FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[TrueGreen]

BUT I still think WashU/Augie won't be that close;

I hope you are right...

Have some faith. Since Augie's OT loss to Millikin in Rock Island 27-21:
Scored 6 vs NCC
Were down to NP 14-10 in the 4th, their winning scoring drive was 6 plays - 37 yards
Shutout vs Wheaton.

WashU wins BIG!

[devildog29]

And the 8 x3 + a FG presumes Carroll does not score.

Well, of course. That's the only way that you can map out the comeback scenario in your head when you're a coach that's down by 27 points in the fourth quarter. In that situation, completely stopping the other team from scoring falls into the "it goes without saying" category.

It doesn't mean that you simply avoid planning for the comeback scenario, though. That would fall into the "giving up" category.

I clearly have no dog in the fight here, but in addition to the basic math argument, there's also the possibility of a coach just finding more value in getting 2pt reps in during a game that was still a 3 score game in the 4th?  Based on previous comments it sounds like the kicking game is fine, so what does it hurt to get some reps in (caveat I wasn't watching the game and have no clue what the flow/momentum of the game was like at that point).

[Augie6]

BUT I still think WashU/Augie won't be that close;

I hope you are right...

Have some faith. Since Augie's OT loss to Millikin in Rock Island 27-21:
Scored 6 vs NCC
Were down to NP 14-10 in the 4th, their winning scoring drive was 6 plays - 37 yards
Shutout vs Wheaton.

WashU wins BIG!

As much as it pains me, have to agree with TruGreen here.  WashU doesn't have a great offense by any means, but their defense is pretty good and Augie's offense is terrible.  No identity, no playmakers, no sense of what the coaching staff wants it to be (which is a common refrain over the past decade).  I think Augie will be lucky to keep this within a 3 TD game.

[Next Man Up]

Apparently NCC will be without the services of star RB Ethan Greenfield vs. Elmhurst on Sat.
Terrence Hill listed as the starter with Joe Sacco as the first backup.
The question of injury naturally arises along with the extent/seriousness of that possibility. Something major or the NFL standard "general soreness"?

[robertgoulet]

Apparently NCC will be without the services of star RB Ethan Greenfield vs. Elmhurst on Sat.
Terrence Hill listed as the starter with Joe Sacco as the first backup.
The question of injury naturally arises along with the extent/seriousness of that possibility. Something major or the NFL standard "general soreness"?

Here's hoping it's just precautionary to make sure he's 100% late in the season. Maybe resting a tweaked ankle or something.

[TrueGreen]

As much as it pains me, have to agree with TruGreen here.  WashU doesn't have a great offense by any means, but their defense is pretty good and Augie's offense is terrible.  No identity, no playmakers, no sense of what the coaching staff wants it to be (which is a common refrain over the past decade).  I think Augie will be lucky to keep this within a 3 TD game.

So, this leads me to ask: Why is the program not following the success, identity, & playmakers that Bell had at Monmouth? Obviously he had a great track record as a program and offensively. Does his method not translate to success in the CCIW? Is Augie (Admin) making it difficult in some way? 

We had 3 new coaches in the CCIW this last year, but the last group of new hires were back in 2015 &2016. How are those guys doing? Thorne obviously has things continuing in the right direction. Bell (2015) and Gritti (2016) are the other 2 in that group.

Gritti - hired after a 2-8, 7th place finish by the Big Blue. He has surpassed that record and conference finish every year with 6-4 (2018) and 4th place finish (2017) being his highest performances.

Bell - hired after (3) 5-5 seasons with a 3rd place finish in previous year. He has 1 season better than that 6-4 (2019) and highest finish has been 5th (2015 & 2019).

How are alumni feeling about the direction of each?

[USee]

The only real alum on here, Augie6, has made his feelings more than clear about Bell and the program. I think he is in touch with a number of other alums that feel similarly. And with good reason.

[TrueGreen]

Sorry to have missed his evaluations. I should not have limited it to alumni.

[CardinalAlum]

Greg Thomas has a good look into the Pool C possibilities.  Good to see he feels good about Wheaton.  I was a little perplexed that Wheaton moved down a spot in the D3 poll but it's mid season.  Plenty of games left to play on the field.

https://www.d3football.com/columns/around-the-nation/2021/early-look-at-pool-c?fbclid=IwAR1X_xxm9wFah7vgRiui3GZ5i-sP6PtCDUmvEEHEJ-gdqt-kcUPOcTkznWI

[blue_jays]

From an outsider, it felt like the infamous 2010 Augustana vs. Wheaton debacle (aka The Tyler Langs Game) signaled a major downturn for the Vikings.
Playing at home, the Vikings basically stuffed Wheaton's offense, who had to rely on 4 field goals by Scott Roche, including a 52-yarder (that kid had a cannon leg). Then the Thunder hit a 43-yard touchdown pass to take the lead in the final 5 minutes.
Augie proceeded to march down the field and had 1st and Goal from the 2 yard line. Looked like the game was won for sure. But then the legendary goal line stand: run stuffed for no gain, sack for 3 yard loss, incompletion, penalty. Then on 4th down, Tyler Langs knocks the pass away to seal the game and cement his name in Wheaton lore (he picked off 3 passes that day). The whole sequence looked like Coach Barnes was floundering at the worst possible time.
And the rest was history. Barnes resigned in late November, then the disastrous Cushman era.

[TrueGreen]

Barnes goes 6-4 that year, 3rd in the league.

Then Cushman goes 2-8, 5-5, 5-5, 5-5.

He is still to blame for 5 out of the last 6 losing seasons? Wow.

[CardinalAlum]

Barnes goes 6-4 that year, 3rd in the league.

Then Cushman goes 2-8, 5-5, 5-5, 5-5.

He is still to blame for 5 out of the last 6 losing seasons? Wow.

Some bad years usually lead to bad recruiting and it is a tough spot to rebound from.  I have seen firsthand the damage a weak coach can do to a program and the amount of work needed to build it back up.  Ultimately, the commitment the school places on resources ends up playing the biggest part and wins and losses sure help.  Look at coaching staffs (full time and part time), stadiums, locker rooms, uniforms.  Those things matter to many kids. 

[blue_jays]

Barnes goes 6-4 that year, 3rd in the league.

Then Cushman goes 2-8, 5-5, 5-5, 5-5.

He is still to blame for 5 out of the last 6 losing seasons? Wow.

I can't speak for how the Bell tenure is going since I haven't paid as close attention. But a win over Wheaton would have certainly changed the trajectory of their 2010 season. It felt like the loss sealed Barnes' fate and it's been a downward slide ever since.

If you didn't witness the Cushman offenses in person, you really missed out. They somehow took QB David Lee (their best QB arm in years) from this:
195-317-9   61.5 PCT  2411 YDS   18 TD  241.1 YPG
To this, in 1 season:
165-282-7   58.5 PCT  1713 YDS   9 TD  171.3 YPG

The 2011 Augie at Wheaton game was case in point. Lee was throwing checkdowns all game instead of airing it out, it was all short route dinks and dunks that did nothing (116 yards on 24 pass attempts). Run game had 56 yards on 34 rushes. Final score was 36-7 and it coulda been worse.

The QB play during Cushman's 4 years was dramatically subpar. I won't bore with the statistics, but anyone who watched those games know what I'm talking about.

[USee]

That 2010 game v Augie was the 3rd in a string of last second losses for the Vikings that effectively sent Barnes out of coaching into business. The heartbreak of that 2010 game was only surpassed by the legend of the couple previous seasons. The game at Augie where Swider let Augie score just to get the ball back and the Thunder scored in under a minute including a 2 pt conversion to win. The game @Wheaton that the Thunder, down by less than a TD, went down the field and QB Chupp ran it in on the last play (4th down) of the game to win. At least 3 crushing defeats in a row.

[matblake]

For people who have only been around the League for the last 10 years or so would have a hard time understanding the mystique of Augustana football that still resonates on this board.  The Western Vikings were undefeated in each of the 83-86 seasons.  That means the class that began in 83 never experienced a loss in their college career. From 1980 to 2006 Augie's lowest finish was 4th place (only once in 2000) and won the conference an astounding 17 times in that 26 year span.  Add in the fact that Augustana's offense was virtually the same that entire span and former opposing players even reported being able to call out the play prior to the snap and still not be able to effectively stop the play.  They were the team to beat and were in virtually every game they competed in.