FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Nescacman]

We just stumbled upon this doing our scouting/research for this weeks picks....we thought Frank from Ephville would especially enjoy this....

https://vimeo.com/235643471/3a815cd6e0

BTW, this is just one of the little things that Coach W and Coach Dice brought with them from Williams and why Wesleyan is now a consistent winner...All of you fans of teams in the second division should take note. We haven't been able to find Bowdoin's or Colby's highlight reel from last week...

[PolarCat]

We haven't been able to find Bowdoin's or Colby's highlight reel from last week...

Oh come on, you should know that cute, cisgender cheerleaders are illegal in Maine.  And thanks for not including Bates in your comment, but the truth of the matter is there were no highlights last Saturday.

In all seriousness, what a fantastic job.  Reminds me of NFL films when I was a kid.  The quality of the cameras (those lenses are incredible), the mixing, the editing, the play-by-play call, and just the right amount of Whale.  It's unfortunate that the only CAC schools that can put out a highlight reel like this are the universities, (the Jumbocast is also uniformly excellent) and their live broadcasts blow away the crap the rest of us get from NSN.  Is there a broadcast or sports journalism program at Wes that feeds graduates into ESPN?

[ColbyFootball]

Colby women's soccer defeated Southern Maine tonight 6-0. They scored 1 point less than football posted in 2 games. That about says it all. Now if Colby would just acknowledge the problem with the offense, maybe we can knock off Middlebury. But it will NEVER happen with the same offensive mindset. Not complaining Polarcat, just pointing out what Colby needs to get this going. And they can get it going.

[Nescacman]

We haven't been able to find Bowdoin's or Colby's highlight reel from last week...

Oh come on, you should know that cute, cisgender cheerleaders are illegal in Maine.  And thanks for not including Bates in your comment, but the truth of the matter is there were no highlights last Saturday.

In all seriousness, what a fantastic job.  Reminds me of NFL films when I was a kid.  The quality of the cameras (those lenses are incredible), the mixing, the editing, the play-by-play call, and just the right amount of Whale.  It's unfortunate that the only CAC schools that can put out a highlight reel like this are the universities, (the Jumbocast is also uniformly excellent) and their live broadcasts blow away the crap the rest of us get from NSN.  Is there a broadcast or sports journalism program at Wes that feeds graduates into ESPN?

Come to think of it...

http://espnmediazone.com/us/bios/king_rob/

Of course, we have Wes experts among our Team...thanks for the softball Polar.

[Nescacman]

Colby women's soccer defeated Southern Maine tonight 6-0. They scored 1 point less than football posted in 2 games. That about says it all. Now if Colby would just acknowledge the problem with the offense, maybe we can knock off Middlebury. But it will NEVER happen with the same offensive mindset. Not complaining Polarcat, just pointing out what Colby needs to get this going. And they can get it going.

With all due respect, and as objective observers of the league, Colby does not have the horses to compete with the upper echelon Teams in this league. We've watched them play. While we agree that there are coaching issues (that go beyond the X's and O's btw), the talent difference will be exposed over the next three weeks against top tier teams Middlebury, Wesleyan and Amherst. The combined score could be something like 120-10. Remember Hartford State beat them 35-0 and only played their starters a half in a game they treated more like a scrimmage.

Every program has moments that sets them on a path for the future. For Tufts, it was getting a guy like Chance Brady to come to their school. For Amherst, it was bringing in EJ Mills. For Wesleyan, it was hiring Whales and Coach Dice. For the Ephs, it was replacing Whales with the HCOF, Aaron Kelton. Kelton single handily set the Williams football program back a decade. For Colby, that moment was the transfer of QB Justin Ciero in 2014. Ciero, a starter since his freshman year, was on-track to be a difference maker for the Mules and we believe, had he stayed through graduation in 2016 would have set Colby on a winning path for years to come by helping attract other quality players to Waterville. Just our opinion.     

[ColbyFootball]

Colby women's soccer defeated Southern Maine tonight 6-0. They scored 1 point less than football posted in 2 games. That about says it all. Now if Colby would just acknowledge the problem with the offense, maybe we can knock off Middlebury. But it will NEVER happen with the same offensive mindset. Not complaining Polarcat, just pointing out what Colby needs to get this going. And they can get it going.

With all due respect, and as objective observers of the league, Colby does not have the horses to compete with the upper echelon Teams in this league. We've watched them play. While we agree that there are coaching issues (that go beyond the X's and O's btw), the talent difference will be exposed over the next three weeks against top tier teams Middlebury, Wesleyan and Amherst. The combined score could be something like 120-10. Remember Hartford State beat them 35-0 and only played their starters a half in a game they treated more like a scrimmage.

Every program has moments that sets them on a path for the future. For Tufts, it was getting a guy like Chance Brady to come to their school. For Amherst, it was bringing in EJ Mills. For Wesleyan, it was hiring Whales and Coach Dice. For the Ephs, it was replacing Whales with the HCOF, Aaron Kelton. Kelton single handily set the Williams football program back a decade. For Colby, that moment was the transfer of QB Justin Ciero in 2014. Ciero, a starter since his freshman year, was on-track to be a difference maker for the Mules and we believe, had he stayed through graduation in 2016 would have set Colby on a winning path for years to come by helping attract other quality players to Waterville. Just our opinion.   

I agree with you for the most part.

With respect to the Colby Trinity game, it was Colby treating it like a scrimmage, never believing they could win. For example, they rotated 2 QBs every series. And they were in the game until half way through the 2nd quarter. I'm not say they can compete for a championship at this point, but they can compete.

And Ciero was a BIG loss, but even BIGGER was the loss if their OC recruiting coach that year.

The fact is the players change every year, and they've had many new coaches including 3 OCs in 4 years. Why is it that the offense looks the same the past 4 years under 3 different OCs and Michaeles as OC 1 year? The common denominator in these losing seasons is Michaeles. but if he backs off the offense, they can win some games and scare some big dogs this year. The turn around starts in Middlebury.

[Nescacman]

Colby women's soccer defeated Southern Maine tonight 6-0. They scored 1 point less than football posted in 2 games. That about says it all. Now if Colby would just acknowledge the problem with the offense, maybe we can knock off Middlebury. But it will NEVER happen with the same offensive mindset. Not complaining Polarcat, just pointing out what Colby needs to get this going. And they can get it going.

With all due respect, and as objective observers of the league, Colby does not have the horses to compete with the upper echelon Teams in this league. We've watched them play. While we agree that there are coaching issues (that go beyond the X's and O's btw), the talent difference will be exposed over the next three weeks against top tier teams Middlebury, Wesleyan and Amherst. The combined score could be something like 120-10. Remember Hartford State beat them 35-0 and only played their starters a half in a game they treated more like a scrimmage.

Every program has moments that sets them on a path for the future. For Tufts, it was getting a guy like Chance Brady to come to their school. For Amherst, it was bringing in EJ Mills. For Wesleyan, it was hiring Whales and Coach Dice. For the Ephs, it was replacing Whales with the HCOF, Aaron Kelton. Kelton single handily set the Williams football program back a decade. For Colby, that moment was the transfer of QB Justin Ciero in 2014. Ciero, a starter since his freshman year, was on-track to be a difference maker for the Mules and we believe, had he stayed through graduation in 2016 would have set Colby on a winning path for years to come by helping attract other quality players to Waterville. Just our opinion.   

I agree with you for the most part.

With respect to the Colby Trinity game, it was Colby treating it like a scrimmage, never believing they could win. For example, they rotated 2 QBs every series. And they were in the game until half way through the 2nd quarter. I'm not say they can compete for a championship at this point, but they can compete.

And Ciero was a BIG loss, but even BIGGER was the loss if their OC recruiting coach that year.

The fact is the players change every year, and they've had many new coaches including 3 OCs in 4 years. Why is it that the offense looks the same the past 4 years under 3 different OCs and Michaeles as OC 1 year? The common denominator in these losing seasons is Michaeles. but if he backs off the offense, they can win some games and scare some big dogs this year. The turn around starts in Middlebury.

Can we take the other side of that one? How many points you giving us? Haha

[ColbyFootball]

Nescacman - If Michaeles stepped away from the offense this week and during the game, the line is Colby +10. If it's the same old Michaeles involvement I have it as Colby +35.

[Nescacman]

Nescacman - If Michaeles stepped away from the offense this week and during the game, the line is Colby +10. If it's the same old Michaeles involvement I have it as Colby +35.

Give me 28 and you're on for 25 roses and a beer.

[WesCardPlayer]

We haven't been able to find Bowdoin's or Colby's highlight reel from last week...

Oh come on, you should know that cute, cisgender cheerleaders are illegal in Maine.  And thanks for not including Bates in your comment, but the truth of the matter is there were no highlights last Saturday.

In all seriousness, what a fantastic job.  Reminds me of NFL films when I was a kid.  The quality of the cameras (those lenses are incredible), the mixing, the editing, the play-by-play call, and just the right amount of Whale.  It's unfortunate that the only CAC schools that can put out a highlight reel like this are the universities, (the Jumbocast is also uniformly excellent) and their live broadcasts blow away the crap the rest of us get from NSN.  Is there a broadcast or sports journalism program at Wes that feeds graduates into ESPN?

Come to think of it...

http://espnmediazone.com/us/bios/king_rob/

Of course, we have Wes experts among our Team...thanks for the softball Polar.

http://espnmediazone.com/us/bios/field-yates/

[lumbercat]

Every program has moments that sets them on a path for the future. For Tufts, it was getting a guy like Chance Brady to come to their school. For Amherst, it was bringing in EJ Mills. For Wesleyan, it was hiring Whales and Coach Dice. For the Ephs, it was replacing Whales with the HCOF, Aaron Kelton. Kelton single handily set the Williams football program back a decade. For Colby, that moment was the transfer of QB Justin Ciero in 2014. Ciero, a starter since his freshman year, was on-track to be a difference maker for the Mules and we believe, had he stayed through graduation in 2016 would have set Colby on a winning path for years to come by helping attract other quality players to Waterville. Just our opinion.   

Nescacman has a perennially great handle on the conference and I enjoy his observations which are typically spot on and well stated. And I agree with his observations above especially on the Colby situation. The mules seemed to be turning things around when the Cicero mystery unfolded and he was gone---a huge blow to the program and everything seemed to spiral downward from there. Only those involved know for sure what transpired but it went south from there. Michaels has lost coaches but hired and replaced some very qualified coaches but they just can't seem to make any headway.

At the risk of incurring the criticism of notable Colby posters I think the issue up there is a lack of talent. Not a great recruiting class this year combined with guys quitting the program or booted out due to the drinking sting last year in Waterville.

The two most significant turnaround rebuilding successes in recent years have been Wesleyan and Tufts.

Chance Brady was a great back and was instrumental in the Tufts resurgence but the real fix took place before that. Coach Civetti débuted as the Tufts coach and lost 32 straight games. He was rumored on this board to be the lowest paid coach in the conference and his firing was deemed imminent. Then, there was a turn of events at Tufts that transformed Coach Civ into a great football coach. A new president and a new Athletic Director arrived at Tufts and support for the Football program increased significantly. Today, Civetti  has worked hard to get his program in a position to succeed and win football games and he deserves all the credit in the world. But if the President and AD didn't change I don't think he would have anything close to the arsenal he's assembled at Tufts.

At Wesleyan the transformation was a lot easier. The Cards were tired of being the doormat of the elite Little Three. The Whale had emptied his bucket at Williams and recognized a great opportunity at his alma mater with the Wesleyan President who was going to give him the needed support to compete successfully against Trinity and the little 3. Mama Whalen didn't raise no fool and he jumped on it..... the whale knows how to win and from day 1 he had a very high level of support in Middletown which exceeds any deal that any Nescac coach ever got. He brought many from his Williams staff and the deal for Dicenzo was all done in advance....... Talk about administrative support!!!!

How can the lower echelon NESCAC schools ever, ever compete with the 2 scenarios above.

When evaluating the football programs in this conference be assured that there is an immense amount of passion among players, coaches and parents which is pretty much the same among all the schools. The factor that determines winning vs. losing at every school is the level of support that exists at the school outside the Football program.

Support, in Nescac terms consists of Admissions help, and a significant financial commitment which includes competitive financial aid packages along with financial support and enhancement of the football operating budget.

Football is expensive in any venue including the Nescac and a school that wants to be competitive needs to make a commitment to the program and fund the program accordingly.

I think the winners are willing and able to pay the price and make the winning commitment and those at the bottom are unwilling or unable to do the same.

[ColbyFootball]

I respect your opinion Lumbercat, and agree with much of what you said. And your points may  be why championships may never find their way to Waterville. But if elite schools like Williams, Amherst and Middlebury with though admissions standards can have success, a place like Colby should at least be competitive. And yes Ciero was a loss, but not the end of the world. He would have been gone 2 years ago anyway. And I know of no players thrown off the team last year in a drinking scandal.

The major element in success is coaching. From recruiting, to not losing players, to preparing for seasons and games, to game day coaching. The HC is the most important ingredient.

[PolarCat]

Pretty tough to get excited about this weekend's installment of The Haves Beating Up on The Have Not's.  It's like the NFL scheduling Patriots - Browns for Monday Night Football.

Highly unlikely that Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Hamilton or Williams will escape with a W this week.  I think Bates at home has the best chance of the five, but the stars would all have to align: Harriman deciding to start Golden at QB (he seems better suited to the Triple Option), a couple of the Bobcat DB's learning how to cover, maybe the Jumbos all getting food poisoning the night before.  But I think we'll have 4 teams at 0-3 forty-eight hours from now.

I just don't understand how scheduling another weekend full of lopsided victories is good for the CAC.  I wish we could have at least one epic match-up like that Wes-Tufts battle every week.

[lumbercat]

ColbyFootball

Let me correct the way I framed my earlier post in calling the underage drinking situation at Colby last year a scandal. My apologies to all concerned, it was not a scandal. It was few underage college guys having a few beers........ poor choice of words on my part.

At last check there were at least 3 guys involved that incident who did not return to the Colby Football this year.

At the end of the day I stand by my position that I believe they have a very good coaching staff in Waterville with a roster that is weak in terms of talent when compared with recent Mule teams. Just my 2 cents.

[westcoastDad]

Colbyfootball,

What sold my son on Amherst was its academic reputation.  Their WestCoast recruiter was very good as well.  Of course, he was fired at beginning of frosh season lol.

He loved the "college scene" on his recruiting trip as well. 

Williams probably sells is academic standing as well.

Middlebury?!  Must be that beautiful campus.  Someone from Midd please let us know!

Tufts I would expect to have a stronger sports program.   They have it all for a D3:  school size, location, facilities, and academics.

I'm curious as to what the best selling points are for the Maine schools