FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[bant551]

Congrats to Jumbos.  As always, prefer to see the Bants lose (if they must) to an underdog rather than one of the traditional powers like Williams or Amherst.

[Trin9-0]

The Trin-Tufts game was tough to watch from a Bantams fan perspective.

Tufts played well, especially in the second half and their secondary did an tremendous job of shutting down a high powered Trinity passing attack.

I looked at the stats and they're very similar. Trin actually led in total yards but trailed in turnovers and time of possesion.

Congrats to the Jumbos, but they can't celebrate for long as a very tough back to back games vs Williams and Amherst await.


For years people have been hoping for parity in the NESCAC; this is finally the year it will happen. I predict multiple teams will share the crown this year at 7-1 or possibly even 6-2!

[Col. Partridge]

What happens if, say two teams go 7-1.  Are they declared "co-champions" even if one beat the other in head-to-head competition?  (If this is out there in the public domain, I am too lazy to look it up).   

While the same issue could still arise if the league went to a 9-game season where everyone played each other, it would happen less often, statistically speaking.  And there would never be co-champions who never played each other.

Did someone say the guy who writes this column went to Williams?   He is pretty funny...

[Ephmen1991]

Capt.,

I think Williams and Trinity were named co-champs in 2002 when they were both 7-1 even though Williams beat Trinity that year.

I don't know about the guy from NBC but Pete McEntegart who writes Tenspot on SI.com is a Williams grad who used to write the student articles on sports.

[dewcrew88]

I figure I can get some good answers here. What can you guys tell me about Trinity and Middlebury? I'm going to the game on the 27th, unless someone else comes up, and I'm wondering what I should be looking for.
Thanks.

[bant551]

CaptP., yeah, Matt Casey went to Williams and now has a weekly spot on NBCSports.com .  He was doing baseball columns and now is doing college FB predictions/analysis.

Please do check it weekly if you liked it, as its difficult for a new guy to gain an audience.

[fells]

I figure I can get some good answers here. What can you guys tell me about Trinity and Middlebury? I'm going to the game on the 27th, unless someone else comes up, and I'm wondering what I should be looking for.
Thanks.

Middlebury is a solid team this year, but really didn't play that well last weekend against Williams. The Panthers freshman quarterback Donald McKillop has shown good poise in the pocket, and until Saturday's game against Williams didn't make too many bad decisions. In the Williams game he tossed five interceptions and the Williams defense seemed to confuse him. At wideout, Andrew Matson has been McKillop's favorite target as he caught ten passes last week. In the backfield, David Randolph and freshman Gary Cooper have done very well.

The defense is strong as always. Erik Woodring, son of former Jet John Woodring, has been named NESCAC defensive player of the week twice this year and is fun to watch. Alex Buggy is the team's emotional leader and plays like he has been shot out of a cannon. The rest of the defense is very good and they have a strong secondary.

As far as the field, you will not find a better place to watch a game. There are stands to one side and an un-obstructed view of the soccer field and Green Mountains to the far side. The tailgaters are awesome, and it is a great crowd.

If you are looking for a good place to eat, head over to the Middlebury Market and Cafe. Big portions and the price is really good too. It is where I eat before home games and they take very good care of their customers.

[fells]

Here is the link to the preview of this weekend's Middlebury/Bates game. The game will be on the web at www.us937.com.

http://vermontradioguy.blogspot.com/

[dewcrew88]

I figure I can get some good answers here. What can you guys tell me about Trinity and Middlebury? I'm going to the game on the 27th, unless someone else comes up, and I'm wondering what I should be looking for.
Thanks.

Middlebury is a solid team this year, but really didn't play that well last weekend against Williams. The Panthers freshman quarterback Donald McKillop has shown good poise in the pocket, and until Saturday's game against Williams didn't make too many bad decisions. In the Williams game he tossed five interceptions and the Williams defense seemed to confuse him. At wideout, Andrew Matson has been McKillop's favorite target as he caught ten passes last week. In the backfield, David Randolph and freshman Gary Cooper have done very well.

The defense is strong as always. Erik Woodring, son of former Jet John Woodring, has been named NESCAC defensive player of the week twice this year and is fun to watch. Alex Buggy is the team's emotional leader and plays like he has been shot out of a cannon. The rest of the defense is very good and they have a strong secondary.

As far as the field, you will not find a better place to watch a game. There are stands to one side and an un-obstructed view of the soccer field and Green Mountains to the far side. The tailgaters are awesome, and it is a great crowd.

If you are looking for a good place to eat, head over to the Middlebury Market and Cafe. Big portions and the price is really good too. It is where I eat before home games and they take very good care of their customers.

Thank you. That helps a lot. +K

[nescac1]

Pretty crazy year in NESCAC.  Stunned that Trinity lost to Tufts ... seems like Trinity's biggest problem is lack of a true game breaker at running back, no one who has the talent there of some of the guys they had in the past like Leo, Finkleday, Barnard, etc., who enabled them to just dominate the time of possession.  But for a botched extra point (which may cost Williams another game before the year is out, how many extra points can be bumbled or blocked in one season???), Trinity would be 2-2 which is hard to believe given their talent on the offensive and defensive lines and at QB.   Of course, not as stunning as the Williams loss to Bowdoin, but with a QB who hadn't been able to practice and all new (and far less dominant) receivers, maybe folks should have expected the usually superhuman Lucey to struggle in the passing game that day.  Now that Lucey is back on form, I think the Ephs should be a slight favorite, for the second straight week, against an undefeated team.    Still, should be a war and Tufts will be confident after taking down the Bantams.

It's odd, for some reason, even great Williams teams have struggled with Bates.  Likewise, Amherst teams that tend to beat up on most of the league have really struggled with Midd in recent years.  Basically, NESCAC has become pretty difficult to predict, which is a nice change from the last six years of Williams and Trinity dominance.  I still think Trinity will rebound to win the conference title this year, as Tufts has a rough second half of the season to get through ... but it is wide open with Amherst, Wesleyan, Tufts, Williams, Midd all credible contenders as well.  About time for some parity, maybe the 75 roster cap is finally paying off. 

[Col. Partridge]

As others have said here before, I'm not sure the 76th player who didn't show up at Williams or Trinity  is really helping Bates this year.  It wouldn't surprise me if Williams and Trinity don't lose again.

That being said, I was entering the variables into the computer, looking for a way to plausibly predict Wesleyan to win at Amherst on Saturday on the way to Wes Tech's first outright Little Three title since 1970 (for those keeping score at home, that requires beating two teams in one season--it should happen more than once every 37 years).  I found this when looking at common opponents this year:

Middlebury   24   Wesleyan   10 Middlebury   19   Amherst   16 Wesleyan    23   Colby   14 Amherst   28   Colby   13 Wesleyan   41   Bates   21 Amherst   24   Bates   0

At the very least, that tells me Wes shouldn't be embarrassed on Saturday.   It also tells me Wesleyan is improving as the year goes on.  I'll be back with Captain's picks for Week 5 tomorrow.

[Trin9-0]

nescac1: You make a good point about Trin's lack of a breakout running game. They are much more of a big-play offense, as opposed to the more 'grind it out' style of recent years.

It's tough to say whether this is due to a drop-off in talent at the RB position or if it's due to the new offensive philosophy in which the Bants throw the ball more often. I suppose it's likely a little of both.

Capt. don't hold your breath on Wes winning the Little Three this year. Although, I agree they shouldn't get embarassed by the Jeffs and they could catch Amherst looking to next week.

With all the talk of NESCAC parity will this be the week Colby/Bates get their first win? I doubt it; the Mules will have trouble scoring on Hamilton at the 'Steub', and Bates will be outmatched against a Middlebury team on the rebound. I also don't give much of a chance to Bowdoin (1-3) who will be facing an angry Bantam squad who simply don't lose in the 'Coop'.

Looks like another 0-3 weekend for the CBB.

[Col. Partridge]

I telegraphed one pick last night, and I don't think it is outrageous.  As for the rest, I have to agree with Trin 8-0 although it looks like he did not make a Williams-Tufts prediction.  Maybe I'm stuck in the past, but I just can't see Tufts beating Williams in Williamstown.

Home team in CAPS.

FAVORITE   SPREAD   UNDERDOG HAMILTON    3.5      Colby Wesleyan      1        AMHERST Middlebury    17       BATES TRINITY       24       Bowdoin WILLIAMS      3       Tufts

[Trin9-0]

I'll take, Hamilton, Bates (with the points) betting the house on Amherst getting 1 at home, Williams and Bowdoin (the Bants and Bears never play a close game, but 24 points is just too many).

[Col. Partridge]

Boston Herald keeps up the Tufts coverage:

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/college/football/view.bg?articleid=1039082

And Boston Globe:

http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2007/10/19/after_big_win_jumbos_want_more/