FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[CCIWFan69]

.... This led to freshman Blake Lehnen getting his first extensive action of the season, and he seems to have moved ahead of a couple of seniors on the depth chart....

Last name sounds familiar but don't remember why....

[Gregory Sager]

Logan 34-4 (89%) straight up in CCIW game predictions.

The 4 games that went the other way:

NPU @ Millikin
IWU @ Augie
Wheaton @ NCC
IWU @ Millikin

No, it's now five games where Logan has had it wrong. He had Carthage as a one-point favorite over North Park last week.

[Gregory Sager]

Glad your mind went there.  My immediate thought was that NCUN detractors would start appending a cerTain letter to the end.

Hadn't even thought of that one, and I'm glad that I didn't. I can ride an opponent with the best of them (currently fighting an urge to reply to Big Blue Ben with, "What, Wesleyan, arrogant? What could ever make someone think that?!"), but I'd like to think that whenever I ride I ride on the high road.

Which reminds me that I have to ask Lucas if North Central is going to comp his hotel room in Minneapolis if he ever gets called up to work P.A. for a game at the main campus.

[CarollFan]

How Millikin Pulled Off the Upset Over Illinois Wesleyan

The most fascinating part of Millikin's upset over Illinois Wesleyan wasn't just that Millikin won. It was watching Illinois Wesleyan play as though they didn't believe they were in any real danger of losing until it was too late.

Wesleyan played like a team that expected to win by 21 points simply by showing up and being the more talented team. They never seemed to fully appreciate that Millikin was capable of beating them, and that arrogance showed up repeatedly in their play calling.

Go back and watch some of those fourth-down decisions. One of them was Wesleyan going for a 4th and 11 at midfield early in 4th... WHY?) Those are the kinds of risks you take when you believe you're so much better than your opponent that the consequences of a mistake don't really matter. Except Millikin kept making them pay. Over and over again, Millikin showed that they could compete, make plays, and put Wesleyan under pressure. And over and over again, Wesleyan seemed unwilling to adjust its approach.

I went back and looked at this. I think you got it a little off.
There were 3 4rth down plays in the 4rth Q.
Early in the 4rth IWU scored on 4rth and 2.
On the last drive they hit a 66 yard pass on the 4rth down and then their last offensive play was on 4rth down.

There was a 4rth and 11 with about 2 minutes left in the 2nd Q from the Millikin 31 that they missed. The score was Millikin 14-7 at the time but if your not kicking the FG alot of coaches would go from there instead of punting. I know Carroll's would 

[BIG BLUE BEN]

First, I'll admit I was mistaken about the fourth-down play being from midfield, and I appreciate the correction CarrolFan. That said, I think the history behind the Illinois Wesleyan–Millikin rivalry runs a lot deeper than you might realize.

This rivalry dates back to 1904, and there's a long history of pride, tradition, and competitive tension between these two schools. One particularly significant chapter came during World War II, when Millikin did not field a football team from 1943 through 1945 while almost all of its students/players went off to serve their country. Illinois Wesleyan, meanwhile, continued to play football during those 3 years.

You can imagine how a difference like that could become part of the story and identity surrounding a rivalry that was already deeply rooted. Over the years, those experiences, combined with the schools' different identities and cultures, helped fuel the competitive edge between them.

Millikin has traditionally been viewed as the more blue-collar school of the two, an identity many of its supporters still embrace today. That working-class pride is part of what makes this rivalry so personal for Millikin fans. It's not just another game on the schedule; it's about school pride, history, and bragging rights.

So, while I was wrong about the exact location of that fourth-down play, I don't think you can fully understand the intensity of this rivalry by looking at one game or one play. When a rivalry stretches back more than a century, there's a lot of history and emotion behind it that doesn't always show up in the box score.  The all time series after last night is 56–55-7 in favor of Illinois Wesleyan.

Just to clarify, it was only my personal opinion that Wesleyan didn't respect Millikin enough going into the game. That wasn't something I claimed to know for a fact.

But having been around football for a long time, I've learned to pay attention to more than just what happens between the lines. Watching the Wesleyan players on the sidelines and observing the coaches, I got the distinct impression that they were shell-shocked and frustrated that they were still in a fight that late in the game. To me, their body language suggested they hadn't expected Millikin to challenge them the way they did.

That's simply how I read the situation from what I saw. I could be wrong, but it was my impression as someone who's spent a lot of time around the game. And honestly, I think Millikin deserves credit for putting Wesleyan in that position.

[Jbothe]

Millikin is a dangerous team now.  Very athletic on offense and defense. 

Wesleyan forgot the Cardinal Rule to not agree to night games on the road.

[GusD]

How Millikin Pulled Off the Upset Over Illinois Wesleyan

The most fascinating part of Millikin's upset over Illinois Wesleyan wasn't just that Millikin won. It was watching Illinois Wesleyan play as though they didn't believe they were in any real danger of losing until it was too late.

Wesleyan played like a team that expected to win by 21 points simply by showing up and being the more talented team. They never seemed to fully appreciate that Millikin was capable of beating them, and that arrogance showed up repeatedly in their play calling.

What makes it even more incredible is that Wesleyan seemed to carry that same mentality into the final moments. Even on the last play, they took their chances on a jump-ball fade or back-shoulder throw rather than running something that reflected a genuine respect for Millikin's ability to win the game. In a way, it was the perfect ending to a game in which Wesleyan never seemed to fully respect the opponent standing across from them.

The fact that anyone would ever associate the word arrogance with Illinois Wesleyan is totally incomprehensible. 😏

[CarollFan]

Regarding NPI, if UWP remains undefeated they will end up #1 in NPI. They still have to play UWW.

https://d3datacast.com/npi/fb/

Wheaton has one more win vs. Augie on the road that will ge included in their NPI but their last 2 games against Elmhurst and Carthage won't affect their NPI. They'll most likely end up in the top 4.

NCC has multiple games left that will improve their NPI, just don't lose.

[blue_jays]

Regarding NPI, if UWP remains undefeated they will end up #1 in NPI. They still have to play UWW.

https://d3datacast.com/npi/fb/

Wheaton has one more win vs. Augie on the road that will ge included in their NPI but their last 2 games against Elmhurst and Carthage won't affect their NPI. They'll most likely end up in the top 4.

NCC has multiple games left that will improve their NPI, just don't lose.

The WIAC is hard to predict as usual, but if Platteville wins, they would definitely be the favorite to win the national title. They're smoking good teams.

[USee]

They smoked 1 good team (at home). Still have UWW (home) and @UWLX on the schedule. They beat 3-3 Stout on the road by 4pts.

[bleedpurple]

They smoked 1 good team (at home). Still have UWW (home) and @UWLX on the schedule. They beat 3-3 Stout on the road by 4pts.

I agree with this. Stout is interesting. They might qualify as a good team in my mind. But it's true that Platteville didn't "smoke" them. It's true that most of the meat is still on the Platteville schedule. I can see justification for #1 votes for either Platteville or Wheaton.

"Favored to win the national title if they escape the WIAC unscathed"? First of all, no sure thing. Secondly,  I think I'd have to see the bracket. To me, unlike most years, there are a number of teams that are capable of pulling off a Stagg Bowl run and win.