FB: New Jersey Athletic Conference

[Pat Coleman]

Kean beat Rowan 35-28 in OT.

[DanPadavona]

Amazing.  I never saw that coming.  So the NJAC championship will be decided next Saturday.  Winner goes to the NCAA tournament!

[JT]

Very disappointing.  Refs were absolute **** to the advantage of Kean.  Missed calls, blown calls, bad spots etc.  With that said, the refs did not cost Rowan the game.  The refs gift wrapped a touchdown for Kean on a bad call against Rowan in the first half tying the score at 14-14.

The Profs came out and scored two td's in the 3rd quarter putting them up 28-14 and essentially erasing the problem with the bad calls in the first half.  Rowan maintained a two TD lead until 7:36 of the 4th quarter.

I'd place the blame equally on the offense and defense.  Defense held down the potent Kean offense until mid 4th quarter.  They gave up a drive for a TD and another 67 yard big play (blown coverage) for another TD to tie the score late 4th.  The offense couldn't move the ball and run out the clock.  It seemed like AJ Roque had more time in the 4th then he had in the first three quarters. Roque was able to move in the pocket and find targets that he wasn't able to do earlier.

Time to play spoiler.

Pat I sent you a Kean celebration pic.  Looks like I might be able to do color for an East Region playoff game.

[JT]

The Kean baseball team had their ring ceremony at halftime.  The rings looked really nice. Big rectangular tops with a blue KU surrounded by "diamonds". The ring itself looked like white gold.  The KU looked like real blue topaz.... the diamonds looked fake.

[XREDDRAGON77]

With all of this dog eat dog, A beats B, B beats C, and C beats A action....could the NJAC  get a Pool C bid.  Any guesses?  Is this scenario correct for a possible playoff picture?

Rowan- 3 NJAC losses, out even if they beat Cortland.
Montclair- 2 NJAC losses, out with head to head losses to Cortland and TCNJ.
Cortland - In if they beat TCNJ with head to head, even if they lose to Rowan following week.
                  -loss to TCNJ and win over Rowan still leaves them out?
TCNJ- In if they beat Cortland due to head to head.  Not sure of conference record. 

[XREDDRAGON77]

Got my facts wrong with Rowan's record, thought they lost to Montclair earlier.   Still a lot of conference games left in the final 2 weeks.  I guess anything can happen.

[Knightstalker]

This is probably the best NJAC race we have had in 10 or 15 years.  Four teams that can realistically still take it.  Cortland at 5-0 and TCNJ at 4-0 both control their fate, win out and they are in, if that happens I think they both make it.  Montclair and Rowan are both 2-2, they could win out and win the conference with some help.  Montclair still has an outside shot at a Pool C if they win out but don't win the conference, but I think they need to win the conference.  Rowan has to win the NJAC, that is the only way they get to the playoffs, they should be invited to the ECAC if they have declared for them.

Basically Rowan and Montclair need to win the NJAC to make the playoffs.  Cortland and TCNJ are both in if they win out with the only NJAC loss to the loser of their match up.  That would leave the other with 2 losses.  If Cortland does not beat TCNJ their NCAA hopes will be laid on the line in the Cortaca Jug game.

[rams1102]

Congratulations to Cortland on their victory over Montclair.

I had commitments the past 2 weeks and have either watched on the computer or yesterday listened to the link. I thought this was our year, and Cortland is a tough place to play. I was the driver for my daughters wedding shower. Do my early duty, pay bills and yard work. Come in for a break and the score before the half is 13-10 Montclair. We miss the extra point. Then we drive and settle for an easy field goal that we missed. Cortland then starts a drive with a little over a minute and drives to our 30. Take a shot at the endzone for a Cortland TD and called back with -0- time, but a motion penality. Montclait takes the penality and they get another shot with -o- time and do it again. End of half. I knew something was wrong but still felt OK being down 16-13. Leave at 3:00 for shower pick-up and get home around 4:30 to observe the final score.

As stalker said we would have to win out to have a chance for the dance. Getting beat like we did will not really help our chances. The Montclair-Rowan game will be one between 2 wounded teams. Should be interesting. Does anyone know what has happened to McCoach? I know Bliss is doing a good job, but curious minds want to know.

We come out 3-0 against ranked teams, then drop 2 in the NJAC. Any comments?

[DanPadavona]

Knightstalker -

A couple thoughts.  First, the NJAC championship almost certainly comes down to Cortland at TCNJ. 

If Cortland wins, it's theirs. If TCNJ wins, technically they could still lose the title if they are beaten back-to-back by Buffalo State and Kean.  I just don't see that happening, even though both games are on the road.  Honestly Buffalo State might be the tougher game because of the length of the trip.

Second, I haven't started to look at the national Pool C possibilities yet.  With the way the E8 is loaded at the top, I assume they have the inside track to the first Eastern Pool C bid by a large margin.  Also, the loser of Cortland-TCNJ is going to be looking at their second loss of the season.  That is usually the end of any hopes, though a really strong 2 loss team sometimes sneaks in. 

Provided RPI wins out, which I assume they will, I don't see a Pool C bid for the Liberty League.  Hobart could potentially fight their way in with a win vs. Alfred, and then an undefeated final two games.  Union needs to win the title outright to get in, as they have 2 ugly out of conference losses.  If Union wins out, RPI might end up taking a Pool C bid with 1 loss on their record.

Rowan is out of the Pool C race with 3 losses.  There is some hope for Montclair, but they not only need to beat Rowan, I think they need to do it with "style points."  Wins over WP and West Conn are necessary, but aren't likely to swing voters.  Cortland already has a loss at Brockport, so the odds are against them getting a Pool C with 2 losses.  However they do finish with 2 big games - Rowan and Ithaca.  If they won both, they might swing the voters to their side.

TCNJ is in a similar situation to Montclair.  If they lose next week, then their last 2 games are Buffalo State and Kean.  And I don't see either game providing them with a necessary "big win down the stretch." 

[DanPadavona]

We come out 3-0 against ranked teams, then drop 2 in the NJAC. Any comments?

That's why you have to play out the season to find out who truly deserves their ranking.  Wilkes isn't a ranked team anymore, and hasn't been for a long time.  Springfield dropped out of the rankings, lost to Brockport, and got crushed by Fisher.  Wesley probably compares very closely to TCNJ and Cortland this season, whereas when the season started a lot of people ranked them among the very strongest in D3.

It's just the way the schedule played out.  Those were 3 nice wins, but they just weren't against opponents as strong as initially projected.  And as you have noted many times, the NJAC is pretty darn tough competition.

I was wondering where you were at yesterday.  I kept looking for you in the stands, and figured you must have had a prior commitment.  Take care Dave!

[cstate19]

The Cortaca Jug ticket information on the Cortland page only gives information on tickets at Ithaca.  Does anyone know what the deal is to get tickets from Cortland?

[XREDDRAGON77]

I am sure those  tix will go on sale like 2 weeks before the game.  Being away, I bet they only have a 1,000 or so going to Cortland.  They will sell out in less than an hour as they have in the past.  Best bet is to go through Ithaca if they have a ticket office.

[MSUBIRDGANG]

Tough loss guys....Just like Sam Mills always said though.."Keep Pounding"  thats it just keep pounding!!!!!

Go Red Hawks

[Jonny Utah]

I am sure those  tix will go on sale like 2 weeks before the game.  Being away, I bet they only have a 1,000 or so going to Cortland.  They will sell out in less than an hour as they have in the past.  Best bet is to go through Ithaca if they have a ticket office.

Another year of not being able to get tickets to a frickin d3 football game....Its friggin easier to get tickets to game 7 of the sox/Indians for chists sake...what a pain in the arse....

[rams1102]

Tough loss guys....Just like Sam Mills always said though.."Keep Pounding"  thats it just keep pounding!!!!!

Go Red Hawks

Great quote from Sam Mills. +K  What's up with McCoach?