FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[USee]

https://pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-wesleyan/illinois-wesleyans-offense-hopes-to-build-upon-sophomore-qb-ryan-saxes-impressive-opening-act/article_7d7883bc-342e-11ed-abcc-3fede0cf6039.html#tracking-source=mp-sports

Pantagraph article on the IWU QB situation. Looks like Ryan Saxe will get the start this weekend @Wheaton. The #1 QB will be back in a couple weeks.

[79jaybird]

Greg/Usee,  you are not wrong in saying Elmhurst is (to be nice   "challenging") this year.   There is no consistency and all too often it looks like a bunch of sheep with no Border Collie present to keep the flock in check.   

UW-River Falls is good, but like you mentioned they were hardly polished in the opener this year.   

This Saturday vs Augie,  I will be focused more on looking for consistency within, rather than any score on the scoreboard.

At some point, the upperclassmen have to take the bull by the horns and show some leadership.   Coaches can only do so much, but if the team is going to grow,  IMO you need to have the players step up.

[USee]

Today's Slate:

12pm Central
Augie @Elmhurst
Milikin @ WashU
NCC @Carthage

6pm Central
IWU @Wheaton
NPU @Carroll

I don't think any of these outcomes are seriously in doubt but I'll be interested in Millikin @WashU and how well the Big Blue compete with their new coach and so many new faces. I am also interested in seeing Carroll host NPU to see if the Pios can separate themselves from the CCIW pack and if NPU takes a big jump from game 1 to game 2.

[shepherd]

Really impressed with Wash U they have some very good skill players.  Receivers that will be tough for any team to cover.  Should make for some great conference games.

[Next Man Up]

Afternoon results;

North Central 59
Carthage         7

WashU  44
Millikin    7

Augustana  34
Elmhurst.   16

[USee]

WashU looked pretty dominant to me. Millikin wasn't competitive today.

Carthage hung in there for a quarter.

Augie a little worse than I expected.

[WUPHF]

WashU  44
Millikin    7

54-7

22-0 in the first quarter alone.

[USee]

In Waukesha last night:

Carroll 42 North Park 0

Carroll 404 yds offense (235 rush, 169 pass)
Josh Raby 11-23 169 yds 2 TD's, 0 INT
Keon Miller 4 Rec 97 yds 1 TD

NPU 302 yds offense (53 rush, 249 pass)
Matt Eck 16-29 151 yds 0 TD, 2 INT
AJ Harris 10 rec 121 yds

Carroll led 21-0 at half. NPU committed 6 turnovers and had just 5 possessions into Pio territority resulting in 2 missed FG's, 2 turnovers and a punt.

In Wheaton last night:

Wheaton 42
IWU 7

IWU 311 yds offense (28 rush, 293 pass)
Ryan Saxe 27-41 293 yds 1 TD, 2 INT sacked 5x
Myles Kee 12 Rec 168 yds

Wheaton 452 yds offense (121 rush, 331 pass)
Will Bowers 23-29 (79%) 333 yds 4 TD's, 0 INT sacked 2x
Giovanni Weeks 13 rush 43 yds, 4 rec 113 yds 2 TD
Matthew Tucker 8 rec 79 yds

The Thunder scored on their first 4 drives and were in control throughout.

[Next Man Up]

In Wheaton last night:

Wheaton 42
IWU 7

IWU 311 yds offense (28 rush, 293 pass)
Ryan Saxe 27-41 293 yds 1 TD, 2 INT sacked 5x
Myles Kee 12 Rec 168 yds

Wheaton 452 yds offense (121 rush, 331 pass)
Will Bowers 23-29 (79%) 333 yds 4 TD's, 0 INT sacked 2x
Giovanni Weeks 13 rush 43 yds, 4 rec 113 yds 2 TD
Matthew Tucker 8 rec 79 yds

The Thunder scored on their first 4 drives and were in control throughout.

Does IWU have an almost non-existent rushing game, or was Wheaton just that good vs. the run, or both?
Take Myles Kee out of the equation, and it seems there is little left.

[USee]

I thought IWU's line wasn't very good. They are all young and 5 new starters. There is some talent there but they haven't meshed yet. They should get better every week and have the chance to be a pretty good group. IWU only had 3 returning starters on offense. WR Hamilton is very good but the rest is young and inexperienced. Wheaton's defense, while playing just 1 returning starter from last year, does have 9 senior starters which is something I overlooked in my early year analysis. They are better on defense than I thought they'd be.

And Wheaton's new QB, Will Bowers, is playin incredible right now. In 2 games he is completing 76% of his passes, averaging 317 yds a game with 5 Td's and zero interceptions.

[Thunderdome21]

I thought IWU's line wasn't very good. They are all young and 5 new starters. There is some talent there but they haven't meshed yet. They should get better every week and have the chance to be a pretty good group. IWU only had 3 returning starters on offense. WR Hamilton is very good but the rest is young and inexperienced. Wheaton's defense, while playing just 1 returning starter from last year, does have 9 senior starters which is something I overlooked in my early year analysis. They are better on defense than I thought they'd be.

And Wheaton's new QB, Will Bowers, is playin incredible right now. In 2 games he is completing 76% of his passes, averaging 317 yds a game with 5 Td's and zero interceptions.

Hats off to Wheaton's Defensive Coordinator CJ Nightingale for the job that he's done. Replacing 10 starters with 9 new players with little or no experience even though they were mostly 4th and 5th year seniors is no easy feat. When he became Wheaton's defensive coordinator in 2019, he inherited a very experienced unit that was loaded with upperclassman talent, including arguably the most dominant front seven in d-3 in the past couple decades.  At the same time, He and his coaching staff have done a phenomenal job developing the 2nd, 3rd, 4th stringers and JV players over the past 3 years. He's taken advantage of the fact that there is very little attrition in the program among the players they recruit and he knows how to maximize their talents.  He's adapted the defensive scheme to the strengths of this year's defensive unit.  I've noticed Wheaton using more dime packages because they have more depth at the defensive back position than last year. When Wheaton's starting SAM linebacker tore his ACL on the first series of their first game, Nightingale switched 5th year senior Virgil Cannon back to the SAM position even though he hadn't played the position since last year. They also move MIKE linebacker Jalen Shaffer around in different packages to take advantage of his speed and versatility. On the D-line, while their two most talented and experienced lineman (Anthony and Ferdita) play every snap, their other two starters, Kuhn and Skakavac, share their starting minutes with Lochirco and Bonacquisti (both of whom are converted linebackers).  So far, the Wheaton D is still creating several TFL's, sacks, and takeaways. We'll see if this trend continues. 

[markerickson]

In NP's loss to lowly Manchester, the OC kept sending NP's 1st team WR on a fly pattern.  Dude needs some seam routes, send him in motion, mix it up.  Far too predictable.  NPU has zero running game, as exemplified by the futility during their 0-2 start.

[deepthroat]

I thought NPU was getting better?

[Next Man Up]

I thought NPU was getting better?

Well, better than last year would be 3-7. However, the eastern Vikings will seemingly have a very difficult time achieving that mark. Almost everyone expected NPU to post a W on the opening weekend vs. Manchester, but they blew that opportunity big time. They should still be the favorite over Elmhurst, especially at home. And since Carthage (who they also get at home) appears to have regressed, it would seem their game with the Cheesebirds might be a 50/50 proposition. Wins over those teams would of course equal last year's results.
Accordingly, at this point, it's difficult to judge NPU as being better than their recent record. But perhaps they  have assets not readily observable to an outsider.

[USee]

I had NPU at 4-6 but one of those was Manchester. Now I think their ceiling is 3-7 and that starts with a road game @Millkin this Saturday. After that they host Carthage and Elmhurst and those are the games they would have a chance to win. I think they end up 2-8.