We've discovered the formula for beating North Central: draw a holding call on every NCC possession. Early in the 2nd quarter, NCC has already been called for four offensive holding calls.

Quote from: NCC2010 on September 01, 2026, 10:33:56 AMHere's my guess at NCC's starting lineup on Saturday based on the open practice and scrimmage. 

Offense:
QB Garret Wilson (RS SO)
RB Jordan Williams (SR) / Duke Guenther (RS SO)
WR Jack Rummell (5th yr)
WR Jim Curtin (JR)
WR David Ballard III (SO)
TE Will Diamond (JR) / Dawson Trebolo (SR)
LT Tyson Cramer (SR)
LG Dennis Dracup (SO)
C Austin Roush (SO)
RG Cortez Jones (SR)
RT Jake Buckley (Freshman)

Defense:
DE Bobby Medina (SR)
DT Maverick Ohle (RS JR)
DT Graham Wight (SR)
DE Troy Kashul (SO)
LB Matt Janiak (JR)
LB Philip Carlton Jr. (SR)
OLB Ethan Groark (5th yr)
Safety Brayden Garrigan (SR)
Safety Kyler Green (SR)
CB Kaden Hartnett (SR)
CB Aahil Khan (SO)

While Bethel definitely has more production returning, NCC is only starting 6 out of 22 players that are true sophomore's or younger. 

Whichever team's revamped offensive line plays the best may win the game.  I believe Bethel has 4 new starters and NCC has 3, all of which are pretty young.

Of note, Jarod Thornton has joined the coaching staff. He started 59 games at center for NCC from 2019-2023 and won the Rimington Award for best center in D3 in 2023.  I'm assuming he is mentoring the young guys on the interior offensive line.

The weather could definitely be a factor as well with the up tempo offense Bethel plays.  Currently forecasted for high 80s temp at kickoff and throughout the duration of the game.

Is Zeb Rashid healthy? If so, I expect him to emerge as RB1 as the season progresses.

Quote from: CarollFan on August 31, 2026, 12:34:53 PMNCC 2026 Roster

Curious to see who, other than Jack Rummell, is a receiving threat for Garret Wilson. That's probably the biggest question mark for NCC in 2026.

Demir Ashiru has entered the portal. I wish he'd had more opportunities to play last season.

Quote from: robertgoulet on January 05, 2026, 08:56:14 AMOne thing that completely missed me when I was thinking about this matchup was that Wilson is in his 1st season as starting QB, is only a true sophomore and has not really been tested for more than 1/2 a game. Should have expected some growing pains, I guess.

Going to take a look at the NCC 2 deep and see what they lose going into next year, at some point.

It's really challenging to win a Stagg Bowl without a seasoned QB. Lehnen didn't win a title until his 3rd academic year. Wilson is in his 2nd academic year while Blaha is in his 6th. Experience matters a lot. I hope Wilson won't be too hard on himself, as he had an excellent season overall and has great potential. NCC's wide receiving corps lacked depth and (outside of Skokna) explosiveness. It will be a big question mark in the fall, with Skokna and Rummell graduating. Maybe Ashiru can convert to WR.

North Central's 2025 roster has finally been posted:
https://northcentralcardinals.com/sports/football/roster

Why is Wheaton hosting this year's Little Brass Bell game? It will be the 4th time in the past 5 seasons that NCC has played at Wheaton.

This would never happen with the Monon Bell game. Neither DePauw nor Wabash would tolerate it.

Quote from: wally_wabash on December 19, 2023, 12:36:32 PM

Quote from: Marmac on December 19, 2023, 11:00:43 AM
I saw Egbo playing in the first half (when Cortland scored 3 points). I didn't see him out there in the second half, though the stats show he assisted on a special teams tackle when the score was tied at 31. He was trying to gut it out. Unlike just about everyone else on the NCC roster, this was his one chance for a national championship.

I did a feature on Martin during the playoffs. He graduated from Concordia in three years and had two years of eligibility upon transfer to North Central.  The rest is also an awesome story that I hope you'll read!

My bad, I didn't realize Egbo has a year of eligibility left. I appreciated your feature on him.

Quote from: robertgoulet on December 19, 2023, 09:51:07 AM

Quote from: D3Navy on December 18, 2023, 06:06:48 PM

Quote from: robertgoulet on December 18, 2023, 09:48:48 AM

Quote from: Marmac on December 17, 2023, 05:47:08 PM
NCC led at the half, scored 30 points in the second half, and rushed for 404 yards. The post-game focus was on the failed two-point attempt, but the offense was plenty good enough to win. NCC's 37 points are the most ever scored by the losing team in a Stagg Bowl.

NCC allowed 24+ points seven times this season. Last season, they never allowed more than 21 points in a game.

NCC's offense this season was the most dominating I've seen at the D3 level. Their defense was middling, however, and it ultimately wasn't good enough to win a national title.

NCC lost AA DT Dan Lester early in the season. AA CB Antwain Walker in the early playoff rounds. CCIW DPOY DE Martin Egbo in the quarters. I think it's fair to say any defense losing that type of talent would likely face a steep drop off.

Egbo played in the final.

Right but considering it was a lower leg injury that took him out in the quarters, and then only played about a quarter and a half in the semi's (clearly nursing and not explosive) I'd say he was probably well under 100%. I'd have to rewatch but I don't think he played much at all in the 2nd half.

I saw Egbo playing in the first half (when Cortland scored 3 points). I didn't see him out there in the second half, though the stats show he assisted on a special teams tackle when the score was tied at 31. He was trying to gut it out. Unlike just about everyone else on the NCC roster, this was his one chance for a national championship.

If any one of those three players had been healthy on Friday, NCC likely wins. But they weren't, and the defense struggled mightily without them.

NCC led at the half, scored 30 points in the second half, and rushed for 404 yards. The post-game focus was on the failed two-point attempt, but the offense was plenty good enough to win. NCC's 37 points are the most ever scored by the losing team in a Stagg Bowl.

NCC allowed 24+ points seven times this season. Last season, they never allowed more than 21 points in a game.

NCC's offense this season was the most dominating I've seen at the D3 level. Their defense was middling, however, and it ultimately wasn't good enough to win a national title.

Quote from: BigRedScots on January 11, 2022, 01:19:37 PM
https://footballscoop.com/news/acc-duke-elko-hiring-fcs-head-coach

EIU's Head Coach is heading to Duke as OL Coach. Being that Jeff Thorne is an EIU grad...isn't this the perfect time for him to get a serious look at EIU? Would do a great job recruiting the state.

Would he take it?

EIU has been struggling financially, so I'm not sure he would increase his salary significantly. There's also the question of where he and his family want to live: Naperville or Charleston, IL? I suspect EIU would love to hire Thorne, but the job may not be appealing to him.

Quote from: BigRedScots on November 24, 2021, 02:55:30 PM
Not following

I'm saying the CCIW wasn't a good conference this year. MIAC and WIAC were pretty good.

If Wheaton beats Central and North Central beats UWL, will you still believe that the CCIW "wasn't good" and the MIAC was "pretty good"?

If your conference has a pair of Top 8 teams, you have, at the very least, a pretty good conference.

And if Wheaton beats the team that just thumped the MIAC's second best team, I don't see how the MIAC can be viewed as stronger than the CCIW.

But let's see what happens on Saturday...

Quote from: matblake on October 24, 2021, 08:08:59 PM

Quote from: CardinalAlum on October 24, 2021, 05:59:38 PM

Quote from: matblake on October 24, 2021, 05:53:16 PM
Kudos to the Wheaton broadcast team for honestly going over the perilous situation Wheaton is in with its Pool C status. Detailed explanation of the selection process and criteria as well as distinguishing from Division I. Good reminder for the well versed and tutorial to someone newer to D3.

What were the key points in that discussion?

1.  Pool A (Automatic Bids)-Given to conference champions
2.  Pool C (At Large Bids)- At Large Bids which covers all 6 regions-5 Pool C berths available this year
3.  Assuming that both North Central and Wheaton win out or that both Wheaton and North Central finish with identical 8-1 records, Wheaton not eligible for a Pool A Berth, as NCC won head to head.
4.  Each region will have a final ranking of teams within that region decided by a committee from that specific region
5.  Pool C Bids decided by a National Committee based on specific criteria from remaining regionally ranked teams not given an automatic bid by Pool A.
6.  One of the criteria is strength of schedule.
7. Strength of schedule is partially determined by both opponents winning percentage and the opponents opponents winning percentage (the winning percentage of the teams your opponent played).
8.  Wheaton will have a low strength of schedule in light of playing Northwestern who has a poor record and plays in a conference with a poor out of conference winning percentage.
9.  Wheaton will also have a low strength of schedule as the CCIW performed uncharacteristically poor in their non-conference games this year.  As a result, Wheaton's CCIW opponents will also have lower strength of schedule.
10.  There is no such thing as the "eye test" with regards to selection.
11.  With there being 6 regions and only 5 at large berths, Wheaton may be blocked from being considered by other teams from other regions with identical records and better strength of schedule.
12.  Where Wash U and Chicago are ranked regionally will be important for the Thunder's selection.

Wheaton will get a Pool C bid.

It's fun to overanalyze, but the Thunder will be in the playoffs.

Quote from: Augie6 on September 12, 2021, 01:04:56 PM

Quote from: Marmac on September 12, 2021, 12:25:48 PM
Why are two consecutive Little Brass Bell games being played at Wheaton? And why is the game being played so early in the season?

I can't imagine the Monon Bell game being played in September. And do you think either DePauw or Wabash would allow the game to be played at the same school two consecutive times?

Can't address the reason why the game is being played in Wheaton for two consecutive seasons.  I know that Augie is playing at NCC, Wheaton, IWU and Carthage, just like the did in 2019 so it's not like there aren't other teams having the same thing happen.  As to why the game is being played early in the season, it's because, outside of the Wheaton and NCC communities, the Little Brass Bell is not that well known of a rivalry game.  It's only really become more important in the 15 years (or so), when NCC's ascension to consistently being at the top of the CCIW, began.  Football has been played in the CCIW for a lot longer than that.  NCC won the conference title in 1960 and didn't win again until 2006.  Starting from that same 1960 season, Wheaton did not win a conference championship until 1995 and then won or were co-champions in 00, 02, 03, 04 and 06.  When I played in the 1980s, I had never heard of the Little Brass Bell.  Historically, it has just not been that important of game (outside of the participating schools) to warrant that it always be the last game of the season for both teams.

Wheaton and NCC have been consistently excellent the past two decades. Was NCC QB Luke Lehnen even alive the last time either school had a losing record (2001)? The two schools have dominated the CCIW this century, and they are each school's main rival -- and not just in football. By scheduling this game in mid-September, the CCIW sends a message, albeit unintentionally, that it doesn't view it as a big rivalry game. What other conference rivalry games are played in September?