FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[MammothDad]

I know Trinity is the ONLY school with a dedicated FB weight room but is there anything material, in the form of "commitment" as important as lowering academic standards to get better talent on the field?

I'm sure there are many other D3 Programs that would love to swap locker rooms, weight rooms, equipment etc. with ANY of the NESCAC schools.  So when we really measure "commitment", isn't making deviations from the student norm the most important thing?

I'll leave a school name out of this but I did meet an athlete who "front doored" a school in the NESCAC who has a great football  program and he/she said ALL of the athletes at the school look down on the FB players for not being close to the academic standards of the rest of the student body.

[bantamweight]

I'll leave a school name out of this but I did meet an athlete who "front doored" a school in the NESCAC who has a great football  program and he/she said ALL of the athletes at the school look down on the FB players for not being close to the academic standards of the rest of the student body.

Your sample size and NM's "poll voters" are the same.

[Bucket]

I know Trinity is the ONLY school with a dedicated FB weight room but is there anything material, in the form of "commitment" as important as lowering academic standards to get better talent on the field?

I'm sure there are many other D3 Programs that would love to swap locker rooms, weight rooms, equipment etc. with ANY of the NESCAC schools.  So when we really measure "commitment", isn't making deviations from the student norm the most important thing?

I'll leave a school name out of this but I did meet an athlete who "front doored" a school in the NESCAC who has a great football  program and he/she said ALL of the athletes at the school look down on the FB players for not being close to the academic standards of the rest of the student body.

Could this variety of grape being any more sour?

[lumbercat]

Good point Bucket

Trinity is a great, dominant team and when they get the lead they'll kill you - but in close games they play a little out of character
but that seldom happens because they are too good to be in close games in this conference.

If you kill everyone on your schedule for years, when you do get into that infrequent close game, like Middlebury this year, it's unfamiliar territory. Kind of like fighting the big kid in the neighborhood, he's bigger and tougher but he's not used to taking that random punch.

it's a different dynamic to play 9 games and dominate 7 or 8 of them, EVERY YEAR......a territory most teams don't know and will never experience.

Sometimes I wonder if there is ever any debate in Hartford that the Bantams have outgrown the NESCAC and should move on to a conference where they can compete for national recognition but actually have a reasonable chance of losing every week.......or maybe it's more fun always being the big kid on the block.

At the end of the day congratulations to the Trinity program for their standard of excellence and another NESCAC title barring something crazy next weekend.

[AmherstStudent05]

Good point Bucket

Trinity is a great, dominant team and when they get the lead they'll kill you - but in close games they play a little out of character
but that seldom happens because they are too good to be in close games in this conference.

If you kill everyone on your schedule for years, when you do get into that infrequent close game, like Middlebury this year, it's unfamiliar territory. Kind of like fighting the big kid in the neighborhood, he's bigger and tougher but he's not used to taking that random punch.

it's a different dynamic to play 9 games and dominate 7 or 8 of them, EVERY YEAR......a territory most teams don't know and will never experience.

Sometimes I wonder if there is ever any debate in Hartford that the Bantams have outgrown the NESCAC and should move on to a conference where they can compete for national recognition but actually have a reasonable chance of losing every week.......or maybe it's more fun always being the big kid on the block.

At the end of the day congratulations to the Trinity program for their standard of excellence and another NESCAC title barring something crazy next weekend.

Wait, doesn't Middlebury win the NESCAC crown outright if they take care of business next weekend? Or have they changed the tie-break formula again?

[AmherstStudent05]

Phenomenal win for my Jeffs against Williams yesterday!! It's funny how this rivalry works. A decidedly mediocre season can end on a magnificent note just by nudging out a win against our archrival (sadly, it is also the case that otherwise great seasons can leave a bitter taste in the mouth when we end the year with a loss).

Congratulations to Coach Mills and his staff and team for putting an end to Williams's recent winning streak against us. I know this isn't the best Williams team of recent vintage but all wins over the Ephs are sweet!

It's remarkable how many wacky plays seem to pop up during the Biggest Little Game and yesterday's tilt was certainly no exception. Three of the game's five scores came as the result of somewhat fluky defensive or special teams plays. Our first touchdown came as the result of an opportunistic INT when the Williams receiver bobbled the ball as it looked like he might walk right into our end zone. A 75-yard return set up a nice 20 yard TD pass a play later.

Our second TD came on a long fumble return after a short little Williams completion. On the flip side we all but gifted Williams a TD by airmailing a long snap to our own 3 yard line.

But when we needed a TD late in the game it was Mike Piazza who led us on a stellar drive the old fashioned way. Piazza has really played phenomenal ball the last few weeks. It's particularly nice to see from the Senior as we endured more than our fair share of struggles on offense over the past few seasons (and #11 is FAR from the only responsible party), but it counts most how you finish and it is hard to finish any better than he did. In fact, one wonders if we might have won an extra game or two if we turned to him earlier.

On defense Christian Moore (two picks and a fumble return for a TD), Andy Skirzenski and Luke Harmon were all over the field all day.

Obviously 4-5 is not ideal but any season that ends with a win is fine by me. As for next year, hard to know yet what to make of things. The defense should be stout (particularly the secondary), and we still have some questions on offense. Either way I am looking forward to it.

But for now, congrats to our Seniors for ending their Amherst careers in style!

[Nescacman]

Congratulations to the Hartford State student-athletes who played a great game, capitalized on mistake after mistake by our beloved Cards, and came away with a well-deserved win. Not sure it would have made a difference, but playing the game without half of our defensive starters did not help. Assuming HS wins next week, coupled with a MID win, they'll share another NESCAC title. And yes, the fact that MID beat the Roosters makes no difference. NESCAC awards the crown in football based on records alone.

Mole alluded to this, but the Hartford State HCOF is not making any friends around the league. We're sure he doesn't care either. Clearly, Hartford State had Wesleyan's number on Saturday. We saw no need to continue to throw the ball and keep the starters in as long as he did. But as has been noted many times over the year's he's a complete POS so why should we be surprised. Needless to say, we're sure Coach Dice and Coach Coyne won't be casting any NESCAC "Coach of the Year" votes for the esteemed Head Rooster. Not sure when it's going to happen, but what comes around, goes around in this League. Mark our words, it's going to happen one of these days.

As far as Dice's job safety, that comment made us laugh and frankly, a bit pissed off. He's the winningest coach in Wes football history (based on winning pct among coaches with more than 50 games), he's had a winning season every year since he's been head coach (8 years) winning 5 games or more ever year, and he's won 4 outright Little 3 titles including 3 of the last 4 and the last two back to back. More importantly, he's built an inclusive, diverse culture that we think is the best in the NESCAC. What he and his predecessor did to rebuild a broken program involving the student-athletes, the student body, professors, local Middletown residents, parents, and alumni should be a model for other moribund NESCAC athletic programs. As an alum and former multiple sport student athlete, we are very proud of the Wesleyan Cardinal Football Program. The young men that have been part of the program have had great success since graduation and are making important contributions to our society and even more importantly, are top notch men of character. At the end of the day, that's what it is all about. We thank Dice (and Whales) for making the move south in 2010.

Bottom-line, with most of our starters back in 2024, including nearly all of our skill players, Wes will be back fighting for a league crown and our third Little 3 title in a row in 2024.

[AmherstStudent05]

Unbelievable! They switched the tie-break rules again?? When did this happen? Any chance we can retroactively get Championship credit for 2018 now?!

[BigKat]

Congratulations to the Hartford State student-athletes who played a great game, capitalized on mistake after mistake by our beloved Cards, and came away with a well-deserved win. Not sure it would have made a difference, but playing the game without half of our defensive starters did not help. Assuming HS wins next week, coupled with a MID win, they'll share another NESCAC title. And yes, the fact that MID beat the Roosters makes no difference. NESCAC awards the crown in football based on records alone.

Mole alluded to this, but the Hartford State HCOF is not making any friends around the league. We're sure he doesn't care either. Clearly, Hartford State had Wesleyan's number on Saturday. We saw no need to continue to throw the ball and keep the starters in as long as he did. But as has been noted many times over the year's he's a complete POS so why should we be surprised. Needless to say, we're sure Coach Dice and Coach Coyne won't be casting any NESCAC "Coach of the Year" votes for the esteemed Head Rooster. Not sure when it's going to happen, but what comes around, goes around in this League. Mark our words, it's going to happen one of these days.

As far as Dice's job safety, that comment made us laugh and frankly, a bit pissed off. He's the winningest coach in Wes football history (based on winning pct among coaches with more than 50 games), he's had a winning season every year since he's been head coach (8 years) winning 5 games or more ever year, and he's won 4 outright Little 3 titles including 3 of the last 4 and the last two back to back. More importantly, he's built an inclusive, diverse culture that we think is the best in the NESCAC. What he and his predecessor did to rebuild a broken program involving the student-athletes, the student body, professors, local Middletown residents, parents, and alumni should be a model for other moribund NESCAC athletic programs. As an alum and former multiple sport student athlete, we are very proud of the Wesleyan Cardinal Football Program. The young men that have been part of the program have had great success since graduation and are making important contributions to our society and even more importantly, are top notch men of character. At the end of the day, that's what it is all about. We thank Dice (and Whales) for making the move south in 2010.

Bottom-line, with most of our starters back in 2024, including nearly all of our skill players, Wes will be back fighting for a league crown and our third Little 3 title in a row in 2024.

Huge bummer for you and the Red Birds. I wasn't expecting that much of a lopsided result either.

At least you can now right a wrong on your earlier rankings. Birds have to drop to 4-6 as they just aren't a top echelon team. Even you can admit that now.

[bantamweight]

Not sure when it's going to happen, but what comes around, goes around in this League. Mark our words, it's going to happen one of these days.

NESCACman! You better lay off the bourbon and cigars so you extend your life expectancy. Maybe you'll live long enough to see Wesleyanne pull it off. Who are we kidding — you'll just be an old man shaking his fist at the sky.

[The Ghost of John Wesley]

Mole alluded to this, but the Hartford State HCOF is not making any friends around the league. We're sure he doesn't care either. Clearly, Hartford State had Wesleyan's number on Saturday. We saw no need to continue to throw the ball and keep the starters in as long as he did. But as has been noted many times over the year's he's a complete POS so why should we be surprised. Needless to say, we're sure Coach Dice and Coach Coyne won't be casting any NESCAC "Coach of the Year" votes for the esteemed Head Rooster. Not sure when it's going to happen, but what comes around, goes around in this League. Mark our words, it's going to happen one of these days.

Nescacman,

I never condone running up the score, but let's be real: This game was supposed to be a game between peers. This was not league juggernaut vs. league doormat, with Trinity beating up on a winless or one-win team who is just trying to survive the season. The headlines coming into the game were that this was a game to potentially decide the league champion, a contest between teams with a 6-2 and 6-1 record who both had a chance to wear the crown. Looks like Trinity made a statement.

We get lots of bluster on these forums about Wesleyan being in the league's top tier. If that's the case, they should be able to prevent themselves from getting blown out--they shouldn't be begging for mercy or complaining after the fact. This is going to sound overly harsh, but sitting around complaining about how a bunch of meanies ran up the score is not something winners do. Winners take the steps needed to improve and make sure it doesn't happen again. Take the lumps and get better.

Also, several posters have alluded to the fact that players and coaches read this forum. No idea if that's true, but if they do, I assume you understand that you give opposing teams plenty of bulletin board material week-in and week-out? If Spencer Fetter reads the boards, do you think he enjoyed that you called him soft? If players and coaches follow these forums, you don't do Wesleyan any favors with your conduct. You paint an unnecessarily large target on the team's back.

I'm hopeful the Wesleyan squad will take this experience into the offseason and will use it to fuel their improvement. With all of the returning experienced players, I'm excited to see what this team can do in 2024.

[bantamweight]

Also, several posters have alluded to the fact that players and coaches read this forum. No idea if that's true, but if they do, I assume you understand that you give opposing teams plenty of bulletin board material week-in and week-out? If Spencer Fetter reads the boards, do you think he enjoyed that you called him soft? If players and coaches follow these forums, you don't do Wesleyan any favors with your conduct. You paint an unnecessarily large target on the team's back.

After the game last year, many on the Trinity team were seen sporting Hartford State championship shirts. Lil Nescacmen should have been given an honorary shirt, but I'm certain he much prefers his Wesleyanne Little Three watch or whatever consolation trophy he got.

[muleshoe]

. . .

Quick-

I think Colby started Keeling and pulled him- but maybe I'm wrong. Sadly, at least from my perspective, they put Keeling, a senior, back in with about 4 minutes left trailing 35-7............Maybe his line shoulda been "Thanks Coach, do want me to win it or just tie
it up?"

I was watching/listening to the Colby play by play feed with an announcer who was the worst I have ever heard. Don't understand why these NSN announcers are not managed/trained. The NESCAC obviously pays NSN to cover games.

No excuse for a guy calling the Colby games to not know the numbers of at least the skill position guys for Colby and their opponents as well. Hell it would take about 30 minutes of preparation.
If I'm NESCAC AD and a Netcast with a totally ignorant announcer like Colby had today was going out to my parents, fans and Alums I'd have a real issue with NSN.

FY Chris Milmoe started the game and played intil the last drive when Keeling took over for the final Colby touchdown. It was a bit of an odd call for a game of such consequence of the two teams since Milmoe had not taken even one snap as best as I can determine. And Keeling had been the starting QB since the thrid game of the season . .

The NSN play-by-play is often awful (this is true for all sports), and this guy was particularly bad. They don't know the names of the players and, when they do know them, they sometimes mispronounce them.

Traveled up to Waterville for the game and was equally confused by starting a freshman QB in this spot. He never stood a chance though. The Mules OL was as bad as I've seen giving up 7 sacks, and it could have easily been more. The offensive staff hasn't done much to help as they refuse to commit to any downhill running game. Regardless, Colby's o-line got whipped by Bowdoin's front 4 and was hopeless when the Polar Bears brought pressure. The talent gap is not as great as the score would indicate, but there's no excuse for how Colby has imploded offensively down the stretch the last two seasons.

Also, on the Colby NSN announcer, I agree that he's easily the worst in the league. It's been embarrassing to be frank. Not only does he not know the players names, but he doesn't seem to have a strong knowledge of the game.

Would be something to spoil Midd's run at a title next weekend, but my gut tells me it's going to be a long dark winter on Mayflower Hill...

[MammothDad]

I know Trinity is the ONLY school with a dedicated FB weight room but is there anything material, in the form of "commitment" as important as lowering academic standards to get better talent on the field?

I'm sure there are many other D3 Programs that would love to swap locker rooms, weight rooms, equipment etc. with ANY of the NESCAC schools.  So when we really measure "commitment", isn't making deviations from the student norm the most important thing?

I'll leave a school name out of this but I did meet an athlete who "front doored" a school in the NESCAC who has a great football  program and he/she said ALL of the athletes at the school look down on the FB players for not being close to the academic standards of the rest of the student body.

Could this variety of grape being any more sour?

Bucket ...

... advoidance is admission to many.  Who are you a fan of?

[MammothDad]

I'll leave a school name out of this but I did meet an athlete who "front doored" a school in the NESCAC who has a great football  program and he/she said ALL of the athletes at the school look down on the FB players for not being close to the academic standards of the rest of the student body.

Your sample size and NM's "poll voters" are the same.

Good one!  Points awarded.  The sample size was one.

I asked NESCACMAN why the plural speech in a previous question but never got  an answer.