FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[USee]

North Central hosting Hanover in round 1. Likely @Bethel in round 2(or hosting Wartburg) and UWW in the quarters if they make it that far.

Congrats to Jeff Thorne and the Cardinals for finishing strong.

[nccfac]

NCC, if they win the first round (which they should), will host in the second round no matter if it is Bethel or Wartburg. Just as St. Johns above, who will also host any second round game. They didn't place the second team in the bracket in the bottom slot this time. 

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

North Central hosting Hanover in round 1. Likely @Bethel in round 2(or hosting Wartburg) and UWW in the quarters if they make it that far.

Congrats to Jeff Thorne and the Cardinals for finishing strong.

I think North Central would host Bethel. Looking at the other matchups in the same positions, St John's/Whitworth, North Central/Bethel, John Carroll/Del Val, Frostburg/Johns Hopkins, I think the 1st team would host all of those.

As an HCAC guy I'm hoping Hanover does well in Naperville. As a Franklin guy, I won't be that heartbroken if the Cards have their backups in before the 4th quarter.

[Titan Q]

IWU's season ending today is a reminder that every single game is huge.  There is no margin for error.

The Titans had a tremendous season.  I watched every game but one and this team was a joy to watch -- really a hard-working group of guys that made big plays.

Huge kudos to Norm Eash and his staff.  To share the CCIW title the last two years with North Central is extremely impressive.  I think anyone who watched the Titans play this year left thinking IWU was very well-coached.

Best of luck to North Central in the NCAA tournament.  The Cardinals are talented enough to do some big things.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Yeah, NCC's first round should be a laugher, but round two (hosting? Bethel) is probably a bit tougher than they deserved.

I long-since resigned myself that IWU wouldn't make the playoffs, but I still think they got hosed.  The North RAC for some reason seems to conspire against the North!  I think they just mail in the standings.  (I haven't seen them yet [are they up?], but suspect Wabash was still blocking IWU and Wheaton from even reaching the table - does the North RAC realize that winning % is NOT the ONLY primary criterion?)

[Titan Q]

I long-since resigned myself that IWU wouldn't make the playoffs, but I still think they got hosed.  The North RAC for some reason seems to conspire against the North!  I think they just mail in the standings.  (I haven't seen them yet [are they up?], but suspect Wabash was still blocking IWU and Wheaton from even reaching the table - does the North RAC realize that winning % is NOT the ONLY primary criterion?)

We won't have a complete understanding until we see the final North ranking. 

I'd have an easier time adjusting to the football off-season knowing IWU was on the board and just didn't get picked.  If the North RAC had Wabash as the top Pool C candidate after JC I will actually feel ill.

[Patrick Coleman]

I'd recommend not listening to tomorrow's podcast in the car, then, unless you have a motion sickness bag.

[Titan Q]

I'd recommend not listening to tomorrow's podcast in the car, then, unless you have a motion sickness bag.

Ugh.

Flying to Miami for work tomorrow...not gonna listen until I am on the ground.

[Gregory Sager]

Yeah, NCC's first round should be a laugher, but round two (hosting? Bethel) is probably a bit tougher than they deserved.

I long-since resigned myself that IWU wouldn't make the playoffs, but I still think they got hosed.  The North RAC for some reason seems to conspire against the North!  I think they just mail in the standings.  (I haven't seen them yet [are they up?], but suspect Wabash was still blocking IWU and Wheaton from even reaching the table - does the North RAC realize that winning % is NOT the ONLY primary criterion?)

My world, and welcome to it. North Park won the CCIW title in men's soccer this season and had a 16-3 record, but NPU never even got to the table on selection day because of the opposite reason -- the committee for men's soccer stresses SoS to the exclusion of everything else, including winning %, which left the Vikings stuck behind a Hope squad that never got off of the table.

Committees have their own idiosyncrasies in terms of criteria preferences, and they not only vary from sport to sport, they even vary from year to year within the same sport as the composition of the committee changes. Some teams win Pool C berths because of those idiosyncrasies, and other teams lose them.

[79jaybird]

Tough times to be an Elmhurst Alumn right now..... I was running a little late, got to the game at the end of the first Q and it was 30-0. I made it to halftime by then it was 51-0 and got on a dodge. No pride in the Bluejays, completely laid over, and quit. Embarassing.

Very nice of the ticket lady at Wheaton, she didnt charge me to enter.... I guess thats the one positive of the day.

GoIrish is spot on.  Elmhurst needs a leader. I've said this before and all season, that there seems to be a lot of "talk" at Elmhurst, no action.  You can't use the injury excuse either. Every team has to endure injuries.   Very sad season for our Alma Mater.   I'm hoping the college gets smart and makes some changes.....

Congratulations to NC and IWU.  Every year it gets harder and harder to be/stay at the top, so job well done. 

[iwu70]

I wish NCC well in the playoffs.  Hope they make some noise and have a good long run for the CCIW.

Congrats to the Titans and the coaching staff again for Co-Champions, second year running.  I fun team to watch and support.  Congrats and good wishes to all the seniors.  Bauer and many receivers coming back, though defense will again need some re-tooling.  Good prospects for next season. 

IWU'70

[USee]

Just listened to the Chair on the podcast. Great job by Pat to try and pin him on the issues of how the North got ranked and the rationale against IWU.

That said, good Lord did he butcher the explanation on the North. It's really a huge step back when you say things like:

"...we lean on the RAC [to rank teams]. I wish I could see all 250 teams play...[we won't change it]as long as there is not major issues with the criteria they are putting up there. Teams are evaluated by the [North] committee members who are seeing them."

When pressed whether the fact that Wabash sat on the board so long was an indication the North RAC got it wrong he said:

"I don't think that's their job....the Regionally Ranked wins were all over the place and there was some cannibalization with teams playing each other. The regionally ranked wins were all over the place, there was some cannibalization with teams playing each other, It was about who did they beat, that was a big part of it. The losses that piled up cost them even though they were quality losses"

[footballlover]

Kudos to WashU for an incredibly successful first season in the amazing and challenging CCIW. I believe they were picked to be sixth place in this conference before the season started, and they certainly drew attention and turned heads as a real contender for the top of the heap as they earned a very respectable co-third-place spot.

GO BEARS!

[hazzben]

Just listened to the Chair on the podcast. Great job by Pat to try and pin him on the issues of how the North got ranked and the rationale against IWU.

That said, good Lord did he butcher the explanation on the North. It's really a huge step back when you say things like:

"...we lean on the RAC [to rank teams]. I wish I could see all 250 teams play...[we won't change it]as long as there is not major issues with the criteria they are putting up there. Teams are evaluated by the [North] committee members who are seeing them."

When pressed whether the fact that Wabash sat on the board so long was an indication the North RAC got it wrong he said:

"I don't think that's their job....the Regionally Ranked wins were all over the place and there was some cannibalization with teams playing each other. The regionally ranked wins were all over the place, there was some cannibalization with teams playing each other, It was about who did they beat, that was a big part of it. The losses that piled up cost them even though they were quality losses"

I think he's falling on his sword for the North RAC. Nice thing to do for the RAC members, but no justice for the broader system. I want the NC to be willing, when needed, to reach down into a RR and re-adjust when it's clearly out of wack. That's the only form of accountability these RAC's have. But he said they were essentially unwilling to do this when he went on the podcast a month ago. Basically if there was a strange ranking, they'd go back to the RAC and ask them to 'explain their rationale.' That's a far cry from sending it back to the RAC and saying, 'listen, you got this wrong and look out of step with the criteria. SOS, Win %, RRO, common opponenents, h2h, etc. are all criteria. You can't just cherry pick one category and list accordingly.'

[USee]

This week All Conference awards will be determined. I think some of the top awards will be a no-brainer but I will be interested to see who they determine a few others.

I think Broc Rutter should be a unanimous choice for OPOY
Jeff Thorne is likely the strong favorite for COY
For DPOY it may be interesting. Usually the POY awards go to the conference champs. But Wheaton's defense was by far the most consistent and dominant unit in the league (and the nation-#4 ranked) against a very strong set  of offensive teams. I think the right choice is one of Wheaton's top 3 defenders (Pat O'Connell, Eric Stevenson, Tyler Sigler). I am sure NCC will argue for DJ Warkenthein from the #2 defense in the conference and IWU may try for Eric Dubose, who was  the most impactful player on the Titan defense.

The other battles that will be difficult discussions are at QB and WR. I can't remember a year with a deeper talent pool at those two spots, all deserving of 1st team accolades. Unfortunately, the usual stats that would earn you first team may well get you 2nd team or not mentioned.

Though I strong dislike the naming of mulitple players on the 2nd team, it's likely what we will see with as many as 4 QB's named all conference and 8 WR's.

From my view I like:

Broc Rutter, 1st team, OPOY
Brandon Bauer, 2nd team
Johnny Davidson/Curtis McWilliams, honorable mention (though we don't have HM in the CCIW)

WR:
Healy, IWU,1st team
Nichols, Wheaton, 1st Team
Kamienski, , NCC, 1st Team
Walsh, IWU,  2nd Team
Sfikas, NCC, 2nd team
Perry, Millikin, 2nd team

All of these WR are 1st team talents in my opinion.

There are going to be some tough choices.