FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[bant551]

Re: Lucey:

Hard to give a mulligan on one game when it constitutes 1/8 of the season, and make your interceptions per game skyrocket.

Maybe if they end up with a share of the crown I'd jump on that ship.  But a storied program losing more games than usual, plus the horrible 1st game, might open it up for one of the kids on these newer powers.

[Trin9-0]

Although I didn't think Midd would be this good this soon with all they lost, their success does coincide with the theory I said pre-season that almost all NESCAC schools embarking on in fundraising campaigns seem to perform particularly well.  Amherst, which will soon announce a huge campaign, is next on deck and I predict strong teams for both Amherst and Midd the next 3-4 years   

FYI: Last week Trinity announced a $350 million campaign.
http://www.courant.com/news/education/hc-trinity1025.artoct25,0,1892764.story

[cheerboyscheer]

Nice to see the Panthers beat the Bants for the first time since 2001.  A potential Nescac Championship Game in Medford in two weeks would be an ideal way to end the NESCAC season, but I'm hoping the Panthers come ready to play next week against Ham-tech and can avoid what would could be a disastrous let down game.  A win versus Hamlton would set up what would be, without question, the biggest Middlebury football game since they did away with the Norwich rivalry in 1991.

Its also worth noting that in a league of so many great tradition and rivalries, Middlebury and Hamilton probably participate in the worst / most-artificial of those traditions.  The annual game is known as the "Rocking Chair Classic" and the winner takes home an old rocking chair donated by a Hamilton Alumni in the late 1970's.  It would be great if there was a real tradition or rivalry between the two schools, but at least from a Middlebury perspective, its just another game on the schedule. 

[BTEXPRESS]

Boy this board is DEAD,DEAD, DEAD!!. The season is winding down and it has been three days since someone posted on here!

[Trin9-0]

Boy this board is DEAD,DEAD, DEAD!!. The season is winding down and it has been three days since someone posted on here!

Not much to chat about until next weekend. Williams-Amherst, Colby-Bowdoin and the Tufts-Middlebury game (which will in all likelyhood determine the league champ) are all still a week away.

The best match-up this week is Trinity-Amherst which because of their 4-2 records doesn't have the same "big game" feel to it.

I'm heading up to the game though, if Trin can win out then they'll likely share a piece of second place at 6-2 with the loser of the Tufts-Midd game. If Amherst losses I think they'll finish a disapointing 4-4 (can't see them beating Williams) with their most impressive win being a 28-9 win over Wesleyan at home. 


Does anyone think 1-5 Colby or 2-4 Hamilton can throw a wrench into the Tufts-Midd championship showdown? I think both are very unlikely, but this has been a crazy year in the NESCAC and Hamilton does have a strong defense...

[Pallos]

  I will be at Trin-Trin game vs Amherst on Saturday along with a buddy to watch his son play. He insists that Trin-Trin still has the most talent in the league but they have not lived up to their potential so far this year and met with some bad breaks as well.  He's predicting that they will win big in Amherst against "a talented but very young" Amherst team ( his assessment ).  Any predictions on this game?

[frank uible]

Trinity by 25.

[Trin9-0]

Boy Frank, you really are convinced that this is the best Trinity team in recent memory.

[frank uible]

Not any longer.

[Col. Partridge]

Captain's Week 7 Picks.   Home team in CAPS.

Favorite   Spread   Underdog Tufts          13     COLBY Bowdoin       1      BATES Williams       17     WESLEYAN MIDDLEBURY 16     Hamilton Trinity        13.5   AMHERST

Undecided whether I will make it to Middletown for Homecoming, where I will consider it a moral victory if the Cardinals can keep the Ephs from covering the spread. 

For the record, Frank also predicted Middlebury would handle Williams...but I do agree with him that Trinity is better than Amherst, and it wouldn't shock me to see Trinity roll them by 25 if they get their act together.

But there are no sure things in the NESCAC in 2007, so who knows?   For those who are wondering, if you went with my favorites last week you would have had 1 win, 3 losses and 1 push.  For the season my favorites have covered 15 times, not covered 11 times, and pushed 4 times.  My best week was Week 2, with 3 favorites covering and 2 games being pushes.

[Trin9-0]

Capt: You've got to be kidding me with a 13.5 spread for the Trin-Amherst game?

Do you really think the Bants should be a bigger favorite over the Jeffs than than the Jubos are over the Mules!?

Keep in mind that the teams Trinity lost to were able to stop the run. Amherst is 1st in rushing defense and total defense. They're also 3rd in rushing offense and 2nd in turnover margin.

Another factor is that Trin hasn't played well on the road this year and in recent history have stuggled at Pratt Field.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Bants will rally from last weeks disappointment and pick up a win... but if I were a betting man I'd take Amherst with the points.


I'm also going to take Wes with the points. The Cards defense is suprisingly NOT terrible this year and the Ephs give up points.

I also like Bates to pull the "upset" and set up the absurd 3-way tie in the CBB.

Middlebury will cover, but wouldn't be surprised if the score was 16-0.

Tufts should beat Colby by 13, but for some reason I think the Mules will make this one close at home in a trap game for the Jumbos.

[Col. Partridge]

Amherst lost to Tufts by 19 points last week.  I don't think it is unreasonable to think they lose to Trinity by 2 touchdowns this week, although I didn't take into condsideration all the points you raise. 

In searching google news for NESCAC stories other than student newspapers and the obligatory Tufts paragraph in the Boston Globe, I came accross this update on the former Midd kicker at NC State:

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=298335

[met_fan]

Hamilton covers the 16 against Middlebury - mainly because I'd really like to see the Continentals get back to respectability.    If they can get to three or four wins this year, that's really pretty significant for them.  It wasn't too long ago that Hamilton could actually compete against the elite of the league.  I just hope the school is making an honest effort with this - there is just no reason to play if you're going to win 0-2 games every single year.....iit just demoralizes everyone around the program.

[fells]

Partly cloudy and cold in Middlebury today with a game time temperature of 45 degrees. You can catch the game on the web at www.wfad1490.com.

[speedy]

No three-way tie for the CBB as Bowdoin finally steps it up and downs Bates, 31-7