FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[CarollFan]

Last week of the regular season.

We discussed Wheaton LB Zeke Harris as DPOY.
How about OPOY?

I don't think we are going to see 3 QB's on the second team All-CCIW this year with the injuries at the QB position.

[NCC2010]

Last week of the regular season.

We discussed Wheaton LB Zeke Harris as DPOY.
How about OPOY?

I don't think we are going to see 3 QB's on the second team All-CCIW this year with the injuries at the QB position.

My best guesses:

CCIW Art Keller Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year
Mark Forcucci
 
CCIW Don Larson Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year
Zeke Harris
 
CCIW Offensive Line Student-Athlete of the Year
Cortez Jones
 
CCIW First-Year Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year
Maybe Duke Guenther?
 
CCIW First-Year Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year
?
 
CCIW Bob Reade Coaching Staff of the Year
Wheaton

[Jbothe]

So I took a look at which teams indicated in my previous message are in if they win but out if they lose.

Then in Logan's tool I tried what are IWU's chances if they win and 2 NESCAC teams, Amherst and Wesleyan lose and IWU's chances jumped to 92%.

Then I tried Amherst and Hope losing and IWU's chances jumped to 100%. I think Hope losing really helps because Hope is playing Trine and IWU beat Trine.

Wesleyan and Hope losing gives IWU a 100% chance too.

Then I just tried what if just Hope loses and IWU has a 100% chance to get in.

This is based on IWU beating NCC.

I wonder what IWU chances would look like without the Millikin loss.  Would an 8-2 IWU team with a win at Millikin and loss to North Central have a chance?

[NCC2010]

Observations from NCC's game against Millikin...

This was probably the best the run game has looked all season. Starting center Jorge Ortiz was benched after an early holding penalty in the second quarter, and sophomore Bennett Gorgal came in and played the rest of the way with the starters. Ortiz then returned to action with the 2nd team offense, which leaves me wondering if that is a permanent change they will keep moving forward. The broadcast team mentioned that Coach Spencer brought up Gorgal's name during their pregame meeting before the Carthage game. Gorgal is now the fourth different center to snap with the 1st team offense this year.  Another difference with the offense this week was that normal starting tight ends Will Diamond and Dawson Trebolo were both in uniform, but neither played a snap. Instead, Parker Spellacy, a senior transfer from Cornell, and Rowan Kallall, a freshman, handled all of the tight end snaps with both the starters and the 2nd team. I'm not sure if Trebolo and Diamond were banged up or what the situation is. Either way, I thought the offensive line looked the best it has all year blocking once Gorgal came in alongside these two tight ends.

On the defensive side of the ball, I was very impressed by Millikin's quarterback, Sylas Gomez, and wide receiver, Amir Nixon. Millikin became the first offense to score 2 TDs in the first half against NCC this year, and only the 3rd offense to score twice against the starting defense all season (Wartburg scored their 2nd offensive touchdown with 12 seconds left, and Bethel scored theirs with one minute left in the third quarter while trailing 34-7). Almost all of Nixon's catches came on vertical, 1-on-1 routes, and he even dropped another 50 yard TD that would have made his stat line look even better. That has proven to be the best way to attack the NCC defense this year.  Throwing deep outside when their corners are left on an island. Wheaton was able to hit 3 of those in their final 3 drives.

On special teams, Sean Ryniec had his first missed FG attempt of the season, missing wide left from 45 yards out, though he did convert kicks from 39 and 46 yards as well. Kaleb Stumpenhorst punted in place of Chip Dose, who still played as the holder, so it isn't clear if an injury is what prevented Dose from punting. Freshman Alex Anderson, who has been a standout running back on the JV squad, was inserted as the kick returner and looked explosive, averaging 30 yards on his three returns.


Does anyone know what injury Mark Forcucci has? I noticed he did not play against Elmhurst. Hopefully, it's nothing substantial, and they were just giving him a rest week before the playoffs begin.


Looking ahead to the Illinois Wesleyan game this week, I watched a portion of their matchup against North Park and noticed they are now rotating Smyth and Beaty at QB. Smyth is essentially operating as a Wildcat QB, running the ball 12 times while attempting only one pass. It should be very interesting to see how they both perform against the NCC defense. Smyth was very elusive last year, and Beaty practiced against this defense all of last season and through the spring as a member of the Cardinals.

[CarollFan]

So I took a look at which teams indicated in my previous message are in if they win but out if they lose.

Then in Logan's tool I tried what are IWU's chances if they win and 2 NESCAC teams, Amherst and Wesleyan lose and IWU's chances jumped to 92%.

Then I tried Amherst and Hope losing and IWU's chances jumped to 100%. I think Hope losing really helps because Hope is playing Trine and IWU beat Trine.

Wesleyan and Hope losing gives IWU a 100% chance too.

Then I just tried what if just Hope loses and IWU has a 100% chance to get in.

This is based on IWU beating NCC.

I wonder what IWU chances would look like without the Millikin loss.  Would an 8-2 IWU team with a win at Millikin and loss to North Central have a chance?

I did some math and figured out the scenario beating Millikin and losing to NCC would get IWU about .85 less NPI points using current NPI's. NCC's NPI would end up a little lower with a loss so that difference may be a little smaller but your chances are definitely lower beating Millikin then beating NCC.

Beating NCC on the road would get IWU huge points, around 90 points.
One minor challenge, beating NCC on the road.

[CarollFan]

Players of the Week

Offense - Augie QB Jimmy Makuh (2nd time)
Defense - NCC S Kyler Green
Special Teams - NCC K Sean Ryniec (3rd time)

[USee]

Does anyone know what injury Mark Forcucci has? I noticed he did not play against Elmhurst. Hopefully, it's nothing substantial, and they were just giving him a rest week before the playoffs begin.

Load management I think. He will be fine

[GusD]

Last week of the regular season.

We discussed Wheaton LB Zeke Harris as DPOY.
How about OPOY?

I don't think we are going to see 3 QB's on the second team All-CCIW this year with the injuries at the QB position.

The CCIW Offensive Player of the Year is AJ Lee of Millikin. He leads the conference in rushing AND scoring. His 16 touchdowns are 6 more than his closest 2 competitors.
However, with Millikin having a 3-5 conference record, his chances of actually being voted the winner would seem to be slim and none.

Should Lee not get OPOY, a good case can be made for Wheaton QB Mark Forcucci. However, I think the winner should be NCC QB Garret Wilson. Wilson leads the conference in completion percentage, passing yards, touchdowns, and passing efficiency. The main point in  Forcucci's favor is he is the QB of the top team in the conference. But he hasn't even played in all of Wheaton's games, and USee reports he was held out of the last game for "load management," not because of an injury.

Wheaton's Zeke Harris should be the unanimous winner of DPOY. I doubt it's possible to have a better season on the defensive side of the ball than he's had. And since Wheaton will be the conference champ, it's a given their staff is the Coaching Staff of the Year.

[CarollFan]

https://hansenratings.com/projections/2026/week-11/

CCIW Week 11 Games:

#1 Wheaton -37.9 @ Carthage
IWU +36 @ #4 NCC
Augie -18.7 @ Carroll
Elmhurst +27.1 @ NPU

Millikin with a bye.

All CCIW games start at noon.

Some games with AQ and at-large bid implications:

#6 HS -3.3 @ #13 UMHB
Coe +20.4 @ #12 Wartburg
Trine +15.7 @ #19 Hope
Wabash +17.2 @ #16 DePauw
CUW +3.8 @ Benedictine
Brockport +10.2 @ #21 Utica
F&M -2.8 @ Johns Hopkins
Muhlenberg +15.1 @ Dickinson
Wesleyan +6.4 @ Trinity (Conn.)
Amherst +0.3 @ Williams
Marietta +3.5 @ Mount St. Joseph
Hanover -12.1 @ Franklin
Randolph-Macon +1.2 @ Hampden-Sydney

[USee]

The OPOY usually goes to the conference's best offense and that is NCC. Garret Wilson is the likely choice. The argument for Forcucci over Wilson is that Forcucci beat him head to head and significantly outplayed him in the game.  Outside of that their numbers are pretty similar. Those two offenses are #1/#2 in the league.

To be clear, my "load management" comment was a joke. I have no idea what the issue is but have heard its not serious.

[USee]

CarollFan, what are the chances Bethel's position as the last at-large changes? Their NPI likely won't improve as they play St Scholastica (1-8) so the only changes will be to their ONPI. Barring an upset for an AQ that bumps someone into Pool C above them, can anyone overtake them for the last spot?