FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[CarollFan]

One thing that completely missed me when I was thinking about this matchup was that Wilson is in his 1st season as starting QB, is only a true sophomore and has not really been tested for more than 1/2 a game. Should have expected some growing pains, I guess.

Going to take a look at the NCC 2 deep and see what they lose going into next year, at some point.

The earlier portal comment made me think. In D1 CFP, depth chart changes via the portal are the name of the game. How many players across D3 decide to access the portal in hopes of "moving up"?

The InTheD3FB huddle guys discussed the portal with a couple HC's (UWO and LFC) pregame.

They brought up the D1 Jan time frame can make it difficult on some D3 schools lining up admissions etc. Something I hadn't thought of...

[Pat Coleman]

Yes, two non-conference games. Last we heard, North Central is playing Wartburg but still needs a second non-conference game for 2026.

Field was tough, for sure. Very surprised it wasn't better cared for. It snowed here on Thursday and never got above freezing after that. Also, the big south grandstand kept the field in shadows the whole time, not the the sun ever came out.

They ought to have tarped the field, clearly.

[D3fanboy]

Yes, two non-conference games. Last we heard, North Central is playing Wartburg but still needs a second non-conference game for 2026.

Field was tough, for sure. Very surprised it wasn't better cared for. It snowed here on Thursday and never got above freezing after that. Also, the big south grandstand kept the field in shadows the whole time, not the the sun ever came out.

They ought to have tarped the field, clearly.

that's just the HOF Village being the HOF Village.  As a Canton resident, the NCAA would be better off keeping the Stagg in Salem, where it belongs and they handle it well

[NCC2010]

Yes, two non-conference games. Last we heard, North Central is playing Wartburg but still needs a second non-conference game for 2026.

Field was tough, for sure. Very surprised it wasn't better cared for. It snowed here on Thursday and never got above freezing after that. Also, the big south grandstand kept the field in shadows the whole time, not the the sun ever came out.

They ought to have tarped the field, clearly.

Don't they have the 2nd half of their home and home @ Oshkosh next year?  Love the Wartburg matchup, that's a great one.

[Pat Coleman]

Yes, two non-conference games. Last we heard, North Central is playing Wartburg but still needs a second non-conference game for 2026.

Field was tough, for sure. Very surprised it wasn't better cared for. It snowed here on Thursday and never got above freezing after that. Also, the big south grandstand kept the field in shadows the whole time, not the the sun ever came out.

They ought to have tarped the field, clearly.

Don't they have the 2nd half of their home and home @ Oshkosh next year?  Love the Wartburg matchup, that's a great one.

My understanding is the second half of that is in a future season beyond 2026.

[NCC2010]

One thing that completely missed me when I was thinking about this matchup was that Wilson is in his 1st season as starting QB, is only a true sophomore and has not really been tested for more than 1/2 a game. Should have expected some growing pains, I guess.

Going to take a look at the NCC 2 deep and see what they lose going into next year, at some point.

Rough estimate of the returning starters for next season, obviously subject to change:

OFFENSE:
QB - Wilson
RB - McNeal
WR1 - Rummell (depends if he redshirted at Tennessee Tech as a freshman or not, he's only played 3 seasons at NCC)
WR2 -
WR3 -
TE - McAtee
LT - Cramer
LG -
C -
RG - Golden
RT - Cortez

Losing 2 lineman and then possibly the top 2 WRs.  The coaching staff is very high on 3 freshman WRs, David Ballard III, Jake Vitel, and Amir Khan, so I think the receiving corps will be up to the usual standard.

DEFENSE:
DE - Medina
DT - Ohle
DT -
DE -
LB - Janiak
LB -
OLB/Nickel -
CB -
S - Garrigan
S - Green
CB -

Losing a lot more on defense. This year's team was carried by the defense IMO and next year will need to be more of the offense driving the show, which has been the case for NCC teams essentially the entire Thorne era

[Nate Riley]

One thing that completely missed me when I was thinking about this matchup was that Wilson is in his 1st season as starting QB, is only a true sophomore and has not really been tested for more than 1/2 a game. Should have expected some growing pains, I guess.

Going to take a look at the NCC 2 deep and see what they lose going into next year, at some point.

It's really challenging to win a Stagg Bowl without a seasoned QB. Lehnen didn't win a title until his 3rd academic year. Wilson is in his 2nd academic year while Blaha is in his 6th. Experience matters a lot. I hope Wilson won't be too hard on himself, as he had an excellent season overall and has great potential. NCC's wide receiving corps lacked depth and (outside of Skokna) explosiveness. It will be a big question mark in the fall, with Skokna and Rummell graduating. Maybe Ashiru can convert to WR.

You mentioned WR depth does anyone know why Jaylen Johnson #11 (transfer from NIU) was not utilized more in the passing game? He's a big target at 6'5-6'6. Seemed like he would have been a good fit with a young pocket QB.

[cuyahogacuse]

Field was tough, for sure. Very surprised it wasn't better cared for. It snowed here on Thursday and never got above freezing after that. Also, the big south grandstand kept the field in shadows the whole time, not the the sun ever came out.

They ought to have tarped the field, clearly.

Another Northeast Ohio local here. We saw the sun for a few days in November. We will see it again in April.

Is Wheaton playing Mount Union again and is NCC playing Oshkosh again?

Wheaton opens up at home against Mount Union. The Thunder travel to Michigan to play at Albion in Week 2.

[D3fanboy]

One thing that completely missed me when I was thinking about this matchup was that Wilson is in his 1st season as starting QB, is only a true sophomore and has not really been tested for more than 1/2 a game. Should have expected some growing pains, I guess.

Going to take a look at the NCC 2 deep and see what they lose going into next year, at some point.

It's really challenging to win a Stagg Bowl without a seasoned QB. Lehnen didn't win a title until his 3rd academic year. Wilson is in his 2nd academic year while Blaha is in his 6th. Experience matters a lot. I hope Wilson won't be too hard on himself, as he had an excellent season overall and has great potential. NCC's wide receiving corps lacked depth and (outside of Skokna) explosiveness. It will be a big question mark in the fall, with Skokna and Rummell graduating. Maybe Ashiru can convert to WR.

You mentioned WR depth does anyone know why Jaylen Johnson #11 (transfer from NIU) was not utilized more in the passing game? He's a big target at 6'5-6'6. Seemed like he would have been a good fit with a young pocket QB.

seems like a Tarzan/Jane type situation

[cuyahogacuse]

Final polls are out.

North Central finishes at No. 2.

Wheaton checks in at No. 7.

Glad to see the pollsters - both coaches and media - finally come to their collective senses.

The Thunder spent most of the year between 17-20, behind such juggernauts as Hope, DePauw, Salisbury and others.

I dare say the at the end of the year, Wheaton was better than both John Carroll and Mount Union as well, but you can't argue with both of those teams finishing slightly ahead of the Thunder given the Week 1 result on the field.

Still, this team was the second to last team in the tournament, based on NPI and underrated all year. Glad they were able to make a run in the playoffs to remove all doubt about how good they really were.

Wheaton lost to #1, #2 and #6, with wins against #12/14 Wartburg and #14/13 DePauw.

The Thunder played 9 of 14 games on the road including all five games against ranked opponents.

Time to retool and get ready for Mount Union in September.

[GusD]

One thing that completely missed me when I was thinking about this matchup was that Wilson is in his 1st season as starting QB, is only a true sophomore and has not really been tested for more than 1/2 a game. Should have expected some growing pains, I guess.

Going to take a look at the NCC 2 deep and see what they lose going into next year, at some point.

Rough estimate of the returning starters for next season, obviously subject to change:

OFFENSE:
QB - Wilson
RB - McNeal
WR1 - Rummell (depends if he redshirted at Tennessee Tech as a freshman or not, he's only played 3 seasons at NCC)
WR2 -
WR3 -
TE - McAtee
LT - Cramer
LG -
C -
RG - Golden
RT - Cortez

Losing 2 lineman and then possibly the top 2 WRs.  The coaching staff is very high on 3 freshman WRs, David Ballard III, Jake Vitel, and Amir Khan, so I think the receiving corps will be up to the usual standard.

DEFENSE:
DE - Medina
DT - Ohle
DT -
DE -
LB - Janiak
LB -
OLB/Nickel -
CB -
S - Garrigan
S - Green
CB -

Losing a lot more on defense. This year's team was carried by the defense IMO and next year will need to be more of the offense driving the show, which has been the case for NCC teams essentially the entire Thorne era

On offense, RG Golden will not be back next year. He'll be graduating and moving on. Also, I believe McAtee will be lining up at one of the WR spots next year with the prime TE prospects being Dawson Trebolo or Will Diamond.

[lmitzel]

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.

[CarollFan]

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/02/north-central-college-naperville-name-change/

Article discussing possible name change for NCC. Its behind a paywall but  I think you get a free view, at least I did.

[The Third Division]

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/02/north-central-college-naperville-name-change/

Article discussing possible name change for NCC. Its behind a paywall but  I think you get a free view, at least I did.

Is "we're very good at football" College one of the options?

[Gregory Sager]

The reporter and the NCC people interviewed seemed to have overlooked the fact that there's already a D3 school called North Central University here in the midwest.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/02/north-central-college-naperville-name-change/

Article discussing possible name change for NCC. Its behind a paywall but  I think you get a free view, at least I did.

Is "we're very good at football" College one of the options?

It probably has slightly more cachet than We're Very Good At Women's Wrestling College.