FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[burly]

If you were sitting right in front of the press box you could hear both the offensive and defensive coaches clear as a bell.  My dad and I would sit up there when we went to games (usually just homecoming).

You didn't have to be right in front of the coaches. 

I've told this story before... one of the years I was coaching at Wheaton, we were playing North Park.  One of the NP offensive coaches was talking sooooo loud, everyone in the pressbox could hear what he was saying... including the Wheaton coaches.

Anyway... he was ranting about what play to run next.  He yelled... "run the screen, run the screen... they're blitzing so much it is sure to go for a TD." 

Let me tell you this was a huge battle for my conscience on how to handle it.  Do I ignore it and play it straight or do I use this coaches ineptness against him?  So for this play I relayed down to Coach Swider... "they are running the screen."  After a 6-7 yard loss, where all down linemen ignored the fact they were being let in for a screen, all LB's made a mad dash outside the hash marks, and it seemed the entire defense was in on the play, Swider asked "how'd you know?"  When I told him he just laughed...

Needless to say after the play, I asked someone to walk over to the NP coaches and inform them that they really should keep it down a bit.

At least you weren't recording what they were saying/doing (Belichick).

[burly]

I'm excited to see what happens with Carthage vs. Elmhurst game this weekend.  My prediction - upset in Elmhurst, Jays are 4-0 after saturday.  I would have preferred to look at a season of CCIW games between the two before analyzing this one, but here are my top 3 reasons the Bluejays come out on top:

1. They will get it done on the ground using multiple weapons
2. If Kudyba puts it up in the air he connects with a pair of strong JR wideouts - Velhuis and Gierke
3. The Bluejays will take chances and come up big on 4th down (5/7 this year on 4th down conversions)

Both teams have played three cupcake games, but interesting to note that the Jays are averaging 50 more yards per game on the ground and giving up 25 yards fewer on the ground (see below).  However, I still think this will be a high scoring game.

Good luck everybody.  The CCIW is here - lets get it on!


TEAM STATISTICS                    CARTHAGE          OPP                        TEAM STATISTICS                    ELMHURST          OPP
--------------------------------------------------------                        --------------------------------------------------------
SCORING.......................          105           51                        SCORING.......................          130           30
RUSHING YARDAGE...............          289          222                        RUSHING YARDAGE...............          438          148
  Yards gained rushing........          396          330                          Yards gained rushing........          509          279
  Yards lost rushing..........          107          108                          Yards lost rushing..........           71          131
  Rushing Attempts............          102           96                          Rushing Attempts............          117           91
  Average Per Rush............          2.8          2.3                          Average Per Rush............          3.7          1.6
  Average Per Game............         96.3         74.0                          Average Per Game............        146.0         49.3
  TDs Rushing.................            1            3                          TDs Rushing.................            7            2

[burly]

Also, no other surprises in CCIW action this week - Augie, North Central and Wheaton all win...

[79jaybird]

Whomever wins the Elmhurst/Carthage matchup I would NOT call it an upset Billy.  These are 2 very evenly matched teams with no clear cut favorite.

I don't think this is going to be a very high scoring game because both schools' strength is their stingy defense.    Usually the Elmhurst/Carthage games are not very high scoring and have been characterized by 1) good defense 2) turnovers setting up 1 team to pull ahead in the end.

[burly]

Whomever wins the Elmhurst/Carthage matchup I would NOT call it an upset Billy.  

Merriam Webster defines upset as to defeat unexpectedly.    (It wasn't available on http://www.footballresearch.com/ sorry AndOne.) 

Is Carthage expected to win?

Anyway, fair enough, it wouldn't be a big surprise.  Carthage and Elmhurst are ranked #38 and #39, respectively and Carthage was picked number 4 ahead of number 5 Elmhurst (tied with Milikin) in the CCIW preseason coaches' poll.

I will restate my upset comment and say I am picking the slight underdog.

These are 2 very evenly matched teams with no clear cut favorite.

Agree, there is not a clear-cut favorite, but Carthage is probably a slight favorite despite Bluejay home field advantage.

I don't think this is going to be a very high scoring game because both schools' strength is their stingy defense.   

Carthage/Opp. Points Per Game.............         35.0         17.0
Elmhurst/Opp. Points Per Game.............         43.3         10.0

Carthage and Elmhurst are giving up 17 and 10 points per game, respectively, and these are against weak opponents.  Whittier College put 28 on Carthage and they have won a total of 11 games since 2001. Both teams should be able to put some points on the board

Usually the Elmhurst/Carthage games are not very high scoring and have been characterized by 1) good defense 2) turnovers setting up 1 team to pull ahead in the end.

I don't have time to look up defense and turnover stats, but there have only been 2 or 3 games with less than a 10-point differentials in the last 10 matches.

Other statistics to consider:
•   Carthage has one the last 7 out of 10 match-ups
•   Blue jay wins
o   2003 by 21
o   Other two victories were by 7 points last year and by 3 in 2000 – still sticking to my high score theory

[byitisee]

Just a note on the new Wheaton scoreboard.  They are attempting to rush it up by this weekend, and from where I am sitting now I can hear them blasting music and checking the PA system on it.  But the propability of them having replay capability by this weekend is very slim.  That will most likely be ready by the Augie game, there is a huge learning curve on this new toy.

If it is not ready by this weekend, they will have to use the old scoreboard (which has kind of already disconnected) but they will not have play clocks so those would be on the field.  Of course Millikin would have to agree to this.

AC/DC Thunderstruck?

It wasn't Thuderstruck (to be completely honest it was Casting Crowns "If We are the Body")... But they did have artificial Thunder noises coming from the scoreboard that made me honestly wonder with no clouds in the sky if there was going to be a thunderstorm.

[Mugsy]

Wheaton def. Millikin 29-7. 

Brett Jackson had 132 yards on 16 carries.  Sounds like it was a decent day for the Wheaton offense.  242 yards through the air, 160+ yards on the ground.  Wheaton only 2 of 12 on 3rd down conversions, so that needs some work.

Millikin goes for over 300 yards, so not the best day by the Wheaton defense.  MLB Steve Pagh back in the starting rotation, good news for Wheaton. 4 sacks for Wheaton.  Ittersagen with 12 tackles according to the play-by-play guys.

Another very good day for the special teams.

Millikin always seems to play Wheaton tough.

[football2007]

Sorry to say: Elmhurst 30 Carthage 15.  Way too many turnovers for the Red Men.  Seemed like  Defense was on the field most of the game.  It was a very close and exciting game until the 4th quarter. 

[WahooThunder]

Wheaton def. Millikin 29-7. 

Brett Jackson had 132 yards on 16 carries.  Sounds like it was a decent day for the Wheaton offense.  242 yards through the air, 160+ yards on the ground.  Wheaton only 2 of 12 on 3rd down conversions, so that needs some work.

Millikin goes for over 300 yards, so not the best day by the Wheaton defense.  MLB Steve Pagh back in the starting rotation, good news for Wheaton. 4 sacks for Wheaton.  Ittersagen with 12 tackles according to the play-by-play guys.

Another very good day for the special teams.

Millikin always seems to play Wheaton tough.

Indeed, Millikin was much better than I expected, and only trailed 3-0 with the ball late in the 2nd quarter before Wheaton got a safety and an ensuing 40-yard TD pass to end the half.  Really not that much excitement at McCully today, except for the new video scoreboard and Brett Jackson's huge game.

I should also note that after all the talk about Rocky Gingg, he actually missed the game with a foot injury, and Swider seemed to indicate in the pre-game interview, contrary to what I had previously heard, that they were planning to stick with just two running backs.

Basically just the status quo for the Thunder.  Strong defense most of the game, although the Millikin quarterback Justin Levingston made some impressive plays both with his legs and his arms and for the most part did a great job avoiding the Wheaton rush.  Both Wheaton quarterbacks looked solid, but unspectacular.  Also, interesting to note Kirk Sundberg, the Wheaton tight end had 2 touchdowns, giving him 4 on the season.

Looking forward to Naperville under the lights next Saturday!!!

[AndOne]

NCC vs NPU----

Final score:

NCC--61
NPU--34

[Dennis_Prikkel]

I'll be kind - neither team has any defense.

North Park has no defense, because their offense leaves them constantly on the field, their offense surrenders the ball on fumbles when the ball carrier isn't even touched (take off those silly gloves) and then laughs about it.

North Central does not have a clue on pass defense.  There wasn't a North Central defender within five yards of any Vikings receiver the whole game - and the only reason North Park didn't score more was the Vikings insistence on running fruitless dive plays on first and second down to begin every series with nine North Central defenders in the box.  Ugh!

North Central running back Sulo has outstanding speed and quickness, but he has one disturbing habit of always turning his back when he's going to get tackled.  His kidneys must take a beating - but maybe he's got sore ribs or something like that.

Alas another winless Homecoming for North Park - next year maybe they can have it in early September against Eureka.

One kind note was the outstanding block party that North Park threw on Carmen Avenue a block south of the gym - WOW!  Really special and really well attended.

MW

[Mugsy]

One kind note was the outstanding block party that North Park threw on Carmen Avenue a block south of the gym - WOW!  Really special and really well attended.

MW

I agree on the block party.  My kids had a ball while my wife was socializing with all her college friends.  Good food, great gathering of people and lots of fun for kids.  Really nice time.

I have to say the new recreation center is spectacular.  Very, very nice facility.

[FormerCard]

Trying to get stats on the North Central/North Park game.  Website seems to be down or it is not recognized?     

I see Ittersagen had another 12 tackles today along with 4 pass break ups.  Anyone at the game that can tell me why are they even throwing at him 4 times?  Were those stats inflated?  I would guess that going away from him would be a better idea, but that is an observation that most anyone could make.

[Gregory Sager]

NPU played with a lot of heart today. The offense was surprisingly effective at times (as indicated by the 32 points that they put up; the other two points came on a blocked NCC punt that went out the back of the end zone at the end of the first half), although the O-line was not dominant enough for the Vikings to control time of possession and keep the defense off the field. And the Vikings defense was simply worn down in the second half -- lot of half-hearted arm tackles led to huge gashing runs by Sulo & Co. that allowed the Cardinals to run away and hide late in the game.

Sulo is a beast; he must've topped 200 yards today (can't tell, because the NPU website is down). But North Park's Kelvyn West had a pretty good game on the ground himself. It was a stout exhibition of rushing by two very good running backs.

Scott Pethtel has some fairly decent football players this year, certainly more than he had last year. But he doesn't have nearly enough of them, and the lack of quality depth means that NPU has to play absolutely perfect football to hang with anyone in a CCIW game this season. As two crucial fumbles in the first half indicated, the Vikings weren't even within shouting distance of playing perfect football for a half, much less a game.

I was not impressed by the Cardinals defense. It's not as though NPU was throwing a ton of different looks at them. Shelby Wood did a nice job of getting the ball into places where the Vikings receivers could catch his passes, and his receivers inevitably outfought the NCC defenders for the ball. All but a couple of the passes that the Cardinals DBs managed to touch slipped through their hands and into the hands of NPU receivers. If I was a Cardinals fan, I'd shudder to think of what a more respectable CCIW outfit could do to that NCC defense.

At least NPU gave the Homecoming fans three or four solid drives and a handful of exciting plays that they could cheer. That's more than NPU fans usually get at a North Park football game. But, all in all, it was one of those "glimmers of hope, but realize that there's miles and miles to go" performances for the royal blue and gold.

[Mugsy]

Trying to get stats on the North Central/North Park game.  Website seems to be down or it is not recognized?     

I see Ittersagen had another 12 tackles today along with 4 pass break ups.  Anyone at the game that can tell me why are they even throwing at him 4 times?  Were those stats inflated?  I would guess that going away from him would be a better idea, but that is an observation that most anyone could make.

I strongly doubt the stats are inflated... I've been surprise how much teams have been throwing to Ittersagens side all year.

One other stat I'm not too thrilled with... Wheaton QB's were sacked 7 times today.  Not good at all.