Quote from: IC798891 on July 17, 2024, 12:54:50 PMI did not realize Hobart lost essentially all their skill player production. I knew about RB1 and RB2 graduating obviously (It had to happen one of these decades). Did not realize that the pass catchers were also losing so much.

But! There are worse places to be in than returning nearly your entire offensive line and your QB. A strong line levels up RBs. And Colombi has been in the system for a few years. QBs can take leaps late in careers. Tyler Johnson of Alfred went supernova as a senior and hung like 500 yards and 6 TDs on Mount Union in the playoffs. Maybe Colombi gets comfortable behind that line and E.J Taylor is the next excellent Hobart RB and they can surprise people.

I think they might not be at the level we have seen them in the past few years — few teams who graduate that much talent can be — but still good enough to be the sort of "feisty team you don't want to play on the road"

I'm just hoping the Staesmen are feisty enough to give Ithaca a real fight and possibly an upset at home. There will be a lot of opportunity for the 49 Freshman recruits and last years underclassmen to get some critical experience for this year and the future of the program. I like the decision to go down to Randolph Macon(not sure what they return) where we can measure ourselves against a top talent program early in the season . DeWall will be super motivated against Union since his old coaching partner will be looking to take a scalp in Geneva.  I love "transition" years for what they can offer in the way of surprises in identifying new talent and delivering a win against Ithaca/Union or RPI when it is not expected.

Quote from: unionpalooza on July 12, 2024, 10:27:29 AMWow, just saw that Muhlenberg DC Kory David is moving to take the DC job at Eastern.  Huge get for them, and seems like they are serious about building a program.  Total head scratcher, though.  Seems to me that he would have been a strong HC candidate for a D3 program in the northeast.

In other news, what do folks know about what Ithaca, Hobart, and RPI are bringing back this fall? As I think a few of us have mentioned here, Union will bring back both its thousand-yard rushers, 3/5 starting OL, most of its WRs, but will start a new QB; on defense, only 2 of last year's starting front seven will return, as will the entire secondary.  Kicker returns but someone new will punt.

Kory David was a great DC at Hobart, but I think his wife has a job in Philadelphia working for the Eagles (assistant to eagles GM)) , so Eastern job is perfect location.

Quote from: Bartman on July 19, 2024, 02:32:54 PM

Quote from: IC798891 on July 17, 2024, 12:54:50 PMI did not realize Hobart lost essentially all their skill player production. I knew about RB1 and RB2 graduating obviously (It had to happen one of these decades). Did not realize that the pass catchers were also losing so much.

But! There are worse places to be in than returning nearly your entire offensive line and your QB. A strong line levels up RBs. And Colombi has been in the system for a few years. QBs can take leaps late in careers. Tyler Johnson of Alfred went supernova as a senior and hung like 500 yards and 6 TDs on Mount Union in the playoffs. Maybe Colombi gets comfortable behind that line and E.J Taylor is the next excellent Hobart RB and they can surprise people.

I think they might not be at the level we have seen them in the past few years — few teams who graduate that much talent can be — but still good enough to be the sort of "feisty team you don't want to play on the road"

I'm just hoping the Staesmen are feisty enough to give Ithaca a real fight and possibly an upset at home. There will be a lot of opportunity for the 49 Freshman recruits and last years underclassmen to get some critical experience for this year and the future of the program. I like the decision to go down to Randolph Macon(not sure what they return) where we can measure ourselves against a top talent program early in the season . DeWall will be super motivated against Union since his old coaching partner will be looking to take a scalp in Geneva.  I love "transition" years for what they can offer in the way of surprises in identifying new talent and delivering a win against Ithaca/Union or RPI when it is not expected.

Don't know if it will do Hobart or WSC a whole lot of good for athletics in general, but, found out from a young gal working a summer job at a local gas mart that she will be doing her senior year at WSC after her school closed down last spring.

She said it was part of a deal between the two entities that allows the kids from the defunct college to not only transfer ALL their credits to Hobart/WSC but also do so at the tuition level of the defunct school and not the $60,000 or so Hobart/WSC charges these days. She also said that she will be joined this September at Hobart/WSC by about 60 to 70 familiar faces from here old stomping grounds. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me for kids who had their college yanked out from under them.

The only negative I see is that Wells did not play football at all nor play anything else particularly well!!! 

Tony /Troy,
     Yes, Wells College(Aurora is about 45 Minutes from Geneva) closed its doors after 150 years abruptly, and HWS agreed to a tech out agreement to automatically accept any student and freeze their Wells costs at HWS(so did Ithaca, Keuka, Cortland and about 10 other schools but HWS was the most popular choice for about 200+ homeless students). It was the right thing to do for a Finger Lakes neighboring school that was for many years one of the best women's colleges until going coed a few years ago. Wells had a few good athletes , but not many, and no Football of course. It is another reminder to all small liberal arts schools to stay revelant and competitive in a shrinking  potential student pool in the Northeast.

The D3football.com preseason Top 25 Poll is out (https://www.d3football.com/top25/2024/preseason) and IMO the Liberty League has again not gotten the voter respect it deserves. The Final 2023 Poll had Ithaca at #18 with 179 points and Union at #21 with 111.  Combine that with Cortland at #1 for winning the National Championship and NYS football was getting the recognition it earned right?

Apparently pollsters do not buy it as all three teams have dropped in the preseason ratings. Granted Cortland has only dropped from #1 to #2 (come on) but Ithaca has dropped two places to #20 with only 131 points while Union has been left out of the Top 25. It's 59 points place it at #28. New England power Endicott (which lost to both Ithaca and Cortland) is the only other school from NY/NE to get points and they dropped too. Granted it's a new season but it was proven last year that the times are a changing. Some don't believe it. It seems we'll have to prove ourselves all over again.   

Yep, times changes last year, and we'll see if they do so again.

I think these rankings are fair given what the teams in question lost.

I think we're really underestimating the losses of Lapp and Burgess for Cortland. They didn't rack up especially gaudy stats, but the fact remains that two receivers that NFL teams are interested in were sharing the field. The way that teams had to defend Cortland is going to drastically change, and Cortland will have to adjust. They'll go 10-0, but I'm not sure the offense will be *that* unstoppable.

Ithaca is losing OL talent, two elite defenders, and have a lot to prove at WR/QB. They are possibly going to be better than their record indicates, but I could still see a really good Ithaca team with 4 losses

Quote from: IC798891 on July 25, 2024, 01:45:35 PMI think these rankings are fair given what the teams in question lost.

I think we're really underestimating the losses of Lapp and Burgess for Cortland. They didn't rack up especially gaudy stats, but the fact remains that two receivers that NFL teams are interested in were sharing the field. The way that teams had to defend Cortland is going to drastically change, and Cortland will have to adjust. They'll go 10-0, but I'm not sure the offense will be *that* unstoppable.

Ithaca is losing OL talent, two elite defenders, and have a lot to prove at WR/QB. They are possibly going to be better than their record indicates, but I could still see a really good Ithaca team with 4 losses

Agree with all this.  If anything the rankings for Ithaca and Union are a little generous, given where they ended last year and what they lose on paper.  Both teams return some good talent but have some major questions, and I could see either team finishing anywhere between 10-0 and 6-4.

Where I think the poll whiffed is on RPI, who got no votes, but was within a score of beating Ithaca, Union and Carnegie Mellon last year and on paper returns more than the rest of the LL.  But given recency bias, preseason polls are typically not that good at identifying teams like that are on the rise.

Quote from: unionpalooza on July 25, 2024, 05:42:42 PM

Quote from: IC798891 on July 25, 2024, 01:45:35 PMI think these rankings are fair given what the teams in question lost.

I think we're really underestimating the losses of Lapp and Burgess for Cortland. They didn't rack up especially gaudy stats, but the fact remains that two receivers that NFL teams are interested in were sharing the field. The way that teams had to defend Cortland is going to drastically change, and Cortland will have to adjust. They'll go 10-0, but I'm not sure the offense will be *that* unstoppable.

Ithaca is losing OL talent, two elite defenders, and have a lot to prove at WR/QB. They are possibly going to be better than their record indicates, but I could still see a really good Ithaca team with 4 losses

Agree with all this.  If anything the rankings for Ithaca and Union are a little generous, given where they ended last year and what they lose on paper.  Both teams return some good talent but have some major questions, and I could see either team finishing anywhere between 10-0 and 6-4.

Where I think the poll whiffed is on RPI, who got no votes, but was within a score of beating Ithaca, Union and Carnegie Mellon last year and on paper returns more than the rest of the LL.  But given recency bias, preseason polls are typically not that good at identifying teams like that are on the rise.

I've got RPI as the favorite this year, especially with their ability to get up for Ithaca and get in their heads. Ithaca will always be strong given the size of the school and ability to attract good coaches and prospects with a nice array of majors to choose from(their addition to the LL improved the overall athletic footprint of the LL across all sports). I think Union looks like Coach Drach has a shot and with his QB background, he should make Union an interesting offense, it will all depend on his preparation on game day  execution.Hobart will be competitive but they have a lot of skill/speed positions to fill, so I have them fourth. It could also be time for the Saints to weigh in on things again. Looking forward to the season

Quote from: Bartman on July 26, 2024, 09:38:25 AM

Quote from: unionpalooza on July 25, 2024, 05:42:42 PM

Quote from: IC798891 on July 25, 2024, 01:45:35 PMI think these rankings are fair given what the teams in question lost.

I think we're really underestimating the losses of Lapp and Burgess for Cortland. They didn't rack up especially gaudy stats, but the fact remains that two receivers that NFL teams are interested in were sharing the field. The way that teams had to defend Cortland is going to drastically change, and Cortland will have to adjust. They'll go 10-0, but I'm not sure the offense will be *that* unstoppable.

Ithaca is losing OL talent, two elite defenders, and have a lot to prove at WR/QB. They are possibly going to be better than their record indicates, but I could still see a really good Ithaca team with 4 losses

Agree with all this.  If anything the rankings for Ithaca and Union are a little generous, given where they ended last year and what they lose on paper.  Both teams return some good talent but have some major questions, and I could see either team finishing anywhere between 10-0 and 6-4.

Where I think the poll whiffed is on RPI, who got no votes, but was within a score of beating Ithaca, Union and Carnegie Mellon last year and on paper returns more than the rest of the LL.  But given recency bias, preseason polls are typically not that good at identifying teams like that are on the rise.

I've got RPI as the favorite this year, especially with their ability to get up for Ithaca and get in their heads. Ithaca will always be strong given the size of the school and ability to attract good coaches and prospects with a nice array of majors to choose from(their addition to the LL improved the overall athletic footprint of the LL across all sports). I think Union looks like Coach Drach has a shot and with his QB background, he should make Union an interesting offense, it will all depend on his preparation on game day  execution.Hobart will be competitive but they have a lot of skill/speed positions to fill, so I have them fourth. It could also be time for the Saints to weigh in on things again. Looking forward to the season

Bart: RPI's defense, in recent years a large part of their success, took a big hit with the loss of their DC to Cornell. Really good guy who everyone likes and respects but probably everyone has heard the joke about Cornell being where coaching careers go to die. Hope it does not swallow up this guy (unless he eventually comes back here!!!).

Any idea what the deal is with what apparently looks like Hobart requesting 3 P.M. start times for away games??? Is it cost saving related allowing them to bus both ways on Saturday and avoid overnight accommodations and meals???

Sure hope this does not catch on conference wide as this conflicts with the 3:30 P.M. time slot when most of the better big college games begin on TV!!!

Don't think a whole lot of D3 football fans (especially those who live close to their home venues) are going to like not being able to zip home and watch the mid afternoon big school games. Noon and 1 works better for them.

Come to think of it, also does not work all that well for certain D3 football fans (guess which ones) whose schools also have "pretty fair" D3 hockey programs that play at 7 P.M. For those who drive to at least some of their teams' away football games, they are really going to hate this if it catches on conference wide!!!     

Tony, maybe you're on to something on scheduling but it might not be just a LL thing. If you look at Union's first 4 games, all non conference, they play all at late or evening times. At Utica on Friday 9/6, 7:00 pm. Home 9/14 to SUNY-Maritime at 4:00 pm. At Springfield on Friday 9/20 at 7:00 and at Montclair St. 9/28 at 5:00. The late Saturday afternoon start times are particularly curious. Could well be to facilitate a same day turn around. The rest of the season remains as always. 1:00 pm starts and noon starts as the days get shorter. There's no evidence on the Garnet schedule that LL foes Buff St., Ithaca and Rochester asked for later starts from Union though.   

Selfishly, I don't hate the 3:00 pm starts for LL teams.  Getting some games out of the saturated 12-1 kickoff window makes it easier for me to put eyes on more LL games. 

ok, I took Tony/troy comment and looked at RPI and can confirm they have lost quite a few senior/fifth years on defense as well as the DC.So I guess I gotta go with Ithaca as the favorite with Union next and Hobart /RPI fighting it out for 3rd place with the Yellowjackets having a chance to sneak in to the top four. With the expansion of the playoff field and the possibility that LL teams could upset some tough OoC opponents I'm expecting 2 LL teams to make the playoffs, most likely Ithaca and Union.

Good to get in here and catch up on what's going on in the LL. I'm admittedly as in the dark about Union as I've ever been. Looking forward to the season and hoping all of you are well.

Sad day for me and thousands of other Union fans...Today I just became aware of something that has changed the look of Union football. No, not another coaching change. Nor a player transferring in or out. Not an injury...The iconic"frat house" which has stood proudly for over 100 years and graced the 50 yard line at Frank Bailey Field is gone. Torn down yesterday due to reported irreparable structural damage. During it's heyday the frat boys would bring couches out and sit directly behind the opponents bench. Their razzing and chanting would often disrupt the sideline plans of opposing coaches. Back awhile when beer was allowed at games the boys and fans alike would sometimes get a little rowdy. That all changed about 20 years ago when alcohol was banned and the area was roped off from fans. The frat house closed and in recent years die hard fans such as Ice Bear, IB Dad, Super fan Bob and myself have been allowed into the area. It's become mostly a senior citizen space with a convenient restroom tucked just inside the front door.

The house itself had a deck roof that was used by coaches of both teams to film and relay info from above. If you've attended or watched a Union game on Frank Bailey field a part of your memories is no more. There's no immediate word on what the school plans on doing with the space but I hope they make it fan friendly. It will never look the same.