FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[nescac1]

Narrator's voice: he didn't forget.

Midd finishes with Hamilton and Tufts, both teams capable of ending their unbeaten season. 

Pssst. You forgot Bowdoin.

[harlequinfarm]

A relative watching NSN stream of Williams v Bates heard announcer say the Nov 2 Williams @ Wesleyan game would not be available via NSN stream as that game would be broadcast nationally by another organization.  Can anyone here shed light on this?

[maineman]

I am just guessing, but I bet he meant the Williams-Amherst game on 11/11 which is usually on the NESN cable channel.

[Canvas Hightops]

Did anyone hear a pin drop?

[Vandy74]

Did anyone hear a pin drop?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSNeOj8XeMo

[JEFFFAN]

Did anyone hear a pin drop?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSNeOj8XeMo

Okay.  I'll bite.   What are you guys talking about? 🤔

[Canvas Hightops]

Simply that the normally active board has been very quiet the last couple of days.
I probably should have just not posted that.  My bad.

[Hawk196]

Simply that the normally active board has been very quiet the last couple of days.
I probably should have just not posted that.  My bad.

Yes you should've posted that! We're in the middle of the season and I expected the board to be more active.....

[SpringSt7]

Figured I'd take an updated stab at award predictions now that we're 2/3s of the way there.

OPOY--Still think Stola has a comfortable lead, expect him to put him big numbers these last three weeks when called upon. If i had to pick a runner up right now I think it would be Jernigan--team is 6-0 and in the driver's seat for the league, 2nd in the league in passing yards, 7th in rushing, tied for 2nd with 17 total touchdowns (Lambert also has 17, Maimaron has 18).

DPOY--Joe Kelly's health has thrown a wrench into this race which now seems wide open. Leaning Pistorius but still can't decide if he or Huggins makes more of an impact--I'm sure the Midd folks on the board can help out with that.

ROY--Looks like Maldjian is going to hold onto this one, especially as Midd appears to be cruising to the title. 4th rushing game this past week of 95+ yards or more, should put up big numbers against Bowdoin and hold off Williams S Drew Michalek who now leads the league with 4 takeaways on defense.

COY--Ritter. Not sure who else you could really say? DiCenzo for now but not if they finish 5-4 or 6-3. I've never been on the Hamilton bandwagon but Murray would be an interesting shout if they finish at 5-4, don't know the last time they had a winning record.

[MidDay]

Simply that the normally active board has been very quiet the last couple of days.
I probably should have just not posted that.  My bad.

Yes you should've posted that! We're in the middle of the season and I expected the board to be more active.....

Well, it was a bit of a crossroads weekend for some teams and some posters are, unfortunately, probably not quite as excited  at this point in the season as they were earlier.

I expect a lot will happen to shake things up over the last few weeks.  As a Midd fan, I am even more concerned about Hamilton and, having played a lot of close games, know that anything can still happen.

[MidDay]

Figured I'd take an updated stab at award predictions now that we're 2/3s of the way there.

OPOY--Still think Stola has a comfortable lead, expect him to put him big numbers these last three weeks when called upon. If i had to pick a runner up right now I think it would be Jernigan--team is 6-0 and in the driver's seat for the league, 2nd in the league in passing yards, 7th in rushing, tied for 2nd with 17 total touchdowns (Lambert also has 17, Maimaron has 18).

DPOY--Joe Kelly's health has thrown a wrench into this race which now seems wide open. Leaning Pistorius but still can't decide if he or Huggins makes more of an impact--I'm sure the Midd folks on the board can help out with that.

ROY--Looks like Maldjian is going to hold onto this one, especially as Midd appears to be cruising to the title. 4th rushing game this past week of 95+ yards or more, should put up big numbers against Bowdoin and hold off Williams S Drew Michalek who now leads the league with 4 takeaways on defense.

COY--Ritter. Not sure who else you could really say? DiCenzo for now but not if they finish 5-4 or 6-3. I've never been on the Hamilton bandwagon but Murray would be an interesting shout if they finish at 5-4, don't know the last time they had a winning record.

Huggins and Pistorius are basically twins.  Both impact every game.  I'd consider giving them co-DPOY.  Huggins has been a very effective spy on double threat QBs.  Alex Norton has also been a dominant pass rusher and has been just as important to the D.

[nescac1]

This seems like one of the weakest years in recent memory for DPOY contenders (partially due to injuries - top pre-season candidate Gooden missed more than half the season, and now leading contender Kelly is as noted by SpringSt missing from the lineup - is he seriously hurt?).  In addition to the Midd guys, who indeed seem like the most worthy contenders, Tufts DL Nenandovic has also had a strong year. 

Williams, thanks to a bend-but-don't break philosophy and a tremendous red zone defense (although of course three very tough games are ahead), is leading the league in points allowed, but no single individual defender really stands out as at POY candidate -- Rothmann, Wesner, and Apuzzi all seem about equally-impactful. 

I'd put Bobby Maimaron over Will Jernigan as both first-team all-league QB and in the OPOY standings.  Maimaron is much better statistically (Maimaron has accounted for 18 TDs and 3 turnovers, Jernigan 17 TDs vs. 11 turnovers), and is just simply a better all-around QB.  Jernigan has had a great year but he also has a LOT of really good weapons at his disposal in the Midd attack.  Notable too that Maimaron has put up monster stats despite a repeatedly-reshuffled offensive line that has been beset by injuries all season.  I think the top candidates for OPOY as of now are Stola, Maimaron, Jernigan in that order.   

Maldjian is a lock for ROY, although too bad there is no DROY award because Michalek has been tremendous. 

Absent a total collapse down the stretch, Ritter is a lock for COY.  A tremendous job by him leading a team that NO ONE had beating Williams, Amherst, AND Trinity this season ...

[daoustian]

Well, it was a bit of a crossroads weekend for some teams and some posters are, unfortunately, probably not quite as excited  at this point in the season as they were earlier.

This is accurate.  Losing to a team for the first time in 27 years in the final minute will do that to a certain group of sports fans.  Kudos to Hamilton for pulling one of the upsets of the decade. 

[nescac1]

Daoustian, I don't think the snark was really directed at Amherst posters ... rather one other poster in particular - cough cough. 

[JEFFFAN]

Our thoughts from the weekend...

1. Eph fans, don't get too excited...they have played probably the worst 2 teams in the league in weeks 1 and 2. Reality sets in this week.

The excitement comes from being one of the worst 2 teams in the league to beating the worst 2 teams in the league.

My sense is that there isn't as much interest right now in the same way that the NFL isn't as interesting if the Pats or any team runs away from things.  What a season Middlebury is unfolding - just terrific and wonderfully unexpected - but it has made the tail end of the season not as interesting since their schedule will get considerably weaker.  That is no one's fault except Middlebury for wiping out the NESCAC in the first half of the season!   So that is my sense of why things are quieter - it is Middlebury's fault for having such a damn good season!