FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Pat Coleman]

The second game half of the season between North Central and Wheaton will commence at 6:00 tonight in Wheaton.
The Cardinals dominated the early first half action, but the momentum swung to the North DuPagers as the action was halted by the elements at 10:30 PM.
It will be interesting to see whether the two day postponement of the second half will be of more benefit to the Birds or the Wheaties.
Has the interim more allowed NCC to recover and regain the upper hand it held early, or to dissipate the power that Wheaton seemed to be building as the first game half ended??
Tune in at 6:00 for the answer. 

Hypothetical question: Say Kuhl just so happened to be healthy today, would he be able to suit up even though he wasn't healthy on Saturday? (obvious hypothetical as his injury sounds not great)

There aren't any substitution rules in football the likes of baseball, so I don't see why someone who wasn't cleared on Saturday could be cleared tonight. It's also not a playoff game where you have to submit a specific roster of names beforehand.

[AndOne]

I bet the delay favored Wheaton,  so it allowed them to see what was working/not working,  but I think North Central still wins this game late.  (My two cents)

I'm going to disagree.  North Central had controlled play for 25 minutes or so and held a 13-0 lead.  Wheaton, right before half, mounts a drive sticks it into the end zone and cuts the lead to 13-7 and grabs the momentum.  The Crusaders are fired up on the field and on the sideline.  Momentum (to quote Keith Jackson) "just took off a white jersey and put on a blue one".  From what I could hear on the internet, the rain soaked crowd (that remained) had been reenergized.  And, Wheaton is receiving the second half kickoff.  Not great for the Cards.

However, the skies opened up, everyone goes home and we start again on Monday.  Momentum carry over?  I don't think so.  Now we play a jamboree with NCC spotted six points.  I'll take it.  Maybe we could get a mulligan once a year that if a game starts going south  on the road, you can stop it, take two days off to regroup and start from the same spot.

I would like to hear some other takes on who it favors.

I, too, sense the delay will favor the Cards. Much do to the momentum factor as the weather, rather than the Cardinals, snatched it from Wheaton. Now old mo is up for grabs again. Much will depend on the opening series for both teams. Can WC take the 2nd half kickoff, march into NCC territory and put some points on the board, or can NCC stop them and then add to their current 6 point advantage.
Realizing the first half ended with Wheaton in possession of the mo factor, did any NCCer make a Jason Heyward type speech in the interim?
Has NCC learned that when WC inserts Peterson at QB, it doesn't automatically signal a run??

[thunder38]

Obviously the two day delay creates some interesting opportunities for coaches to watch film and figure out what the other team was trying to do and make corrections. The glancing look at this would give the advantage to the Cardinals as NCC could watch tape and have a Sunday walk through to make adjustments, whereas Wheaton could not have on-field corrections due to their Sunday policy. However, Wheaton is on fall break so there is no class on Monday and Tuesday this week, allowing Wheaton to do the same this morning if they wanted to.

It's hard to get a read on what to expect with just a 30-minute game tonight so it really puts a lot of pressure on the opening drive tonight.

Keys to tonight:

Wheaton
- find a way to get home on the pass rush early in the half or sit and play coverage for the rest of the night. Wheaton was successful in the playoff game last year at getting to Rutter early but Saturday's first half felt a lot like the first half of the regular season matchup last year where Rutter had whatever he wanted in the pocket. Wheaton did bring pressure a couple times on Saturday but couldn't get to him. If they can't get to him on NCC's first drive tonight, they'd be smarter to drop 8 and spy Rutter with Stevenson.

- Unlock Sola Olateju. With a wet track on Saturday night, Sola only had eight carries (38 yards) while Bruenig had 19 carries (78 yards). Sola is a volume runner who gets better as he goes and has had an impressive career against the Cardinals. Get the ground game going on the first drive and this game becomes a coin flip.

North Central
- Ground and pound. NCC had whatever it wanted on the ground on Saturday night, taking advantage of a lighter defensive package by Wheaton trying to defend the pass. Continue to let Bruenig do his work out of spread formations.

- Defending Spencer Peterson. The knock on Wheaton's Peterson Package all year has been that Peterson can be keyed because he doesn't hand the ball off. In his two plays on Saturday night, he handed off for a touchdown that was called back on a bad call on the hands the face, and he threw for a touchdown. There's plenty of other wrinkles to be had in that package that if Wheaton brings in Peterson, NCC's defense has to be more honest, which could open up room for the Peterson runs. If NCC can stop that look a couple of times, Wheaton may stay with its traditional offensive look which is a better matchup for the NCC defense.

Matchup to watch: Sharmore Clarke vs. Dallas McRae
NCC's freshman offensive guard is already one of the elite blockers in the conference. Dallas McRae is as impressive as any freshman defensive lineman in the country with his power and snap. These two each won a couple rounds on Saturday night but this matchup over the next three years and 30 minutes will be a lot of fun to watch for trench junkies.

[New Tradition]

Obviously the two day delay creates some interesting opportunities for coaches to watch film and figure out what the other team was trying to do and make corrections. The glancing look at this would give the advantage to the Cardinals as NCC could watch tape and have a Sunday walk through to make adjustments, whereas Wheaton could not have on-field corrections due to their Sunday policy. However, Wheaton is on fall break so there is no class on Monday and Tuesday this week, allowing Wheaton to do the same this morning if they wanted to.

It's hard to get a read on what to expect with just a 30-minute game tonight so it really puts a lot of pressure on the opening drive tonight.

Keys to tonight:

Wheaton
- find a way to get home on the pass rush early in the half or sit and play coverage for the rest of the night. Wheaton was successful in the playoff game last year at getting to Rutter early but Saturday's first half felt a lot like the first half of the regular season matchup last year where Rutter had whatever he wanted in the pocket. Wheaton did bring pressure a couple times on Saturday but couldn't get to him. If they can't get to him on NCC's first drive tonight, they'd be smarter to drop 8 and spy Rutter with Stevenson.

- Unlock Sola Olateju. With a wet track on Saturday night, Sola only had eight carries (38 yards) while Bruenig had 19 carries (78 yards). Sola is a volume runner who gets better as he goes and has had an impressive career against the Cardinals. Get the ground game going on the first drive and this game becomes a coin flip.

North Central
- Ground and pound. NCC had whatever it wanted on the ground on Saturday night, taking advantage of a lighter defensive package by Wheaton trying to defend the pass. Continue to let Bruenig do his work out of spread formations.

- Defending Spencer Peterson. The knock on Wheaton's Peterson Package all year has been that Peterson can be keyed because he doesn't hand the ball off. In his two plays on Saturday night, he handed off for a touchdown that was called back on a bad call on the hands the face, and he threw for a touchdown. There's plenty of other wrinkles to be had in that package that if Wheaton brings in Peterson, NCC's defense has to be more honest, which could open up room for the Peterson runs. If NCC can stop that look a couple of times, Wheaton may stay with its traditional offensive look which is a better matchup for the NCC defense.

Matchup to watch: Sharmore Clarke vs. Dallas McRae
NCC's freshman offensive guard is already one of the elite blockers in the conference. Dallas McRae is as impressive as any freshman defensive lineman in the country with his power and snap. These two each won a couple rounds on Saturday night but this matchup over the next three years and 30 minutes will be a lot of fun to watch for trench junkies.

+k  This is a fantastic breakdown. 

[AndOne]

At least one Wheaton resident will be overjoyed at the postponement. In a rather bizarre incident in the second quarter a lady, who evidently lives very close to the Wheaton football field, chose to demonstrate her displeasure over the fact that the game was still being played after around 10:00 by walking onto the field with her dog. Members of the Wheaton administration confronted her quickly and signaled to the Wheaton police, stationed at the other end of the field, to indicate their intervention was needed. The gendarmes approached the woman and her canine companion and, after a short discussion, escorted them from the field without further incident.

Although, to the best of my knowledge, it did not involve either a woman, a dog, or the police, there was evidently another humorous incident that occurred during the first half of the game Saturday night. 
It seems that at around 10:00, an elderly local male resident stormed the press box demanding that use of the PA system be discontinued. His reasoning was that the only place he could go in his residence without being able to hear the game description was his bathroom. The incident was that much more unusual in that the gentleman was reported as being dressed only in his pajamas at the time. 
Other than the action being discontinued at the half, It was not known exactly what was done to alleviate the situation.

[Mr. Ypsi]

YIKES!!  Wheaton has scored 21 unanswered points.  With 3+ minutes remaining in the 3rd, they have taken a 28-13 lead.

[Mr. Ypsi]

NCC scores on the first play of the fourth to cut the deficit to 28-20.

[New Tradition]

YIKES!!  Wheaton has scored 21 unanswered points.  With 3+ minutes remaining in the 3rd, they have taken a 28-13 lead.

Yikes is right! Thunder showed up to play! 

[emma17]

Holy moly, Wheaton looks like a #1 team.
Great execution so far.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Wheaton has scored 35 points in the first 20+ minutes of the resumed game - I didn't think ANYONE could do that to the NCC defense!

[NCF]

That was unbelievable! I never thought they'd dominate North Central like they did tonight. 

[iwu70]

Thank you Wheaton -- Thunder rising.  NCC goes down for the first time this year.  Amazing.

Could be a three way tie for the CCIW crown.

IWU'70

[SpartanHouse]

So......does this make Wheaton have a chance at the playoffs now? The main thing that I think hurts them is their non-conference schedule being as weak as it was. I still say no..but I hope yes.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Thank you Wheaton -- Thunder rising.  NCC goes down for the first time this year.  Amazing.

Could be a three way tie for the CCIW crown.

IWU'70

Very doubtful - Wheaton has TWO conference losses.  Carthage and Millikin both have very daunting end-of-season schedules.  I suspect NCC and IWU will be co-champs, with NCC taking the AQ.  If IWU doesn't stumble against Carthage or Millikin (and both games are in B-N), they should be a near-lock for a Pool C.

[kiko]

Thank you Wheaton -- Thunder rising.  NCC goes down for the first time this year.  Amazing.

Could be a three way tie for the CCIW crown.

IWU'70

The only way this is feasible is if we end up with three teams at 6-2.