FB: Empire 8

[pumkinattack]

Yeah, I wish Hobart had filed, but I understand.  It's not like the school's insolvent with a +/-$150MM endowment, but they've been watching their athletic budget closely ever since they went up to DI in lacrosse.  That's what I had been trying to say since last summer regarding the 9 game schedule and not playing AU, but nobody wanted to hear it.  

On reflection, there is a chance this game could be closer.  I could totally see Union not being up for it.  Union is a really talented team (their QB is talented, but can make a lot of bad decisions) and this season set up for them to go undefeated, so going 7-3  and losing the conference title on their field in the final week should be a huge disappointment to them.  Last year Hobart beat RPI on their field for the LL championship and then RPI folded tent and lost to MMA in the final week when they had a chance for a pool C.  

[PBR...]

Yeah, I wish Hobart had filed, but I understand.  It's not like the school's insolvent with a +/-$150MM endowment, but they've been watching their athletic budget closely ever since they went up to DI in lacrosse.  That's what I had been trying to say since last summer regarding the 9 game schedule and not playing AU, but nobody wanted to hear it.  

On reflection, there is a chance this game could be closer.  I could totally see Union not being up for it.  Union is a really talented team (their QB is talented, but can make a lot of bad decisions) and this season set up for them to go undefeated, so going 7-3  and losing the conference title on their field in the final week should be a huge disappointment to them.  Last year Hobart beat RPI on their field for the LL championship and then RPI folded tent and lost to MMA in the final week when they had a chance for a pool C.  

ECAC's are a weird thing...over the last 5 years pbr has seen many teams rise up to play well 1 last time and just as many fold their tents, feeling a let down on not making the playoffs. There seems to be rhyme or reason and no coach can predict how his team will play. It really seems left up to the seniors and captains to rally their team in the ECAC's. Some teams pbr thought would pile drive their opponent never showed up and got steam rolled. The ECAC's are a strange character and results usually have some big surprises.

[fisheralum91]

this just in
Fisher to host Cortland at noon Sat ---just got the text

[theoriginalupstate]

this just in
Fisher to host Cortland at noon Sat ---just got the text

Check the ECAC thread for the full list of games that came out last night 

[JQV]

this just in
Fisher to host Cortland at noon Sat ---just got the text

This just in, someone shot President Kennedy...

[Yanks 99]

We'll see, but Hartwick was 1-4 in conference with their one win against winless in conference Utica.  Further, they're playing on the road, which has made a big difference even in the Boltus years. 

In conference PF 90 / PA 184, or 18pg / 36pg, Hartwick's only scored > 17 pts once in the last 4 games (33 vs. Utica), including 56-13 and 35-7 home losses to Springfield and SJF in two of the last three weeks, as well as a 42-17 loss to AU four weeks ago, so I wouldn't exactly suggest the SJF game was some kind of anomoly.   

They may've been good the two prior years, but the winning record is smoke and mirrors - same as RPI in the LL.  In fact, I'd make the same case if RPI had gotten an ECAC game and was playing SJF or Cortland (although I don't know how much Cortland has at this point).

This isn't about Union, but since it's brought up, they have plenty of offensive talent (check out Justin Gallo and Chris Coney if you haven't seen the names, Gallo torched Drake Woodard a couple of times) and do have a win against IC and have a comparable opponent to SJF in Salisbury with similar outcomes, but different margins.  Union also has wins over three teams w/winning records (Hobart, RPI and IC). 

I will still take it...no one is saying they are the best team on earth...but kudos to the coaching staff...some people thought we were going to revert backwards a bit...great job Wick, and good luck against the Dutchman...

Umm...You went from 7-3 with wins over AU and SJF to 5-4 with their best win being over Norwich...

I'd say that you did revert back to the pre-Boltus Hartwick, making an ECAC game over Utica and Brockport doesn't change that. 

5-4 is 5-4...not a great record...but we lost some of the best players we ever had.  I think people thought it would be a total implosion.  The Fisher game was...maybe AU (who was clearly the better team)...but we played IC tough, and the SC was close in the second half until it got away from us.  The ECAC's were a nice, and unexpected, surprise.  What happens if we beat Union then?

[fisheralum91]

sheesh
tough crowd--just got the text- thought i was timely

[Yanks 99]

sheesh
tough crowd--just got the text- thought i was timely

You should know better then to send us useful information that may or may not already be out there!!!

[AUPepBand]

sheesh
tough crowd--just got the text- thought i was timely

It was a set-up. Pep said announcement would probably be out at 12 noon Monday....
then Pep by chance visited the ecac site last nite and there they were!

[fisheralum91]

i see pep
and here i thought i had scooped ya
shoulda known better
congrats on the ncaas btw
do the e8 prowd

[Bombers798891]

We'll see, but Hartwick was 1-4 in conference with their one win against winless in conference Utica.  Further, they're playing on the road, which has made a big difference even in the Boltus years. 

In conference PF 90 / PA 184, or 18pg / 36pg, Hartwick's only scored > 17 pts once in the last 4 games (33 vs. Utica), including 56-13 and 35-7 home losses to Springfield and SJF in two of the last three weeks, as well as a 42-17 loss to AU four weeks ago, so I wouldn't exactly suggest the SJF game was some kind of anomoly.   

They may've been good the two prior years, but the winning record is smoke and mirrors - same as RPI in the LL.  In fact, I'd make the same case if RPI had gotten an ECAC game and was playing SJF or Cortland (although I don't know how much Cortland has at this point).

This isn't about Union, but since it's brought up, they have plenty of offensive talent (check out Justin Gallo and Chris Coney if you haven't seen the names, Gallo torched Drake Woodard a couple of times) and do have a win against IC and have a comparable opponent to SJF in Salisbury with similar outcomes, but different margins.  Union also has wins over three teams w/winning records (Hobart, RPI and IC). 

I will still take it...no one is saying they are the best team on earth...but kudos to the coaching staff...some people thought we were going to revert backwards a bit...great job Wick, and good luck against the Dutchman...

Umm...You went from 7-3 with wins over AU and SJF to 5-4 with their best win being over Norwich...

I'd say that you did revert back to the pre-Boltus Hartwick, making an ECAC game over Utica and Brockport doesn't change that. 

5-4 is 5-4...not a great record...but we lost some of the best players we ever had.  I think people thought it would be a total implosion.  The Fisher game was...maybe AU (who was clearly the better team)...but we played IC tough, and the SC was close in the second half until it got away from us.  The ECAC's were a nice, and unexpected, surprise.  What happens if we beat Union then?

Certainly the Wick didn't implode, and a couple of breaks and they beat IC (or lose to Utica). I just have a hard time buying into teams who go into the ECAC's in a major slide. That happened to IC in 1999. They were 7-1, but lost to Cortland and Buffalo State, then went up to Union and had no desire to play, which is probably why Union beat them senseless.

ECAC games are more about the mental state of the team in the game than the talent level. I'm not talking about heart and toughness. Just simply "Does the team want to be there?"

In 2006, Cortland was #14 in the D3 poll and 9-1 with their only loss 14-7 to Rowan in OT. Somehow they were left out of the NCAA's. They then lost 26-7 at home to a 6-3 RPI team by committing seven turnovers. Or you could get screwed by the NCAA's and do what IC did in 1998. It's a coin flip.

So really, if Hartwick's guys see this as a way to prove they're a better team than they've shown, they can pull it off. But if they're dejected and just want the season to end, well, it might not be pretty.

Same goes for Union. They were 10 minutes away from the NCAA's. That will either be a motivator or a letdown.

[Yanks 99]

We'll see, but Hartwick was 1-4 in conference with their one win against winless in conference Utica.  Further, they're playing on the road, which has made a big difference even in the Boltus years. 

In conference PF 90 / PA 184, or 18pg / 36pg, Hartwick's only scored > 17 pts once in the last 4 games (33 vs. Utica), including 56-13 and 35-7 home losses to Springfield and SJF in two of the last three weeks, as well as a 42-17 loss to AU four weeks ago, so I wouldn't exactly suggest the SJF game was some kind of anomoly.   

They may've been good the two prior years, but the winning record is smoke and mirrors - same as RPI in the LL.  In fact, I'd make the same case if RPI had gotten an ECAC game and was playing SJF or Cortland (although I don't know how much Cortland has at this point).

This isn't about Union, but since it's brought up, they have plenty of offensive talent (check out Justin Gallo and Chris Coney if you haven't seen the names, Gallo torched Drake Woodard a couple of times) and do have a win against IC and have a comparable opponent to SJF in Salisbury with similar outcomes, but different margins.  Union also has wins over three teams w/winning records (Hobart, RPI and IC). 

I will still take it...no one is saying they are the best team on earth...but kudos to the coaching staff...some people thought we were going to revert backwards a bit...great job Wick, and good luck against the Dutchman...

Umm...You went from 7-3 with wins over AU and SJF to 5-4 with their best win being over Norwich...

I'd say that you did revert back to the pre-Boltus Hartwick, making an ECAC game over Utica and Brockport doesn't change that. 

5-4 is 5-4...not a great record...but we lost some of the best players we ever had.  I think people thought it would be a total implosion.  The Fisher game was...maybe AU (who was clearly the better team)...but we played IC tough, and the SC was close in the second half until it got away from us.  The ECAC's were a nice, and unexpected, surprise.  What happens if we beat Union then?

Certainly the Wick didn't implode, and a couple of breaks and they beat IC (or lose to Utica). I just have a hard time buying into teams who go into the ECAC's in a major slide. That happened to IC in 1999. They were 7-1, but lost to Cortland and Buffalo State, then went up to Union and had no desire to play, which is probably why Union beat them senseless.

ECAC games are more about the mental state of the team in the game than the talent level. I'm not talking about heart and toughness. Just simply "Does the team want to be there?"

In 2006, Cortland was #14 in the D3 poll and 9-1 with their only loss 14-7 to Rowan in OT. Somehow they were left out of the NCAA's. They then lost 26-7 at home to a 6-3 RPI team by committing seven turnovers. Or you could get screwed by the NCAA's and do what IC did in 1998. It's a coin flip.

So really, if Hartwick's guys see this as a way to prove they're a better team than they've shown, they can pull it off. But if they're dejected and just want the season to end, well, it might not be pretty.

Same goes for Union. They were 10 minutes away from the NCAA's. That will either be a motivator or a letdown.

I have no arguments with this...like I said, making the ECAC's was a nice surprise.  I don't think anyone from Wick was saying we were going to get a bid, or that we deserved a bid over Team A or Team B, because we were fortunate to get one (ie...Ithaca not accepting a bid).  I said it last year...for teams trying to build on their program up, its a great thing.  Ithaca is Ithaca...there is no need for them to accept a bid.  But it is a good thing for Wick...with budget being a factor, we are down to 9 games...so adding/getting a tenth game is great.  Plus...from a a recruitng standpoint, it is good to say that we played in the post season for three consecutive years.

Additionally, if we can find a way to beat the Dutchman, it will get us to 6-4...and it never hurts to throw a little egg in the face on the LL...

[SJFF82]

Does anyone know when the ECFC gets an AQ? Norwich won it this year. They went 0-3 out of conference, against some suspect competition. Just another reason this AQ thing needs to get looked at. There is a four loss team in the bracket this year, while 9-1 teams get left out. Conferences should have to prove year in and year out that they deserve a bid, not just a bunch of schools getting together to take advantage. It will be a shame if the first round of the playoffs is watered down by more bad football conferences.

So should we change the D-1 Basketball tournament?  By your logic, yes.  There go all the cinderella stories...

Yeh...look at all the cinderella stories in the d3 football play-offs....MUC, MUC , MUC, UWW, MUC, MUC, MUC...

[SJFF82]

this just in
Fisher to host Cortland at noon Sat ---just got the text

This just in, someone shot President Kennedy...

Viper...like a snake lying in wait...+k (oops.dont have it anymore)

This just in...Ithaca's elitist attitude about the ECAC's was not enough to get them into the LL where they couldve competed year in and year out for league supremacy with RPI, nope, I mean Union, nope, I mean Hobart, Nope, I mean Susquehana....?

[lewdogg11]

this just in
Fisher to host Cortland at noon Sat ---just got the text

This just in, someone shot President Kennedy...

Viper...like a snake lying in wait...+k (oops.dont have it anymore)

This just in...Ithaca's elitist attitude about the ECAC's was not enough to get them into the LL where they couldve competed year in and year out for league supremacy with RPI, nope, I mean Union, nope, I mean Hobart, Nope, I mean Susquehana....?

As opposed to Fisher, nope, I mean Springfield, nope, I mean Ithaca, nope, I mean Alfred....?

What is the difference?