FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Trin9-0]

I'll be the first to admit I didn't think there would be this many suprises in the NESCAC this year, at least not this early in the season.

The biggest NESCAC suprises so far (from least to most suprising):

5. Tufts 3-0. The record is impressive, though they usually start out strong against an early weak schedule.

4. Wes much better than expected. They could easily be 3-0 as well. Considering they went winless last year it's safe to say their showing thus far has been respectable.

3. Trinity's streak comes to an end. Suprising considering their dominance over the last 3-4 years, however more than a few predicted they'd start this year 1-1.

4. ONE win out of Maine. Between Colby's title hopes and the success of last years Polar Bears I don't think anyone could have predicted this.

1. Midd 3-0. Definately the forgotten team that no one was talking about. HUGE wins in consecutive weeks over Colby and Amherst. However, it doesn't get any easier with Williams next week and remaining games against Tufts and @ Trinity.


What a huge week this will be in the NESCAC two undefeated teams go head-to-head (Midd @ Williams). The remaining unbeaten (Tufts) travels to Hartford to play a one loss team (Trin). And Colby looks to turn their season around with a win against a dangerous Amherst team returning home after a tough loss.

Can't wait for Saturday!

[frank uible]

My lifelong experience considering football tells me that there are no locks in that sport - "that's why they play the games".

[pleasedontflex]

I'm new to this whole thing but I have a few questions for those that have attended any of the nescac games.

1) Why isn't Trinity scoring points?  They only had 13 v Hamiton.

2) How did Amherst not win against midd?  I don't care what you say  about ball control Amherst has better talent.

**Note:  trin and amh both very strong QBs besides a solid running game**

3)  Why is Colby down this year?

4) Is Williams good again?

...and please I dont care what school you went to, so an objective answer will do just fine

[Col. Partridge]

Frank Uible:  Is the Williams College Football Show going to be posted to the web this week?

[dirtybirds30-0]

I had predicted that Wesleyan would be a much improved team...They have a solid defense this year which will help them win at least 3 games this year.

Amherst has been one of the most TALENTED teams athletically over the past 5 years...but somehow they always seem to drop a few along the way...is it coaching?  Who knows....

Middlebury is the suprise of the last decade!  I have no idea how or why they are good?  I know the QB has some experience...and it is apparent that the Defense is VERY good!  One of their defensive ends has 9.5 sacks!  How is that possible...is he that good?  Answers would be helpful.

It was predicted that the streak could end this year...we do not have an experienced QB or offensive line...that usually means you will have trouble scoring.  The biggest dissapointment is the Defense...I think the last time we gave up 40 + points was when I was a freshman (Priore's first year)...and we were HORRIBLE!  Is it leadership?  Heart? Skill?  I don't know, but they better figure it out or they might finish at 6-2 or 5-3 on the season.

Hamilton is Hamilton....but their perfromance v.s. Trinity was impressive.  Imagine if we lost that one!

Tufts has yet to impress me...3-0 does not mean anything.  They were 3-0 my senior year and we went into their place and beat them senseless.  We had much better talent, but the rest of the league thought they were a heavy weight at the time.  This week will be telling.

Williams is BACK....they have talent, desire, and senior leadership.  They will be tough to beat at home, which is why Middlebury should lose their first of the year.

Bowdoin, Bates, and Colby are having a rough start.  I would have predicted these three teams as the most improved out of the league....I just don't get it?

Well thats my take on the start of this year....when the dust settles maybe Trinity will be able to sneak out as co-champions...I hope.

[mariner75]

DB...just curious what was the score of the Jumbos/Bants game you refer to in your post...must've been the 03 or 04 game?.....cause all the rest in recent years have been tight...thanks.

[frank uible]

Capt.: Not to my knowledge.

[Ghostrider]

Colby has had a major bite from the injury bug in there oline and their starting Running back......

Middlebury's defense is now being run by Monniger, is has always been a good coach up there, not Gritti, not to say he is not a good coach, but he is not calling the shots....

Bowdoin...lost a ton of Seniors from last year....

Tufts should always be good, if they start well they do well, if they don't they tend to tank......Always have good athletes there, should be dominate like Trinity with their resources....

[tmerton]

Middlebury's defense is now being run by Monniger, is has always been a good coach up there, not Gritti, not to say he is not a good coach, but he is not calling the shots....

I noted that Gritti isn't the coordinator.  But unless you're involved in the program and know it isn't so, I'd bet the guy scheming the D and feeding that to Monniger is Gritti.

[Bantam79]

While desirous that Trinity keeps a piece of the NESCAC crown, a few things make me nervous about the team's prospects this year, having seen both their first two games:

1) Significant turnover in the coaching staff not only at the head spot but in coordinator positions, the O-line, receivers, secondary, and linebackers (6 of 10 are new this year).  No judgment being made on them here (they may turn out to be a very good staff), simply that that much turnover, despite the ascension of the D-coordinator to head coach, can make for a treacherous transition and threaten continuity, particularly when everyone else in the league is gunning for you. It takes a little time to get a coaching staff to gel well (Priore was 4-4 for his first 2 years).  On top of that, our AA defensive end captain from the last four years (Blair), was coaching at Williams this year.  I wonder what trade secrets got shared in that deal!

2) The offensive backfield experience has take a significant hit with the departure of Chandler Barnard and Carlos Baz--both contributing juniors lasy year and perhaps more significantly the absence on the field (although on the roster) of Jordan Quinones.  All these MIA's are on top of the normal turnover (e.g. two starting QB's) due to graduation.  Gennaro really doesn't have a proven or seasoned backup to give him a blow for a few downs.  As a result, opposing defenses are not seeing the mix of offensive weapons shuttling in and out that had become somewhat of a staple of the offense of the last two years.  The Williams box score showed only two players with rushing yards--McGrath (QB) and Leo.

3) Trinity's punt-kick special team is not as strong/consistent as last year's team performance. a) They miss the punting of their all-NESCAC punter from last year.   We've gave up too much field position on mediocre to bad punts in the Williams, and to a lesser degree Colby games (I didn't see the Hamilton game).  b) the snapping seems inconsistent.  Besides the bad snap in the Colby game that gave them deep field position, the punter is frequently getting slow snaps, above his shoulders--not good for smooth punts.

Generally, I think the Bants will do well, but the above aspects will make this season a little more challenging than usual.

[dirtybirds30-0]

Mariner:  I was referring to the 03' game.  We won 26-3...I think?  Anyway, I think this weekend should prove very difficult for the Bants...so don't think I am expecting a blow out, but until Tufts wins this game they are still average.

[nescac9]

     I wish I had posted this before the season got going, because it looks like this year could make my case.  I was thinking back to the discussion on parity and how people were too focused on the top of the league.  It seemed like the board's idea of parity is a league where williams and trinity alternate taking the title and everyone else didnt matter.  For this league to balance out, it needs to happen from the bottom up and i think that is what we are seeing now.  Look at tufts, and middlebury making huge strides(and you could even argue that Hamilton would be an improved team if they'd score some points).   Then look at colby and bowdoin finding themselves in the bottom half of the league this year.  I think we can all agree, when looking at the league unbiasely(as difficult as that may be for some of us), that this league will be most successful and entertaining when we can look at each weekend and say any team can beat any other team if they play well enough.  So please dont bicker about certain school's admissions, because the way to make this league as competitive as possible is to turn the bottom feeders into teams that are capable of shaking up the standings at the top of the league at any given time.

[formerbant10]

Bant79,

Quinones apparently had surgery in the summer.  Not exactly sure when he had it, but that would explain his absence on the field, which no doubt hurts them a little bit.

[bant551]

Trinity becoming a force only marginally contributed to "parity" in the league in the sense that for once, a team other than Williams and Amherst was fighting for the league crown.

But youre right that bringing the quality of play up at the traditional bottom-feeders (as opposed to having only 1 team join the group that competes for the title) would be best for the league.  Colby brought itself up to that level for a while, and if they are losing, hopefully its a temporary funk and not a return to yearly mediocrity.  Teams like Tufts and Middlebury are at least usually tough, and I think they've made legitimate runs at the title before... but they're usually competitive.

Ideally, teams like Bates and Bowdoin and Hammy will join that club.  Apologies if I left out any other traditionally subpar teams, but I'm busy!

[Col. Partridge]

In the last 18 years of results posted on nescac.com, Amherst has had a better record than Trinity exactly four times ('97, '98, '00, '01).  On average, since the mid 1980s the NESCAC has more often been a fight between Trinity and Williams more than anything else.