FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

usee · July 07, 2006, 01:06:00 AM

i also have to add (although it pains me to say) there is no way IWU is finishing in the bottom half of the league this year. you guys likely don't realize it but i am pretty sure they have 20+ starters returning. I don't care how bad we all thought they were last year when you have that many returning starters you are going to be good. they had some really good young skill players last year and if they can find a decent qb among their ranks i actually think they are a top 3 team in the cciw this year.

I am not at all buying the elmhurst hype. its entirely different than NCC a year ago (recall my prediction of them winning the conf--i was wrong

). while elmhurst is going to be pretty tough on defense their offense will have much to prove in my opinion. they have a very talented qb and some good hogs up front. they will have to prove they can win through injuries and a very tough cciw slate. i am not convinced they have what they need to play at the top of the conference.

voice · July 07, 2006, 06:23:29 AM

Elmhurst and UW-Whitewater are scheduled to scrimmage at Whitewater on Saturday, August 26.

Mugsy · July 07, 2006, 09:57:10 AM

Quote from: usee on July 07, 2006, 12:59:59 AM
wheaton obviously needs 1 of their 2 qbs to play well early and often. more importantly their receivers are going to have to distinguish themselves against a pretty good slate of cciw dbs. the days of musso are over and someone needs to step into the playmaker role. the likely candidates are the chupp brothers and in my view as the brothers chupp go so goes wheaton this year.

I'm not as concerned about the QB position as Wheaton has 2 good options. My only concern is if there isn't a clear cut starter between the two - I'm not in favor of the 2 platoon QB. I completely agree with usee that it is the Wheaton receivers who need to step up. Last year they were horrible at creating space off the ball and could not avoid the bump from the physical DB's in the CCIW. IMO that is part of why Chupp struggled so much (among other reasons). Futhermore I don't remember nearly as many big plays by receivers last year. I'm willing to bet the YAC (yards after catch) was way, way down from previous years. The returning receivers need to get off the ball and make some plays this year.

That all said... Wheaton's defense needs to be much more stout if Wheaton has any hope of winning the conference.

matblake · July 07, 2006, 11:00:53 AM

Quote from: Mugsy on July 07, 2006, 09:57:10 AM
Wheaton's defense needs to be much more stout if Wheaton has any hope of winning the conference.

Well put.

79jaybird · July 07, 2006, 02:24:27 PM

Each team appears to have an "if" with the exeption of Augie it seems. We all know that Augie will be able to run the ball, and they have a pretty sound D, which is why I think they are going to be the team to beat this year.
MatBlake/Usee-- I agree that Elm's offense is going to be the big question. They lose All American Brogran, WR Evans, RB Luna, and their Center Cook. I think their defense is as good as any in the conf., but we all know that if you can't put points on the board, it will be difficult.
We will get a good clue as to how well Elm's rushing defense is scrimmaging Beaver and UWW. Beaver is the best running back I have seen in a long time.

matblake · July 07, 2006, 04:58:14 PM

jaybird, Beaver is an amazing back, but remember it is still just a scrimmage. As much as you try to simulate game conditions and such, scrimmages will always be a different animal than actual contests.

79jaybird · July 08, 2006, 02:55:51 PM

MatBlake-- Agreed indeed! Even a so-called "full tilt" scrimmage is not gametime mode. Overall, I happy to see that Journell and the Bluejays are playing much better competition and not "timid" and/or "reluctant" to go up against the big boys in D-3. This way they are prepared for Augie, Wheaton, etc.
I was calling UWW's 2nd round and SemiFinal games and was impressed with Beaver's running. I think UWW has a good shot at the Stagg Bowl Trophy this year, hopefully playing one of our schools for the title.

footballfan413 · July 09, 2006, 08:55:44 AM

Quote from: matblake on July 07, 2006, 04:58:14 PM
jaybird, Beaver is an amazing back, but remember it is still just a scrimmage. As much as you try to simulate game conditions and such, scrimmages will always be a different animal than actual contests.

If history repeats itself, you won't see very many UWW starters in the scrimmage or, atleast, not for very long. The coaches will probably use the opportunity to evaluate the young and backup talent during the scrimmage. The WIAC has a 100 man roster unlike the CCIW (and I heard that UWW must cut to 95 this season because of a Title 9 snafoo from several years ago) so the coaching staff is going to be trying to make some tough decisions about who to cut so they can meet the roster deadline at the end of camp.

79jaybird · July 10, 2006, 01:01:23 PM

The thing I am going to look at most from the Elm/UWW scrimmage is who will get the nod to run the football? Who is going to fill the void left by graduated Luna? It's tough to fill the spots of greats like Arruza, Luna, Wallach, etc.

Comet 14 · July 10, 2006, 02:06:39 PM

79jaybird- My son will be a fresman this year. How much will he play at the scrimmage?

79jaybird · July 10, 2006, 05:18:16 PM

When I was a Freshman I played the last few moments of the 3rd quarter and all of the 4th. Obviously the upperclassmen and (most likely) the starters will get the first quarter and sometimes the 2nd quarter.
I would expect your Son to get at least 2-3 series in his native position, and definitely a shot on special teams. I look forward to seeing him this Fall.

augiedogie · July 10, 2006, 05:51:29 PM

Quote from: 79jaybird on July 06, 2006, 11:48:12 AM
Comet14, Elmhurst has been scrimmaging UW Oshkosh the last few years, b/c Journell and the Oshkosh Coach are good friends. If I hear of a date, I will let you know. I would be curious (If they play UWW) why EC switched teams.
Interesting to see NC ranked higher than Augie in the polls, when Augie is the defending Conf. Champs. The conference is so wide open this year, it is tough to make any predictions. I think you can group Augie/NC/Elmhurst/Wheaton in the 4 that will vie for the top spot. Millikin and Carthage closely behind and then NP/IWU after. I think North Park is going to surprise a few people this year. I am hoping they break their long CCIW losing streak soon.

Hey Jaybird,

Do you remember which poll(s) had NCC ranked higher than Augie this year, because both polls that I saw Lindys and USA Today/Sports Weekly had Augie better than NCC?

79jaybird · July 10, 2006, 06:42:08 PM

augiedogie-- Good to hear from you! How are you doing? I will check and see where I found the poll that had NCC higher than Augie. I was scrolling around and came across it. I will let you know.
What do you all think of Millikin? I think their offense is going to be strong with Wallach, but what about their defense?

matblake · July 11, 2006, 03:50:28 PM

Millikin is tough to gauge. I haven't encountered an abundance of posters from there (my apologies to those who regularly post). It could totally be me, but I don't remember a ton of info from Decatur on this board last year.

Mugsy · July 12, 2006, 12:37:55 AM

Quote from: matblake on July 11, 2006, 03:50:28 PM
Millikin is tough to gauge. I haven't encountered an abundance of posters from there (my apologies to those who regularly post). It could totally be me, but I don't remember a ton of info from Decatur on this board last year.

There aren't many Millikin posters, but devildog29 and blue_balls come to mind as regulars during the season.