FB: Middle Atlantic Conference

[jmcozenlaw]

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

I'm going to throw a curveball or two in here on my 2016 season predictions:

1. Stevenson (the key DelVal game is at home and getting better at the higher level transfer gig..........but not Rowan in the 90's )
2. Albright (6 first place votes by MAC coaches and everybody back of significance from last year's MAC Champion)
3. DelVal (Stevenson on the road + the annual loss vs. a team that you shouldn't lose to.........at Wilkes in 2015)
4. Widener (excellent defense and solid running game)
5. Lycoming (may surprise with what they have at RB/QB and all they have back from last year)
6. King's (might be better than most think)
7. Wilkes (same as King's)
8. Leb Valley (too many decent teams in the MAC)
9. FDU (best receiver in the conference is the highlight)
10. Misericordia (they replaced a running QB........with a running QB........the long slog continues)

On another note, to those who don't think a 1st round draft pick, a 4th and the 2017 cap space now freed up to resign Bennie Logan was a criminal haul for an oft-injured QB who was gone after this season.........I want to sit next to you at the poker table and take all of your money!

Week Two Predictions:
DelVal - 34        Misericordia - 13 (Moved the game from tomorrow's heat to tonight's monsoon........will effect scoring)
Albright - 31      Stevenson - 27 (My MAC Preseason favorite is at home and returns too much on offense. Victory in last two minutes)
Lycoming - 33    King's - 20 (I expect Lyco to make noise this year with a great running game, defense, a ton back from last year and a great recruiting class)
Wilkes - 31        LebVal - 24 (Wilkes looked pretty good last week and gained a lot of returning experience through last year's struggles)

Montclair State - 40     FDU - 20 (Just a wild guess. Rain will impact FDU passing game and best receiver in MAC)
Widener - Bye / @ FDU / Wilkes........before @ Lyco. The Pride will be very healthy after these three weeks and Lyco will be coming off of @ Misericordia so they should be as well)

Eagles - 23       Browns - 16 (Wentz: 16-23 / 188 yards / 1 TD / 1 INT / 1 Fumble)

I was also the first to call the NCAA DIII National Champion by choosing Mount Youngstown Union State, University of Wisconsin-ww, Linflield...............you guys can have the field!!

Man, is this board quiet. When bman has a bye week and Lycosimba reports squatta on the Lyco vs. King's game..............and more teams have zero posters than those who do, that's what you get. I got the DelVal and Montclair games right. I missed on Albright, Lycoming and Wilkes. Bad week. Although, all was fine after watching Carson Wentz as a rookie with very little preseason experience. I can't wait until he gets a few NFL caliber offensive weapons to go along with that defense!!

[jmcozenlaw]

MAC observations after the Stevenson @ Albright game:

(1) Stevenson is in the drivers seat and it's their conference to lose with playing DelVal at home. They play LebVal and FDU at home, followed by a game at Misericordia, a critical bye before heading to Widener, before hosting DelVal. Beat Widener (which I expect, in a close game) and Stevenson is undefeated going into the DelVal game.........with a season ending game at Lycoming standing in the way of a 10-0 record.

(2) Albright will be playing for their lives next week in a home game vs. Lycoming

(3) If Albright beats Lycoming, they will be playing for one last shot at the MAC in two weeks as a loss to DelVal would drop them to 1-2 in the conference (1-3 overall) with head-to-head losses against both Stevenson and DelVal. I don't see this happening to the team predicted by 6 out of 10 head coaches (6 out of 9 non-Albright head coaches) to win the conference with all they had returning.

(4) Given home games, timing of byes (critical) and playing of weaker teams before the bigger games.........I see both Widener and Lycoming beating at least one of the Stevenson/DelVal/Albright triumvirate, with an outside possibility of one of them possibly beating two.

Just my thoughts...........

I agree with a lot(most) of this..just have to see what Lyco does today to convince me more about #4. Lyco is young basically but they do return their QB/RB combo. Stevenson handled them well at home early on in the season last year. I'd have better odds of Widener picking off Stevenson at home before Lyco; but Lyco will get the chance to play spoiler in the final 2 weeks as they play Del Val and then Stevenson in those 2 final weeks. Widener will play and be tough (close games) for both Stevenson and Del Val.

The Del Val/Stevenson game is family/homecoming weekend ( don't get why they do both together) so the stadium will be jammed anyway; but it will make it even worth more if it is going to be for top of the conference by then. Still plenty of games to play before then.

King's is either much better than most thought and/or Lycoming might be lucky to win one against Stevenson/DelVal/Albright. The do have a dynamic, returning QB/RB combination along with a few nice receivers and while young on defense, they are not much younger than many of the MAC teams (DelVal has two seniors on defense and one is the 340 pound nose tackle, nice guy, but replaceable).

By the looks of this game, I expect King's to give DelVal one hell of a battle next week at home. The QB is a veteran and they have a very good and experienced passing game.

I'll wait to hear Simba's thoughts on the Lyco game today.

Week Two Predictions (without Lycosimba's analysis of the Lyco vs. King's game):

Widener - 43        FDU - 16 (Widener's QB will be slinging the ball all over Madison, NJ and their defense is very stout)
Wilkes - 34          Misericordia - 10 (It's going to be another long year for Miserables)
Stevenson - 37    LebVal - 20 (As stated above, winning at Albright puts Stevenson on the inside track to the MAC championship given the DelVal game is at home)
Albright - 38        Lycoming - 24 (As crazy as it sounds this early on, the preseason favorite.......6 of 9 first place votes of the non-Albright head coaches poll.......could be sunk with a loss)
DelVal - 28          King's - 27 (King's QB might turn out to be the conference MVP and their LB might be the best as well. Nailbiter until the very end. Always a tough game at the wind vortex)

[wone3]

MAC observations after the Stevenson @ Albright game:

(1) Stevenson is in the drivers seat and it's their conference to lose with playing DelVal at home. They play LebVal and FDU at home, followed by a game at Misericordia, a critical bye before heading to Widener, before hosting DelVal. Beat Widener (which I expect, in a close game) and Stevenson is undefeated going into the DelVal game.........with a season ending game at Lycoming standing in the way of a 10-0 record.

(2) Albright will be playing for their lives next week in a home game vs. Lycoming

(3) If Albright beats Lycoming, they will be playing for one last shot at the MAC in two weeks as a loss to DelVal would drop them to 1-2 in the conference (1-3 overall) with head-to-head losses against both Stevenson and DelVal. I don't see this happening to the team predicted by 6 out of 10 head coaches (6 out of 9 non-Albright head coaches) to win the conference with all they had returning.

(4) Given home games, timing of byes (critical) and playing of weaker teams before the bigger games.........I see both Widener and Lycoming beating at least one of the Stevenson/DelVal/Albright triumvirate, with an outside possibility of one of them possibly beating two.

Just my thoughts...........

I agree with a lot(most) of this..just have to see what Lyco does today to convince me more about #4. Lyco is young basically but they do return their QB/RB combo. Stevenson handled them well at home early on in the season last year. I'd have better odds of Widener picking off Stevenson at home before Lyco; but Lyco will get the chance to play spoiler in the final 2 weeks as they play Del Val and then Stevenson in those 2 final weeks. Widener will play and be tough (close games) for both Stevenson and Del Val.

The Del Val/Stevenson game is family/homecoming weekend ( don't get why they do both together) so the stadium will be jammed anyway; but it will make it even worth more if it is going to be for top of the conference by then. Still plenty of games to play before then.

King's is either much better than most thought and/or Lycoming might be lucky to win one against Stevenson/DelVal/Albright. The do have a dynamic, returning QB/RB combination along with a few nice receivers and while young on defense, they are not much younger than many of the MAC teams (DelVal has two seniors on defense and one is the 340 pound nose tackle, nice guy, but replaceable).

By the looks of this game, I expect King's to give DelVal one hell of a battle next week at home. The QB is a veteran and they have a very good and experienced passing game.

I'll wait to hear Simba's thoughts on the Lyco game today.

Week Two Predictions (without Lycosimba's analysis of the Lyco vs. King's game):

Widener - 43        FDU - 16 (Widener's QB will be slinging the ball all over Madison, NJ and their defense is very stout)
Wilkes - 34          Misericordia - 10 (It's going to be another long year for Miserables)
Stevenson - 37    LebVal - 20 (As stated above, winning at Albright puts Stevenson on the inside track to the MAC championship given the DelVal game is at home)
Albright - 38        Lycoming - 24 (As crazy as it sounds this early on, the preseason favorite.......6 of 9 first place votes of the non-Albright head coaches poll.......could be sunk with a loss)
DelVal - 28          King's - 27 (King's QB might turn out to be the conference MVP and their LB might be the best as well. Nailbiter until the very end. Always a tough game at the wind vortex)

Since I'm late to the party with the Widener game...I'll leave it out tho I would have had them by 35+ and FDU only getting the 1 score or 10 points.

Stevenson vs Leb Val- I agree about the range of the difference you have or it could be a touch larger (35-17 or 35-21 range is my thinking) Stevenson needs to clean up the sloppy stuff on their side and watch the penalties. Against better teams this will come back and bite them.

Albright vs Lyco - Long day for the Lyco secondary....If Albright is smart and passes well with little to no mistakes then I could see this a 21+ win for Albright. Albright gets sloppy and they'll keep Lyco in it with potential to sink Albright in the conference. I think it will be closer to the first than the second. Albright will win by 17-24 point range (31-14 or 35-17 range for score)

Del Val vs Kings - Kings other than Widener will be the "wild card" to the conference this year. I agree it will be a close game and a FG late by Del Val will be the difference. (31-28 or 27-24 or 24-21 type score)

We (hubby and I) will be at the Stevenson game tomorrow...gotta watch the gal in the band

[jmcozenlaw]

MAC observations after the Stevenson @ Albright game:

(1) Stevenson is in the drivers seat and it's their conference to lose with playing DelVal at home. They play LebVal and FDU at home, followed by a game at Misericordia, a critical bye before heading to Widener, before hosting DelVal. Beat Widener (which I expect, in a close game) and Stevenson is undefeated going into the DelVal game.........with a season ending game at Lycoming standing in the way of a 10-0 record.

(2) Albright will be playing for their lives next week in a home game vs. Lycoming

(3) If Albright beats Lycoming, they will be playing for one last shot at the MAC in two weeks as a loss to DelVal would drop them to 1-2 in the conference (1-3 overall) with head-to-head losses against both Stevenson and DelVal. I don't see this happening to the team predicted by 6 out of 10 head coaches (6 out of 9 non-Albright head coaches) to win the conference with all they had returning.

(4) Given home games, timing of byes (critical) and playing of weaker teams before the bigger games.........I see both Widener and Lycoming beating at least one of the Stevenson/DelVal/Albright triumvirate, with an outside possibility of one of them possibly beating two.

Just my thoughts...........

I agree with a lot(most) of this..just have to see what Lyco does today to convince me more about #4. Lyco is young basically but they do return their QB/RB combo. Stevenson handled them well at home early on in the season last year. I'd have better odds of Widener picking off Stevenson at home before Lyco; but Lyco will get the chance to play spoiler in the final 2 weeks as they play Del Val and then Stevenson in those 2 final weeks. Widener will play and be tough (close games) for both Stevenson and Del Val.

The Del Val/Stevenson game is family/homecoming weekend ( don't get why they do both together) so the stadium will be jammed anyway; but it will make it even worth more if it is going to be for top of the conference by then. Still plenty of games to play before then.

King's is either much better than most thought and/or Lycoming might be lucky to win one against Stevenson/DelVal/Albright. The do have a dynamic, returning QB/RB combination along with a few nice receivers and while young on defense, they are not much younger than many of the MAC teams (DelVal has two seniors on defense and one is the 340 pound nose tackle, nice guy, but replaceable).

By the looks of this game, I expect King's to give DelVal one hell of a battle next week at home. The QB is a veteran and they have a very good and experienced passing game.

I'll wait to hear Simba's thoughts on the Lyco game today.

Week Two Predictions (without Lycosimba's analysis of the Lyco vs. King's game):

Widener - 43        FDU - 16 (Widener's QB will be slinging the ball all over Madison, NJ and their defense is very stout)
Wilkes - 34          Misericordia - 10 (It's going to be another long year for Miserables)
Stevenson - 37    LebVal - 20 (As stated above, winning at Albright puts Stevenson on the inside track to the MAC championship given the DelVal game is at home)
Albright - 38        Lycoming - 24 (As crazy as it sounds this early on, the preseason favorite.......6 of 9 first place votes of the non-Albright head coaches poll.......could be sunk with a loss)
DelVal - 28          King's - 27 (King's QB might turn out to be the conference MVP and their LB might be the best as well. Nailbiter until the very end. Always a tough game at the wind vortex)

Since I'm late to the party with the Widener game...I'll leave it out tho I would have had them by 35+ and FDU only getting the 1 score or 10 points.

Stevenson vs Leb Val- I agree about the range of the difference you have or it could be a touch larger (35-17 or 35-21 range is my thinking) Stevenson needs to clean up the sloppy stuff on their side and watch the penalties. Against better teams this will come back and bite them.

Albright vs Lyco - Long day for the Lyco secondary....If Albright is smart and passes well with little to no mistakes then I could see this a 21+ win for Albright. Albright gets sloppy and they'll keep Lyco in it with potential to sink Albright in the conference. I think it will be closer to the first than the second. Albright will win by 17-24 point range (31-14 or 35-17 range for score)

Del Val vs Kings - Kings other than Widener will be the "wild card" to the conference this year. I agree it will be a close game and a FG late by Del Val will be the difference. (31-28 or 27-24 or 24-21 type score)

We (hubby and I) will be at the Stevenson game tomorrow...gotta watch the gal in the band

Have fun at the game...........and I am issuing an APB (All Points Bulletin for the one or two younger people on the board) for bman and Lycosimba. I don't want the board to die as they are the only Widener and Lyco regulars left. Heck, other than Kate (and I count Gordon), I'm the DelVal regular.........and I'm adopted.

[Simba]

Last week the Warriors were plagued with inconsistency:

They LEFT 5 POINTS ON THE FIELD missing an easy field goal and two extra points...
Two 10 play drives ended on 4th down with TWO MISSED BLOCKING ASSIGNMENTS...
There were TWENTY MISSED ASSIGNMENTS on offense...
The offense had EIGHT DROPPED PASSES...
SIX PENALTIES on the offense...
THREE SACKS...

Need I say more why we lost to Kings?..

Ok, Today the slate is clean as we travel to my relative's Lair in Reading, The Lions of Albright...It's The Pretzel Bowl Game...Very cool and exciting environment as it benefits the local Masons and all they do for kid's charity work....I played in one back in '76 and will never forget it (2 rings instead of 3)...We blew a 10 point lead and lost to go 1-1 at that point in the season...We ran the table the rest of the season going 8-1 but unfortunately, so did Albright as they took the MAC North Crown...

The Lions are playing with a chip on their shoulder after dropping their first two after having the proverbial bullseye put on their back in pre-season rankings...It won't be easy but if we eliminate or even limit our mistakes, the Warriors can pull this out today with a "W"...Simba the Lion

[tweisman5]

I forgot there was a Friday night game this week, but I would have rolled with Widener by 24 points. Anyways here are my predictions for week 3:

Misericordia@Wilkes: Wilkes wins by 10
Leb. Val@Stevenson: Stevenson wins by 17
Lycoming@Albright: Albright win by 14
Del. Val@Kings: Del. Val wins by 10

Good win for Stevenson last week against a very good Albright team. After last week, the schedule sets up nicely for Stevenson to go into Homecoming with a huge game against a very good Del. Val team. Still have to get through Leb. Val today, then Widener in October; can't overlook any other games by looking ahead. My hope is going forward today and these next several weeks, Stevenson cleans up some mistakes; continue to develop the QB position by eliminating turnovers; develop another RB to complement the starter; and defensively find someone who can get some sacks on the opponent. 

[Simba]

Well, guess what?...We couldn't eliminate mistakes again; hence, we lost, again!...You know right away what kind of day it's going to be when you march down field on your initial series to the two yard line and then turn it over!...After only three games played this season, the Warriors have again been relagated to a "Spoiler" role this season!...Simba

[jmcozenlaw]

Well, guess what?...We couldn't eliminate mistakes again; hence, we lost, again!...You know right away what kind of day it's going to be when you march down field on your initial series to the two yard line and then turn it over!...After only three games played this season, the Warriors have again been relagated to a "Spoiler" role this season!...Simba

Damn!! I did not see that coming at all. When you hold anybody to 17 points, you typically win the game. I was worried about DelVal having to go up to King's today after I saw the King's score at Lycoming last week. But 42-0 at halftime and 49-0 after the first series in the 3rd quarter and the 2nd and 3rd teamers played out the string. The King's QB looked like a world beater against Lyco but could do nothing against DelVal. Albright stays alive with today's win over Lyco and the preseason favorite of 6 of the 9 (can't vote for your own team) head coaches visits Doylestown next Saturday.

I'm looking forward to Lyco visiting DelVal after the Aggies snatched a loss from the jaws of victory last year up at Williamsport.

Lyco is far from dead at this point. They have the lesser teams on the road (Miserables, FDU and Wilkes), Widener and Stevenson, as well as LebVal are all at home.........so the schedule really breaks well in their favor. The wildcard is the November 5 game at DelVal. Stranger things have happened!!

[jmcozenlaw]

Pat Coleman's 'Top 25 Team Most Likely To Get Upset' (DelVal Aggies) were up 42-0 at halftime, on the road, and 49-0 after the first series in the 3rd quarter. Me thinks the preseason Top 25 had Wesley and DelVal inverted

Don't worry, you will have a few more chances to pick them although next week wouldn't be an upset (as Albright was the Mac Champ selection of 6 of the head coaches), at Stevenson certainly would not be as they might be in the high teens by that game, and the last game at Widener wouldn't be if the Pride are undefeated or have only one conference loss. That would leave, in terms of real upsets........at LebVal and home games against Wilkes, FDU and Lycoming.

Pick your poison.........and tell me who you like in the Eagles vs. Bears game on Monday night. It would give me some direction!

Just kidding........you know that I love you (but the Aggies did love the fodder you provided.

[wone3]

MAC observations after the Stevenson @ Albright game:

(1) Stevenson is in the drivers seat and it's their conference to lose with playing DelVal at home. They play LebVal and FDU at home, followed by a game at Misericordia, a critical bye before heading to Widener, before hosting DelVal. Beat Widener (which I expect, in a close game) and Stevenson is undefeated going into the DelVal game.........with a season ending game at Lycoming standing in the way of a 10-0 record.

(2) Albright will be playing for their lives next week in a home game vs. Lycoming

(3) If Albright beats Lycoming, they will be playing for one last shot at the MAC in two weeks as a loss to DelVal would drop them to 1-2 in the conference (1-3 overall) with head-to-head losses against both Stevenson and DelVal. I don't see this happening to the team predicted by 6 out of 10 head coaches (6 out of 9 non-Albright head coaches) to win the conference with all they had returning.

(4) Given home games, timing of byes (critical) and playing of weaker teams before the bigger games.........I see both Widener and Lycoming beating at least one of the Stevenson/DelVal/Albright triumvirate, with an outside possibility of one of them possibly beating two.

Just my thoughts...........

I agree with a lot(most) of this..just have to see what Lyco does today to convince me more about #4. Lyco is young basically but they do return their QB/RB combo. Stevenson handled them well at home early on in the season last year. I'd have better odds of Widener picking off Stevenson at home before Lyco; but Lyco will get the chance to play spoiler in the final 2 weeks as they play Del Val and then Stevenson in those 2 final weeks. Widener will play and be tough (close games) for both Stevenson and Del Val.

The Del Val/Stevenson game is family/homecoming weekend ( don't get why they do both together) so the stadium will be jammed anyway; but it will make it even worth more if it is going to be for top of the conference by then. Still plenty of games to play before then.

King's is either much better than most thought and/or Lycoming might be lucky to win one against Stevenson/DelVal/Albright. The do have a dynamic, returning QB/RB combination along with a few nice receivers and while young on defense, they are not much younger than many of the MAC teams (DelVal has two seniors on defense and one is the 340 pound nose tackle, nice guy, but replaceable).

By the looks of this game, I expect King's to give DelVal one hell of a battle next week at home. The QB is a veteran and they have a very good and experienced passing game.

I'll wait to hear Simba's thoughts on the Lyco game today.

Week Two Predictions (without Lycosimba's analysis of the Lyco vs. King's game):

Widener - 43        FDU - 16 (Widener's QB will be slinging the ball all over Madison, NJ and their defense is very stout)
Wilkes - 34          Misericordia - 10 (It's going to be another long year for Miserables)
Stevenson - 37    LebVal - 20 (As stated above, winning at Albright puts Stevenson on the inside track to the MAC championship given the DelVal game is at home)
Albright - 38        Lycoming - 24 (As crazy as it sounds this early on, the preseason favorite.......6 of 9 first place votes of the non-Albright head coaches poll.......could be sunk with a loss)
DelVal - 28          King's - 27 (King's QB might turn out to be the conference MVP and their LB might be the best as well. Nailbiter until the very end. Always a tough game at the wind vortex)

Since I'm late to the party with the Widener game...I'll leave it out tho I would have had them by 35+ and FDU only getting the 1 score or 10 points.

Stevenson vs Leb Val- I agree about the range of the difference you have or it could be a touch larger (35-17 or 35-21 range is my thinking) Stevenson needs to clean up the sloppy stuff on their side and watch the penalties. Against better teams this will come back and bite them.

Albright vs Lyco - Long day for the Lyco secondary....If Albright is smart and passes well with little to no mistakes then I could see this a 21+ win for Albright. Albright gets sloppy and they'll keep Lyco in it with potential to sink Albright in the conference. I think it will be closer to the first than the second. Albright will win by 17-24 point range (31-14 or 35-17 range for score)

Del Val vs Kings - Kings other than Widener will be the "wild card" to the conference this year. I agree it will be a close game and a FG late by Del Val will be the difference. (31-28 or 27-24 or 24-21 type score)

We (hubby and I) will be at the Stevenson game tomorrow...gotta watch the gal in the band

Have fun at the game...........and I am issuing an APB (All Points Bulletin for the one or two younger people on the board) for bman and Lycosimba. I don't want the board to die as they are the only Widener and Lyco regulars left. Heck, other than Kate (and I count Gordon), I'm the DelVal regular.........and I'm adopted.

Was a nice day and game...need to learn to stop a running QB tho it seems. Stevenson was no prepared or just couldn't stop Leb Val's QB from his bring it down and run plan today. Otherwise it was nice. The mass band day was great from the parent stand point ( maybe not from the college band kid point with their just dropping and leaving things.)

Also should note I'm a Lyco '92 Alum so know a bit of stuff but lost track after late 90's with the kid.

[wone3]

Well, guess what?...We couldn't eliminate mistakes again; hence, we lost, again!...You know right away what kind of day it's going to be when you march down field on your initial series to the two yard line and then turn it over!...After only three games played this season, the Warriors have again been relagated to a "Spoiler" role this season!...Simba

Damn!! I did not see that coming at all. When you hold anybody to 17 points, you typically win the game. I was worried about DelVal having to go up to King's today after I saw the King's score at Lycoming last week. But 42-0 at halftime and 49-0 after the first series in the 3rd quarter and the 2nd and 3rd teamers played out the string. The King's QB looked like a world beater against Lyco but could do nothing against DelVal. Albright stays alive with today's win over Lyco and the preseason favorite of 6 of the 9 (can't vote for your own team) head coaches visits Doylestown next Saturday.

I'm looking forward to Lyco visiting DelVal after the Aggies snatched a loss from the jaws of victory last year up at Williamsport.

Lyco is far from dead at this point. They have the lesser teams on the road (Miserables, FDU and Wilkes), Widener and Stevenson, as well as LebVal are all at home.........so the schedule really breaks well in their favor. The wildcard is the November 5 game at DelVal. Stranger things have happened!!

Turnovers can be killers especially if you don't have a D that can turn it back around. I said it looked like the Lyco secondary and maybe LB's were a bit of a pourous D from what I've saw against King's (age/young might be a bit of it who knows??). They need to figure something out tho. Not sure how much today was pass vs run for Albright and if Albright maybe stalled themselves out on drives etc. Albright seemed pretty balanced once they got down to the 3rd QB against Stevenson ( who seemed to be hot and kind of brought the game back a bit for them, they'd just given up too much back after being up 13 early.

There is still plenty to play but it may rely on help from other teams.

[Pat Coleman]

Pat Coleman's 'Top 25 Team Most Likely To Get Upset' (DelVal Aggies) were up 42-0 at halftime, on the road, and 49-0 after the first series in the 3rd quarter. Me thinks the preseason Top 25 had Wesley and DelVal inverted

Don't worry, you will have a few more chances to pick them although next week wouldn't be an upset (as Albright was the Mac Champ selection of 6 of the head coaches), at Stevenson certainly would not be as they might be in the high teens by that game, and the last game at Widener wouldn't be if the Pride are undefeated or have only one conference loss. That would leave, in terms of real upsets........at LebVal and home games against Wilkes, FDU and Lycoming.

Pick your poison.........and tell me who you like in the Eagles vs. Bears game on Monday night. It would give me some direction!

Just kidding........you know that I love you (but the Aggies did love the fodder you provided.

I ate my crow on Twitter earlier, but thanks for the reminder. Feel free to pick against a Top 25 team yourself -- it ain't easy!

[Joe Vasile]

Well, guess what?...We couldn't eliminate mistakes again; hence, we lost, again!...You know right away what kind of day it's going to be when you march down field on your initial series to the two yard line and then turn it over!...After only three games played this season, the Warriors have again been relagated to a "Spoiler" role this season!...Simba

Damn!! I did not see that coming at all. When you hold anybody to 17 points, you typically win the game. I was worried about DelVal having to go up to King's today after I saw the King's score at Lycoming last week. But 42-0 at halftime and 49-0 after the first series in the 3rd quarter and the 2nd and 3rd teamers played out the string. The King's QB looked like a world beater against Lyco but could do nothing against DelVal. Albright stays alive with today's win over Lyco and the preseason favorite of 6 of the 9 (can't vote for your own team) head coaches visits Doylestown next Saturday.

I'm looking forward to Lyco visiting DelVal after the Aggies snatched a loss from the jaws of victory last year up at Williamsport.

Lyco is far from dead at this point. They have the lesser teams on the road (Miserables, FDU and Wilkes), Widener and Stevenson, as well as LebVal are all at home.........so the schedule really breaks well in their favor. The wildcard is the November 5 game at DelVal. Stranger things have happened!!

Turnovers can be killers especially if you don't have a D that can turn it back around. I said it looked like the Lyco secondary and maybe LB's were a bit of a pourous D from what I've saw against King's (age/young might be a bit of it who knows??). They need to figure something out tho. Not sure how much today was pass vs run for Albright and if Albright maybe stalled themselves out on drives etc. Albright seemed pretty balanced once they got down to the 3rd QB against Stevenson ( who seemed to be hot and kind of brought the game back a bit for them, they'd just given up too much back after being up 13 early.

There is still plenty to play but it may rely on help from other teams.

Albright didn't help themselves out at all with 10 penalties for 109 yards. That included 3 personal fouls, and their pretty talented DT David Sanchez was ejected for targeting in the second half. They were also playing with their second-string QB after Mike Knight was scratched late before the game. The first two Lions turnovers came on drives where they had been moving the ball - one on a 4th down play from the Lyco 7, the other was an INT in Lyco territory. Lyco's defense was inconsistent - at times allowing big plays when the secondary would get torched, then forcing Albright to go 3&out on two straight drives.

Offensively, the Lions defensive line won the battle in the trenches - Bowman had little room to operate and Whiteman was under pressure almost every time he dropped back. Things got a little better in this regard after Sanchez was ejected, but it was too little, too late.  There were a few drives that stalled out in Albright territory, and they missed a FG in the second half. There were positives to take out of the game for Lyco for sure, but the lack of consistency and finishing ability killed any chance of a Pretzel Bowl upset.

[Simba]

296 total yards offense and only 3 points for the Warriors!...5 times they drove inside Albright's 30, including the first one to the one yard line where a fumble went out of the end zone...Another of the 5 drives went to the seven yard line which ended up being the only points of the game, a field goal...Hopefully the Warriors will finish their drives with points next week and pick up a MAC win at Miserablecordia!...Simba

[jmcozenlaw]

MAC observations after the Stevenson @ Albright game:

(1) Stevenson is in the drivers seat and it's their conference to lose with playing DelVal at home. They play LebVal and FDU at home, followed by a game at Misericordia, a critical bye before heading to Widener, before hosting DelVal. Beat Widener (which I expect, in a close game) and Stevenson is undefeated going into the DelVal game.........with a season ending game at Lycoming standing in the way of a 10-0 record.

(2) Albright will be playing for their lives next week in a home game vs. Lycoming

(3) If Albright beats Lycoming, they will be playing for one last shot at the MAC in two weeks as a loss to DelVal would drop them to 1-2 in the conference (1-3 overall) with head-to-head losses against both Stevenson and DelVal. I don't see this happening to the team predicted by 6 out of 10 head coaches (6 out of 9 non-Albright head coaches) to win the conference with all they had returning.

(4) Given home games, timing of byes (critical) and playing of weaker teams before the bigger games.........I see both Widener and Lycoming beating at least one of the Stevenson/DelVal/Albright triumvirate, with an outside possibility of one of them possibly beating two.

Just my thoughts...........

I agree with a lot(most) of this..just have to see what Lyco does today to convince me more about #4. Lyco is young basically but they do return their QB/RB combo. Stevenson handled them well at home early on in the season last year. I'd have better odds of Widener picking off Stevenson at home before Lyco; but Lyco will get the chance to play spoiler in the final 2 weeks as they play Del Val and then Stevenson in those 2 final weeks. Widener will play and be tough (close games) for both Stevenson and Del Val.

The Del Val/Stevenson game is family/homecoming weekend ( don't get why they do both together) so the stadium will be jammed anyway; but it will make it even worth more if it is going to be for top of the conference by then. Still plenty of games to play before then.

King's is either much better than most thought and/or Lycoming might be lucky to win one against Stevenson/DelVal/Albright. The do have a dynamic, returning QB/RB combination along with a few nice receivers and while young on defense, they are not much younger than many of the MAC teams (DelVal has two seniors on defense and one is the 340 pound nose tackle, nice guy, but replaceable).

By the looks of this game, I expect King's to give DelVal one hell of a battle next week at home. The QB is a veteran and they have a very good and experienced passing game.

I'll wait to hear Simba's thoughts on the Lyco game today.

Week Two Predictions (without Lycosimba's analysis of the Lyco vs. King's game):

Widener - 43        FDU - 16 (Widener's QB will be slinging the ball all over Madison, NJ and their defense is very stout)
Wilkes - 34          Misericordia - 10 (It's going to be another long year for Miserables)
Stevenson - 37    LebVal - 20 (As stated above, winning at Albright puts Stevenson on the inside track to the MAC championship given the DelVal game is at home)
Albright - 38        Lycoming - 24 (As crazy as it sounds this early on, the preseason favorite.......6 of 9 first place votes of the non-Albright head coaches poll.......could be sunk with a loss)
DelVal - 28          King's - 27 (King's QB might turn out to be the conference MVP and their LB might be the best as well. Nailbiter until the very end. Always a tough game at the wind vortex)

5-0 last week.........although just a tad bit askew with a couple of the scores (i.e. DelVal by one point........up 49 after the first possession of the 3rd quarter)

Week Three Predictions:

King's - 26        LebVal - 20 (King's is at home and wants to get the taste of last week's home pasting by DelVal out of their mouths ASAP)
Lycoming - 41   Misericordia - 9 (Lyco's soft stretch starts here followed by home game, @ FDU, bye, home, @ Wilkes before ending the season with DelVal & Stevenson. Still a shot if they run the table)
Widener - 37     Wilkes - 16 (Widener's defense is too much for Wilkes and the offense has a good run/pass balance. They will make noise in the MAC)
Stevenson - 43  FDU - 14 (As stated at the top of the thread, the MAC favorite at this point, given the DelVal game at home, beats up on FDU......who's best player is now at Mount Union.......fancy that )
Albright - 26      DelVal - 24 (The team picked by 6 MAC Head Coaches in the preseason poll beats the team picked by 4 MAC Head Coaches. Decided in last two minutes)

Oh and yes, Carson Wentz is a stud..........but will come a bit back to earth with what the Steelers are going to throw at him. The future looks bright with Wentz at QB!!

Board...........wake up!! There is more action up on the Buffy, Biffy and Tiffy boards from the New England Conferences!