FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Pat Coleman]

I've only listened to them once but I was not impressed. That's all I can add, sorry.

[CardinalAlum]

IWU 24
#12-Wheaton 14

* Brandon Bauer: 26-40, 303 yards, 1 TD
* Zach Walsh: 9 catches, 138 yards, 1 TD

* Total offensive yards: IWU 387; Wheaton 188
* First downs: IWU 22; Wheaton 9

IWU really played well tonight.  The defense was outstanding and I thought Brandon Bauer was great from start to finish.

Nice win for the Titans.

Wow!  Huge props to IWU!

[Titan Q]

Please forgive me for bringing up the Millikin radio announcers, but I have to say something about them. I've been known to bash student broadcasters for being uninformed or for acting juvenile on the air, but from now on I'm going to cut them some slack. The Millikin guys were a nightmare. Start with the fact that the PBP guy began the game by referring to Borsch as Jujuan King, and then when he noticed on North Park's second possession that the NPU QB wore 19 instead of 10 he began asking why Mike Conway had yanked his starting QB so quickly. For the entire first half he kept wondering aloud when King was going to come back onto the field, especially since he kept looking over at the North Park sideline and saw the player wearing 10 actively moving about. (That was DB/P Gary Anish; #10 is a duplicate number for North Park.) Look, I know better than anyone how hard it can be to read numbers from the press box, especially if you don't have at least one spotter sitting next to you or corded into your headset. Player-ID mistakes happen, and I've made plenty on the air. But how hard is it to look at the other team's stats before a game, to say nothing of the two-deep that the NPU sports information director sent to MU and that MU sports information director Bryan Marshall no doubt gave to the PBP guy? (King wasn't on the two-deep, since freshman Jason McGovern has been promoted to QB2.) Borsch was the starter in Week One against Anderson, and he started the last three games of 2017 for the Vikings. The next varsity game in which Jujuan King appears will be his first.

That's a technical mistake, and I can overlook that. What I can't overlook was the unprofessionalism, especially since these were radio guys who get paid by a commercial station in Decatur to do this. They carried on and on with inside jokes about their buddies in the stands. The PBP broadcaster almost never identified North Park players after a play; even when NPU had the ball, rushers and receivers were typically neglected altogether while he only bothered to identify the Big Blue defender who'd made the tackle or covered the receiver. (At least make an effort, dude.) When he did identify a North Park player, it was as fodder to amuse the color commentator by making jokes about the name (Grant Borsch sounding like what the Swedish Chef says, while Uati Pati's name provoked about thirty seconds' worth of bathroom humor).

But the absolute worst was when North Park WR Micah Lowe got injured. Lowe was down on the ground for about ten minutes after going up in the air and getting drilled in the leg by a Big Blue DB as he made a catch, and the MU training staff finally had to put an air cast on his leg and cart him off to the ambulance. The PBP announcer, after saying all of the proper pieties for the situation that every one of us PBP announcers do when someone's lying hurt on the field, eventually started in with an observation about what a coincidence it was that Lowe was going to get carted off after taking a low hit. He amused himself with that pun for a little while, much to my disgust.

I caught bits and pieces of the WU @ NCC game and the WC @ IWU game, and it really struck me how professional those broadcast teams sounded and acted. It's not rocket science. Common sense ought to tell you that nobody wants to hear your inside jokes about your and your partner's buddy sitting in the stands; that not identifying whenever possible the other team's players that are involved in a play is bad form; that telling bathroom jokes about an opposing player's name is just immature; and that you never -- never -- make humorous quips about a player who is lying on the field with a serious (and likely season-ending) injury.

Again, I apologize for wasting y'all's time with that complaint, but I just had to get it off of my chest.

They are absolutely brutal.

[USee]

Congratulations to IWU, their coaches and players for a huge win last night in Bloomington. I thought the IWU coaches had a great game plan and their players executed the plan extremely well. The IWU defensive line was the difference in the game, thoroughly outplaying Wheaton and they beat them up. That is not something I was concerned about going into the game with 4 returning starters on the Wheaton OL against 2 returning starters for IWU. The decision to play Dubose at End vs DT paid big dividends as he was the best player on the field most of the night.

Wheaton's defense and special teams played well enough to win last night. Their defense held IWU to 88 yds rushing, and they held the IWU offense to no big scoring plays and gave up only 17 pts to a high powered, talented offense. The game plan was to keep the IWU offense from big plays and limit Healey (4 catches for 58 yds). IWU had just 2 drives over 50 yds and they sacked Bauer 3 times. I thought the Wheaton D controlled the LOS. IWU, to their coaches credit, got the ball out quickly and took advantage of the short passing zones. Bauer didn't turn the ball over and played well.

The Wheaton offense did not give their team a chance to win last night. They ran just 48 plays to IWU's 79 and had the ball for 24 minutes (IWU 36min). They had no real identity on offense and couldn't protect McWilliams, who was sacked 4 times and hit many more. There was never any rythm and they didn't seem to have a game plan to get the ball to their best players.

IWU's defense played outstanding yet Wheaton's offense has too much talent to be shut out and give up a pick 6 in a game this big. If the offense doesn't establish an identity and consistency, these next 2 weeks are going to be very painful for Wheaton players and fans.

Millikin comes to McCully on Saturday as a prelude to the NCC game in 2 weeks. The Thunder still control their own destiny but they are a long way from where they need to be.

[Kovo]

Congratulations to IWU, their coaches and players for a huge win last night in Bloomington. I thought the IWU coaches had a great game plan and their players executed the plan extremely well. The IWU defensive line was the difference in the game, thoroughly outplaying Wheaton and they beat them up. That is not something I was concerned about going into the game with 4 returning starters on the Wheaton OL against 2 returning starters for IWU. The decision to play Dubose at End vs DT paid big dividends as he was the best player on the field most of the night.

Wheaton's defense and special teams played well enough to win last night. Their defense held IWU to 88 yds rushing, and they held the IWU offense to no big scoring plays and gave up only 17 pts to a high powered, talented offense. The game plan was to keep the IWU offense from big plays and limit Healey (4 catches for 58 yds). IWU had just 2 drives over 50 yds and they sacked Bauer 3 times. I thought the Wheaton D controlled the LOS. IWU, to their coaches credit, got the ball out quickly and took advantage of the short passing zones. Bauer didn't turn the ball over and played well.

The Wheaton offense did not give their team a chance to win last night. They ran just 48 plays to IWU's 79 and had the ball for 24 minutes (IWU 36min). They had no real identity on offense and couldn't protect McWilliams, who was sacked 4 times and hit many more. There was never any rythm and they didn't seem to have a game plan to get the ball to their best players.

IWU's defense played outstanding yet Wheaton's offense has too much talent to be shut out and give up a pick 6 in a game this big. If the offense doesn't establish an identity and consistency, these next 2 weeks are going to be very painful for Wheaton players and fans.

Millikin comes to McCully on Saturday as a prelude to the NCC game in 2 weeks. The Thunder still control their own destiny but they are a long way from where they need to be.

Not sure how Wheaton controls their own destiny if IWU runs the table unless you assume that 9-1 gets you a playoff bid ---- which it probably does but at that point the committee controls your destiny.

[Augie6]

Was able to make it out to Elmhurst yesterday for Augie's game and it was really encouraging to watch, based on what they have shown the past several years.  I know that Coe and Elmhurst aren't world beaters, but coming off last year's 1-9 season, winning the first two games of the season for the first time since 2008 and doing it in convincing fashion will help to build some much needed confidence within the program.  Augie's O was very effective and balanced, going for 514 yards, with a nearly 50/50 split with 258 yards rushing and 256 yards passing.  Zach Fuller looked REALLY GOOD, going 21-28 with 3 TDs and he also had completions to 8 different receivers.  He had good zip on the ball and was very accurate.  Augie's D gave up 269 total yards and, on the few drives that Elmhurst was able to move into scoring position, they were able to come up with big turnovers to stop drives.  Through the first two games, the Augie D has been able to come up with 9 turnovers, while the O hasn't turned over the ball yet.  That is a big departure from the past few seasons and something I hope they continue to build on. It's probably one of the smallest Defenses in the CCIW, but they are platooning a lot of players and they showed some quickness, which is also something that has been missing in the recent past.  I think the hiring of a very experienced coach in Dick Maloney as the D Coordinator, will make a huge difference in the program. With some of the very young O and D coordinators Augie had the past several seasons, we repeatedly saw the inability to make in game adjustments along with some really questionable schemes.  I hope that has changed.

This week against IWU will be a big test to see how much Augie has actually improved.  I don't see them competing for a CCIW championship yet, but they really need to have a winning record this season to build some energy around the program and help with recruiting.  I hope they continue to improve throughout the season. 

[USee]

Augie6- 9 turnovers in 2 games! That is a massive development for Augie considering in 10 games last year they took the ball away just 8 times. Augie is definitely playing well early this season.

[iwu70]

Greg, I'm glad you said what you said.  I hope your comments get to the relevant powers-that-be in the MU sports program.

Big win for IWU.  Great D and plenty of O from Bauer's arm to his many talented receivers.  Key stat for me was the 22-9 advantage in first downs, showing how strong the IWU defense played overall.  Also, just how much this IWU squad improved in one week, corrected things from giving up 34 points the previous week.  Great to have the first CCIW win, get out of the gate strongly, esp. when it comes at the expense of WC. 

Augie seems to have improved significantly -- so one game each week, take them all one game at a time.  RI always a tough place to play.

Congrats to Coach on becoming the winningest coach in CCIW history.  Swede is smiling down . . . saying "keep going."

IWU'70

[USee]

As an aside, an not that it matters for the outcome, I am pretty sure the stats are off for IWU. It shows Morgan Alexander with a 22 yd run after Wheaton's 2nd TD. Anyone watching the game saw that Alexander didn't have a run longer than the first one of the game, which was 7 yds. The kickoff after the fumble return for TD by Wheaton's Fox was a fair catch by Bryce Dooley at the 1 yd line. A new rule this year says a returner, on a kickoff, can fair catch it and it will be placed at the 25. That's what happened.

The play by play says Dooley returned the kickoff to the 1 yd line and then Morgan Alexander carried it 22 yds to the 23. What actually happened is the ball was fair caught at the 1, placed at the 25 and Morgan Alexander was tackled for a 2 yd loss at the 23. So Morgan Alexanders stats are 24 yds too high, as are the team stats for IWU.

Again, none of this affected the outcome but it should be corrected for the record. Morgan Alexander had 26 carries for 56 yds, not 80. IWU had 79 plays for 388 yds, not 411.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Just as long as the score remains 24-14, I trust that Morgan Alexander couldn't care less!

[Titan Q]

As an aside, an not that it matters for the outcome, I am pretty sure the stats are off for IWU. It shows Morgan Alexander with a 22 yd run after Wheaton's 2nd TD. Anyone watching the game saw that Alexander didn't have a run longer than the first one of the game, which was 7 yds. The kickoff after the fumble return for TD by Wheaton's Fox was a fair catch by Bryce Dooley at the 1 yd line. A new rule this year says a returner, on a kickoff, can fair catch it and it will be placed at the 25. That's what happened.

The play by play says Dooley returned the kickoff to the 1 yd line and then Morgan Alexander carried it 22 yds to the 23. What actually happened is the ball was fair caught at the 1, placed at the 25 and Morgan Alexander was tackled for a 2 yd loss at the 23. So Morgan Alexanders stats are 24 yds too high, as are the team stats for IWU.

Again, none of this affected the outcome but it should be corrected for the record. Morgan Alexander had 26 carries for 56 yds, not 80. IWU had 79 plays for 388 yds, not 411.

Are you looking at the live stats?  The official/final stats seem to be right...

https://www.iwusports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=6665&path=football

[USee]

I was looking at the box on Wheaton's site, which they get from IWU. Obviously IWU amended it and Wheaton hasn't gotten the update. Thanks Q. https://athletics.wheaton.edu/boxscore.aspx?path=football&id=5498

[79jaybird]

I was disappointed Saturday.  Not so much because EC lost, but the current state of the program.  Augie's offense was clicking and their defense was stingy.  But EC has to look at themselves in the mirror.  Seems a lot of the problems are internal and IMO, seemed like there was no leadership by the guys on the field.  Also,  they barely beat a NAC team,  get handcuffed by a conference rival that is supposed to be middle to lower end of the pack,  so where does that leave you?     Congrats on Augie on the win, as they played very well.  but if you're Augie, keep in mind Elmhurst is showing signs they are going to be in the bottom 1/3 of the conference.

Big win for IWU wow!   Very few people thought IWU would pull out of this game victorious, so props to the Green Machine. 

[79jaybird]

After doing PBP games for Elmhurst for 10 years ('01-'10) I came across a wide range of talent on the air.  Some were very good and some were "how soon can you hit the mute button" varieties. I thought Eric @ IWU, Dan @ Augie, and John up @ Carthage were all very good.  We would often chat during time outs and/or after the games about some of the experiences during the games.  Then you get some of the students who had no clue how to keep an audience.   

Plus, there are times you have to be creative on the air when the score is lopsided.  Elmhurst lost 58-0 and 62-0 vs. Augie, which left me scrambling for things to say because you can't have dead air, and try to stay positive despite the score saying otherwise. 

[New Tradition]

After doing PBP games for Elmhurst for 10 years ('01-'10) I came across a wide range of talent on the air.  Some were very good and some were "how soon can you hit the mute button" varieties. I thought Eric @ IWU, Dan @ Augie, and John up @ Carthage were all very good.  We would often chat during time outs and/or after the games about some of the experiences during the games.  Then you get some of the students who had no clue how to keep an audience.   

Plus, there are times you have to be creative on the air when the score is lopsided.  Elmhurst lost 58-0 and 62-0 vs. Augie, which left me scrambling for things to say because you can't have dead air, and try to stay positive despite the score saying otherwise.

It's definitely a challenge when things get lopsided.  I think baseball announcers are masters at this because the slow pace of the game really lends itself to honing this ability.  Having story lines about coaches and players on both sidelines really helps, as does having been around a while and having seen a lot of relevant things.  My broadcast partner is always grateful when I can dust off some stories from the last (God help me, let me check this math again!) 17 years of CCIW football that I"ve followed extremely closely.