FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[usee]

Millikin 38 Illinois College 20
Augie 21 Coe 6 (Augie throws for 40 yds in new spread offense!)
Elmhurst 35 Benedictine 14
IWU 28 Hope 25
NPU 15 Carroll 55 (per dennis P. yikes)

[Dennis_Prikkel]

Millikin 38 Illinois College 20
Augie 21 Coe 6 (Augie throws for 40 yds in new spread offense!)
Elmhurst 35 Benedictine 14
IWU 28 Hope 25
NPU v Carroll night game

Carroll 55, North Park 14 (thus the Vikings)

[knarocky22]

Hey, if you've watched Illinois in the last 2 years you know the spread doesn't have to have a ton of passing yards to be effective.  Although 40 yards passing doesn't seem like very much.......

[usee]

Hey, if you've watched Illinois in the last 2 years you know the spread doesn't have to have a ton of passing yards to be effective.  Although 40 yards passing doesn't seem like very much.......

I am well aware of the spread offense. turn on the tv on any given saturday and you'll get a strong dose of it.

to be clear, Augie's offens ran for 150+ and threw for 40yds against the vaunted Coe defense. As I said before,  i don't put much stock in stats from the first game as teams are trying to find themselves. I wouldn't have expected much from an offense running its first new scheme in 30+ yrs. A win is a win.

[Titan Q]

That's a good win for IWU on the road. I wouldn't read too much into stats in the first game. Thw bottom line is they went on a long road trip and came out with a win against a decent team. I think after the 2nd game is good time to start looking at trends and stats.

Nice win for the titans on the road.

Especially since this is the kind of non-conference game IWU has been finding a way to lose for about 5 years now. 

It's clear to me the Titans are playing with a lot of confidence nowadays, and I think we all know the impact that can have.

[augiefan]

Augie's defense won the game. The offense was pretty inept and was beaten badly statistically but did not make mistakes that could have lost the game. A lot like the Bears hope to do with Orton at QB. Nevertheless, it is a satisfying win as Coe is a very solid team that is a co-favorite it its conference. Thgis will be a learning year for the offense, which should gain some confidence next week against Greenville.

[wally_wabash]

Wheaton fans....

Wabash and Wheaton had a pretty good scrimmage yesterday.  They played four 12-minute quarters of regular game play.  The 1s for both teams played the first half and a couple of series into the 3rd quarter.  I thought Wheaton looked pretty good.  Most notably the RB Gingg was very impressive, particularly running to the outside.  You've got a good back there.  Nothing was easy for Wabash's offense.  Wheaton's offense made some big plays in the passing game, especially in the second half.  They did turn the ball over a few times and put the ball on the turf a couple of other times.  Wheaton also had some typical early season penalties (illegal shifts, false starts, etc.) that hurt some drives. 

All in all it was a pretty even "game" and I would expect both teams to enjoy successful seasons. 

[usee]

thanks wally for the observations. Glad to hear Rocky Gingg is coming around. Not good news about the turnovers. If wheaton turns it over 3x in the first half of any game they likely will not win. They certainly can't do that this week against Bethel. This will be a big test for Wheaton.

Looking forward to seeing the THunder for the first time this weekend.

[hazzben]

Bethel Alum here...

Wheaton fans, any word or preview on this years team heading into Saturday?  What do you think your strengths will be and maybe your liabilities?  How do think this years team will stack up to the recent solid teams you've had?  What is the game atmosphere/crowd size at most home games for Wheaton?

As per Bethel:  Expectations are obviously high, but there are some spots that need to step up and replace the graduated seniors.  Great RB and very solid FB.  One WR on the cusp of a special year and some solid guys around him.  A very good TE.  OL has potential but a few spots will be young.  RT is a stud, the real question will be how we replace 4yr starter and All-MIAC center Davis.  QB is the biggest whole--Wetzel was our horse.  New QB Velo looked strong in the opener and has some good upside (athletic, tough and a gamer), but it remains to be seen what he'll do against top tier competition like he'll face on Saturday.

Defensively we should be solid.  Very good D-line with a lot of games under their belt.  Very good corners.  Veteran LBs are outstanding and the young guys show some major promise.  Big question is how our safeties will play.  We're replacing an All-American and a top tackler from last year, but we've got some smart and athletic kids stepping in.

Specials are probably the best we've had in years as far as P/K goes.

All around I know our guys are excited for the chance to play the Thunder and I think it promises to be a unique game/atmosphere.  Two very good teams facing off for the first time ever (?), but also two very similar schools demographically and geographically.  Whatever the outcome, I'd love to see this become a year in year out non-con game for our schools.

[Dennis_Prikkel]

according to the North Park website story the vikings fumbled the ball four times in the first quarter on their way to a 24-0 deficit.  They also gave up 500 yards in total offense, with over 300 in the air.

dgp

[usee]

Bethel Alum here...

Wheaton fans, any word or preview on this years team heading into Saturday?  What do you think your strengths will be and maybe your liabilities?  How do think this years team will stack up to the recent solid teams you've had?  What is the game atmosphere/crowd size at most home games for Wheaton?

As per Bethel:  Expectations are obviously high, but there are some spots that need to step up and replace the graduated seniors.  Great RB and very solid FB.  One WR on the cusp of a special year and some solid guys around him.  A very good TE.  OL has potential but a few spots will be young.  RT is a stud, the real question will be how we replace 4yr starter and All-MIAC center Davis.  QB is the biggest whole--Wetzel was our horse.  New QB Velo looked strong in the opener and has some good upside (athletic, tough and a gamer), but it remains to be seen what he'll do against top tier competition like he'll face on Saturday.

Defensively we should be solid.  Very good D-line with a lot of games under their belt.  Very good corners.  Veteran LBs are outstanding and the young guys show some major promise.  Big question is how our safeties will play.  We're replacing an All-American and a top tackler from last year, but we've got some smart and athletic kids stepping in.

Specials are probably the best we've had in years as far as P/K goes.

All around I know our guys are excited for the chance to play the Thunder and I think it promises to be a unique game/atmosphere.  Two very good teams facing off for the first time ever (?), but also two very similar schools demographically and geographically.  Whatever the outcome, I'd love to see this become a year in year out non-con game for our schools.

Hazzbeen,

thanks for stopping by. I think all the Wheaton alums here agree this is a great rivalry game and we hope it will be something both schools keep going for some time. I can't believe they haven't played before this.

For this year: I think the definite strength of this Thunder team is the defense right now. They feature Pete Ittersagen who is one of the better players in d3. Their other corner is pretty good too, Tyler Langs. The DLine is physical and all of them are returning from productive years last year. This was a top defense last year in the CCIW and this year should be no different. They do have 1 young LB and 1 young safety.

On offense they have 2nd year starter Sean Norris at QB. he is a playmaker but has also been prone to mistakes (fumbles and int's) which he will have to avoid if Wheaton is to have any success this saturday. They have very good skill players but inexperienced. Their best playmaker may be Alex Pokorny at WR. he is the fastest player on the team and one of the faster players in D3 I would suspect. the other WR's are talented but inexperienced. Their soph RB, Rocky GIngg is a workhorse and hard to bring down but also a bit unproven. The OL was the weak spot last year and while they are better this year we won't know how good til after saturday. I think Bethel has an edge there. This OL needs to show they can protect Norris and open holes for Gingg. if they get rattled and confused they will begin to get procedure penalties, holding calls and hits on the qb. that is a recipe for disaster.

The special teams for the Thunder have been solid for several years. ittersagen is usually a force returning punts (many kick away from him) and he also covers punts as a bullet with particular effectiveness. their punter is also the starting qb and he is a great punter.

I look for a close game and in my mind Bethel may be the slight favorite due to their experience coming back as well as a game under their belt. If Wheaton turns the ball over as they did in their Wabash scrimmage, they won't have a chance against Bethel.

I am very surprised to see a pickem spread on the OAC board (but HS Coach has been suspect in his spreads for a long time!!  )

Are you coming to the game?

[HScoach]

I am very surprised to see a pickem spread on the OAC board (but HS Coach has been suspect in his spreads for a long time!!  )

Bethel's play along the line of scrimmage didn't impress me last year at Mount.  Nothing more than one would expect from a playoff caliber CCIW team. 

Also have to figure that playing at Wheaton is worth a few points.

[usee]

I am very surprised to see a pickem spread on the OAC board (but HS Coach has been suspect in his spreads for a long time!!  )

Bethel's play along the line of scrimmage didn't impress me last year at Mount.  Nothing more than one would expect from a playoff caliber CCIW team. 

Also have to figure that playing at Wheaton is worth a few points.

HSC,

I admit your pick of MUC by 29.5 over springfield is one of many example of guru like tendencies over the past few seasons. But no one mentioned your pick of Muskingum (+17.5 last week! Muskingum won by 20  ) that has to be a set back to your Zeus status!

[hazzben]

I am very surprised to see a pickem spread on the OAC board (but HS Coach has been suspect in his spreads for a long time!!  )

Bethel's play along the line of scrimmage didn't impress me last year at Mount.  Nothing more than one would expect from a playoff caliber CCIW team. 

Also have to figure that playing at Wheaton is worth a few points.

hscoach: no doubt you saw us at our worst last year.  I think our guys were a little star struck in that one and no doubt were facing their toughest defensive front 7 of the year.  However, if you asked Central or St. John's about Bethel's O-Line I think they'd attest that it's given them plenty of trouble in the past.

As for playing at Wheaton, that is always a plus for the home team.  If you're going to play a team that already has a game under its belt, it is always helpful to do it from the comfortable confines of your own field & fans.

I think one of the most interesting parts about this matchup is precisely that it is CCIW v. MIAC.  We haven't seen many match-ups between these two conferences in the recent past (at least not to my memory).  Beyond that, it is always fun to see a North v. West region match-up that is not MUC v. Whitewater.

usee:  I won't be able to make it, I just moved out to Maryland in August.  This will actually be the first time since 2000 that I haven't played in or seen every Bethel game.  Needless to say, I'm going through a bit of withdraw.

[Dennis_Prikkel]

I am very surprised to see a pickem spread on the OAC board (but HS Coach has been suspect in his spreads for a long time!!  )

Bethel's play along the line of scrimmage didn't impress me last year at Mount.  Nothing more than one would expect from a playoff caliber CCIW team. 

Also have to figure that playing at Wheaton is worth a few points.

hscoach: no doubt you saw us at our worst last year.  I think our guys were a little star struck in that one and no doubt were facing their toughest defensive front 7 of the year.  However, if you asked Central or St. John's about Bethel's O-Line I think they'd attest that it's given them plenty of trouble in the past.

As for playing at Wheaton, that is always a plus for the home team.  If you're going to play a team that already has a game under its belt, it is always helpful to do it from the comfortable confines of your own field & fans.

I think one of the most interesting parts about this matchup is precisely that it is CCIW v. MIAC.  We haven't seen many match-ups between these two conferences in the recent past (at least not to my memory).  Beyond that, it is always fun to see a North v. West region match-up that is not MUC v. Whitewater.

usee:  I won't be able to make it, I just moved out to Maryland in August.  This will actually be the first time since 2000 that I haven't played in or seen every Bethel game.  Needless to say, I'm going through a bit of withdraw.

North Park played Bethel back in 1989 when both teams were no good.

Bethel improved.  Sigh.

dgp