.   

It's a big game, yes.  BUT:
- As long as UWW, UMU, UMHB, and STT remain unbeaten, the path to a top seed is blocked.  Unless when you say "top seed" you mean something other than one of the #1 regional seeds.  If you mean like a #2 or #3 seed, then sure.  But that's not how I read that. 

- The loser at 9-1, I don't think, necessarily hits the road for round 1.  Either of these teams at 9-1 has the profile to host a 4-5 kind of game.  That gets you on the road for round 2 to one of the purples, but not necessarily on the road to start.  I think either of these teams would host, let's say, somebody like Monmouth in round 1.

Reading Wally's post makes me excited.  We are half way through the season and the playoff talk is just barely starting to creep in to conversations. I am sure Wally does not share my enthusiasm. 

Stay tuned, friend.  The volume on postseason chatter is going to get turned way up this week. 

As a Wheaton fan, it has been nice not worrying about what 9-1 means or doesn't mean for the last two years.  Here's to hoping that continues.

Given the full on implosion happening in the OAC this year, and the certainty that the North RAC is going to rank a 9-1 CCIW runner up in front of a 9-1 NCAC/HCAC runner up, I don't think Wheaton or North Central have much to sweat on Selection Sunday.  If the Brass Bell runner up runs the table (and they should), they're going to be first in line from the region and they won't have to wait long to get that invitation. 

It needs to be reiterated that if North Central loses this week to Wheaton and then runs the table, the Cards will be 7-1 in the eyes of the NRAC and the national committee for primary-criteria purposes, not 9-1. (Or, more precisely, their winning % will be .875 rather than .900.)

[Kovo]

This will be as big of a game in the conference and for the national scene as there has been in a couple of years in the CCIW.   This game will give someone the inside track to a top seed in the playoffs and the other team a road playoff game and more difficult draw, assuming they can win out in the coming weeks.   

It's a big game, yes.  BUT:
- As long as UWW, UMU, UMHB, and STT remain unbeaten, the path to a top seed is blocked.  Unless when you say "top seed" you mean something other than one of the #1 regional seeds.  If you mean like a #2 or #3 seed, then sure.  But that's not how I read that. 

- The loser at 9-1, I don't think, necessarily hits the road for round 1.  Either of these teams at 9-1 has the profile to host a 4-5 kind of game.  That gets you on the road for round 2 to one of the purples, but not necessarily on the road to start.  I think either of these teams would host, let's say, somebody like Monmouth in round 1.

Reading Wally's post makes me excited.  We are half way through the season and the playoff talk is just barely starting to creep in to conversations. I am sure Wally does not share my enthusiasm. 

Stay tuned, friend.  The volume on postseason chatter is going to get turned way up this week. 

As a Wheaton fan, it has been nice not worrying about what 9-1 means or doesn't mean for the last two years.  Here's to hoping that continues.

Given the full on implosion happening in the OAC this year, and the certainty that the North RAC is going to rank a 9-1 CCIW runner up in front of a 9-1 NCAC/HCAC runner up, I don't think Wheaton or North Central have much to sweat on Selection Sunday.  If the Brass Bell runner up runs the table (and they should), they're going to be first in line from the region and they won't have to wait long to get that invitation. 

It needs to be reiterated that if North Central loses this week to Wheaton and then runs the table, the Cards will be 7-1 in the eyes of the NRAC and the national committee for primary-criteria purposes, not 9-1. (Or, more precisely, their winning % will be .875 rather than .900.)

Yeah, and last year when we lost to Wheaton our winning percentage became .700 and we stayed home.  So hopefully we won't ever make that mistake again.

[Mugsy]

I think CardinalAlum and Mugsy have LBB week circled on their calendars on their refrigerators annually.   At my house it's the girl's artwork and school "stuff",  but with these two, I think it is a reminder to let the mudslinging begin. 

I think pretty much any Wheaton and NCC person does the same these days.  They are the two top programs in the CCIW right now and this game impacts each team's conference season more than any other.   We are a long ways away from the Big 4, Little 4 discussions that used to be the hot topic on here.   Right now it's the Big 2, Green 1 and the rest have varied in success recently.   I respect the heck out of the Wheaton program.  Swider is a great coach and continues to have success even with the staff turnover that he has been getting.   I'm expecting a great game Saturday night.

And as USee & AndOne pointed out yesterday with a small percentage of seniors on both squads, it should continue to come down to these two programs for the next two years, unless another program amps things up significantly.

While the rivalry and the competitiveness of this series over the past 10-12 years has escalated the intensity and the good natured "jawing" on this board, I do believe there is a mutual sense of respect between the coaching staff, teams and most fans ( ).

Just determined that unfortunately I won't be able to make the trek to the game this year.  My son's swim meet schedule will overlap and won't finish until 3:30 or so, and that takes priority. 

[USee]

Makes sense Mugsy as that will only leave you with 3.5 hours til kickoff and you will need to dry out.

[Mugsy]

Makes sense Mugsy as that will only leave you with 3.5 hours til kickoff and you will need to dry out.

Ah STINK!  Forgot it was a night game.  Sleep deprivation is not pretty.

[AndOne]

Makes sense Mugsy as that will only leave you with 3.5 hours til kickoff and you will need to dry out.

Ah STINK!  Forgot it was a night game.  Sleep deprivation is not pretty.

With USee's revelation about your need to "dry out," it appears what may hinder your trip to beautiful downtown NaPPerville on Saturday evening might be your proficiency for frequent consumption of mass quantities rather than anything related to sleep deprivation!
🍺🍷🍸

[USee]

Here is some data for the game this week. Conference rank and National rank listed. Good highlights in green, bad highlights in red. (Thanks to Wally Wabash for the help on this)


Click to make bigger

[matblake]

That's a good chart, thanks USee and wally!

Wheaton has to clean up the penalties.  You can't give your opponent any free yards.  The penalties and the field goal issues have to be playing into Wheaton's horrible Red Zone offense statistics.  That's a little worrisome considering SoDup's defense on 3rd down and in the red zone and their strong turnover margin.

Shaping up to be another good one.  It's ok by me if Wheaton blows them out though.

[USee]

My thoughts on the game:

What the Thunder to really well:

Dline and LB play: Greenlee and Spielman are elite D3 players. Ashby is a POY candidate at LB. Several others are having all conference type years on the D front. 27 sacks through six games is insane (2nd in nation). These guys can play the run and get after the passer. Run game gaffes have come as a result of missed tackles when safeties support.

Oline play: Peter Gibson has been a beast. This group does a really good job keeping their shoulders square and staying on people in the run game as well as working together on combo blocks. Pass protection has been very good. Pettway has been in and out with his shoulder and now Jones is playing some at LT but these guys go 9-10 deep so it isn't a worry.

RB: Olateju is healthy and we saw against IWU what he can do with a full load. I just hope the coaches decide to ride that train Saturday nite. Stone Watson is explosive and better in a role that spells #23.

Special teams: the coverage units on this team can run and they get after people.

Where the Thunder are vulnerable:

Pass defense: We saw it against Carthage but they couldn't connect. IWU completed 4 long passes that made up close to half their yards. Millikin made a couple of our DB's look silly. If Wheaton doesn't get to the QB, there is a lot of opportunity through the air.

Red Zone: Wheaton leads the league in trips to the redzone but they are dead last in ability to convert (209/244 nationally).

Extra Pts/FG: Daniel Gray has been out so the Freshman Bowes has been inconsistent and occasionally unreliable.

3rd Downs: in each of the last two undefeated conference seasons the Thunder have been in the top 10 in the country in 3rd down conversions(48%) and 3rd down defense(22%). This year, not so much. They are middle of the pack in both areas

What North Brainard College does well:

Passing offense: Top 10 in the country in passing efficiency and completion %. Broc Rutter completes a lot of throws this team has 2 senior WR's (and a 3rd who is quite experienced--Ulmer, Kuhl, Warden) who are both bigger than any DB Wheaton has to cover them.

Red Zone defense: Top 10 in the country at keeping people off the scoreboard in the redzone. Their safety, Pat Cravens, is their leading tackler.

Sacks: Wheaton is 2nd but the Brainard Boys are not far behind with 18 sacks through 5 games good for 18th nationally. They play a lot of Dlinemen and their top LB's Sora/Stuursma are also two of the sack leaders (Their MLB position with Sora and Warkenthein have 6 of their 18 sacks)

Turn overs: North Brainard College has only turned the ball over 6 times this year while collecting 13 turnovers. They protect the ball and they steal it from their opponents.

NBC not so good:

Penalties: Wheaton isn't good either but the Cards are 209/244 in penalties which are drive killers. They don't want to be in long yardage passing situations against the Thunder front.

Running game: NBC is still trying to run the ball 60/40 overall but are not nearly as good at it as previous years. Their OLine is young and has not been as physical in the running game. Both returning RB's are way off their game and per carry averages.

KickOff Returns: usually an area of great strength, last week the Cards gave up a TD on the opening kick when their returners thought they didn't have to field the ball in the endzone and NPU was up 7-0 before either team ran a play. 214/244 teams on kick returns.

Overall the Cards are good where the Thunder are bad (pass off v pass D; red zone def v red zone off) and the Thunder have some strengths they need to play to their advantage. I think Wheaton's young offensive coaches need to avoid a shootout. They should run the ball as much as they can tolerate and keep the NBC pass offense off the field. Wheaton's D is probably going to play coverage and hope their front can stop the run and get pressure. The Cards game plan will be to throw it early and often but Thorne is usually good at taking with the defense gives you and he has been stubborn with his run/pass ratio. The Cardinals on defense have gotten run over by Wheaton each of the last two years as the Thunder running game has been the difference. The new play callers for the Thunder have favored closer to a 50/50 split which plays into the Cards hands (3 senior DB's). If they can stop the run (or if Wheaton stops it by not calling it) they have a good shot at getting the bell back for the first time since 2013. Turnovers could easily make the difference in this game.

[thunderdog]

I am so jacked for Saturday night I can hardly take it...

Gimme s'more Usee...

[thunderdog]

Extra Pts/FG: Daniel Gray has been out so the Freshman Bowes has been inconsistent and occasionally unreliable.

In week 1 vs Benedictine, kickoff specialist Stefan Knoerr missed the first 2 PAT's of the season. Freshman K Bowes took over and has since gone 2-2 (vs Benedictine), 5-6 (vs KZoo), 1-2 (vs Carthage), 1-1 (vs Elmhurst), 4-4 (vs IWU), and 5-5 (vs Millikin) on PAT's. He's 18-20 overall and hasn't missed since week 3. Overall, the whole PAT process just looks better to me... Bowes is also 3-6 on FG.

There's definitely room for improvement, but I think Bowes has been pretty solid and has found his groove.