FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[79jaybird]

IMO,  if Elmhurst had a few more studs at the "skilled" offensive positions,  Elmhurst could possibly be undefeated at this point.   But, their defense is forced to carry the load which is why they have the record they currently have.   Hopefully, no let downs this weekend for HC. 

[wally_wabash]

Anyone (outside of WC fans) know the HS QB?

Blaine Gabbert.

[Mugsy]

Anyone (outside of WC fans) know the HS QB?

Blaine Gabbert.

Almost as good if you said Chris Weinke or Billy Joe Hobert.   

[CardinalAlum]

Ok... that settles it.  We'll use SoDup.   

Being a SoRo'er myself, I'm with you Mugsy, let's stick w/ SoDup. I certainly don't want to be lumped into the same category as those redbirds...

Oh come on, we might class you you guys up a bit!   

[CardinalAlum]

Perfect football weather!   Good luck to all teams today!

[Mugsy]

Perfect football weather!   Good luck to all teams today!

These are my favorite days of the year.  Perfect fall day.

[Gregory Sager]

Since there's only 20 minutes left until game time, I can announce here that, for the first time since he arrived on campus, T.D. Conway will not be NPU's starting quarterback today. In fact, he won't suit up at all. He's out with an injury (that I won't disclose) that he suffered last week against Millikin. He's now the most prominent name on a long list of injury casualties out today for the Vikes.

T.D.'s heir apparent signal-caller, sophomore Jace Bankord, will get a full day's work today. He's had several mop-up appearances this season, but this will be his true baptism of fire.

[CardinalAlum]

Since there's only 20 minutes left until game time, I can announce here that, for the first time since he arrived on campus, T.D. Conway will not be NPU's starting quarterback today. In fact, he won't suit up at all. He's out with an injury (that I won't disclose) that he suffered last week against Millikin. He's now the most prominent name on a long list of injury casualties out today for the Vikes.

T.D.'s heir apparent signal-caller, sophomore Jace Bankord, will get a full day's work today. He's had several mop-up appearances this season, but this will be his true baptism of fire.

Yikes.  Hope T.D. gets better soon!   He has been a difference maker.

[Gregory Sager]

North Central 35
North Park 14

[Gregory Sager]

Wheaton 35
Millikin 19

I kept an eye on the live stats of this one while i was broadcasting NCC @ NPU, and it appeared that this was a closer game than the final score indicated.

Illinois Wesleyan 42
Augustana 6

Elmhurst 45
Carroll 34

[USee]

Wheaton 35
Millikin 19

Wheaton 70 plays 462 yds. 143 rush
Andrew Bowers 19-33-0 4 TDs 280 yds
Sola Olateju 18 rush 98 yds 5.4 ypc
Wheaton Defense-7 sacks (Greenlee 3 sacks)

Millikin 67 plays 292 yds; 65 yds rushing
Stepina 22-37-2  227 yds 3 TD

This game looked a bit like a mini version of last week. Millikin had 182 yds in the first half and just 100 in the second including less than 10 yds on their final 4 possessions. The Thunder had a sluggish first half going out to a 14-0 lead and then sputtered on offense and Millikin completed some passes to make it a 14-13 game (missed Xtra point). Wheaton had a nice drive to end the half for a TD and take a 21-13 lead into the half. The second half had Wheaton controlling the game and Olateju running effectively while the Wheaton Dline dominated the line of scrimmage. Millikin was able to score after getting the ball at midfield to make it a 21-19 game and the Millikin offense never got past their own 30 yd line in 4 more possessions the rest of the game. Wheaton added a TD drive and a pick 6 in the 4th for the final margin.

The Thunder are really good up front on both side of the ball but the last two weeks has revealed some serious concerns about the ability of their secondary to defend the pass. IWU beat them on 4 passes that resulted in about 200 yds of offense and Millikin's Stepina, despite getting sacked 7 times, was successful in completing 60% of this passes for 3 TD's all of which looked pretty easy.

When Wheaton doesn't get to the QB, they have problems. The good news is they  have 27 sacks in 6 games, which is top 5 in the country and really good by anyone's standards. Offensively the Thunder move the ball well but are dead last in the league and 188th of 244 teams in red zone offense.  Two other areas of concern are their 3rd down efficiency. Each of the last two years they have been top 20 in the country both offensively and defensively. As of yesterday they are 5th in conference and 107th/116th in the country respectively in those two categories.

[kiko]

We're six weeks into the season, and I still have no idea how strong North Central is or isn't.  (Read as: are they a top-ten team, or a top-twenty team that, should they make the playoffs, will hang around for a week or two but not seriously challenge a Purple?)

This is due to a combination of the nonconference schedule: no common opponents or ability to take a cue from "they beat a mid-tier MIAA school by 30, which means...".  And also driven by who the Cardinals faced in early in-conference games.  Illinois Wesleyan was compromised at QB; North Park is quite banged up at the moment and, while better than in the past, is still a work in progress.  And Millikin is Millikin.

It is very odd to come into Bell week with this many data points that provide only limited insight to decode.  Next Saturday is always a huge game and will obviously begin to provide this clarity.

[USee]

Yesterday Maurice Shoemakere-Gilmore had himself a pretty good day vs Augie. 26 carries, 220 yds (8.2 ypc) and 1 TD. He also caught 2 TD passes. IWU had been averaging just 142 yds a game on the ground and Augie was giving up 135 yds a game. I still think MSG is one of the better talents at RB in D3 and yesterday, in a game I watched about a half, he was awesome.

[CardinalAlum]

Yesterday Maurice Shoemakere-Gilmore had himself a pretty good day vs Augie. 26 carries, 220 yds (8.2 ypc) and 1 TD. He also caught 2 TD passes. IWU had been averaging just 142 yds a game on the ground and Augie was giving up 135 yds a game. I still think MSG is one of the better talents at RB in D3 and yesterday, in a game I watched about a half, he was awesome.

USee,

I'm going to disagree with you.  I didn't see this elite back you speak of a couple of weeks ago and his stats against Wheaton don't change my opinion.   

[thunderdog]

Yesterday Maurice Shoemakere-Gilmore had himself a pretty good day vs Augie. 26 carries, 220 yds (8.2 ypc) and 1 TD. He also caught 2 TD passes. IWU had been averaging just 142 yds a game on the ground and Augie was giving up 135 yds a game. I still think MSG is one of the better talents at RB in D3 and yesterday, in a game I watched about a half, he was awesome.

USee,

I'm going to disagree with you.  I didn't see this elite back you speak of a couple of weeks ago and his stats against Wheaton don't change my opinion.

Gee, a red bird and a Thunder disagreeing on something... what's next?... are yous twos gonna argue over who will win the WC @ SoDup game too???

This world is falling apart