FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[usee]

a simple "thanks for doing all the work" would have sufficed. besides if he completed 331 of 211 attempts its 156.8%. Get it right.

[crusader26]

North Central @ Capital-- This is going to be a good ol' fashioned slugfest.  You have arguably the best QB in D-3 History and a shed full of talented receivers, combined with the explosive (FR) Sulo in the backfield,  versus the Capital defense which I would place in top 5 in D-3.  Whoa Nelly!  This is going to be special.
Couple early keys- A) This one's obvious, but Kam  has to have a good day and be given ample time to throw the ball downfield.  B) More importantly,  North Central took control of the game yesterday when Sulo started finding big holes running straight forward (A gap) betwen the C and Guards.  I know Capital's defense is much stronger than CUW's but Sulo has to establish a ground game to help NC's passing attack.  C) The defense has to play sharp. 

Wheaton @ Mt. Union  Well, we all know what MUC brings to the table and what they have done in the past.  I say this is 2006 and so far they are 0-0 against the CCIW this year.  IMO,  Wheaton has a great running back and their defense has been very stingy.  Both of these are keys to Saturday.  Black has to have one of his best games ever and Studebaker/Ittersagen/etc.  have to be noisy on defense.

Come on Jaybird, be a little more respectable to an individual...how can you prove Kniss is the best in D-3 History??  Kniss is a great QB, & has done an absolutely wonderful job at NCC bringing that progam to where it is today...just be cautious to what you say, as I am sure this was not a biased statement??

[Mugsy]

I believe that Wheaton is capable of playing with the Raiders, they just have to play flawlessly.  Hopefully their lackluster performance in the second half will inspire them to prepare and perform to the fullest.  Ironically, this would be a makeable trip for me from MI, but of course I will be at my parents in Grayslake for the Thanksgiving weekend.  The irony abounds......  

matblake,
I feel your pain as I just spent the past week in Boston at my in-laws and missed the home Wheaton game against MSJ.  ARGGHH!  We did save $900 on airfare by having Thanksgiving a week early, so it wasn't a complete loss.

I'm contemplating heading to Alliance for the game.  Should be fun.

Congrats on the big wins by Wheaton and NCC.    If anything that bodes well to show the CCIW deserved 2 representatives.  2 CCIW teams in the sweet sixteen.  That said... HUGE challenges to both as they enter a CCIW vs. OAC matchup.

(Congrats also to Wheaton men's and women's soccer teams making it to the Final Four next weekend.  What a way to go out for Coach Bean!)

[Mugsy]

For those of you who missed the game at Wheaton, you missed perhaps the best performance I've seen in a Thunder safety/cb.  Pete Ittersagen completely shut down his side of the field, had a number of key stops against the run, recovered a fumble, returned a punt for 40+ yards, and returned a punt 75+ yards for a touchdown.  I think he had only one stumble on coverage.  If there was a player of the game award for this one, it would have to go to Pete.

Scary thing for other CCIW teams... he still has 2 more years left!

[Mugsy]

Congratulations to the Wheaton Thunder and to North Central.  Awesome day for the CCIW.  Ittersagen had a great game.  He will be key next week vs. MUC.  Turkey on Thursday then head east young men  (and women).  Lets get a lot of fans out to both games next week.
Missed 2 on the picks W&J and St Johns.

I've said it over and over again regarding Wheaton against Mount Union.  To me the key is 0, zippo, nada, nil, NO turnovers and special teams.  You can't beat a team of Mount Union's calibur if you turn it over and their special teams almost always excel and lead to at least 1-2 scores a game. 

Not to repeat former posts about Wheatons history against Mount Union, but there was one game where Wheaton outgained Mount Union (or nearly so), but had 3 turnovers and let up a kickoff return for a TD, a punt return inside the 10 yard line and had a punt blocked inside their 15 yard line.

I think Wheaton has the strongest defense they've had against Mount Union, but they need to play a near perfect game if they want to win in Alliance.  Before anyone says I'm being pessimistic, I'm not saying they can't do it, but they need to cut down on the silly mistakes.  I'm pulling for them all the way!

[Mugsy]

How big is the Ittersagen kid?

Program has him at 5'10" 185... which means he is probably 5'9" 180lbs or so.   

He plays much bigger than that though... tough hitter and very athletic.  1st Team All-CCIW last year as a freshman and again this year as a sophomore.

[Pat Coleman]

North Central @ Capital-- This is going to be a good ol' fashioned slugfest.  You have arguably the best QB in D-3 History

Mark, seriously -- you have to learn not to do this if you're going to be doing national games for us. You have to resist the urge to boil down 35 years of D-III history into the context of the 12-15 teams you've seen.

[usee]

Here are some stats for comparison:

this season:

Kniss           211 completions  331 attempts (63.7%) for 2,612 yds 29 tds and 7 INTs
Pentello       218 completions  334 attempts (65.3%) for 2971   yds 29 tds and 4 INTS

pretty close you say???

check out the career numbers:

Kniss          720-1212 (59.4%) for 9,957yds     90 td's
Pentello      967-1493 (64.7%) for 11,915yds  104 td's

be careful with the "best ever" statements. I would say those stats in the OAC are not too shabby.  bottom line is 2 of the best will play each other this weekend in columbus and it will be a treat for all to see.

BTW, these numbers for Kniss don't even make him the "best ever" in the CCIW, let alone d3 history. I will spare you the numbers of Bill Borchert. those are mind boggling.

[New Tradition]

North Central @ Capital-- This is going to be a good ol' fashioned slugfest.  You have arguably the best QB in D-3 History

Mark, seriously -- you have to learn not to do this if you're going to be doing national games for us. You have to resist the urge to boil down 35 years of D-III history into the context of the 12-15 teams you've seen.

With both qb's being so wonderful for their conferences and d3 football, with their numbers, with the show that both have been known to put on, with the exciting playoff atmostphere, not to mention the fact that there is potential for vengance for last year's first round matchup, I don't see why this can't be billed as "arguably the best d3 quarterback match up in d3 history..."  I'm with JB...  I know I'm still young, new to the board, and ignorant of much of the history of D3 football, but this sounds like a good one to me.  Out of curiosity, can anyone think of a game when 2 legendary D3 quarterbacks have played eachother in such a high stakes contest?

[usee]

Congrats to NCC and Wheaton for their wins yesterday.  Sounds like both teams played well.  However, this is the week that we really see if the CCIW has gotten stronger or weaker as a conference. 

New Tradition,

I don't think the conference "turned anyone's heads" by the results posted yesterday.  Wheaton and NCC beat teams from conferences (HCAC and IBC) that haven't won a playoff game in forever.  I would have been very concerned if Wheaton and NCC didn't do what they did yesterday.  I know NCC lost the first game of the season to Concordia, but they are a different team than they were at the start of the year and, based on watching them beat up on Augie, I wasn't surprised how they handled the rematch. 

As for the games this weekend, if either Wheaton or NCC can get a win vs two of the best teams in DIII, it will go a long way in changing opinions of the CCIW around the country.  I have stated all year that I thought the CCIW was down and I will be the first to recant if this happens.  I truly hope that it does.  How nice would it be to have an all CCIW North region final?  I know its not very likely, but that's why they play the games.  Good luck to both schools this weekend.  GO CCIW.

Augie6,

Point taken, I do agree that both CCIW teams should have handled their opponents; however, regardless of that fact, both CCIW teams put up big scores against playoff teams.  While there are obviously some conferences that do not fare well in the playoffs, these teams are not slouches and they fight hard, as they are fighting for their lives.  Any time you can blow out a playoff team, it will turn heads.  In NCC's case, I believe this to be especially true because the Cardinals lost to Concordia earlier in the season.

I agree w Augie6. Big wins by both NCC and Wheaton this week were expected if they want to compete at the elite level. Beating teams in the playoffs who are 0-fer won't get you any attention. If these two programs want to turn some heads and have people take notice, they will both win this weekend!

[usee]

North Central @ Capital-- This is going to be a good ol' fashioned slugfest.  You have arguably the best QB in D-3 History

Mark, seriously -- you have to learn not to do this if you're going to be doing national games for us. You have to resist the urge to boil down 35 years of D-III history into the context of the 12-15 teams you've seen.

With both qb's being so wonderful for their conferences and d3 football, with their numbers, with the show that both have been known to put on, with the exciting playoff atmostphere, not to mention the fact that there is potential for vengance for last year's first round matchup, I don't see why this can't be billed as "arguably the best d3 quarterback match up in d3 history..."  I'm with JB...  I know I'm still young, new to the board, and ignorant of much of the history of D3 football, but this sounds like a good one to me.  Out of curiosity, can anyone think of a game when 2 legendary D3 quarterbacks have played eachother in such a high stakes contest?

well, the top 2 cciw qbs (statistically) of all time played against each other in 1983 (rooney v bishop). In fact they were teammates at IWU in 1981. It wasn't high stakes but they played. Last year wabash's qb (pretty close to the best qb they have ever had) played against pentello in the playoffs; I think bill Borchert from MUC had a couple "legendary" games in there somewhere. I think this is a great matchup, but it certainly doesn't strike me as the 2 best qb ever game.

[Mr. Ypsi]

North Central @ Capital-- This is going to be a good ol' fashioned slugfest.  You have arguably the best QB in D-3 History

Mark, seriously -- you have to learn not to do this if you're going to be doing national games for us. You have to resist the urge to boil down 35 years of D-III history into the context of the 12-15 teams you've seen.

With both qb's being so wonderful for their conferences and d3 football, with their numbers, with the show that both have been known to put on, with the exciting playoff atmostphere, not to mention the fact that there is potential for vengance for last year's first round matchup, I don't see why this can't be billed as "arguably the best d3 quarterback match up in d3 history..."  I'm with JB...  I know I'm still young, new to the board, and ignorant of much of the history of D3 football, but this sounds like a good one to me.  Out of curiosity, can anyone think of a game when 2 legendary D3 quarterbacks have played eachother in such a high stakes contest?

well, the top 2 cciw qbs (statistically) of all time played against each other in 1983 (rooney v bishop). In fact they were teammates at IWU in 1981. It wasn't high stakes but they played. Last year wabash's qb (pretty close to the best qb they have ever had) played against pentello in the playoffs; I think bill Borchert from MUC had a couple "legendary" games in there somewhere. I think this is a great matchup, but it certainly doesn't strike me as the 2 best qb ever game.

Not even when they each have about a 150% completion rate??!

It should be a great game (I'm expecting an NCC upset), but we do need to watch the hyperbole (I've certainly been guilty of that on the bball board)!

[RedmenFB44]

Congrats to Wheaton and NCC on their BIG wins this weekend!
Let's keep this up!!!
GO CCIW!!!

[usee]

Mr. Ypsi,

I was browsing through some post pattern statistics and I gotta say, I am worried about you:


Top 10 Most time spent online:

Warren Thompson  61d 6h 42m
Mr. Ypsi  52d 19h 15m
Pat Coleman  52d 8h 53m
Ralph Turner  48d 3h 34m
wally_wabash  31d 2h 49m
Gregory Sager  29d 3h 6m
finsleft  27d 8h 14m
Kilted Rat  26d 9h 34m
Matt Barnhart (kid)  25d 23h 49m
'gro  25d 45m

[Mr. Ypsi]

Mr. Ypsi,

I was browsing through some post pattern statistics and I gotta say, I am worried about you:


Top 10 Most time spent online:

Warren Thompson  61d 6h 42m
Mr. Ypsi  52d 19h 15m
Pat Coleman  52d 8h 53m
Ralph Turner  48d 3h 34m
wally_wabash  31d 2h 49m
Gregory Sager  29d 3h 6m
finsleft  27d 8h 14m
Kilted Rat  26d 9h 34m
Matt Barnhart (kid)  25d 23h 49m
'gro  25d 45m

Ahh ... retirement is wonderful!!

I must say, I did worry a bit about a d3sports.com addiction when I passed The Guru himself, but as long as Warren stays ahead of me....  (And I think his lead is expanding!)