FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Stagg Again!!]

I believe the plan is for North Central to switch from trimesters to semesters in the 2019-2020 school year.

Gotta say as a student who went form semesters in HS to trimesters in college, I was a huge fan of the trimesters. May have been different had a played football, but for basketball it worked great!

I'm with you.  I thought the trimester system was fantastic.  It's one of the reasons I chose NCC.  It's a shame they plan on scrapping it.

I too loved trimesters.  Not only did we get the six week break from class, but many of us would work for UPS helping deliver packages.  We could make a decent chunk of change as a college student.  And, back in the day---they would tip you for the delivery. 

Unfortunately, we didn't have to worry about the playoffs.  Only 8 teams made it, and it happened to be Augie all four years I attended NCC.

Studying by candle light; an eight team field for the DIII Tournament - man, you must be old!!! 😜

[Kovo]

I believe the plan is for North Central to switch from trimesters to semesters in the 2019-2020 school year.

Gotta say as a student who went form semesters in HS to trimesters in college, I was a huge fan of the trimesters. May have been different had a played football, but for basketball it worked great!

I'm with you.  I thought the trimester system was fantastic.  It's one of the reasons I chose NCC.  It's a shame they plan on scrapping it.

I too loved trimesters.  Not only did we get the six week break from class, but many of us would work for UPS helping deliver packages.  We could make a decent chunk of change as a college student.  And, back in the day---they would tip you for the delivery. 

Unfortunately, we didn't have to worry about the playoffs.  Only 8 teams made it, and it happened to be Augie all four years I attended NCC.

Studying by candle light; an eight team field for the DIII Tournament - man, you must be old!!! 😜

Ha!  I used to go across the hall and borrow a quill from you!

[kiko]

I believe the plan is for North Central to switch from trimesters to semesters in the 2019-2020 school year.

Gotta say as a student who went form semesters in HS to trimesters in college, I was a huge fan of the trimesters. May have been different had a played football, but for basketball it worked great!

I'm with you.  I thought the trimester system was fantastic.  It's one of the reasons I chose NCC.  It's a shame they plan on scrapping it.

I too loved trimesters.  Not only did we get the six week break from class, but many of us would work for UPS helping deliver packages.  We could make a decent chunk of change as a college student.  And, back in the day---they would tip you for the delivery. 

Unfortunately, we didn't have to worry about the playoffs.  Only 8 teams made it, and it happened to be Augie all four years I attended NCC.

Studying by candle light; an eight team field for the DIII Tournament - man, you must be old!!! 😜

Ha!  I used to go across the hall and borrow a quill from you!

Lived in Student Village (RIP).  Fort Hill was not yet a thing.  And there were four flights of stairs between the WONC studios and the nearest washroom...

But yeah, that six-week break was a great opportunity to make a little money between terms...

[Mr. Ypsi]

I believe the plan is for North Central to switch from trimesters to semesters in the 2019-2020 school year.

Gotta say as a student who went form semesters in HS to trimesters in college, I was a huge fan of the trimesters. May have been different had a played football, but for basketball it worked great!

I'm with you.  I thought the trimester system was fantastic.  It's one of the reasons I chose NCC.  It's a shame they plan on scrapping it.

I too loved trimesters.  Not only did we get the six week break from class, but many of us would work for UPS helping deliver packages.  We could make a decent chunk of change as a college student.  And, back in the day---they would tip you for the delivery. 

Unfortunately, we didn't have to worry about the playoffs.  Only 8 teams made it, and it happened to be Augie all four years I attended NCC.

Studying by candle light; an eight team field for the DIII Tournament - man, you must be old!!! 😜

He's just a kid.  I graduated several years before D3 existed! 

[Kovo]

I believe the plan is for North Central to switch from trimesters to semesters in the 2019-2020 school year.

Gotta say as a student who went form semesters in HS to trimesters in college, I was a huge fan of the trimesters. May have been different had a played football, but for basketball it worked great!

I'm with you.  I thought the trimester system was fantastic.  It's one of the reasons I chose NCC.  It's a shame they plan on scrapping it.

I too loved trimesters.  Not only did we get the six week break from class, but many of us would work for UPS helping deliver packages.  We could make a decent chunk of change as a college student.  And, back in the day---they would tip you for the delivery. 

Unfortunately, we didn't have to worry about the playoffs.  Only 8 teams made it, and it happened to be Augie all four years I attended NCC.

Studying by candle light; an eight team field for the DIII Tournament - man, you must be old!!! 😜

He's just a kid.  I graduated several years before D3 existed!

Wow, you may be Board Poster Emeritus.  But an interesting point.  When did D3 begin?  I know many of the schools are former NAIA members, but I don't know the history. 

I do see that the 1st National Championship game took place in 1973.

[USee]

Looks like yet another quality opponent for North Central this weekend.

Not many turnovers in the UWO portfolio, high passing efficiency and balanced attack. Could present a good test for the Cardinals.

[Kovo]

Looks like yet another quality opponent for North Central this weekend.

Not many turnovers in the UWO portfolio, high passing efficiency and balanced attack. Could present a good test for the Cardinals.

You think?!  I don't know.  Well---they are 23-2 over the past 2 seasons, ranked #3 in the country, seeded #1 in the region, won their 1st round game 63-0, and happen to represent the third largest state university in Wisconsin, so yeah could be a good test. 

[Gregory Sager]

Wow, you may be Board Poster Emeritus.  But an interesting point.  When did D3 begin?  I know many of the schools are former NAIA members, but I don't know the history. 

I do see that the 1st National Championship game took place in 1973.

D3 officially began during the 1973-74 school year, although not every sport began holding championships that year. Men's basketball, for instance, didn't hold its first national tournament until the 1974-75 season.

Six of the nine CCIW schools -- Augustana, Elmhurst, Millikin, North Central, North Park, and Wheaton -- participated in D3 from the outset. The other three -- Carthage, Carroll, and Illinois Wesleyan -- remained NAIA participants; they gradually joined the D3 fold one by one, with the last holdout (Illinois Wesleyan) finally saying sayonara to the NAIA after the 1982-83 school year.

[Marmac]

North Central's football team has had a lead in 57 consecutive games. They're always well prepared for games, and I won't be surprised if they start strong against UWO. But to win the game they'll need to finish strong. That's something with which they've struggled in recent years.

[WRMUalum13]

Looks like yet another quality opponent for North Central this weekend.

Not many turnovers in the UWO portfolio, high passing efficiency and balanced attack. Could present a good test for the Cardinals.

You think?!  I don't know.  Well---they are 23-2 over the past 2 seasons, ranked #3 in the country, seeded #1 in the region, won their 1st round game 63-0, and happen to represent the third largest state university in Wisconsin, so yeah could be a good test. 

Lol don't forget national runners up!

[AndOne]

North Central's football team has had a lead in 57 consecutive games. They're always well prepared for games, and I won't be surprised if they start strong against UWO. But to win the game they'll need to finish strong. That's something with which they've struggled in recent years.

Yep. In the last 10 years, from 2008 thru today, the Cardinals have struggled to a record of 99-17.
A struggle many teams would have enjoyed having over that same time period.

[thunderdog]

A few thoughts on the upcoming NCC @ UWO game:

If I'm NCC (and I'm most certainly not) I assign priority #1 to that of stopping the dynamic running of 5th year SR RB #4 Dylan Hecker. As a Soph in 2015, he was easily a top 5 RB in all of D3. A great combination of size (6'1" 230 lbs), speed, and power. At some point in 2016, he injured his knee and was wearing a brace and IMO, wasn't quite the same player. What version of Hecker will NCC see on Saturday? By all accounts, it sounds like the 2015 version has returned. He's their career TD leader with 56 (I believe). A defensive adjustment of some sort is needed to stop this running attack... whether that's stacking the box with 8 or something else... something is needed. Their O-Line averages 6'2" 277 lbs (which is actually down from a couple years ago, when I believe that # was closer to 305) and they're nasty. According to my eye test, UWO is easily one of the most physical teams in d3 and has been for a few years. Soph RB #5 Mitch Gerhartz (5'11" 200 lbs) is also a threat. He has a higher AVG per carry than Hecker (6.4 to Hecker's 5.8). But Hecker's the workhorse... goal #1 stop Hecker.

Priority #2 piggybacks off of #1... I'm gonna make the arm of Sr QB #12 Brett Kasper (6'2" 215 lbs) beat me. Yes, I know he's a Gagliardi Trophy semi-finalist, but he's also been somewhat inconsistent throughout his career, particularly in bigger/tougher games. Don't get me wrong, he's a good player, but in comparison to Hecker and the smash-mouth running attack, if I'm "picking my poison", I'll take my chances with the passing attack. So, by alignment, I'm doing everything I can to discourage a run and encourage a pass.

Priority #3 - put by best cover guy on SR WR #13 Sam Mentkowski (6'1" 195 lbs). Sam's 48 receptions are more than twice that of the next closest receiver, JR WR #25 Dom Todarello (5'11" 200 lbs), who only has 23 receptions. This is Kasper's go-to guy. He must be stopped.

So, 3 things defensively... it's as easy as 1-2-3... LOL... much easier said than done, I know

Now offensively, if I'm NCC (and I'm most certainly not), I'm going wide open and riding the arm of my Soph Slinger QB #9 Broc Rutter (6'2" 194 lbs).  For the season, NCC has 110 rushes and 126 pass plays, good for a 46/54 run:pass ratio. Given the loss of CCIW OPOY SR RB #25 Austin Breunig (5'10" 182 lbs) and the physical nature of UWO's defense, I'm targeting more of a 35/65 run:pass ratio. This is no slight to back-up Soph RB #28 Dominick Muoghalu (5'9" 203) either. Mr Muoghalu (at this point, I'd normally take this opportunity to nickname Dom, "Mr. Magoo", for simplicity's sake... but I'll refrain ) looked very impressive in the SJU game. I just think the running lanes will be smaller and close quicker in the UWO game than what he saw in the SJU game.

So, to recap, follow this simple four 5 step recipe:

1)   Stop Hecker
2)   Make Kasper beat you
3)   Stop Mentkowski
4)   Sling it with Rutter

5)     Score more points than UWO 

[emma17]

Thunder, you've presented a fine recipe.
It makes perfect sense and only requires execution.

I'm interested to hear opinion on the 35/65 run to pass ratio. Has that worked for NCC in the past?
Can it work Saturday?
UWL and UWRF gave UWO their closest games with 400 and 300 yard passing days.
I don't know, NCC has killed my hopes in the past when abandoning the run for the pass.
As I will be pulling for UWO in this game, a part of me says bring on the pass.

[thunderdog]

I'm interested to hear opinion on the 35/65 run to pass ratio. Has that worked for NCC in the past?

emma, thanks for checking in from WIAC land. To answer your question... I really have no idea. My recommendation is coming from an opponent's point-of-view that much prefers to beat NCC, rather than lose to NCC. And as such, any time Rutter is handing off the ball, even if it is to a talented back like Breunig or Muoghalu, I feel like my team has a better chance to win rather than lose (for the most part).

Can it work Saturday?

Sure can. I don't see why not. There aren't many, if any, QBs in d3 I'd take over Rutter. Spread the field, open up the defense. Pass the ball to set up the run game, not the other way around.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Wow, you may be Board Poster Emeritus.  But an interesting point.  When did D3 begin?  I know many of the schools are former NAIA members, but I don't know the history. 

I do see that the 1st National Championship game took place in 1973.

D3 officially began during the 1973-74 school year, although not every sport began holding championships that year. Men's basketball, for instance, didn't hold its first national tournament until the 1974-75 season.

Six of the nine CCIW schools -- Augustana, Elmhurst, Millikin, North Central, North Park, and Wheaton -- participated in D3 from the outset. The other three -- Carthage, Carroll, and Illinois Wesleyan -- remained NAIA participants; they gradually joined the D3 fold one by one, with the last holdout (Illinois Wesleyan) finally saying sayonara to the NAIA after the 1982-83 school year.

IWU had dual membership in D3 and NAIA, but (at least in men's basketball) always opted for NAIA post-season.  Two main reasons IWU was slow to drop NAIA membership:

The national tourney in Kansas City.  16 top teams all in one location, which guaranteed plenty of NBA scouts (and was a total blast, to boot)!  In fact, that tourney was a major factor in recruiting Jack Sikma.

Even more significantly, former coach and AD Jack Horenberger had been one of the founding fathers of the NAIA.  We obviously weren't gonna bail while he was still AD, and out of respect did not bail until after he died.