FB: Empire 8

[fisheralum91]

Pioneers?
Really?
After that game i wouldnt give a game ball id give laps!
U>>>G>>L>>Y you aint got not alibi yo ugly

[dewcrew88]

Pioneers?
Really?
After that game i wouldnt give a game ball id give laps!
U>>>G>>L>>Y you aint got not alibi yo ugly

It was crap, but a win is a win. Can't pull that **** against Brockport, they'll get blown out.

[sjfcards]

Pioneers?
Really?
After that game i wouldnt give a game ball id give laps!
U>>>G>>L>>Y you aint got not alibi yo ugly

It was crap, but a win is a win. Can't pull that **** against Brockport, they'll get blown out.

How did Frostburg look?

[AUPepBand]

Congrats to Pep and the Pioneers today.  I thought that my Bengals were ready for Alfred but I was wrong.  Hopefully we can get back on track vs Salisbury next weekend at home!!

As it worked out, Pep, at a bachelor's party, took three of the guys including the bridegroom hostage and drove them to the game where they, armed with kazoos, led the cheers in the Alfred crowd. Pep pulled out his vintage "One Man Band" kazoo, which proved well worth the $7 yard sale investment.

Sorry Pep missed you, Bengalsrule. Pep left the bass drum home. Was also tough getting around the stadium with the center section fenced off for construction of a press box, which greatly reduced the seating....and it was Homecoming! Visitor fans were relegated to sit in the far section between the goal line and the 15 yard line. Arriving 45 minutes before kickoff, Pep plopped himself at the 33 yard line (even if the signs said "Home Fans") and when asked repeatedly by the PA announcer and once by the AU athletic director, Pep was heard to say, "Hey, I paid $5 for general admission, I'll sit where I want." Pep's sister, seated with Pep's father and aunt four rows below, says, "Hey, is there an echo here? That's what Dad just said!"

Pep was impressed with the AU defense, which rose to the challenge of slowing down an explosive Bengal attack most of the game. The defensive line applied decent pressure on Hoppy (but missed a tackle in the backfield on his TD run) and the secondary was exemplary, holding Hoppy to 8 of 27 for 138 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs.

The fourth quarter was scary, though, as the Saxons had that stiff wind against them, and the Bengals started making some noise. Too many times Pep has seen fourth quarter rallies win ball games and the Bengals never quit fighting. Officials saw things differently than Pep, mostly to the Bengals advantage, until that 4th quarter punt when the Bengals were called for roughing the kicker when it appeared they had gotten a hand on the ball. Wow. The Bengals would have had the ball at the AU 30 and all the momentum.

Pep is pleased the Saxons are 3-0 yet realizes they could easily be 1-2 now. On Saxon Warriors!

[fisheralum91]

I will say that Frostburg looked better than in years past, UC should have taken care of business better yesterday.
They were the better team on the field and kept letting Frost back in the game.
Tough to watch at times.

[Bombers798891]

I will say that Frostburg looked better than in years past, UC should have taken care of business better yesterday.
They were the better team on the field and kept letting Frost back in the game.
Tough to watch at times.

Utica completed 12 passes for 65 yards. And outside of the two longest completions, the other 10 went for 32 yards. How is that even possible? Were they just throwing checkdowns? How do Acevedo and Beniquez catch 7 passes and finish with 17 yards?

[fisheralum91]

+k Bombers
was hard to watch...
little if no rhythm and the passing game was non existent..

[Bombers798891]

So, Ithaca looked fantastic yesterday, and they might be better than a lot of us thought. But I was struck by how un-athletic Hartwick looked on both sides of the ball. Normally, they've got some guys on offense who can make a play, but they never looked dangerous at all. I have no idea how Bell ran for 331 yards in one game.

I really like Tristan Brown, IC's freshman running back. I think he could be very good.

The Bombers' game against Alfred next week will probably determine the #2 team in the E8. An IC win probably sets them up nicely for an at-large, but I'd have to say Alfred has the edge at home.

[boobyhasgameyo]

Do you really believe Alfred to be the favorite?  Or are you being cautiously optimistic about Ithaca?  Because I would say based on results thus far this year (Husson is a less than nothing team and they hung on by a thread to beat RPI), last year's game between the teams, rankings, etc.  that Ithaca is the prohibitive favorite. 

I predict that Alfred won't be much of a problem for Ithaca.  They are however consistently a problem for Fisher.  That's not some paranoia either...Fisher is 4-4 against Alfred the last 8 years.  Outside of Salisbury they are the only E8 team to beat Fisher more than once in that span. *


* = that of course is a lie.  Hartwick officially beat Fisher twice in that time period, I just pretend it didn't happen.   

[sjfcards]

I watched most of the IC game yesterday and thought they looked really good. Hartwick was overmatched from the outset, and the running game was much better than I thought it would be. I could see IC competing for the AQ this year. Fisher looks good, but has some issues (bad penalties, only 3-13 in the passing game yesterday, etc), and has found a way to lose a conference game or two every year.

I still think it is Fisher and then everyone else, but I don't think it is so cut and dry.

[ITH radio]

We got a bunch of highlight clips from the Courage Bowl and will run those on the show tonight.

[AUPepBand]

Do you really believe Alfred to be the favorite?  Or are you being cautiously optimistic about Ithaca?  Because I would say based on results thus far this year (Husson is a less than nothing team and they hung on by a thread to beat RPI), last year's game between the teams, rankings, etc.  that Ithaca is the prohibitive favorite. 

I predict that Alfred won't be much of a problem for Ithaca.  They are however consistently a problem for Fisher.  That's not some paranoia either...Fisher is 4-4 against Alfred the last 8 years.  Outside of Salisbury they are the only E8 team to beat Fisher more than once in that span. *


* = that of course is a lie.  Hartwick officially beat Fisher twice in that time period, I just pretend it didn't happen.   

Bombers is no doubt considering the history of the Alfred-Ithaca series in his assessment of the Bombers' chances on Saterday. So long as no Saxon players get all exited and post something on these boards, AU may have a decent chance, given that history, at least at Merrill Field.

While historically it's a rare treat when the Saxons beat Ithaca, AU has done well of late on Merrill Field against the Bombers:
2000: Ithaca 28, Alfred 17
2002: Ithaca 33, Alfred 11
2004: Ithaca 24, Alfred 0
2006: Alfred 28, Ithaca 17
2008: Ithaca 43, Alfred 35
2010: Alfred 31, Ithaca 17
2012: Alfred 31, Ithaca 7

Pep is hoping the Saxons can move the ball against a stellar Ithaca defense...and that the Saxon defense can slow down that well-balanced Bomber attack to keep it close.

Stay tuned!

[boobyhasgameyo]

The new top 25 is out

Fisher is up to the #7 spot
Ithaca is up to #17
Alfred is in the receiving votes section

Go conference go.  I wish that the E9 would engage in an out of conference challenge every season.  Like the Big 10 / ACC challenge in basketball.  Wouldn't that be great?  E9 versus the OAC, the MIAC, WIAC, LL, etc.  Two years for each series so that it could be home and homes.  The tippy top of our league doesn't have a team of the caliber as one of the big 4 schools (my big 4 is Mount Union, Whitewater, UMHB and a revolving 4th spot between the likes of Wesley and Linfield).  But if you matched our 1s against the other conference's 1, 2s against 2s, and so on down the line...I'd like our chances against most everybody to win the series.  Especially when you consider that a team like Fisher, who consistently beats decent teams out of conference (regardless of region) is just as likely to finish 4th in their own conference as first most years. 

Let's get this ball rolling athletic directors.  Consider it OAC people!  You can go first!  Teams are within a reasonable proximity, simplifies scheduling, etc.  Since we have 9 teams and they have 10, they can just withhold Mount Union from participating 

Hell Fisher even made it easy and took the first step with scheduling a series against John Carroll.  We have practically done all of the grunt work already.   

[Mr. Ypsi]

The new top 25 is out

Fisher is up to the #7 spot
Ithaca is up to #17
Alfred is in the receiving votes section

Go conference go.  I wish that the E9 would engage in an out of conference challenge every season.  Like the Big 10 / ACC challenge in basketball.  Wouldn't that be great?  E9 versus the OAC, the MIAC, WIAC, LL, etc.  Two years for each series so that it could be home and homes.  The tippy top of our league doesn't have a team of the caliber as one of the big 4 schools (my big 4 is Mount Union, Whitewater, UMHB and a revolving 4th spot between the likes of Wesley and Linfield).  But if you matched our 1s against the other conference's 1, 2s against 2s, and so on down the line...I'd like our chances against most everybody to win the series.  Especially when you consider that a team like Fisher, who consistently beats decent teams out of conference (regardless of region) is just as likely to finish 4th in their own conference as first most years. 

Let's get this ball rolling athletic directors.  Consider it OAC people!  You can go first!  Teams are within a reasonable proximity, simplifies scheduling, etc.  Since we have 9 teams and they have 10, they can just withhold Mount Union from participating 

Hell Fisher even made it easy and took the first step with scheduling a series against John Carroll.  We have practically done all of the grunt work already.

I like the idea, and propose that it start with the CCIW.  We only have 8 teams, but won't even ask that you leave out Fisher (I think NCC could handle them).  It could get definitely interesting down the line - the CCIW has clearly become a Big 3, Little 5 the last few years.  Wheaton and IWU vs. Ithaca and Alfred would be outstanding games.  I have no clue how our bottom 5 would fare against whichever 5 of your bottom 6 you chose to send.  Bring it on!

[fisheralum91]

Not so fast Yip.
I think the Fisher NCC battle would be a great one!