FB: Empire 8

[pg04]

Brockport is oh so close to being undefeated this year. Alas, close doesn't matter and they have two losses. But now that Fisher lost, an avenue to the E8 title still exists and seems possible. Keep winning! The E8 stretch run is going to be crazy again, folks.

[D3MAFAN]

The wheels have come off Cortland's defense. Look, Tyler Johnson is probably the E8 player of the year, but this season went south in a hurry.

Cortland defense has been tipsy for quite some time --- over a season and a half, particularly the secondary. Anyone with an arm licks his chops. Cortland southerly path parallels qb S. Ferreira absence since the first half at Fisher. Had ability to outscore HIS defense

That fourth string QB Schneider moved the Dragons with ease. Look for him to start next week.

I know Cortland is not as good this year and it appears that the wheels have fallen off, but Alfred look good today and well balanced. Wish they didn't give up the last TD.

I also didn't think Utica could run the ball, but they did. I was expecting so much from St. John Fisher today, I really thought they would put way more points on the board and if they was to lose, it would have been in a shootout.

[jdex]

That fourth string QB Schneider moved the Dragons with ease. Look for him to start next week.
[/quote]

Schneider is a senior and nicely backed up Ferreira last season. In fact started a game, went the distance, passed well and overcame Cortland shaky defensive showing in victory. Not sure why he was relegated now to No. 4. Fr D. Walker has been sidelined with a concussion, today's soph starter with little prior playing time

[middlerelief1]

SJF vs SJF wannabees.

the wannabees showed up today
SJF didn't

[pg04]

It's become almost impossible to count out or count on any team from the conference on a weekly basis. 

[middlerelief1]

It was a beauty of day for football.

Fisher showed up flat, Utica played like their season was on the line (it was)

Last week's RB was on the D-Line toward the end of the game -- Defense at critical moments was sleepwalking. 

Offense - the starters returned, but took a while to get their game speed.  Lot of missed open WRs . Timing was off.

Good news - bye week to get back on the same page and  Fisher still controls their own destiny. 

[pg04]

As it stands, a way too early look at the easiest ways for the top 6 to win the E8:

Alfred: Win out
Fisher: Win out
Brockport: Win out + One more Fisher loss
Utica, Ithaca, Buff State: Bedlam , but Utica obviously has the best chance of the 3 since they beat Fisher.

[Bombers798891]

Schneider is a senior and nicely backed up Ferreira last season. In fact started a game, went the distance, passed well and overcame Cortland shaky defensive showing in victory. Not sure why he was relegated now to No. 4.

I suspect some of it is is the fact that he is a senior. Rewarding seniors is nice, but there's also an opportunity to develop for the next season(s), especially once the season is over. But I think his performance today is an indicator that he should be the guy going forward. They've got a shot to win the game if he's the QB for the whole game.

But their defense is simply in tatters: 684 yards vs Hartwick, 434 against Buff State, 533 today. Ugly

[pg04]

Hoping the bad defense trend continues onto next week, bombers. The Golden Eagles have been great on offense this year, led by Andrews. Their defense, though, has also been suspect.

[Bombers798891]

Yeah this has been an offense-heavy conference

[pg04]

Seems like at many levels of college football, defense is a lost art. I see many high scores and wonder. Of course, rules are geared toward helping the offense, but still.

[middlerelief1]

In other news

team Fisher beat in weak 1 is now 5-1

and pulling on a positive strings as I can - Fisher did have regular season losses in the prior years of NCAA

[boobyhasgameyo]

New poll is out.  Alfred is up to 17, Fisher falls out of the top 25 and is in the top spot in the shoutouts section.  Utica is also receiving a vote! 

This is a well timed bye week for Fisher.  That's the good news.  Gives them more time to heal and then hopefully get more in sync offensively.  I think they have a real chance to win against Hartwick and Ithaca to position themselves well going into the Alfred game.  Although playing against Alfred at the end of the season with a playoff spot on the line has burned Fisher before at least twice that I can think of. 

Also, Ithaca seems to really be turning it around and Hartwick has the ability to put up some serious points...so if Fisher doesn't come out of the bye week with a much better effort then they could most definitely be 6-3 heading into the Alfred game. 

[fisheralum91]

13-26?
I'll respond much further tomorrow but really?
Meh

[Frank Rossi]

13-26?
I'll respond much further tomorrow but really?
Meh

The oddity for us voters this year is that the differences between teams in the 12 through 25+ spots are extremely tough to sort out.  We have a LOT of undefeated teams and one-loss teams that have key wins all glutting in that zone more than I can remember at this point of the season compared to prior years.  Coe beats Dubuque, meaning undefeated Coe deserves a spot.  DelVal has bounced back well, and Rowan has a key win vs. Salisbury.  I could keep going down this list, but the fact is the Fisher lost to an unranked team and has shown weakness defensively over the past couple weeks prior to this game.  Note that the drop-off in points from #11 to #12 is relatively large, reflecting a tiering going on between these zones.  Any other year, Fisher probably would've stayed in the low 20's after such a loss.  This year, I've moved teams with losses further and faster than I'm used to based on the foregoing.