Football is all around us.
High school playoff teams are moving to the second round in the upcoming weekend, college teams at all levels capture our attention. The National Football League (NFL) is nearly at the halfway point of its 17-game schedule. Notables: The Chicago Bears were 2-6 and in trouble, and one-half game behind 2-5 Green Bay; and the Detroit Lions were 6-2 and uncommonly in first place in the North Division. Snow is surely to be with us this month and changes the perspective of the game. Still, we pay attention to the Bears, our college favorites, and the high school playoffs.
Aurora University, led by head coach Don Beebe, has cornered the Division III market. The No. 11 nationally-rated Spartans in Division III improved to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the NACC with another one-sided victory last weekend, 77-10, against Rockford University. Aurora will play host to Lakeland (Wis.) University at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at the still-new Spartan Athletic Park in Montgomery not far from Edgelawn Drive and Jericho Road.
Marmion Academy head football coach for the last 19 years, since 2005, Dan Thorpe, earlier this week announced his retirement. He certainly has been a good football coach and a credit to the school.
North Central College, Naperville, is 8-0, in the CCIW, defending Division National champion rated No.1 nationally in the polls. North Central first won the national championship in 2021 The University of Illinois and Northwestern University should improve, although as Woodrow Carroll pointed out in his college football report, Northwestern’s success is more surprising than the lack of success at the University of Illinois this season.
Non-football college note: Aurora University is 14-3-3 overall and 13-0-2 in Division III men’s soccer, long a strength at Aurora University.