FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[New Tradition]

New Tradition-  On the air we called it "panther pride" line.  I also remember meeting you at Fitz's pub a few times after the games with Demma's folks .  That group was a great fit for Elmhurst.  Evans was Demma's go to guy on 3rd down.   Sadly, once they all graduated Elmhurst fell a few rungs.

Panther Pride line--that's funny!  And knocking a few back with you at Fitz's was great!

[79jaybird]

That's why the play the game.  Should be a interesting Saturday.

For sure NT-  Fitz's 5th quarter was a mainstay for us for many years.   Those were good old days.

[WUPHF]

I cite the computers as much as anyone, but with only one or two games played for each teams, it seems a bit early.  I am with Pat Coleman on both Wheaton and Washington University.

[iwu70]

Agreed, Wheaton over IWU by more than 40.   

'70

[Schipper Strong]

Back in the dark ages, we used to say how Pella High did set a pattern for how Central would do. They both had very strong programs at the time. So when I saw that 1-2 Pella High was scheduled to play undefeated and defending class 4A champions Cedar Rapids Zavier last night with Central playing Coe, also from Cedar Rapids today I took a deep breath.

Low and behold Pella High won by 10 points last night! Good things are coming. I can feel it! Go Dutch!

[Gregory Sager]

 

[Crusader92]

Wheaton up 26 - 10 on IWU at the half. The margin could be greater, but some mistakes by Wheaton have kept things in striking distance. I continue to very much like this Wheaton team, but like last week even in victory there is a lack of consistency that will be hard to overcome against the kind of top tier opponents the Thunder want to be (and can be) in the mix with.

[robertgoulet]

Final from Naperville
NCC 70
Carthage 0

[Gregory Sager]

Carroll 41, North Park 27
North Central 70, Carthage 0
Wheaton 47, Illinois Wesleyan 16
Wash U 63, Millikin 13

[Gregory Sager]

The Vikings hung around for most of the game, but couldn't match Carroll's potent offense score-for-score. A couple of costly INTS, one of them a pick-six, kept NPU at bay.

Two exemplary WR performances today, as CU's Austin Eichstaedt had seven catches for 184 yards and a TD, and NPU's A.J. Harris had nine catches for 163 yards and a TD.

The Vikings definitely have to get their ground game going, because it was nonexistent today. NPU had 386 yards of offense, but 368 of them came via the air.

[Gregory Sager]

Augustana 74, Elmhurst 6

The Bluejays broke the shutout against the Augie third-stringers with 32 seconds remaining.

[Gregory Sager]

Average victory margin in the CCIW's first weekend of league play: 46.6 points.
Average victory margin in the CCIW's first weekend of league play, excepting CU @ NPU: 54.25 points.

This is pretty ridiculous. Last year the same five matchups occurred during the first Saturday of CCIW play, and the average margin was 38.8 points. That's bad enough, but it was more than a touchdown worse yesterday.

Last year the second week's average margin was 29 points, and since it'll again be the same five matchups this year, it'll be interesting to see how this coming Saturday's average margin compares to 2022's second week. Heck, Elmhurst vs. North Central and Wash U vs. Carthage may bump it up above 29 points all by themselves, no matter how close the other three games are.

The average margin of victory over the course of the entire 45-game CCIW football schedule last season was 33.3 points. But it's not simply a case of perennial national powers NCC and Wheaton running up scores. Only eight of those 45 CCIW games played last year -- about 17% -- were one-score games. Another five were two-score games, so if you're the kind of fan who prefers a reasonably close football game (a 16-point spread or less), only around 29% of the league's games in 2022 would've been to your liking.

It's startling how uncompetitive the vast majority of CCIW football games really are.

[CardinalAlum]

Average victory margin in the CCIW's first weekend of league play: 46.6 points.
Average victory margin in the CCIW's first weekend of league play, excepting CU @ NPU: 54.25 points.

This is pretty ridiculous. Last year the same five matchups occurred during the first Saturday of CCIW play, and the average margin was 38.8 points. That's bad enough, but it was more than a touchdown worse yesterday.

Last year the second week's average margin was 29 points, and since it'll again be the same five matchups this year, it'll be interesting to see how this coming Saturday's average margin compares to 2022's second week. Heck, Elmhurst vs. North Central and Wash U vs. Carthage may bump it up above 29 points all by themselves, no matter how close the other three games are.

The average margin of victory over the course of the entire 45-game CCIW football schedule last season was 33.3 points. But it's not simply a case of perennial national powers NCC and Wheaton running up scores. Only eight of those 45 CCIW games played last year -- about 17% -- were one-score games. Another five were two-score games, so if you're the kind of fan who prefers a reasonably close football game (a 16-point spread or less), only around 29% of the league's games in 2022 would've been to your liking.

It's startling how uncompetitive the vast majority of CCIW football games really are.

The "Big Three" conversation seems so long ago. 

[Gregory Sager]

I think it's more than just a matter of the CCIW having a Big Three, although the gulf between the top third of the league and everybody else is considerable. The 68-point margin between Augustana -- which hasn't been (and most likely still isn't) competitive with NCC, Wheaton, and Wash U -- and Elmhurst was almost as huge as the 70-point margin between the Cardinals and the Firebirds.

That Elmhurst vs. Augie game makes me wonder if the ineptitude of the bottom of the league is an even bigger problem than the prowess of the top of the league when it comes to competitive imbalance.

[kiko]

It's startling how uncompetitive the vast majority of CCIW football games really are.

I've thought for a long time that the bell curve for D3 football is much flatter and wider than for just about any other sport.  We have been seeing it more acutely in the CCIW in recent years but this holds true nationally as well.  Typically of late, there are a handful of close games at most in the first round of the playoffs, and those are played between teams that were much further to the right on the bell curve for their respective conferences.  Ask me what a typical D3 basketball team level is and I can stumble through a definition.  Ask me about a D3 football team, and there are eleventy billion different tiers to reconcile.