FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Nescacman]

Amh63,
Thanks for the tips. We will be coming via 90 from the west and staying near Clinton both Friday and Saturday nights before we head back through Canada on Sunday. Will definitely check online for eating places but wondered if there is an absolute must-visit kind of place.
As far as the game itself, Hamilton seems to be on the upswing. I'm looking forward to a competitive game. Hopefully Amherst can fire on all cylinders and put together a complete game for the win.

For nighttime food and entertainment, we always opt for Turning Stone....they have added some decent restaurants including a kick-butt BBQ joint in a "barn-like" setting with great live music and plenty of adult beverages to choose from plus the people watching in the casino is priceless...for breakfast, we suggest Charlie's in Clinton....greasy spoon that slings some mean hash...sort of like Clinton's version of Alice's Diner...enjoy and give us your review...

[DC 53]

NBC93: There are many good culinary options within 10-15 minutes of the Hamilton campus. In the Village of Clinton, we always liked Altieri's which is a nice family place with many options, without breaking the bank.  There are many options along Route 5, both east and west of RT 233. Going east on 5 toward NewHartford and Utica there are several good places. Zebb's is a sports bar type of place with many screens and great variety of food options. In Utica, Delmonico's is an excellent Italian spot. Piggy Pat's just outside of Clinton is a really good BBQ option. A trip to the Clinton Cider Mill is also a must-see! Enjoy.

[ColbyFootball]

The boys and I are taking our dad to Clinton to watch his eldest grandson play. It's only my second game at Hamilton and we didnt stick around for any meals last time. Any suggestions on parking, restaurants, etc.?

Tons of parking for the game. Unfortunately my favorite restaurant closed. Alee's in Utica. You can get a great meal at Lola's right in the town of Clinton. Nearby in New Hartford I always enjoyed Carmella's Cafe. It has a large traditional menu. If you head to Utica, Delmonico's has decent, not great, food with a Sinatra type atmosphere, and reasonably priced.

[ColbyFootball]

NBC93: There are many good culinary options within 10-15 minutes of the Hamilton campus. In the Village of Clinton, we always liked Altieri's which is a nice family place with many options, without breaking the bank.  There are many options along Route 5, both east and west of RT 233. Going east on 5 toward NewHartford and Utica there are several good places. Zebb's is a sports bar type of place with many screens and great variety of food options. In Utica, Delmonico's is an excellent Italian spot. Piggy Pat's just outside of Clinton is a really good BBQ option. A trip to the Clinton Cider Mill is also a must-see! Enjoy.

Zebb's has decent wings, for those interested.

[lumbercat]

Trin8-0, while we're on the topic of receivers, what's going on with the WR corps over in Hartford? I, like many others I assume, thought that Girard and Schofer with another year under their belts, and another year for Lambert, would be absolutely unstoppable, especially adding Reid into the mix. All three are averaging 75+ YPG but they don't seem to have the same impact. Any insight?

SpringSt7-
Ive only seen the Bantams in their route of Bates. They basically had their way with the Bobcats. Girard had 2 drops but made some nice catches. He's a beast. Kofer was actually defended pretty well but made some tremendous plays while being double covered most of the day. Bates best player is safety Lindgren who actually had a great game but how do you stop a two headed monster.  Kofer made a specular jump ball receptions the end zone  with Lindgren in his shirt but Kofer won the battle for the football.
They are 2 great receivers but QB Lambert missed several un hurried throws- maybe a little bit of a sophomore struggle for Lambert- he's not up to the standard of past Trinity QBs but Im sure he will develop.

[amh63]

Morning thoughts...it's early for me . Fall is here in Maryland. Leaves are changing color and falling.
See that the quad at Amherst has it's first cover of leaves.  Critical games ahead for the front runners. To date, games have been played in good weather conditions.  Cold wet conditions probability increases.  There was a well documented game between Williams and Amherst in Willytown when the football "floated" in the end zone.  Players were covered in mud.  Today, new turf  surfaces with nice crowns are available.
The top teams are led by fine passing QBs and sure hand receivers.  No games to date in the Nescac have been played in bad/wet weather.  In such conditions, the running game becomes more important.
Just some morning thoughts after two inches of rain fell in DC/MD...stormy cold weather heading into New England.

[Nescacman]

The boys and I are taking our dad to Clinton to watch his eldest grandson play. It's only my second game at Hamilton and we didnt stick around for any meals last time. Any suggestions on parking, restaurants, etc.?

Tons of parking for the game. Unfortunately my favorite restaurant closed. Alee's in Utica. You can get a great meal at Lola's right in the town of Clinton. Nearby in New Hartford I always enjoyed Carmella's Cafe. It has a large traditional menu. If you head to Utica, Delmonico's has decent, not great, food with a Sinatra type atmosphere, and reasonably priced.

Just an FYI re:parking at HAM...there is no longer tons of parking....they visiting tailgate is now on the "old tennis courts" next to the squash facility...we would estimate that there is enough parking for 50-75 vehicles...the home team parks in a separate area...as far as enjoying adult beverages, Ham like Middlebury has a stated "no alcohol policy"....however, unlike Middlebury, as long as you are discreet (solo cups or Yeti tumblers) and you're not doing keg stands or playing beer pong, campus security is cool and you should be good to go...fyi, use the real bathrooms by the squash courts as opposed to the porta-potty's behind the home sideline...

The one thing that remains at HAM that we wish they would change is the home and away fans sit together in the same stands on the visitor sideline...not ideal, although it does make the crowd appear bigger...

[bantamweight]

Trin8-0, while we're on the topic of receivers, what's going on with the WR corps over in Hartford? I, like many others I assume, thought that Girard and Schofer with another year under their belts, and another year for Lambert, would be absolutely unstoppable, especially adding Reid into the mix. All three are averaging 75+ YPG but they don't seem to have the same impact. Any insight?

It's not the wr's; it's the qb. He's pre-snap determining his wr and doesn't check down during the play. Has thrown into coverage quite a bit. Improved running game and OL play helped him the last 2 games, but he's still a loose cannon right now.

[PolarCat]

The boys and I are taking our dad to Clinton to watch his eldest grandson play. It's only my second game at Hamilton and we didnt stick around for any meals last time. Any suggestions on parking, restaurants, etc.?

The Apocalypse is coming.  Colbyfootball and I actually agree on something.  I think I made 6 trips to Hamilton between 2014 and 2018 (son's Bates Football games, daughter's Bowdoin WLAX regular season games, plus a couple of  tournament appearances) and Carmella's in New Hartford was always my favorite.

For game day, I always tailgated.  There is a Hannafords right in New Hartford, and I did my shopping the morning of the game.  But the new parking arrangements may make that less practical.  And FWIW if there was an alcohol ban back then, it sure wasn't enforced.   

Most importantly, the signature meal in the area is Chicken Riggies.  Carmella's weren't the best I ever had (that honor goes to a white-linen-tablecloth restaurant in Syracuse) but they are pretty darn good.  When in Rome ...

[harlequinfarm]

I'm a little late making this post, but it was nice to see Nescacman show some love for the Continentals last week. As I drove into Willytown on Saturday morning I did see some flying barnyard animals(rhyming with big) fly by! And that was BEFORE the visit to the dispensary! Who knew that Stola would become Jerry Rice? He was really otherworldly with his 4 TDs. He was actually pretty well covered on three of them. He got Wesley Walker- like separation on the last one. Mamaron is an exceptional play action ball handler. Hamilton did a decent job against the run early, but once the QB/WR combo got going, we knew it was going to be a difficult day. NESCAC 1's analysis is spot on. I was thinking about the defensive challenge posed by Mamaron/Stola on my drive through the peak scenery. Ideally, you'd like to spy the QB, but then you lose an extra guy to help on brackets and doubles. Hamilton showed some punch on offense, with Kagan and Gray prominent. Not getting a TD on the opening drive was a killer. Kagan is legit, he is deceptively quick, and he punishes tacklers. Even without Wagner and Schmidt, the Conts have some playmakers in the passing game, they just don't have as much elite talent. Hamilton is nobody's punching bag, and they'll have a chance to beat a top tier team with Amherst, Tufts, and Middlebury ahead.

To my eyes the young frosh Joel Nichols has to be accounted for in any defensive scheme against Williams.  He averaged 7+ YPC the last three games and repeatedly gouged Opponents on the RPO up the middle.  Combined with Stola, who is winning jump balls so well he doesn't even need to get open, makes the Eph offense very formidable.

[Nescacman]

Trin8-0, while we're on the topic of receivers, what's going on with the WR corps over in Hartford? I, like many others I assume, thought that Girard and Schofer with another year under their belts, and another year for Lambert, would be absolutely unstoppable, especially adding Reid into the mix. All three are averaging 75+ YPG but they don't seem to have the same impact. Any insight?

Wonder why the transfer from URI has not been in the picture? Injury?

It's not the wr's; it's the qb. He's pre-snap determining his wr and doesn't check down during the play. Has thrown into coverage quite a bit. Improved running game and OL play helped him the last 2 games, but he's still a loose cannon right now.

Well first off, the reason Lambert starts over Vazzano is he is just plain better. Vazzano played most of the time last year and completed just 44% of his passes compared to Lambert who completed 69%. This year, Lambert has completed 64%. Just because someone was at an FCS or FBS school and then transfers to the NESCAC does not guarantee success. Look at the QB at Bowdoin and Vazzano as prime examples. Leibowitz was the exception, not the rule.

The bigger issue for the Staters from Hartford has been the play of their O-line. Last year, when they led the NESCAC in rushing, they averaged 5.0 yards per carry and almost 230 rushing yards/game. This year, they are average 3.6 yards per carry and 156 yards/game. In 2018, they gave up 14 sacks for the whole year. Through 5 games in 2019, they have already allowed 19 sacks. We rest our case...   

[Nescacman]

2019 Week #6 NESCACMAN Picks

Welcome to Week #6 iin the league where they "pay to play"....4-1 in week 5...next year, we are paying for the Hamilton bus to make sure that it shows up on time...Another weak slate of games other than our GOTW....this week's GOTW should play a big role in determining the 2019 NESCAC champion...

University of Bates (Lewiston Campus) at TTUN: We've been racking our brains all week trying to figure out a plausible way for UBates to even make this game competitive...UBates has already been shut twice and last week was a new low in terms of offensive futility for the Bobcats with 3 first downs the entire game and 105 yards of total offense...on top of that, UBates is last in passing D and the Ephs obviously have a guy that can disrupt the other teams secondary in Stola...maybe the UBates AD should hire the Hamilton bus driver?

TTUN 41 UBates 6
Point Spread: TTUN -24.
Weather: Sunny. High of 55.

Bowdoin College at Tufts University: The question here is which Tufts team shows up....is it the squad that outplayed Wes in the first half last week and beat Hartford State in Week 1 or is the team that nearly lost to a hapless UBates team, got crushed by TTUN or gave up 20 points in the second half last week against Wes...Tufts, unbelievably, is last in the conference in rushing....Bowdoin is last in the conference in rushing D so something has to give...looks like the Bowdoin HCOF has finally made the move away from dud transfer McCrum at QB...Bowdoin has been pretty bad on the road and Tufts has been pretty good at the Oval so we're going with the Jumbo's...Tufts seems to play down to the level of competition so think this game is closer than it should be...

Tufts 27 Bowdoin 13
Point Spread: Tufts -13.
Weather: Sunny. High of 60.

Colby College at Hartford State: Another ho hum game...if the season for HS holds true to form, HS will beat up on another C-B-B opponent this week, although it should not be as bad as it was against UBates and Bowdoin...Colby looked better last week but we still don't think they have enough juice to make it a contest in the Coop where HS is very tough to beat...

Hartford State 42 Colby 10
Point Spread: Hartford State -24.
Weather: Sunny. High of 61.

Amhurst College at Hamilton College: Amhurst is still having problems in the red zone but they continue to force a lot of turnovers...they have scored at least 24 points in ever game....if nothing else they have been consistent..this game will be the closest contest this week besides our GOTW...marginally interesting game...we give the Conts a punchers chance...if Schmidt comes back, could be closer than 10...                  

Amhurst 27 Hamilton 17
Point Spread: Amhurst -10.
Weather: Mostly sunny. High of 54.

NESCAC Game of the Week

Wesleyan University at Middlebury College:  Wes is coming off of their best half of football all year; the second half against Tufts...big win last week for Wes ...did a lot to quiet the critics...Wes 5-0 for the first time since they last won the league title in 2013....this is a great week 6 match-up in Vermont...battle of the last two unbeaten teams in the NESCAC....Middlebury is coming off their worst effort of the year against Colby...We'll chalk that up to looking ahead to this week's game...we think this game comes down to turnovers and special teams...MID is minus in turnovers while Wes is plus...MIDs special teams have been mediocre at best while Wes' have been the best in the league...plus throw in the fact that MID is pretty banged up....we are going with the visitors in a minor upset...sets up a fun Little 3 tilt in Blanketville next week... 

Wesleyan 24 Middlebury 20
Point Spread: Middlebury College -3. 
Weather: Sunny. High of 51.

NESCACMAN's Picks (winners)
2019 Season: 19-6
2018 Season: 36-9
2017 Season: 35-10
2016 Season: 32-8
2015 Season: 30-10
2014 Season: 30-10
2013 Season: 32-8
Career: 214-61 (.778 winning percentage)

[bantamweight]

Wonder why the transfer from URI has not been in the picture? Injury?

Well first off, the reason Lambert starts over Vazzano is he is just plain better. Vazzano played most of the time last year and completed just 44% of his passes compared to Lambert who completed 69%. This year, Lambert has completed 64%. Just because someone was at an FCS or FBS school and then transfers to the NESCAC does not guarantee success. Look at the QB at Bowdoin and Vazzano as prime examples. Leibowitz was the exception, not the rule.

The bigger issue for the Staters from Hartford has been the play of their O-line. Last year, when they led the NESCAC in rushing, they averaged 5.0 yards per carry and almost 230 rushing yards/game. This year, they are average 3.6 yards per carry and 156 yards/game. In 2018, they gave up 14 sacks for the whole year. Through 5 games in 2019, they have already allowed 19 sacks. We rest our case...

To be clear, I didn't wonder why Vazzano is not starting. I don't know how that was attributed to me. Second, the OL isn't necessarily all of the problem. The running game is vastly improved since Harris has taken over at RB, and he averages 4.9/per carry. Your use of the overall 3.6 yds per carry includes QB rushes and those of the previous RB. Last week, Lambert rushed for 0.8/yds per carry. I'll agree that OL penalties and sacks given up were horrendous in the first 3 games, but those stats greatly improved with Harris in the game. A run-first offense the last two weeks has helped reduce sacks to 1.5 per game and has otherwise masked some weak QB play.  Time will tell if these improvements in offensive play are enough to result in wins with tougher games ahead.

[MidDay]

Would have been surprised and disappointed if Nescacman would have picked Midd over Wes.  Could be 2-4 on his Midd picks for the year!

[Pat Coleman]

Middlebury coach Bob Ritter is the guest on the latest edition of our podcast: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/2019/10/18/atn-podcast-251-everyone-learns-to-pronounce-allianz/