FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Pat Coleman]

On to 2026.... do we have 2 non-conference games this year?  Anything scheduled yet?  Is Wheaton playing Mount Union again and is NCC playing Oshkosh again?

Yeah, the Wheaton/Mount and NCC/Oshkosh were home-and-home's that flip locale for 2026. And yes, 2026 will be the one season of back to two non-conference games with CUW coming in in 2027.

Posted on FootballScoop.com today that NCC is looking for a week 1 game.

Wonder what happened??

It's on our open dates board as well -- as I said earlier, that Oshkosh return date is in a future season, not 2026.

[markerickson]

I watched only the second half of the Stagg Bowl. Going into the game, NCC had to know they faced the top D3 football player.  NCC just didn't seem to have an answer for Blaha - same defensive scheme.  NCC did not respond well to altering formations in the second half.  And then the INT!  So happy I got to see it live!  NCC looked confused on O, and River Falls' D and coaches deservedly won the game by pitching a shutout against a team that averaged 52-5ppg during the regular season.

[Jbothe]

I watched only the second half of the Stagg Bowl. Going into the game, NCC had to know they faced the top D3 football player.  NCC just didn't seem to have an answer for Blaha - same defensive scheme.  NCC did not respond well to altering formations in the second half.  And then the INT!  So happy I got to see it live!  NCC looked confused on O, and River Falls' D and coaches deservedly won the game by pitching a shutout against a team that averaged 52-5ppg during the regular season.

I will admit is was pretty shocking to see how the second half of the Stagg Bowl played out.  But credit to UWRF as they were the better team.

Their offense puts a ton of stress on the defense and they play so fast you cannot do a whole lot scheme wise from down to down.

The real story was the UWRF defense and the job they did.

And...if you want to win a Stagg Bowl it helps to have a Gagliardi winner at QB.  There seems to be a pattern there.

[USee]

I watched only the second half of the Stagg Bowl. Going into the game, NCC had to know they faced the top D3 football player.  NCC just didn't seem to have an answer for Blaha - same defensive scheme.  NCC did not respond well to altering formations in the second half.  And then the INT!  So happy I got to see it live!  NCC looked confused on O, and River Falls' D and coaches deservedly won the game by pitching a shutout against a team that averaged 52-5ppg during the regular season.

Hey Mark, I don't think any of UWRF's opponents had an answer for Blaha. They all have an answer now, no more eligbility!

[CCIWFan69]

I watched only the second half of the Stagg Bowl. Going into the game, NCC had to know they faced the top D3 football player.  NCC just didn't seem to have an answer for Blaha - same defensive scheme.  NCC did not respond well to altering formations in the second half.  And then the INT!  So happy I got to see it live!  NCC looked confused on O, and River Falls' D and coaches deservedly won the game by pitching a shutout against a team that averaged 52-5ppg during the regular season.

Hey Mark, I don't think any of UWRF's opponents had an answer for Blaha. They all have an answer now, no more eligbility!

Ha!  True.  Reminded me of the Cortland QB from a few years ago.  A few things that stuck out to me (most mentioned already):

- NCC actually ran more plays than UWRF!
- NCC had 255 yards in the 1st half (if my math is correct).  UWRF held them to just around 100 in the 2nd half.
- The fumble when NCC probably would have gone up 14-0, UWRF had no answer for NCC at that point of the game.
- The first play after of the fumble - the long pass and great catch by the UWRF WR - a double dose of confidence for UWRF
- The INT in the end zone - NCC most likely goes into the half up 17-10 with a FG
- Great play by the UWRF DLineman on the INT in the 4th qtr
- Felt like UWRF put NCC in uncomfortable situations in the 2nd half
- UWRF was only 3-11 on 3rd down and 0-3 on 4th down; NCC was 7-12 and 0-2
- UWRF was 4-8 in the red zone; NCC was 1-3, could UWRF actually won by more if they converted?

Overall, good game.  Field was crap.

[robertgoulet]

The portal has come for NCC, for what I believe is the 1st time (probably not the last time)

Grant McAtee announced he's entering the portal today.

[CarollFan]

The portal has come for NCC, for what I believe is the 1st time (probably not the last time)

Grant McAtee announced he's entering the portal today.

He gets to join the 4,700 D1 players that have entered...

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/transfer-portal-tracker-2026-college-football-ncaa-players/live/

[NCC2010]

The portal has come for NCC, for what I believe is the 1st time (probably not the last time)

Grant McAtee announced he's entering the portal today.

Believe this is the first time a player has entered that was a contributor/starter. I anticipated Ashiru entering the portal as well but haven't seen him announce that yet.

In other news, I did get word that Jack Rummell does in fact have another year of eligibility and plans on playing next season.

[cciwman]

That is big news on Rummell.  He had some huge games in the Playoffs and was injured going into the Stagg and gutted through the game.  Couldn't tell on tv, but he was playing with a bad shoulder injury that would have sidelined most. 

[D3fanboy]

The portal has come for NCC, for what I believe is the 1st time (probably not the last time)

Grant McAtee announced he's entering the portal today.

Believe this is the first time a player has entered that was a contributor/starter. I anticipated Ashiru entering the portal as well but haven't seen him announce that yet.

In other news, I did get word that Jack Rummell does in fact have another year of eligibility and plans on playing next season.

UWRF is dealing with the portal a bit now...I can't imagine that NCC only loses one TE/WR...this new D3FB pretty much sucks.  Think of it as minor league baseball, we're single A

[robertgoulet]

The portal has come for NCC, for what I believe is the 1st time (probably not the last time)

Grant McAtee announced he's entering the portal today.

Believe this is the first time a player has entered that was a contributor/starter. I anticipated Ashiru entering the portal as well but haven't seen him announce that yet.

In other news, I did get word that Jack Rummell does in fact have another year of eligibility and plans on playing next season.

UWRF is dealing with the portal a bit now...I can't imagine that NCC only loses one TE/WR...this new D3FB pretty much sucks.  Think of it as minor league baseball, we're single A

For teams with at least SOME name recognition/recent history I think you could make an argument that they should be able to reload using guys dropping down from D1 or D2. Definitely losing out on the comradery that is a big part of D3 though.

[NCC2010]

McAtee entering the portal was notable mainly because he's the first guy to leave that actually saw playing time.  In previous years, guys like Lehnen, Hardy, Sullivan etc, could've left but chose to stay. 

I'm guessing we will see more starters enter the portal but this is a first for NCC in the portal era. 

[robertgoulet]

Have to imagine it will be limited to guys who have D1 physical measurables (McAtee, Rorher, Hardy, Sullivan), but who knows. It's a whole new world!

Honestly can't blame them...may as well take a shot and see if you can get some free schooling rather than student loan debt. Worst case is you're probably welcomed back to the program since they're not giving your scholly to someone else like if you were leaving D1 or D2.

[robertgoulet]

Saw this posted today:

There were 10,576 football players that had entered the portal as of Wednesday morning. Of those 10.5K who jumped in, 6,846 are still active and looking for a new team.

There aren't 6,846 open scholarships much less roster spots in Division 1.