FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Charlie]

Football Rankings

These are my early predictions based on last years rosters  , Depth , Coaching and does not take into account the incoming Recruiting class.

2024 Early Predictions

1. Tufts            Have to give this edge since Berluti is back but rest of team some question marks
2. Trinity          Tons Seniors Left QB in question only at this Ranking because of Coaching & Depth with underclassman
3. Middlebury   Mandigo proves to be a good Head Coach Solid team not overly talented but put in position to win
4. Bowdoin       Surprise pick returning good QB and some depth has to still prove belongs on top by beating top ranked team
5. Colby           Play hard has some talent if they can get QB who does not make mistakes will win more
6. Wesleyan      Just never know what Wesleyan team will show up the one that was pounded by Trinity & Tufts or the one that beat Middlebury
7. Williams        Great deal of questions through out roster and many Coaching mistakes and questionable play calling.
8. Hamilton       Showed they are tough and resiliant won a few and seem to be headed in postive direction
9. Bates            Sadly as much as I love Coach Coyne talent deficient roster and another year of poor performing.

[The Mole]

Chaz, you never disappoint, but a few questions...

When did Amherst drop its program?

Are you calling for Bowdoin and Colby to both have winning seasons? (last time 2005 for both)

Where would you rank a 6-3 team with 11 winning seasons in a row that will return at least 17 starters?

Football Rankings

These are my early predictions based on last years rosters  , Depth , Coaching and does not take into account the incoming Recruiting class.

2024 Early Predictions

1. Tufts            Have to give this edge since Berluti is back but rest of team some question marks
2. Trinity          Tons Seniors Left QB in question only at this Ranking because of Coaching & Depth with underclassman
3. Middlebury   Mandigo proves to be a good Head Coach Solid team not overly talented but put in position to win
4. Bowdoin       Surprise pick returning good QB and some depth has to still prove belongs on top by beating top ranked team
5. Colby           Play hard has some talent if they can get QB who does not make mistakes will win more
6. Wesleyan      Just never know what Wesleyan team will show up the one that was pounded by Trinity & Tufts or the one that beat Middlebury
7. Williams        Great deal of questions through out roster and many Coaching mistakes and questionable play calling.
8. Hamilton       Showed they are tough and resiliant won a few and seem to be headed in postive direction
9. Bates            Sadly as much as I love Coach Coyne talent deficient roster and another year of poor performing.

[nescac1]

I do think next year will be difficult to predict.  If you look at the top teams from this year, Trinity will still be loaded, but does lose an elite, three-year starter at QB, a WR who is en route to D1, and a bunch of other fifth year and all league guys.  They will reload as always, and seem to have a strong heir apparent at QB, but you just never know with so much transition in the passing game. Midd likewise loses a very good QB (while they do tend to reload at that position, again, you never know), an elite receiver headed for D1, and some really solid fifth-year all-league defenders. Supposedly Kenary is back which will keep the defense in the upper echelon, but if for some reason he is not (he's a guy who really seems like he could easily help a D1 school), Midd faces a lot of uncertainty.  Tufts still has Berlutti, but loses a truly dominant WR who is going to likely be at a power-conference D1 school, a few elite linemen including an all-American, and some other key players as well.   I'd agree with Mole that of the top four teams, Wesleyan loses (easily) the least, so putting them at seventh seems kinda nuts and more in the wishful thinking category.

I do think Williams and Amherst will both be much improved next year.  Amherst does lose its QB, who played very well to end the year, but his two backups got tons of experience when he was injured.  And Amherst returns virtually its entire defense, which was very young and should be really tough next year, and nearly all of its skill guys, and they seem to have some good skill position recruits coming in who will help.  Williams as I've discussed before brings all of its very young skill guys back, and a few should take a leap, plus Fischetti returns from injury and hopefully will (unlike this year) start the season at 100 percent.  A lot depends on how much McHugh grows after a year of experience (or if someone beats out McHugh, which would mean they are pretty darn good!).  Plus the Ephs return nearly the entire defense, which will include a good number of fifth year players and multi-year starters, and also includes two returning all-league guys.  Thanks to SO many injuries on D this year, Williams will have two guys who started at least part of the time at nearly every spot in the two-deep.  The only significant losses for Williams are on the offensive line, but even there, the Ephs bring back three starters (one of whom is an all-league player and one of whom could be next year) plus two spot/injury starters, and have some promising rising sophomores who will fight for starting spots. 

Hamilton also seems on an upwards trajectory behind some talented young players.  Bates will be improved but they have SO far to go that they are probably another year away from being competitive.  Bowdoin seems like a team that may lose a lot of talent, so last year's solid results may be hard to replicate, and Colby will probably be roughly the same but is another team that really can only go up. 

If I had to guess, I'd go with 1. Trinity (but a lot closer to the pack, statistically), 2. Wesleyan, 3. Midd, then Tufts/Williams/Amherst about even and closely grouped, then Colby/Bowdoin/Hamilton closely grouped, then Bates.  But still SO much uncertainty until we know who, exactly, is back for a fifth year, and also a lot of uncertainty with about half the league moving on to a new QB  ...

[Charlie]

Chaz, you never disappoint, but a few questions...

When did Amherst drop its program?

Are you calling for Bowdoin and Colby to both have winning seasons? (last time 2005 for both)

Where would you rank a 6-3 team with 11 winning seasons in a row that will return at least 17 starters?

Football Rankings

These are my early predictions based on last years rosters  , Depth , Coaching and does not take into account the incoming Recruiting class.

2024 Early Predictions

1. Tufts            Have to give this edge since Berluti is back but rest of team some question marks
2. Trinity          Tons Seniors Left QB in question only at this Ranking because of Coaching & Depth with underclassman
3. Middlebury   Mandigo proves to be a good Head Coach Solid team not overly talented but put in position to win
4. Bowdoin       Surprise pick returning good QB and some depth has to still prove belongs on top by beating top ranked team
5. Colby           Play hard has some talent if they can get QB who does not make mistakes will win more
6. Wesleyan      Just never know what Wesleyan team will show up the one that was pounded by Trinity & Tufts or the one that beat Middlebury
7. Williams        Great deal of questions through out roster and many Coaching mistakes and questionable play calling.
8. Hamilton       Showed they are tough and resiliant won a few and seem to be headed in postive direction
9. Bates            Sadly as much as I love Coach Coyne talent deficient roster and another year of poor performing.

Sorry I would put Amherst at

8.  Amherst
9   Hamilton
10 Bates

Yes I would consider this because of Wesleyan track history. Every single year large number of players returning. Wesleyan produces some high caliber players but never can make the jump always a hiccup either Coaching wise or turtling in the big game. If you look at last year for example they beat Middlebury great win. Then they get blown out by Tufts and aniliated by Trinity and loose close one to Colby. They just managed to squeak by Bowdoin. Wesleyan has always been the could have should have team of the NESCAC. Perhaps with the number of graduates at Trinity this past year next year will be better but if history has anything to say will be same season.

Bowdoin has Long returning at QB and some good depth at RB. They played a great deal of teams tough and except for in game Coaching should have won the Wesleyan & Tufts game. They have shown they can beat Williams and gave Middlebury a tough game. So this is why I picked them over Wesleyan.

Colby I choose because they have played hard all year long despite numerous injuries. I think they are moving in right direction. defense played strong all year and beat the Cardinals in game where they could have folded. Colby should have beaten Williams & Hamilton and aside from in game problems should have beaten Middlebury. I think both programs will play .500 ball next year that's why stuck them in middle of pack.

[BigKat]

Chaz need to call your bluff on " should have won the Tufts game". At no point 2q on did it feel like Bowdoin was in that game. Was played in torrential down pour. Tufts dominated all three phases of that game.

They have some pieces for sure next year but let's not revise history here.

[westcoastnescac]

Not sure why people continually seem to pick Colby to be the CBB team up next. Are we forgetting that Bowdoin went up to Waterville down two captains and a 1st team all leaguer and beat the doors off of them?

[westcoastnescac]

Chaz need to call your bluff on " should have won the Tufts game". At no point 2q on did it feel like Bowdoin was in that game. Was played in torrential down pour. Tufts dominated all three phases of that game.

They have some pieces for sure next year but let's not revise history here.

I agree (while it wasn't domination offensively really two plays changed the game for them- one over the top to Richardson and a long pass on 3rd down backed up on their own 10)

[NescacNewbie]

Not sure why people continually seem to pick Colby to be the CBB team up next. Are we forgetting that Bowdoin went up to Waterville down two captains and a 1st team all leaguer and beat the doors off of them?

I couldn't agree more. With reference to only the CBB teams:
Bates: I believe Coyne deserves a pass for this year. I think that it is easy to see that they are very, very young. Their freshman and sophomore  classes are heavy, and the commits to date are impressive. Coyne is a great recruiter and has good AD support.

Bowdoin: Hammer finally turned the corner this year with this team. Jury is out with respect to what happens next year with a very good senior class departing. His committed recruits this year were early and often. Probably had the second most to Trinity for early, locked in athletes...and they looked very good.

Colby: Coaching debacle in front of our eyes. Cos has definitely seen his better days behind him, and wish him well as he has to go. The DC was great at running a "prevent" defense the entire year, very vanilla and just wanted to stop getting beat deep. Meanwhile it was death by papercuts as they finished 9th in the league in defense. No stunts, shifts or blitz packages...which lead to few sacks and 2 interceptions on the year.
The OC was even worse and not impressive at all, watched him with the play-calling brain freeze during games, as we would only call the same 4-6 plays. Elementary offense that could never get in any rhythm. Example: final game against Mid, they decided to air it out. 400+ yards of passing, 4 TD's thru the air and only 1 sack allowed. Another note on him: he would just go off with the screaming at the team on the sideline. Not impressive.
One positive on this team, they know how to play tough, hard and fast....but the coaches don't know how to make any in-game adjustments and got torched because of it.

[Back2BackBantam]

Every offseason, this board is filled with those talking about how many players Wesleyan is getting back. How their experience will help them since they have all of these returning starters. And every year they seem to not live up to expectations. At what point do we just stop believing in Wesleyan as a team that can contend for a championship. They consistently perform worse than expected overall, and have consistent let downs in games they should win. It's tough to go into a season predicting anything other than another 6-3 record or worse.

[The Mole]

FACTS:

Records for NESCAC teams last three years ('21, '22 and '23). Indicative of how the 2024 senior class (and 5th year) players have fared and possible expectations for the upcoming season. No one is prognosticating championships, the games need to be played, but track record and returning experience is more important than opinion. 

Trinity 25-2, 1 outright championship, 1 shared
Middlebury 18-9. 1 shared championship
Wesleyan 18-9, winning record vs every team in the 3 year period except Bantams. Certainly mediocre and not a contender
Tufts 16-11, did they miss their shot?
Williams 15-12, 1 outright championship
Amherst 11-16, should they ever have a losing record?
Colby 11-16, great facilities and support, not translating to the field
Bowdoin 8-19, Hammered out a few decent wins and much improved, can they move up the ladder?
Hamilton 7-20, Can they build upon the Tufts W or was it an aberration?
Bates 6-21, can only get better from here

[RedAndBlack]

Not sure why people continually seem to pick Colby to be the CBB team up next. Are we forgetting that Bowdoin went up to Waterville down two captains and a 1st team all leaguer and beat the doors off of them?

I couldn't agree more. With reference to only the CBB teams:
Bates: I believe Coyne deserves a pass for this year. I think that it is easy to see that they are very, very young. Their freshman and sophomore  classes are heavy, and the commits to date are impressive. Coyne is a great recruiter and has good AD support.

Bowdoin: Hammer finally turned the corner this year with this team. Jury is out with respect to what happens next year with a very good senior class departing. His committed recruits this year were early and often. Probably had the second most to Trinity for early, locked in athletes...and they looked very good.

Colby: Coaching debacle in front of our eyes. Cos has definitely seen his better days behind him, and wish him well as he has to go. The DC was great at running a "prevent" defense the entire year, very vanilla and just wanted to stop getting beat deep. Meanwhile it was death by papercuts as they finished 9th in the league in defense. No stunts, shifts or blitz packages...which lead to few sacks and 2 interceptions on the year.
The OC was even worse and not impressive at all, watched him with the play-calling brain freeze during games, as we would only call the same 4-6 plays. Elementary offense that could never get in any rhythm. Example: final game against Mid, they decided to air it out. 400+ yards of passing, 4 TD's thru the air and only 1 sack allowed. Another note on him: he would just go off with the screaming at the team on the sideline. Not impressive.
One positive on this team, they know how to play tough, hard and fast....but the coaches don't know how to make any in-game adjustments and got torched because of it.

Unless i'm mistaken, I do not believe the mule OC is on the field, and calls plays from the booth?

[NescacNewbie]

Not sure why people continually seem to pick Colby to be the CBB team up next. Are we forgetting that Bowdoin went up to Waterville down two captains and a 1st team all leaguer and beat the doors off of them?

I couldn't agree more. With reference to only the CBB teams:
Bates: I believe Coyne deserves a pass for this year. I think that it is easy to see that they are very, very young. Their freshman and sophomore  classes are heavy, and the commits to date are impressive. Coyne is a great recruiter and has good AD support.

Bowdoin: Hammer finally turned the corner this year with this team. Jury is out with respect to what happens next year with a very good senior class departing. His committed recruits this year were early and often. Probably had the second most to Trinity for early, locked in athletes...and they looked very good.

Colby: Coaching debacle in front of our eyes. Cos has definitely seen his better days behind him, and wish him well as he has to go. The DC was great at running a "prevent" defense the entire year, very vanilla and just wanted to stop getting beat deep. Meanwhile it was death by papercuts as they finished 9th in the league in defense. No stunts, shifts or blitz packages...which lead to few sacks and 2 interceptions on the year.
The OC was even worse and not impressive at all, watched him with the play-calling brain freeze during games, as we would only call the same 4-6 plays. Elementary offense that could never get in any rhythm. Example: final game against Mid, they decided to air it out. 400+ yards of passing, 4 TD's thru the air and only 1 sack allowed. Another note on him: he would just go off with the screaming at the team on the sideline. Not impressive.
One positive on this team, they know how to play tough, hard and fast....but the coaches don't know how to make any in-game adjustments and got torched because of it.

Unless i'm mistaken, I do not believe the mule OC is on the field, and calls plays from the booth?

Negative. He is on the field and calls plays from there.

[GroundandPound]

UPDATED LIST OF RETURNING ALL CONFERENCE PLAYERS FOR 2024 (Any mistakes will be duly corrected...if brought to my attention; Wesleyan has two all conference players from 2022 playing in 2024.  Are there any other players who made all conference in 2022 and playing in 2024? Happy to include them) (? =r seniors this year who have another year of eligibility but not sure if returning)

Tufts (8): Luteri?DL; Comerford?LB; Garza?DB; Timmins DB; SmithRT; Berluti QB; Reece RB; Cade-Moore WR
Middlebury (8):Levy K; Daniel DB; Fink OL; Jamin WR; Stola DB; Kenary DL; Filias DL; Perry OL
Wesleyan (8): Elkhoury?WR; Lockwood? OL; Wilson WR; Carbeau LB; Edwards LB; Abraham DB; Welch DL; Rowan DL
Trinity (6): DiNapoli RB; Clapp WR; Casillo OL; Donvan-Jenkins OL; Jumes K; Jameson DB
Bowdoin (4): Fahey?WR; Brill?OL; Jacobs LB; Price DL
Colby (4): Robbins?DL Sawyer RT/WR; East DB; Young LB
Williams (3); Forth OL; Smith DL; Scott LB
Hamilton (3): Howrigan?TE; Hoey P; Kurzman (ROY QB)
Amherst (2): Skirzenski?LB; Harmon DB

TOP THREE RETURNING POSITION GROUPS 2024 (any input welcome)
QBs: Tufts, Trinity, ?
WRs: Trinity, Wesleyan, Middlebury
RBs: Trinity, Tufts, Williams
TEs:
OL: Trinity, Middlebury, ?Tufts (losing 2 all conference players though)
DL: Middlebury; Wesleyan; Williams
LBs: Colby, Wesleyan, Williams
DBs: Tufts, Trinity, Middlebury
Kicker: Trinity, Middlebury
Punter:  Hamilton,

CURRENT FORECAST 2024 (best case to worst case)
Trinity (9-0 to 6-3)
Middlebury (8-1 to 5-4)
Tufts (8-1 to 5-4)
Wesleyan (8-1 to 5-4)
Williams (7-2 to 4-5)
Bowdoin (6-3 to 3-6)
Amherst (6-3 to 3-6)
Colby (6-3 to 2-7)
Hamilton (5-4 to 2-7)
Bates (4-5 to 0-9)

[GroundandPound]

https://www.d3football.com/awards/all-americans/2023
Congrats to all NESCAC players...

[The_Mighty_Chicken]

Hats off to the all sportsmanship team this year. Bringing some class to the Nescac!