FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Nescacman]

2014 Week #8 NESCAC Preview and Power Rankings

Welcome to Week 8 in the NESCAC..."the league where they pay to play".

Clearly the highlight of week #7 was our GOTW, the battle between Trinity and Amherst. The game lived up to expectations as Amherst edged Hartford State handing them their second straight loss at home. Will Trinity ever win another game at home? Other highlights of included Tufts winning their 4th game of the year over Colby and Wesleyan destroying Williams for their first win in Williamstown since 1984.

In week 7 we went 4-1 with our picks. Trinity was our only loss losing to Amherst on the last play of the game.

2014 Week #8 NESCAC Power Rankings

1. Amherst (LW #1):  Amherst is one win away from the third undefeated season in the program's history. This is Amherst's 4th season out of the last six seasons with at least 7 wins. Interestingly, the Lord Jeffs are an extra point and a very short field goal away from sitting 5-2. Amherst has done it all year with their defense, leading the NESCAC in points against. They have been great against the pass (2nd in pass defense, 15 interceptions, and only 3 pass TDs given up) and good against the run (only 5 TDs against). They are second in the 'CAC in turnover differential (plus 7). Their offense has been good enough. Barring a miracle win by Williams, Amherst will be celebrating both the Little Three and NESCAC championship this Saturday.

2. Wesleyan (Last Week: #2): Wesleyan completely dominated Williams for their first win in Williamstown in 30 years. Williams had 3 yards rushing, 123 yards of total offense, 8 first downs, and only possessed the ball for 18 minutes in the game. Wes had 312 yards on the ground (including 191 from NESCAC OPOTW, Lou Stephens), converted on 6 of their 7 times in the red zone (although 5 of the scores were FGs by 'CAC STPOTW Ike Fuchs, who set a school record for that effort), had 395 yards of total offense, and recorded their second straight shutout to increase their record to 6-1. The Cards lead the NESCAC in many categories. Some of the more interesting categories in which they lead the 'CAC include first downs per game (19.1), 3rd down conversion % (44% success rate), the number of times they have been in the red zone (37), and time of possession (more than 34 minutes per game). Wes is looking for their second straight 7-1 season and a little help up the road in Amherst from an underdog Williams squad.

3. Middlebury (LW #3): Another big win for the Panthers as they rolled over Hamilton. Middlebury has had a great year losing only to #1 Amherst and #2 Wesleyan by a total of 15 points. Middlebury's passing offense has again been their strength as the lead the NESCAC in pass offense. Their defense has been surprisingly strong. In particular, their rushing defense is third best in the 'CAC.

4. Trinity (LW #4): After rolling off 5 straight wins to start the season, Trinity has lost 2 in a row against quality competition. Tough loss for the Bantams at home as their special teams let them down (missed XP and missed 24 yard FG with 30 seconds left that would have won the game). However, that's not the whole story. First, with Starting QB Foye out with an injury, Trinity was completely unable to pass the ball (2 completions, 10 yards of total passing offense and no first downs passing) and was forced to go completely one-dimensional on offense. Second, Coach Devanney did not do his kicker a favor by putting the ball on the right hash for the game winning FG attempt. Had he centered the ball, perhaps Kicker Rosenblatt would not have pushed the ball wide right from the 6-yard line.

5. Tufts (LW #5): Congrats to the Jumbos on their first .500 season since 2008. Tufts continues to exhibit a potent offense (#3 in scoring offense and third in total offense). They have accomplished this mainly through the air (#2 in passing offense).

6. Bates (LW #6): Bates wins their second C-B-B title in the last three years on the road at Bowdoin. Despite a sub par performance by QB Matt Cannone, Bates capitalized on Bowdoin miscues to win their third game of the year. They will attempt to win their 3rd straight game and end the year at .500 against a winless Hamilton team at home in Lewiston.

7. Bowdoin (LW #7): Where has Bowdoin's offense gone? They have only scored 17 points in the last three weeks. We think a big part of the problem is the lack of a passing offense (second to last in the 'CAC in passing offense). Of course their defense has not helped, as they are last in total defense giving up nearly 380 yards per game.

8. Colby (LW#8): Colby goes for their 2nd win of the season against Bowdoin.

9. Williams (LW #9): We don't know what the future is for HCOF Kelton. We do know that a win this week would go along way to helping him stay as HCOF at Williams College. They were completely dominated by Wesleyan. What struck us was the way Wesleyan's offensive and defensive lines completely dominated Williams. It almost seemed to us that the HCOF was trying to kill the clock so that Williams did not lose by 50. Not used to seeing a Williams team play like that.

10. Hamilton (LW #10): Good luck to the Conts this week as they travel to Lewiston to play Bates.

Week #8 NESCAC Preview

Will Amherst beat Williams and become both league champs and Little 3 champs? Can Williams pull off a miracle win and help their rival Wesleyan? Can Wesleyan keep their slim title hopes alive with a win at home against Trinity? Can Hamilton win their first game for new HC Murray? Can Tufts beat a solid Middlebury team for their first winning season in years?

Tufts University at Middlebury College: The story of this game is Tufts prolific passing offense against a very good Middlebury defense. Tufts turns the ball over a too much (10 INTS, minus 3 turnover differential) and will need to limit that to have a chance.

Middlebury 28 Tufts 14 
Weather: Cloudy, High in the low 40's (weather courtesy of the Weather Channel).

Hamilton College at Bates College: Bates is riding a two game winning streak coming into this game. They have played well at home this year and when QB Matt Cannone plays, which we expect him to do today, Bates wins. Unfortunately for the Conts, they will end 2014 without a win. With HC Murray having a full year to recruit, we expect him to get some reinforcements and be improved in 2015. Be patient Hamilton fans, the future should be bright.

Bates 24 Hamilton 14
Weather: Partly cloudy. High in the low 40's.

Williams College at Amherst College: Amherst plays for all the marbles at 4 PM in front of a national TV audience. Williams comes into this one far and away the worst team against the rush in the NESCAC. That plays to Amherst's strength (just as it did last week against Wesleyan, which did not work out very well for the Ephs). Look for Amherst RB Nick Kelly to have a big day running the ball. About the only thing Williams did well last week was return kicks. We think they will need some magic all the way around against Amherst to have a chance, including on special teams. We have a hard time seeing any scenario in which Williams wins this game, let alone score against one of the best defenses in the league. This could be HCOF Kelton's last game at Williams after two consecutive 2-6 seasons. We are going to miss him, we really are.

Amherst 28 Williams 7
Weather: Partly cloudy, high in the low 40's.

Bowdoin College at Colby College: Two teams playing out the string. Disappointing season for both teams. HC Caputi's last game should provide all the motivation that Bowdoin needs to get the win on the road.

Bowdoin 14 Colby 10
Weather: High in the low 40's.

NESCAC Game of the Week

Trinity College at Wesleyan University: Wesleyan tries to hand Hartford State their third loss in a row. Wesleyan needs a win and an Amherst loss for their second straight NESCAC title. Trinity would love to go out with a win and prove the skeptics wrong. For Wesleyan to win, they are going to have to control the clock, stop Trinity's running game and force them to throw. Trin needs to have some semblance of a passing game, avoid turnovers and run the ball effectively with RB Chudi Iregbulem leading the way. If QB Foye plays, we give Trinity a chance. Without him, it will be a long day for the Bants. Wesleyan has not given up a point since their week #5 OT loss to Amherst. We give Wes the edge here because of the home field advantage and the revenge factor from last year's blowout in Hartford.

Wesleyan 24 Trinity 14   
Weather: Not a factor.

NESCAC Man's Picks
Last week: 4-1
2014 Season: 26-9
2013 Season: 32-8

[maineman]

Okay, we know that NESCAC doesn't allow NCAA playoffs for the conference champions.  Let's imagine that NESCAC did allow a conference playoff involving the top 4 teams over two consecutive Saturdays.  (never happen)   If it did, here is what we would have:

1 Amherst
2 Wesleyan
3 Middlebury
4 Trinity

Nov 15

Trinity at Amherst
Middlebury at Wesleyan

Anybody care to predict what the game scores would be?  Who would advance to the Nov 22 Final?  What would the score of the final be?

[middhoops]

Watching Middlebury's Matt Milano today was deja vu all over again.  McKillop and Foote rarely matched the six td passes, one td run day that Milano had against an improved Tufts squad.
Has any player shown more improvement this season?
Panther fans are already looking forward to next season in a very big way.

[Vandy74]

Okay, we know that NESCAC doesn't allow NCAA playoffs for the conference champions.  Let's imagine that NESCAC did allow a conference playoff involving the top 4 teams over two consecutive Saturdays.  (never happen)   If it did, here is what we would have:

1 Amherst
2 Wesleyan
3 Middlebury
4 Trinity

Nov 15

Trinity at Amherst
Middlebury at Wesleyan

Anybody care to predict what the game scores would be?  Who would advance to the Nov 22 Final?  What would the score of the final be?

All four teams played the other three this season despite the quirky NESCAC scheduling rules that don't guarantee such things.  Of the six losses one was a season opener, one was by a TD (the game's only TD), two were by a single point and one was in OT.  All losses were at the hands of one of the other three teams.  Anything could happen in a playoff between such evenly matched squads.  My money would be on Middlebury but I could see any of the four coming out on top.   All the more reason to congratulate the Lord Jeffs on their perfect 8-0 season. 

[amh63]

It was a dry nice sunny day but a bone chilling day under the lights on Pratt field..as Amherst closed out it's season with a win!  Amherst won  17-9 over Williams as a reported 11,500 fans watched.  Correction...those tailgating may have missed some of the game .
The details are on the schools' website and local newspapers...Springfield Union.  There will be coverage of the tailgating, etc.  As ESPNU will air a show on Nov. 12.  Forgot, thousands of alums of both schools watched together around the world.  Treated to a competative game in the first quarter and the last quarter.  Williams won the stats...except for the score...TO numbers.. But Amherst finished the game with several statements.  My bias view follows.
The EPHS behind 17-3 with under 6 minutes to go got to Amherst's 1.  After several tries, Williams scored a TD.  17 -9.  Oh yes, Williams led 3-0 in the first half.  Seen this script before.  Anyway, Amherst blocked the extra point.  Flag thrown!  Williams gets to try again.  Amherst blocks it again.
On side kick won by Amherst.  Amherst drives towards Williams' goal...killing the clock.  Gets two straight first downs.  Easy field goal range.  Amherst players shake hands with their counterparts as the last seconds ticked off!  8-0 ...perfecton . Team gets rings..I guess.  Mention the point to a pair of player Dads in the stands.  They nodded their heads.  Mentioned that they may have to pay for any ring...they shrugged their shoulders and smiled.  Happy for their sons.  Me too.

[AmherstStudent05]

Congratulations to Amherst on their perfect season!

Not much more to add about yesterday's game (which was, in truth, a rather sloppy affair). Indeed, I think things played out largely as many of us expected -- though I admittedly was surprised by how well the Eph offense was able to maintain possession against us in the first half.  As I feared, Williams's D was able to give us a lot of problems on offense. However, we were able to rely on the same formula that has been working for us all season: our opportunistic, bend-but-don't-break defense was sensational in keeping Williams out of the end zone and Max Lippe & Co. made just enough plays on offense for us to win.

Anyway, great season for the Jeffs. Never easy to go undefeated in NESCAC play. Also, while admittedly a narrow band, we clearly faced the toughest schedule in the conference this year. We didn't play Hamilton and we had to play our three toughest opponents on the road.

Congrats to Coach Mills and crew. And a huge shout out to the seniors. They have had a sensational four year run.

[warriorcat]

Great finish to the football season in Lewiston yesterday. 

The Game- the Bates defense was dominant throughout the afternoon particurly in the second half when they limited Hamilton to 53 yards of total offense (30 on two dubious penalties). They held the Continentals to 26 yds rushing on 31 attempts for the day.  On Offense, the triple option was effective throughout the day.  Four different backs ran for 55 or more yards and Cannone threw effectively when he had to. 

The Season - The team bounced back from a rough 1-4 start to finish at 4-4 and a sole possesion of the CBB championship.  This was a resilient group who came within a two point conversation of beating Amherst in the season opener and then ran into a much improved and motivated Tufts squad the following week.

The Senior Class - Yesterday's win gave the class of 2015 a record of 16-16.  THis was the winningest class since 1980-83.  I use the word resilience again when I consider that they absorbed the death of one of their classmates (and two year starter) last spring and the death of another teammate in the middle of their sophmore year.  The numbers point out that they went from the cellar to the middle of the Conference and they were competitive in all but 3 or 4 games during that time.  The challenge for Coach Harriman and subsequent classes will be to build on this next year and beyond.  Off of the football field, these young men are friends and brothers who will have these relationships for a lifetime. 

What more could a parent want for his child?

[PolarCat]

Well said, warriorcat!

I'm already looking forward to next year.  The fact we have so many freshman and sophomore impact players makes me really optimistic for the future.  Hopefully Bates will be able to keep the momentum going with a great recruiting class.  We'll miss a lot of the seniors, but at least at QB, I think Dugan and Radford are"ready for prime time."

Except for Midd (when we were down to our fourth string QB), we were in every game, and could easily have finished over .500.  The boys, the coaches and the players should all be proud.

And politically, President Spencer has become a big fan.  Always great to have friends in high places!

[lumbercat]

One more point on this Bates team- his name is Mark Upton, sophomore LB who had another monster game yesterday- 11 tackles, 1 sack, 4 tackles for loss, 2 pass breakups and recovered a fumble and ran it back 30 yards for TD! What else does this need to do get some recognition.
Upton has been a great performer all year but seems be flying under the radar up in Lewiston. He should have been Defensive player of the week. He should also be a shoo in for All Nescac 1st team selection.
QB Matt Cannone also deserves a great deal of credit. Played hurt most of the year, a real tough kid who converted clutch 3rd and long and 4th down situations all year long that led directly to wins.
Late in Williams win he  made great 50 yard  throw to WR Riley to seal the win with under 2 mins left.
Converted big 3rd and 4th situations all day long and late in the game to seal the win at Bowdoin.
And a legendary performance against Colby- trailing by 14 in the 4th quarter he connected with Frosh Frankie Williams with about a minute left to send the game to OT. In OT he connects with Williams again to win the game. Always at his best in clutch situations all year.
Along with Mark Riley who will be 1st team all NESCAC he was the MVP of the Bates offense.

[Jumbos14]

Congratulations to Tufts on a fantastic season!!  It was a tough first three years for these seniors, but they stuck it out and were rewarded with this season.  I'm incredibly proud of the seniors and the whole team in general, as they notched four very impressive wins.  As for the game at middlebury yesterday, it was a rough outing for the jumbos.  They had no answer for QB Milano, as he picked apart the secondary at will.  The offense definitely had some bright spots though, as the screen game to Trause was great.  Defensively, however, tufts struggled.  The run defense was solid at first, but they had a tough time containing Middlebury's second back, who looked much better than the listed starter who played at the beginning.  It was midd's passing attack that really broke the jumbos backs, as Milano had his way all afternoon.  Tufts needs to shore up its secondary heading into next season.  Tufts had a few injuries, but thats no excuse, as Middlebury took it to the jumbos for four quarters.  All in all, its been a great season for tufts and I think that they will continue to get better next year! 

[PolarCat]

Yes, kudos to the Jumbo's!  From tied for last in the 'CAC in 2013, to tied with Bates for 4th this year.  That's the Cinderella story of the season, and in my opinion, one of the two best stories of the year.

The other big story is Trinity's end-of-season swoon.  Interesting twist: After all the flack their kicker Ben Rosenblatt took on this board, it's ironic that they may have lost Saturday because Rosenblatt DIDN'T get a chance to kick for points (he did handle kickoffs).  Trin had 3 TD's, but tried two different 2-point conversions (neither of which was successful), and on their third touchdown, they let their punter kick the PAT.  Wesleyan only scored two TD's, but the Whale had faith in their kicker, and Fuch's two FG's and 2 PAT's made the difference in the outcome.

[Bartman]

It was a dry nice sunny day but a bone chilling day under the lights on Pratt field..as Amherst closed out it's season with a win!  Amherst won  17-9 over Williams as a reported 11,500 fans watched.  Correction...those tailgating may have missed some of the game .
The details are on the schools' website and local newspapers...Springfield Union.  There will be coverage of the tailgating, etc.  As ESPNU will air a show on Nov. 12.  Forgot, thousands of alums of both schools watched together around the world.  Treated to a competative game in the first quarter and the last quarter.  Williams won the stats...except for the score...TO numbers.. But Amherst finished the game with several statements.  My bias view follows.
The EPHS behind 17-3 with under 6 minutes to go got to Amherst's 1.  After several tries, Williams scored a TD.  17 -9.  Oh yes, Williams led 3-0 in the first half.  Seen this script before.  Anyway, Amherst blocked the extra point.  Flag thrown!  Williams gets to try again.  Amherst blocks it again.
On side kick won by Amherst.  Amherst drives towards Williams' goal...killing the clock.  Gets two straight first downs.  Easy field goal range.  Amherst players shake hands with their counterparts as the last seconds ticked off!  8-0 ...perfecton . Team gets rings..I guess.  Mention the point to a pair of player Dads in the stands.  They nodded their heads.  Mentioned that they may have to pay for any ring...they shrugged their shoulders and smiled.  Happy for their sons.  Me too.

Watched the game for the first time as a Division III East fan and a friend to many alums.... wonderful tradition.....Congratulations to Amherst on an undefeated season and to the entire league for playing Division III football the right way , as it should be played, for the love of the game .

[gridiron]

2011 - 2014 (Four Year)      
   W   L
Amherst   29   3
Trinity   26   6
Middlebury   24   8
Wesleyan   22   10
Bates   16   16
Williams   13   19
Colby   12   20
Bowdoin   10   22
Tufts   4   28
Hamilton   4   28

[gridiron]

For those interested in following Justin Ciero's football career (last season's second team All NESCAC QB), he is now at Fordham hoping to continue his previous success at the D1 level.

[Nescacparent]

Best of luck to Justin Ciero as he completes his college years!