FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[cardinaldad]

The NCC program is continuing to build and improve.

Mugsy, I wish I had the confidence you do in the future of the Cards.

[RedmenFB44]

Still can't believe the comeback by the Redmen today. What an amazing 4th quarter swing. Congrats to all the players, coaches, alum, and all other Carthage Redmen fans 

[Mr. Ypsi]

Could someone who was at the Carthage-IWU game comment: did Carthage take away the game, or did the Titans throw it away?  (I'd suspect it is some of each.)

Sure was reminiscent of MSU-Notre Dame!  (Or last year's Michigan collapse against Minnesota.)

[NorthShore57]

Could someone who was at the Carthage-IWU game comment: did Carthage take away the game, or did the Titans throw it away?  (I'd suspect it is some of each.)

Sure was reminiscent of MSU-Notre Dame!  (Or last year's Michigan collapse against Minnesota.)

I was there and to be honest the Redman played terrible until the 4th quarter. They just looked slow and sloppy.

When things started to turn around they TOOK the game over. I would have to say that it was the Redman raising their level that won this game. They had 2 TDS called back in a row and then they went and scored again. So I would have to say they won the  game and almost gave it back som very costly and one questionable penalty with pass interferance call.

[fightintitan]

I wasn't at the game, but listened to the broadcast.  
To me, it sounded like the Titans completely collapsed, giving up a TD drive, onside kick+TD, losing a fumble+TD, then an INT all in the last 8 min or so.  Carthage just wanted it more than we did today and they took full advantage of every opportunity in the 4th quarter.    IWU had a chance on their last drive, starting at the 50 with 3:35 remaining, but by then Carthage had sucked the life out of us and the INT sealed it

[Mugsy]

The NCC program is continuing to build and improve.

Mugsy, I wish I had the confidence you do in the future of the Cards.

It doesn't happen over night.  To get to the point where you are reloading instead of rebuilding takes time, commitment, and a bit of luck.  Coach Thorn is a quality coach and he seems to have the backing of the school to build the program.  The facilities are great.

I'm not saying it is a given North Central will get there (or hope they get there  ), but what they have done over the past few years is a step in the right direction.  Of course there are 7 other CCIW teams who all want the same thing.

Wheaton had so many 6-3 or 7-2 seasons before having a breakout CCIW championship season, followed by a few more 7-2 seasons.  Eventually through hard work, continuity of a solid coaching staff and commitment by the school, staff and players, they've been able to go on their recent 5-6 year stretch of either vying for the championship or winning it.

[Mugsy]

Wheaton 2nd half drive summary:

Team     Qtr Spot Time   Obtained      Spot Time   How Lost      Pl-Yds   TOP
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHEATON  3rd W21  15:00  Kickoff       N00  13:37 *TOUCHDOWN      5-79  01:23
WHEATON  3rd W27  12:03  Punt          N23  08:24 *FIELD GOAL     9-50  03:39
WHEATON  3rd N31  06:26  Punt          N00  03:28 *TOUCHDOWN      6-31  02:58#
WHEATON  3rd W30  00:38  Punt          N00  11:45 *TOUCHDOWN     10-70  03:53#
WHEATON  4th W09  06:37  Downs         N00  03:10 *TOUCHDOWN      9-91  03:27#

North Central 3rd quarter drives (note: no first downs):
NCC      3rd N30  13:24  Kickoff       N33  12:03  Punt           3-3   01:21
NCC      3rd N21  08:13  Kickoff       N05  06:26  Punt           3--16 01:47
NCC      3rd N20  03:22  Kickoff       N24  00:38  Punt           3-4   02:44

What a difference in between the 2 halves.

[Mugsy]

Junior defensive end Andy Studebaker, ranked second in Division III in sacks, made four solo tackles, with three quarterback sacks for -28 yards, five quarterback hurries and one pass broken-up.

The guy is just amazing.  11.5 sacks in 5 games (though he sat the 2nd half in 2 games).

The pass broken-up was almost more important than any of the sacks.  It forced NCC to kick a FG, which was muffed and kept them off the board.

Not much QB pressure on Kniss beyond Studebaker though...  outside of Studebaker, NCC's o-line did a great job protecting Kniss.

[matblake]

Ok, I am posting from my parents computer.  Let me just say that I really have to take my hat off to North Central.  They completely dominated Wheaton the first half.  Never having seen Kniss I was completely impressed, great arm, excellent field sense, decent speed, slippery when running, and above all excellent decision making.  Sulo was also excellent.  What I was impressed with was the Cardinal defense in the first half.  They completely stopped Wheaton cold for the most part.

Wheaton was a much different team in the second half.  Thank goodness for the defensive effort in the first half otherwise the game could have been 21 or 28 to nothing at the half.  For those of you who still have questions about Studebaker, he is the real deal.  My folks also sat next to Dan Hahn's grandparents who were all the way there from the Detroit area.  I thought he had a solid game.  

The game was so strange.  North Central seemed to own the Thunder, then the Thunder seemed to own the Cardinals.  Wheaton was just lucky that they came out good in the second half.  

[Mr. Ypsi]

Mugsy,

Actually Wheaton's emergence as a top dog is a little older than that.  Augie's mystique as THE program is largely a product of the incredible stretch they had from 1981-94 (102-6-1 in the conference, won or shared 12 of the 14 titles - and, of course, the 4 consecutive national titles).  From 1995-2005, Wheaton actually is #1 (62-15 vs. Augie's 60-17).  In fact, until IWU's recent plunge, Augie was only #3 after their run!  1995-2001: IWU 39-10, Wheaton 38-11, Augie 36-13.

BTW, this is in no way meant to be a slap at Augie.  For four decades now they have virtually always been a champion or a contender - no other program can stake a claim to such sustained excellence.  But they were THE program only for that 14 year period.

(OK, Greg, I've gone and used the phrase for Augie fball, but they still don't match up to IWU bball!  [Apologies to everyone - inside joke from personal messages with Greg!])

[Mugsy]

Wheaton was a much different team in the second half.  Thank goodness for the defensive effort in the first half otherwise the game could have been 21 or 28 to nothing at the half.  For those of you who still have questions about Studebaker, he is the real deal.  My folks also sat next to Dan Hahn's grandparents who were all the way there from the Detroit area.  I thought he had a solid game.  

The game was so strange.  North Central seemed to own the Thunder, then the Thunder seemed to own the Cardinals.  Wheaton was just lucky that they came out good in the second half.  

Good point... the game easily could have been out of reach by half if the defense didn't hold NCC to 2 FG's instead of TD's.

I wouldn't necessarily attribute it to luck that Wheaton came out good in the 2nd half.  I believe it was because they were so flat in the 1st half and NCC was executing so well in the first half.  The coaching staff made some great adjustments by focusing on establishing the run and not panicing.

Sorry I didn't get the chance to stop over by the metal stands for a chance to meet you.  Maybe next time...

[matblake]

For all of you DIII fans out there, this was the first D3 game my wife ever attended.  First, she was impressed with the facilities, the support, and she especially liked the weather    Anyway, she remarked that the level of play was amazing and that she was completely entertained.  Having come from a Division I background, she thought things were going to be at a much lower level than they were, I think we have another person buying into D3, but since she pretty much detests sports I don't think we will have a Mrs. matblake on here anytime soon.

[Mugsy]

Mugsy,

Actually Wheaton's emergence as a top dog is a little older than that.  Augie's mystique as THE program is largely a product of the incredible stretch they had from 1981-94 (102-6-1 in the conference, won or shared 12 of the 14 titles - and, of course, the 4 consecutive national titles).  From 1995-2005, Wheaton actually is #1 (62-15 vs. Augie's 60-17).  In fact, until IWU's recent plunge, Augie was only #3 after their run!  1995-2001: IWU 39-10, Wheaton 38-11, Augie 36-13.

BTW, this is in no way meant to be a slap at Augie.  For four decades now they have virtually always been a champion or a contender - no other program can stake a claim to such sustained excellence.  But they were THE program only for that 14 year period.

(OK, Greg, I've gone and used the phrase for Augie fball, but they still don't match up to IWU bball!  [Apologies to everyone - inside joke from personal messages with Greg!])

Thanks for checking.  My point was that from 85' to 95' Wheaton was 6-3 or 7-2 almost every year.  Those were the years I played or coached.  We struggled and struggled to get over the hump.  Mixed in there we had one CCIW championship, but not the consistency you have now.

I hear so many posters here talking about how their team is taking the next step and I've held my tongue.  You can have great seasons here and there, but to do it consistently is brutally tough.  It is incredibly rare that a team goes from mediocrity to year in and year out champions in a matter of 2-3 years.  It took Wheaton the better part of a decade or more to get to that point.

Yes, Carthage, North Central and Elmhurst may turn the corner here in the near future.  But it takes more than one good year to do it.  Just my opinion after having lived it.

[matblake]

 Wheaton was just lucky that they came out good in the second half.  

Good point... the game easily could have been out of reach by half if the defense didn't hold NCC to 2 FG's instead of TD's.

I wouldn't necessarily attribute it to luck that Wheaton came out good in the 2nd half.  I believe it was because they were so flat in the 1st half and NCC was executing so well in the first half.  The coaching staff made some great adjustments by focusing on establishing the run and not panicing.

I used the wrong words.  All I meant that by lucky is that it was good that they were able to turn it around.  I don't think the defense ever looked flat, confused at times because of the NCC game plan and excellent execution, but never really flat, although I do agree with you that there was very little pressure on Kniss outside of Studebaker.  The offense was the ones that were flat, IMO.

[matblake]

Sorry I didn't get the chance to stop over by the metal stands for a chance to meet you.  Maybe next time...

No problem, had a great reunion on top of a great Wheaton win.