FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[D3FLETCH]

Very very few star athletes are legacies and those that are can just get in through other ways if the school wants them badly enough.

Not sure that statement holds true at Bates, Colby and Hamilton. 

[SpringSt7]

It's funny because I think Maimaron is a significantly better runner than Estevez but Estevez is the better passer. Maimaron's raw numbers don't do a service to his impact in the run game, they're clearly saving him for later in the season but his ability to make the right read every time is remarkable. The same way that he should be taking his linemen out to dinner, the RB room should be taking him out to dinner.

Maimaron's overall career has a passer has been a disappointment if we're being honest, considering he holds the Mass state record for passing TDs I think we all expected a little bit more from him throwing the ball. His weapons have been inconsistent throughout his career and it's easy to forget now what a disaster the OL had been earlier in his career as well. His confidence never seemed to be at 100% and he found a way to win by throwing the ball away and avoiding INTs. He can still make the throws when he needs to make them but I don't think anyone feels great about if he needed to throw the ball 35 times a game.

Estevez is more physical but their speed is in the same ballpark. He has a better arm in my opinion as mentioned. Maimaron's deep ball is excellent but in short and intermediate throws I think I'd rather have Estevez with his ability to put a little more zip on the ball and get it out quicker.

Additionally, I totally understand nescacman's analysis of the Wesleyan-Williams game on the horizon, but I do think you have to factor in the teams we have seen on the field in 2021 over historical trends. Those historical trends are certainly relevant and the Cards clearly possess a mental edge over the Ephs. But the last few years of Wesleyan teams have had some DUDES on the front 7 that were just able to absolutely maul Maimaron and the Williams OL. From where I'm sitting, that edge does not appear to be nearly as apparent this year.

[lumbercat]

This whole legacy issue is way overblown in terms of Football- not a factor. Give the Amherst and Williams crowd something like this and they analyze the hell out of it. Let it go.

[Jonny Utah]

I really don't think that ending legacy admissions will have any impact on athletics.  Very very few star athletes are legacies and those that are can just get in through other ways if the school wants them badly enough.  At least at Williams, and I'm sure Amherst, legacies do not have worse credentials than other equivalent types of students - its really more of, all else being equal, a legacy gets a preference, basically a tipping point factor (unless of course M&D donated a building).  Honestly I think this is more about the message it sends than anything else, if you replace ten kids with 1550 SATs whose parents went to Amherst with ten kids with 1550 SATs whose parents did not, the student body will still be effectively the same.  If you want to actually make these schools more representative you have to make far more radical changes, like treating kids with the same class rank at an average or below high school as a kid from Exeter as identical candidates for admission ... to the extent Biddy may be remembered less than fondly, it won't be based on this decision.

The message is the admissions department can now force Amherst to use Athletic Factors (Tips) on 10-20% of their incoming class.

Wouldn't it mean that the 10-20% tips used on legacies in the past can now be used on other applicants in the future? 

[nescac1]

Nescac schools all have, I believe, 72 tips (except for Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan which have 66).  I imagine very very few of these, if any, are used on legacies. Likewise, very few legacy admits are going to be tip-level athletes (legacy admits generally have academic qualifications similar to other students, the legacy status basically lets them get picked over ten other similar applicants, TIPS by definition would not get in without use of a tip).  So in sum this isn't going to effect athletic recruiting in any meaningful way. 

[Charlie]

Nescac schools all have, I believe, 72 tips (except for Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan which have 66).  I imagine very very few of these, if any, are used on legacies. Likewise, very few legacy admits are going to be tip-level athletes (legacy admits generally have academic qualifications similar to other students, the legacy status basically lets them get picked over ten other similar applicants, TIPS by definition would not get in without use of a tip).  So in sum this isn't going to effect athletic recruiting in any meaningful way.

Agreed won't impact recruiting. I do find it odd that after a fund raising campaign you come out with this statement. I really do not see the benefit to the school in fact would hurt their future fund raising in future not that it would impact their bottom line. I just think that some things do not have to be said but are clearly understandable. No benefit to this press release.

[Trin9-0]

With this being the 50th Season of NESCAC football I went down a rabbit hole to determine the league school(s) with the best record for each of the previous 49 seasons. Common sense would tell you that this represents the schools who have won NESCAC championships. However, as some are eager to remind us, the league only began officially crowning a champion in 2000.

Either way, it's clear to see that the league has been dominated by four schools for the past 5 decades: Trinity, Williams, Amherst, and Middlebury.
The Bantams have won at least a share of the league title 16 times (a third of all championships). The Ephs can claim 14 titles, while their rivals the Jeffs/Mammoths have won at least a share of 13 championships and finally, Middlebury has won or tied for the best record in the league 11 times.

At least one of these four schools has had the best NESCAC football record in 47 of the past 49 season (96%)! Aside from the big four, only Tufts (in 1979 and 1986) has won an outright title. Hamilton, Colby, and Wesleyan can each claim a share of a championship (in 1987, 2000, and 2013 respectively).

It looks likely that either Trinity or Williams will continue the trend this year, but Wesleyan shocked us last year so anything is possible.





   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

YEAR	SCHOOL	WINS	LOSSES	TIES
1971	Williams	7	1
1972	Middlebury	8	0
1973	Amherst/Middlebury	7	1
1974	Trinity/Williams	7	1
1975	Williams	7	0	1
1976	Middlebury	7	1
1977	Middlebury	7	1
1978	Trinity	7	1
1979	Tufts	8	0
1980	Trinity	7	1
1981	Middlebury	7	1
1982	Amherst	7	1
1983	Middlebury/Trinity	6	2
1984	Amherst	8	0
1985	Amherst	7	0	1
1986	Tufts	7	1
1987	Amherst/Hamilton/Trinity	6	2
1988	Williams	6	1	1
1989	Williams	8	0
1990	Williams	8	0
1991	Trinity	6	1	1
1992	Middlebury	7	1
1993	Trinity	8	0
1994	Williams	8	0
1995	Williams	7	0	1
1996	Amherst	7	1
1997	Amherst	7	1
1998	Williams	8	0
1999	Williams	7	1
2000	Amherst/Colby/Middlebury	7	1
2001	Williams	8	0
2002	Trinity/Williams	7	1
2003	Trinity	8	0
2004	Trinity	8	0
2005	Trinity	8	0
2006	Williams	8	0
2007	Middlebury	7	1
2008	Trinity	8	0
2009	Amherst	8	0
2010	Williams	8	0
2011	Amherst	8	0
2012	Trinity	8	0
2013	Amherst/Middlebury/Wesleyan	7	1
2014	Amherst	8	0
2015	Amherst	8	0
2016	Trinity	8	0
2017	Trinity	8	1
2018	Trinity	8	1
2019	Middlebury	9	0
2020	N/A

On a somewhat related note, I seem to recall the league changed it's championship tie-breaker rules sometime within the past 3 of 4 years so that if teams finished with the same record the winner of the head-to-head contest would be crowned champion. However, it appears this no longer the case. Does anyone else remember this?

[Nescacman]

2021 Week #6 NESCACMAN Picks

Welcome back NESCAC...it's Week #6 in the league where they "pay to play"...we had a very good week last week going 4-1 including picking Colby to beat Middlebury and we were pretty much right on the mark on the Wes/Tufts game...our "upset" special this week is Bowdoin sending Tufts home 0-6....

TTUN at UBates (Lewiston Campus): UBates plays much better at home but we don't foresee an upset here...key for the Ephs is staying focused on this game and not looking ahead to next weeks big game against Hartford State...Ephs allow fewest points per game while UBates allows 2nd most...Ephs definitely need Stola back for the stretch run; will be interesting to see if they hold him out against UBates...

TTUN 28 UBates 7
Point Spread: TTUN -17 
Weather: Partly cloudy. High 55.

Tufts University at Bowdoin College: Could Bowdoin actually be favored in a game?...Tufts coming off a tuff loss at home to Wes...we think this could be another shoot-out ala Wes/Tufts...look for the two young QBs to put on a show...we like the Polars to win their second straight in a close one at home and end their five game losing streak to the Jumbo's ...

Bowdoin 35 Tufts 31
Point Spread: Bowdoin -3
Weather: Partly cloudy. High of 55.

Hartford State College at Colby College: The Colby roller coaster season continues...lack of a running game and ability to control the clock could be a problem for the Mules...Hartford State has won the last 13 times against the Mules going back to 1995...Hersch and the Mules D will have to play the game of their lives to keep it close against HS....we bet they don't...

Hartford State 38 Colby 14
Point Spread: Hartford State -21
Weather: Partly cloudy. High of 54.

Hamilton College At Amhurst College: On paper probably a toss-up...we just think the Lord Mammoths are a tad better than the Conts right now plus we like the Lord Mammoths at home...pretty much a must-win for the LMs...we think the Conts offense has problems getting things going against the LM defense...

Amhurst 21 Hamilton 17
Point Spread: Amhurst -3
Weather: Partly cloudy. High of 59.

NESCAC Game of the Week

Middlebury College at Wesleyan University: Two teams going opposite directions face-off...Middlebury has lost 3 in a row while Wes has won their last 8 dating back to 2019....Wes looking for retribution after 2019 debacle in Vermont...last 3 games for Wes have been decided by 3 points or less...we expect Wes to win by a more comfortable margin this week, although we expect the game to be close until the 4th quarter when Wes normally turns on the jets...look for Wes to pressure the QB early and often which could be an issue for a Pants offensive line that has allowed 19 sacks in 5 games...Middlebury has only converted on 8 out 19 chances in the red zone while Wes is 20 out of 22....Middlebury second to last in the league in time of possession...Middlebury has throw league high 10 interceptions while Wes has picked off a league high 6...

Wesleyan 31 Middlebury 21 
Point Spread: Wesleyan -6
Weather: Partly cloudy. High of 61.

NESCACMAN's Picks (winners):
2021 Season: 20-5
2020 Season: 0-0
2019 Season: 33-12
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: 248-72 (.775 winning percentage)

[Nescacman]

Hs5-4...you are correct, the tie-breaker rules in 2019 were changed to head-to-head records to determine the league champ in the event of a tie...it appears that the NESCAC Overlords have backed off of that and will now crown co-champs in the event of a tie...for those not trusting us, here is the link to the rule:   https://nescac.com/sports/2020/7/15/FOOTBALL_0715202342.aspx

[Trin9-0]

Hs5-4...you are correct, the tie-breaker rules in 2019 were changed to head-to-head records to determine the league champ in the event of a tie...it appears that the NESCAC Overlords have backed off of that and will now crown co-champs in the event of a tie...for those not trusting us, here is the link to the rule:   https://nescac.com/sports/2020/7/15/FOOTBALL_0715202342.aspx

To clarify, it looks like the rules were changed in 2017 (when the 9th game was added) to include a head-to-head tie-breaker for teams finishing with the same record. This was then changed back to declaring co-champions if multiple teams had the same record (regardless of head-to-head outcome) in 2019. Not sure why I didn't remember this happening.

I'd say that the 2018 Amherst team that finished 8-1 has reason to be upset. The league instituted a rule for two seasons and it cost them a co-championship with Trinity. For what it's worth, I think there should be a tie-breaker in place now that all schools play one another.

[The Mole]

phenomenal stuff and digging to get this data, great work. Goes back to postulating about how hard it is to turn the corner.

With this being the 50th Season of NESCAC football I went down a rabbit hole to determine the league school(s) with the best record for each of the previous 49 seasons. Common sense would tell you that this represents the schools who have won NESCAC championships. However, as some are eager to remind us, the league only began officially crowning a champion in 2000.

Either way, it's clear to see that the league has been dominated by four schools for the past 5 decades: Trinity, Williams, Amherst, and Middlebury.
The Bantams have won at least a share of the league title 16 times (a third of all championships). The Ephs can claim 14 titles, while their rivals the Jeffs/Mammoths have won at least a share of 13 championships and finally, Middlebury has won or tied for the best record in the league 11 times.

At least one of these four schools has had the best NESCAC football record in 47 of the past 49 season (96%)! Aside from the big four, only Tufts (in 1979 and 1986) has won an outright title. Hamilton, Colby, and Wesleyan can each claim a share of a championship (in 1987, 2000, and 2013 respectively).

It looks likely that either Trinity or Williams will continue the trend this year, but Wesleyan shocked us last year so anything is possible.





   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

YEAR	SCHOOL	WINS	LOSSES	TIES
1971	Williams	7	1
1972	Middlebury	8	0
1973	Amherst/Middlebury	7	1
1974	Trinity/Williams	7	1
1975	Williams	7	0	1
1976	Middlebury	7	1
1977	Middlebury	7	1
1978	Trinity	7	1
1979	Tufts	8	0
1980	Trinity	7	1
1981	Middlebury	7	1
1982	Amherst	7	1
1983	Middlebury/Trinity	6	2
1984	Amherst	8	0
1985	Amherst	7	0	1
1986	Tufts	7	1
1987	Amherst/Hamilton/Trinity	6	2
1988	Williams	6	1	1
1989	Williams	8	0
1990	Williams	8	0
1991	Trinity	6	1	1
1992	Middlebury	7	1
1993	Trinity	8	0
1994	Williams	8	0
1995	Williams	7	0	1
1996	Amherst	7	1
1997	Amherst	7	1
1998	Williams	8	0
1999	Williams	7	1
2000	Amherst/Colby/Middlebury	7	1
2001	Williams	8	0
2002	Trinity/Williams	7	1
2003	Trinity	8	0
2004	Trinity	8	0
2005	Trinity	8	0
2006	Williams	8	0
2007	Middlebury	7	1
2008	Trinity	8	0
2009	Amherst	8	0
2010	Williams	8	0
2011	Amherst	8	0
2012	Trinity	8	0
2013	Amherst/Middlebury/Wesleyan	7	1
2014	Amherst	8	0
2015	Amherst	8	0
2016	Trinity	8	0
2017	Trinity	8	1
2018	Trinity	8	1
2019	Middlebury	9	0
2020	N/A

On a somewhat related note, I seem to recall the league changed it's championship tie-breaker rules sometime within the past 3 of 4 years so that if teams finished with the same record the winner of the head-to-head contest would be crowned champion. However, it appears this no longer the case. Does anyone else remember this?

[nescac1]

Agree, awesome info Trin8-0.  I was surprised at just how many league titles Middlebury has won, from 1972-83 they were clearly the top power in NESCAC.  It's been a long dry spell for the Ephs for reasons that are obvious.  Hopefully this is the year, but the back stretch for all the contenders is just brutal ...

[Nescacman]

Game day in NESCAC! Good luck to all the players and coaches (except for Hartford State)!

[xPolarDadx]

Just heard that Colby is up 12-0 at the half over Trinity.  What's going on in that game?

[D3FLETCH]

Did Hamilton secretly hire Steve Stetson to come back and run the offense?