FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mr. Ypsi]

Yesterday was the first time this season all the home teams won; will Saturday be the first time all the away teams win?

IWU SHOULD win at NPU.

Wheaton SHOULD win at Elmhurst, unless the injuries finally catch up to them or Kudyba and Elmhurst finally live up to pre-(conference)season contender status.

Carthage is almost certainly better than Millikin, but can they beat anyone but NPU on the road?

NCC is almost certainly better than Augie, but Rock Island has not historically been among their favorite 'vacation' spots (I don't have a breakdown by location, but Augie leads the series 57-19-1; I think it is a safe guess that most of the 20 non-wins by Augie were in Naperville).  Augie's post-season hopes are all but mathematically eliminated, but NCC still has not unreasonable hopes of an AQ if they win out (or a glimmer of a hope for a C if IWU doesn't cooperate by beating Wheaton?) - will that make the difference?

Thoughts?

[Gregory Sager]

WOW! big win in Kenosha tonight! First win over Augie in forever and I believe the first win for Tim Rucks coaching against Augie.

That is incorrect. Rucks helmed Carthage to a 28-18 win over Augustana in 1996. That was the first victory by the Carthaginians over Augie since 1973's 32-8 win, back when the immortal Art Keller was still coaching the Redmen. (Augie and Carthage tied, 7-7, in 1974). Most of those Augustana wins in the three decades since then have been very lopsided.

Augustana leads the all-time series betwen the CCIW's two Lutheran schools, 60-13-4, and Keller is the only Carthage coach to ever have even modest success against the Rock Islanders. Ten of those thirteen Carthage wins came during his tenure (1952-82).

[Gregory Sager]

For Augie fans the CCIW basetball season cannot start to soon.

It seems terribly strange to hear an Augustana fan anxious to get football season out of the way in anticipation of baskeball and at the same time, Illinois Wesleyan fans looking for a football championship in a year in which the basketball team is going to struggle.  So I had to do a little research on CCIW.org...

In 61 complete seasons of College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (previously "College Conference of Illinois") play, there have only been 4 seasons in which Illinois Wesleyan's football team finished with a better league record than Augustana AND Augustana finished higher in the basketball standings:

1977-78
Football: IWU 6-2, Augie 4-4
Basketball: Augie 12-4, IWU 11-5

1979-80
Football: IWU 6-2, Augie 5-3
Basketball: Augie 13-3, IWU 11-5

1980-81
Football: IWU 6-2, Augie 5-3
Basketball: Augie 15-1, IWU 11-5

1992-93
Football: IWU 7-0, Augie 6-1
Basketball: Augie 12-2, IWU 9-5


This year will almost certainly be the 5th.

Those last two seasons that Bob listed, 1980-81 and 1992-93, Augustana's basketball team made it all the way to the national championship game. If I was an Augie fan, I'd like the kind of mojo that seems to come with having my school's football team finish behind Illinois Wesleyan in a year in which you already know going in that your Doggies are gonna put a good team on the hardwood while the Titans are gonna struggle.

[Gregory Sager]

The NPU @ Wheaton game went according to form, as far as I'm concerned. I called it a five-touchdown game last week, and that's basically what the final score turned out to be (48-12). What concerns me is that NPU's starting running back, sophomore Kelvyn West, ran the ball only three times. Did he get hurt? I certainly hope not; he's had a very productive season thus far, and he's probably the best RB that North Park has had since Darnell Rios. Faint praise, I know, but I like West a lot and I hope that he's OK for next week's game against Illinois Wesleyan.

In his stead, junior RB Jacob Mueller had a solid day for the Vikings, gaining 99 yards on 18 carries.

[burly]

Redman04 and Tailgater, congrats on the W.  That was a much needed victory.  It will be interesting to see what happens over the next three CCIW games.

What's the download on the game?

Thanks but I didn't do anything! 

You are a loyal fan - that is worth something.   In addition, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to re-establish diplomatic post-pattern ties with you.

[Mugsy]

Wheaton moves up to #5 in the latest poll, though with starting a 3rd string QB, and a 3rd string DT, along with a plethora of 2nd teamers due to injuries, I doubt they are even a top 15 team.

This may be true, but they keep winning and I would be hard-pressed to say Central (cardiac kids), St. John Fisher (lost to Hartwick), Washington and Jefferson (opponents' win% .318) is any better.

Don't get me wrong... I don't mind Wheaton sitting at #5.  I am amazed at how well they are playing and continue to win despite the injuries, particularly since 2 of their last 3 games have been against perceived contenders for the CCIW title.  The coaching staff and players have done an unbelieveable job.

I'm trying to keep my own expectations set at the proper level.

[matblake]

I have to give congrats to IWU this week.  Sounds like they did exactly what they needed to do.  As a Wheaton fan, I don't like the perceived confidence that they seem to be building.  Adding a running game to that defense could be the key piece to the puzzle of the typical throw the ball around style of IWU.  That was how Carthage did it several years ago, however, I'm not really ready to call Marcus Dunlop a "Dante Washington" yet.   

[Mugsy]

In his stead, junior RB Jacob Mueller had a solid day for the Vikings, gaining 99 yards on 18 carries.

I was surprised at how well NP ran the ball.  I believe that was in part due to NP having some quality skill position players and in part to Wheaton starting a 3rd string DT and a 2nd string DT.  Most of the damage was done right up the gut and several were plays that looked like they were stopped in the backfield, but the NP back didn't quit and somehow broke through a crack for a 15+ yard gain.

Personally, I think NP is on the right track.  In another 2-3 years if the coaching staff is intact, this could be a very competitive team.  I like what they do on offense, they just need some bigger guys on the line.  Defensively there is still a bit of work to do.

[matblake]

Elmhurst goes with the throwback uniforms.  The helmets can be seen here and the decals can be seen here.

For more information, look at post 9082 from Mr. Jaybird himself jaybird79 here.

[Titan Q]

I have to give congrats to IWU this week.  Sounds like they did exactly what they needed to do.  As a Wheaton fan, I don't like the perceived confidence that they seem to be building.  Adding a running game to that defense could be the key piece to the puzzle of the typical throw the ball around style of IWU.  That was how Carthage did it several years ago, however, I'm not really ready to call Marcus Dunlop a "Dante Washington" yet.   

A huge factor in what is happening at IWU this year is the development of the offensive line...

LT   Travis Boothe (6-5/285, SO - Villa Park, Willowbrook HS)
LG   Ben Hammer (6-5/305, JR - Peoria Richwoods HS)
C   Eric Van Hise (6-4/270, SR - Rochelle HS)
RG   Keely Flood (6-1/250, SO - Lombard, Montini Catholic HS)
RT   Ray Krishock (6-4/295, FR - Wheaton, St. Francis HS)

These guys did a great job Saturday vs Elmhurst. 

[usee]

Wheaton moves up to #5 in the latest poll, though with starting a 3rd string QB, and a 3rd string DT, along with a plethora of 2nd teamers due to injuries, I doubt they are even a top 15 team.

This may be true, but they keep winning and I would be hard-pressed to say Central (cardiac kids), St. John Fisher (lost to Hartwick), Washington and Jefferson (opponents' win% .318) is any better.

Don't get me wrong... I don't mind Wheaton sitting at #5.  I am amazed at how well they are playing and continue to win despite the injuries, particularly since 2 of their last 3 games have been against perceived contenders for the CCIW title.  The coaching staff and players have done an unbelieveable job.

I'm trying to keep my own expectations set at the proper level.

Mugsy,

I agree. Wheaton could just as easily finish this season 3-0 as they could 0-3. It really depends on how healthy they are and how well they play down the stretch. They have been really fortunate to stay unbeaten to this point given all the struggles. At some point, however, they will pay the piper for the rotating lineups I fear.

[CardinalAlum]

At some point, however, they will pay the piper for the rotating lineups I fear.

That would be horrible!! 

[matblake]

Wheaton moves up to #5 in the latest poll, though with starting a 3rd string QB, and a 3rd string DT, along with a plethora of 2nd teamers due to injuries, I doubt they are even a top 15 team.

This may be true, but they keep winning and I would be hard-pressed to say Central (cardiac kids), St. John Fisher (lost to Hartwick), Washington and Jefferson (opponents' win% .318) is any better.

Don't get me wrong... I don't mind Wheaton sitting at #5.  I am amazed at how well they are playing and continue to win despite the injuries, particularly since 2 of their last 3 games have been against perceived contenders for the CCIW title.  The coaching staff and players have done an unbelieveable job.

I'm trying to keep my own expectations set at the proper level.

Mugsy,

I agree. Wheaton could just as easily finish this season 3-0 as they could 0-3. It really depends on how healthy they are and how well they play down the stretch. They have been really fortunate to stay unbeaten to this point given all the struggles. At some point, however, they will pay the piper for the rotating lineups I fear.

You have to give kudos for recruiting for the Thunder too.  While there has been a drop-off in performance level, the execution by the players has been just enough to stay afloat.  Each school has their own difficulty with recruiting, but I think that the continued performance of back-ups this year show the depth of the team and the good recruiting that has taken place. 

[matblake]

Check out this week's Around the Nation podcast.  It has a review of how teams can qualify for the playoffs and says that there will a special "Playoff Primer" that will be on the front page on Wednesday. 

[Mugsy]

Wheaton may be playing with a 3rd string QB, but look how close all 3 QB's numbers are for the season:

Passing	GP	Effic	Cmp-Att-Int	Pct	Yds	TD	Lng	Ave/G
Norris, Sean	6	171.82	49-76-5	64.5	776	8	69	129.3
Bradley, Kyle	4	169.90	38-60-1	63.3	510	7	62	127.5
Ullrich, Zach	2	154.15	39-60-2	65.0	488	5	73	244.0

Amazing how close the efficiency, completion percentage and long pass numbers are... 
The yards per game would be much closer if the stat didn't take into account games played where they took a few snaps but didn't really play as much - resulting in a much lower average.

It would seem pretty rare at the D3 level to have 3 very capable QB's on a roster.  This to me has been huge reason why Wheaton has been able to keep winning.  With the running game not nearly as strong a component as in years past, the QB play has been much, much more important.  All 3 QB's have step in and performed very well.

It helps also to have a veteran core of receivers to throw to...