FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[amh63]

Nice job guys and the "packaging" of the info was very entertaining and informative...both elements of fine writing.
If Amherst follows the format of last season, there will be a preview of the Bates game with a projected starting lineup...on both sides.  It should be interesting to compare the info.  Expect NothingButNescac to pass with flying colors.
One thing I do want to point out in the analysis/writeup of Amherst is the factor of where the games are played.  Amherst's plays all the expected top tier teams this season at Pratt....Trinity, Middlebury and Wesleyan.  Last season, those games were away ones.....in wet weather conditions.   Historically, playing away games is an important factor, especially in The Coop

[AUPepBand]

Anyone around here ready for some foosball?

Mama Boucher: You gonna lose all your fancy "fools' balls" games! And your gonna fail your big exam! Because school is...
Bobby Boucher: The devil?
Bobby Boucher: Everything is the devil to you, Mama! Well, I like school, and I like football! And I'm gonna keep doin' them both because they make me feel good!
Bobby Boucher: [Bobby runs out, slamming the door, then comes back in] And by the way, Mama. "Alligators" are ornery 'cause of their "Medula Oblongata"!
Bobby Boucher: [Bobby runs back out, then back in again] And I like Vicki, and she like me back! And she showed me her boobies and I like them too!

Let's go, Continentals!

[nescac1]

Williams has its pre-season preview posted.  The best reason for hope for Williams is the Ephs' incredibly bad record over the past two years in one-possession games. Is that attributable in part to bad luck?  Possibly, but also possibly not.  Still, the Ephs really easily could have gone 4-4 or 5-3 in either of the last two years, which I see as the upside of the potential for this year.  But it's also very easy to envision the Ephs, who lost some key players from last year and still have a lot of question marks, ending up below .500 again. 

The guys who I am looking for to have potential break-out seasons for the Ephs ...

On offense, C Ben Wertz, who is stepping in for a graduating all-NESCAC player but who has a lot of talent and could easily be just as good, RBs Connor Harris, who showed explosive ability in space last year and hopefully got a bit stronger as he was too easy to bring down with contact and frosh Noah Sorrento, the only first-year mentioned in the season preview and a guy who has been much hyped this year.  Also WR Darrias Sime, who is playing only football this year and if he stays healthy could be a massive mismatch on deep balls.  Adam Regensburg could also have a big year; with Kiesel graduating, he is the only WR who figures to play a ton who has real quickness, and I could see him being the go-to guy in the short passing game. 

On defense, James Howe needs to return to his dominant form of old.  Beyond that, potential break-out guys are Brian Pederson and Chris Hattar, last year's star DL recruits both of whom return from injuries and will hopefully be ready to upgrade the pass rush, Jack Ryan, who has always looked very talented to me but hasn't yet made a major impact, hopefully the move to more of a DE position will enable him to take advantage of his speed and athleticism, and CB Tae Scott, who has been great at times but inconsistent, but certainly has all-NESCAC ability and could develop into a true shut-down corner.   LB Michael Berry could also make a big impact as a sophomore, he is talented. 

Austin Lommen will need to make major strides at QB, the now VERY experienced OL will need to give him a lot more time than it has for the past two years, and a bunch of those potential break-out guys will need to emerge as stars for the Ephs to once again be a winning team. 

The biggest question marks on the team are safety with the graduation of Cabarle and the season-ending injury to Justin Harris, totally unknown quantities stepping in there although Brandeis is supposed to be good, how well the young and largely untested DL will play, and who (if anyone) will emerge as a work-horse tailback.  Since Harris is best-suited to a limited number of carries to keep him fresh, either sophomore Plumb or frosh Sorrento will need to get the tough yards between the tackles. 

[PolarCat]

Bates Preview is posted: http://athletics.bates.edu/sports/fball/2015-16/releases/20150921qcyzs1

[NothingButNESCAC]

In looking at the projected records when adding them all together, my math calculations say there needs to be one more win and one less loss by some team for the projections to play out perfectly (currently they total 39 and 41 wins and losses respectively).  My guess is this is the result of different preview authors across the ten teams.

Again, awesome job by the crew--thanks for helping make the season fun to anticipate.

Gridiron, you are correct in that calculation. We had Colby at 2-6 but they are 1-7 according to the preview which was just an oversight on our part. We went back and changed that and now everything should line up.

Thanks all for the kind words of support. We are having a lot of fun, but it is a lot of work so hearing those words really help.
Adam and Joe

[amh63]

Must give NothingBut Nescac a plus K for their bold predictions....and to gridiron...for his sharp eyes and math!
Football is coming .  Even here in the crazy DC area....Fall weather has arrived...for a day.
AUPep.....one karma for you for the Song/poem?  Is it original?  It is catching though.

[gridiron]

Hey, that's got to be the easiest win Colby (or any other team for that matter) has ever had!  And, thanks, Amh63 but all credit goes to the "NBN" boys.

Let the games begin!!!

[AUPepBand]

Must give NothingBut Nescac a plus K for their bold predictions....and to gridiron...for his sharp eyes and math!
Football is coming .  Even here in the crazy DC area....Fall weather has arrived...for a day.
AUPep.....one karma for you for the Song/poem?  Is it original?  It is catching though.

You mean the quotes from Water Boy?

Such a quotable film! Pep thought the NESCAC posters, who have been deprived of football for three weeks much like Bobby was deprived of so many things by his mother because they were all "the devil," might enjoy breaking out of the football drought with a splash of Water Boy!



NCAA playoffs...are the devil!
A football season more than eight weeks long...is the devil!

[PolarCat]

Sorry.  Afraid NESCAC is the wrong audience for such an obtuse reference.  Next time, try quoting Shakespeare, Emerson, Baudelaire, Plato, Heidegger or Homer. 

What's the over/under for Castleton this weekend?

[Mr. Ypsi]

Sorry.  Afraid NESCAC is the wrong audience for such an obtuse reference.  Next time, try quoting Shakespeare, Emerson, Baudelaire, Plato, Heidegger or Homer. 

What's the over/under for Castleton this weekend?

Simpson, you mean??!!  (Now THAT is an obscure reference!  When I named my Honda Odyssey 'Homer', I was appalled at how many people assumed I was making a Simpson's reference! )

[AUPepBand]

Sorry.  Afraid NESCAC is the wrong audience for such an obtuse reference.  Next time, try quoting Shakespeare, Emerson, Baudelaire, Plato, Heidegger or Homer. 

What's the over/under for Castleton this weekend?

Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.
--Shakespeare

To be great is to be misunderstood.    –Ralph Waldo Emerson

To handle a language skillfully is to practice a kind of evocative sorcery.
--Charles Baudelaire

Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.
--Plato

"Longing is the agony of the nearness of the distant."
― Martin Heidegger




Castleton State 42, Alfred State 6

[PolarCat]

Well done!  Plus K.

[amh63]

Wow....what happened when I was gone?  So many likeable phrases .
Was chatting about the QB situation with a player parent on-line.  Amherst player parent flying in to attend the Bates game.  Long flight....so expect warm Bobcat hospitality..you hear! .
Hope the Maine " finest" doesn't delay him.  Just kidding around here.
As stated before, expect a battle.  Do expect Amherst to adjust to the triple option offense.  Too many mistakes made last year against a well coached team...as Coach Mills put it in the game highlights video.
"Water Boy" movie...I actually watched the film, enjoyed it but apparently did not really hear the song.  PolarCat...your Ivy school education is showing...English Major?

[PolarCat]

Beer pong major.  Learned the rest from osmosis.

[lumbercat]

A shout out to any old Eph who may remember Harlow "Chip" Ide and Jim Briggs.