FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[New Tradition]

Okay ... for a 5-way tie of 6-2, with each team going 2-2 vs. the other 4 ... Wheaton would be the HUGE favorite to win the AQ.  As someone mentioned already, with CC beating IWU and NCC but losing to MU and IWU beating MU, this scenario would be a reality (although, not likely IMO).  Wheaton is done with the other 4 teams and has a point differential of +37.  North Central has just 1 game left, and assuming that to be a loss to Carthage, the best they can finish is +20.  IWU would have 2 games remaining with the other 4 tied teams with a current differential of -9.  Assuming one being a win and the other a loss, unless the win is a big blowout, besting +37 is not likely.  Millikin is at -26 with a win and loss remaining to finish at 6-2.  Again, besting +37 is not very probable.  Carthage, with 3 games remaining with these potential 6-2 tied teams, is currently at -23.  Even with a 2-1 finish, besting a +37 differential is again, very unlikely. 

Now, throw an upset in the mix by Carroll, North Park, Elmhurst or Augie and that could change everything.  There could then be a 4-way or 3-way tie for 1st and removing a team or two from that 6-2 tie scenario would change the point differential situation, possibly drastically.  It should be fun to follow the action over the next 4 weeks as things could get very interesting.  Huge game for IWU and CC this Saturday.  We will know more about the possibility of all of this happening by Saturday afternoon.

My gut (prediction) says:  NCC 7-1, WHT, IWU and CC tied at 6-2 and MU finishes at 5-3.  And then my hope would be that a 6-2 team gets invited to the dance (but that is dependent on so many other things which could then be discussed more intelligently in 3 weeks over at the Pool C board).   

Well done, barefooter!  +k

[Neverwas]

Interesting tidbit from NCC sources...

Several days prior to the NCC @ Wheaton game, when it was apparent from weather forecasts that lightning delays were likely, the NCC AD asked to move the kickoff time to 1 pm to increase the likelihood of completing the game on Saturday.  Wheaton AD said no. 

I don't think there is much here.  There were supposed to be Men's and Women's soccer games at 1pm and 4pm at Joe Bean Stadium.  If memory serves me, they usually do not have football and soccer play at the same time.  I would imagine once they cancelled both soccer games the decision to move the football game to a time where soccer had been cancelled would be seen as rather dubious.  Again, I don't think there was a conspiracy to make two teams play a game that was likely to be disrupted.

I fully concur, Neverwas. I wouldn't, for a second, think there was any type of conspiracy involved.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like there was much common sense on the part of the Wheaton AD involved either.
What was an almost a certain interruption could have easily been avoided. Just because soccer had been cancelled football couldn't be moved into that now totally vacant time slot?
Lot of people were inconvenienced big time due to the Wheaton AD's stubbornness. 

Maybe because his school was on Fall break and NCC was not?

Julie Davis is a her... The soccer games weren't cancelled until Saturday morning.  I am not sure when the teams were notified but the Wheaton SID news release went out at 9:00am.

I could also envision a scenario in which, with it being fall break, there were fewer people to work athletic events.  Which other CCIW teams could host both soccer games and a football game at the same time?  Is Wheaton the only school with a separate soccer field?   

I understand we all would have liked to have the game played Saturday but there was more going on than just NCC and Wheaton.  I also could see Wheaton trying to keep soccer in the time slot as long as possible to not mess up soccer scheduling which has more games and moving parts.  Bloomington is a longer drive than the drive down Naperville Road.  The IWU/Wheaton men's game is now this Monday and the Women played after the football game Monday.  Just a lot of stuff other than Wheaton vs. NCC.  At the end of the day, it was the weather that caused the inconvenience and not Wheaton's AD who I am sure was hoping to get all events completed.

[kiko]

Worth noting that your officials also have to be available to execute a last-minute time switch.  I don't live the life of a zebra, but it is possible that someone assigned to the CCIW game may have other commitments to a different day game (HS or college) in addition to their evening assignment.

Said more broadly: there are a lot of moving parts to consider if you want to change a game time last-minute, and there's more to the logistics than simply having the teams show up at a different time.  This gets harder to do the closer you are to showtime -- particularly in the 24-48 hours before game time.

In the end, this weather talk is all a distraction.  Wheaton more or less made off with the Cards' lunch money Monday night.  I hope that North Central can draw upon what was a very humbling evening and turn it into something positive in the next couple of months.

[Gregory Sager]

Interesting tidbit from NCC sources...

Several days prior to the NCC @ Wheaton game, when it was apparent from weather forecasts that lightning delays were likely, the NCC AD asked to move the kickoff time to 1 pm to increase the likelihood of completing the game on Saturday.  Wheaton AD said no. 

I don't think there is much here.  There were supposed to be Men's and Women's soccer games at 1pm and 4pm at Joe Bean Stadium.  If memory serves me, they usually do not have football and soccer play at the same time.  I would imagine once they cancelled both soccer games the decision to move the football game to a time where soccer had been cancelled would be seen as rather dubious.  Again, I don't think there was a conspiracy to make two teams play a game that was likely to be disrupted.

I fully concur, Neverwas. I wouldn't, for a second, think there was any type of conspiracy involved.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like there was much common sense on the part of the Wheaton AD involved either.
What was an almost a certain interruption could have easily been avoided. Just because soccer had been cancelled football couldn't be moved into that now totally vacant time slot?
Lot of people were inconvenienced big time due to the Wheaton AD's stubbornness. 

Maybe because his school was on Fall break and NCC was not?

Julie Davis is a her... The soccer games weren't cancelled until Saturday morning.

It's really more pertinent to men's soccer and women's soccer than football, but for the sake of accuracy I should point out that those matches weren't canceled. They were merely postponed. As you yourself noted, the women's soccer match was played on Monday, and the men's soccer match will be played this coming Monday.

I could also envision a scenario in which, with it being fall break, there were fewer people to work athletic events.  Which other CCIW teams could host both soccer games and a football game at the same time?  Is Wheaton the only school with a separate soccer field?

Augustana, Illinois Wesleyan, and Wheaton each have separate football and soccer facilities. Carroll, Carthage, Elmhurst, Millikin, North Central, and North Park each play football, men's soccer, and women's soccer in the same facility and on the same playing surface.

I understand we all would have liked to have the game played Saturday but there was more going on than just NCC and Wheaton.  I also could see Wheaton trying to keep soccer in the time slot as long as possible to not mess up soccer scheduling which has more games and moving parts.

Not true. Football is vastly more complicated from a production and scheduling standpoint than soccer. In fact, hosting a football game is the most complicated activity that a college or university athletics department does, with the possible exception of hosting a multiple-team D3 playoff weekend in men's or women's basketball, men's or women's volleyball, baseball, softball, or men's or women's soccer (just because the NCAA makes you cross all the t's and dot all the i's, as they should). You would not believe the number of moving parts that are involved in putting on a football game, and the number of personnel necessary to run one is far greater than it is for soccer or any other sport. For instance, the game manager (which at all nine CCIW schools is the sports information director) typically needs to staff 15-18 people for a football game. Soccer, by contrast, is relatively easy to host. You can do a full-works soccer match, including a live broadcast and live stats, with three people in the press box, four people working the field as ball personnel, and one person running the gate. Also, the physical needs of football are far more restraining; you can't play more than one football game a week, whereas you can play multiple soccer matches in a week; heck, you can even play them on back-to-back days, just like basketball, volleyball, baseball, or softball.

It is infinitely harder to reschedule a football game than it is to reschedule a soccer match.

[Gregory Sager]

Sked:
Carroll @ Millikin, 1 pm
Carthage @ Illinois Wesleyan, 1 pm
Wheaton @ North Park, 1 pm
Augustana @ North Central, 2 pm

Massey:
Millikin 38, Carroll 21 (MU 87%, CU 13%)
Illinois Wesleyan 18, Carthage 13 (IWU 64%, CC 36%)
Wheaton 35, North Park 6 (WC 99%, NPU 1%)
North Central 43, Augustana 14 (NCC 98%, AC 2%)

The Massey Ratings do not reflect this past Monday's result, although I e-mailed Ken Massey about that tonight.

[Mr. Ypsi]

It concerns me a bit that on "Quick Hits" both Keith and Pat said "IWU" for which top 25 team is most likely to be upset?  My consolation is that rarely has either one of them been correct in their selections!

In Kenosha I'd be more worried, but in B-N I'll predict 24-14 for the good guys.  Though with their defenses and offenses, 7-3 would not shock me.

[Pat Coleman]

Well, we were both right in Week 6, Keith was right in Week 5 and Week 4 ... but sure.

No, really -- picking against the Top 25 poll is a difficult thing to get right. Who's your Top 25 upset pick this week?

[Mr. Ypsi]

Well, we were both right in Week 6, Keith was right in Week 5 and Week 4 ... but sure.

No, really -- picking against the Top 25 poll is a difficult thing to get right. Who's your Top 25 upset pick this week?

Understood.  Not sure I have the guts to actually predict it, but sure pulling for DePauw to upset Witt.  (And, obviously, I'd love to see Augie beat NCC! )

What the heck - let's pull for the greatest upset in college football history: Wilmington over The Machine!

[Mr. Ypsi]

Carthage led at the half in B-town, 10-0, but the Titans scored 13 in the 3rd and held on for a 13-10 win.

[iwu70]

Defensive slugfest at Tucci, Titans outlasting CC 13-10, winning on a blocked punt in the end zone and on a CC hold, calling back a CC winning touchdown about 2 minutes to go.  Both defenses just awesome.  Titan RB Alexander probably 25 carries for negative yards.  Bauer came up with just enough.  This win clearly goes to the Titan D, stopping CC time after time after time on key 3rd and 4th down plays.  It was really ugly, but we'll take it. 

Carthage is GOOD! 

Titans now 7-1 with a real chance at 9-1. 

All hail the Titan defense today!

@ Elmhurst next week, then a bye week, wrapping up at home vs. the very good MU team.  Can't let up.

Great game, good crowd, very loyal fans and Pep band, even on Fall Break weekend.  Thank you loyal TITAN fans and TITAN BAND.  Makes all the difference in the atmosphere. 

IWU'70

[AndOne]

Well, we were both right in Week 6, Keith was right in Week 5 and Week 4 ... but sure.

No, really -- picking against the Top 25 poll is a difficult thing to get right. Who's your Top 25 upset pick this week?

Understood.  Not sure I have the guts to actually predict it, but sure pulling for DePauw to upset Witt.  (And, obviously, I'd love to see Augie beat NCC! )

Well, not quite. 

Augie 2
NCC   54

[kiko]

Augie 2
NCC   54

I've said this for a number of years in a row now, but it still holds... after watching North Central be on the reverse end of this year after year after year after year Back In The Day, beating Augustana never, ever gets old.

[Kovo]

Augie 2
NCC   54

I've said this for a number of years in a row now, but it still holds... after watching North Central be on the reverse end of this year after year after year after year Back In The Day, beating Augustana never, ever gets old.

12 in a row!!!  Now we only trail 31-55-1 in the all time series!!

[Titan Q]

Carthage has a nasty defense, wow. IWU had 5 - yes 5 - rushing yards yesterday.  IWU tried hard to run the ball but there was just nothing there.

Fortunately the Titans have a tremendous defense too and made some big stops to keep IWU in the game:
  * Carthage 4th & 1 from IWU 12 in 2nd Q (Carthage 7 IWU 0)
  * Carthage 4th & 1 from IWU 36 in 2nd Q (Carthage 7 IWU 0)
  * Carthage 4th & 1 from IWU 37 in the 4th Q (IWU 13 Carthage 10)
  * Carthage 4th & 7 from IWU 47 in 4th Q (IWU 13 Carthage 10)

This game swung on a punt.  Down 10-0 early in the 3rd Q, IWU's Noah Baird punted the ball out of bounds at the Carthage 1-yard line.  The Red Men ran the ball 3 times, only getting to the 2.  On 4th down the Titans blocked the punt and recovered for the TD.  Baird's punt ended up being really big in this game.

On IWU's next possession, Brandon Bauer moved IWU down the field through the air - 22 yards to Healy, 32 to Walsh, and a 16-yard TD pass to Walsh. That was it in terms of IWU offensive points.

Really a big win for the Titans in a grind-it-out kind of game. 

Through 6 games, IWU is giving up just 9.3 points per game in CCIW play. 

[izzy stradlin]

Three CCIW teams in the latest Top 25 (NCC IWU and Wheaton), and one just outside (Millikin).  When was the last time three teams were ranked?  Four?  And, with Carthage you have a fifth team that could be considered.

Kinda interesting that IWU fell a spot and lost 20 points with their win over Carthage.  I actually thought Carthage had a good chance to win going in and IWU and their D impressed and should've solidified their spot if nothing else.  I didn't look but I suppose the teams taking those votes must have impressed more.  I do think it's good that NCC stayed ahead of IWU.

Also Wheaton blew out the No. 4 team team in the country and went for No. 1 ORV (#26) to #23.  Okay.