FB: Middle Atlantic Conference

[bman]

Looking forward to week 1 for the MAC! The DVU/Wesley and Albright/Salisbury games should provide a good OOC measuring stick for conference contenders to gauge how the MAC ranks against other conference powers. Other games, such as Kings/Moravian and LVC/FMC should give the rest of the conference a good indication if the MAC will have depth or be top heavy this year. Finally, the Misericordia/Utica game should give a glimpse of how far the bottom portion of the conference has improved and could be telling of truly how far apart the gap is for those bottom teams to become a contender both in conference and regionally.

I think that winning a conference like the MAC is most program's "Superbowl" given the level playing field (for the most part) within the conference. I'm not sure building a super power is very high on the list of most of the president's within the conference.

It used to be at Widener...

[wesleydad]

Looking forward to the MAC/NJAC battles this week.  All 3 games look to be good and competitive.  Del Val is always tough on Wesley.  Rowan and Widener look to improve off of last years down performances.  Salisbury looks to get a little revenge for the blown 20 point 4th quarter lead against Albright.  I am going with an NJAC sweep, likely in 3 close games.  I am getting to see 2 of them so I will have a report for the MAC folk late Saturday or Sunday.

[gordonmann]

Depending on how things go, I may take my little daughter to Widener/Rowan on Saturday. She's 20 months old and calls every sport "baseball game" but it'll give us something to do that doesn't involve a Sesame Street character.

Because of changes at work and my taking over the reins for D3hoops.com, I'm only broadcasting Del Val home games this season. So I'll have to track the Wesley/DVU game via the internet. Wesley should win, but hopefully the Aggies keep it close.

[kate]

Hello Gordon!  Good luck with your new position at D3 hoops!   You will be missed announcing the Aggie away games, but we'll look forward to your broadcasts of our home contests!   Yes, very much hope that DVU can make it a game tomorrow night! 

[jmcozenlaw]

I am not a Delaware Valley University graduate (although having lived now in beautiful Doylestown for years, we've adopted each other) and this is not football related but I stumbled across something that I found quite interesting and it took me back to a DelVal game at Widener two years ago. We were sitting in the stands, on the larger Widener side and a group of Widener students were yelling, "farm boys, farm boys". Now, these particular students did not look like future Rhodes Scholars and if anybody looked at the composition of the Aggies football team, I'm not sure any of them, even the linemen, looked like farmers...........but it did get me thinking about things like perception. And then came the article that I just stumbled across. Out of 79 Pennsylvania Colleges & Universities, DelVal had the 6th highest pass rate for the CPA exam......beating schools like Carnegie Mellon, University of Pittsburgh and Villanova......and I'm sure some much bigger and more prestigious schools that didn't even make the top ten. Kudos go out to Lycoming who finished #3 in the state as well!!! I guess these little MAC schools don't have to take an educational backseat to anybody. I've always considered DelVal an undiscovered gem in my backyard..........given continued enrollment gains in a shrinking college age population base, more majors, university status and data such as this.........maybe others are discovering the same. I'd like to e-mail this data to those kids at Widener and ask them how this could be the case. I gues DelVal will put food on your table and make sure that you eat clean from the fields AND will help you with your individual and corporate tax issues! http://www.delval.edu/news/delval-students-excel-on-the-cpa-exam

[kate]

Thanks for your thoughts and for posting this jmcozenlaw!

[jmcozenlaw]

I could QB Wesley to a 10-0 record this year..........and I'm 46 and never played the position. I don't think anybody gets within 10 points of Wesley this year..........until the second or third round of the playoffs.

Hyperbolic optimism. I think Wesley will have one, maybe two, games that are decided by 1-2 td's in conference play. I'd go with SU being one of those teams, and the other being Rowan, or surprisingly FSU.

You don't really think Wesley could just run the ball to 10-0, do you?

Opinions are like you-know-what's and everybody has one and is entitled to their own and they can't be wrong or right until they are borne out. Optimism indeed given the stud receivers and running backs. I stated that I didn't think anybody gets within 10 points of Wesley. I'm right if somebody gets within only 11. Not much different really than your only one or two games (out of ten) decided by 1-2 TD's (which is 7 to 14 points........I'm just about smack in the middle of you). Wesley has a great running game but also has two spectacular receivers. You don't need a stud QB to get them the ball behind that huge offensive line and with the threat of the running game. We'll see.

[jmcozenlaw]

Depending on how things go, I may take my little daughter to Widener/Rowan on Saturday. She's 20 months old and calls every sport "baseball game" but it'll give us something to do that doesn't involve a Sesame Street character.

Because of changes at work and my taking over the reins for D3hoops.com, I'm only broadcasting Del Val home games this season. So I'll have to track the Wesley/DVU game via the internet. Wesley should win, but hopefully the Aggies keep it close.

I'm happy for you Gordon but sad for your devoted listeners (like me). Any Gordon substitutes for road games? I guess we'll have to get by with the away broadcast teams! Kill it with D3hoops!!

[tweisman5]

Excited for the season to finally kick off tonight! With the start of the season, it means the start of predictions and some fun trying to guess the upsets! My prediction for this upcoming season is as followed:

1. Albright
2. Delaware Valley
3. Stevenson
4. Widener
5. Lycoming
6. Lebanon Valley
7. Kings
8. Wilkes
9. FDU-Florham
10. Misericordia

I believe the last few weeks will become a tight three team race again between Albright, Stevenson, and Del Val. The key conference games this season I believe will be: W2 Stevenson@Albright, W4 Albright@Del Val, and W8 Del Val@Stevenson. I see Stevenson as the dark horse team in the three team race. Most people are split between Del Val and Albright winning the conference, and I understand why; however, if there was any team that could capture the conference it would be Stevenson. If Albright loses W2 and W4, it's likely you can count them out contending for a conference championship. I would circle W8: Del Val@Stevenson as a possible "unofficial" conference championship if this occurs. The only issue I see with Stevenson that leaves them as an unknown contender is the QB and LB positions. If they can find good players at those position, I see them running the table on the season.

Here are my week 1 picks:

Del Val@Wesley: Wesley wins a close game by 10
Albright@Salisbury: Albright a close game by 3
NC Wesleyan@Stevenson: Stevenson wins by 10
Rowan@Widener: Widener wins by 9
Muhlenburg@Wilkes: Muhlenburg wins by 23
Leb Val@F&M: Leb Val wins a close game by 3
Susquehanna@Lycoming: Lycoming wins by 13
Kings@Moravian: Moravian wins by 14
Utica@Misericordia: Utica wins by 24

[Upstate]

Good win for the Aggies!

[jmcozenlaw]

Looking forward to the MAC/NJAC battles this week.  All 3 games look to be good and competitive.  Del Val is always tough on Wesley.  Rowan and Widener look to improve off of last years down performances.  Salisbury looks to get a little revenge for the blown 20 point 4th quarter lead against Albright.  I am going with an NJAC sweep, likely in 3 close games.  I am getting to see 2 of them so I will have a report for the MAC folk late Saturday or Sunday.

Wesleydad (or anybody else who was at the game who can give me a little more than "you can't win turning the ball over five times"........."you can tell Joe Callahan wasn't out there"........"you can't win with 100+ yards in penalties.......etc.)

I wasn't able to sit back and watch the game, when I could tune in the live stats were permanently frozen at the 3:54 mark of the 3rd quarter and my 20 attempts at the video feed produced a 1980's porn-like fuzziness (somebody please let the folks at Wesley know that it really isn't expensive to upgrade technology into the year 2016........like Stevenson, DelVal and most shoestring budget D-III programs).

1. I haven't seen DelVal this year and I know that they lost some key pieces and had to build a new offensive line but what would you say impressed you about the Aggies?
2. Having scrimmaged Albright last week and assuming they don't turn the ball over 5 times, can the Aggies hang with them? Do you think they can contend in the MAC? (the coaches polls are somewhat of a joke I've been told, with some games being played by a few coaches to shine the spotlight of expectations on a specific team or teams). With what they have coming back, Albright should be the clear MAC favorite and actually had 6 first place votes to DelVal's 4.
3. What do you think of the Aggies defense as they are working in about 5/6 new pieces at LB and in the defensive backfield? Is Shawn Miller the real deal?
4. The QB before Callahan (lives out this way) said he thought that 1, maybe 2 of DelVal's defenders would start at Wesley and nobody from DelVal's offense would do so. Did it look like that from an eyeball test perspective or is Shane just a bit off?

Great start to the season for the Aggies............and now I will say that Wesley runs the table, but I'll take the nobody gets within 10 points out of the equation. Kind of like being knocked out in Week One of WIP's Suicide Pool like I was last year!!

[wone3]

Nice win by Del Val....and Stevenson just finished winning a VERY sloppy game ( was watching some of the video at a great HS game) 6 picks ( 1 returned for a TD) outdid 4 of your own turnovers ( that will need to be cleaned up quickly!!). Looks like Wilkes held it tight with the Mules and Salisbury might be one to look at down the road clobbering Albright. We will see what Albright has next week. Del Val/ Stevenson is homecoming/family weekend at Stevenson too. Even more going there if it should come down to that for the championship; but there is plenty of football to play before then. 

[wesleydad]

Looking forward to the MAC/NJAC battles this week.  All 3 games look to be good and competitive.  Del Val is always tough on Wesley.  Rowan and Widener look to improve off of last years down performances.  Salisbury looks to get a little revenge for the blown 20 point 4th quarter lead against Albright.  I am going with an NJAC sweep, likely in 3 close games.  I am getting to see 2 of them so I will have a report for the MAC folk late Saturday or Sunday.

Wesleydad (or anybody else who was at the game who can give me a little more than "you can't win turning the ball over five times"........."you can tell Joe Callahan wasn't out there"........"you can't win with 100+ yards in penalties.......etc.)

I wasn't able to sit back and watch the game, when I could tune in the live stats were permanently frozen at the 3:54 mark of the 3rd quarter and my 20 attempts at the video feed produced a 1980's porn-like fuzziness (somebody please let the folks at Wesley know that it really isn't expensive to upgrade technology into the year 2016........like Stevenson, DelVal and most shoestring budget D-III programs).

1. I haven't seen DelVal this year and I know that they lost some key pieces and had to build a new offensive line but what would you say impressed you about the Aggies?
2. Having scrimmaged Albright last week and assuming they don't turn the ball over 5 times, can the Aggies hang with them? Do you think they can contend in the MAC? (the coaches polls are somewhat of a joke I've been told, with some games being played by a few coaches to shine the spotlight of expectations on a specific team or teams). With what they have coming back, Albright should be the clear MAC favorite and actually had 6 first place votes to DelVal's 4.
3. What do you think of the Aggies defense as they are working in about 5/6 new pieces at LB and in the defensive backfield? Is Shawn Miller the real deal?
4. The QB before Callahan (lives out this way) said he thought that 1, maybe 2 of DelVal's defenders would start at Wesley and nobody from DelVal's offense would do so. Did it look like that from an eyeball test perspective or is Shane just a bit off?

Great start to the season for the Aggies............and now I will say that Wesley runs the table, but I'll take the nobody gets within 10 points out of the equation. Kind of like being knocked out in Week One of WIP's Suicide Pool like I was last year!!

Del Val is presently better than Wesley.  They are not going to give up many points to anyone from what I saw tonight.  The defense has good size and the d backs challenge plays.  If the QB connects on 2 long passes, both overthrown, this game may not have been close.  The running backs are good.  The D line won the battle easily, creating pressure on almost every pass play.  I did not see the scrimmage Wesley had with Albright, but have heard that Wesley handled them.  Del Val has to be the favorite in the MAC especially since Albright got beat by Salisbury tonight.  I expect Del Val to possibly run the table, but I know the MAC is tough.  I would take several of the D backs from Del Val over the ones from Wesley.  Del Val's O line is better than Wesley's so I would take some of them also.  Wesley has issues to fix if they are going to win the NJAC.

[jmcozenlaw]

Looking forward to the MAC/NJAC battles this week.  All 3 games look to be good and competitive.  Del Val is always tough on Wesley.  Rowan and Widener look to improve off of last years down performances.  Salisbury looks to get a little revenge for the blown 20 point 4th quarter lead against Albright.  I am going with an NJAC sweep, likely in 3 close games.  I am getting to see 2 of them so I will have a report for the MAC folk late Saturday or Sunday.

Wesleydad (or anybody else who was at the game who can give me a little more than "you can't win turning the ball over five times"........."you can tell Joe Callahan wasn't out there"........"you can't win with 100+ yards in penalties.......etc.)

I wasn't able to sit back and watch the game, when I could tune in the live stats were permanently frozen at the 3:54 mark of the 3rd quarter and my 20 attempts at the video feed produced a 1980's porn-like fuzziness (somebody please let the folks at Wesley know that it really isn't expensive to upgrade technology into the year 2016........like Stevenson, DelVal and most shoestring budget D-III programs).

1. I haven't seen DelVal this year and I know that they lost some key pieces and had to build a new offensive line but what would you say impressed you about the Aggies?
2. Having scrimmaged Albright last week and assuming they don't turn the ball over 5 times, can the Aggies hang with them? Do you think they can contend in the MAC? (the coaches polls are somewhat of a joke I've been told, with some games being played by a few coaches to shine the spotlight of expectations on a specific team or teams). With what they have coming back, Albright should be the clear MAC favorite and actually had 6 first place votes to DelVal's 4.
3. What do you think of the Aggies defense as they are working in about 5/6 new pieces at LB and in the defensive backfield? Is Shawn Miller the real deal?
4. The QB before Callahan (lives out this way) said he thought that 1, maybe 2 of DelVal's defenders would start at Wesley and nobody from DelVal's offense would do so. Did it look like that from an eyeball test perspective or is Shane just a bit off?

Great start to the season for the Aggies............and now I will say that Wesley runs the table, but I'll take the nobody gets within 10 points out of the equation. Kind of like being knocked out in Week One of WIP's Suicide Pool like I was last year!!

Del Val is presently better than Wesley.  They are not going to give up many points to anyone from what I saw tonight.  The defense has good size and the d backs challenge plays.  If the QB connects on 2 long passes, both overthrown, this game may not have been close.  The running backs are good.  The D line won the battle easily, creating pressure on almost every pass play.  I did not see the scrimmage Wesley had with Albright, but have heard that Wesley handled them.  Del Val has to be the favorite in the MAC especially since Albright got beat by Salisbury tonight.  I expect Del Val to possibly run the table, but I know the MAC is tough.  I would take several of the D backs from Del Val over the ones from Wesley.  Del Val's O line is better than Wesley's so I would take some of them also.  Wesley has issues to fix if they are going to win the NJAC.

Wesleydad - You and your honest and always objective analysis are the best. Your first sentence stuns me as I kind of looked at it the other way.........despite being -5 in turnovers, Wesley could have tied the game had they not fumbled on the last drive. I thought the DelVal defense would be decent but given the number of new LB's and DB's, I thought they'd struggle (and still might) against Albright, Stevenson and Widener. The biggest question, by far, was on the Aggies offensive line after losing two key seniors, having a stud freshman not come back this year and losing a starter for the year in the intrasquad scrimmage. Given all of that, if DelVal's offensive line is better than Wesley's..................Wesley has some real issues going forward this year. It sounds like you might take a DelVal defensive lineman or two given how you said they easily won the battle. I have to tell Shane to take the Wesley goggles off........although he's probably getting this info from the coaches since his buddies from the team are all long gone.

[wesleydad]

Looking forward to the MAC/NJAC battles this week.  All 3 games look to be good and competitive.  Del Val is always tough on Wesley.  Rowan and Widener look to improve off of last years down performances.  Salisbury looks to get a little revenge for the blown 20 point 4th quarter lead against Albright.  I am going with an NJAC sweep, likely in 3 close games.  I am getting to see 2 of them so I will have a report for the MAC folk late Saturday or Sunday.

Wesleydad (or anybody else who was at the game who can give me a little more than "you can't win turning the ball over five times"........."you can tell Joe Callahan wasn't out there"........"you can't win with 100+ yards in penalties.......etc.)

I wasn't able to sit back and watch the game, when I could tune in the live stats were permanently frozen at the 3:54 mark of the 3rd quarter and my 20 attempts at the video feed produced a 1980's porn-like fuzziness (somebody please let the folks at Wesley know that it really isn't expensive to upgrade technology into the year 2016........like Stevenson, DelVal and most shoestring budget D-III programs).

1. I haven't seen DelVal this year and I know that they lost some key pieces and had to build a new offensive line but what would you say impressed you about the Aggies?
2. Having scrimmaged Albright last week and assuming they don't turn the ball over 5 times, can the Aggies hang with them? Do you think they can contend in the MAC? (the coaches polls are somewhat of a joke I've been told, with some games being played by a few coaches to shine the spotlight of expectations on a specific team or teams). With what they have coming back, Albright should be the clear MAC favorite and actually had 6 first place votes to DelVal's 4.
3. What do you think of the Aggies defense as they are working in about 5/6 new pieces at LB and in the defensive backfield? Is Shawn Miller the real deal?
4. The QB before Callahan (lives out this way) said he thought that 1, maybe 2 of DelVal's defenders would start at Wesley and nobody from DelVal's offense would do so. Did it look like that from an eyeball test perspective or is Shane just a bit off?

Great start to the season for the Aggies............and now I will say that Wesley runs the table, but I'll take the nobody gets within 10 points out of the equation. Kind of like being knocked out in Week One of WIP's Suicide Pool like I was last year!!

Del Val is presently better than Wesley.  They are not going to give up many points to anyone from what I saw tonight.  The defense has good size and the d backs challenge plays.  If the QB connects on 2 long passes, both overthrown, this game may not have been close.  The running backs are good.  The D line won the battle easily, creating pressure on almost every pass play.  I did not see the scrimmage Wesley had with Albright, but have heard that Wesley handled them.  Del Val has to be the favorite in the MAC especially since Albright got beat by Salisbury tonight.  I expect Del Val to possibly run the table, but I know the MAC is tough.  I would take several of the D backs from Del Val over the ones from Wesley.  Del Val's O line is better than Wesley's so I would take some of them also.  Wesley has issues to fix if they are going to win the NJAC.

Wesleydad - You and your honest and always objective analysis are the best. Your first sentence stuns me as I kind of looked at it the other way.........despite being -5 in turnovers, Wesley could have tied the game had they not fumbled on the last drive. I thought the DelVal defense would be decent but given the number of new LB's and DB's, I thought they'd struggle (and still might) against Albright, Stevenson and Widener. The biggest question, by far, was on the Aggies offensive line after losing two key seniors, having a stud freshman not come back this year and losing a starter for the year in the intrasquad scrimmage. Given all of that, if DelVal's offensive line is better than Wesley's..................Wesley has some real issues going forward this year. It sounds like you might take a DelVal defensive lineman or two given how you said they easily won the battle. I have to tell Shane to take the Wesley goggles off........although he's probably getting this info from the coaches since his buddies from the team are all long gone.

As I said, presently Del Val is better.  Wesley has a much bigger upside.  Do they win without the turnovers, maybe.  If Del Val connects on 2 open long passes the game is not even close so it all equals out in my opinion.  Del Val got more pressure on Wesley, but not by much so both D lines did their job.  The fumble occurred in desperation time, but was a good throw and Shade after breaking a tackle near midfield had the ball poked away by Del Val.  If he does not fumble he may have taken it in or would have gotten close.  There is no guarantee that Wesley scores.  Most of Wesley's yards came between the 20's and with the mistakes they never really threatened to score except when they did.  The ints were mistakes by QB's but also by the predictable offense Wesley was running.  Miller was able to step into coverage because he was not forced to cover passes down the field.  Del Val is pretty good and if they handle the ball the defense is not going to give up much.  I would not worry much about Albright as they seemed to struggle to score on Salisbury who has not been known to have a killer defense.  I will see Widener today and will report later, but I expect Rowan to win the game.  Who will be better at seasons end is anyone's guess.