FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[CardinalAlum]

Early in the 2nd quarter Augie is getting waxed by Platteville 14-0.

Isn't "early in the second quarter" a bit early to say someone is "getting waxed"?

[CardinalAlum]

Any Augustana score updates?  Also does anybody now if Wheaton Warenville South won and the score?  

I believe WWS won like thirty-something to 7 against Glenbard East.  Sorry for not having the exact score, but it was around those numbers.

[Jim Matson]

Augie lost to Plattville 24-7.  It doesn't sound like Augie's plan to pass more often worked tonight as they had 80 yards in the air versus Plattville's 234.  The Vikes outgained the Pioneers on the ground 171-140 which is more what one would expect in a game like this.

Anyone at the game?

[RedmenFB44]

Final scores in the CCIW:

#21 Wheaton - 35
Hope - 21

North Central - 34
Washington U. - 15

Rose-Hulman - 25
North Park - 0

Elmhurst - 33
Olivet - 16

UW-Plattville - 24
Augie - 7

Congrats to all the CCIW winners and finally its time for some CCIW football!!!
GO REDMEN!

[Mugsy]

Glad to see Wheaton win, though I think it is a concern that Hope was able to post 21 points on the Thunder late.

I didn't see the game, but I'm not sure I'd be too concerned about 2 TD's when the game has already been decided.  35-7 and then 2 late TD's...

Yes Hope threw for 340+ yards, but on 58 attempts and only 22 completions.  Hopefully someone who attended the game can give some insight.  As usee noted, interesting that Chupp & Ullrick split time and had virtually the same stats in the first half.

[matblake]

I didn't see the game either, but from the radio broadcast it sounded as if the 2 TD's scored by Hope were both against Wheaton's second team defense by Hope's #1 offense. 

Some concerns for Wheaton:
1.  Way too many penalties.  Game could have been blown open minus the penalties, IMO.  CCIW teams will make you pay for penalties.

2.  Zack Ullrich fumbling.  He had two in today's game.  I believe that he had one in the Albion game.  Three fumbles with not that many snaps is not a good sign.

3.  Stagnant offense.  Give credit to the Hope defense, and maybe it was due to the radio broadcast, but it seemed as if the Wheaton Offense just got stagnant at times.

4.  Again, maybe it was due to the radio broadcast, but it sounded like there were a lot of dropped interception possibilities.

[formerd3db]

mugsy, matblake:

I was at the game.  First, congratulations to your Wheaton team on the win.  I was very impressed (as was everyone else) with their size, speed, quickness and all around athleticism.  Although obviously it is still early in the season, after seeing them today, I would say they should win the league and have a very good chance of advancing further in the playoffs this year, provided they don't have a let down and also avoid some of the turnovers they had today.

That being said, allow me to say this.  Indeed, we all thought the game was over by the third quarter.  Hope's inability to move the ball on offense was dismal.  The seemed lethargic, tired and almost succumbed to that feeling of "we've lost, so why try".  However, my hats are off to them for coming back and not giving up.  Admittedly, I did not notice if Wheaton had their second team in during the stretch where Hope scored (I was busy attending to other sideline necessities along with "just concentrating/being 'into' the enthusiasm of our attempted comback!).  Yet even if Wheaton had their second team in, those players were good - Hope just started to make plays that they had not in the first half.

You mention Hope's passing; many dropped passes and no protection from the OL occounted for the disparity.  Had Hope made some of those plays AND had not the secondary given up those long passes especially the TD's, it would have been a much closer game.  Wheaton's receivers were awesome, however, Hope did cover them much better in the late stages of the game.  Too late, however, and there is simply no excuse for letting a receiver get so far behing the safeties on simple posts/seam patterns.

In addition, a controversial call in the last 4 3/4 minutes of the game:  Hope's defense strips the ball from Wheaton RB down on about our own 30 or so (if I recall the yardline correctly - not sure at the moment exact spot), should be Hope's ball.  However, officiating crew rules Wheaton's back stopped with forward progress, which he was not and clearly still going forward (no knee touched the ground either).  Hope should have had the ball and with the momentum (this being just after scoring), quite possibly a drive could have made this a very close game.  Believe me, Wheaton was a bit worried at that time, but buckled up and of course won the game.  Overall, the officiating was quite poor today, not that it had any outcome nor am I implying that it did - just an observation that the officials made some poor decisions/misjudgements on a lot of technical aspects that they should know about (i.e. improper equipment use, questionable and wrong warnings, coaches/players outside of "the box", as well as many missed holding calls on both sides).  In a closer game, these may could have had a serious effect, but again, not applicable today, other than the above stripped ball call, but "what if's then, don't count! ).

In final comment, as I mentioned earlier this week, Hope has shown some instances of being a good team (which I think they are - better than our 0-3 record indicates), but have a long way to go yet, both for our league for the AQ and therafer if achieving it, let alone the playoffs.  Secondary and OL blocking needs much improvement, or it's going to be a long season. Our league will be tough, especially with Albion coming up.  But, again, I think Wheaton should do very well, I was very impressed and congrats to you "W" guys and the team.  Best of luck the rest of the way.

P.S.  I do like the new Wheaton helmet logos - the Wisconsin type "W" looks great.  I do like Hope's longtime traditional "Yale" style "H" as well!

[formerd3db]

jaybird:
See my post to you on the MIAA board.  Glad you had a safe (and dry) trip back .  So did "the Mrs." and me as we survived the monsoon (and a tornado warning in the Grand Rapids area)!

[Sterny]

mugsy, matblake:

I was at the game.  First, congratulations to your Wheaton team on the win.  I was very impressed (as was everyone else) with their size, speed, quickness and all around athleticism.  Although obviously it is still early in the season, after seeing them today, I would say they should win the league and have a very good chance of advancing further in the playoffs this year, provided they don't have a let down and also avoid some of the turnovers they had today.

That being said, allow me to say this.  Indeed, we all thought the game was over by the third quarter.  Hope's inability to move the ball on offense was dismal.  The seemed lethargic, tired and almost succumbed to that feeling of "we've lost, so why try".  However, my hats are off to them for coming back and not giving up.  Admittedly, I did not notice if Wheaton had their second team in during the stretch where Hope scored (I was busy attending to other sideline necessities along with "just concentrating/being 'into' the enthusiasm of our attempted comback!).  Yet even if Wheaton had their second team in, those players were good - Hope just started to make plays that they had not in the first half.

You mention Hope's passing; many dropped passes and no protection from the OL occounted for the disparity.  Had Hope made some of those plays AND had not the secondary given up those long passes especially the TD's, it would have been a much closer game.  Wheaton's receivers were awesome, however, Hope did cover them much better in the late stages of the game.  Too late, however, and there is simply no excuse for letting a receiver get so far behing the safeties on simple posts/seam patterns.

In addition, a controversial call in the last 4 3/4 minutes of the game:  Hope's defense strips the ball from Wheaton RB down on about our own 30 or so (if I recall the yardline correctly - not sure at the moment exact spot), should be Hope's ball.  However, officiating crew rules Wheaton's back stopped with forward progress, which he was not and clearly still going forward (no knee touched the ground either).  Hope should have had the ball and with the momentum (this being just after scoring), quite possibly a drive could have made this a very close game.  Believe me, Wheaton was a bit worried at that time, but buckled up and of course won the game.  Overall, the officiating was quite poor today, not that it had any outcome nor am I implying that it did - just an observation that the officials made some poor decisions/misjudgements on a lot of technical aspects that they should know about (i.e. improper equipment use, questionable and wrong warnings, coaches/players outside of "the box", as well as many missed holding calls on both sides).  In a closer game, these may could have had a serious effect, but again, not applicable today, other than the above stripped ball call, but "what if's then, don't count! ).

In final comment, as I mentioned earlier this week, Hope has shown some instances of being a good team (which I think they are - better than our 0-3 record indicates), but have a long way to go yet, both for our league for the AQ and therafer if achieving it, let alone the playoffs.  Secondary and OL blocking needs much improvement, or it's going to be a long season. Our league will be tough, especially with Albion coming up.  But, again, I think Wheaton should do very well, I was very impressed and congrats to you "W" guys and the team.  Best of luck the rest of the way.

P.S.  I do like the new Wheaton helmet logos - the Wisconsin type "W" looks great.  I do like Hope's longtime traditional "Yale" style "H" as well!

Listening to the game by the Wheaton announcers, they made it sound like his forward progress was definetly stopped and that the official had blown the whistle prior to the fumble.  Anyone else at the game have any other perspective?

[usee]

interesting results from yesterday.

wheaton is on track but i am concerned they haven't done a good job finishing games. they continue to lose the turnover  battle. they are turning it over less but their defense isn't creating many takeaways, which is a concern given everyone's assessment their defense is really good. great defenses create turnovers. lots of them. we haven't seen enough vs. teams that run riskier offenses (passing teams). the jury is still out on the thunder.

augie-this is clearly not as good a team as we all thought it might be coming in. you can't get manhandled by a middle-bottom of the pack WIACC team and expect to do well in the cciw. if augie does do well then it doesn't bode well for our conference in the playoffs.

ncc lost in its only real test so far. its next big game is 2 weeks at wheaton. they better step it up or their season will come to an early conclusion

north park-looks like the 30th "transition" year in a row for this group. another coaching change coming??

overall, our conference isn't looking so good in my opinion. I hope i'm wrong, but either way lets not all get too hyped up over whomever our conference winner is. it appears from the results this preseason that the cciw is not as strong as it has been in recent years.

[mr_b]

north park-looks like the 30th "transition" year in a row for this group. another coaching change coming??

Usee, it's the third game for the new Viking coaching staff.  It's a bit early to start on that tack, don't you think?

[formerd3db]

Sterny:

I was right down in front of that play.  And in all seriousness and putting all bias aside, the Wheaton runners forward progress was definitely not stopped.  He was continuing to attempt to gain ground, was going sideways and then slightly forward when the ball was stripped.  Moreover, the official that made the call was on the other side of the field; the head official (who basically was the one who was not having a "stellar" day and who I was referring to in my comments regarding the officiating crew) let it stand and he really wasn't watching that area in my opinion.

Having said that, and again, putting my "Hope" bias aside, Wheaton deserved the win, I give/gave them the deserved credit.  Sorry, however, I think the Wheaton announcers were a bit "over zealous" according to what you describe, although admittedly, I did not hear their commentary on the play.  Again, in reality, the call probably wouldn't have mattered with regard to the final outcome/score, although after watching MSU/ND late last evening in the final 4 minutes, perhaps it might have!!

Again, congrats to Wheaton.   

[matblake]

mugsy, matblake:

I was at the game.  First, congratulations to your Wheaton team on the win.  I was very impressed (as was everyone else) with their size, speed, quickness and all around athleticism.  Although obviously it is still early in the season, after seeing them today, I would say they should win the league and have a very good chance of advancing further in the playoffs this year, provided they don't have a let down and also avoid some of the turnovers they had today.

That being said, allow me to say this.  Indeed, we all thought the game was over by the third quarter.  Hope's inability to move the ball on offense was dismal.  The seemed lethargic, tired and almost succumbed to that feeling of "we've lost, so why try".  However, my hats are off to them for coming back and not giving up.  Admittedly, I did not notice if Wheaton had their second team in during the stretch where Hope scored (I was busy attending to other sideline necessities along with "just concentrating/being 'into' the enthusiasm of our attempted comback!).  Yet even if Wheaton had their second team in, those players were good - Hope just started to make plays that they had not in the first half.

You mention Hope's passing; many dropped passes and no protection from the OL occounted for the disparity.  Had Hope made some of those plays AND had not the secondary given up those long passes especially the TD's, it would have been a much closer game.  Wheaton's receivers were awesome, however, Hope did cover them much better in the late stages of the game.  Too late, however, and there is simply no excuse for letting a receiver get so far behing the safeties on simple posts/seam patterns.

In addition, a controversial call in the last 4 3/4 minutes of the game:  Hope's defense strips the ball from Wheaton RB down on about our own 30 or so (if I recall the yardline correctly - not sure at the moment exact spot), should be Hope's ball.  However, officiating crew rules Wheaton's back stopped with forward progress, which he was not and clearly still going forward (no knee touched the ground either).  Hope should have had the ball and with the momentum (this being just after scoring), quite possibly a drive could have made this a very close game.  Believe me, Wheaton was a bit worried at that time, but buckled up and of course won the game.  Overall, the officiating was quite poor today, not that it had any outcome nor am I implying that it did - just an observation that the officials made some poor decisions/misjudgements on a lot of technical aspects that they should know about (i.e. improper equipment use, questionable and wrong warnings, coaches/players outside of "the box", as well as many missed holding calls on both sides).  In a closer game, these may could have had a serious effect, but again, not applicable today, other than the above stripped ball call, but "what if's then, don't count! ).

In final comment, as I mentioned earlier this week, Hope has shown some instances of being a good team (which I think they are - better than our 0-3 record indicates), but have a long way to go yet, both for our league for the AQ and therafer if achieving it, let alone the playoffs.  Secondary and OL blocking needs much improvement, or it's going to be a long season. Our league will be tough, especially with Albion coming up.  But, again, I think Wheaton should do very well, I was very impressed and congrats to you "W" guys and the team.  Best of luck the rest of the way.

P.S.  I do like the new Wheaton helmet logos - the Wisconsin type "W" looks great.  I do like Hope's longtime traditional "Yale" style "H" as well!

Former, I went back and looked at my original post and it did seem to imply that Hope did nothing well.  That was not the case.  It was very clear that there were a lot of dropped passes by Hope.  Those catches could have made it a very different game.  Also, Hope coming back definitely showed a lot of heart.  It is good to see a team who won't give up.  Your quarterback Manning sounds like a monster for a sophomore.  Doug VanEerden seemed to be his favorite target.  Good luck on a great MIAA season and thanks for sharing your thoughts.  

[dansand]

Augie's loss is a real eye-opener. Last week's home loss was disappointing, but it was to a very solid program (30-some consecutive winning seasons before last year) from far and away the best conference in D3. It's still one you figure to win, but similar to last year's loss to Central, not a devastating loss. Platteville, on the other hand, is from an outstanding conference as well, but they are consistently at or near the bottom of the WIAC and are a team that Augie has handled pretty easily in recent years (5-1 with an average score of 30-12 in their last six meetings before yesterday).

Augie's inability to establish the run is really disturbing. We all joke about how much they're throwing this year (almost 16 attempts a game!), but the fact is, if they can't move the ball on the ground it isn't going to matter how much they put it in the air. Kenny Anderson has used all his eligibility. As has been pointed out, McGinnis throws the ball better than Roe did, but he's is not experienced at running a passing game. In his senior year at Alleman High School, I'm pretty sure he threw less passes that Roe did last year!

Looking at the box score from yesterday, with the exception of Augie Anderson's 43-yard touchdown, the Vikings averaged 2 yards a carry on first down. They're averaging 215.7 yards a game and 3.8 yards a carry on the ground (and that's with the game against awful MacMurray included). It's been almost 30 years since they had rushing numbers that anemic. Such a huge drop-off is kinda baffling. Their offensively line is not as inexperienced as people seem to think. While they lost tackles Zeifert (A-A) and Quain and All-CCIW tight end Tom McIntyre, they return the three starters on the interior from the end of last season. I've seen them have much more success with much less experienced offensive lines.

Maybe I'm just an alarmist, but with the conference season looming, something needs to change or their string of 27 consecutive winning season could be in jeopardy. It's hard to say that about a team that went undefeated in the conference last year.

[matblake]

Here is the link to info on the NCC-WashU game from NCC website.
http://www.noctrl.edu/x7703.xml
And from the WashU website
http://bearsports.wustl.edu/releases/fbrecap9-23-06.html