FB: Middle Atlantic Conference

[jmcozenlaw]

Congratulations to the FDU Devils,ending 30 years of frustration by defeating Wilkes, 29-26. Even more impressive was the team had to use the backup QB...hopefully get starter Maurer back next week!

Congrats to FDU!!! I know a few D1-AA ( I refuse to say that stupid FCS!!) and DII teams that would love Malik.
Heck, even that dreadful Rutgers mess could use him

[jmcozenlaw]

FDU receiver Malik Pressley may be the most dynamic offensive player in the conference. He had two more touchdowns tonight and has seven for the season. And he's just a sophomore. Scary stuff. Wilkes missed two extra points tonight and gave up a two-point conversion late.

Del Val LT Josh Wallace is out for tomorrow so it's official -- 11 new starters on offense tomorrow. I mistakenly said Jarrett Reinhart was a starter last year, but the starting fullback was Joe Meehan.

Gordon - You or Pat may be the only people who would know the answer to a question like this. Can you recall any team having to literally replace all 11 starters from one side of the ball in a given year? It still amazes me how they handled a veteran Montclair team on opening day!

[rams1102]

FDU receiver Malik Pressley may be the most dynamic offensive player in the conference. He had two more touchdowns tonight and has seven for the season. And he's just a sophomore. Scary stuff. Wilkes missed two extra points tonight and gave up a two-point conversion late.

Del Val LT Josh Wallace is out for tomorrow so it's official -- 11 new starters on offense tomorrow. I mistakenly said Jarrett Reinhart was a starter last year, but the starting fullback was Joe Meehan.

Gordon - You or Pat may be the only people who would know the answer to a question like this. Can you recall any team having to literally replace all 11 starters from one side of the ball in a given year? It still amazes me how they
handled a veteran Montclair team on opening day!

Me too. I may have to ask Pope Francis for some devine intervention so we don't get spanked to badly.

[jmcozenlaw]

How about some predictions for the week?

Games
Wilkes @  FDU-Florham      This depends on which Wilkes team shows up...The Wilkes team that shut down DVU?  Or the Wilkes that got crushed by an average Muhlenberg team, and blew a lead to a young Lyco squad.   The easy pick here is to take Wilkes here based on pedigree...however, FDU Florham has a taste of victory this year, despite their gut wrenching loss to Kings last week... In case you didn't see it, FDU had an 8 minute 18 second drive late in the 4th Q to go up 7, and Kings responded with an 8 Play 65 yard drive in 54 seconds to tie it up late, and scored to win it in the first OT...That close  in spite of their starting QB Tyler Maurer not playing after the second quarter...(not sure if it's due to injury or another issue)
That being said, assuming Tyler Maurer will play and I'll pick FDU Florham in an upset 35-31...if not all bets are off

Lebanon Valley @ Widener   There have been some great games between these two in the past...
Leb Val, lost to a solid Franklin and Marshall team that is 3-0 (with 3 solid wins), and barely to Stevenson a game in which Mr. Thompson would like to forget...however, it is clear that this is a good team.
Widener has a very good defense, yet no speed on offense and a suspect O line.  It is at home, yet a night game...and I don't remember too many WU night game wins...
In such, I don't think WU will still get it completely together yet, leading to a Lebanon Valley (upset?) in a lower scoring affair 21-20

Albright  @ Lycoming      Well we all know tough tough tough it is to play in Williamsport.   However Lyco has struggled this year.  The real question is:  Was that scouring onslaught in the 2nd half against Wilkes was an indicator of things getting back on track?  Simba says Yes Wone3 says No!  I tend to agree with Wone3.  As the Phila Eagles can attest, 1 good quarter, doesn't particularly mean future success.  especially as 2 of those were defensive touchdowns...   Albright has never seemed to get over the hump though, and has always had one loss that took a MAC title away.   This year so far seems different.  A great comeback win against a very competitive Salisbury team, and a dominating win last week, seems to say that Albright dominates this one.   I'll take the away victory for Albright 27-14

Misericordia  @   Stevenson    I root for Misericordia...I really do.  They stayed pretty close to a good Utica team (we'll see how good this week after they play Cortland St...), which I though may indicate a change for the better.  Subsequent losses to Lebanon Valley and Delaware Valley  indicate that they will stay pretty close to where they normally fall, however the losses were not by as large of a margin as they have been.  Maybe it's slow and steady progress... Stevenson is right where they need to be, and seemingly got away with a win last week, despite (the above discussed) 5 turnovers.   Good teams find ways to win when not at their best...Stevenson 38 Misericordia 7
   
King's @ Delaware Valley    Kings has lost all of the momentum they gained a few years ago.  Losses to an average Moravian team and a bafflingly average Widener team don't indicate good things are on the horizon for this team.  The upside was the (above mentioned) comeback win against FDU last week.  Despite Del Val having youth at critical positions, and no consistency, I'll still pick Del Val here   28-14   

I must give bman his props as he picked Albright to beat Lyco by two touchdowns, on the road nonetheless! Myself and the Mighty Simba bow down to your knowledge and excellence

[jmcozenlaw]

FACTOID....
Albright has been victorious over Lycoming in only four games since 1978...There was one tie...All four of those victories came in the only years Lyco has had a loosing record (after 2004)...

If the Warriors play the way they did the second half against Wilkes the remainder of the season (down 21-20 at the half), they will be hard to beat and will contend for their 15th MAC Championship!..Simba

If the Warriors play the way they did the second half against Wilkes the remainder of the season (down 21-20 at the half), they will be hard to beat and will contend for their 15th MAC Championship!..Simba
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Simba - Short and sweet. Uhhhhhhhhhhhh...................no

[Simba]

WOW!...
We now know what kind of a season we are going to have if the same pattern of history repeats itself this year...Congratulations Lions...I knew we were in trouble today when on our first two possessions in the Red Zone, our offense turned it over...the second one on a fumble at the two!...Can Albright now finish out the season and represent the MAC in the playoffs?...They are now my pick after watching both them and Stevenson give us some good 'ol fashion Wup Ass!!!...

Simba

[wone3]

As I said Simba, I hated to burst your bubble man.

I'm a Lyco 90's grad/alum and I know how well they can play and have played in the past. It just seems like the year after they graduate a QB that plays like 2 years or more as starter, the next year isn't as good.  It wasn't happening this year with that young secondary and an incoming QB with little game experience with 1 decent RB and WR. I'm not saying the other guys can't play but they need to step up. There is just too many good defenses out there this year for this offense unless they can start generating "quick -strike" and lot of points to make up for the youngness of the D and especially that secondary. This is going to be a year of gather experience and next year could be very interesting for them.

If it comes down to Albright and Stevenson in a battle for the playoff spot; as of right now I'd probably lean toward Albright. Stevenson does have it on defense but they ABSOLUTELY need to cut down on the penalties especially the dumb ones like the couple they committed today. They aren't going to be able to pull that stuff in the games coming up and expect to win. They also have a decent offense and can move the ball well and if the play call is right can quick strike for a score, as they have done in several spots this year. They have a nice mix of run and pass opportunities in the players they put on the field.  I do think it is a bit amazing tho considering this is only Stevenson's 5th year of having football to be in the talking for a title and speaks well to their future in the league.

[jmcozenlaw]

As I said Simba, I hated to burst your bubble man.

I'm a Lyco 90's grad/alum and I know how well they can play and have played in the past. It just seems like the year after they graduate a QB that plays like 2 years or more as starter, the next year isn't as good.  It wasn't happening this year with that young secondary and an incoming QB with little game experience with 1 decent RB and WR. I'm not saying the other guys can't play but they need to step up. There is just too many good defenses out there this year for this offense unless they can start generating "quick -strike" and lot of points to make up for the youngness of the D and especially that secondary. This is going to be a year of gather experience and next year could be very interesting for them.

If it comes down to Albright and Stevenson in a battle for the playoff spot; as of right now I'd probably lean toward Albright. Stevenson does have it on defense but they ABSOLUTELY need to cut down on the penalties especially the dumb ones like the couple they committed today. They aren't going to be able to pull that stuff in the games coming up and expect to win. They also have a decent offense and can move the ball well and if the play call is right can quick strike for a score, as they have done in several spots this year. They have a nice mix of run and pass opportunities in the players they put on the field.  I do think it is a bit amazing tho considering this is only Stevenson's 5th year of having football to be in the talking for a title and speaks well to their future in the league.

wone - I think DelVal can relate to Lycoming's plight and then some as they played last night with literally ZERO starters on offense form last year's team. I'm actually stunned by the rushing attack given all of the new faces.

[Pat Coleman]

FDU receiver Malik Pressley may be the most dynamic offensive player in the conference. He had two more touchdowns tonight and has seven for the season. And he's just a sophomore. Scary stuff. Wilkes missed two extra points tonight and gave up a two-point conversion late.

Del Val LT Josh Wallace is out for tomorrow so it's official -- 11 new starters on offense tomorrow. I mistakenly said Jarrett Reinhart was a starter last year, but the starting fullback was Joe Meehan.

Gordon - You or Pat may be the only people who would know the answer to a question like this. Can you recall any team having to literally replace all 11 starters from one side of the ball in a given year? It still amazes me how they handled a veteran Montclair team on opening day!

I'm sure it's probably happened but I don't recall it happening to a prominent team, one we were considering for preseason Top 25 and the like.

[D3MAFAN]

FDU receiver Malik Pressley may be the most dynamic offensive player in the conference. He had two more touchdowns tonight and has seven for the season. And he's just a sophomore. Scary stuff. Wilkes missed two extra points tonight and gave up a two-point conversion late.

Del Val LT Josh Wallace is out for tomorrow so it's official -- 11 new starters on offense tomorrow. I mistakenly said Jarrett Reinhart was a starter last year, but the starting fullback was Joe Meehan.

Gordon - You or Pat may be the only people who would know the answer to a question like this. Can you recall any team having to literally replace all 11 starters from one side of the ball in a given year? It still amazes me how they handled a veteran Montclair team on opening day!

I'm sure it's probably happened but I don't recall it happening to a prominent team, one we were considering for preseason Top 25 and the like.

One can only hope to see this team a year or two from now and see what they become.

[gordonmann]

I said the same thing last night in the video broadcast. I'm sure it has happened, but I can't think of a relatively established program that had 11 new starters.

[bman]

Mercy, bman! You picked your Pride to fall to the Dutchmen this evening? I'm stunned and shocked.
(And what's with the "mr." stuff? That makes me feel even older than my already-advanced years.  )

Wow, boy did I miss ALOT this weekend, when I was away!   A couple things to address!

First and foremost, my comment was not age related!  Let's just say I was on a roll typing, and "Mr. Thompson" just worked well in the grammatical flow...
Given that you are certainly the most knowledgeable in the MAC (citing 1970s games for heavens sake!), I think a bit of respect is certainly warranted

[bman]

Mercy, bman! You picked your Pride to fall to the Dutchmen this evening? I'm stunned and shocked.
(And what's with the "mr." stuff? That makes me feel even older than my already-advanced years.  )

I think that bman played the old "if they lose, I called it" game. In that case, the Eagles will lose to the Jets tomorrow (let's see if that works as well )
LebVal has no passing attack to speak of. QB's went 5 for 21 for 104 yards.......with 76 of the yards coming on one play. They make DelVal's passing attack look good!
Klein threw the ball 65 times and ran it another 16 times. I have never seen a MAC team so solely reliant on one player. God forbid he goes down.......Widener is toast!

You give me too much credit my friend....
What you see(read) is what you get from me...
I honestly believed they would lose...and not from some fatalistic mind set, or reverse superstition...
As I have mentioned previously, there is not much team speed...
The tallest WR is 5'10" (look it up)...so if you have smaller receivers, and they aren't overly fast...not good
There have been issues with running the ball, and opening up holes etc...

I make it seem doomsday-ish, but it's not...they are a solid football team.   I think I read too much into the Leb Val/Stevenson result, and did not see any video from that game...
In short, I thought they were still ripe for a loss(upset?) and they proved me wrong...
I have been wrong before and it is possible that I may be wrong again

[bman]

Mercy, bman! You picked your Pride to fall to the Dutchmen this evening? I'm stunned and shocked.
(And what's with the "mr." stuff? That makes me feel even older than my already-advanced years.  )

Wow, boy did I miss ALOT this weekend, when I was away!   A couple things to address!

First and foremost, my comment was not age related!  Let's just say I was on a roll typing, and "Mr. Thompson" just worked well in the grammatical flow...
Given that you are certainly the most knowledgeable in the MAC (no disrespect to Gordon intended!, but citing 1960 and 1970s games for heavens sake!...is really, really impressive), I think a bit of respect is certainly warranted

[jmcozenlaw]

Mercy, bman! You picked your Pride to fall to the Dutchmen this evening? I'm stunned and shocked.
(And what's with the "mr." stuff? That makes me feel even older than my already-advanced years.  )

I think that bman played the old "if they lose, I called it" game. In that case, the Eagles will lose to the Jets tomorrow (let's see if that works as well )
LebVal has no passing attack to speak of. QB's went 5 for 21 for 104 yards.......with 76 of the yards coming on one play. They make DelVal's passing attack look good!
Klein threw the ball 65 times and ran it another 16 times. I have never seen a MAC team so solely reliant on one player. God forbid he goes down.......Widener is toast!

You give me too much credit my friend....
What you see(read) is what you get from me...
I honestly believed they would lose...and not from some fatalistic mind set, or reverse superstition...
As I have mentioned previously, there is not much team speed...
The tallest WR is 5'10" (look it up)...so if you have smaller receivers, and they aren't overly fast...not good
There has been issues with running the ball, and opening up holes etc...

I make it seem doomsday-ish, but it's not...they are a solid football team.   I think I read too much into the Leb Val/Stevenson result, and did not see any video from that game...
In short, I thought they were still ripe for a loss(upset?) and they proved me wrong...
I have been wrong before and it is possible that I may be wrong again

I gotcha buddy. It did work for me though as the Eagles did beat the J-E-T-S......MESS, MESS, MESS