FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[nescac1]

Frustrating loss for Williams.  Even though the numbers look pretty even, the difference was the experience level at QB.  McGrath played better than his numbers suggested, as his receivers dropped a few easy balls.  Trinity should have had about five interceptions as Moffitt had a rough day with a lot of balls bouncing of Trinity d-backs' hands.  Not all his fault -- the speed of the Trinity D was tough to deal with, but part of the problem was coaching -- Trinity had the Ephs short-screen offense totally diagnosed and the Ephs really needed to mix it up so that Trinity couldn't diagnose things so easily, it seems like the Trinity d-backs and LB's were jumping all over every short pass play before the pass was even thrown.  Combo of QB telegraphing plays and Trinity D easily recognizing what Williams was doing.  McGrath and Starnes are very good, Wells had a few very nice plays, no one else on Trinity offense did all that much. 

Williams defense played great except for a few bad plays where they missed some easy tackles or were fooled by the direct snap to the RB.   Most of the day, other than the one big drive, Trinity offense struggled and that is a testament to the Williams d which looks very strong this year, especially in the defensive backfield.  Frosh d-lineman Curzi is also one to watch.  But the lack of depth in the front seven really hurt Williams -- in past years they rotated tons of guys in but basically this year are regularly playing only one guy off the bench.  They stymied the Trinity O for most of the game, but they were very winded by the fourth quarter, when Trinity put the game away on the ground. 

I imagine this is the toughest defense the Ephs will face all year so the young QB's should play a little better.  The frosh, Coyne, got a few series and didn't do a ton, but his scrambling and improvizational style seemed to add a little spark, I bet he will see some more time as the season moves along. 

[MulesBallgame]

Going up to maine for the long weekend and the wes colby game so i gotta make my pics a little early

Gotta take the MULES over the high flying CARDINALS (or maybe lowing flying) ---  One point of interest - Its great to see DB #36 Chris Copeland back on the field for the Mules, the kid was in a horrible car accident, lost his spleen and couldnt play all of last year, now back playing and leading Colby in tackles with 19, 15 solo, and an INT- hard work and patience pays off, couldnt be more happy for the kid

BANTAMS over HAMILTON --- could be closer than you think (prolly not tho) but Trin comin off a big win could be a little flat or tired

TUFTS over BOWDOIN --- Forde is fast as hell and finally playing the way he should have been playing for years, but Kell can take over a game with his feet and through the air, should be close, Tufts always starts out 3-0 and then comes crashing back to earth


WILLIAMS over BATES --- This should be the maybe one blowout of the week, Williams should be pissed after last week's loss and Bates my have the worst team in the history of football


MIDD over AMHERST ---  Again this should be close, Mckillop is the real deal though, and I just dont see as solid a QB for Amherst yet

Those are my picks for week 3

[Col. Partridge]

Captain's Week 3 PicksHome team in CAPS.

FAVORITE       SPREAD    UNDERDOG
Trinity              10           HAMILTON 
COLBY               6            Wesleyan
Tufts                 7            BOWDOIN     
Williams             14            BATES     
MIDDLEBURY       3            Amherst

Last week, only one favorite covered.

[neathDelms]

Some quick picks

Trincoll 35
Hamilton 7

I don't see another 2006 game

Colby 21
Wesleyan 14

It sounds like Colby is playing some good ball and they are at home.

Tufts 21
Bowdoin 20

I like Bowdoin putting some points up, but I want a 3-0 v. 3-0 match-up next week at the 'Coop.

William  63
Bates 14

Probably not the score, but it really stinks being Bates this week.

Amherst 21
Middlebury 17

I'm calling it an upset, based on the game being at Middlebury.  I see some long runs against the Panthers; young/new guys in blitz/stunt defenses = mistakes.  That will cost Mid the game.

Hope all is well with the board!  GO NESCAC!

[neathDelms]

I have the Hamilton's 7, correct...

[speedy]

Bowdoin upsets Tufts by a score of 28-26!!!

[Trin9-0]

I'm sorry, Tufts loses at Bowdoin?  What?

Hate to say I told you so.

Bants win a squeaker 20-15.

[redtail]

mcgrath looked very average for 40 minutes and like tom brady for last 20 minutes.  Hamy QB knocked out by cheap shot by #43 and dramatically changed Hamy office - going with 3rd string QB.  Hamy went to prevent defense and got no rush on mcgrath and it just allowed him to sit back for 6-8 seconds to pick d apart.  mcgrath to wells is deadly combo.  hopefully this can be building block for hamy program - taking #1 to the last 23 seconds of the game

[MulesBallgame]

http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/sports/stories/5470758.html

Nice article on Colby's Copeland

[Trin9-0]

ballgame: great story about Copeland. I wish him the best of luck this year.


I hate to make my picks before the Captain posts his point spread but here goes:

Amherst over Colby. The Jeffs play well at home and will be upset over their loss to Midd. Colby isn't as good as their 2-1 record indicates. I smell a blowout.

Wesleyan over Bates. The Bobcats have played a MUCH tougher schedule but on paper Wes just looks like a better team.  It could be close with the game in Lewiston, but I'll take the Cards in a squeaker.

Williams over Middlebury. Weston Field is a tough place to play. I think the Ephs are the second best team in the NESCAC and are looking to avenge last years loss. Also, the Panthers are coming off a big win and could be prime for a let-down.

Bowdoin over Hamilton. This is a surprisingly interesting match-up that could come down to whether or not Jordan Eck plays for the Continentals. Hammy is coming off a heart-breaking loss and Bowdoin coming off a big win. I REALLY want to pick Hamilton but Eck may be out and the Polar Bears have averaged almost 27 points per game against three very good teams.

Trinity over Tufts. Simply put Trinity does not lose in the Coop (24 straight wins at home) especially not to the Jumbos who haven't won a game in Hartford in 19 years! This is almost a must win for the Jumbos because of their schedule is so back heavy, but the Bants are still furious about losing last year's battle in Medford and will win find a way to pull out their 4th tightly contested game of the season.

[MulesBallgame]

Week 4

Big week for the NESCAC, kinda interesting - in every matchup the teams have the same record except Trin 3-0 /Tufts 2-1 (pretty close)

BOWDOIN over HAMILTON - Bowdoin could be a scary team in the second half after beating Tufts, there linebackers are THE BEST in the league, Those kids are fast and all over the field (Trin's Berry is right up there with them.)

WESLEYAN over BATES - Wesleyan played Colby really tough, but if the refs actually call holding the Wesleyan O-line could be in trouble, ripped jerseys are not uncommon for an opponant's D-Line when playing Wesleyan

COLBY over AMHERST - Im doing it, officially ending the drought, you heard it here first Colby beats Amherst for the first time in 15 years! Well maybe im not that certain but it could happen, Amherst is kinda down and Colby is playing better, why not, ill take a chance

TRIN-TRIN over THE JUMBOS - I think the Bantams had their scare this year and realized they need to play 60 minutes to win, cant just show  up and win even if you are playing Hamilton,  however, Tufts QB, a transfer from Colgate i think, could be coming around and understanding how to manage a game in the NESCAC.  Forde is fast but cant take hits well, Trinity defense likes to hit .... hard, not a good thing for Tufts.

WILLIAMS over MIDD - Should be a real good one, Williams likes to run and they do it well, Colby ran for 240 yards against Midd and dont run as well as Williams, they could run all over MIDD, The Panthers love to air it out Williams DBs and LBs are pretty good, that matchup should be interesting, This is prolly my game of the week (sorry trin tufts)

[Col. Partridge]

Sorry I haven't been doing this earlier in the week this year.  Crazy times out there.  Plus, my enthusiam hasn't been the same with Wesleyan struggling this year.  Nevertheless...

Captain's Week 4 Picks[/color]

Home team in CAPS.

FAVORITE       SPREAD    UNDERDOG
Bowdoin              4          HAMILTON 
AMHERST            6            Colby
Wesleyan           7            BATES     
TRINITY             12           Tufts     
WILLIAMS         9.5            Amherst

Last week, the favorites covered twice, did not cover twice, and there was one push.   Have to think the league is Trinity's to lose at this point, although allowing Hamilton to hang with them shows they are not invincible.

Last week, only one favorite covered.

[Trin9-0]

Those are some AGGRESSIVE point spreads Capt.

Typo in your Williams vs "Amherst" game. Either way I think 9.5 is way too much, as is the 12 point spread in Trin-Tufts game. I think both the Wlms-Midd game and Bantam-Jumbo games will be closer than that.

[neathDelms]

Sorry about being late with my picks, as well.  I hope that they are still valid.

Camp Trin  28
Tufts 7

In the 'Coop, for starters, and the Bants learned their lesson last week.

Hamilton 21
Bowdoin 20

The Conts deserve a win!

Amherst 28
Colby 14

Amherst wants to stay alive for the title.  They come back home for a solid victory.

Williams 35
Middlebury 28

Lots of offense with the Ephs coming away with a great victory.

Bates 14
Wesleyan 13

This is Bates' chance to get a nice win.  Why not!

Not making it up to Hartford, so I'll send the love from afar;

NO **** IN THE COOP!

[nescacftbl]

With 3 minutes left in first half  Wesleyan 28 Bates 0