FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[79jaybird]

Wags- Yes I did and my comment about the weather was not pointed at you.  I just saw a bunch of weather reports and it's more just "don't worry about the weather, bring your A game to McCully and may the strongest team win."

One of my favorite games was played in the playoffs in HS in 3 inches of snow.  What a game.  We had a blast except in the end when we were eliminated in the 2nd round on a late 4th quarter TD drive.  snow, sleet, hail, etc.  we loved to play in anything!

[usee]

I would not be surprised at all to see NPU beat Millikin. Millikin is one of the worst pass defense in the league and NPU has a proficient pass attack. Millkin has a very good front 7 (2 great LB's in a conference full of them)and gets pressure on the qb but their db's are very suspect. Millkin's pass offense is not very good either but they do have good receivers (read: inaccurate qb). It will take a valiant effort but an NPU win in Chicago would not surprise me despite Mr. Sager feeling the need to go on record with their "epic" triumph in advance.

[79jaybird]

Does NPU have the talent to beat Millikin?  Yes, I think they do.  I think the real factor in this game is consistency and penalties.  This is why I think all 4 games, not just the big one in Wheaton are all worthy of watching closely.

[New Tradition]

one point that i would like to make that has been danced around but not fully discussed is the weather.  Now from what the forcast says, there is only roughly a 30% chance of rain in the am.  But then again, meteorologist is latin for lair. 

So hypothetically, if it were to rain, ncc would have to find some way to reverse the curse of rain and the offense (in rain games in past years) to stay into this one.  For some reason--whether it be that it's "too wet", "too cold", or any other excuse that the skill players could make up--whenever there is even a hint of rain the north central offense closes up tighter than a lid on a pickel jar. 

ARE YOU HOSIN' ME???!!!?   

[Tailgater]

USee, you know these Titans a lot better than I do - I am (as usual) impressed!

Just one quibble - having seen Ladd at Hope (and reading the boards), if Elmhurst counts on 'rattling' him, they're in for a long day.  They may get to him, they may even knock him out (God forbid!), but I'm not sure even an NFL team could rattle him.  He reminds me of Steve Laub (my freshman year, his senior - 1966).  A series that I will never forget: 1st and 10, sack.  2nd and 16 (exact yardages subject to memory distortion!), sack.  3rd and 23, sack.  4th and 29, touchdown.

I agree "rattled" isn't a great description but the fact remains Ladd has not been effective this year. I took a look at the 5 possessions IWU had against Carthage with the score 21-20 in the 2nd half (in favor of IWU). In 5 possession they turned it over on downs 3x (all Ladd incompletions--2 on 4th and 6 or less) and punted 2x. In those possessions Ladd was 8-20 for 70 yds, 2 sacks and an intentional grounding penalty. 2 of those possessions were in the Carthage red zone. 4 of those possessions started for IWU off defensive stops (2 fumbles, an INT and a blocked FG). IWU's last possession he fininshed with 4 incompletions at midfield in the last 2 minutes down by 5.

Those are not good stats for a home game in front of a homecoming crowd for an offense that was supposed to be the strength of this team. Now you must credit Carthage for some of that but if you look through stretches of the Aurora and Hope games you will find similar situations. Something is not right with Ladd in my opinion.

usee...you're correct in saying "you must credit Carthage for some of that". In fact you could say that Carthage deserved credit for a lot of that. At that point in the game Carthage had completely taken the momentum of the game and were riding high on adrenalin. The defense rose to a level you like to see when the game is on the line. Their will was stronger than IWU's at that point (IMO).

[usee]

I have seen both millikin and NPU. I think Millikin has more talent but not so much that NPU can't overcome it by playing better than the Big Blue.

As far as the Carthage/Augie game--that's the hardest one to analyse for me. I actually lean toward Carthage for two reasons:

1-It's in Kenosha and they usually play Augie close at home
2-Carthage plays the exact type of defense that will be hard for Augie's offense. In the spread, Podulka is brilliant at short passes and making people miss. Carthage brings pressure and that's what Wheaton did in the second half against the Vikings to take them out of their offense. Pressure takes away Podulka's reads and predetermines where the ball is going to go, which in turns allows the defense to use its speed to pursue the ball. And Augies defense isn't as good against the pass in my view so Carthage has good matchups in my view. But if Carthage turns the ball over Augie will crush them. Also, if Augie comes out in their double TE old wing-t, they will give carthage problems. The way Augie runs the spread plays right into the strength of the redmen d in my opinion.

[CardinalAlum]

Pointless observation of the week:  Did anyone else notice that usee changed a couple of letters in his name to capital letters?  Any psychology majors here?

[Jim Matson]

Greg, this is the year for North Park!  Come on!

Usee, now you tempted me to get off my duff and prove you wrong.  But in looking for that reference to the Cards you made a few pages back, I got distracted by another post...being both lazy and easily distracted is tough!

[usee]

USee, you know these Titans a lot better than I do - I am (as usual) impressed!

Just one quibble - having seen Ladd at Hope (and reading the boards), if Elmhurst counts on 'rattling' him, they're in for a long day.  They may get to him, they may even knock him out (God forbid!), but I'm not sure even an NFL team could rattle him.  He reminds me of Steve Laub (my freshman year, his senior - 1966).  A series that I will never forget: 1st and 10, sack.  2nd and 16 (exact yardages subject to memory distortion!), sack.  3rd and 23, sack.  4th and 29, touchdown.

I agree "rattled" isn't a great description but the fact remains Ladd has not been effective this year. I took a look at the 5 possessions IWU had against Carthage with the score 21-20 in the 2nd half (in favor of IWU). In 5 possession they turned it over on downs 3x (all Ladd incompletions--2 on 4th and 6 or less) and punted 2x. In those possessions Ladd was 8-20 for 70 yds, 2 sacks and an intentional grounding penalty. 2 of those possessions were in the Carthage red zone. 4 of those possessions started for IWU off defensive stops (2 fumbles, an INT and a blocked FG). IWU's last possession he fininshed with 4 incompletions at midfield in the last 2 minutes down by 5.

Those are not good stats for a home game in front of a homecoming crowd for an offense that was supposed to be the strength of this team. Now you must credit Carthage for some of that but if you look through stretches of the Aurora and Hope games you will find similar situations. Something is not right with Ladd in my opinion.

usee...you're correct in saying "you must credit Carthage for some of that". In fact you could say that Carthage deserved credit for a lot of that. At that point in the game Carthage had completely taken the momentum of the game and were riding high on adrenalin. The defense rose to a level you like to see when the game is on the line. Their will was stronger than IWU's at that point (IMO).

I would be inclined to give Carthage more credit except for 2 reasons: 1-IWU did the same thing in some other games and 2-Naperville drove down the field when it mattered and won the game vs Carthage so it's certainly plausible and the expectations for IWU, at home, with the skill players they had, is that they should have been able to do the same thing.

[usee]

Greg, this is the year for North Park!  Come on!

Usee, now you tempted me to get off my duff and prove you wrong.  But in looking for that reference to the Cards you made a few pages back, I got distracted by another post...being both lazy and easily distracted is tough!

Jim,

All you have to do is click on my name and then "show posts" and all my posts will come up. It's really not that hard.  8)

How's that women's soccer board treating you these days?   

[Gregory Sager]

I would not be surprised at all to see NPU beat Millikin. Millikin is one of the worst pass defense in the league and NPU has a proficient pass attack. Millkin has a very good front 7 (2 great LB's in a conference full of them)and gets pressure on the qb but their db's are very suspect. Millkin's pass offense is not very good either but they do have good receivers (read: inaccurate qb). It will take a valiant effort but an NPU win in Chicago would not surprise me despite Mr. Sager feeling the need to go on record with their "epic" triumph in advance.

I actually quoted those dreary numbers because there is a legitimate possibility that NPU will win on Saturday. If it was likely to be just another long afternoon for the Vikings against an opponent that has annually beaten them like a red-headed stepchild for two generations (e.g., next weeks' NPU @ Augustana tilt), I wouldn't have even bothered. Regardless of the fact that NPU actually has a shot at beating the Big Blue this weekend, whether it's a decent one or a long one, such a win would truly be epic. After all, not only is the weight of all that NPU vs. Millikin history hanging over the heads of the Vikings, as I said last night, but the bigger picture is that North Park is still trying to get out from under that 57-game conference losing streak.

Oh, and curse you for inducing me to look at the women's soccer board just to see if someone had been picking on Jim.

[Mr. Ypsi]

I would not be surprised at all to see NPU beat Millikin. Millikin is one of the worst pass defense in the league and NPU has a proficient pass attack. Millkin has a very good front 7 (2 great LB's in a conference full of them)and gets pressure on the qb but their db's are very suspect. Millkin's pass offense is not very good either but they do have good receivers (read: inaccurate qb). It will take a valiant effort but an NPU win in Chicago would not surprise me despite Mr. Sager feeling the need to go on record with their "epic" triumph in advance.

I actually quoted those dreary numbers because there is a legitimate possibility that NPU will win on Saturday. If it was likely to be just another long afternoon for the Vikings against an opponent that has annually beaten them like a red-headed stepchild for two generations (e.g., next weeks' NPU @ Augustana tilt), I wouldn't have even bothered. Regardless of the fact that NPU actually has a shot at beating the Big Blue this weekend, whether it's a decent one or a long one, such a win would truly be epic. After all, not only is the weight of all that NPU vs. Millikin history hanging over the heads of the Vikings, as I said last night, but the bigger picture is that North Park is still trying to get out from under that 57-game conference losing streak.

Oh, and curse you for inducing me to look at the women's soccer board just to see if someone had been picking on Jim.

Now, Greg, some of us are aware that you have become a veritable regular on the men's soccer board (sorry to blow your anti-soccer persona) - you admitting to being sexist??

And while I haven't posted yet, I'm planning to follow through on my plan to pick NPU over Millikin - sorry for the hex! 8)

[usee]

Greg, I used the word "despite" a little erroneously. I actually suspected your original post was a preemptive strike to set us up for an NPU victory by going on record prior to the contest.

[Gregory Sager]

Now, Greg, some of us are aware that you have become a veritable regular on the men's soccer board (sorry to blow your anti-soccer persona) - you admitting to being sexist??

No, I'm admitting to not following the NPU women's soccer team. It's nothing personal, and if that new coach the school hired last year ever starts to work some Wheatie magic with a program that has been moribund since it started, I'll happily jump on the NPU women's soccer bandwagon. I do follow NPU's women's basketball team, for whom I've been the scorekeeper for the past several seasons.

I can't think of any reason whatsoever why anyone who isn't a CCIW player's parent or a Wheaton supporter would read the CCIW women's soccer room (sorry, Jim). Women's soccer is as much of a one-school monopoly in this league as men's cross-country is.

And while I haven't posted yet, I'm planning to follow through on my plan to pick NPU over Millikin - sorry for the hex! 8)

On behalf of my alma mater, thanks for nothing, Chuck.

Greg, I used the word "despite" a little erroneously. I actually suspected your original post was a preemptive strike to set us up for an NPU victory by going on record prior to the contest.

"Set us up" might be a little too strong. Unlike Chuck, I do not consider any prognosticative gamble regarding NPU football as one worth taking. My post was more in the spirit of, "Hey, I think it's a longshot, but since this is about as good an opportunity for a win as North Park is likely to get in CCIW action this season, here's some historical perspective on what the Vikings would be overturning regarding the school series vs. Millikin."

[CardinalAlum]

Article from Naperville Sun today:


http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/sports/1239878,6_2_NA24_CARDS_S1.article