FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[lumbercat]

Trinity NESCAC record more than comparable with Alabama in the SEC. The numbers don't lie. Very valid parallel drawn here.
I don't get the Newbie reaction either.

[MammothDad]

NESCAC Man ...

... my apologies if you ever answered my question last year but ...

... singular name, plural self reference in your posts ...

... what gives?

[MikeJones50]

Fischetti is the key.  If he has a 5th year he will be huge in the development of the Ephs passing game.

Before we anoint Mario Fischetti the next coming of Tyler Dinapoli, let's remember that he hasn't played more than 4 games in a season since his freshman year (2021), he has 7 career rushing TDs (also one receiving TD), and 26 career receptions. Sure he had a career day on Saturday, but it was against Bowdoin, who is last in the league in total defense and rushing defense.

When the guy plays a whole season and leads the NESCAC in rushing, come talk to us. Until then, let's relax. Nice player and we're sure an excellent person but he still has a lot to prove, IOO.

The Purple Cows win a few games against bottom tier teams and their peeps come out from their 3 year hibernation...welcome back...we miss Bobby Maimaron too.

As far as discussions on play-offs....spare us the pain please. Lumber, please help... 

Cold take, in my opinion. His injuries are the only thing that have held him back from being a top 5 player in the entire league. Most dynamic playmaker in the league when he is healthy, and I am kind of shocked that is up for debate.

[Brady12]

Totaly agree he is like Barry Sanders. May go a few plays in a row of being swalllowed up but always capable of being allusive and breaking a big one.  When he is healthy and playing the Epps offense is a top 3 offense.

[nescac1]

Speaking of Fischetti:

https://d3football.com/awards/tow/2024/week5

[Nescacman]

2024 NESCACMAN Week 4 Power Rankings

Welcome to the Week 4 Power Rankings for the week of October 7, 2024.

NESCACMAN goes 5-0 for with our picks for week #4 and we now stand at 18-2 for the year.

In our weekly rankings, Hartford State remains in our top spot based on their strong win against Tufts on the road. Wesleyan remains #2 spot after beating Hamilton in Clinton.

Some details on "NESCACMAN"...we share a love for all things NESCAC, but especially football, with our fellow boardsters. We love everything about NESCAC...the history, traditions, rivalries, quirky rituals, passion, student-athletes, coaches, students, parents, alumni, tailgates, fields of play, et cetera. Each week, we will present our power rankings and then later in the week overviews, predictions, and spreads on every NESCAC game every week. There will also be some special reports along the way. Please note, we try to be as objective and honest as possible (maybe with a slight tinge of red and black). Our opinions stated here are solely those of NESCACMAN and are not the views or opinions of any institution in the NESCAC or the League itself.

We also co-host a podcast titled "Nine Weeks: A NESCAC Football Podcast"  along with Chris Grace, the longtime play-by-play voice of the Wesleyan Football Cardinals. Available weekly, the podcast is available on YouTube and Spotify. Please follow us and take a listen. Episode 4 is available now (featuring interviews with Bates College Head Coach Matt Coyne and former Trinity All-NESCAC DL Cooper Mandel). Episode 5 will be available later this week and will feature Wesleyan AD and former Williams and Wesleyan HC Mike Whalen and Trinity QB Zander Zebrowski. Should be another great watch/listen. Our weekly show features coach and player interviews, game analysis, rankings, previews, and predictions.
   
1). Hartford State Bantams (Record: 4-0; Last Week Rank: 1; 10 first place votes): Another week, another win. At this point in the NESCAC season, clearly the best team in the NESCAC and perhaps the best team in New England. Tufts hangs with the Bants for a half before HS pulled away in the second half.  Tufts led this game at the half 16-14. Another big second half for the Bantams. Bants offense again was clicking as they amassed 438 total yards, scored 42 points, had 24 first downs, and were 8 for 10 on 3rd down. Bants were led by NESCAC OPOTY candidate QB Zander Zebrowski who tossed 2 TD's, was 24 of 28 though the air (with no INTs), and ran for 67 yards and a TD. WR Nolan O'Brien had another strong game with 95 yards receiving and a TD. Hartford State hosts the Hamilton Continentals this week in The Coop.

2). Wesleyan Cardinals (Record: 3-1; Last Week Rank: 2): Wesleyan stays in our #2 spot with the win in Hamilton. Wesleyan scores 19 unanswered points on the road in the 4th quarter to come away with a win. Breakdown of their bus carrying the defense from the Cardinals hotel nearly derails them. Wesleyan gets back on track after losing in week #3. Chase Wilson had his typical big day for Wes against Hamilton with 8 catches for 109 yards and 2 TDs. QB Niko Candido was very good going 20 for 27 yards through the  air with 2 TD tosses. On the defensive side of the ball, NESCAC DPOTW DB Dylan Connors was stellar with 9 tackles, 2 TFL, a sack, and 2 passes broken up. Wes hosts the Mules of Colby this week on historic Andrus Field.

3). Middlebury (Record: 3-1; Last Week Rank: 4): Middlebury beats Amherst on the road for their 3rd win and keeps their hopes of a repeat NESCAC Championship alive. Middlebury led this one 20-0 at the half and held on for the win despite a furious comeback by the Lord Mammoths which made the game close. The story of the day was turnovers. Middlebury intercepted the Amherst QB 4 times on the day. The Middlebury defense also had 4 sacks. The Panthers forced the Lord Mammoths to pass because of completely shutting down their running game (7 yards rushing on 21 carries). MID QB Brian Moran tossed 3 TDs and WR Patrick Jamin had 2 more TD catches. DL Tomas Kenary excelled on the defensive side of the ball with 2 TFL, 2 sacks and a safety. Middlebury hosts the Ephs this week in what is essentially a NESCAC elimination game between two 3-1 teams. The loser will have 2 losses and will essentially be out of the NESCAC title hunt for 2024.

4). Williams Purple Cows (Record: 3-1; Last Week Rank: 5): Williams gets back in the win column with a win at home against Bowdoin. Game was knotted at 7 at the half before the Ephs offense got it going with 4 second half TDs. The Williams defense held the Polars to 238 total yards, and 2 of 13 on 3rd downs. The Williams offense persevered despite 3 turnovers and giving up 4 sacks. Nearly 500 yards of total offense for the Ephs, including 236 yards on the ground, doesn't hurt. RB Mario Fischetti was the star of the day for the Ephs with 177 yards rushing and 2 TDs. WR Cameron Lee contributed 2 TD receptions on the day. DL Anthony Scala (like Fischetti, a Chaminade HS alum) was the star on defense with 2 TFL and 2 sacks along with DB Holden Gering who had 2 INTs. The Ephs travel to Vermont in an important week #5 match-up against Middlebury.

5). Tufts Jumbo's (Record: 2-2; Last Week Rank: 3): Tufts losses at home against the Bantams. The Jumbo's kept the game close for a half before allowing Hartford State to score on all four of their possessions in the second half. Tufts will basically have to win out to have any shot at a share of the NESCAC title in 2024. QB Michael Berluti (21 of 33 for 278 yards and 3 TD passes) and WR Cade Moore (6 catches for 116 yards and 2 TDs) were the stars on offense for Tufts. The Tufts offense was 2 of 9 on 3rd downs while their defense could not stop the Bantams on 3rd down (8 of 10). This week Tufts goes on the road to face the Frisky Kitties in Lewiston.

6). Colby Mules (Record: 1-3; Last Week Rank: 8): Mules get in the win column for the first time in 2024 with an exciting victory under the lights in Waterville. Big C-B-B win versus the Frisky Kitties. Based on that win and how they have looked in their losses, Colby moves up a couple of spots in our weekly rankings (you can basically throw our 6-9 ranked teams in a hat and put them in any order at this point in the season). Colby wins their 6th game in a row against UBates. Both teams combined for over 500 yards rushing. The Colby offense was just shy of 500 yards of total offense on the day. Colby QB Miles Drake was 21 of 24 for 225 yards and 2 TDs and he chipped in 110 yards on the ground. RB Keon Smart had 154 yards rushing and 2 TDs. Colby goes on the road this week to face Wesleyan on the natural surface of Andrus Field.

7). Amherst Lord Mammoths (Record: 2-2; Last Week Rank: 7): The Lord Mammoths lose their 2nd straight game and move to 2-2 on the year. Despite being down 20-0 at the half, Amherst made this a game in the 2nd half and ended up losing by 8 points. The offense continues to struggle with only 7 rushing yards, 257 total yards, 4 interceptions and 4 sacks allowed. Interesting match-up this week as the Lord Mammoths host Bowdoin with both teams desperately in need of a win.

8). Bowdoin Polar Bears (Record: 1-3; Last Week Rank: 6): Bowdoin loses to Williams in Williamstown and drops in our rankings. Bowdoin hung tough (again) for a half before giving up 27 unanswered point to the Ephs on the way to their 3rd loss of the year. This seems to be trend for the Polars. Hang tough for a while, then get steamrolled by the competition in the 2nd half of games. Both the Bowdoin offense and defense struggled; however, the defense was +1 in turnovers and had 4 sacks. However, the offense could not capitalize on those turnovers and the defense was worn down by Williams allowing 480 yards of total offense. DT/LB Koy Price scored for the third time this year. Bowdoin reverted to their 2 QB system this week and neither was effective. WR Jed Hoggard was a bright spot for the Polars with 5 catches for 94 yards and a TD. Badly in need of a win, Bowdoin faces the Lord Mammoths this week in Amherst.

9). University of Bates Bobcats (Lewiston Campus) (Record: 1-3; Last Week Rank: 9): After a big win against Wesleyan, a tough, close loss to Colby. The game was back and forth with the Mules and UBates had an opportunity to tie the game with 1:54 remaining after a Ryan Lynskey 1 yard TD run. The 2-point conversion was tipped, Colby recovered the ensuing onside kick off by the Kitties, and Colby then ran out the clock thus preserving the 2-point C-B-B win. WR Sergio Beltran, recently back from injury, was used in the running game and ran for over 100 yards and his first career rushing TD. Star RB Ryan Lynskey ran for 2 scores and had 68 yards on the ground. UBates had 277 yards rushing and only threw 11 passes. Despite the offense playing well, the defense had trouble containing the Mules offense allowing 499 yards of total offense on the day. Colby penalties kept the Kitties in the game. UBates will try to rebound this week as they host Tufts under the lights in Lewiston.

10). Hamilton Continentals (Record: 0-4; Last Week Rank: 10): The Continentals lose at home to Wesleyan as they led for 3 quarters. 19 unanswered points for Wesleyan in the 4th quarter sealed Hamilton's fate. P Tighe Hoey was the star of the game for the Conts averaging 49.6 yards on 7 punts, including a 60 yarder, and putting 5 punts inside the 20. For the season, he's averaging nearly 47 yards per punt. This week, Hamilton travels to Hartford State.

NESCACMAN Offensive Player(s) of the Week: Mario Fischetti, Williams/Keon Smart, Colby/Zander Zebrowski, Hartford State

NESCACMAN Defensive Player(s) of the Week: Dylan Connors, Wesleyan/Anthony Scala, Williams

NESCACMAN Special Teams Player(s) of the Week: Tighe Hoey, Hamilton

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[bantamweight]

NESCAC Man ...

... my apologies if you ever answered my question last year but ...

... singular name, plural self reference in your posts ...

... what gives?

He has multiple personalities. They're all jerks.

[Brady12]

Would he be eligible for an extra year due to Covid? Or is this the last year for that?

I am not sure if Fischetti is even eligible for another year, given that he's played at least four games every season, but if he was I'm sure Williams would be stoked if he wanted to stick around (but again not sure if that is even a possibility). 

Nescacman, I think your assessment of Fischetti is a bit unfair.  He's suffered two somewhat fluky bad-luck injuries, and yeah, with his size and with his running style, he can't be a 25 carry a game back no matter what.  Williams has been exceedingly cautious with his usage this year.  But 221 career carries is also not a small sample size and he's averaged an insane 6.7 ypc for his career. Plus he's added 272 receiving yards and 474 kick and punt return yards.  So he's at 2200 all purpose yards, and counting, for his career, which is quite a substantial total (Keon Smart at Colby, a quality workhorse four-year player who has only missed two games in his career, is just barely higher, as a point of comparison, despite playing 7 more games). I'd be surprised if there was any NESCAC back with over 200 career carries with a higher ypc average than Fischetti.  And he's actually averaged exactly the same amount of yards rushing per game over his career as Dinapoli (70 ypg on a significantly lower 5.3 yards per carry over his career - which itself is still elite! - surrounded by elite talent at every offensive position), and more all-purpose yards per game. 

Turning to younger talent in the league - Trinity has the most young talent, the most old talent, the most talent period.  That won't change so long as they are bringing in huge classes deep with talented recruits every single season.  But I do think the sheer number of guys already making big impacts from Williams' last two recruiting classes point to a very promising future.  Wesleyan, Midd, Bowdoin, Tufts, and Colby all lose a TON of key players from this year's teams. Williams likewise loses a lot, but I think returns more key guys than any of them.  (Amherst like Williams is not terribly senior-reliant, but I'm less sold on the young talent at Amherst, especially the skill guys). 

As for Williams, three of McHugh's top four receiving weapons are sophomores, and one of them, Johansen, is in his first year of eligibility (maybe Kennedy as well?  I think he was hurt last year).  And that doesn't count Gehring who is in the mix there on select plays.  Zach Falls and Jimmy Montesano are two huge targets in the first year class who will likely make a bigger impact down the line as well. While there likely isn't one Frank Stola caliber guy in the group, this is by FAR the deepest group of receiving talent the Ephs have had since 2010. The Williams tight end unit is especially loaded.  The offensive line (due to injuries) has started seven different guys this year and only two are seniors, and the FY offensive line class looks very promising and will hopefully make an impact next year as line play as there will be opportunities for those guys to step up. The Ephs do need to find a big-time tailback or two in this year's recruiting class as they rely on veterans at that position.   

On defense, yeah, the secondary has struggled for much of the season, but Williams' top four cornerbacks are three sophomores and a FY, and two of the sophs were converted from other positions. That group led by Gehring seems to have good talent just needs some experience.  The top four Eph safeties all return next year as well, and two of the guys who have started were H.S. quarterbacks. It seems like the Ephs have put a lot of high-level athletes back there with hopes that will pay dividends over time, but also not surprising there have been some gaps in coverage as guys figure it out.

Williams does lose a lot in the front seven to graduation this year but seem to have an awesome FY group up front led by Gale, Yedid, Mangini and Moore, three of whom have been starters as first years.  Gale looks like he will be a force for the next four years at DT and the other three are potential all-league guys down the line as well. 

And yes, Bates is clearly on the rise as well.  Lynskey, Wallace, Gleason and Beltran are going to be a handful as a group in the triple option for the next few years, especially as the guys up front mature.  Lynskey especially is a really tough lead back. 

[nescac1]

There is no more COVID eligibility.  A lot of teams are gonna lose massive senior classes this year, accordingly.  Basically everyone listed as a senior or grad student is done, unless they have an injury redshirt year. 

[lumbercat]

N1
Yes, thanks for defining this. Finally the Covid fallout and subsequent confusion over eligibility and 5 years will finally end.

[westcoastnescac]

N1
Yes, thanks for defining this. Finally the Covid fallout and subsequent confusion over eligibility and 5 years will finally end.

end of an era

[GroundandPound]

Nescac1, That is a comprehensive and thorough analysis of Williams. Well done.

[SpringSt7]

I would imagine the Saban Alabama winning percentage is higher than the corresponding Trinity numbers just fwiw. Alabama was pretty bad from 2000-2008

[lumbercat]

NESCAC Man ...

... my apologies if you ever answered my question last year but ...

... singular name, plural self reference in your posts ...

... what gives?

I asked that question myself several years ago when NM joined the board.

The answer is pretty simple. NM has a number of correspondents at NESCAC schools and also maintains relationships with NESCAC coaches, ex coaches and Athletic Dept personnel as well as relationships at the NESCAC offices. It's a network which continues to correspond with NM and his cohorts as they now have embarked on the production of the weekly NESCAC Football podcasts.

[Trin9-0]

I would imagine the Saban Alabama winning percentage is higher than the corresponding Trinity numbers just fwiw. Alabama was pretty bad from 2000-2008

That's fair, Spring. I initially chose 2000 as the starting point since that's when the NESCAC officially began crowning league champs. It also coincides with the start of the Chuck Priore era at Trinity. Devanney was on that staff and his tenure as HC at Trin started a year before Saban took over at Alabama so it's a fair comparison and you're right, Saban's conference record record does slightly exceed Devanney's:
       

	DEVANNEY	SABAN
League Win Percentage	85.5%	86.2%
League Champions	7	9
League Runner-Up	7	1
Losing Seasons	0	0
Longest Winning Streak	16	24
Longest Home Winning Streak	34	18

I will add that if Trinity wins out this season they will have astonishingly similar records: 132-21 for Saban and 130-21 for Devanney. It's also worth noting that for Saban I included all games played against SEC opponents, which includes 13 postseason games. Saban was a ridiculous 11-2 in those games against the other best teams in the SEC/country. Finally I added a row for Longest Home Winning Streak. Trinity also has a 22 game home winning streak over that span and the program record for consecutive home wins is 53 games(!) from 1998-2014. It's tough to win in The Coop!

*Correction, in my previous post I wrote that Trinity's longest winning streak was 36 games. It was actually 31 (spanning the 2002-2006 seasons). I've updated that post as well.