FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[CarollFan]

Logan's model was close.

https://hansenratings.github.io/2024%20Round%206.html

[Teamski]

Big time Congratulations North Central.  That was one very well played game!  You guys earned it.

-Ski

[robertgoulet]

Lehnen looked every bit the Gagliardi winner tonight but boy did that O Line give him ALL day to throw. I don't remember hearing Rossy Moore's name mentioned after the 1st possession. Just a heck of a job.

[The Third Division]

The question we will all be asking ourselves next season is this.

Who is beating north central?

[Cardinal773]

Well hopefully no one, but they've certainly got some big shoes to fill.

[Cardinal773]

Here's ESPN's box score.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/game/_/gameId/401741208/mt-union-n-central

[blue_jays]

NCC win was preordained, there was no way they weren't winning a title this year, regardless of opponent. Maybe the best team seasons in D3 history right there.
Despite MU fans twisting themselves into pretzels thinking that they coulda won that game, it was never gonna happen. They'll blame coaching decisions till the cows come home, but NCC wins that game every day of the week. Tonight's version would be the closest they'd ever get.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

NCC win was preordained, there was no way they weren't winning a title this year, regardless of opponent. Maybe the best team seasons in D3 history right there.
Despite MU fans twisting themselves into pretzels thinking that they coulda won that game, it was never gonna happen. They'll blame coaching decisions till the cows come home, but NCC wins that game every day of the week. Tonight's version would be the closest they'd ever get.

[Thunderdome21]

NCC win was preordained, there was no way they weren't winning a title this year, regardless of opponent. Maybe the best team seasons in D3 history right there.
Despite MU fans twisting themselves into pretzels thinking that they coulda won that game, it was never gonna happen. They'll blame coaching decisions till the cows come home, but NCC wins that game every day of the week. Tonight's version would be the closest they'd ever get.

To be honest, I felt the same more about NCC's 2022 championship team as it was their most dominant team with little or no weaknesses on both offense and defense. Whereas this year's team had vulnerabilities in the secondary (which MU's passing game exploited) and a less talented receiving corps (which MU didn't have the personnel to exploit). NCC's O-line protected Lehnen for the most part, and when there was pressure, he either wisely threw it away or made the play, taking advantage of a MU Freshman cornerback, who was covering Jacob Paradee most of the game. MU did better than any team this year against NCC's run game until Coleman's long run in the 4th Q due to the misread by MU's safety. NCC made some key adjustments at halftime to shut down MU's run game. MU had their chances to put alot of points on the board in the 1st half and blew it.

[cciwman]

There is a lot of talk that losing the QB and OL will be huge challenges to continuing this amazing run, BUT what happens if a coach leaves?  The last time when Thorne left, Spencer was in the pipeline and ready to take over having been a major player in the rise of the program.  A seldom mentioned "key" figure in this program has been Defensive Coordinator Shane Dierking.  He has been the DC through the 7 year of rising to dominance. 

Last night Mount had a dominant rushing advantage early, but by halftime adjustments had been made and the Cards began to force longer third down yardage.  While the secondary still struggled a bit, the defense is what made this victory happen as they held down Mount.

If Dierking were to leave for a new gig, that is not Spencer's expertise and from what I heard Dierking is a heck of a recruiter too...  At somepoint you would think he would want to be in charge of his own program.

[NCC2010]

Congrats to all the coaches and players on the win last night!  Going to miss watching that group of 38 seniors play.  They certainly took the program to a new level.

NCC ends the season having only trailed for 3 minutes and 55 seconds total, during the first quarter of last night's game.

[Augie6]

Congrats to NCC! Great season and great game last night.  Hope the seniors playing their last game get a chance to really soak it in and realize what they have accomplished during their college careers. Pretty special and something they will carry with them the rest of their lives. 

[Ralph Turner]

Again, congrats to NCC.

I know a coach knows the mentality of his teams, but I certainly would have liked 3 more (well 2 more) red zone FGs for UMU. It would have made for a tighter game and might have affected the outcome.

[robertgoulet]

There is a lot of talk that losing the QB and OL will be huge challenges to continuing this amazing run, BUT what happens if a coach leaves?  The last time when Thorne left, Spencer was in the pipeline and ready to take over having been a major player in the rise of the program.  A seldom mentioned "key" figure in this program has been Defensive Coordinator Shane Dierking.  He has been the DC through the 7 year of rising to dominance. 

Last night Mount had a dominant rushing advantage early, but by halftime adjustments had been made and the Cards began to force longer third down yardage.  While the secondary still struggled a bit, the defense is what made this victory happen as they held down Mount.

If Dierking were to leave for a new gig, that is not Spencer's expertise and from what I heard Dierking is a heck of a recruiter too...  At somepoint you would think he would want to be in charge of his own program.

An interesting question, as looking forward to next year the Defense appears to be primed to be VERY good (better than this year), and based on what the offense is losing (Lehnen, majority of O-line) it will need to be VERY good to try and repeat.

[USee]

Congratulations to North Central.

My pregame checklist and report card for a Mt Union win:

-100 yd rusher-after starting strong the running game faded and Echeverry finished with 87 yds
-Zero Turnovers--check. They were in it because of this
-Move the defensive front and create TFL--UMU had just 2 TFL and Rossy Moore had only 5 tackles for the game. He really wasn't a factor
-Take advantage of opportunities--after getting the early (and only) turnover and taking a 7-0 lead, Mt Union ended up 1-4 in the redzone.
-Tackle well-I though the Raiders did a great job tackling for the most part.
-Stay close through 3 quarters--1st team since last year's Stagg to do this but they couldn't finish.

The two biggest reasons Mt Union didn't complete the upset was their failure to capitalize on the opportunities they created in the redzone and their inability to disrupt NCC's offense with their athleticism on defense.

I understand the criticism of the coaching for the first failure (clock management, play calling, etc) but the second was definitively due to NCC being the better team and executing their plan. 

And my pregame focus for NCC to win:
-Run for 200 yds and Lehnen to throw for 200 on less than 20 attempts rushed for 197, Lehnen threw for 298 on 26 attempts
-Win turnover battle after the early fumble, NCC got 2 turnovers on downs as well as the end of half debacle, all of which ended Mt Union opportunities
-Get off the field on 3rd down The Cardinals held Mt Union to 5-13 on 3rd down, well below their season average
-Limit Raider run game After calling 11 runs in their first two drives and gaining 73 yds (6.6 ypc) NCC held UMU to just 34 more yds rushing on 17 more attempts (2.0 ypc). Mt called less than 10 runs in the 2H
-Keep their composure NCC was called for 6 penalties for 75 yds, most of them of the 15 yd variety including an ejection of Paradee for 2 taunting penalties. Mt Union couldn't capitalize.

NCC stuck with their plan. Mt Union stacked the box early to take away the run and Lehnen punished them through the air as the Raiders couldn't pressure him. Overall the NCC OL dominated the LOS with their pass protection and 2nd half running game. That and their defense limiting Echeverry is a big reason why they won.