FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Trin9-0]

Unfortunately Bant, I think the Ephs have the best shot at knocking off Trin this year simply because the game is in Williamstown. They certainly have the most talent of the 3 contenders, and haven't lost since being embarrased by the Bants in Hartford last year. Revenge and a renewed commitment to winning the league could mean an end to the streak. The Ephs will need to put up at least 17-21 points and play very solid defense, but this game scares me as a Bant fan.

Colby's stong defense will cause problems for a young Trin QB, but I don't see the Bants allowing many points on defense and Trinity simply doesn't lose at home. Devanney is a defensive minded coach who will have that unit very well prepared for a predictable Colby offense. I predict a low scoring game where turnovers and field position determine the winner. 13-3 Trin.

The Trin-Amherst game will be very similar to Trin-Colby, however this late in the season the Bantam offense should be much more efficent. Also, the Bants remember how close the Jeffs came to knocking them off last year so they'll be ready to play in front of a big Homecoming crowd. Although Trin has struggled against the Jeffs on the road in recent years the Bants will beat a very good Amherst squad at home by at least 2 scores.

Another game that could be dangerous for Trin is @ Bowdoin. Though I project the Bears to take a step backwards in terms of wins & loses this year, they are still a very disciplined, well coached team that plays as if it has something to prove. They will be amped to play the Bants at home and if a few break go their way they could pull a huge upset.

Middlebury, Hamilton and Wesleyan should be push-overs and playing Tufts at home is a big advantage for Trin. If the Bants can get through the 1st two weeks, they should be well on their way to a 4th perfect season.

Other big games in the NESCAC this year:

Colby @ Amherst- The Jeffs will be looking for revenge, however an experienced Colby will get the win in low scoring defensive battle.

Bowdoin @ Colby- Mules show once again that they are the class of Maine DIII football. Bowdoin has taken serious strides, but fall short in the deciding game of the CBB.

Williams @ Amherst- A strong Jeff defense holds a talented Eph offense and Amherst wins at home.

~Projected 2006 NESCAC Final Standings~

Trinity 7-1 5 straight NESCAC championships, but the streak goes down.
Colby 7-1 Back to Back 7-1 seasons and a share of the title.
Williams 7-1 Loss to the Jeffs ruins perfect season.
Amherst 6-2 Losses to Trin, Colby. But a huge win at home over the Ephs.
Bowdoin 4-4 Solid team but still not a true championship contender.
Middlebury 3-5 Status quo for the Panthers.
Tufts 3-5 Slight improvement, should be a better program.
Bates 2-6 Starting to turn things around, could pull a few upsets.
Wesleyan 1-7 Better than last year.
Hamilton 0-8 New coach, same Continentals.

[dirtybirds30-0]

With the first week coming up shortly what are the predictions on the games?

Trinity 21
Colby 17

Williams 31
Bowdoin 14

Tufts 28
Hamilton 3

Middlebury 14
Wesleyan 7

Amherst 28
Bates 17

[tmerton]

Article in SF Bay Area paper on two players from the area involved in the Middlebury-Dartmouth scrimmage this weekend (the link should be good for at least a week).

http://www.marinij.com/sports/ci_4329232

[bant551]

Is Trinity doing that online game thing this year, where you can catch the live feed?

[dirtybirds30-0]

Anyone see any of the scrimmages this weekend?  How did teams look?

[formerbant10]

Week 1 Predictions....still sour after going down last year.

Amherst 24....Bates 10

Tufts 35....Hamilton -6 (Ditka's not coaching, is he?)

Williams 17....Bowdoin 7 (starters take it easy in 2nd half to stay healthy for Bants)

Middlebury 21....Wesleyan 6

Trinity 28....Colby10 (Big game on the ground outta G.Leo and company)

[mrmike88]

WAMH (89.3 FM in the Pioneer Valley) will have this Saturday's Amherst-Bates game live.  Our broadcast begins with pre-game at 12:15, kickoff at 1:00.  Listen to the webcast at http://wamh.amherst.edu/

Right now, we're looking at broadcasting 6 Amherst games - Bates, Colby, Wesleyan, Tufts, Trinity, and of course the Williams game.  Obviously we'll be biased towards the Lord Jeffs, but if you can get beyond that we'd love for any NESCAC fans (of any team) to tune in!

[cruiser]

huge game in hartford tomorrow....prediction (upset): colby 19 trinity 17

[Trin9-0]

huge game in hartford tomorrow....prediction (upset): colby 19 trinity 17

cruiser, how did I know you were going to say that?

My picks for the week have all the home teams winning...

Tufts beats Hamilton 21-6

Bowdoin loses to Williams 24-14

Middlebury takes down Wesleyan 28-24

Amherst blows out Bates 31-10


And the big showdown in Hartford...

The Bants get #31 in a row over the Mules 17-10

[cruiser]

cruiser, how did I know you were going to say that?



The Bants get #31 in a row over the Mules 17-10
[/quote]


haha and how did i know you were going to say that?

[mariner75]

Tufts over Hamilton 17-0.  Pretty much what you'd expect...Tufts defense played well & the offense did what it needed to do.  Looks like Georges might emerge as a decent RB for the Jumbos & Russo made some nice throws in his debut as QB.  Lots of new faces on defense for Tufts.  Arsenault didn't play...not sure what his status is.

[cruiser]

mules fall, just making too many mistakes to stay with the bantams. the game was actually much closer than the score (27-10) would suggest. congrats to bantams and the mules in a chippy, hard fought game

[dirtybirds30-0]

The game should have been worse than it was...the Bantams look GOOD!  They have aseveral outstanding looking athletes on that team.  DJ Lanz may be the best D-Lineman in the league this year and the linebackers are solid to say the least.  I was impressed with the young offensive line.  They are a little undersized, but they are athletic and powerful.  Leo continues to impress with his running style and the rookie QB has an arm!  Well done Bants, tough one next week.

As for the rest of the games, only real suprise is that Bowdoin was shut out.  I thought the game would be a little closer.  Could the streak end next week in willamstown?  We shall see...

[bant551]

Does anyone know if Trinity or Williams is going to put the game on a live stream?  Or even radio (for free)?

Last week I tried to get the Trinity game and all I got was Trinity's Polka music station... last year I had to buy the Williams season radio plan (40 frikkin dollars!) to hear the Trinity-Williams game.  That was on Uncle Sam's dollar, but since I am no longer able to take out student loans, I am left to search for free radio streams.

Questions?  Concerns?

[Trin9-0]

Colby was as good as advertised, very physical and well coached. Trinity seemed to have better athletes at the skill positions. While the game was far from a blow-out Colby never really threatened to win the game. The Bants made several mistakes on special teams, two long kick returns called back on penalties and a botched long-snap that set up the Colby TD. With that being said, the Trin running game was as dominant as ever and sophomore QB Eric McGrath ran the offense well throwing for 155 yards, 2 scores and most importantly no turnovers.

Defensively the Bants are fast, very fast. Though they allowed Colby to move the ball they played well for the most part. Trinity will need to eliminate the special teams mistakes if they hope to continue the streak against Williams.

The rest of the games were about what you would expect. Bates appears to be in for a long season, as does Hamilton. Bowdoin may have been brought back down to Earth after losing to a very good Eph squad. Poor Wesleyan only gives up 2 field goals and still finds a way to lose.

Some great games next week. Bant551, suck it up and make the drive. If you make it to New Haven I'll carpool with you.