FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[USee]

Titans are going to survive. They scored to take the lead 35-34 and NPU was driving in IWU territory when on 4th and 8 Matt Eck threw a pick 6 and IWU's subsequent 2 pt conversion makes it 43-34.

[WUPHF]

The Augustana play-by-play guys apparently have a better view of the field than the officials.  It was clearly not a pass interference call from "up here..."

[CardinalAlum]

Titans are going to survive. They scored to take the lead 35-34 and NPU was driving in IWU territory when on 4th and 8 Matt Eck threw a pick 6 and IWU's subsequent 2 pt conversion makes it 43-34.

Nooooooo!

[Gregory Sager]

I'm philosophical about it. I figured NPU would lose by 17 or more, so the fact that the Vikings were up by 20 in the second half and yet blew the game in the fourth quarter feels like more of a novelty than a heartbreaker. I'm sure it's a heartbreaker for the players and coaches, but from the long perspective this is just a twist on a par-for-the-course result. History says that something always goes wrong in Bloomington, even in those rare seasons in which the Vikings are halfway competitive and the Titans are having an off year. The encouraging thing is that the O-line is finally gelling; the Vikes actually had a running game today, and the pass protection was very good. Plus, Eck's play at QB is improving after he'd definitely taken a step backwards from his freshman season through the first half of his sophomore campaign. Nevertheless, in the big picture 1-9 is not "just about flat" for the Vikings. It's a decline.

[kiko]

Today:

Illinois Wesleyan 43, North Park 34 at State Farm World Headquarters
North Central 65, Millikin 0 in Naperville
Wash U 49, Augustana 28 in Rock Island
Wheaton 59, Carthage 24 in Kenosha

Tonight:

Carroll at Elmhurst

[USee]

Carroll and Elmhurst tied at 21 going into OT

[USee]

Carroll kicks a walk off FG in 2OT to beat Elmhurst 31-28

[USee]

Last week against Elmhurst Wheaton Sr WR Matthew Tucker made one of the better catches I have seen at the D3 level:

https://twitter.com/Wheaton_Thunder/status/1578816241363734529?s=20&t=8GvaLcR1uowtCedBS_ym8Q

https://athletics.wheaton.edu/news/2022/10/8/football-no-14-wheaton-shuts-out-elmhurst-56-0-for-homecoming-win.aspx

And then I saw Ben Bonga's one-handed catch down the middle with two Carthage defenders on him. It was the best catch I have seen.  I hope there is a video. McNeil Stout also had a one handed TD reception that had a high degree of difficulty.

This WR group is quietly having a great year.

[USee]

Here is the article from the Pantagraph after IWU's escape win from the Vikings.

https://pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-wesleyan/jay-lemenager-frank-roti-help-illinois-wesleyan-turn-back-north-parks-chance-for-history/article_8e8b07ec-4c98-11ed-a56c-97794f68e779.html


Classic Norm Eash quote: "I think Charlie Hamilton is the best receiver in the league," said Eash. "He makes play after play and is playing like an all-conference player."

Eash says a lot of things in the media, most of which are his opinion. Charlie Hamilton is definitely an all conference receiver but he is definately not the best in the league. A big part of that is the instability at QB that the Titans have had. DeAngelo Hardy is the best WR in the league and it's not particular close. There is a group that is next and I think it's led by Sylvere Campbell from Carthage. That kid is special. I think Hamilton is bunched with Bobby Inserra from Augie, AJ Harris from NPU, Ben Bonga from Wheaton and Colling Goldberg from WashU who are all pretty talented in what is a fairly deep WR core this year.

[shepherd]

Carroll kicks a walk off FG in 2OT to beat Elmhurst 31-28

This was a great game.  I watched the whole game and both teams never gave up.  Its pretty easy to get motivated when your on a winning team yet Elmhurst is on a win less team and played their hearts out.  There is definitely some players with character on Elmhurst football team.  Keep the belief going Elmhurst it eventually will pay off.

[WUPHF]

This was a great game.  I watched the whole game and both teams never gave up.  Its pretty easy to get motivated when your on a winning team yet Elmhurst is on a win less team and played their hearts out.  There is definitely some players with character on Elmhurst football team.  Keep the belief going Elmhurst it eventually will pay off.

Agreed!

I only watched 20 minutes or so over the course of the game, but the energy on the Elmhurst side--players, bench, fans--was clearly evident. 

[USee]

Last week against Elmhurst Wheaton Sr WR Matthew Tucker made one of the better catches I have seen at the D3 level:

https://twitter.com/Wheaton_Thunder/status/1578816241363734529?s=20&t=8GvaLcR1uowtCedBS_ym8Q

https://athletics.wheaton.edu/news/2022/10/8/football-no-14-wheaton-shuts-out-elmhurst-56-0-for-homecoming-win.aspx

And then I saw Ben Bonga's one-handed catch down the middle with two Carthage defenders on him. It was the best catch I have seen.  I hope there is a video. McNeil Stout also had a one handed TD reception that had a high degree of difficulty.

This WR group is quietly having a great year.

Ben Bonga's one hand catch right before halftime is on the webcast here beginning at the 1:07:40 mark. It's worth the look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSimNHYCb7E

[GoIrish7]

Just got done watching the Elmhurst vs Carroll game. A few notes of positivity for the Jays.

1 - For the 1st time all season they won the turnover battle. Scored a TD on Defense. The new QB valued the football and kept his squad out of conflict. Through 5 games Elmhurst had 24 turnovers with 4.8 turnovers a game.

2 - New QB. Started a FR QB who was a little lighter on his feet than the previous starter. He was able to get himself out of some plays that would have been Sacks of TO's if the previous QB was in. The QB who started through the 1st 5 games definitely has more arm talent, but the new QB has much more wiggle and improvised well most of the day.

3 - Commitment to the ground game. The efficiency on the ground was not there. Did not run the ball well by any means. But it seemed like our OC tried to pound the ball / win the TOP battle. Sometimes the best Defense is an Offense who can stay on the field. All season we have tried to throw the ball around with short and intermediate throws. If we can run the ball with some success, by play design we will set ourselves up for some nice play action passes down the field.

All in all I think it's something to build on. I imagine the team has some hidden confidence in the new signal called with the result of the game. I actually think Pullock and Cavallo are a nice 1/2 combo at the RB position. Both are averaging around 4 YPC. We have just gotten in the habit of getting down a score or two and trying to stay in the game with our passing game to no success. A nice formula for the Jays the rest of the way will be Win the Turnover battle, Control the Clock, and run the ball. If we can do 2 of those 3 things we set at least give ourselves a chance like this past Saturday.

Will need to play lights out but 3 of our last 4 we got a chance to build heading into the off season!

[Next Man Up]

D3FOOTBALL Team Of The Week

The North Central offensive line consisting of Jeske Maples, Alex Knaperek, Jarod Thornton, Sam Pryor, and Will Elbert, was named to the D3Football Team Of The Week.
They established a NCC single game records and 2022 Division III highs in rushing yards (597), and total yards (776) vs. Millikin last Sat. They scored touchdowns on on each of their first eight possessions, all of which covered at least 60 yards.

The Cardinals DT, Dan Lester was named to the Defensive TOW after registering multiple tackles for loss for the fifth straight week. On the day Lester had five tackles and, three sacks.

[WUPHF]

I thought maybe Kenneth Hamilton had a shot at the D3Football Team of the Week.  Hamilton scored 4 of the Bears 7 touchdowns including three rushing and one in the air.  Hamilton has been fantastic since the North Park game.

https://washubears.com/news/2022/10/17/general-hamilton-candell-named-athletes-of-the-week.aspx