FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Charlie]

A lot of boo hooing about Berluti and a lifetime achievement 1st team nod this year. I will agree it wasn't his best season statistically ...but..let's not forget him getting absolutely hosed his sophomore year for OPOY when his numbers were other worldly 26 td's/3ints. At a bare minimum he should have been co OPOY with Lutz.


Countless examples of kids being overlooked or more importantly not being championed hard enough by their coach. Was this a make up penalty for the egregious mistake in '22? maybe.

I will say that Berluti had a great career he personifies why the NESCAC needs playoffs.

The NESCAC is a great league but unfortunately very small margin for losing. Tufts in particular seems to always start with a speed bump and then get going. There were a few seasons where they were on fire at the end of the year. This is why I believe that such a small season a teams can catch fire and win. Unfortunately there is no playoffs or anything to play for so the mistake at the beginning part of the year costs you.

At the D1 level if I am not mistaken did not Alabama loose a game sneak into the playoffs and win the title one year. This is why I think playoffs are so important for the NESCAC even an internal playoffs. I also think that you would get some real good rivalry's and more student support of football with internal playoffs.

If you take this year as an example. Middlebury stumbled out of gate and blown out by Wesleyan in week one. Then beat Trinity and then loose to Tufts. If you take the top four teams 1 plays 4 and two plays 3 and then a championship. The hot team at the end of the season has a chance to upset someone. In addition if you are a team with a few losses you can still be on the bubble to get the fourth spot. I am not saying go into the D3 tournament but to have an internal playoff I think would lend to more excitement for the players and the fans. Everyone could still be in this until late in season.

There have been plenty of years that Tufts has showed at the end of the year that they were a solid team. I am just saying would be nice and I am sure Williams or a Colby would have been interesting to see compete as fourth seed this year. It does not require a great deal to do this. NESCAC starts the year second week in September so you have the two weeks before to start the season so it would not affect academics. All I am saying is the case is plausible. I know the pendants as well as myself would say won't happen but really would be nice.

[nescac1]

Top returning POTY candidates:

Offense:

1. Chase Wilson (if he returns, I would guess he'd have D1 opportunities if interested); 2. Ryan Lynskey; 3. Brian Moran; 4. Miles Drake; 5. Nolan O'Brian; 6. Tyler DiNapoli, 7. Conner McClellan.  Others to watch: Owen Johansen, Jack Nye, Mike Ahonen, Christian Shapiro, Jon Oris. 

Defense:

1. Luke Harmon; 2. Dylan Connors; 3. Sebastian Romain; 4. Jordan Atkinson; 5. Ryan Rozich, 6. Johnny Ferelli, 7. Holden Gering.  Others to watch: Charlie Cooper, Luke Mangini, Ty Kazanwoski, Declan Welch, Charlie Ozolin.

(Did not include Jaden Richardson since he is in the transfer portal but otherwise he'd be in the top three). 

[MapleBBQChicken]

Unfortunately, Carter Stockwell is not returning. He is already a 5th-year senior and is graduating this winter.

It will be interesting to see how the Panthers handle workload at RB next year. McClellan looked like the clear #1 guy by the end of this season, and as a sophomore I think he will start in that RB1 role. However, Weitzman and Smith will also be back for their junior years, and they'll likely continue to get carries as well.

Lastly, FWIW I think the Moran-Ahonen connection could be a real threat next season.

[NESCACFball24/7]

Bantams snubbed out of a OPOTY for the second year in a row...

Fetter won OPOY last year, what are you talking about..

The coaches did not like Fetter so they had him split it with Richardson. NESCAC coaches are spiteful & get butthurt when they get blown out haha.

With the guy who had 10+ fbs offers ya what a horrible choice by the coaches for OPOY lol

[nescac1]

Whoops MapleBBQ, I meant McClellan (who really impressed me and I think will be one of the top backs in NESCAC next year) rather than Stockwell.  I'll correct!

[Nescacman]

Totally possible, don't have a lot of insight to how POY decisions are made. Votes, back room conversations etc..NM probably knows more.

As we understand it, here's how the process works for the major NESCAC Awards: OPOTY, DPOTY, and ROTY.

Each team/coach gets one nomination from their team per award. So for OPOTY, for example, Coach Dice nominated Chase Wilson for OPOTY. There are no other nominations for OPOTY from Wesleyan and he was the only NESCAC OPOTY nominated for Wesleyan. Coach Dice had to decide between Chase and Niko. We believe teams do not have to nominate a player from their team if they feel they do not have anyone worthy of the Award. For example, we're pretty sure that Amherst did not have a nomination for OPOTY. Then the coaches vote with each team/coach getting one vote. Teams/coaches cannot vote for their own player so Coach Dice could not vote for Chase. Majority votes win.

They then repeat that same process for DPOTY and ROTY.

Coach of the Year works a bit differently. No nominees. Secret ballot, each team/coach gets one vote and you cannot vote for yourself/your coaching staff. Majority wins.

We think this is a fair process. We know for fact that there is thought put into this process and the coaches take this very seriously. Hope that helps Big Kat.

NM     

[lumbercat]

Top returning POTY candidates:

Offense:

1. Chase Wilson (if he returns, I would guess he'd have D1 opportunities if interested); 2. Ryan Lynskey; 3. Brian Moran; 4. Miles Drake; 5. Nolan O'Brian; 6. Tyler DiNapoli, 7. Conner McClellan.  Others to watch: Owen Johansen, Jack Nye, Mike Ahonen, Christian Shapiro, Jon Oris. 

Defense:

1. Luke Harmon; 2. Dylan Connors; 3. Sebastian Romain; 4. Jordan Atkinson; 5. Ryan Rozich, 6. Johnny Ferelli, 7. Holden Gering.  Others to watch: Charlie Cooper, Luke Mangini, Ty Kazanwoski, Declan Welch, Charlie Ozolin.

(Did not include Jaden Richardson since he is in the transfer portal but otherwise he'd be in the top three). 

N1`
I'd add Sergio Beltran in the Offense group. If he can stay healthy and play in every game he will be a contender.

[Nescacman]

A lot of boo hooing about Berluti and a lifetime achievement 1st team nod this year. I will agree it wasn't his best season statistically ...but..let's not forget him getting absolutely hosed his sophomore year for OPOY when his numbers were other worldly 26 td's/3ints. At a bare minimum he should have been co OPOY with Lutz.


Countless examples of kids being overlooked or more importantly not being championed hard enough by their coach. Was this a make up penalty for the egregious mistake in '22? maybe.

I will say that Berluti had a great career he personifies why the NESCAC needs playoffs.

The NESCAC is a great league but unfortunately very small margin for losing. Tufts in particular seems to always start with a speed bump and then get going. There were a few seasons where they were on fire at the end of the year. This is why I believe that such a small season a teams can catch fire and win. Unfortunately there is no playoffs or anything to play for so the mistake at the beginning part of the year costs you.

At the D1 level if I am not mistaken did not Alabama loose a game sneak into the playoffs and win the title one year. This is why I think playoffs are so important for the NESCAC even an internal playoffs. I also think that you would get some real good rivalry's and more student support of football with internal playoffs.

If you take this year as an example. Middlebury stumbled out of gate and blown out by Wesleyan in week one. Then beat Trinity and then loose to Tufts. If you take the top four teams 1 plays 4 and two plays 3 and then a championship. The hot team at the end of the season has a chance to upset someone. In addition if you are a team with a few losses you can still be on the bubble to get the fourth spot. I am not saying go into the D3 tournament but to have an internal playoff I think would lend to more excitement for the players and the fans. Everyone could still be in this until late in season.

There have been plenty of years that Tufts has showed at the end of the year that they were a solid team. I am just saying would be nice and I am sure Williams or a Colby would have been interesting to see compete as fourth seed this year. It does not require a great deal to do this. NESCAC starts the year second week in September so you have the two weeks before to start the season so it would not affect academics. All I am saying is the case is plausible. I know the pendants as well as myself would say won't happen but really would be nice.

Inter-league play-offs between teams that have all already played each other is not going to happen and frankly, is not even on the radar. FWIW, we think it's a bad idea anyway. 9 games/9 weeks, a champion...period. BTW, no tie-breaker unless there is a three-way tie. Head-to-head wins the title.

Here are the top 3 macro issues for NESCAC Football heading into 2025:

1. Roster size/limit. Some teams want a hard roster limit at the pre-pandemic level of around 75/76 players per team (Amherst and Williams are in this camp). Some teams want an unlimited size roster (or a much higher roster limit)(Hartford State, Tufts, Wesleyan, Middlebury and perhaps UBates are in this camp). Our guess is that some sort of limit is imposed in the 85-95 range as a compromise.

2. NCAA D3 Play-offs. If the Ivy League decides to participate in the FCS play-offs, you can bet that the NESCAC is not far behind. Title IX issues will also impact this decision (in favor of the play-off argument). The decision to participate in the D3 play-offs will impact Item 1 above and Item 3 below. Our guess is that the NESCAC decides to participate in the NCAA play-offs starting in 2025 or 2026, at the latest. Whether that means just the League Champion goes with the NESCAC automatic bid or the NESCAC is open to receive at-large bids remains to be seen. That will depend on Item 3 below. 

3. Out of league games/schedule expansion. Currently the NESCAC plays a 9 game inter-league championship schedule playing every team in the league once. There are no out of league games. Historically, since 1992, NESCAC has only played NESCAC teams (8 games) on a rotating schedule. In 2000, they added a league championship in football for the first time. Prior to 1992, each team played 7 games in conference and one out of league game for an 8 game schedule. Each team's out of league game was played against a non-league rival. For example, Wesleyan played Coast Guard, Middlebury played Norwich, Hamilton played Union, etc. Since the NESCAC "just" expanded their schedule to 9 games (in 2017) and there is a strong chance they will add participation in the play-offs thus adding games for at least one team, we don't think a 10th game will be added over the next couple of years. With that being said, we think there is a (small) chance down through road that the league adds a 10th game. The downside of not adding a 10th game is that it will impact NESCAC's national D3 rankings and seeding for the play-offs since there will be no basis for comparison having only played inter-league games. However, we don't think the College Presidents, who must approve all of these changes (with input from the ADs and the Coaches), care much about the rankings and the play-off seedings, TBH.

Talk amongst yourselves....welcome to the NESCAC off-season ladies and gentlemen.

NM       

[BigKat]

Totally possible, don't have a lot of insight to how POY decisions are made. Votes, back room conversations etc..NM probably knows more.

As we understand it, here's how the process works for the major NESCAC Awards: OPOTY, DPOTY, and ROTY.

Each team/coach gets one nomination from their team per award. So for OPOTY, for example, Coach Dice nominated Chase Wilson for OPOTY. There are no other nominations for OPOTY from Wesleyan and he was the only NESCAC OPOTY nominated for Wesleyan. Coach Dice had to decide between Chase and Niko. We believe teams do not have to nominate a player from their team if they feel they do not have anyone worthy of the Award. For example, we're pretty sure that Amherst did not have a nomination for OPOTY. Then the coaches vote with each team/coach getting one vote. Teams/coaches cannot vote for their own player so Coach Dice could not vote for Chase. Majority votes win.

They then repeat that same process for DPOTY and ROTY.

Coach of the Year works a bit differently. No nominees. Secret ballot, each team/coach gets one vote and you cannot vote for yourself/your coaching staff. Majority wins.

We think this is a fair process. We know for fact that there is thought put into this process and the coaches take this very seriously. Hope that helps Big Kat.

NM     

Helpful NM and makes sense. thanks

[SpringSt7]

A lot of boo hooing about Berluti and a lifetime achievement 1st team nod this year. I will agree it wasn't his best season statistically ...but..let's not forget him getting absolutely hosed his sophomore year for OPOY when his numbers were other worldly 26 td's/3ints. At a bare minimum he should have been co OPOY with Lutz.


Countless examples of kids being overlooked or more importantly not being championed hard enough by their coach. Was this a make up penalty for the egregious mistake in '22? maybe.

I will say that Berluti had a great career he personifies why the NESCAC needs playoffs.

The NESCAC is a great league but unfortunately very small margin for losing. Tufts in particular seems to always start with a speed bump and then get going. There were a few seasons where they were on fire at the end of the year. This is why I believe that such a small season a teams can catch fire and win. Unfortunately there is no playoffs or anything to play for so the mistake at the beginning part of the year costs you.

At the D1 level if I am not mistaken did not Alabama loose a game sneak into the playoffs and win the title one year. This is why I think playoffs are so important for the NESCAC even an internal playoffs. I also think that you would get some real good rivalry's and more student support of football with internal playoffs.

Not once have I thought about Alabama when watching Tufts, but, sure. I don't agree with the playoff take really at all because part of what makes the shortened season great is that every game has that much more importance. Think of all the games along the way that would just mean less if the top 4 teams made the playoff.

With that being said, there is a pretty easy argument to make that a 9 team single round robin is a pretty bad way to determine a champion - since it is the offseason I suppose we might as well debate it. Like always, it comes back down to finding a viable alternative and there really isn't a good one.

[lumbercat]

With the off season recruiting commitments will begin to flow.

Tufts has already picked up a great QB prospect.
Tor Maas- QB 6'5" 220 -Marshfield, Ma HS - This prospect easily could have gone to a higher level.  A great score for the Jumbo's and the best recruiter in the NESCAC Coach Civetti.

[Nescacman]

Word is that the NESCAC will impose an 84-man roster limit for 2025 as approved by the NESCAC Presidents. Will be interesting to see what impact this will have on the NESCAC hierarchy. As expected, those pushing for a lower limit were Williams and Amherst. Wesleyan, Hartford State, and Middlebury were supportive of a higher limit or no limit. 

[Brady12]

Word is that the NESCAC will impose an 84-man roster limit for 2025 as approved by the NESCAC Presidents. Will be interesting to see what impact this will have on the NESCAC hierarchy. As expected, those pushing for a lower limit were Williams and Amherst. Wesleyan, Hartford State, and Middlebury were supportive of a higher limit or no limit.

Is that for dressed roster or total roster?  Will teams be essentially red shirting players?  Feels like Trinity has 100+ players on sidelines whether in uniform or street clothes, I wonder if this will have a transfer portal fall out

[Nescacman]

Word is that the NESCAC will impose an 84-man roster limit for 2025 as approved by the NESCAC Presidents. Will be interesting to see what impact this will have on the NESCAC hierarchy. As expected, those pushing for a lower limit were Williams and Amherst. Wesleyan, Hartford State, and Middlebury were supportive of a higher limit or no limit.

Is that for dressed roster or total roster?  Will teams be essentially red shirting players?  Feels like Trinity has 100+ players on sidelines whether in uniform or street clothes, I wonder if this will have a transfer portal fall out

Total roster. Our understanding is that only 84 players will be allowed to practice and play during the year. Those 84 would be on a list at the beginning of the year and replacements would not be allowed once the season starts. We asked the very question about additional "non-roster" players practicing with the team. That would be a rules violation. We assume non-roster players could participate in team meetings and could lift with the team, but football practices would be a no-no.

[nescac1]

Honestly, 84 seems like a very fair compromise.  The smallest NESCAC schools are I think around 1600 people?  So that's still over ten percent of the men on campus playing on the football team at some schools.  And it's not like guys 70-84 are ever gonna see meaningful playing time, anyway, whereas if some of them end up at a school lower down in the NESCAC football pecking order, they will.  There is still going to be an uneven playing field among the schools due to different admissions priorities, but if schools can no longer bring in 30-man football classes, it will help bring some parity and maybe we see fewer 42-3 type scores in league play, and consistent massive blowouts like that I don't think are all that great for the league. 

Most of these schools are never gonna hit an 84 man roster in all events.  Williams, for example, will return 61 guys assuming zero attrition.  The Ephs typical recruiting class is right around 22-23 players.  But at least five guys are sure to leave the roster, likely a few more.  So even without any league-imposed limit, Williams will be under 80 players and probably will have to be fortunate to hit 75.  And that's before injuries.  I'm sure they are not alone. 

The only downside to this is that I do think football players bring some very badly needed cultural and political balance to NESCAC campuses (and I say this as a left-leaning person, but the campuses have just become so depressingly monolithic and oppressive in their perspective), so the more the better, in that regard.  But if the schools WANTED to they could easily bring in non-football/hockey students who bring that balance; alas, I doubt that most care.