FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[redman04]

Fatal,

I hope Crow tastes good, because after Sat. night's game I must eat crow.  I was very upset with the redmen's loss, but it was a very good game.  Congrats to the birds. It was a very good win. 

The thing that bothers me the most is that Carthage has not lost the close games like that the past couple of years.  I have faith that they will come back and play a great game against IWU.

[CardinalAlum]

Should be an interesting week of preparation for the Cards!  I really feel that the game is going to come down to the NCC O-Line being able to handle what seems to be a very dominant Wheaton D-Line.  The 35-5 home record in recent years can't be overlooked.  Add to that that NCC has rarely played well at Wheaton. 

[79jaybird]

Usee,  good points.  I know Augie has a strong defense.  IMO, the strength of Augie's defense has been their LB's and DB's which will help them against Elmhurst's receivers.  Even with a very good Carthage secondary Terrence Young and Michael Cooley Jr. were able to get open on clutch downs.  Should be a good game and I am glad it is at Elmhurst.  In last year's slugfest in Rock Island, EC took the lead late, but then couldn't shut the door.  Really, both team's offenses had a field day in a scoring marathon.
Just because Carthage lost last Saturday doesn't mean it's time to throw in the towel!  This is a good Redmen team and I think they will destroy Norm's crew next week.  Not knocking IWU, but Carthage should fare well in Bloomington.

[Gregory Sager]

Not that it fully takes the edge off of yet another gridiron shellacking suffered by NPU, but it's cool to see such a big shout-out given to the Park on the back page of today's Tribune Bears coverage. Trib columnist Fred Mitchell discusses the relationship between the McCaskey and Holmgren families that has been formed through the connection that both families have to NPU.

Any day that North Park gets such prominent attention in the sports pages of either of the city's two dailies is a good day, no matter what the reason.

[irish21]

Jaybird & Usee...thanks for your concern! I am alive and well and as Redman04 stated, I have been wrapped up in the Fremd season. We've surprised a few people (including me) and it has been an exciting season so far. I've e-mailed Coach Rucks a few times to check on the Fremd kids but other than that, I don't know much about the Redmen this year.

I've read too many dumb and useless posts over the years from people that had no clue of what was going on. I don't want to fall into that mode of "posting, just to post."

Sounds like it was a great game up in Kenosha on Saturday. I know the Redmen will rebound and learn from the loss to the Bluejays. The Fremd kids are getting some PT and it's great to read that. Carthage got four quality ballplayers that will have an impact over the next four years.

[formerd3db]

Yeah irish21, good to hear from you.  I, too, wondered where you have been "lurking" of recent!   Anyway, hope you are doing well - and while I understand what you mean about the posting, don't stay away so long in the future.  You've contributed much in the past to the boards.

[CardinalAlum]

I've read too many dumb and useless posts over the years from people that had no clue of what was going on.

I've tried to talk to Mugsy about this, but he continues nonetheless! 

Irish,

Good to hear that you are doing well.  Some other Carthage backers have picked up the slack as far as Redmen info.  Good luck to you.

[Mugsy]

I've read too many dumb and useless posts over the years from people that had no clue of what was going on.

I've tried to talk to Mugsy about this, but he continues nonetheless! 

Irish,

Good to hear that you are doing well.  Some other Carthage backers have picked up the slack as far as Redmen info.  Good luck to you.

Ah... CardinalAlum fires the first volley of the week.  Now I feel ready to get the week going... Nothing like a good insult on a Monday morning.

Looking forward to Swider & Co. making the emphatic statement to CardinalAlum and other NCC faithful on the field Saturday.   

[matblake]

Unfortunately for jaybird and comet14, as the NCC fans found out over the last several years it takes winning most/all of the big games before anyone around here will count Elmhurst in as a real contender, if nothing because of the bias of history in the CCIW.  I imagine that could be pretty frustrating.  Since d3football.com wasn't around when Wheaton was making the jump I didn't have to live that frustration of wanting respect for my team out on a message board. I just have the feeling that if the Jays beat Augie, people will point to Augie as having a down year and the real test for Elmhurst will be North Central and if they beat NC then the real test will be IWU and if they beat IWU etc.  

matblake,

I disagree with this. some may think this but i sure don't. you don't become a cciw champion because you post here that you think your team is good enough. you don't even get the trophy for going undefeated in non conference play. and you certainly don't get it because you are returning 10 starters on defense and everyone "thinks" you  will be good.

Elmhurst has a very good team and they will beat most of the teams they will play. can they beat all of the teams they play? i think so but based on past performance we cannot fairly predict that outcome. At this point in the season I think they will conted in every game they play. A win this saturday would be their first against a team with a rich history of winning cciw titles and making playoff runs. many of us are still wondering where carthage stacks up in the balance of power. none of us wonder where augie sits (they may or may not be down this year but we all agree the cciw title every year goes through rock island). The CCIW is a weekly war and only the most battle tested and proven teams will survive. I think elmhurst will be one of those. but I don't have a good feel for how good their competition has been. I know you don't give up 200+ yds against the run vs an average offense and impress many people. that said their win up in kenosha is a good one.

Usee, I guess I am a bit confused at what you are disagreeing with.  All I was trying to point out was that just because you get one good win, doesn't mean that Elmhurst will have immediate respect.  Augie will be a true test and you are absolutely right in saying that the title must go through Rock Island.  However, since it is still relatively early in conference play Elmhurst might not get as much respect if they beat the Vikings because of Elmhurst's historically not being a top contender and Augie's recent 2 non-conference losses.  If this game was in 2 weeks and Augie was still undefeated in conference, I would say that if Elmhurst won they would be put into a front runner position.

[matblake]

I am very excited for this weekend.  My wife went to Michigan State so she is a bit confused at all this "D3 stuff"  (insert joke about state of MSU football here) I know that she is going to be blown away.  With a rivalry game like the Bell Game and passionate fans on both sides, I think that she will have a much clearer idea why D3 is the best on the planet.

[ncc_cardinal_fan]

Big Congrats goes out to Dan Taylor (washdupcard) on passing his BAR EXAM. Also, looking forward heading over to wheaton to quiet down the thunder this saturday and keeping the bell where its supposed to be at. Naperville, BABY!!!!!

The cards also need to come out more focused than they have all year. Every game so far they have came out flat and if they do it against wheaton we might be in for some fireworks flying high in wheaton.

[matblake]

Took a look at the stats and it appears that North Central continues to be strong on offense.  Kniss continues to have over 200 yrds passing in each game while spreading the catches out pretty well, although Stuedemann appears to be his favorite with number of passes (that could be just how the offense is structured).  Another interesting stat is that the Cardinals are 9 for 11 on 4th down.  Perhaps that was a result of trying to come back in the Concordia game, but that does seem to be pretty high for this time of year.

[matblake]

Also, North Central has already had 10 fumbles this year, with 5 of them being recovered by the opponent. Wheaton has had 8 fumbles and 3 were recovered by the opponent.

[Mugsy]

Also, North Central has already had 10 fumbles this year, with 5 of them being recovered by the opponent. Wheaton has had 8 fumbles and 3 were recovered by the opponent.

My initial perusal of Wheaton vs. North Central leaves me with the impression that aside from the obvious factors (turnovers, big plays, etc.), this game will turn based on the defensive units - I know... no surprise in this comment coming from a former defensive player. 

<For some of you... insert the "stats are meaningless comment here">

Both teams have strong offensive teams that pass and run effectively, and produce nearly indentical total offensive output.

Passing:
Wheaton: 242.8 ypg
NCC: 242.5 ypg

Rushing:
NCC: 181.5
Wheaton: 166.2

Total Offense:
NCC: 414.0 ypg
Wheaton 409.0 ypg

Now one key differential is the rushing defense:
Wheaton: 43.0 ypg
NCC: 132.2 ypg

Some of this could be explained based on the type of offenses run by opponents to this point (ie. spread vs. pro, etc...).  North Central faced CUW, which does have the 3rd leading rusher in the nation.  But this is significantly tempered by the fact they have also played North Park, who historically are horrible at rushing the ball and thus far are no different in 2006 at a paltry 72.8 ypg.  In fact NPU rushed 18 times for 33 yards against NCC.

To this point Wheaton has been very successful at stuffing the run.  If Wheaton is able to continue this trend and reduce NCC's offense to one dimension (ie. the pass), then Wheaton can unleash their very strong, quick defensive line to pressure Kniss.  If Studebaker & Co. are in Kniss' face all day, the bell returns to Wheaton.

If Wheaton is able to rush for 130-150+ yards against NCC, they will continue their balanced offensive attack.

It was mentioned earlier, but in my book the key match up is NCC O-Line vs. Wheaton D-Line. 

D-line needs to be way more stout against the run and at getting into the backfield.  O-line needs to look for work on pass-pro as well.  Sometimes though Kam gets sacked because he holds onto the ball for a long time trying to make thigns happen...

I really feel that the game is going to come down to the NCC O-Line being able to handle what seems to be a very dominant Wheaton D-Line.

The other factor that stands out as a negative differential for Wheaton is penalties.  Wheaton is commiting far too many penalties to this point: over 8 penalties a game for nearly 70 yards.

And I will reiterate that I'm a bit nervious about Wheaton's placekicking if it comes down to a tight game.

[diehardfan]

(but neither has April and that doesn't stop her from being right!!)

I don't know about that! 

And I will reiterate that I'm a bit nervious about Wheaton's placekicking if it comes down to a tight game.

This was one of my comments before last week when we were discussing team questions, so I totally agree. Andrew Day is just plain not replaceable. The guy broke like most of the kicking records. It's gotten a little better though, hasn't it? 

I am very excited for this weekend.  My wife went to Michigan State so she is a bit confused at all this "D3 stuff"  (insert joke about state of MSU football here) I know that she is going to be blown away.  With a rivalry game like the Bell Game and passionate fans on both sides, I think that she will have a much clearer idea why D3 is the best on the planet.

And during the game, you stick in random comments every three minutes about how there aren't the huge scandals, how there's way less commercialism and materialism, and how the guys go on to graduate and become doctors, teachers, etc. How the stars are often Academic All-Americans and really care about the school part of college. How they are good guys too, and are involved in humanitarian work (Wheaton Football Ministry Partnership spring break trip as the obvious one), etc.

At least that's what I do. 8)