FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[79jaybird]

ELMHURST 42  OLIVET 14  FINAL   
halftime it was EC 28 OC 7
This was an interesting game in the beginning, which turned into a runaway late.  EC scored first and then OC scored on a 53 yd pass to Smith.  From there EC scored 35 unanswered points to blow the game open.
Thoughts
1) The offensive line is playing very well and were able to win the battle of the bulge against a pretty talented Olivet d-line.
2) Great to see the Bluejays get the ground game established early with Wilharm and Sonntag back from injury.  Later we saw the future of Elmhurst with Mark Gones who showed strides of brilliance.
3) The EC linebackers were awesome this afternoon.  John Scardullo was all over the place with 2 INT'S (one returned for a TD) and Eric Puzon really active shutting down the run.
4) For the life of me, I cannot understand why Olivet abandoned the deep ball to Smith?  When it was 7-7 and pretty stalemate, Olivet had 2 prime chances to score on the deep pass (1 overthrow and 1 drop), however both times the OC receiver had 2 steps on our CB.  This was working so why abandon it?  Well, I guess from  Bluejays' standpoint, I am glad they did.

[79jaybird]

Sooo, the table is set:  3-0 Elmhurst vs. 3-0 Carthage for the second straight year.  This is a pivotal game for both teams and I know Carthage is going to be hungry for revenge after EC spoiled their party in Kenosha last year.
I think the real key to next week's game is the EC running attack.  Defensively, both are strong with great playmakers,  offensively, if EC becomes 1-dimensional with just a passing attack, I think Carthage gets the upperhand.  On the flipside, if EC can establish the run like they did last week, then I don't see Carthage matching up well.  Just my take, but I know when these 2 arch rivals play- throw all the stats out the window because anything/everything could happen.

Cardinals' fans... do you attribute the NC loss to a talented Wash U team or just Cardinal mistakes/poor execution.  I am surprised they lost to Wash U and hope they can get back on their feet next week.

Glad to hear Zach is on the road to recovery and how about that competitive spirit?  The man faces a tragic event head on and can only think about rejoining his teammates in combat.  Great heart and great character.

[ncc58]

NCC has lost a lot of quality players the last two years. And it has caught up to them. In my view, they are short of playmakers. And last night showed. When the team is off, no one stepped up and made the plays. The should have beat Washington U, but mistakes and execution were a factor. The reality is that the CCIW coaches may have it right in the preseason rankings. My fear though is this team could end up with 3 or 4 losses. It will take a gigantic effort to return the Bell to its proper home.

Cardinals' fans... do you attribute the NC loss to a talented Wash U team or just Cardinal mistakes/poor execution.  I am surprised they lost to Wash U and hope they can get back on their feet next week.

[usee]

from the NCC game 2 things stick out from the stats:

1-274 passing yds vs. -1 yd rushing for WashU offense. The NCC run defense is playing well (see also the concordia result). their pass defense is suspect. This isn't good enough for title run

2. 229 total yards for NCC-more than anything else their defense played well enough to win, stopping the run and limiting WashU to a couple scores. Their offense doesn't appear to be at all effective. I would have expected a 30-40pt game out of NCC vs WashU. This has to concern the Naperville faithful going into league play.

[79jaybird]

MidwestFB- Thank you.  It's hard to replace an All-American like Kniss who made everybody around him better.  I would not ticket NC for 3-4 losses though.  It is rare to go from tied 1st to 4-5th place in 1 season.  This is 1 loss, not a reason to write off the entire season.  I do think they need to address some consistency and execution issues.  Similarly, I think EC has to address some secondary issues as Olivet was able to run that 10 yd out pattern on us all day long.  I am sure both teams will make the appropriate changes/alterations and come out firing next week.

[2getherwewin]

In my eyes this loss by NCC can be seen as quite scary.  NCC who was held to only 229 yards of total offense lost to a team Wheaton beat 55-14 and racked up 449 yards of offense against. I agree the losses over the past two years have seemed to catch up to NCC, but the biggest problem seems to be their offensive struggles.  The passing games hurting right now and in turn other teams can put a lot more emphasis on stopping Sulo and the running game.  Even in their game against BU it took the offense a while to get going (and the special teams play and defense in that game, Im sure gave a little kick start to the offense too)  Right now the offense is one dimensional in that aspect. NCC has some great athletes and talent on defense, but Im still skeptical of their new defense.  NCC's defense is a total switch from the past 3-4 years, theirs new coaches this year at almost every position (Thorne brought in a new D-coordinator,they lost both of their D-line coaches as well as their DB coach Swider, and the only defensive coach who is left is Wienke who was the D-coordinator the past 3 years and now is back to coaching linebackers).  You have to be worried if a team like WashU can find a weakness in this new defense considering NCC has significantly beat them the past two years 34-15 and 25-0.  NCC really has to pick it up this week and get everything together if they're going to be prepared in any way to face the likes of Wheaton.  If they cant get their offense together and fix a few wrinkles in their new defense its going to be a long Conference season the way Wheaton, Augie, Carthage, and Elmhurst are playing.       

[Mr. Ypsi]

Final non-conference tally: 16-8.  Only one or two unexpected losses - NCC's shocking loss at home today and perhaps NPU's home loss to Benedictine. 

That NPU loss was hardly unexpected, Chuck. Given the way that the Bennies dominated last year's matchup between the two teams, I think even the most optimistic Vikings fan had the Park as an underdog going into that game.

Disappointing loss yesterday for NPU down in Terre Haute. The Vikings were up 14-0 in the third quarter, and ended up surrendering three second-half touchdowns to lose the game. Still, this is the same Rose-Hulman squad that showed up at Holmgren Field last fall and absolutely pasted the Vikings to the tune of 25-0 (and it could've been much worse if the Engineers hadn't let up in the fourth quarter). I wouldn't be surprised if RHIT is down from last year, but yesterday's showing still represents forward progress for North Park. Of course, it'd be nice to have forward progress that actually shows up in the W column, but you take what you can get.

Sign of the apocalypse: Mr. Ypsi is more of an NPU 'homer' than "the most optimistic Viking fan"!   I had NPU in the pickems (of course, I also misread the schedule and thought it was NPU's second game and BU's first, rather than the other way round )!

BU appears to be just dreadful this year - losing to Elmhurst and NCC by a combined 99-3, and yesterday losing to CUC.  Since they play Millikin in Decatur (and I refuse to admit the possibility of a win on Oct 27!), NPU's first conference victory in what is beginning to seem like forever may have to wait another year (though I MAY still take a flyer on them on Oct 6).

[ncc58]

To not have 3 losses, North Central has to win 3 of these games: Wheaton, Augie, Carthage, and Elmhurst. We'll know more about Carthage and Elmhurst this week. We'll learn nothing about NCC (playing NPU). The defense is solid, but the offense has showed little, even in the CUW game.

MidwestFB- Thank you.  It's hard to replace an All-American like Kniss who made everybody around him better.  I would not ticket NC for 3-4 losses though.  It is rare to go from tied 1st to 4-5th place in 1 season. 

[79jaybird]

Wow, I am so happy our board is civil compared to the shenanigans and sticks/stones being fired at each other on that IBFC board.  There are some knuckleheads on that board that contribute 0 to the football arena.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Well, I'll take the first stab at the final standings.  The top and bottom seem clearer, but a real mess from 2-6.

1. Wheaton.  Prior to yesterday, I was beginning to waver, but their man-handling of Hope (yes, the MIAA is very bad - Kickoff has them #22 of 25 conferences, just above the Midwest [23] and IBC [24], but they hardly seemed to miss a beat with the loss of Ullrich), combined with NCC's inexplicable loss to WashU (whom Wheaton demolished), I just don't see who will beat them.  They have to travel to Naperville and Elmhurst (and Bloomington never seems to be a joyride for the Thunder!), so they may not go unbeaten, but I think they'll prevail.  (This assumes no rash of further injuries to OLs or QBs!)

7/8. Millikin/NPU.  At the other end, I just can't see any wins for either team except for when they meet in Decatur.  Only because of the location, I'll predict MU for 7.

2-6.  NCC is PROBABLY still the best, IWU is PROBABLY still the worst, BUT...
  NCC has only 3 home games, two of which (NPU and IWU) they would probably win anyway.  They have to go to Kenosha, Rock Island, and Elmhurst (and Decatur); IF they win 2 of the 3 (Decatur to me is a given), AND hold serve when they host Wheaton, they will (likely) be the pool A, but I just can't see it.
  Augie gets home field for Elmhurst and NCC, but has to face IWU, Wheaton, and Carthage on hostile turf.  They'll PROBABLY prevail in Bloomington (though rush defense seems to be the Titan's strongest point this year), but can they go 3 of 4 on the others?
  Carthage is home to both Augie and NCC (and, alas, IWU!), but has to travel to Elmhurst and Wheaton.  I feel like they are the greatest unknown (2 IBC opponents, though probably the 2 best, plus Whittier); we should learn a lot this Saturday, but I'm trying to pick today!
  Elmhurst is almost as elusive as the RedMen - Benedictine, Chicago, and Olivet is not exactly Murderers' Row!  They may have the most favorable schedule, getting Carthage, NCC, and Wheaton at home, and concluding the season with Millikin and NPU, but I think they may stumble in both Rock Island and Bloomington.
  IWU is the wildcard - a defense perhaps as good as any in the conference, and special teams that could blow a game at Principia!

1.  Wheaton  6-1
2.  NCC     5-2
t3.  Augie   4-3
t3.  Carthage  4-3
t3.  Elmhurst  4-3
t3.  IWU     4-3
7.  Millikin  1-6
8.  NPU    0-7

We can't quite match Lake Wobegon, but "The CCIW - where 3/4 of the teams are above average!"

[Mugsy]

New Top 25 poll is out.

Wheaton jumps to #7.
North Central drops from #14 to #25.

Augustana, Elmhurst and Carthage all receiving votes.

Interestingly enough Washington U. now receiving votes as well, off the upset of North Central and despite a 55-14 pasting by Wheaton.

[Pat Coleman]

I wouldn't say it's unreasonable for a team that got blasted by No. 7 to get votes in the 40s range.

[Mugsy]

I wouldn't say it's unreasonable for a team that got blasted by No. 7 to get votes in the 40s range.

fyi... I wasn't implying it was unreasonable, just "interesting" how quickly WashU's fortunes have changed in 2 weeks.

[RedmenBigD]

  Carthage is home to both Augie and NCC (and, alas, IWU!), but has to travel to Elmhurst and Wheaton.  I feel like they are the greatest unknown (2 IBC opponents, though probably the 2 best, plus Whittier); we should learn a lot this Saturday, but I'm trying to pick today!

Carthage has only played 1 IBC opponent, Carroll is in the Midwest Conference.

[Jim Matson]

"Interesting" is a great word that way...