FB: Empire 8

[AUPepBand]

Friday, September 2

7:00 PM Morrisville State 14 @ St Lawrence 28    FINAL SCORE   Morrisville State 0, St. Lawrence 28

Saturday, September 3

12:00 PM Husson 17 @ Alfred  31    FINAL SCORE:  Husson 28  Alfred 35
12:00 PM Otterbein 12 @ Buffalo State 35  FINAL SCORE:  Otterbein 26 Buffalo State 29
12:00 PM SUNY Cortland 27 @ Heidelberg  24   FINAL SCORE: SUNY Cortland 30  Heidelberg 28
1:00 PM Olivet College 17 @ St. John Fisher  35   FINAL SCORE:  Olivet College 10  St. John Fisher 52
1:00 PM Hobart 20 @ Brockport State (NY)  14   FINAL SCORE: Hobart 41  Brockport State 35
1:00 PM Union  8 @ Ithaca  31    FINAL SCORE:  Union 9 Ithaca 14
1:00 PM Utica 45 @ Misericordia 6   FINAL SCORE: Utica 40   Misericordia 6
5:00 PM Hartwick 31 @ Western Connecticut State  40     FINAL SCORE: Hartwick 31  Western Connecticut State 35

Pep's Picks for Week 1
Thanks for posting the schedule, D3! +K

Pep's Pigskin Picks Practically Perfect!! 

On Saxon Warriors!

[AUPepBand]

Talk about inspiration.....Julio Fuentes, who was carried off the field with a severe spinal injury ten years ago, walks off the field today after participating in the coin toss as honorary team captain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qka3VPCGPf0&feature=youtu.be

On Saxon Warriors!

[Jonny Utah]

Talk about inspiration.....Julio Fuentes, who was carried off the field with a severe spinal injury ten years ago, walks off the field today after participating in the coin toss as honorary team captain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qka3VPCGPf0&feature=youtu.be

On Saxon Warriors!

God Bless Julio and everyone who supported him.  I cried for like 10 minutes after watching this. 

[Bartman]

Talk about inspiration.....Julio Fuentes, who was carried off the field with a severe spinal injury ten years ago, walks off the field today after participating in the coin toss as honorary team captain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qka3VPCGPf0&feature=youtu.be

On Saxon Warriors!

This is awesome......Julio is one tough dude

[boobyhasgameyo]

New top 25 poll.  Cortland is up a spot to number 16.  Fisher enters in at #24.  Alfred in the shout outs section. 

[sjfcards]

So of all the New York teams in action this past weekend who was the most impressive and the biggest disappointment?  I gave it some thought and it may come from the same game. The SLU/Morrisville game really did not go the way I thought. I thought Morrisville would be good this year (I know it's only one week) but SLU really put the wood to them.

[ITH radio]

I'm not sure what to make of Alfred struggling to beat Husson. Are the Eagles that good? Or have the Saxons fallen back a bit?

Regardless the tribute to Julio Fuentes was inspiring and special. What a great moment.

[D3pc]

So of all the New York teams in action this past weekend who was the most impressive and the biggest disappointment?  I gave it some thought and it may come from the same game. The SLU/Morrisville game really did not go the way I thought. I thought Morrisville would be good this year (I know it's only one week) but SLU really put the wood to them.

Tough to gage Morrisville this pre-season. They lost 3 first team E8 players including RB Pena, as well as 5 of top 6 tacklers. SLU's defense is as good as any in the state but they do have to break in a new QB.

[Bombers798891]

Bombers, this is the really the third year of this anemic offense and I'm not sure who to blame, the OC or the lack of talent/recruiting.  It is clear (as you point out), that IC is going to have a long year with more of the same of what they had last year.  Although the Wolfman doesn't always make the right throws, he doesn't have the playmakers that IC quarterbacks of the past have had either, so I'm not sure I can blame him 100%.

I wonder what will happen next year, especially if they hire Mark McDonough, whether or not he keeps the OC.  But again, I'm not sure if the OC and the other coaches on the staff agree that they need to run this vanilla offense for the simple reason that they don't have the talent to run anything else. If that's the case, I can't really blame the OC, and I'm getting that feeling more and more now. That being said, IC could have run a screen, draw, bubble screen, or something to show they have some life in today's win against Union.

Also, who knows, maybe Union isn't that bad?  Their oline looked big from the crappy IC feed I watched today, and their defense seemed to hold their own (against a simple offense).

I don't know.  I watched some of that Hobart/Brockport game and those teams seemed like they were on another level.

Bombers offensive TDs by season:

2012: 22.8
2013: 21.2
2014: 25.5
2015: 21.4
2016: 14 (1 game)

This of course, oversells the offense because it includes defensive/special teams scores, as well as those directly set up by them (For example, the Hobart game last season where Oliver returned a punt to the 17, the Bombers gained one yard and kicked a FG)

I mean, I'll give him a *bit* of a mulligan for last year, because they had some very solid games before the injuries hit. (Alfred, Hartwick, Union) But if this year doesn't show improvement, I mean, it's been five years with this OC, and coaches like to bring in their own staff, right? I can't imagine there wouldn't be a shakeup in that end from a new coach, especially if the team sputters to a 4/5/6-win season

[D3viewer]

So whatever Brockport's game plan was to contain Hobart's Shane Sweeney, it failed miserably. Coming into the game he was the threat to stop..not really the running game. They certainly had no heralded returning RB coming back or any type of effective running game last season. Hobart's offense appears to be the Sweeney air attack. So, he ended the day with 420 yards passing..31 completions (31-45), record type numbers.  Brockport's base D appears to be a 4-2-5 scheme...so they rushed 4 just about every play it seemed. The problem is..they generated 0 sacks and 0 interceptions in the pass game. I didn't see much blitzing.. Their base 4 DL may have given sporadic pressure but no one could get to the QB for a sack. Brockport lists 3 DBs coaches on their roster..maybe one of them could have gotten a pick. I've never seen that many DB coaches before. Well..it was week one in new system..Sweeney will be back next year, we'll see how year 2 goes.
BTW that Hobart receiver Brandon Shed was very legit/impressive. 6'4" 205 from Florida. 11 receptions for 190 yards, wow.  Looked like a D3 Julio Jones out there. They tried to get him the ball early, but kept at it and he just exploded in the 2nd half. He'll be back next year too.
Brockport begins their "easiest" part of the season now. At Alfred St sat night and then a trip to Hartwick ( now they've been known to throw ball as well, so it could be a concern even though they are breaking in a new qb.) Then comes The Courage Bowl at home when reality strikes again. Then a bye.

[AUPepBand]

I'm not sure what to make of Alfred struggling to beat Husson. Are the Eagles that good? Or have the Saxons fallen back a bit?

Regardless the tribute to Julio Fuentes was inspiring and special. What a great moment.

Husson is solid. One AU defender said John Smith was one of if not the finest running back he'd faced during his college career.
The proof, however, is in the pudding. Wait and see what Husson does in the ECFC.

[Jonny Utah]

Bombers, this is the really the third year of this anemic offense and I'm not sure who to blame, the OC or the lack of talent/recruiting.  It is clear (as you point out), that IC is going to have a long year with more of the same of what they had last year.  Although the Wolfman doesn't always make the right throws, he doesn't have the playmakers that IC quarterbacks of the past have had either, so I'm not sure I can blame him 100%.

I wonder what will happen next year, especially if they hire Mark McDonough, whether or not he keeps the OC.  But again, I'm not sure if the OC and the other coaches on the staff agree that they need to run this vanilla offense for the simple reason that they don't have the talent to run anything else. If that's the case, I can't really blame the OC, and I'm getting that feeling more and more now. That being said, IC could have run a screen, draw, bubble screen, or something to show they have some life in today's win against Union.

Also, who knows, maybe Union isn't that bad?  Their oline looked big from the crappy IC feed I watched today, and their defense seemed to hold their own (against a simple offense).

I don't know.  I watched some of that Hobart/Brockport game and those teams seemed like they were on another level.

Bombers offensive TDs by season:

2012: 22.8
2013: 21.2
2014: 25.5
2015: 21.4
2016: 14 (1 game)

This of course, oversells the offense because it includes defensive/special teams scores, as well as those directly set up by them (For example, the Hobart game last season where Oliver returned a punt to the 17, the Bombers gained one yard and kicked a FG)

I mean, I'll give him a *bit* of a mulligan for last year, because they had some very solid games before the injuries hit. (Alfred, Hartwick, Union) But if this year doesn't show improvement, I mean, it's been five years with this OC, and coaches like to bring in their own staff, right? I can't imagine there wouldn't be a shakeup in that end from a new coach, especially if the team sputters to a 4/5/6-win season

My thoughts exactly, although if they hire McDonough, I'm wondering if he would get rid of one of his co-workers?

But to be a little fair to the OC, the talent isn't there either in terms of big play WR's or even the TEs that Ithaca always used to get.

[Bombers798891]

My thoughts exactly, although if they hire McDonough, I'm wondering if he would get rid of one of his co-workers?

But to be a little fair to the OC, the talent isn't there either in terms of big play WR's or even the TEs that Ithaca always used to get.

1. Of course he would. If you want to be a head coach, you have to be able to fire someone. Mainly because, if you go 4-6 because the offense scores 20 PPG, you're not going to keep your job for very long. It's one thing if you've been a coach for 18 years, won 75% of your games, and made the playoffs six times. But you're not going to stick around long if you're a .500 team because you're unwilling to tell a guy you were an assistant with that he's not doing a good job.

2. This is fair...to an extent. Certainly, there have been a number of plays over the years that made me realize the athletes aren't there. But it's your job to identify players that will work for you, develop them, and come up with a game plan that allows you to succeed. There's also this. Ithaca first and second-team all-conference players in 2013, 2014, and 2015:

Offense: 9
Defense: 7

I know all-conference teams aren't scientific (Kyle Hastings makes 1st team playing in all of six games), but I mean, you've seen the games. Would you have believed that? There's got to be something to that

[south hill observer]

watching the bombers offense is like going back in time to the sixties. I am all for the running game but you must recruit better at the o line if you plan on running effectively. Seems that Mcdonough gets all the playmakers on defense and the offense is an afterthought.

[Jonny Utah]

My thoughts exactly, although if they hire McDonough, I'm wondering if he would get rid of one of his co-workers?

But to be a little fair to the OC, the talent isn't there either in terms of big play WR's or even the TEs that Ithaca always used to get.

1. Of course he would. If you want to be a head coach, you have to be able to fire someone. Mainly because, if you go 4-6 because the offense scores 20 PPG, you're not going to keep your job for very long. It's one thing if you've been a coach for 18 years, won 75% of your games, and made the playoffs six times. But you're not going to stick around long if you're a .500 team because you're unwilling to tell a guy you were an assistant with that he's not doing a good job.

2. This is fair...to an extent. Certainly, there have been a number of plays over the years that made me realize the athletes aren't there. But it's your job to identify players that will work for you, develop them, and come up with a game plan that allows you to succeed. There's also this. Ithaca first and second-team all-conference players in 2013, 2014, and 2015:

Offense: 9
Defense: 7

I know all-conference teams aren't scientific (Kyle Hastings makes 1st team playing in all of six games), but I mean, you've seen the games. Would you have believed that? There's got to be something to that

1.  I agree with you but you also have to consider d3 politics which may be in play.  If the AD and head coach knows that the football team isn't winning because they are tough on admissions and can't save kids 50K a year like they can at other d3 schools, maybe the OC gets some slack.  Maybe Mcdonough (if he gets the job) and Heasley are best friends and have the same philosophy.  That stuff can actually matter.

But hey, you and I are on the same page on this one, I'm just speculating on what may happen but I agree that the head coach needs to see what is really happening.  Run a draw.  Run a bubble.  One trick play maybe.  Run a screen.  I think the OC could do more but what the hell do I know.