FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Nescacman]

I found it interesting that the boys over at nothingbutnescac.com are projecting a 6-3 finish for the Bantams. Yes, there were several star players lost to graduation highlighted by Puzzo, but Trinity has lost more than two games just once in the past 15 years. Trin returns 15 starters from last year's championship squad and while the QB competition may not be settled, the most difficult stretch of the season isn't until weeks 7-9 so there is time for the offense to gel. Finally, when you consider that Tufts, Amherst, and Middlebury all travel to The Coop it's hard to imagine any scenario where the Bants lose more than two games this year, but I suppose time will tell.

Trin8-0....we know there is only 1 true NESCAC prognasticator....

[OldCardinal]

Great question, Frank. Since Colby and Bates used to rotate and not play Trinity each year, there were fewer matchups. However, I know none of the three Maine teams have beaten Trinity since sometime prior to the year 2000.

per Trinity website:

last loss to Bowdoin - 1998
last loss to Colby - 1995
last loss to Bates - 1979

It's worth noting that  in 1998, Trinity went 2-6.  It was the last year of Don Miller long career and he had lost his fastball by then.  It was one of the few mediocre Trinity teams in the last 50 years.  In 1979, they also went 2-6.  Those were the ONLY two years when Trinity was under .500 since 1979!!  Pretty impressive.  The Colby win in '95 was against a solid (6-2) Trinity team.

[Nescacman]

Welcome back NESCACers....and you thought we were gone...sorry to disappoint you all (well maybe not Frank and Hartfordstate8-0, but the rest of you...sorry)!!!

It's time for another exciting year of NESCAC football...the "league where they pay to play"...

We may have been quiet but we have been lurking in the background....studying the players, the teams, the coaches (where's Aaron Kelton aka the "HCOF" himself?), the boarders...it's been a great off-season.

If you are new to the board, here's what you missed (and we are only counting lengthy discussions):

1. Micheales and the Colby Coaching situation.
2. NESCAC v other D3 east coast leagues (and don't forget the size of the NESCAC players v eastern D3 powers).
3. Union College
4. Bates coaching situation
5. Night games (and the real reason for night games, people, is recruiting, pure and simple)
6. Micheales and Bowdoin (that's some sort of joke, right?)
7. Pre-season rankings (who cares other than our rankings)
8. Number of recruits
9. Recruiting
10, Hartford State's admissions policy (do they actually have an admissions office? We heard they went to rolling admissions as most state schools do...)
11. University of Bates new uniforms (which look incredibly similar to UBates old uniforms)
12. NBN's predictions which are as always, comical and not fact based
13 Roster limits
14. Micheales
15. The new D1 Transfer QB at Bowdoin (haven't we heard this story before)...I heard he might be related to Dave Caputti, just sayin'
18. The Team from Up North (TTUN) being world champs of D3 football again
19. The haves v have nots
20. Pithy, one line comments from out friend Frank.
21. Oh, and let's not forget angry coaches....whoa, that was amazing!
22. The Colby coaching situation

Here's what's in store...
Thursday: NESCACMAN season preview, team by team record predictions, and preseason rankings
Friday: NESCACMAN week 1 picks including this weeks GOTW, Middlebury at Wes, weather, scores, the usual stuff.

To returning readers, welcome back...to those of you new to the Board, welcome!

Looking forward to a great 2018 season...

[PolarCat]

I've heard Bates is holding kicker tryouts. Not sure if they are keeping any, but they might be holding those roster spaces in case they find a guy.

Wow.  Any more info on this?  The kid who was taking over for the prior 4-year starter had a pretty big leg.  Did he get injured?  Too inconsistent? 

Punter Justin Foley was always a solid back-up at K, and handled the long kick-offs (as opposed to onsides) for 3 years, so even if open tryouts don't yield any results, the Cats should be okay.  Bates has had a solid kicking and punting game for the past 8 seasons (Charlie Donohue, David Kurey, etc.).  So it's ironic that they may be coming up short, now that they have finally been liberated from the triple option and may be making more trips to the red zone this year.

[amh63]

Nescacman...or should it be NescacmEn...welcome back and I can say that l missed you'all
Just wanted to drop in to say that Middlebury has posted its 2018 roster and a brief writeup of the team.  Roster list 76 players and 26 FYs...if I counted correctly.  Did not notice any change in attire in the group picture.  I know, should not change perfection...love those helmets 

[gridiron]

The Mules will go to battle with 69 on the roster.

[Nescacman]

Nescacman...or should it be NescacmEn...welcome back and I can say that l missed you'all
Just wanted to drop in to say that Middlebury has posted its 2018 roster and a brief writeup of the team.  Roster list 76 players and 26 FYs...if I counted correctly.  Did not notice any change in attire in the group picture.  I know, should not change perfection...love those helmets 

We're glad to be back....thanks AMH...

[gridiron]

I accidentally clicked the wrong page and ended up viewing the first posts for this board--including the very first preseason poll for 2005. If you want a chuckle, check it out for yourself. Some things have changed a lot (Middlebury and Colby), and others are remarkably the same. A look back in time...

[BigEast]

I've heard Bates is holding kicker tryouts. Not sure if they are keeping any, but they might be holding those roster spaces in case they find a guy.

Wow.  Any more info on this?  The kid who was taking over for the prior 4-year starter had a pretty big leg.  Did he get injured?  Too inconsistent? 

Punter Justin Foley was always a solid back-up at K, and handled the long kick-offs (as opposed to onsides) for 3 years, so even if open tryouts don't yield any results, the Cats should be okay.  Bates has had a solid kicking and punting game for the past 8 seasons (Charlie Donohue, David Kurey, etc.).  So it's ironic that they may be coming up short, now that they have finally been liberated from the triple option and may be making more trips to the red zone this year.

I don't know about the current kid, just heard that Bates wanted more numbers to compete at that position.

[Trin9-0]

Trin8-0....we know there is only 1 true NESCAC prognasticator....

I'll be shocked if Nescacman predicts anyone but Wesleyan as NESCAC champions. The only question is; will he have the Cards finishing with the league's first ever 9-0 record?

[nescac1]

Williams posted its expected starters for Saturday:

http://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/fball/1-2018_Final_Bowdoin_Game_Notes.pdf

A few notes ... the offense doesn't have a single senior starting.  So while I expect the offense will be somewhat improved this year, it could be scary good in the future as this group grows together.  All of the skill guys are still just sophomores.  The only surprise is Pat Watson moving to tackle and Karsten Salveson, last year's starting tackle, not listed.  Not sure if he is injured, or just got pushed into a backup role.  The line as a whole however has good experience as 4/5 guys started for part or all of last season. 

The Eph defense will have a very different look, going from a 4-3 to a 3-4.  The Eph defense will be very fast but VERY small up front after losing all four interior linemen who saw snaps last year (two of whom were often dominant).  DeMarco was a DE last year, now will (I would guess) be the NT, unless Landry (a special teams ace last year) plays as a very undersized nose.  The other two d-linemen, Unobskey and Landry, are both very small, especially for 3-4 defensive linemen (210 and 220 pounds respectively) so it will be interesting to see how Williams competes against the league's more physical running games.  Last year, Williams was stellar against the run, but this year's defense is going to have to compete with quickness rather than strenght.  Luke Apuzzi is also a converted DB playing LB.  The LB core and DB groups both return intact, and the LB group in particular looks stellar and fairly deep with talent.  I expect those guys to get a ton of tackles for losses and sacks, if the DL can just hold its ground up front - which is a huge question mark.     

For Bowdoin, the most interesting news is at QB, where the highly-acclaimed transfer is not starting.  Bowdoin has a ton of turnover on the offensive line, from the sound of it, so it presents a good opportunity for Williams' green defensive front to make some noise against an equally inexperienced group.  If they have trouble with Bowdoin's line, it could spell trouble for the Ephs going forward.  Conversely, if Bowdoin gets pushed around by the Ephs' small defensive line, that could signal another long year ahead for the P'Bears. 

The Berkshire Eagle posts a brief rundown of the other NESCAC teams as well:

https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/the-foes-looking-at-a-week-by-week-breakdown-of-the-teams-williams-football-plays-in-2018,550221

The break-out player to watch seems to be Dario Highsmith, who was hurt for much of last year for Wesleyan but should be a go-to option on offense especially with the big losses at WR. 

[Nescacman]

Trin8-0....we know there is only 1 true NESCAC prognasticator....

I'll be shocked if Nescacman predicts anyone but Wesleyan as NESCAC champions. The only question is; will he have the Cards finishing with the league's first ever 9-0 record?

Hs8-0....if you can go to work for the "dark side", we suppose anything can happen...

[amh63]

Like the eph1 poster prior...Amherst has posted a brief writeup of the Bates' game and a tentative starting lineup.  New "faces" in the lineup are really ones that finished well last season.  Offensive line has replaced the seniors...one critical senior that was out for several games as the season ended.  On the defensive side, a graduated senior dB has been replaced with a bigger experienced one.  Barring injuries, the defense will again be dominant.  Last year's FYs were full of DBs...HFC Mills does get his inputs on defense. 
No season preview by the coach yet and 2018 lineup.  Maybe on Sat.?
Thinking about my encounters with some great Nescac coaches of the past posts later in the day.  More rain and flood warnings in my area....have to get out my drafting stuff and start a hi tech "ark" design....l.c. "a" is intentional .  Also just fooling with you Nescac1!

[nescac1]

One more note on the Ephs, a few early commitments I've seen for the Class of 2023:

John Freeman, OT, Boston College H.S. (hopefully he is as good as last year's two star BC High frosh, that's becoming quite the pipeline!)
Brian Anderson, CB/WR, Pine Crest H.S. (Florida)

[Trin9-0]

Hs8-0....if you can go to work for the "dark side", we suppose anything can happen...

I'm looking forward to meeting you at a game this fall and discussing your increased gift to the Wesleyan Fund.