FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Nescacman]

Panther offense is very reliant upon timing. Losing those receivers and that big TE in addition to giving up the most sacks in the NESCAC does not help that dynamic. The synchronicity is not there.

Wesleyan had four turnovers vs Middlebury. One was a pick in the end zone (bad throw). Two lost fumbles--one after an interception and the other a muffed punt. Both deep in the Cards side of the field. The other turnover was an interception which was also deep in Wes territory. Panthers had many chances to be in the game and did not execute.

Wesleyan dominated the game but Pants seemed to hang around.

Nescacman, certainly, QB is the biggest single determinant of success of any position, and I'm not meaning to minimize its importance anywhere in NESCAC.  But Trinity and Amherst have had great success in years they've had good-but-not-spectacular QB play, and Hamilton and Bates have struggled lately even in years in which they've had really good QBs. 

Middlebury to me stands out for two reasons, first, year after year, Ritter and Caputi find great talent at the position -- nearly every year from 2011 to 2019 Middlebury had a first-team all-league QB!  But also, the system relies almost entirely on a QB who can efficiently spread the ball around the field to a large number of targets and Middlebury just can't seem to compensate when getting mediocre or worse QB play the way other top-tier teams in NESCAC can usually manage to survive. Heck even Amherst, which has had MASSIVE QB problems this season with three different guys taking turns at the position, has somehow managed to find away to a .500 record behind defense and running the ball.  So I do think that there is reason to believe that Midd could bring in an elite QB transfer (as it did twice over the past decade) or find a star first year who can quickly turn things around there, that offense is very tough to defense so long as the right guy is at the controls.

Mole, not sure you watched the game but MID really only seriously threatened to score once or twice in the game. As far as the turnovers, conversely, you turn the one turnover around (which was a bad throw) and suddenly it's 31-0. Almost from the opening kick-off, MID was outmatched and outmanned, as Wes pounded the rock on offense and applied relentless pressure on Jernigan while giving up nothing on the ground. The OL (our understanding is they have four returning starters from 2019) was not good and they definitely missed the RB offensive rookie of the year from 2019.   

[The Mole]

I watched the game and the D played great and Wes controlled the LOS. However, you cannot give teams the ball inside your own side of the field and expect to win the next 3 games.

[Charlie]

I intermittently watched the Trinity-Colby livestream. Basically I started watching once I saw they were down 12-0 late in the first half until they took a 28-12 lead. It seems likely that the Bants fell prey to looking ahead to their match-up with Williams and didn't show up ready to play. As a (not so) wise man once said "it's never easy to win in Maine"

Credit to Coby for making them pay early, but Trinity showed they can turn it on when needed. The Bantams scored touchdowns on five consecutive possessions to end the game (including drives of 72, 78, 54, and 69 yards) using up nearly 18 minutes of clock to put the Mules away.

This Saturday's Trinity-Williams clash should be another one for the ages between the league's two most historically dominant programs. The Bantams and Ephs have similarly manhandled the rest of the NESCAC thus far, winning by an average score of 25.7 and 23.8 point per game, respectively.

The contest pits strength against strength on both sides of the ball as Trinity leads the league in passing (316 yards per game) while Williams leads the league in pass defense (allowing 156 yards per game). Williams averages a league-best 214 yards per game on the ground while Trinity has allowed an average of just 61.8 yards per game (tops in the NESCAC).

Playing at home should provide a boost to the Ephs in what should be a very close game. A handful of big plays will likely determine the outcome of this game which could very likely come down to the final possession. The winner awaits Wes with a league championship at stake.

I also watched this game. One thing I noticed and it was alarming. Colby was determined to allow Trinity to run the ball and drop 7 if not 8 players in coverage. Trinity figured it out second half but the first half was startled that Colby was able to put so much pressure on Fetter with three DL. In addition Trinity could not run in first half. I would not be surprised if this formula is not in place by the Ephs. I hope Trinity has the quick answer should this scheme get thrown at them.

[Trin9-0]

Your Week 6 NESCAC Football Uniform Report:
An absolutely beautiful week of NESCAC football... with pictures to prove it!

Williams at Bates
Grade C+
Well, they can't all be winners. The lack of options for both programs hurts them each week. Sure the Ephs look better on the road, and the all white contrast actually works against the Bobcats mono-maroon look. I actually expected this to look worse, so at least there's that!


Hamilton @ Amherst
Grade B-
Why Amherst? WHY!? Alas, the grey pants have returned and they spoiled what should have been a very clean looking affair. Had the Mammoths gone with the white pants, or even purple this game would have graded much better as Hamilton again looked sharp in their road whites. I love that shade of blue they use for their helmets too.


Middlebury at Wesleyan
Grade B+
I don't believe Wesleyan has ever worn anything but black on black while playing at home during the Whalen/DiCenzo era. That's a shame; I'd love to see them bust out the white britches at least once to get a look at it. One of these years they really need to incorporate a red alternate jersey for a Little Three game. Middlebury, as usual, looked great in their road whites and the Cards red accents provided at least a bit of color to make it interesting.


Trinity at Colby
Grade A-
I'm a sucker for a color-on-color game. Sadly we rarely see one in the NESCAC unless Trin breaks out their gold tops or Tufts wears their powder blue jerseys on the road. (Sorry for the video screen grab; I couldn't find any photos). Yes, Colby should still have grey pants and sure Trin's jersey is actually more of a mustard color than the gold they've worn in the past. But it was still a treat and enough to overlook some imperfections.


Tufts at Bowdoin
Grade A
This was a gorgeous game. A classic look from Bowdoin wearing their traditional home black jersey and white pants juxtaposed with the splash of color from the Jumbos' powder blue pants. Thankfully there was no grey to be seen anywhere from two programs who have incorporated FAR too much of that color in the past. I also loved the helmet match-up too with the Polar Bear paw and script Jumbos (although I still think Tufts should ditch the 1-sided numerals).

[polbear73]

Bowdoin's official color is white with black being the most used trim. One could argue that they should be playing at home in their all whites, requiring the wearing of home colors by the home colors in Brunswick, a kind of Dallas Cowboys situation. Bowdoin would also wear their home whites on the road.

I'm loathe to bring this up, fearing that Bowdoin would see those hideous arctic gray unis as a resolution. As good as the all whites look, perhaps this is more trouble than its worth to adhere to the colors at home convention.

[Trin9-0]

Bowdoin's official color is white with black being the most used trim. One could argue that they should be playing at home in their all whites, requiring the wearing of home colors by the home colors in Brunswick, a kind of Dallas Cowboys situation. Bowdoin would also wear their home whites on the road.

I'm loathe to bring this up, fearing that Bowdoin would see those hideous arctic gray unis as a resolution. As good as the all whites look, perhaps this is more trouble than its worth to adhere to the colors at home convention.

It appears that both black and white are the official school colors for Bowdoin, but either way I actually do like the idea of a team claiming white for their home uniform and Bowdoin would make just as much sense as anyone. Out of curiosity I made some minor tweaks to their current uniform via photoshop to see what it would look like and I think these few small changes make for a pretty big improvement.

1. Add school name to jersey chest (this could be Polar Bear or Bears as well).
2. Bring back the single white stipe to the helmet.
3. Ditch the UCLA stripes on top of the sleeves and go with a single stripe at the end of the sleeve.
4. Add a single stripe to the pants to match the helmet and jersey.

Before:

After:

[lumbercat]

Bowdoin official color is white based on decisions and choices declared 100+ years ago. Not Black and White- Officially just white.

On the uniform topic I'll jump in here. Nice that Trinity has the luxury of so many helmet and uniform changes over the years since I first saw them in the early 70's.
In the 70's I think Don Miller copied the Dan Marino / Tony Dorsett Pitt look with more of a yellow/gold helmet and the medium blue jerseys, yellow/gold pants.
They generally stuck with that good look I think until the Priore days. Things started to change a bit then I believe. Then along came Lord Jeffrey and they've gone all over the place on uniforms. I guess this is fun for the kids, they tell me it helps with recruiting but the Trinity program seems to change for the sake of change. What is their true identity? As arguably the greatest program in the NESCAC they should follow the lead of the great programs in College Football: Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State and countless others.. The great iconic programs value their tradition and confidently stick with it.

Trinity should find a look which embodies the traditional identity of their program. Reinforce the great tradition instead becoming the NESCAC chameleon. If you've got some extra cash do a third jersey or uniform combination yearly for certain games but they should develop a look with strong roots in their great tradition and make it a classic. Most erratic uniform changes take place within troubled or rebuilding programs trying to forget the past. Bants should build a tradition with an iconic look and stay with it.

And by the way those Mustard Gold jerseys are just plain awful. Bring back the Pitt look.

[GameBall14]

Attended the Wes/Midd game on Saturday and the lack of athleticism by Midd was easily noticeable.  Midd had no answers for Wes and their athletic QB who pretty much did whatever he wanted to do. I agree that Wes dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides.

[D3FLETCH]

Bowdoin's official color is white with black being the most used trim. One could argue that they should be playing at home in their all whites, requiring the wearing of home colors by the home colors in Brunswick, a kind of Dallas Cowboys situation. Bowdoin would also wear their home whites on the road.

I'm loathe to bring this up, fearing that Bowdoin would see those hideous arctic gray unis as a resolution. As good as the all whites look, perhaps this is more trouble than its worth to adhere to the colors at home convention.

It appears that both black and white are the official school colors for Bowdoin, but either way I actually do like the idea of a team claiming white for their home uniform and Bowdoin would make just as much sense as anyone. Out of curiosity I made some minor tweaks to their current uniform via photoshop to see what it would look like and I think these few small changes make for a pretty big improvement.

1. Add school name to jersey chest (this could be Polar Bear or Bears as well).
2. Bring back the single white stipe to the helmet.
3. Ditch the UCLA stripes on top of the sleeves and go with a single stripe at the end of the sleeve.
4. Add a single stripe to the pants to match the helmet and jersey.

Before:

After:

Outstanding!! Can we do something with the socks. School Motto on back: Ut Aquila Versus Coelum? Also please remove the young mans neck gaiter or get it branded.

[polbear73]

Trinity 8-0, black is not part of the official colors for Bowdoin.  White only.

[polbear73]

Trin 8-0;  Fabulous uniform design.  Would you consider a white helmet with the paws?

[lumbercat]

trin 8-1
Great work up on the Bowdoin uniform. The Bears used to have silver-grey pants and trim - almost an Oakland Raider look back in the Polbear73 era.
Would be fun to see your revisions to other NECAC uniform packages but not sure how difficult it is to do.

[SpringSt7]

Crazy to think that if Amherst hadn't lost to Colby and Bowdoin there would be 4 teams at 6-0, all playing each other in the last 3 games of the season.

[BigKat]

Have seen all the better teams plays and unless Trinity forgets to get off the bus Saturday, they win the title going away. Williams/Wesleyan will be a decent game for second place.

[Trin9-0]

Bowdoin official color is white based on decisions and choices declared 100+ years ago. Not Black and White- Officially just white.

Trinity 8-0, black is not part of the official colors for Bowdoin.  White only.

Undefeated Trinity is heading to Williamstown to face the undefeated Ephs and we're debating Bowdoin school colors, haha! I guess I've brought this upon myself. I admittedly have no knowledge of the history of the College's color pallet decisions, but the school's own style guide says that "Bowdoin's colors are black and white" so that's what I'll go with.

As for the Bantam's uniforms; I agree with you in principle Lumbercat, but the NESCAC is not the SEC. Multiple uniform combinations make a difference in recruiting at the D3 level where it's far less common than at Division 1 schools. It's the most visual representation of your program and how invested you are in success. As someone who is always going on about how Trinity supports it's football program like no one else in the NESCAC I'm surprised to hear your distain for the multiple uniform combinations.

You are correct that Trin made the switch from yellow to gold during the Priore era. Coincidentally, we were surprised with gold jerseys just prior to kickoff of the '03 Williams game. After warming-up in our usual navy jerseys we returned to see them hanging in our lockers and went bonkers. We proceeded to shutout Williams 10-0 en route to an 8-0 season (we also wore them in the last game of the season beating Wesleyan 53-0).


With all of that said, I'm in favor of a more traditional look and would make a few tweaks to the Trinity uniforms:

• Trinity should go back to the gold helmets but keep the Bantam-head logo. While I love the full Bantam, there's so much detail that's hard to see from a distance. Ironically, I never liked the "T" on the helmets which is what I wore during my four years at Trin.
• Replace the modern number font. Trinity, and the NESCAC, are historic institutions and I think a more basic block font is a better match.
• Find a uniform supplier that can provide a gold, not mustard, jersey. 100% agree the mustard color just doesn't look right. While we're at it... the gold uniform should be reserved for big games only.
• Ditch the USC-esque mini shoulder stripe and match the existing stripe at the end of the sleeve to the pants and helmet.
• Lose the Bantam-head logo on the jersey. It looks too crowded with the NESCAC logo and Trinity wordmark.

My dream would be for Trinity to wear these Don Miller era throwbacks for Homecoming, but that would require a second yellow helmet shell to go with new jersey's and pants. I don't think even Trinity is willing to fork over enough cash for another 80+ new helmets for just one game a year.