We spend a lot of time talking about the top of the stack and historic milestones. With that in mind , is this Hamilton team in contention for all time bad ones if they lose today ? Remember some recently bad Bates teams as well . It's not easy to run the proverbial o-Fer table in this league thus my question . Let's hope they pull out a W today .

I don't think you can call them all-time bad. If they were getting blown out every week that's one thing. To their credit, they've played a handful of 1 and 2 score games, and have been competitive. Similar to Bates last year, but I personally think this Hamilton team is better than last year's kitties. Not by much though. Should be an interesting matchup today.

Quote from: BigKat on November 09, 2024, 07:23:20 AMWe spend a lot of time talking about the top of the stack and historic milestones. With that in mind , is this Hamilton team in contention for all time bad ones if they lose today ? Remember some recently bad Bates teams as well . It's not easy to run the proverbial o-Fer table in this league thus my question . Let's hope they pull out a W today .

Three cheers for Dan DiCenzo and a few for Niko Candido. Pressed every right button and had some big gambles pay off. The two 4th down conversions will live on forever. Could've folded after the Bates loss too. Deserving champs

Great to see Williams close out a frustrating second half of the season on a high note, shutting Amherst's anemic offense out 21-0.  When the Ephs don't hand the opposing team 7 through turnovers, they are actually a pretty good team, and the coaches decided to go with Jack Dickinson at QB and play an extremely conservative game plan to avoid the outcome that has killed them in recent weeks. 

For Williams, as I've talked about before, Owen Johansen is an absolutely elite athlete, and he had a big game operating out of the wildcat, with 54 yards rushing, two TDs. and one key pass completion.  The offensive line owned the trenches paving the way for 162 yards rushing even with Amherst stacking 8 and 9 in the box all game long.  Jon Oris continues to play much better as a starter than as a back-up and hopefully that carries through to next year.  Brady Stahelski had a big TD reception on the lone occasion that the Ephs looked deep down the field.

But this game was about special teams (one fumble recovery on a muffed punt, one blocked punt) and most of all defense for the Ephs.  Teams have been able to run up the middle on a young Eph defense in recent weeks but the Amherst rushing attack, which is not even a shadow of the elite running offenses Amherst had for much of the Mills era, could do nothing.  The key sequence in the game was when Amherst was driving in Williams territory and Will Gale made two huge individual tackles on back-to-back plays to shut Amherst down on 3rd and 1.  Amherst had some success in the quick-hitting timing passes, but otherwise, there was just nothing there on offense, and eventually, Williams started to sniff those out because it was really the only thing working. 

The Ephs got strong play from seniors Scott, Landolfi, and Osayimwen, who came up big in their last game, but once again it was the young guys who led the way.  FYs Mangini, Moore, Gale, Yedid, and Kreakie all were stellar and should only get better as a group in the years ahead.  And soph Holden Gering had a huge day with ten tackles and two huge Ints, the first of which was a true highlight-reel sort of play. He's had a great season for an Eph defensive backfield that has otherwise rotated a lot of guys in and out. 

For Amherst, Luke Harmon was everywhere, he would be a legit DPOY candidate if his team was any better, a truly elite player.  Kazanowsky and Sims also had a nice day on defense.  But the Williams OL dominated the Amherst DL most of the game.  Another unit that is very different from the old Amherst DLs which lived in opposing backfields.  Marek Hill certainly has talent at QB and does seem like the QB of the future, he's like Daunte Culpepper out there absolutely massive and a strong athletic dude, he has a bright future although like most FY QBs has struggled with interceptions.  But Amherst needs a lot more around him to be anything but a bottom-feeder in the league again next season. 

5-4 is at least above .500 but man tough to see Williams finish with that record when they were one play away from beating both Wesleyan and Middlebury and right there with Tufts as well.  For the Ephs, I think the future is bright IF they can figure out the QB position.  Will they be able to get McHugh to a point where he can play to his high-level talent consistently?  Will they go with Johansen, who didn't get many opportunities to throw this year but is certainly one of the best overall athletes in the league.  Or will someone else get a chance?  The Ephs have the other pieces in place as they return five OL who started at least two games this year, Oris, and a strong young WR/TE core, plus return a slew of talented underclassmen on D including.  But the Ephs gotta figure out QB which has been a familiar refrain since Maimaron graduated. 

Any day Trinity loses is a good day in my book. Kudos to the Cards!

Now time for my PBears to take care of business under the lights against the Mules for the CBB. Looking forward to another year of Brunswick residency for the Maine trophy!

Incredibly proud of this Wesleyan team. What a season! They faced adversity with injuries and dropping the Bates game early on, but have ended the season as outright league champs. Unbelievable. And to close it out in that fashion against Trinity at the Coop in Hartford. An instant classic.

Amazing job by the players and coaches on a well deserved finish to the season. A great achievement. Former players, alumni, and fans are buzzing. Drinks will taste especially sweet tonight!

I know there's still a game to play this evening, but congrats to all players, coaches, fans, and schools on another great season of NESCAC football.

Brilliant game plan by Coach Raymond and staff for Williams today, lots of smart choices involving quarterback, three third down blitzes at key moments, use of exceptional athletes in creative positions,  effective culture comprised smart players and coaches, and skillful messaging. Experiencing "The Walk" is a memory lasting a lifetime!

Gotta love the unpredictable nature of the NESCAC; Wesleyan finished 8-1 and their only loss was to Bates, and Hamilton's finished 1-8 and their only win was against Bates.

Congrats to the Cardinals. After seeing them struggle mid-season—after the epic beatdown of my Panthers—I gave them no shot of winning a title.

Hats off to Wes.

Might have been my favorite tufts football game to witness in person of all time. Jumbos up 10-7, playing great on the defensive side of the ball. Berluti goes down. An outsider who doesn't know this team would have panicked. But the jumbos have senior quarterback Luke Leongas step up in a huge spot when Berluti goes down with an inhury. Leongas has been a backup to Berluti for 4 years. He coverts a 3&13 pass, 15yd run then TD pass. I mean talk about just staying ready and being a team guy.

Quote from: Bucket on November 09, 2024, 07:37:43 PMCongrats to the Cardinals. After seeing them struggle mid-season—after the epic beatdown of my Panthers—I gave them no shot of winning a title.

Hats off to Wes.

[quote author=Bucket

Agreed, saw them play twice on live feed with the brutal homer crew . Mediocre at best would be how I described them. Clearly a down year in league with no " great" squad  and they took advantage of their opportunities .

Just brutal Berluti couldn't snatch a title during his time . Hats off to a generational player.

Congrats to Wesleyan.  Like Middlebury last year, it often wasn't pretty, it certainly wasn't easy, but they found a way to pull through late in games and grit out wins.  I seriously doubt the league champion has ever before lost to the league's ninth place team, that's just wild.  They graduate a very impressive senior / grad student class, a lot of guys who have seemingly been playing in the league forever.

A few other parting thoughts on the season:

1. OPOTY still has to be Zebrowski.  He had a ridiculously good statistical season for the second place team.  I'd say Zebrwoski - Lynskey - Wilson - O'Brien - Candido in that order.  With so many senior skill position stars graduating, Lynskey enters next year as the clear favorite for OPOTY, and Bates should be much better as a team around him.

2. DPOTY has a slew of good candidates.  I'll go with Carbeau - Harmon - Price - Young - T. Richardson.  HM to Kenary, Rowan, Romain, Connors, Atkinson, Gering, and probably forgetting someone.  As with OPOTY, a very senior-heavy list.  Harmon is clearly the top defensive player in the league headed into next season, his range and instincts are unreal, and he would be a reasonable choice this year if Amherst hadn't had such a rough season.

3. Speaking of Amherst, I think they may well have had the worst running season for any team in NESCAC history, certainly in recent history - 36.9 ypg and 1.7 ypc are ridiculously bad.  Especially when you consider they should have been able to amp those stats up in the fourth quarter against some second string defenses in their blow-out losses.  Both their offensive line and running backs just seemed very small out there, every designed running play got immediately swallowed up.  Amherst is fortunate to have played Bates and Hamilton to start the year as I don't think they would have won those games the way they closed the season.  Again, just so weird to see from an E.J. team with an (increasingly ancient) history of big, ferocious running backs pounding the ball down teams throats behind physically imposing offensive lines. 

4. Ivan Shuran had one of the best, if not the best, years ever for any NESCAC kicker - 29-29 on extra points, 9-9 on field goals, including three over 40 yards and a long of 47.  He would have had several game-winning kicks if the team could have closed out games on defense, but the man was simply money in critical situations.  The Ephs will really miss him.   As I've said before great year overall for kickers and punters in NESCAC. 

5. ROTY has a lot of candidates - the Ephs finished the year with four of their six leading tacklers as first years (Mangini, Moore, Kreakie and Gale) and all those guys certainly passed the eye test.  McClellan from Midd and Nye on Colby are strong candidates on the offensive side of the ball, both those guys are gonna be elite players going forward.  I'll go with Mangini - while Gale had more eye-popping plays for the Ephs, he was only a rotational player, and it's hard to pass up the leading tackler and very solid nine-game starter for a credible team, who had an especially good game against the league champion.  Nye for OROTY. 

6. It's going to be a wild year at QB next season in NESCAC. Tufts, Wesleyan, Trinity, Bowdoin, and Bates all graduate strong leaders at the position, in some cases with no clear heir-apparent.  Williams and Amherst rotated guys at the position to the point where there is no clarity heading into next season (although I assume Marek Hill, at least, has very likely won the starting job at Amherst, he has to figure out a way to throw fewer INTs when he goes away from the short passes that are his bread and butter).  Hamilton, Middlebury and Colby are the only teams with clearly entrenched starters who their teams can count on to be the guy heading into 2025. 

7. Bates is clearly the team with the most potential to rise in the standings next year.  Wesleyan, Tufts, and Midd seem to lose the most to graduation, but all have been consistently good for awhile now, so should not drop much if at all.  As bad as Bowdoin's defense was this year, they could be absolutely shredded next year if they play the same style with all the defensive stars they lose.  Hard to see Amherst and Hamilton getting out of the basement next year especially with Bates likely to improve a lot, although Bowdoin may join them if it can't figure something out defensively.  Trinity will be Trinity assuming they have an answer at QB and I think goes in as the presumptive favorite considering all of Wesleyan's losses to graduation.  Colby loses a lot of guys on defense plus some good skill guys but at least brings back the Drake-Nye connection on offense. 

As for Williams, it comes down yet again to QB. Early in the year it seemed like they had an answer in McHugh, who undoubtedly has the arm and leg talent, but he made far too many critical mistakes as the season went along to the point where the coaches lost faith over the past few games.  Can McHugh shake it off and live up to his talent?  If not he could be a really good WR or TB.  Can Johansen, who is clearly an alpha athlete and leader (but not clear at all if he's really a full-time QB) be the QB?  Is there someone else on the roster who can emerge?  The Ephs have the rest of the pieces they need to be really good - a huge, experienced offensive line, a good TB (although depth at RB is a concern), lots of big and talented targets returning in the passing game (especially if Johansen is playing slash again), the entire two-deep in the secondary back, and all those star rising sophs on defense (I also expect Nate Rosner to joint that group next year, he really flashed on special teams as a FY) plus Anthony Scala, who looked like a force at DT at times. But man, QB just continues to be a crapshoot ever since Bobby M. graduated ...   

Great season for all, and congrats to Wes on the title.

I wanted to comment on the broadcast at Tufts. I was on vacation yesterday, and couldn't make it to Tufts but watched the Jumbocast broadcast against Middlebury. This group does an amazing job for football games at Tufts. They have a pregame show (with picks of out-of-town games) and analysis, their broadcasters are not bias but knowledgeable about both teams, they have pertinent graphics during the game, replay, multiple camera angles, interviews postgame, interviewed a NCAA Woman of the Year candidate at softball at half.

I can't say enough about this production. This is a student-run group with assistance from the athletics department, but it's minimal. If you haven't had a chance to check out their football broadcasts, please watch yesterday's game. Wonderful job by these students and kudos to the athletics department for allowing this group to have freedom to make this not just another cookie cutter broadcast.

Congrats to Tufts on their NESCAC runner-up finish as well!

Quote from: Bucket on November 09, 2024, 07:37:43 PMCongrats to the Cardinals. After seeing them struggle mid-season—after the epic beatdown of my Panthers—I gave them no shot of winning a title.

Hats off to Wes.

Well said, Bucket. Congratulations to Wesleyan and all of their fans on this board!

NM and others – see you in Middletown for week 1 next year. Maybe we can return the favor of a home loss to start your title defense

I have a feeling Wesleyan will have some notable names appearing in Division I rosters next fall...