FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[79jaybird]

Comet14- yes at times it was difficult to watch from the booth, how the secondary just seemed to "lose track" of the IWU receivers in that second half.  I know they are/were undersized in height, but that doesn't excuse them for leaving guys like Ceisel and Almanzo wide open on 3rd and long.  I think IWU converted 3-4 "3rd and a mile" situation in that 3rd quarter which really wore away at the Elmhurst defense.  Live and learn and hope the Jays can tie up the open wounds downfield.

I thought the LB's and D-Line played well.  Randy Wright would get my vote for All-CCIW first team right up there with Wenger at NC.  Seems like #6 is all over the field each week.  Puzon and Jones played well too. 

On offense, Gibson looked good running the ball and hoped for more running to start that 3rd quarter.

[usee]

Next time I talk about Wheaton, I'll check with you Mugsy...

I'd settle for a fact check or at least a spell check.  

[Mugsy]

Question for the "breakfast of champions" cereal:


Is the set of metal bleachers on the home side of the field to right of the main stands there for the away fans? It seemed that 3/4 of the people seated there were the fans of the school who has the Little Brass Bell. You know, North Central...the Brass Bell caretakers...North Central College...Brass Bell....

Anyway, I was just wondering if that was the norm for those bleachers or if the 2008 Battle for the Little Brass Bell champ's fans took over before the late arriving cereal school's fans showed up.

The metal bleachers on the home side are not intended for visiting fans per se.  Those stands are typically used for overflow (either on visitors side or home side).

Or for recluse, introverted, paranoid fans who like to sit by themselves so they can carry out a conversation with themselves about the game.

Or those who refer to themselves in the 3rd person. 

The handicapped seating is also in that section.  My Mom and Dad sit there when they go to games because they have a nice place for wheelchairs to fit.

Thanks for pointing this out... you are absolutely correct in that those bleachers are much more handicapped accessible.  My comment was a quick, tongue-in-cheek reply and I should be more careful.

[oldnuthin]

Hidden Camera's were able to capture mugsy before his senior year "Bell Game".....
I hear he still paints his face every year for the Bell Game!!! 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXvYEY7Qcyo

Yeah but was he on the juice like this guy.

[Dennis_Prikkel]

I dread the red thread this meeting has become,

unkeen like the green sheen often found in the basketball room.

There are those of us who look at the CCIW through different colored glasses - blue and gold perhaps - and all this talk of birds is bewildering.

Can thunder be silent - would it still be heard?

dgp

[Mugsy]

I dread the red thread this meeting has become,

unkeen like the green sheen often found in the basketball room.

There are those of us who look at the CCIW through different colored glasses - blue and gold perhaps - and all this talk of birds is bewildering.

Can thunder be silent - would it still be heard?

dgp

Ha!  Very nice...

[oldnuthin]

Well, only one thought comes to mind after the  EC/IWU game, and that is missed opportunities for Elmhurst who had many chances to win this game.  Elmhurst led this game 10-7 at the half, holding the Titans to almost nothing on the ground (13 yds?) in the first half, and controlled Ceisel who was kept quiet.  Elmhurst even stopped IWU 7 times in the final second of the first from inside the 5 yd line, and then IWU missed the FG. 
Then.... where did Elmhurst go in the 3rd quarter   There was still 30 minutes to go in the game, and that 3rd quarter was horrific from an EC standpoint.  Couple thoughts from the game:
1) Elmhurst ran the ball right up the Titans throat in the first half with Gibson running right between the tackles.  EC's O-Line played very well all game long.  Don't know why EC didn't try to keep the sesstained running game going into that 3rd quarter.
2) IWU won this game because of Kraig Ladd's poise in the pocket.  He took some shots as Randy Wright and Brandon Jones popped him a few times.  Couple shots I was surprised to see him pop right back up.  His ability to stand up and make plays (knowing he was going to get hit) helped the Titans go from 10-7 down to 21-10 up.
3) Elmhurst's secondary "had their moments" which did not help.

Overall, a pleasant evening in Bloomington (first EC night game ever in Bloom) just disappointing because Elmhurst had their chances to beat IWU.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  I agree Jaybird, Elmhurst had there chances, they just have not learned how to win big games yet. Congrats to IWU They stepped up the 2nd half and got it done.                                                                                                                                                 Your 3rd point can't be stated enough! Lets hope that the Bluejays can play 4 quarters next week or they will be in trouble.

I have been working in Bloomington the last  2 weeks and have seen both the Augie and Elmhurst games. the quaterback seemed like a diferent guy to me the second half of the Elmhurst game than the 3 previous halfs. More confident and more accurate. After the augie game and the first half of the elmhurst game i thought the IWU  O-line was pretty bad, but after they put in a third string back in the second half, they seemed to be able to run the ball much better. comet, no offense to elmhurst d-line do you think this kid read the holes better than their #21? some parents around me said he can run a 4.25 forty, but has only been playing for three years and needs to read his blocks better. Just wanted to see what you thought. Agree with you on #6 but thought some of hits were a little late on the QB.

(modified by GS for formatting)

[Dennis_Prikkel]

the lowly state brought upon by the spate of injuries to the few talented North Park football players is in direct correlation to their being over-played.

One of the hallmarks of any good football team is to play your roster - to rotate players in to give them experience - so you have varsity depth when someone gets hurt.

North Park plays its few good players until they drop - its a bad coaching technique - repeated annually ad nauseum.

It leads to poor performances on the field by the substitutes when they are inevitably thrown too the wolves, lack of morale on the sidelines (by those not getting a chance to play), and consequently a terrible retention rate (hence North Park's three seniors on this year's roster).

Why anyone in their right mind would expect things to change at North Park when they continue to do the same things year after year that have led to their present failures.  2 and 2 is still going to equal 4.

Bad coaching + poor player retention = non-competitive and losing football programs.

dgp

[letsplay2]

i hate to beat the "dead horse" that is blitz creed, but i'm sitting at my desk laughing at some of his comments.  You told mugsy to get his facts straight but you are obviously assuming that most of Hlavacs 5 catches came in Ittersagens zone im guessing because you are assuming #1 corner would be covering the #1 receiver.  Well blitz creed, get your facts straight.  Hlavac plays mostly slot and ittersagen never lines up over the slot.  on top of that, after watching the game again, Hlavac had 1 five yard catch in ittersagens zone that came on a quick out from the slot position which ittersagen came up on and made a perfect open field tackle.  north central definitely stayed away from ittersagen.  in fact, the stayed mostly away from both corners and were running routes through the middle of the field because they were aware of how poorly the wheaton linebackers cover certain zones, and also picked apart the deep sideline zones that the safeties are responsible for in the cover 2 scheme wheaton runs.  I know people are saying langs had a bad game, but i would argue that he did not, he did what he could just like ittersagen did what he could to contribute to the game. 

on a side note... when was the last time a CCIW school was ranked 2nd or higher??  I would imagine it would have been the national championship teams from augie.  I think wheaton made it up to #3 in 2003, but i don't think they ever made it to #2.   

[CardinalAlum]

the lowly state brought upon by the spate of injuries to the few talented North Park football players is in direct correlation to their being over-played.

One of the hallmarks of any good football team is to play your roster - to rotate players in to give them experience - so you have varsity depth when someone gets hurt.

North Park plays its few good players until they drop - its a bad coaching technique - repeated annually ad nauseum.

It leads to poor performances on the field by the substitutes when they are inevitably thrown too the wolves, lack of morale on the sidelines (by those not getting a chance to play), and consequently a terrible retention rate (hence North Park's three seniors on this year's roster).

Why anyone in their right mind would expect things to change at North Park when they continue to do the same things year after year that have led to their present failures.  2 and 2 is still going to equal 4.

Bad coaching + poor player retention = non-competitive and losing football programs.

dgp

King Dennis,

I guess it depends on the backups.  There are many times when a tired, worn down starter is still better than your 2nd stringer.  At NP, they probably have many freshmen backing starters up and may not be ready for live CCIW action.  From an outsiders perspective, Pethtel is doing the best he can at a school where it has been tough to win at. 

[Wags]

All I can say is that we were sitting on the visitors side and there definitely was more THUNDER on our side!

[usee]

when was the last time a CCIW school was ranked 2nd or higher??  I would imagine it would have been the national championship teams from augie.  I think wheaton made it up to #3 in 2003, but i don't think they ever made it to #2.   

The 2003 D3.com preseason poll had Wheaton ranked #2. They stayed in the top 10 all year (dropping as low as 6th or 8th due to close wins) going 10-0 before bowing at the purple altar in the post season. They finished ranked #6.

[Pat Coleman]

Technically, 2003 preseason is not a poll, it's a ranking. The 2003 preseason Top 25 was the last one determined by Pat and Keith and not all 25 voters.

[usee]

Technically, 2003 preseason is not a poll, it's a ranking. The 2003 preseason Top 25 was the last one determined by Pat and Keith and not all 25 voters.

wisdom beyond your years I say!! 

Why would you let those other 23 spoil it for everyone?

[Comet 14]

79jaybird, Yes I thought there were some very open recievers in the second half and to answer oldnuthin's post I think they were dropping the linebackers back a little more to help with the pass defense in the second half and the running back was finding bigger gaps to use his speed in.