FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[GroundandPound]

9 Days to Kickoff
2024 ROSTERS:
Trinity YES
Wesleyan YES
Tufts YES
Bates YES
Colby YES   

Bowdoin NO
Middlebury NO
Amherst NO
Williams NO
Hamilton NO

[MammothDad]

I see 4 groupings:

Battling for the Championship
Trinity & Middlebury

Hoping to contend for the Championship
Tufts & Wesleyan

Battling for a Winning Record
Williams, Bowdoin, Amherst & Colby

Battling to not be Last
Hamilton & Bates

All of you are all more well read on who was lost and who is coming back.  Anything out of order, above?  I know that "analysis" is rather generic and normally holds true the last 5 years or so.

What say you NESCAC experts?

The Mammoth's only loss last year that they should/could have won was to Colby.  The rest of their losses were to clearly better teams.

Amherst 7, Middlebury 21
Hamilton 14, Amherst 17
Amherst 0, Trinity 49
Amherst 17, Bates 7
Colby 19, Amherst 16
Tufts 34, Amherst 14
Amherst 7, Wesleyan 34
Amherst 27, Bowdoin 23
Williams 14, Amherst 21

4-5 for the season

[GroundandPound]

I would put Trinity, Middlebury, Wesleyan and Tufts as all "Battling for the Championship"
There should be some great games this fall. 

[NescacNewbie]

The impact of the Week 1 matchup of Middlebury vs Wesleyan is huge. One of the top four teams "battling for the championship" has one loss right from jump street. I think that we will be talking about that game at the end of the season as the "one that mattered".

[Nescacman]

As we're sure some of our fellow posters saw, The Wall Street Journal came out with their latest college "rankings" yesterday:

https://apple.news/AWj0-hDsZQjCcWuTmHrGi-g

NESCAC schools did not fair very well. The top ranked NESCAC school was Colby coming in at #64. Congratulations to the Mules on coming in first place at something. WSJ's rankings are primarily based on how well the school sets up a graduate for financial success.

Of course, that's not the only way to determine how successful a school is in preparing a student for life. Using dollars as a proxy for success is limited and naive, in our opinion. But then again, it is The Wall Street Journal's rankings, so we shouldn't be too surprised. Not putting a ton of value in this ranking but it is interesting and certainly something NESCAC admission officers will have to address when questioned by prospective students and their parents.

NM

[Nescacman]

9 Days to Kickoff
2024 ROSTERS:
Trinity YES
Wesleyan YES
Tufts YES
Bates YES
Colby YES   

Bowdoin NO
Middlebury NO
Amherst NO
Williams NO
Hamilton NO

Pants roster posted yesterday. Interesting to see who is and who is not there.

Our wager on the Lord Mammoths being the last team to post their roster is still looking good. Over/under on when they post their roster is September 13th.

NM

[nescac1]

Williams has its roster posted:

https://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/football/roster?sort=class

The senior class is very strong led by prior all-league players Forth, Scott, Smith, and Shuran, and some other talented seniors who should contend for all-league honors if Williams has a good year, including Fischetti, Vilfort, and Tartaglia. Six of the seniors are returning for an extra COVID semester. So there is definitely some pressure to win now because the Ephs lose a ton of talent who will leave huge roster holes behind them among their 24-man senior class after this year (although the same can pretty much be said for most of the league given that this is the last year of bulging senior classes due to COVID). 

As usual the Ephs generally don't update positions after September of a player's first year, so many of these positions are going to be inaccurate.  For example of the eight listed quarterbacks, I'd say half will be playing other positions (and in fact three already were last year). 

The Ephs look loaded in the trenches and at TB.  Should be tough running the ball and against the run and I expect a very difficult pass rush to deal with.  QB, WR, and DB are the big question marks and are areas where guys need to either make a big leap forward or perhaps some FYs enter into the mix. Last year opposing receivers were way too open, Eph receivers couldn't get open, and the QB's didn't nail enough completions in tight spaces.  The Ephs were also hurt by just a ridiculous spate of serious injuries so fingers crossed this year is a bit better on that front, as well.

The first-year class looks strong and certainly massive ... four linemen between 290 and and 320 pounds, and some real size at receiver and DB as well.  In short, nothing to suggest that Williams is going to be moving away from its four-yards-and-a-cloud of dust approach going forward ... this is the year to prove that approach can succeed when Bobby Maimaron isn't at the helm, or if not, consider something a bit different. 

[ROTMNG]

Williams has its roster posted:

https://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/football/roster?sort=class

The senior class is very strong led by prior all-league players Forth, Scott, Smith, and Shuran, and some other talented seniors who should contend for all-league honors if Williams has a good year, including Fischetti, Vilfort, and Tartaglia. Six of the seniors are returning for an extra COVID semester. So there is definitely some pressure to win now because the Ephs lose a ton of talent who will leave huge roster holes behind them among their 24-man senior class after this year (although the same can pretty much be said for most of the league given that this is the last year of bulging senior classes due to COVID). 

As usual the Ephs generally don't update positions after September of a player's first year, so many of these positions are going to be inaccurate.  For example of the eight listed quarterbacks, I'd say half will be playing other positions (and in fact three already were last year). 

The Ephs look loaded in the trenches and at TB.  Should be tough running the ball and against the run and I expect a very difficult pass rush to deal with.  QB, WR, and DB are the big question marks and are areas where guys need to either make a big leap forward or perhaps some FYs enter into the mix. Last year opposing receivers were way too open, Eph receivers couldn't get open, and the QB's didn't nail enough completions in tight spaces.  The Ephs were also hurt by just a ridiculous spate of serious injuries so fingers crossed this year is a bit better on that front, as well.

The first-year class looks strong and certainly massive ... four linemen between 290 and and 320 pounds, and some real size at receiver and DB as well.  In short, nothing to suggest that Williams is going to be moving away from its four-yards-and-a-cloud of dust approach going forward ... this is the year to prove that approach can succeed when Bobby Maimaron isn't at the helm, or if not, consider something a bit different. 

I think there is a successful middle ground for the Ephs this year. Asking for Maimaron-esque success as an improvement from a team that barely went 3-6 with an anemic offense is a lot in my opinion. Maimaron was a transcendent player who raised a team from basement dweller to the 2nd 9-0 team in league history. I think the Ephs will show marked improvement this year with a healthy Dickinson and Fischetti, more experienced McHugh, and a big, experienced defense. 3-0 against the inconsistent CBB, a win  at home against the Conts, and a win at home vs the Lord Mammoths is a solid 5-4. Picking on lesser to equal competition will allow for the youth to gain experience and the 5th years to lead from the front, as well as improve from last year's fire drill. Improvement, but not reaching Maimaron/Rothman/Stola/Freeman-esque heights.

[GroundandPound]

8 Days to Kickoff
2024 ROSTERS:
Trinity YES
Wesleyan YES
Tufts YES
Bates YES
Colby YES   
Middlebury YES
Williams YES
Bowdoin NO
Amherst NO
Hamilton NO

[MikeJones50]

Interesting to see Midd roster and the loss of WR Donovan Wood. Obviously, he was a massive part of that offense and his departure is something that is not being talked about enough. One guy who may step up in a major way is TE Liam High. A transitioned LB, High saw some action on the offensive side of the ball last year, showing a firm schematic understanding of the run game and a strong point of attack while blocking. He will need to drastically improve his receiving abilities - with one of the worst drops I have ever seen in last years game vs Williams - but I hear that he is a very hard worker and beloved within the locker room. If he can piece it all together, he may prove to be greatly important in an offense that is going to need another playmaker to emerge.

Also, great to see CB Teddy Daniel named captain. As one of the premier punt blockers in the entire nation during 2022 (seriously, he was statistically a top 5 punt blocker across all NCAA levels), he finally gets some recognition for his scrappy play and dedication to the little aspects of the game.

[ROTMNG]

Interesting to see Midd roster and the loss of WR Donovan Wood. Obviously, he was a massive part of that offense and his departure is something that is not being talked about enough. One guy who may step up in a major way is TE Liam High. A transitioned LB, High saw some action on the offensive side of the ball last year, showing a firm schematic understanding of the run game and a strong point of attack while blocking. He will need to drastically improve his receiving abilities - with one of the worst drops I have ever seen in last years game vs Williams - but I hear that he is a very hard worker and beloved within the locker room. If he can piece it all together, he may prove to be greatly important in an offense that is going to need another playmaker to emerge.

Also, great to see CB Teddy Daniel named captain. As one of the premier punt blockers in the entire nation during 2022 (seriously, he was statistically a top 5 punt blocker across all NCAA levels), he finally gets some recognition for his scrappy play and dedication to the little aspects of the game.

To be fair to Liam High, it was one of the rainiest days ever.

[Hawk196]

I would put Trinity, Middlebury, Wesleyan and Tufts as all "Battling for the Championship"
There should be some great games this fall. 

I'm a bit worried about Tufts. Their o-line is thin compared to prior years. Now full discloser, my Son was a starter for almost 4/5 yrs (freshman yr he started a few games and then covid ). He gave up 1 sack(he considered it "questionable"...lol) his 5th yr and zero sacks his senior yr....with other seniors on the line graduating, that is a big loss. I don't know if it was mentioned, but one of the brothers tore his acl last year, so I hope he is 100% for the season.

[Trin9-0]

I see 4 groupings:

Battling for the Championship
Trinity & Middlebury

Hoping to contend for the Championship
Tufts & Wesleyan

Battling for a Winning Record
Williams, Bowdoin, Amherst & Colby

Battling to not be Last
Hamilton & Bates

All of you are all more well read on who was lost and who is coming back.  Anything out of order, above?  I know that "analysis" is rather generic and normally holds true the last 5 years or so.

What say you NESCAC experts?

The Mammoth's only loss last year that they should/could have won was to Colby.  The rest of their losses were to clearly better teams.

Amherst 7, Middlebury 21
Hamilton 14, Amherst 17
Amherst 0, Trinity 49
Amherst 17, Bates 7
Colby 19, Amherst 16
Tufts 34, Amherst 14
Amherst 7, Wesleyan 34
Amherst 27, Bowdoin 23
Williams 14, Amherst 21

4-5 for the season

This might sound crazy, but I'd actually swap Hamilton with Amherst in your groupings. The Mammoths have been anemic on offense for the past several seasons and I don't see anyone returning who scares opposing defenses. Their four wins last year were by an average of just 6 points. Looking at their schedule I only see two of their home games as winnable which means, barring an upset, they'd need to top both Colby and Williams on the road just to return to 4 wins... my guess is they're more likely to finish 3-6 or possibly even 2-7.

Meanwhile Hamilton returns the NESCAC Rookie of the Year in QB Luke Kurzum, their top two RBs and full receiver corps. This season the Continentals get Amherst, Colby and Bates in Clinton where they've played well. Hamilton hasn't had a winning season since 1996; to end that streak they'd likely need to beat both Williams and Bowdoin on the road. It's a fairly bold prediction, but I do think they have a shot at 5-4.

I also think Colby could be closer to the bottom grouping than the middle. I'm expecting Bowdoin to take a step back as well, but not so much as to leave that middle tier. I'd say Tufts is closer to Trin & Midd than Wesleyan this year, but not going to split hairs.

[GroundandPound]

Mike Jones 50:
Yes Wood will be missed, but I think Patrick Jamin and Mike Ahonen will do very well at WR for Midd this fall. Any catch made at the Williams game last year was amazing.  There were more dropped balls than Williams fans.  That was one of the nastiest, windy, rainy, bone-chilling games I have seen in a few years.

[GroundandPound]

https://nescacfootballreport.com/team-overviews/
All Teams Previewed except Colby and Midd...