Quote from: AndrewB on October 11, 2026, 05:07:03 AM

Quote from: NCC2010 on October 10, 2026, 10:01:47 PMWhat a game. Hats off and congrats to Wheaton, they capitalized on NCC's mistakes and Forcucci made some absolutely clutch throws with the game on the line. Kortenhoeven with an incredible catch to setup the win.

Hoping this is a repeat of 2019 and NCC can go on a tear from here but their offense was completely stifled by the Thunder.

Don't want to be too reactionary but it does seem like the coaching staff chose the wrong QB based on how each has played thus far this season between Wilson and Ashiru. Ashiru's  escapability today against UWRF was super impressive. 

When you look at what Ashiru has done the last 2 weeks against La Crosse and River Falls, he clearly is the better QB.

I'll admit that in the second half of last season's Stagg Bowl, I wondered if NCC should consider turning to Ashiru. That said, NCC's offensive line play has been stunningly bad this season. Wilson is under constant pressure, and they've been unable to find a center capable of making a simple shotgun snap.

I don't like the use of Ballard as an RB. He's much more valuable as a WR. He's small and gets beat up as an RB. I suppose the thinking is connected to the bad o-line play. Wilson doesn't have time to get the ball to WRs downfield, so they're resorting to handing it off to their most explosive player.

At the RB position, I would roll with Rashid, Blaise, and Guenther over the course of the next five weeks. Focus on the basics and try to improve the confidence and play of the o-line.

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.