FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Jim Matson]

April, the radio team was indeed great today, but the play-by-play guy was just back for a visit.  He is really great at getting the listener into the game!

[ncc58]

Wow, had to leave after 3 quarters.  BU is horrible!  They finally were moving the ball against the 3rd or 4th stringers of NCC.  They had a chance to score early from the 1 and got stuffed twice.  I really like this frosh RB, Sulo.  Runs hard.  April, I agree with you on the onside kick  .  What was that?  They were up 28-0 with like 20-some seconds left in the half.  It made no sense, because if it fails they have a short field to try to get one in before the half.  Oh well.  I can't believe I picked Whittier.  I must have been half asleep making that pick.  Kniss was already out of the game midway thru the 3rd.  That might affect the bonus question!

I thought the onside kick was a clever move. There were 19 seconds left. I'd prefer that the Cards have actually tried an onside kick before the Augie or Wheaton game when it might be necessary. Also, I'm not sure if the entire team knew that it was going to be an onside kick. Several NCC players ran beyond the ball with no attempt to recover. The BU front line was outta there faster than the crowd at the end of the 3Q.

You're worried about leaving BU a short field with 19 seconds left. Please. Kniss had 205 yards passing. Nowhere close to the wildcard question.

But .... Folks, let's not get too excited about what happened this week. The CCIW teams (with Elmhurst being the possible exception) ran down to the Dolly Madison Discount Center and loaded up on cupcakes. Let's not try to take anything away from these games except a win. Let's not boast about defenses against really bad teams. NCC beats BU 38-0, BU beats NPU 22-7, NPU beats Eureka. Really, how bad is Eureka?

[devildog29]

devildog... could you do me a favor and tell me what you think of redlands in comparison to the CCIW top half teams? It'll help in my decision of the relative strength of this silly conference I find myself in now.

April, I left with about 13 minutes to go in the 4th qtr w/ Trinity leading 35-10.  With such a lopsided game, there wasn't much to be impressed about with Redlands.  They didn't have any size to speak of, but they were decently athletic.  Trinity was waaaay more athletic though and had at least 4 picks in the first 3 quarters.  They run a run and shoot type of offense with 4 receivers and a single full/halfback.  That would be a difficult offense to run in northern IL/southern WI in the middle of November with rain/snow on the ground.  Compared to CCIW top half, they may be a middle of the pack team, but it's hard for me to say off this one game because they were getting blown out pretty good.  I don't think they'd be physical enough to hang with an Augie or even Wheaton.  Plus in tonight's game, Trinity was a much quicker team, so I'm not sure what kind of speed we have in the CCIW this year, but Redlands didn't strike me as that fast.  Hope this helps.  If you get a chance to see them this year, let me know your thoughts.

[Jim Matson]

Wheaton looked great today, especially on defense.  As mentioned, Andy and Pete played very well, but really everyone played strong today.  I would also side with usee on the comments about Chupp.  I thought the pass to Kemper was absolutely perfect!  Ulrich also looked good, especially with his ability to pick out the opportunity presented very quickly.  His passing touchdown was well placed AND well timed.

Wash U looked very weak to me.  I was expecting a stronger team performance out of the Bears.  Things did look a bit better when #13 was in at QB, but overall, Wheaton far better as a team than is Wash U.

[diehardfan]

April, the radio team was indeed great today, but the play-by-play guy was just back for a visit.  He is really great at getting the listener into the game!

Yeah, I know... he did do a great job though. One of my favorite things was that he did was a flashback to the last time Wheaton played Wash U (which was in 1999, and was my first football season at Wheaton) and dropped some names of Wheaton stars from that year like Mitch Slater, Jeremy Amos, Ben Peays, and Brian Pastermack. He was like, I remember these guys! And I was like... me too!! Brian Pastermack... now there was one heck of a fun guy to watch on the field. He was sooo little, even shorter than me... but FAST!!!

Hahah... I love pretending to be old.

They also did a great job with the half time interview of Andy. I definitely think that was one of the better player interviews I've heard.

I was so excited about the TD pass to Kemper. What an athletic guy... since he really only got a chance to shine last year in basketball, and he's getting a chance to play right away for Swider... I wonder if he's thinking he played the wrong sport! 

[Jim Matson]

Or maybe 2006 is just his year!  He played like he has been doing it for more than just this season.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Wow, had to leave after 3 quarters.  BU is horrible!  They finally were moving the ball against the 3rd or 4th stringers of NCC.  They had a chance to score early from the 1 and got stuffed twice.  I really like this frosh RB, Sulo.  Runs hard.  April, I agree with you on the onside kick  .  What was that?  They were up 28-0 with like 20-some seconds left in the half.  It made no sense, because if it fails they have a short field to try to get one in before the half.  Oh well.  I can't believe I picked Whittier.  I must have been half asleep making that pick.  Kniss was already out of the game midway thru the 3rd.  That might affect the bonus question!

I thought the onside kick was a clever move. There were 19 seconds left. I'd prefer that the Cards have actually tried an onside kick before the Augie or Wheaton game when it might be necessary. Also, I'm not sure if the entire team knew that it was going to be an onside kick. Several NCC players ran beyond the ball with no attempt to recover. The BU front line was outta there faster than the crowd at the end of the 3Q.

You're worried about leaving BU a short field with 19 seconds left. Please. Kniss had 205 yards passing. Nowhere close to the wildcard question.

But .... Folks, let's not get too excited about what happened this week. The CCIW teams (with Elmhurst being the possible exception) ran down to the Dolly Madison Discount Center and loaded up on cupcakes. Let's not try to take anything away from these games except a win. Let's not boast about defenses against really bad teams. NCC beats BU 38-0, BU beats NPU 22-7, NPU beats Eureka. Really, how bad is Eureka?

Um ... do you think we might add Millikin (Wabash) and IWU (Mt. St. Joseph) to that sweeping generalization?  Both are in (or near) the top 25 (and both would cream U of C)!

[Goal Line Stand]

Washdupcard-

I think Cary Grove is ranked in the top 20 in Illinois. Cary Grove plays their 4th game today against Huntley I believe. Should be a win

Carthage-31 Whittier-2 with 8:13 to go in the 4th

CG 43  Huntley  0

CG is ranked 3rd in IHSA 6A polls. 

[79jaybird]

Overall, I think the CCIW has scheduled a very good non-conference slate.  Yes, there have been some cream puffs on the various schedules, but there have also been ranked teams, perennial playoff contenders, and defending conf. champions on the list.
MidwestFB-- somebody beat me to the punch earlier, but Wabash is a perennial playoff contender, Mt. St. Joseph is a playoff caliber team, U Chicago is the defending conf. champ (I know it's the UAA, but still a defending champ) and Albion is a playoff team from last year.
Certainly the likes of McMurray, Benedictine, Eureka, Concordia IL, etc.  might be less quality opponents, however sometimes it doesn't hurt to schedule a weaker team early, just to build up the team chemistry and get the troops "in sync".

[washdupcard]

April, the radio team was indeed great today, but the play-by-play guy was just back for a visit.  He is really great at getting the listener into the game!

Yeah, I know... he did do a great job though. One of my favorite things was that he did was a flashback to the last time Wheaton played Wash U (which was in 1999, and was my first football season at Wheaton) and dropped some names of Wheaton stars from that year like Mitch Slater, Jeremy Amos, Ben Peays, and Brian Pastermack. He was like, I remember these guys! And I was like... me too!! Brian Pastermack... now there was one heck of a fun guy to watch on the field. He was sooo little, even shorter than me... but FAST!!!

Hahah... I love pretending to be old.

They also did a great job with the half time interview of Andy. I definitely think that was one of the better player interviews I've heard.

I was so excited about the TD pass to Kemper. What an athletic guy... since he really only got a chance to shine last year in basketball, and he's getting a chance to play right away for Swider... I wonder if he's thinking he played the wrong sport! 

Wow I just had a very bad flash back.

[washdupcard]

Washdupcard-

I think Cary Grove is ranked in the top 20 in Illinois. Cary Grove plays their 4th game today against Huntley I believe. Should be a win

Carthage-31 Whittier-2 with 8:13 to go in the 4th

CG 43  Huntley  0

CG is ranked 3rd in IHSA 6A polls. 

Cary-Grove is ranked 4th overall in Chicagoland by the Tribune.

[Goal Line Stand]

Oh, I was looking for the latest ranking this morning and didn't find it.  I read that they were 3rd at the beginning of the season so thought it might have changed.  Don't get the Trib.   Thanks for the correction.

[TitanBacker]

Thanks for the analysis Still MSJ and fightintitan.

All I know is that I felt more than terrible after that game RedmenFB44.  We simply took you guys too lightly that year and it bit us in the butt in the end.  I still have a full size picture from our local paper of me on my knees practically in tears.  It was a sad SAD day in Grayslake.  As for the teams that were good, those were about 2-3 years after we were in college.  Maybe 2002-2004 with Vito Andriola as head coach.  And, as is custom in Grayslake sports, after a few good seasons they find a reason to can the coach and let the teams be terrible again.

Sounds like IWU is playing well but just needs to get over the hump.  I still think they're going to get out of the cellar and surprise a few teams this year.  Cant' wait til the start of the CCIW schedules!!!

[StillMSJ]

I must say that as an MSJ alum who played against Wheaton in the playoffs a few years back, I was both excited and a little nervous to hear of them picking up a CCIW team in place of Kalamazoo (who broke contract and canceled).  It was nice not just to play a caliber team from up north but also a team that showed poise even when struggling against an overpowering defense.  IWU, like I said, had big guys and some talented offensive players, the QB looked like he had a nice arm.  There were a good number of "doh" penalties by the IWU offense like false starts that gave them a lot of long 3rd downs, that if not occuring I'd bet the game would have been closer.

Overall, I'm very pleased that MSJ is raising the quality of teams in their non-conference schedule (being that the OAC team we play isn't really "OAC" caliber) and I hope this turns out to be a very productive relationship for both teams.  Goodluck to IWU in the rest of the season.

[Mugsy]

Mugs, no I didn't play football at Wheaton.  The last time I had pads on was in 7th grade in Minneapolis!  My comment about rivalry was based on watching 25+ years of Wheaton football.  You're (probably) right about North Central, but the rivalry isn't always so apparent to the fans.  But given North Central's new competitiveness in football, I'm sure things will heat up. 

If we started playing Taylor in football, I think that would quickly become a good series!

Hiker,

Just so you know... my question was in no way to downplay your view, but rather to see if it was more of a difference of perspective.  As a player and coach, the NCC/Wheaton game is huge every year - even in the years where NCC was struggling.  It is even more so, now that NCC has improved so much and has recently taken the bell back for a year.  I expect the intesity of this years game to be at an all time high, given what might be riding on the game, homecoming and the desire to return the bell to it's rightful location.

Purely from a student/fan standpoint, it may not be as big as Augie or others in the CCIW.