FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Nescacman]

2017 Week #1 NESCACMAN Preview

Welcome to Week 1 in the NESCAC..."the league where they pay to play". Last year we went 32-8 for the season and are 124-36 for our career picking NESCAC games. Other than the Wes/MID match-up, the new week 9 looks like a week of scrimmages for the rest of CAC.

University of Bates (Lewiston Campus) at Amherst College: First home game as the (Woolley) Mammoths. We expect Bates to play tough but the Mammoth D will prove too much for the Bates triple O.

Amherst 28 Bates 14
Weather: Not a factor

Hamilton College at Tufts University: Tufts will miss Chance Brady in the running game but this will be a mismatch in a match-up of a former also ran vs. a permanent also ran.

Tufts 28 Hamilton 7
Weather: Not a factor

Colby College at Hartford State College: This game has the potential to get ugly. With the new 9 game schedule, we think HS takes the foot off the gas early so as to not risk injury to their starters and get underclassman some experience.

Hartford State 45 Colby 7
Weather: Risk of showers at game time.

Bowdoin College at Williams College: Battle of arguably the two worst teams in the league. Ephs are on the road to recovery. Home field tips this one their way. There should be plenty of parking available for this one.

Williams 14 Bowdoin 7
Weather: Chance of showers at game time.

NESCAC Game of the Week

Wesleyan University at Middlebury College:Great first week match-up. This game will come down to how the Wes D does against QB FLB. We think the Wes D hits FLB early and often and forces a few turnovers, which prove to be the difference for the Cards. Watch WR Breuler and RB Highsmith who both should prove to be big difference makers for the Cards this year.

Wesleyan 24 Middlebury 21
Weather: Not a factor

NESCACMAN's Picks
2016 Season: 32-8
2015 Season: 30-10
2014 Season: 30-10
2013 Season: 32-8
Career: 124-36 (.775 winning percentage)

[Nescacman]

For the inquiring (alleged) minds who wanted to know:
http://athletics.hamilton.edu/sports/fball/2017-18/releases/20170915nf8fyu
Apparently Hamilton does have a football team.
That's good since I'll be traveling up the road to Somerville/Medford for Conts/Jumbos mañana . Enjoy, everybody!

Hamilton last 4 years: 3-5, 2-6, 0-8, 0-8 (we can go back further but it doesn't get any prettier) hardly qualifies them as a football team. Yes they have players, coaches, a field (a bad one at that), uniforms, equipment....but a Team. We think not.

[hamgrand]

I know Hamilton has never been in the upper tier of the league - but in Stetson's last year (2011) they went 3 - 5 which means they were a better "Team" than at least 3 other NESCAC foes including Wesleyan.  In 2012 Cohen came in and set the program back years!  They went 1 - 8 that year but played Amherst and Wesleyan pretty tough, but ultimately couldn't stop anyone.  I am not saying Stetson was the answer as a coach, but if he and Tracey were still there in 2012 I am certain they would have won a few more of those games.  Cohen was absolutely horrible for that program!

Murray will get the "Team" and program on track!

Go Midd!  Go Conts!

[AUPepBand]

For the inquiring (alleged) minds who wanted to know:
http://athletics.hamilton.edu/sports/fball/2017-18/releases/20170915nf8fyu
Apparently Hamilton does have a football team.
That's good since I'll be traveling up the road to Somerville/Medford for Conts/Jumbos mañana . Enjoy, everybody!

Hamilton last 4 years: 3-5, 2-6, 0-8, 0-8 (we can go back further but it doesn't get any prettier) hardly qualifies them as a football team. Yes they have players, coaches, a field (a bad one at that), uniforms, equipment....but a Team. We think not.

Pep begs to differ. If Murray is doing the same in Clinton as he did in Mayberry (and we have reason to believe he is), the Continentals will be a football family with plenty of fight. Thanks for the bulletin board fodder. The MurrayMen will surprise some teams this year. Go Continentals!

[PolarCat]

An hour before kickoff, and it's already 75 degrees and 83% humidity (!!!) in  Amherst.  Feels more like the Delta (Missippi or Mekong, take your pick) than the Pioneer Valley.  Expect conditioning, hydration and cramping to play a role today.

Good luck to all the boys today.  May there be no injuries, and no blowouts.

[amh63]

PolarCat....nice weather report! ...and comments....plus K
Where have they placed you wrt your chef station?....in front of Coolidge fieldhouse?

[ColbyFootball]

35-0 Trinity with 9 minutes left. If ANYONE thinks this is about the players they know nothing about football.

[Conts Fan]

Tufts wins 35-28 in OT on a fumbled snap/QB sneak from the 1-yard line

[nescac1]

Congrats to Coach Raymond on his first win!  Clearly, the guy can recruit ... Frank Stola, 250 total yards, three TDs, just flat-out nasty.  Very impressive debut for Bobby Maimaron as well, and lots of other frosh acquitted themselves well on both sides of the ball.  Between those two, stud frosh TE Burke, and two other frosh skill guys who showed some explosiveness, the Ephs are gonna be really, really good ... eventually.  Today was certainly a great start!!  Go Ephs!

[frank uible]

Calm down, nescac1. The Ephs have a long way to go before they can run with the big dogs.

[nescac1]

Frank, no doubt.  By "eventually" I mean in two years!   Frosh are gonna have growing pains, for sure. But it's just nice, after four years with little to get excited about on the field, to see an injection of legit talent at key positions.  And it's nice to actually win a game, too, of course!  These young guys are only scratching the surface. But for the first time in years, there is at least reason for long-term optimism about the program.   I hold no illusions of competing with the top tier this year.  Two more years of experience, and two more groups of recruits like this?  Different story.  On the other side of the ledger, getting torched by all those frosh after three weeks of practice does not bode terribly well for Bowdoin's D ...

[lumbercat]

Hamilton certainly does have a football team and they may be the most improved in the conference we'll see how it plays out.

[polbear73]

Nescac1 is right, Williams fans have a lot to look forward to and this game was a step in the right direction. I keep telling myself that this was just the first game and Bowdoin is very young as well, but i can't help but feel disheartened. Congratulations to the Ephs.

[middhoops]

Hamilton!

[Nescacman]

A few observations from week 1 from our correspondents around the NESCAC:

- And the winner of the "pillow fight" is....Williams.
- Colby may be worse than advertised...Hartford State may better the advertised.
- Are the Conts better or the Jumbo worse than last year...we expect a little of both. Btw, Jumbo fans better hope the injury to QB McDonald isn't serious.
-Wes needs to stop the stupid penalties....MID and QB FLB is going to have to win a lot of shootouts unless their D tightens up.
-Nothing has changed in Lewiston, all run, all the time...will be interesting to watch the Mammoth QB situation.