Great D3 Saturday coming up.

I watched Illinois Wesleyan vs Wheaton. Wheaton is a very good team but not dominant.

Wesleyan did all they could to hang on and keep it competitive. If they had to play their backup QB again they would be fine against everyone else on their schedule other than North Central.

Smyth does open up the running game though. They missed that. I think they rushed for 11 yards. They had to throw 56 times on Saturday.

Quote from: NCC2010 on September 21, 2026, 10:58:35 AMObservations from NCC's 45-10 win over North Park...

Third game, third different starting offensive line combination. Sophomore Dennis Dracup started at LG instead of freshman Tyler Nevious. Apparently, Dracup got hurt on the very first play against Bethel and has been out since. At center, senior Jorge Ortiz got his first career start. He had only played in three varsity games over the course of his career thus far, all late in games last season. Freshman center Jack Iakiri, who played the entire second half against Wartburg, was out with a concussion. I expect the starting line for Augustana to be Cramer at LT, Dracup at LG, Iakiri at center, Cortez at RG, and Buckley at RT.

Duke Guenther got the start at RB and had the most carries on the day, followed by Jordan Williams. However, WR David Ballard III might just be the best RB at the moment and seems to be lining up more often in the backfield as the season moves along. IMO, he is their best player with the ball in his hands. Jack Rummell had a career day, and it could have been even better as he dropped a wide open 70 yard TD. WR Jim Curtin did not play due to injury.

Overall, the offense was not very sharp and pretty choppy throughout. Wilson had an errant swing pass to Ballard that turned into a fumble recovery by NP after Coach Rooker successfully challenged that it was a backward pass.

I thought the defense played to their normal standard despite giving up 10 points. As mentioned by others, Paul Palmer made some really nice throws. He had four or five deep passes that were perfectly thrown, and not much a defender could do to prevent them. Starting CB Kenny Rutherford was out with injury.

Feels like the bye week is coming at a pretty good time so they can get a few guys healthy and hopefully figure out the plan on the offensive line moving forward.

How was the running game for North Central on Saturday? 

I did not know Wesleyan QB got hurt Saturday.  Any idea if it is a long term thing?

Wesleyan has a good team but I see according to that article that the injuries are adding up again.  That really held them back last year.

Augie has some tough luck with Makuh getting hurt that bad.

Injuries suck in football.

All sports starting next year.

CCIW is a 9 team league in all sports this year since WashU has left for football already.

10 team league next year and beyond.

I think CCIW football will like the tradeoff of not having to play WashU and playing CUW instead.

According to Logan, 8-2 Wheaton is a no go for playoffs (not sure how they figure that out already) and that would make the CCIW a one bid league again.

Wheaton would eat up the Isthmus Bowl bid in that scenario.

Hopefully CCIW gets 2 teams in an Augie or Wesleyan or Carroll in the Isthmus Bowl.

WashU joining the NCAC actually makes that a potential 3 bid league.

What about participation at the D3 level?  It seems like rosters are big these days.  Rare to find a school that doesn't have 100+ on its roster.

And...gray shirting is still a thing in the WIAC.

Wesleyan may take some lumps early but they will win CCIW title.  With a possible drop off at Carroll there is no one in the CCIW that competes with them consistently.  They may drop a couple of road games in CCIW but will win title.

This sounds like the most questions marks a NCC team has had in a while.

The redshirt designation is odd without a class attached to it I agree.

I know at least one of the Augie 5th years did not come out for the team one year because he did not like the position change he was asked to make. After sitting out a year he came back.


The last time Augie really broke through and beat WashU it had an old team.

I noticed Wesleyan had 91 on its roster assuming it's up to date.

I just looked at Augustana roster and counted 32 seniors and 4 grad students.

32 is still a large number.  47 is hard to believe.

Quote from: iwu70 on August 26, 2026, 11:31:06 PMAs we look to the season in a few weeks now, here are a few thoughts about IWU.  I'm very optimistic about the new season -- yes, big losses in Cleveland (to ISU), Colak, Boldt and Anderson, but plenty plenty returning to be very optimistic about the new Titan edition.  And, we don't know much about what the newbies might bring.

Returning:

Two of the better PGs in all of D3 returning in Josh Fridman and Jaxon Niego

Wings:  Likely pre-season All-American in senior Mason Funk
Returning starters and 3-point artist, Lawrence
Other major past contributors in Ruggles and Connor Williams
Others likely in the mix in Anthony Kemp and Alex Miller

Post:  Brady Kuehl, Alex Schmidts, Meyer and newbie, Owen Sanders

I don't know much about the other newbies -- perhaps a few in the mix for the rotation

Seems to me it might be Fridman/Niego, Funk, Lawrence, Kuehl and a new big, Owen Sanders?

This is a reload not a rebuild, IMHO.

Time will tell.

Looking forward to another possible CCIW championship season.

IWU'70

Wesleyan will be fine.  There was a lot of angst in the Titan world when Cleveland entered the portal. But I don't see anyone else claiming the CCIW title.  I expect them to win the regular season and tournament titles and winning a couple of NCAA games at least.

And I am looking at it as an outsider. 

Quote from: CarollFan on August 26, 2026, 06:01:51 PM

Quote from: Jbothe on August 26, 2026, 04:33:31 PM

Quote from: CarollFan on August 26, 2026, 02:00:58 PMAugie Preview

Loaded with experience. New turf at Lindberg Stadium. They got some votes in the AFCA poll. New DC with new scheme. Breyden Smith WR was going to return for a 5th year but will miss the season with a broken collarbone.

Am I reading it correctly that Augie has 42 seniors and five 5th years coming back?  47???

Yes, that's the way I interpreted it. Out of the 47, 19 returning starters. 9 on offense, 8 on defense and 2 kickers.
They were 7-3 last year.

I give the current Augustana Coaching staff credit for recruiting and retaining so many older players.  That has been a strength of Coach Bell and his assistants. 

Quote from: CarollFan on August 26, 2026, 02:00:58 PMAugie Preview

Loaded with experience. New turf at Lindberg Stadium. They got some votes in the AFCA poll. New DC with new scheme. Breyden Smith WR was going to return for a 5th year but will miss the season with a broken collarbone.

Am I reading it correctly that Augie has 42 seniors and five 5th years coming back?  47???

Quote from: Gregory Sager on August 14, 2026, 02:49:04 PM

Quote from: Gotberg on August 14, 2026, 01:52:28 PMNPU has it's roster posted:

https://athletics.northpark.edu/sports/football/roster/coaches/kyle-rooker/1363

I also want to share my appreciation for Rooker being our coach.  I've never met him, but I think he does a great job of representing NPU and it's mission.  While I don't want to settle, the way the players and parents seem to connect with him and how he prepares them in life, goes beyond just W/L's.

Absolutely agree. NPU football is blessed to have Kyle Rooker running the show. I've seen more North Park coaches  than I can count come and go over the many years that I've followed Vikings sports, and I say without hesitation that Rook is one of my all-time favorites -- not just because of what he's accomplished but because of who he is and what he stands for.

I hope there is always an appreciation for the D3 coach that maximizes his talent, has great player relations, and preps players for life.

These coaches may never coach a NCAA playoff game but they are invaluable to their institution.