FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Nescacman]

I'm sure that Alfred is a wonderful school, and the guy wearing Uggs, the funny hat, the Kim Kardashian gold lame blouse and waving your grandson's toy sword is cute and all, but can we get back to NESCAC?

I'll second that Pcat...

No suspense this week...the 'CAC GOTW could be the GOTY....Middlebury v. Amherst...we know it's early but this one could be for all the marbles (with no disrespect to Hartford State).

[amh63]

Blame me posters for the diversion..my bad?
Thanks all for the info..in particular Pep!  Plus K  to all.
Yes, the Dewey system has been dropped by everyone.  It is an errie feeling walking into the Yale library...yes the one used in a Harrison Ford Indiana Jones movie ...and seeing rolls of card boxes after card boxes...all empty of cards.  Been gone for awhile.
OK back to football tipbits.  In a local paper....Hampshire Gazette...there is an post game interview with Coach Mills wrt to the Bowdoin game.  Seems that the Coach is not entirely happy with his team's play...too many mistakes and errors need to be fixed.  However, many players got PT. 
yes, it will be a dandy of a game.  In spite of Midd having trouble with the ground game...expect Midd will step up its ground game.  I see a battle between two fine offensive lines. Amherst needs to control the clock and the tempo of the game...by running the ball.  Amherst defenders need to put pressure in Mid's QBs.  Tough tasks against Midd's offensive line.
Amherst had 6 sacks against Bowdoin.  Do not expect that many...just to pressure the QBs into errors.
Bend but don' t break and no big plays approach...Coach Mills's approach.

[NewtoNescac]

Nescacman - I love Middlebury, and like and respect the coaches. But I think Middlebury is very overrated. The O is too one dimensional. So much so that I find it hard to understand why most D's have such a hard time stopping them. I don't see Amherst having that problem. And I see the Amherst O having their way with the Middlebury D, which is very average at best. At the end of the day I think Amherst wins by 14 points.

[PolarCat]

No suspense this week...the 'CAC GOTW could be the GOTY....Middlebury v. Amherst...we know it's early but this one could be for all the marbles (with no disrespect to Hartford State).

Panthers - Jeff's is definitely the GOTW, but there are other key games.  Bates needs to win in Willytown to get their season back on track.  Bowdoin desperately needs a win, but defeating Tufts at home may be too tall an order.

Colby and Hamilton also desperately need wins, but are unlikely to get them. 

So my pick for "junior" GOTW is Bates vs. Williams.  Can Kelton win at home to extend his Reign of Error?  Will the Bobcats stop shooting themselves in the paw with blown coverage and peculiar play selection?  Who really wants to be "the best of the rest"?

[RetiredMule]

RetiredMule-I agree with much of what you said. But while the O line needs to do a better job, I think the TOs you point out are significant. The O line didn't throw the interceptions, or put the ball on the ground. And let's not forget, with a solid O line last year the O scored only 1 TD per game in 5 games,  and 2 in the last game. 49 Pts in 6 games will not win at any level. The coaches need to find answers.

NewtoNescac - I agree that the overriding issue is the turnovers, but I do think the o line has played a significant role in that. Most of the interceptions have come when Harrington is facing direct pressure, quickly.  And most of the fumbles have come from Harrington as he is sacked or hit while scrambling. These point to some systematic errors.

With regards to last year's Colby offense, I blame a good amount of that on one-year OC Fogherty.  His play calling was inconsistent and he would abandon his gameplan early.  While the scheme and players may have been sound (not barring Colby's ridiculous injury count last year), the play calling was a significant drag on the team.

[NewtoNescac]

RetiredMule - No question the O line needs to improve. But the HC/OC needs to scheme and call the O to help the O line, and O as a whole. Let's see how it goes this week. Hopefully well for the Mules.

[amh63]

There is a game video of the Bowdoin game where the Coach is interviewed....on the Football website.
Several somewhat surprise observations.   First, arriving a little early, I saw a polarbear fan all in black awaiting the team...he was taking pics of Pratt field.  I realize that Bowdoin has not played on the NEW field.   Maybe the pics will help in the update of the Bowdoin facilities.   I saw a large group of players arrive with the coaches.  A while later, more players arrived.  Surprised the Team did not all arrive together.
After the game, heading to the soccer field, I went by the tailgate area for the visiting team.  All the big Polarbear fans with the football hats....were dressed in Black outfits.  Darth Vader look.  I went by unnoticed dressed in a black hoodie coat and a black golf headwear.  Guess it is hard for former football players to dress in all white ...just kidding here...a little...still the school color is White.
I did notice that the ground crew was going about putting signs around Pratt Field...No Alcohol signs.  No guards or former TSA around patting down fans though.

[polbear73]

amh63: Actually, Bowdoin was the first game on the new Pratt in October, 2013.  They were also the first game at the new Williams field.  Both were rather large deficits for the Polar Bears.  Perhaps their recent record in opening new fields has given Bowdoin pause about a Whittier Field renovation.

[amh63]

polbear73........thanks for the correction.  Nice thought.  Hope any pause for renovation is only to upgrade the level of Whittier Field improvements.  Read somewhere that Bowdoin along with MIT and Yale had an up year in investment returns in a general down year for other schools.....it seems they all follow an investment approach started at Yale.  Anyway, suggesting that there maybe funds available for a nice facility upgrade.

[NewtoNescac]

Here goes nothing on the early picks for the coming weekend.

Tufts  34   Bowdoin  7
I think Tufts has learned how to beat the teams they should beat. And convincingly.

Bates  28   Williams. 10
Williams will not stop Bates' run option. Williams is beginning to look to next year with a new HC.

Trinity  17   Hamilton  10
Hamilton continues to play tough, but asking them to travel and win at Trinity is just too much. But they'll get a moral victory. The real win will come soon enough.

Colby  17   Wesleyan  14 in OT
If Colby's O can muster a couple of TD's, they win a close one. If the lack of scoring continues, look for Wes to win by 2-3 TD's.

Amherst  37   Middlebury  14
Middlebury is just not that good, and Amherst is too well balanced. Also, Amherst does a tremendous job of coaching. GOTW is a bit of a let down.

[polbear73]

amh63: From your lips to the Bowdoin Administration's ears!

[hamgrand]

NewToNescac

Interesting Picks.  My thoughts ....

Agree on Tufts
Bates vs Williams could go either way
Trinity/Hamilton - while I want to think it will happen, I think the score could be wider
Colby will not hang with Wesleyan
Middlebury will keep improving and it will be a great game

[NewtoNescac]

hamgrand - Crazy predictions are part of what makes discussing football fun. Tufts looks like a no brainer. My Hamilton pick is pretty much wishful thinking. As for Williams, I've lost all faith in Coach Kelton, though I like him. And I do believe Middlebury is very overrated, and Amherst will likely repeat. You are probably right about Colby. They could not score last year, have scored one garbage time TD in their first two games. It was hoped Michaeles being the OC would make a difference, but it hasn't and he appears unwilling to make the necessary changes to personnel and play calling. So you're probably right about the Colby outcome.

[P'bearfan]

Tufts  34   Bowdoin  7
I think Tufts has learned how to beat the teams they should beat. And convincingly.

So you're basically saying that Bowdoin will be no more effective against Tufts than Amherst?  Maybe I'm being too optimistic, but I have to believe that Bowdoin will perform better than that.  Last week the first quarter was a disaster but we played even with Amherst for the final 3 quarters.  Also, I just don't think Tufts is as strong as Amherst.

[polbear73]

Echoing P'bearfan's thoughts, I too believe Bowdoin will play Tufts much more closely than that.  Quite frankly, I really thought Bowdoin would be better than it has shown against Williams and Amherst and have been disappointed to date, to say the least.  Maybe it's unwarranted optimism, but I look for a much more competitive game.