SLUUUUUU

Congratulations to Hobart, SLU and  Rochester on their big wins today!

Huge win for the Saints and they deserved it after a listless third quarter in which they absolutely imploded and were down 24-10. They fought their way back in with heart and taking advantage of what the Union D was giving them.

Btw, Drach needs his head examined after his handling of that last drive. It's been a while since I've seen anything like that.

Regardless of that, the Saints deserve all the congrats they receive. I loved their fight and the complete turnaround for them today.

Quote from: Jonny Utah on October 05, 2024, 03:02:19 PMThis Ithaca/Hobart game is one of the saddest LL games I have ever seen I think.  The Hobart punter may get the LL player of the week( Agree on this).

Yeah....for the Bombers

Quote from: Bartman on October 05, 2024, 04:20:38 PM

Quote from: Jonny Utah on October 05, 2024, 03:02:19 PMThis Ithaca/Hobart game is one of the saddest LL games I have ever seen I think.  The Hobart punter may get the LL player of the week( Agree on this).

Yeah....for the Bombers

Well yes, but I wasn't taking a shot at Hobart.  But they didn't play well and neither did Ithaca.  Both teams made a bunch of bad decisions and plays.....

Big congratulations to Rochester and SLU.....past years performances by previous winners means nothing this year. Not surprised by Rochester, but could SLU be the SLU from ten years ago again?

Hobart defense had 2 incredible goal line stands today on their way to a full pumpkin 16-7 win. Johnny Colombi knocked out at the end of the first half with a concussion. Tru Styles stepped in and managed  the game so as not to lose while using his legs and one critical pressure pass backed up on the goal line. EJ Taylor got his 100 yards and our punter averaged 65 yards and kept Ithaca in poor field position.Ahmad Crowell caught 3 timely passes with gimpy leg...if he was healthy he could have gone for far more than his 91 yards.
Ithaca had a huge size advantage on the OL and should have pounded it all day as J L-O was mostly shifty and elusive for over 140 yards. Hobart LBs were just very timely on their stops when needed.Why the IC coaching staff didn't take advantage of their run game more consistently, I was puzzled. But when they needed a yard on the goal line they couldn't get it.Ithaca has a QB passing problem as Hobart picks off 2, but both had pressure. Perhaps Ithaca has dropped off some, but , hey ,they stood up against good JHU and Endicott teams; however, not winning any of these close games is a coaching problem/play calling problem IMO.
As a Hobart fan that gets disappointed 80-90% at the end of Bomber-Statesmen games, I just want to savior this one. I'm very proud of the coaching staff and the players for persevering, bending but not breaking and defending the BOZ in full Pumpkin colors. The Alma Mater singing by these off key croners was very special this year. GOBART.    

Final St. Lawrence 27 - Union 24 in OT...My concern has turned into dismay. Union had every opportunity to put this game away but the Larries wanted it more. After dominating the 3rd quarter the Garnet had a 14 point lead but then just couldn't figure out how to stop the St. Lawrence passing attack (they had only 12 rushing yards). They continually slipped their excellent TE Oscar Baldwin into open space and QB Daniel Lawther kept finding him. Using the TE is something I've been begging Union to do for years but I didn't mean for the opposition....

After the game was tied at 24 Union ran a good 2 minute drill that seemed like it was going to culminate in a reasonable FG attempt but poor clock management (Union had 3 time outs they didn't use) led Union to a 1st down at the 25 but with only 12 seconds left. A dropped pass brought the clock down to 7 seconds. They had the option to try a 42 yd FG attempt but decided to run another play. Flanagan dropped to pass and faced with  defenders in his face held the ball too long. At the last second he just chucked the ball forward but it was too late. He was flagged for intentional grounding on the play. They should have preserved the FG attempt (where have I heard that before).

In Overtime Union had the ball first and after gaining a first down Flanagan threw a pick on a tipped ball. The U defense stuffed the Saints necessitating a 38 yard FG try which K Clayton Fogler nailed. Game over.

The way Union is losing these games, all I describe as winnable, reminds me of how things went south during the bleak days of the 0-10 2015 season. I'll have nightmares tonight.       

It's not just QB for IC. The run game had good overall numbers but:

The Bombers had 2nd and goal from the Hobart 5, ran three times and failed to score. Later they had 1st and goal at the Hobart 3, ran four times and failed to score.

That's bringing back bad memories from some of the lean years under Mike Welch, where an inability to convert in goal line situations killed the offense

Quote from: IC798891 on October 05, 2024, 05:10:07 PMIt's not just QB for IC. The run game had good overall numbers but:

The Bombers had 2nd and goal from the Hobart 5, ran three times and failed to score. Later they had 1st and goal at the Hobart 3, ran four times and failed to score.

That's bringing back bad memories from some of the lean years under Mike Welch, where an inability to convert in goal line situations killed the offense

I watched both of those goal line stands live and it was good Hobart technique as the DL got lower than the IC Line and the linebackers filled . The Hobart linebackers are very strong pound for pound. The Ithaca lineman are very big but they did not get low and drive and were a bit lethargic.Sometimes it's just who wants it more, but technique and firing out fast is important. I think the IC coach was shocked that his OL just got beat because Hobart DL was giving up quite a bit of beef( 50-80 pounds) to the Bombers.
I wish the Bombers luck the rest of the way, the program is too good and there is some great talent on this team.   

Excellent, excellent win today for the Scarlet and Brown.  Team has finally got healthy and it showed.  Union front seven played really well so Puck wisely abandoned the run game in the 4th to let Lawther sling it to his best weapon in Baldwin.  Absolutely clutch kick to win against Union for the first time since 2016.  Here we go Saints.

Power rankings

Rochester
Hobart
St. Lawrewnce
RPI
Ithaca
Union
Buff State

Quote from: IC798891 on October 06, 2024, 08:31:01 AMPower rankings

Rochester
Hobart
St. Lawrewnce
RPI
Ithaca
Union
Buff State

This might be the best LL regular season to date!  Everyone has a chance for that pool a bid at this point.  I'll even give Buff State a chance..

I don't think Ithaca, RPI and Union have ever lost their LL games on the same weekend...crazy. Rochester , SLU , can they sustain it? There will be some interesting picks next weekend as Ithaca hosts Rochester and RPI hosts SLU. Can the Yellowjackets and Saints walk out with wins next Saturday? At this point in the season, the only way the LL will have two teams in the NCAA tournament is if Hobart and Rochester go undefeated the rest of the way and Hobart "upsets" Rochester in the last game in Rochester, giving us two 9-1 teams.I don't give this much of a chance but, hey , I didn't think the Bombers, Engineers and Chargers could lose in the same weekend.

Rankings:

1.Hobart
2.Ithaca
3.Rochester(a win at Butterfield gets a #1)
4.RPI
5.SLU
6.Union
7.Buffalo St.

SLU will not beat RPI and I am quite certain IC will put the first blemish on Rochester's season. I think the difference in both games will be the defenses of RPI and Ithaca. Just my thoughts.

You know what was really cool about SLU's W yesterday (please understand I'm not hating on Union at all. I thought this game would be close and I do think Union will be ok in the long run)? To me, it was the fact that in the third quarter SLU was dead to rights. Not just by score, and because of Union's play, but literally nothing was working for them, nothing on either side of the ball. Yet they kept at it, kept working, and all of a sudden they were making plays and taking the momentum. I give them a lot of credit for that. That's good coaching and lots of heart from the players. Union fought hard as well and I'm grateful for that.

I just really enjoy the game of football, especially at this level. You never know. Great win for SLU and a very interesting start to the LL season.

Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Last thought for Sunday. I still am quite perplexed by Union's last drive yesterday. I almost can't believe it was real. You've got the ball across the 50, there is over a minute left (at least in the area of a minute), you have three timeouts, you have been running the ball well, and what? You go all playground on your play calling and don't use ANY of those time outs to help set up a score?

Let me also say I was frustrated by this but admittedly am no football coach and am looking for some thoughts and clarification here. I'm not looking to bash Coach Drach or anyone else here, as I couldn't do his job for half a second without losing my mind. I just want to learn regarding this situation.  Was this indeed poor planning/coaching? Was this just poor execution on the players end? I'd like to hear some thoughts on this as I know there is some very solid knowledge of the game here.

Quote from: Ice Bear on October 06, 2024, 11:29:19 AMLast thought for Sunday. I still am quite perplexed by Union's last drive yesterday. I almost can't believe it was real. You've got the ball across the 50, there is over a minute left (at least in the area of a minute), you have three timeouts, you have been running the ball well, and what? You go all playground on your play calling and don't use ANY of those time outs to help set up a score?

Let me also say I was frustrated by this but admittedly am no football coach and am looking for some thoughts and clarification here. I'm not looking to bash Coach Drach or anyone else here, as I couldn't do his job for half a second without losing my mind. I just want to learn regarding this situation.  Was this indeed poor planning/coaching? Was this just poor execution on the players end? I'd like to hear some thoughts on this as I know there is some very solid knowledge of the game here.

Not sure, but I remember in last years Ithaca/Union game, Union was driving late and I think they were down by 2 scores?  (They either needed a 2 point conversion or an onside I can't remember).  But anyway they had a slow drive where the QB ran it over and over (for decent gains). they weren't using time outs but seemed to be managing the clock well as it stops on first downs.  In the end it was a little too late but I wonder if they did the same thing yesterday..?