FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[NCC_alum62]

Been watching the Augustana practices.  With new coaches was hoping to see something different, but appears to be same old, same old.  HEY CCIW - Augie is going to be running options!!
Hopefully, Augie will sqeek in under the new TRI-CHAMPION standings that was instituted last year.  Apparently, CCIW has created a "feel good" atmoshere so that no coaches have a hissy fit.  Would not want Coach Barnes to actually have to recruit using his REAL record.
Oh well, look for Augie to run, NC to pass, Carthage to play dirty, Milliken to get beat up, Wheaton to act like the CUBS, Elmhurst to be a no show, Ill Wesleyan to be the patsy team.  Isn't there one more that seems to elude me.

Can you explain the comment "Carthage to play dirty"

Yes, this comment simply points out what has been known around the conference for years.  Especially, when Carthage is at home and losing.  Of course Ill Wesleyan is coming to be known for their dirty play the last few years also!

I think we can all agree that Carthage plays very tough physical football. Now I will not call them "dirty" because I while playing against them I didn't see alot of cheap shots, but they have had alot of calls over the years on hits after the whistle that have cost them.  The game against NCC last year for example was close, but penalties against Carthage hurt them at the end of the game.

I never want to consider a team "dirty" or out there trying to hurt other people, I don' think Coach Rucks and his staff coach that kind of play as I'm sure Son of Tailgater and the other Redmen on the board can (and Have) argued in the past.

[79jaybird]

Ah been away from the board and been bailing out the basement due to the floods.  Hopefully everybody is healthy and did not suffer any irreplaceable damage.

The week we have all been waiting for- kickoff!  I see the injury bug has bitten a few schools already. 

Old40-thank you for the compliments and I left you a personal message aside from the board.

Best of luck to all teams this year.  I look forward to a 10 week brawl with excitement weekly. 

Comet14 are you going to the Benedictine game Saturday? 

[Tailgater]

The game against NCC last year for example was close, but penalties against Carthage hurt them at the end of the game.

Thanks NCC__alum62. Funny you should mention all the penalties in the final game last year between Carthage and NCC. In a conversation I had with Coach Rucks during the off season he told me he had heard that the officiating crew from that game had been given their walking papers by the CCIW. The story goes, that day there were several officials in the stands watching the game. They thought they game was so poorly called that they reported it to their office. The crew was brought in and told they would never again officiate a CCIW game. I'm sure there is more to it than that, but found it interesting as we Carthage fans did feel the officiating was awful....go figure.

Would you happen to know Wes Gross? Wes is an old NCC alum and avid follower of Cardinal football. He is a dear friend of ours, member of our Church and has been struggling with his health the past couple years. He always attends every NCC home game, usually sits in one of the boxes up top. He adopted my son Ryan as one of his own and faithfully followed his career at Carthage. His health prevented him from attending many games last year, but he did make a point to attend the final game last year to see Ryan play the final game of his career and witness his alma mater win the conference title. Wes is still hanging in there and will back this season to cheer on NCC. If you don't know him, look him up at a game. He is a wealth of NCC history

[Redmen96]

I hope anyone on the board who attends the Wheaton/Wabash scrimmage will pay particular attention to how Ittersagen looks, how he looks coming out of his backpedal and planting, changing direction, etc. in addition to whether he's limping or favoring the injured leg after the play.  I'm very anxious to hear that report.

Any further word yet on the extent of the injury to McKinney?

McKinney's knee is a torn ACL.  Since he is a senior I hear he is going to rehab it and give it a go to see if he can play on it.  I know a few guys who have been able to play a good chunk of the season on a bad ACL.  We'll see...

It has been a relatively tough preseason for Wheaton - injury-wise... Hopefully they can heal up in time for the meat of the CCIW schedule.

Agreed Mugsy. All of our projections on this season are contingent on injuries. I am quite certain carthage would have been a much better team last year without some of the key injuries they recieved to star players. If healthy, Wheaton has a chance to be a special team this year. So far in camp it doesn't look like a championshp team and if they have key people out to start the schedule it will be very tough to win the CCIW.

Haven't posted in a while, wife and I had a baby girl a month ago.   I am looking forward to another great season.   

I think you said best, injuries are key.  Carthage was a good example of that last year.  I think that they would have been much better if they could have stayed healthy.  Maybe this is just Wheaton's turn?  It seams that they have been pretty lucky as far as injuries have gone in the past couple of years.  They have had some, but this seams like this is the first time the have really had been bitten by the injury bug!
Glad it happened to someone else.

Reidy Sorry I haven't got back to you.  I'll give you a call this week.

Don't sweat it Joe Bear trust me I know you are busy.
I was just happy for you and to be on the initial text list.

[New Tradition]

New Tradition, nice job on a thorough review of the NCC scrimmage!

Thanks!  I actually patterened it after Son of Tailgater's review.  He did a very nice job as well.

[lakeshore]

Wow some great scrimmage recaps on here!  NPU takes on UChicago Thursday night at 7pm at home.  Its the North/South match up!  I will recap!

[Mugsy]

What is the scoop on McKinney's replacement at LB?  

Mugsy, any further word on Ittersagen's recovery and how he has looked in early practices?

What about Wheaton's other starting CB - did he really just not return to school?  What's the scoop on his replacement at that position?

Sorry for the tardy response... I didn't see this post initially.

I don't have any direct information on Ittersagen, other than what I heard from 6 or 7 weeks ago (which he was progressing nicely and should be fine for the season).  I'll be watching carefully at the Wabash scrimmage.

I haven't heard much about the other starting CB, though this is troubling if true.  Wheaton's defense was looking very tough will the number and quality of starters returning.  To lose a starting CB due to not returning to the program (if true) and then the starting All-Conference OLB to a knee injury... those aren't easy to replace.  I guess we'll see how deep they go...  In my 25 years around the program, I can't recall many players not returning, especially starters.

Regarding the linebacker situation... I guess it would be best to consult the season preview (as I've mentioned LB is probably (was) the deepest position on the team):

Linebacker is the position that boasts the most experience for the Thunder defense this season, with three returning starters and veteran backups. Fifth-year senior Jonathan Toal and senior Mike McKinney (RIGHT) will return to their respective roles, starting at outside linebacker. Toal served as a team captain last season and McKinney will be a defensive captain this year, further pointing out the team's experience and leadership. Toal was second on the squad with 73 total tackles last year, earning Second Team All-CCIW honors. McKinney recorded 59 tackles as a junior and was second on the Thunder defense with nine tackles for lost yardage in earning First Team All-CCIW recognition. Junior middle linebacker Steve Pagh returns for his second season as a starter after recording a team-best 77 total tackles with 8-1/2 tackles for lost yardage as a sophomore. Seniors Jesse Laizure and Brett Latsha have also seen considerable action throughout their careers and will give the linebacker corps tremendous depth. Swider notes, "We are fortunate to have a lot of experience at linebacker. We have a bunch of guys who have seen considerable playing time."

Jesse Laizure and Brett Latsha both saw reasonable playing time last year - particularly Laizure.  I remember games where Laizure was substituted regularly and he did fine.   Both are seniors so they are mature and should be ready to step in.

Jesse Laizure: 6-0", 215lbs  - 25 tackles, 1 sack in 2006
Brett Latsha: 6-1", 215lbs   - 9 tackles

[Mugsy]

Mugsy and/or other Wheaton fans,  my Dad was also at the Wheaton scrimmage and mentioned that Wheaton appeared to lack the size he has been accustomed to seeing for a Wheaton squad. Any thoughts on this observation? I see that a friend of our family, Brett Jackson, was moved from WR to RB. Will he be a regular at this position? Although small in stature I know he can take the punishment. I've seen him walk away from some crushing hits that might leave many others as part of the turf.

Getting back to you on the question on the perceived drop off in size of the Wheaton team.  I don't think this is the case.

1. According to Swiders "state of the team" letter to alum, this years unit is one of the strongest ever - in terms of weight room.
2. Stats on players who should see significant playing time:

QB - Zach Ullrich: 6-0' 200lbs
RB - Andrew Hershey: 5-10', 200lbs
RB - Brett Jackson: 5-9', 190lbs
WR - Chris Fossum: 6-5', 208lbs
WR - Noah Dreyer: 6-1', 205lbs
WR - Alex Pokorny: 6-2', 185lbs - sub 4.4 40
WR - Matt Bradley: 5-11', 190lbs
C - Jeremy Wenger: 5-11', 250lbs (not huge, but centers often aren't)
G - Geoff Rowson: 6-2', 300lbs
G - Jesse Scott: 6-2', 275lbs
OT - Thomas Christner: 6-2', 270lbs
OT - Doug Royer: 6-3', 285lbs

DE - Andrew Studebaker: 6-4', 255lbs
DE - Ben Kuenzle: 6-3', 243lbs
DE - Aaron Reyes: 6-3', 245lbs
DT - Javier Almanza: 6-3', 275lbs
DT - Eric Thiensen: 6-3', 255lbs
DT - Grant Roszkowiak: 6-0', 270lbs
DT - Nick Theobald: 6-3', 280lbs
OLB - Jonathan Toal: 6-3', 215lbs
OLB - Jesse Laizure: 6-0', 215lbs
MLB - Steve Pagh: 6-3', 230lbs
S - Kirk McKenney: 6-1', 200lbs
S - Shane Woodward: 6-0', 200lbs
S - David Tokar: 6-3', 205lbs
CB - Pete Ittersagen: 5-10', 190lbs
CB - Daniel Meeh: 5-10', 190lbs
CB - David Lindberg: 5-10', 180lbs

So by no means huge at every position, but not any smaller than in years past (other than RB).  Particularly given the number of returning players...

[Carthage Fan]

Red Men running game will be fine. 

Carthage Fan, I'm curious to know (for conversation sake) why you feel the Red Men running game will be fine or was this just an optimistic comment? Over the past 6-7 years we have been spoiled with the likes of All-Americans Randall Baker and Dante Washington at RB. Last year the all senior O-line had 3 All-CCIW players of which Ryan Glassman was also an All-American Tackle. This experience will be hard to replace immediately. It took 3 seasons for this group to gel. We start this season with very little experience at all these positions...so what are your thoughts?

Tailgater, I am an eternal optimist!   

[Mr. Ypsi]

Today's evidence that NFL players are from a different planet:

On the same day that Michael Vick pleaded guilty (throwing away an estimated 100-150 million dollars in salary and endorsements), Lance Briggs abandoned his $400,000+ 2007 Lamborghini Murcielago after ramming a light pole on the Dan Ryan(? Edens?) at c. 3am.  He faces misdemeanor charges of failure to report an accident and 'improper lane usage' (apparently light poles are not located in the driving lanes, and abandoned Lamborghinis don't qualify for littering charges!).  Mr. Ypsi might be tempted to call a tow truck for a $400,000+ automobile, but it did mean that Mr. Briggs wasn't caught up with in time for a sobriety test!

[Gregory Sager]

also on defense the expected starting corner opposite ittersagen is not on the team. Geoff Burns.

Geoff Burns is a little, uh, otherwise occupied these days. I don't think you'll be seeing him in a Wheaton football uniform anytime soon. In fact, I don't think that you'll be seeing him in much of anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MEEUmHmIRM

(Don't click on the above link if you're faint of heart or easily offended.)

Wheaton's in a tizzy over this. It apparently made the front page of the student newspaper.

http://www.sagaforum.com/forum/archive/index.php?t-8.html

This may be one of the strangest stories involving CCIW football that I've ever heard.

[Mugsy]

also on defense the expected starting corner opposite ittersagen is not on the team. Geoff Burns.

Geoff Burns is a little, uh, otherwise occupied these days. I don't think you'll be seeing him in a Wheaton football uniform anytime soon. In fact, I don't think that you'll be seeing him in much of anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MEEUmHmIRM

(Don't click on the above link if you're faint of heart or easily offended.)

Wheaton's in a tizzy over this. It apparently made the front page of the student newspaper.

http://www.sagaforum.com/forum/archive/index.php?t-8.html

This may be one of the strangest stories involving CCIW football that I've ever heard.

Ah yes... that would explain his absence.  I recall hearing about a Wheaton student becoming the "new face" of A&F, but I didn't realize he was also a football player (and a decent one at that... umm, or indecent depending on your view ).

[CardinalAlum]

also on defense the expected starting corner opposite ittersagen is not on the team. Geoff Burns.

Geoff Burns is a little, uh, otherwise occupied these days. I don't think you'll be seeing him in a Wheaton football uniform anytime soon. In fact, I don't think that you'll be seeing him in much of anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MEEUmHmIRM

(Don't click on the above link if you're faint of heart or easily offended.)

Wheaton's in a tizzy over this. It apparently made the front page of the student newspaper.

http://www.sagaforum.com/forum/archive/index.php?t-8.html

This may be one of the strangest stories involving CCIW football that I've ever heard.

Now THAT'S the way to give up football!!!!

[CardinalAlum]

I can picture him walking into Coach Swider's office now.....

"Coach, I'm not going to play football anymore"  Hmmmm..... Is it?:

A.  I'm not having fun anymore.
B.  I can't afford school if I don't work.
C.  I'm not doing all this work to sit on the bench again.
D.  I'm getting paid to do these smoking love scenes with this totally hot babe for A & F!!!  8) 

Gee, I don't know how I didn't get considered? 

[CardinalAlum]

GS,

Big +K for that one!!