FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[CardinalAlum]

I definitely did not feel coming into this season that we were better than last year.  Losing that many quality players hurts any program.  What you have seen is a couple of true freshmen step and play like veterans.  I actually believe that NCC is better this year because we are better balanced offensively.  My biggest beef last year was that we didn't run the ball enough and relied too much on Kniss.  This year Sulo has been a great compliment to Kam.

[CardinalAlum]

********************** DISCLAIMER **********************************
I am not a Buddhist.  I am offended by the KARMA system.  Why don't we have Holy Spirit points?  I'm sure the ACLU would love that.  But I'm sure they have no problem using the word karma.  Words are a gift from God and have meaning.  In the beginning was the Word – Christ himself – I am the way the TRUTH – etc..

It is not for man to change words to blur the lines of religion.  That is sin.  I will never participate in this point system as it stands currently.  The theologian DR. Ravi Zacharias in his series "Lessons from War in a Battle of Ideas" supports and clearly states this. So do many other theologians.  One could use agreeability etc... That would make sense.  But I will not participate in this word from what I believe to be a false religion. Please stop giving and taking so called Karma points.  If I have a bad post one can easily use the report to moderator button.  Also I see very little grace given especially to new posters.   I hope and pray that people on this board will respect my wishes.  Although in today's culture we will respect every religion except Christianity, which is the whipping boy of secular progressives.  If one doesn't stand for truth they will fall for a lie. I know that it probably wasn't set up this way on purpose and I have the deepest respect for Pat and the promotion of D3 sports.  This will be displayed when Karma (Buddhist) points are given or taken. 
Karma
1.Hinduism, Buddhism. action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation: in Hinduism one of the means of reaching Brahman.
2. Theosophy. the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person's deeds in the previous incarnation
3. fate; destiny.
Created 11/7/06  Last modified 11/8/06 version #5

Huh?       

[ncc58]

.........and now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

North Central is featured on the front page (as mentioned by remenfb44). There is a more in depth look at NCC's season in Around the Region and I was surprised to read this quote from John Thorne:

"We lost two of our first five games and we weren't planning on that to happen," Thorne said. "We knew it would be tough from that point on. When the season started, we thought we would be a better team than what we were last year and right now we are. We just stumbled a couple of times early, so we still have to prove to everybody that we are a better team."



a better team than last year?? WOW. I am beginning to believe he's right but that is a really strong statment given who was on the NCC team last year.

What Coach Thorne also said before the first game was that the team would rely on the defense until the offense got settled. The biggest concern seemed to be losses at wide receiver and running back. We may not have expected Dominic Sulo to have such a great impact but the coaching staff apparently did. At WR, they lost an All Amercian in Spencer and two others who were four year players. Stuedemann stepped up his game, but no one else at WR has been anywhere near the All Conference level.

The bigger reach was that the defense woul be the strength of the team, given the losses at linebacker and in the secondary. The secondary had a leader in Bellazini and a few other players with experience. But several players stepped up. The coaches expected steady play at linebacker from Bazant, greater contributions from Kostellic and Hammers, and the good play from Wenger.

I'm sure that NCC didn't expect to lose to CUW, after all they are a IBC team.  And they feel that they can compete with Wheaton. Really, should Thorne say that they expected to lose 2 early games?

Another point that Thorne has made is that he feels that NCC has more depth than in previous seasons. Especially in his frist 2-3 years, injuries were devasting. This season, NCC has used more packages on offense and defense --- using more players without large dropoffs.

[redman04]

********************** DISCLAIMER **********************************
I am not a Buddhist.  I am offended by the KARMA system.  Why don't we have Holy Spirit points?  I'm sure the ACLU would love that.  But I'm sure they have no problem using the word karma.  Words are a gift from God and have meaning.  In the beginning was the Word – Christ himself – I am the way the TRUTH – etc..

It is not for man to change words to blur the lines of religion.  That is sin.  I will never participate in this point system as it stands currently.  The theologian DR. Ravi Zacharias in his series "Lessons from War in a Battle of Ideas" supports and clearly states this. So do many other theologians.  One could use agreeability etc... That would make sense.  But I will not participate in this word from what I believe to be a false religion. Please stop giving and taking so called Karma points.  If I have a bad post one can easily use the report to moderator button.  Also I see very little grace given especially to new posters.   I hope and pray that people on this board will respect my wishes.  Although in today's culture we will respect every religion except Christianity, which is the whipping boy of secular progressives.  If one doesn't stand for truth they will fall for a lie. I know that it probably wasn't set up this way on purpose and I have the deepest respect for Pat and the promotion of D3 sports.  This will be displayed when Karma (Buddhist) points are given or taken. 
Karma
1.Hinduism, Buddhism. action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation: in Hinduism one of the means of reaching Brahman.
2. Theosophy. the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person's deeds in the previous incarnation
3. fate; destiny.
Created 11/7/06  Last modified 11/8/06 version #5

nobody cares what religion you are!  If you don't like Karma don't use it and stop crying.

And Now - K for You!!!! 

[redman04]

My above comments were mean, but true!

In keeping with the themes of this board I should have said "Lighten up, Francis."

Name the movie anyone?

[matblake]

Make or break games:

Augustana v Millikin:  This is an intriguing match-up to me.  Millikin's defense appears to be top of the line, will their offense score enough points.  If the Big Blue can jump out to a lead, it might be an interesting game.  Although Augie's chances for the playoffs are not dead, they must win to keep the hope alive.  Stranger things have happened than both Wheaton and North Central losing.  A win by Millikin will prove what some have been saying all along that the Big Blue is better than their record indicates.

Actually, Wheaton is irrelevant to Augie's playoff chances. Augie needs to beat Millikin and for North Central to lose and AC would be the AQ.

Thanks Dansand, you are correct.  Must have gotten a little carried away 

[matblake]

My biggest beef last year was that we didn't run the ball enough and relied too much on Kniss.  This year Sulo has been a great compliment to Kam.

I definitely agree with this.  Sure Kniss to Spencer was exciting in 2005, but I thought that in 2004 that Holden was more integral to their success, especially because of Kniss going down.  I think the team would have struggled much more last year if Holden hadn't been around. 

I don't think that anyone could have expected Sulo to be the weapon that he has become.  I don't think that he is Nate Kmic or anything (especially because their running styles seem to be different), but he also isn't running behind Mount Union's O line.  Being able to count on Sulo's 4.9 yards per carry can create a lot of short 3rd downs.  They absolutely killed Wheaton in the first half with the little 4 yard pass for the first down.

[matblake]

Another thing that I like about Sulo is that he appears to be consistent.  His longest run this year is 44 per the NC website.  That is roughly only 5% of his total 812 yards so far this year.  Anyway, his runs seem to be in the 2-5 yard range most of the time.  Granted, he has lost 53 yards, but at 166 attempts he is bound to lose some. 

[Mugsy]

My above comments were mean, but true!

In keeping with the themes of this board I should have said "Lighten up, Francis."

Name the movie anyone?

Ah... that's to easy.  Stripes.

[Mugsy]

What Coach Thorne also said before the first game was that the team would rely on the defense until the offense got settled. The biggest concern seemed to be losses at wide receiver and running back. We may not have expected Dominic Sulo to have such a great impact but the coaching staff apparently did. At WR, they lost an All Amercian in Spencer and two others who were four year players. Stuedemann stepped up his game, but no one else at WR has been anywhere near the All Conference level.

The bigger reach was that the defense woul be the strength of the team, given the losses at linebacker and in the secondary. The secondary had a leader in Bellazini and a few other players with experience. But several players stepped up. The coaches expected steady play at linebacker from Bazant, greater contributions from Kostellic and Hammers, and the good play from Wenger.

I'm sure that NCC didn't expect to lose to CUW, after all they are a IBC team.  And they feel that they can compete with Wheaton. Really, should Thorne say that they expected to lose 2 early games?

Another point that Thorne has made is that he feels that NCC has more depth than in previous seasons. Especially in his frist 2-3 years, injuries were devasting. This season, NCC has used more packages on offense and defense --- using more players without large dropoffs.

IMO, one of the keys to the NCC rebound and reason that are front runners to the CCIW AQ is their defense.  While it may have taken time for Kniss to gel with new receivers and a freshman running back, my impression is that the defense has stepped it up a notch - especially since the 2nd half of the Wheaton game.  After the 2nd half of the Wheaton game, I thought NCC was in trouble because they couldn't stop the run...  That obviously has not been the case.  I fully expected NCC to be a very tough team with a formidable offense, but I didn't expect the defense against the rush to be so "en fuego".

Check out the defense against the run since the loss to Wheaton:

Opponent	Rushes	Yards	Average
Wheaton	38	247	6.5
Elmhurst	36	49	1.36
Millikin	25	43	1.72
Augustana	32	121	3.78
Illinois Wesleyan	34	35	1.03

That's scary good.  If NCC takes care of business on Saturday (and I don't see why they wouldn't), NCC faithful have really got to like their chances in a rematch against CUW.  This is a very different defense than the one CUW rushed for almost 350 yards against.

[NCC_alum62]

Another thing that I like about Sulo is that he appears to be consistent.  His longest run this year is 44 per the NC website.  That is roughly only 5% of his total 812 yards so far this year.  Anyway, his runs seem to be in the 2-5 yard range most of the time.  Granted, he has lost 53 yards, but at 166 attempts he is bound to lose some. 

Alot of that has to do with the style of running NCC does now.  We used to line up in traditional I-pro formations and run zone, power G, etc, but now they run almost exclusivly out of shotgun spread on a delay hand-off...depending on how the defense is schemed one missed block and its all she wrote for that particular play.  also some of those losses have come on fumbled option pitches

[redman04]

Check out the defense against the run since the loss to Wheaton:

Opponent	Rushes	Yards	Average
Wheaton	38	247	6.5
Elmhurst	36	49	1.36
Millikin	25	43	1.72
Augustana	32	121	3.78
Illinois Wesleyan	34	35	1.03

That's scary good.  If NCC takes care of business on Saturday (and I don't see why they wouldn't), NCC faithful have really got to like their chances in a rematch against CUW.  This is a very different defense than the one CUW rushed for almost 350 yards against.

Great Stat!  Shuting down the run like that sure makes it a lot harder for your O.  What the happened against the Thunders?  WHat was NCC run D like before the Wheaton game?

[ncc58]

Great Stat!  Shuting down the run like that sure makes it a lot harder for your O.  What the happened against the Thunders?  WHat was NCC run D like before the Wheaton game?

It's hard to evaluate the North Central defense before the Wheaton game. CUW ran effectively but that was NCC's first game and CUW's second game, plus training camp injuries were a factor for NCC (but everyone has that problem). Then, they played Benedictine, Washington U, and North Park. None of those teams ran for many (or any) yards, but that didn't really show anything.

[Mugsy]

Check out the defense against the run since the loss to Wheaton:

Opponent	Rushes	Yards	Average
Wheaton	38	247	6.5
Elmhurst	36	49	1.36
Millikin	25	43	1.72
Augustana	32	121	3.78
Illinois Wesleyan	34	35	1.03

That's scary good.  If NCC takes care of business on Saturday (and I don't see why they wouldn't), NCC faithful have really got to like their chances in a rematch against CUW.  This is a very different defense than the one CUW rushed for almost 350 yards against.

Great Stat!  Shuting down the run like that sure makes it a lot harder for your O.  What the happened against the Thunders?  WHat was NCC run D like before the Wheaton game?

Opponent	Rushes	Yards	Average
North Park	18	33	1.83
Washington U	30	82	2.73
Benedictine U	39	66	1.69
Concordia (Wis)	63	348	5.52

Actually the numbers are quite good, except for the CUW game.  That said, North Park is one of the worst rushing offenses in all of D3 football - averaging a paltry 54.2 yards a game (and that is after their first 100 yard rusher this past weekend).  WashU offense is below average at best this year and Benedictine isn't exactly a strong team.

I guess looking at it carefully, one could argue that the NCC defense was strong against the run all season, except for CUW and Wheaton, but I'd argue the competition over the past 4 games far exceeds what they faced early in the year.

It should be noted that of the 247 yards Wheaton had rushing against NCC, almost all of it occurred in the 2nd half.

[Mugsy]

Great Stat!  Shuting down the run like that sure makes it a lot harder for your O.  What the happened against the Thunders?  WHat was NCC run D like before the Wheaton game?

It's hard to evaluate the North Central defense before the Wheaton game. CUW ran effectively but that was NCC's first game and CUW's second game, plus training camp injuries were a factor for NCC (but everyone has that problem). Then, they played Benedictine, Washington U, and North Park. None of those teams ran for many (or any) yards, but that didn't really show anything.

midwestfb,

Yup... my additional post points out the other teams didn't rush for much either, except for CUW.   But as you pointed out there may be other reasons for that.