IWU-Carthage was a blast to watch last night.  Both teams going at it.  Refs called the game real loose both ways.

Wesleyan physical strength took its toll eventually last night.  They were the tougher team.

Carthage is off to a rough start.  All their losses are to good teams but they are still losses. 

Whitewater is a real tough team.

Quote from: Gregory Sager on November 17, 2025, 05:24:49 PM

Quote from: Jbothe on November 17, 2025, 03:07:50 PMWhen IWU was healthy they were a real good team.  They took WashU to the wire and were dominant some weeks against bottom half CCIW teams.  Big wins over Millikin and Carthage.

[snip]

When they were banged up it was rough.  Big losses to Augie and Carroll.

This is a contradiction. In the final assessment, Illinois Wesleyan wasn't a "real good" team. The Titans were a house of cards.

Football is the ultimate game of attrition; because it is the most violent major sport it is also the most injury-inducing. Therefore, you measure how good a college football team is by its' two-deep -- if not its' three-deep -- and not simply by the quality of the starters. Thus, the phrase "when they were banged up it was rough" is not an excuse when you're trying to make the case that a particular team is "real good." What seemed like a high level of competence earlier in the season for IWU was an illusion, because the Titans lacked the necessary depth to sustain it when injuries inevitably began to take their toll.

Interesting perspective.

I still don't see a candidate to take over that third spot other than Augie or Wesleyan.

Obviously hope it's Augie.

Bottom half of CCIW has a ways to go.

When IWU was healthy they were a real good team.  They took WashU to the wire and were dominant some weeks against bottom half CCIW teams.  Big wins over Millikin and Carthage.

Smyth is a stud.  Williamson is a good coach.  Their is a culture change going on.

When they were banged up it was rough.  Big losses to Augie and Carroll.

They also only had 11 seniors this year. 

The next battle in the CCIW is the battle for 3rd behind NC and Wheaton.  WashU had been a clear #3 team during their time in the CCIW.  Both Augie and Wesleyan will bring a lot back next year.  Bell finally has his QB.

Is someone else poised to make a move?

North Central/IWU was closer than expected. Did IWU have a lot of time of possession?  NC miss some scoring opportunities? 

Quote from: CarollFan on November 15, 2025, 08:30:44 PM

Quote from: Jbothe on November 15, 2025, 08:13:29 PMAnyone watch WashU/Augie game?  Something strange must have happened on a KO to Augie that led to immediate score?  Went from 28-7 to 35-7.

Also looks like Augie final score was on an untimed down on last play of game?  If I'm reading box score correctly.

At 1:26 left score is WashU 28 Augie 7.
On a 4rth and 2, Augie hits a long pass for a TD. Xtra point is blocked.
Augie tries an onside kick, bounces right into a WashU players hands. Augie players run by him looking for the ball, he runs right into the end zone.

Not sure what happened at the end. We lose the steam with 42 seconds left.
Play by play stats looked messed up.

Thanks. Play by play and stats are hard to follow. Screwed up.

Looks like wheels fell off in critical situations for Augie.

Credit to the improvement in WashU defense as year has gone on.

Anyone watch WashU/Augie game?  Something strange must have happened on a KO to Augie that led to immediate score?  Went from 28-7 to 35-7.

Also looks like Augie final score was on an untimed down on last play of game?  If I'm reading box score correctly.

Does the new D3 playoff process have a clear set up for who hosts games after round one.  Or is there still a bid process for hosting a playoff game?

Quote from: USee on November 12, 2025, 04:29:05 PMIn terms of the Thunder in the playoffs, the good news is that it looks like they are in (barring some bizarre happenings on Saturday). The bad news is that most projected brackets (and likely the actual bracket) will put them is some version of a bracket of death which will include at least a couple WIAC teams, Wartburg/NCC, and/or 1-2 of the MIAC teams. Hopefully the seedings fall right and Wheaton can host a winnable 1st round game (at home would be a plus) before going on the road to one of the aforementioned places. Some of these matchups are better than others.

For NCC, though seeding them 5th is an atrocity, it likely would give them the best path to the Stagg. If Mt Union, UWRF, and Wartburg are all on the other side of the bracket and NCC can play CNU and JHopkins, that's much better for them IMO.

The fact that Wheaton did not make the playoffs last year blows my mind. Looks like they are in sound footing right now.

Looking forward to North Central run. Somehow I see a River Falls/North Central battle eventually.

WashU football has grown on me the last few years.

I will miss hearing their outstanding play by play man Jay Murry call CCIW games. He's outstanding.

My wife and I are parents of a WashU athlete, not a football player.

My perception is that the CCIW wanted a full member added to the conference that offered all major sports and fits the overall academic profile of the CCIW. 

I can pretty much guarantee that WashU has no intention of leaving the UAA. In fact if the 8 UAA schools all offered football (they don't) they would play UAA football. 

Quote from: CarollFan on November 09, 2025, 09:20:46 AM

Quote from: Jbothe on November 09, 2025, 09:06:26 AM

Quote from: Gregory Sager on November 08, 2025, 07:04:42 PM

Quote from: CarollFan on November 08, 2025, 04:58:16 PMIWU's starting QB did not play in this game.

That's no minor detail. (Not that you were implying otherwise, of course.) No team in the league is more dependent upon its starting quarterback than Illinois Wesleyan is upon Dermot Smythe.

That's tough is Smyth was out for Wesleyan. Titans have had a ton of injuries this season. Both sides of the ball. It has affected how they play greatly.

Yes IWU announcers mentioned the injuries and kind of called out their rush defense as Carroll controlled the second half mostly running.

WashU @ Augie should be a good game between both 7-2 teams. One of them going back to Isthmus.

I noticed WashU D held NPU to -34 yds rushing on 23 attempts and WashU had 14 TFL's, 5 sacks.

I think the IWU has basically had to change their defensive scheme due to injuries. DL and LB have been hit hard.

Top RB was lost for the season due to ACL in pre season I believe.

Quote from: Gregory Sager on November 09, 2025, 09:57:16 AM

Quote from: Jbothe on November 09, 2025, 09:03:48 AM

Quote from: Gregory Sager on November 08, 2025, 07:06:05 PMDidn't see the NPU game in St. Louis; it has been an overwhelmingly busy day for North Park sports. Don't know if I'd care to watch the entire game on demand, but I sure would like to see Jereme Ombogo's 97-yard TD kickoff return.

I was at the game in person. Game is still up on WashU sports network.

I said to my family when I saw #1 back deep "don't kick it deep."  Fifteen seconds later he was in the end zone.

All WashU after that.

North Park slowed down the WashU run game but struggled against the pass. Ware was banged up for WashU.

North Park had a tough time moving the ball. Lots of pressure on the QB. I think with all the sacks they only had 2 total yards at half.

Augie/WashU is an interesting match up.

NPU is on its fourth QB of the year, and this one's a freshman. Combine that with the plethora of injuries that the talented but thin O-line has suffered, and it's a recipe for a static offense that has difficulty getting the ball to its outstanding receiver corps (Ombogo, McCloud, and Catron) in space due to a lack of time.

The defensive backfield has been a chronic problem for the Vikings this season. Waaaay too many DPI calls on this group.

This makes a lot of sense after watching the game. Probably a frustrating season for North Park this year.

Quote from: Gregory Sager on November 08, 2025, 07:04:42 PM

Quote from: CarollFan on November 08, 2025, 04:58:16 PMIWU's starting QB did not play in this game.

That's no minor detail. (Not that you were implying otherwise, of course.) No team in the league is more dependent upon its starting quarterback than Illinois Wesleyan is upon Dermot Smythe.

That's tough if Smyth was out for Wesleyan. Titans have had a ton of injuries this season. Both sides of the ball. It has affected how they play greatly.

Quote from: Gregory Sager on November 08, 2025, 07:06:05 PMDidn't see the NPU game in St. Louis; it has been an overwhelmingly busy day for North Park sports. Don't know if I'd care to watch the entire game on demand, but I sure would like to see Jereme Ombogo's 97-yard TD kickoff return.

I was at the game in person. Game is still up on WashU sports network.

I said to my family when I saw #1 back deep "don't kick it deep."  Fifteen seconds later he was in the end zone.

All WashU after that.

North Park slowed down the WashU run game but struggled against the pass. Ware was banged up for WashU.

North Park had a tough time moving the ball. Lots of pressure on the QB. I think with all the sacks they only had 2 total yards at half.

Augie/WashU is an interesting match up.

Quote from: USee on October 29, 2025, 06:11:54 PMThis is the tie breaker rules for the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. It has come down to this a couple times. I am not sure this is the Isthmus Bowl tie breaker but it could be. If so, WashU is currently +2 and IWU is -2 by virtue of the 42-20 win by WashU on Oct 4. If each of these teams win their other games and all finish with 3 conference losses (each lose to NCC and Wheaton and then to each other) the tie breaker comes into play. Here are the scenarios:

WashU beats Augie: WashU gets bid by virtue of 2 conf losses.
IWU loses to Augie: bid is determined by HTD Augie v WashU.

IWU beats Augie by 5. IWU would be +3 and Augie -5, and WashU +2 in the point differential. That means Augie would have to beat WashU by 9 points to earn the bid otherwise IWU goes and WashU would have no chance.

IWU beats Augie by 1. IWU would be -1, Augie would be -1 and WashU would be +2. Augie would need to beat WashU by 3pts to earn the bid otherwise WashU goes and IWU would have no chance.

Simply put, IWU needs to beat Augie by at least 5 and preferably as many points as they can to give themselves the best chance. A double digit win by IWU over Augie makes it very difficult for Augie to earn the bowl bid and WashU has a slim window via the tiebreaker either way.

I think his is correct, but I may have missed something (such as there is a totally different tie breaker for the bowl bid!)

I assume if WashU wins out they get the Isthmus as long as Wheaton gets into NCAA?