FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[New Tradition]

North Central opens the season ranked #2 by D3Football.com
Wheaton is #8

https://northcentralcardinals.com/news/2022/7/26/football-cardinals-open-2022-ranked-second-by-d3football-com.aspx

https://d3football.com/top25/2022/preseason

The thing I find interesting is that NCC is ranked 2 in spite of having no first place votes, while UMU trails us by 10 points overall and has 2 first place votes.  Couple of voters still pretty high on The Machine--most of the rest, it would appear, not so much.  I don't know much about what they have coming back, but if they're able to make a run and win it, it'll be their first trip back to the Stagg since 2018 and first win since 2017.  Maybe they're high on Plunk doing something special, but he won't have Petruccelli to help share some of the offensive load this season, I believe.

what kind of crap program misses two straight Stagg Bowls?  not winning a title for three years?  might as well shut the program down

4 Stagg Bowls since a win and 3 since an appearance.  But who's counting?  Point is, there are very few, if any, on the current UMU roster who have been to a Stagg.  They've gotten bounced while hosting in Alliance in each of the last 2 post seasons--something that never happened when they were winning Stagg Bowls.  I'm not saying that they're not still an elite team.  Just wondering what 2 voters see in this year's squad to justify picking them to win it all in the preseason poll rather than going to with the consensus UMHB.  And to further illustrate my point--in spite of the 2 first place votes, they're still not holding down the second place spot, which tells me that the vast majority of other 23 voters not only disagreed with having them in first place, but didn't have them in second either.  Just trying to get inside the heads of those 2 voters and see what they see.  Hoping someone with more knowledge of the program might share some tidbit that I don't know about.  Maybe it is deserved--I don't know.  But maybe not if you're going to throw up the defense mechanisms and take a pretty benign statement of fact that personally. 

[D3fanboy]

North Central opens the season ranked #2 by D3Football.com
Wheaton is #8

https://northcentralcardinals.com/news/2022/7/26/football-cardinals-open-2022-ranked-second-by-d3football-com.aspx

https://d3football.com/top25/2022/preseason

The thing I find interesting is that NCC is ranked 2 in spite of having no first place votes, while UMU trails us by 10 points overall and has 2 first place votes.  Couple of voters still pretty high on The Machine--most of the rest, it would appear, not so much.  I don't know much about what they have coming back, but if they're able to make a run and win it, it'll be their first trip back to the Stagg since 2018 and first win since 2017.  Maybe they're high on Plunk doing something special, but he won't have Petruccelli to help share some of the offensive load this season, I believe.

what kind of crap program misses two straight Stagg Bowls?  not winning a title for three years?  might as well shut the program down

4 Stagg Bowls since a win and 3 since an appearance.  But who's counting?  Point is, there are very few, if any, on the current UMU roster who have been to a Stagg.  They've gotten bounced while hosting in Alliance in each of the last 2 post seasons--something that never happened when they were winning Stagg Bowls.  I'm not saying that they're not still an elite team.  Just wondering what 2 voters see in this year's squad to justify picking them to win it all in the preseason poll rather than going to with the consensus UMHB.  And to further illustrate my point--in spite of the 2 first place votes, they're still not holding down the second place spot, which tells me that the vast majority of other 23 voters not only disagreed with having them in first place, but didn't have them in second either.  Just trying to get inside the heads of those 2 voters and see what they see.  Hoping someone with more knowledge of the program might share some tidbit that I don't know about.  Maybe it is deserved--I don't know.  But maybe not if you're going to throw up the defense mechanisms and take a pretty benign statement of fact that personally.

I know this might be tough, but I promise you wont have to take your shoes off for this math.

2017 - Mount Union
2018 - UMHB defeats Mount Union
2019 - congrats to NCC, an all-time team
2020 - no Stagg Bowl (COVID)
2021- UMHB embarrasses NCC

so pick your favorite hand, one finger up for 2018, another finger for 2019, skip 2020 and then another for 2021....1,2,3 look at you counting to three!  I hope that you could repeat the process for Mount Stagg appearances, but if not I'm sure someone can help you through it. 

[Gregory Sager]

In fact, North Park list only one person at the QB position.

That's just among the returnees. There are three QBs among the incoming freshmen:

Charlie Grant	6'0, 190	Charlotte, MI (Charlotte)
Justen Green	6'0, 195	Rantoul, IL (St. Thomas More)
Jacob Urdiales	6'2, 200	Lansing, IL (Thornton Fractional South)

Obviously, unless one of these guys wows the coaches to pieces, the job remains in the hands of incumbent Matt Eck. He had a fairly decent rookie season for the Vikings in 2021 while playing in a league that has never been kind to freshman starting quarterbacks. He holds a lot of promise for this year, what with having a full season's worth of starting experience under his belt and a largely intact offense (including his receiving corps) returning. While nobody thinks that it's the best situation to have a sophomore backed by three freshmen manning the most important position on the field, it is what it is. At least Eck is no longer as green as grass.

[New Tradition]

North Central opens the season ranked #2 by D3Football.com
Wheaton is #8

https://northcentralcardinals.com/news/2022/7/26/football-cardinals-open-2022-ranked-second-by-d3football-com.aspx

https://d3football.com/top25/2022/preseason

The thing I find interesting is that NCC is ranked 2 in spite of having no first place votes, while UMU trails us by 10 points overall and has 2 first place votes.  Couple of voters still pretty high on The Machine--most of the rest, it would appear, not so much.  I don't know much about what they have coming back, but if they're able to make a run and win it, it'll be their first trip back to the Stagg since 2018 and first win since 2017.  Maybe they're high on Plunk doing something special, but he won't have Petruccelli to help share some of the offensive load this season, I believe.

what kind of crap program misses two straight Stagg Bowls?  not winning a title for three years?  might as well shut the program down

4 Stagg Bowls since a win and 3 since an appearance.  But who's counting?  Point is, there are very few, if any, on the current UMU roster who have been to a Stagg.  They've gotten bounced while hosting in Alliance in each of the last 2 post seasons--something that never happened when they were winning Stagg Bowls.  I'm not saying that they're not still an elite team.  Just wondering what 2 voters see in this year's squad to justify picking them to win it all in the preseason poll rather than going to with the consensus UMHB.  And to further illustrate my point--in spite of the 2 first place votes, they're still not holding down the second place spot, which tells me that the vast majority of other 23 voters not only disagreed with having them in first place, but didn't have them in second either.  Just trying to get inside the heads of those 2 voters and see what they see.  Hoping someone with more knowledge of the program might share some tidbit that I don't know about.  Maybe it is deserved--I don't know.  But maybe not if you're going to throw up the defense mechanisms and take a pretty benign statement of fact that personally.

I know this might be tough, but I promise you wont have to take your shoes off for this math.

2017 - Mount Union
2018 - UMHB defeats Mount Union
2019 - congrats to NCC, an all-time team
2020 - no Stagg Bowl (COVID)
2021- UMHB embarrasses NCC

so pick your favorite hand, one finger up for 2018, another finger for 2019, skip 2020 and then another for 2021....1,2,3 look at you counting to three!  I hope that you could repeat the process for Mount Stagg appearances, but if not I'm sure someone can help you through it.

Ack.  Covid.  I stand corrected on the minutia.  My question stands, though.  Nice deflection effort. 

[D3fanboy]

North Central opens the season ranked #2 by D3Football.com
Wheaton is #8

https://northcentralcardinals.com/news/2022/7/26/football-cardinals-open-2022-ranked-second-by-d3football-com.aspx

https://d3football.com/top25/2022/preseason

The thing I find interesting is that NCC is ranked 2 in spite of having no first place votes, while UMU trails us by 10 points overall and has 2 first place votes.  Couple of voters still pretty high on The Machine--most of the rest, it would appear, not so much.  I don't know much about what they have coming back, but if they're able to make a run and win it, it'll be their first trip back to the Stagg since 2018 and first win since 2017.  Maybe they're high on Plunk doing something special, but he won't have Petruccelli to help share some of the offensive load this season, I believe.

what kind of crap program misses two straight Stagg Bowls?  not winning a title for three years?  might as well shut the program down

4 Stagg Bowls since a win and 3 since an appearance.  But who's counting?  Point is, there are very few, if any, on the current UMU roster who have been to a Stagg.  They've gotten bounced while hosting in Alliance in each of the last 2 post seasons--something that never happened when they were winning Stagg Bowls.  I'm not saying that they're not still an elite team.  Just wondering what 2 voters see in this year's squad to justify picking them to win it all in the preseason poll rather than going to with the consensus UMHB.  And to further illustrate my point--in spite of the 2 first place votes, they're still not holding down the second place spot, which tells me that the vast majority of other 23 voters not only disagreed with having them in first place, but didn't have them in second either.  Just trying to get inside the heads of those 2 voters and see what they see.  Hoping someone with more knowledge of the program might share some tidbit that I don't know about.  Maybe it is deserved--I don't know.  But maybe not if you're going to throw up the defense mechanisms and take a pretty benign statement of fact that personally.

I know this might be tough, but I promise you wont have to take your shoes off for this math.

2017 - Mount Union
2018 - UMHB defeats Mount Union
2019 - congrats to NCC, an all-time team
2020 - no Stagg Bowl (COVID)
2021- UMHB embarrasses NCC

so pick your favorite hand, one finger up for 2018, another finger for 2019, skip 2020 and then another for 2021....1,2,3 look at you counting to three!  I hope that you could repeat the process for Mount Stagg appearances, but if not I'm sure someone can help you through it.

Ack.  Covid.  I stand corrected on the minutia.  My question stands, though.  Nice deflection effort.

I'd say that the majority of voters put the previous Stagg Bowl participants at 1-2 in the pre-season poll, every year.  Maybe a couple of voters were swayed by the absolute beatdown that NCC took on national TV.  It happens.  NCC will be fine and I bet that their program can withstand an absolute meaningless poll ranking

[Etchglow]

North Central opens the season ranked #2 by D3Football.com
Wheaton is #8

https://northcentralcardinals.com/news/2022/7/26/football-cardinals-open-2022-ranked-second-by-d3football-com.aspx

https://d3football.com/top25/2022/preseason

The thing I find interesting is that NCC is ranked 2 in spite of having no first place votes, while UMU trails us by 10 points overall and has 2 first place votes.  Couple of voters still pretty high on The Machine--most of the rest, it would appear, not so much.  I don't know much about what they have coming back, but if they're able to make a run and win it, it'll be their first trip back to the Stagg since 2018 and first win since 2017.  Maybe they're high on Plunk doing something special, but he won't have Petruccelli to help share some of the offensive load this season, I believe.

what kind of crap program misses two straight Stagg Bowls?  not winning a title for three years?  might as well shut the program down

4 Stagg Bowls since a win and 3 since an appearance.  But who's counting?  Point is, there are very few, if any, on the current UMU roster who have been to a Stagg.  They've gotten bounced while hosting in Alliance in each of the last 2 post seasons--something that never happened when they were winning Stagg Bowls.  I'm not saying that they're not still an elite team.  Just wondering what 2 voters see in this year's squad to justify picking them to win it all in the preseason poll rather than going to with the consensus UMHB.  And to further illustrate my point--in spite of the 2 first place votes, they're still not holding down the second place spot, which tells me that the vast majority of other 23 voters not only disagreed with having them in first place, but didn't have them in second either.  Just trying to get inside the heads of those 2 voters and see what they see.  Hoping someone with more knowledge of the program might share some tidbit that I don't know about.  Maybe it is deserved--I don't know.  But maybe not if you're going to throw up the defense mechanisms and take a pretty benign statement of fact that personally.

I know this might be tough, but I promise you wont have to take your shoes off for this math.

2017 - Mount Union
2018 - UMHB defeats Mount Union
2019 - congrats to NCC, an all-time team
2020 - no Stagg Bowl (COVID)
2021- UMHB embarrasses NCC

so pick your favorite hand, one finger up for 2018, another finger for 2019, skip 2020 and then another for 2021....1,2,3 look at you counting to three!  I hope that you could repeat the process for Mount Stagg appearances, but if not I'm sure someone can help you through it.

Ack.  Covid.  I stand corrected on the minutia.  My question stands, though.  Nice deflection effort.

I'd say that the majority of voters put the previous Stagg Bowl participants at 1-2 in the pre-season poll, every year.  Maybe a couple of voters were swayed by the absolute beatdown that NCC took on national TV.  It happens.  NCC will be fine and I bet that their program can withstand an absolute meaningless poll ranking

A couple of voters were swayed by NCC getting beat to vote for the team that got doubled up by NCC the game just before that?  Yeah, I don't buy that.

[D3fanboy]

North Central opens the season ranked #2 by D3Football.com
Wheaton is #8

https://northcentralcardinals.com/news/2022/7/26/football-cardinals-open-2022-ranked-second-by-d3football-com.aspx

https://d3football.com/top25/2022/preseason

The thing I find interesting is that NCC is ranked 2 in spite of having no first place votes, while UMU trails us by 10 points overall and has 2 first place votes.  Couple of voters still pretty high on The Machine--most of the rest, it would appear, not so much.  I don't know much about what they have coming back, but if they're able to make a run and win it, it'll be their first trip back to the Stagg since 2018 and first win since 2017.  Maybe they're high on Plunk doing something special, but he won't have Petruccelli to help share some of the offensive load this season, I believe.

what kind of crap program misses two straight Stagg Bowls?  not winning a title for three years?  might as well shut the program down

4 Stagg Bowls since a win and 3 since an appearance.  But who's counting?  Point is, there are very few, if any, on the current UMU roster who have been to a Stagg.  They've gotten bounced while hosting in Alliance in each of the last 2 post seasons--something that never happened when they were winning Stagg Bowls.  I'm not saying that they're not still an elite team.  Just wondering what 2 voters see in this year's squad to justify picking them to win it all in the preseason poll rather than going to with the consensus UMHB.  And to further illustrate my point--in spite of the 2 first place votes, they're still not holding down the second place spot, which tells me that the vast majority of other 23 voters not only disagreed with having them in first place, but didn't have them in second either.  Just trying to get inside the heads of those 2 voters and see what they see.  Hoping someone with more knowledge of the program might share some tidbit that I don't know about.  Maybe it is deserved--I don't know.  But maybe not if you're going to throw up the defense mechanisms and take a pretty benign statement of fact that personally.

I know this might be tough, but I promise you wont have to take your shoes off for this math.

2017 - Mount Union
2018 - UMHB defeats Mount Union
2019 - congrats to NCC, an all-time team
2020 - no Stagg Bowl (COVID)
2021- UMHB embarrasses NCC

so pick your favorite hand, one finger up for 2018, another finger for 2019, skip 2020 and then another for 2021....1,2,3 look at you counting to three!  I hope that you could repeat the process for Mount Stagg appearances, but if not I'm sure someone can help you through it.

Ack.  Covid.  I stand corrected on the minutia.  My question stands, though.  Nice deflection effort.

I'd say that the majority of voters put the previous Stagg Bowl participants at 1-2 in the pre-season poll, every year.  Maybe a couple of voters were swayed by the absolute beatdown that NCC took on national TV.  It happens.  NCC will be fine and I bet that their program can withstand an absolute meaningless poll ranking

A couple of voters were swayed by NCC getting beat to vote for the team that got doubled up by NCC the game just before that?  Yeah, I don't buy that.

I'm sure it's the "Mount Union bias" that got Mount two incredibly meaningless first place votes in an even more meaningless poll.  If UMHB and NCC posters are getting butthurt by the vote, just ask Pat who were the two #1 voters for Mount

[Thunderdome21]

North Central opens the season ranked #2 by D3Football.com
Wheaton is #8

https://northcentralcardinals.com/news/2022/7/26/football-cardinals-open-2022-ranked-second-by-d3football-com.aspx

https://d3football.com/top25/2022/preseason

The thing I find interesting is that NCC is ranked 2 in spite of having no first place votes, while UMU trails us by 10 points overall and has 2 first place votes.  Couple of voters still pretty high on The Machine--most of the rest, it would appear, not so much.  I don't know much about what they have coming back, but if they're able to make a run and win it, it'll be their first trip back to the Stagg since 2018 and first win since 2017.  Maybe they're high on Plunk doing something special, but he won't have Petruccelli to help share some of the offensive load this season, I believe.

what kind of crap program misses two straight Stagg Bowls?  not winning a title for three years?  might as well shut the program down

4 Stagg Bowls since a win and 3 since an appearance.  But who's counting?  Point is, there are very few, if any, on the current UMU roster who have been to a Stagg.  They've gotten bounced while hosting in Alliance in each of the last 2 post seasons--something that never happened when they were winning Stagg Bowls.  I'm not saying that they're not still an elite team.  Just wondering what 2 voters see in this year's squad to justify picking them to win it all in the preseason poll rather than going to with the consensus UMHB.  And to further illustrate my point--in spite of the 2 first place votes, they're still not holding down the second place spot, which tells me that the vast majority of other 23 voters not only disagreed with having them in first place, but didn't have them in second either.  Just trying to get inside the heads of those 2 voters and see what they see.  Hoping someone with more knowledge of the program might share some tidbit that I don't know about.  Maybe it is deserved--I don't know.  But maybe not if you're going to throw up the defense mechanisms and take a pretty benign statement of fact that personally.

I know this might be tough, but I promise you wont have to take your shoes off for this math.

2017 - Mount Union
2018 - UMHB defeats Mount Union
2019 - congrats to NCC, an all-time team
2020 - no Stagg Bowl (COVID)
2021- UMHB embarrasses NCC

so pick your favorite hand, one finger up for 2018, another finger for 2019, skip 2020 and then another for 2021....1,2,3 look at you counting to three!  I hope that you could repeat the process for Mount Stagg appearances, but if not I'm sure someone can help you through it.

Ack.  Covid.  I stand corrected on the minutia.  My question stands, though.  Nice deflection effort.

I'd say that the majority of voters put the previous Stagg Bowl participants at 1-2 in the pre-season poll, every year.  Maybe a couple of voters were swayed by the absolute beatdown that NCC took on national TV.  It happens.  NCC will be fine and I bet that their program can withstand an absolute meaningless poll ranking

A couple of voters were swayed by NCC getting beat to vote for the team that got doubled up by NCC the game just before that?  Yeah, I don't buy that.

Maybe because Mount Union has 18 starters coming back?

https://www.the-review.com/story/sports/college/2022/08/05/mount-union-football-coach-geoff-dartt-holds-high-expectations/65390976007/

[USee]

Well, NCC has between 15-17 starters back including 9 on offense so I am not sure that's a justification.

[D3fanboy]

Well, NCC has between 15-17 starters back including 9 on offense so I am not sure that's a justification.

or NCC having a new HC?

[USee]

That might the case normally but one only need to look back to preseason 2021 when Dartt was a new HC at UMU and Mt Union got 6 first place votes in the poll to NCC's 4. So probably not that either. It's likely the Mt Union effect, which NCC players and fans can continue to use as fuel as a sign of 'disprespect' 

[D3fanboy]

That might the case normally but one only need to look back to preseason 2021 when Dartt was a new HC at UMU and Mt Union got 6 first place votes in the poll to NCC's 4. So probably not that either. It's likely the Mt Union effect, which NCC players and fans can continue to use as fuel as a sign of 'disprespect' 

NCC uses Mount getting two more meaningless #1 votes in the year after not playing spring football as "disrespect"?  and I'm the one taking minutia personally?  Losing a championship HC is tough to replace, just look at Mount and UWW.  It should be a top topic for D3FB this fall with NCC and UMHB replacing championship winning coaches.  It hasnt been the smoothest transition at the last D3 champions to replace head coaches. 

[Pat Coleman]

That might the case normally but one only need to look back to preseason 2021 when Dartt was a new HC at UMU and Mt Union got 6 first place votes in the poll to NCC's 4. So probably not that either. It's likely the Mt Union effect, which NCC players and fans can continue to use as fuel as a sign of 'disprespect' 

NCC uses Mount getting two more meaningless #1 votes in the year after not playing spring football as "disrespect"?  and I'm the one taking minutia personally?  Losing a championship HC is tough to replace, just look at Mount and UWW.  It should be a top topic for D3FB this fall with NCC and UMHB replacing championship winning coaches.  It hasnt been the smoothest transition at the last D3 champions to replace head coaches.

We talked about it the whole offseason on the podcast, as well.

[Next Man Up]

With regard to change(s) in the head coaching ranks, you need to remember that at North Central, new HC Brad Spencer has been with the NCC program since he graduated in 2004. He had been the team's assistant head coach and offensive coordinator since 2015. It's about as seamless of a transition as you could find anywhere.

As far as North Central using any means to feel "disrespected," I don't think they need to consider disrespect is even one of the items on the menu. Sure, they got hammered in the national championship game by a team composed of several very skillful players who looked to be of NFL stature, but they finished second in the country which is a position that, like, 248 other teams would have loved to be able to attain.

National Championships are great, but I think there's too much emphasis being placed on #1 to the degree that anyone who finishes second, or even tenth for that matter, is made to feel like a failure. We see this all the time in recruiting. Kids having it hammered into them by parents, AAU coaches, and HS coaches that they're #1, the best, a (athletic) scholarship level player. Kids end up coming out of those experiences feeling like failures if they don't finish first or get that athletic scholarship even if it's from a school lacking a very stellar academic reputation. You think a golfer who never wins a tournament but finishes in the top 10 or so almost every time is a failure? Come in in the top 5% in most everything you do in life and you'll be pretty frickin' successful.

[USee]

Next Man,

That's a valiant attempt but most people here remember it was the previous NCC head coach who played the "disrespect" card (RE: Mt Union) last year in a well publicized video on the field after the Wheaton game. Then the NCAA committee threw kerosene on that fire by sending NCC to Mt Union for the Semis.