FB: Empire 8

[boobyhasgameyo]

Fisher and Alfred just want the National Respect they so deserve for a combined 1 quarterfinals appearance ever.

Max don't hate.  I'm not clamoring for respect, I just don't think Cortland and especially Rowan are currently better than Fisher.  Also we have 2 quarterfinal appearances don't we?

[saxontad]

Well, I thought I would be in a different mood by Monday morning, but I was talking to my secretary this morning and said I might not even go to the Ithaca game on Saterday.  I have missed one home game in the last eleven years!!  Pep and other AU faithful, help me get out of this funk!!

[maxpower]

Just having fun boobs.... see upstate's retort for all you need to tell ithaca fans....

[Pat Coleman]

Can i iterate how messed up it is to see an 8-1 team that has been ranked most of the season get dumped because they won and the team that beat them must have gone out and partied like 1999 the night before their game?

Not a happy alum this am

Yeah -- it's a tough position for the voters when that happens. The two games were played too close together for most to ignore, I think, and the bottom of the poll last week was already pretty tightly packed. From No. 22 on down, 64, 52, 49, 48, 45 votes.

[fisheralum91]

Pat,
I dont argue with the poll.
I understand reason and rational thought.
My gut and obvious homer attitude pro Fisher preclude me from having the ability to critically assess right now!

[AUKaz00]

Well, I thought I would be in a different mood by Monday morning, but I was talking to my secretary this morning and said I might not even go to the Ithaca game on Saterday.  I have missed one home game in the last eleven years!!  Pep and other AU faithful, help me get out of this funk!!

Well, it certainly was a disappointment.  Worst game Alfred has played in a quite a while.  However, after the game Pep and I agreed that it wasn't all that devastating since all hope of a Pool C bid went out the window with the loss at RPI.  At that point it came down to beating both Fisher and Ithaca since a loss to either of them would make us (at best) an 8-2 Pool C candidate.  Now, we played the "this week 9 OOC loss doesn't really matter" game in both 2006 and 2007 and we know how well that worked out.  So, I've got very little confidence that our meeting with the Bombers will end any different that it normally does.

And here are what I think the chances of each team getting the E8 AQ are:
Fisher 45%
Alfred 40%
Ithaca 15%

[Bombers798891]

I have no problem with Upstate's retort, although:

NCAA Playoff wins in 2000's

Fisher: 6
Ithaca: 4
Alfred: 0

So it's not like Ithaca's had no success recently. Yes, they were 2001 and 2003, but we're not talking the dark ages here. I mean, what's the cutoff for what we can talk about here?

[gordonmann]

Mr. Ypsi:

LIONS! RAIDERS!  IT'S SUPERBOWL 2013!

[Bombers798891]

Well, I thought I would be in a different mood by Monday morning, but I was talking to my secretary this morning and said I might not even go to the Ithaca game on Saterday.  I have missed one home game in the last eleven years!!  Pep and other AU faithful, help me get out of this funk!!

So, I've got very little confidence that our meeting with the Bombers will end any different that it normally does.

Let me try and help:

Look, right now, when it comes to Ithaca/AU there are really only three games I'm thinking about. 2004, 2006 and 2008. Those have been the only times recently where Ithaca's gone on the road and played a good Alfred team.

This team closely resembles the 2006 team that lost 28-17 in Alfred. It's nothing like the 2004 team that held Alfred to 197 yards or the 2008 team that could score 43 points

It's an interesting contrast in styles. Ithaca is a pass-heavy offense going up against the best pass defense in the conference. Alfred has the top running back in the conference going up against the best run defense. Ithaca leads the conference in sacks by a defense. Alfred allows the fewest in the conference (Springfield's total is irrelevant)

It's probably not coming at an ideal time for the Saxons, but this is an interesting game. Both teams are fighting for their seasons,.

Prediction: AU 28, IC 20. Late goal-line stand clinches the title for Alfred

[saxontad]

Well, I thought I would be in a different mood by Monday morning, but I was talking to my secretary this morning and said I might not even go to the Ithaca game on Saterday.  I have missed one home game in the last eleven years!!  Pep and other AU faithful, help me get out of this funk!!

So, I've got very little confidence that our meeting with the Bombers will end any different that it normally does.

Let me try and help:

Look, right now, when it comes to Ithaca/AU there are really only three games I'm thinking about. 2004, 2006 and 2008. Those have been the only times recently where Ithaca's gone on the road and played a good Alfred team.

This team closely resembles the 2006 team that lost 28-17 in Alfred. It's nothing like the 2004 team that held Alfred to 197 yards or the 2008 team that could score 43 points

It's an interesting contrast in styles. Ithaca is a pass-heavy offense going up against the best pass defense in the conference. Alfred has the top running back in the conference going up against the best run defense. Ithaca leads the conference in sacks by a defense. Alfred allows the fewest in the conference (Springfield's total is irrelevant)

It's probably not coming at an ideal time for the Saxons, but this is an interesting game. Both teams are fighting for their seasons,.

Prediction: AU 28, IC 20. Late goal-line stand clinches the title for Alfred

I actually feel a little better.

On Saxon Warriors!!

[Touch The Rock]

We talked earlier in the year about the ways in which Cortaca could help both communities and about how it could be more.  It looks like they were listening....

http://www.ithaca.edu/news/releases/17228/

[AlfredSaxon8]

Well, I thought I would be in a different mood by Monday morning, but I was talking to my secretary this morning and said I might not even go to the Ithaca game on Saterday.  I have missed one home game in the last eleven years!!  Pep and other AU faithful, help me get out of this funk!!

So, I've got very little confidence that our meeting with the Bombers will end any different that it normally does.

Let me try and help:

Look, right now, when it comes to Ithaca/AU there are really only three games I'm thinking about. 2004, 2006 and 2008. Those have been the only times recently where Ithaca's gone on the road and played a good Alfred team.

This team closely resembles the 2006 team that lost 28-17 in Alfred. It's nothing like the 2004 team that held Alfred to 197 yards or the 2008 team that could score 43 points

It's an interesting contrast in styles. Ithaca is a pass-heavy offense going up against the best pass defense in the conference. Alfred has the top running back in the conference going up against the best run defense. Ithaca leads the conference in sacks by a defense. Alfred allows the fewest in the conference (Springfield's total is irrelevant)

It's probably not coming at an ideal time for the Saxons, but this is an interesting game. Both teams are fighting for their seasons,.

Prediction: AU 28, IC 20. Late goal-line stand clinches the title for Alfred

I actually feel a little better.

On Saxon Warriors!!

Well... I am speechless about the U of R loss.  Its a bad one.  Its a perfect example of coming in flat, playing flat, and losing.  No way around it other than they deserved to lose. 

The only thing I can say is if AU wants to prove that the Fisher win wasn't a fluke, they need to hand it to IC.  If they can do that, maybe they can salvage some type of season.  The positive is that they are at home (although that didnt seem to matter in the U of R game) and if they play like they did against Fisher, they can still take the E8. 

But honestly, it really brings into question the Fisher game.  So what was it? Was AU really better or did Fisher play like, well... crap? 

From what I saw, AU was stellar in that game and it shows what they are capable of.  But they need to learn how to play like that every game.  That's what separates the good from the great teams.   

[sjfcards]

I think the Fisher/AU game was a combination of both. AU certainly played a great game in all 3 phases and deserved to win the game, probably by more than they did. However, having seen Fisher a bunch this year they looked slow and way out of rhythm. I think that is why the game was so one sided. m

[theoriginalupstate]

AU totally deserved to win vs SJF, no one can say otherwise, they totally dominated and were the better team that day.  I just cant figure out for the effort vs UofR, I mean SJF just physically manhandled them yet AU got dominated at the lines vs UofR...

I cant totally say the UofR game was a trap game considering AU's results vs the other LL opponents this year...

AU is just streaky, if the team that played SJF shows up this week vs IC AU will probably blow IC out.  If it's the team that showed up vs SLU, RPI and UofR Ithaca could walk away with it...

[SJFF82]

Fisher and Alfred just want the National Respect they so deserve for a combined 1 quarterfinals appearance ever.

give a 2 losss team a sliver of hope this weekend and the trash-talkin begins...

...actually, if we are going to be factual about it...its a SEMI-final (Final 4) appearance in a game at MUC that SJF trailed by 5, with the ball, in mOunt territory, late in the game....followed up the next year by a Quarter-final (Regional Final) appearance.  Plus Fisher is your Daddy....so silence is in order for you.

So the d3.com poll thinks Fisher lost to UR this weekend, not AU...ok, I dont get the confusion here.  I do understand the concepts of wins and losses by other teams affecting one's ranking, but in this case SJF played and handled UR.  So its not like the pollsters are left wondering what UR would do to Fisher, just because UR beat AU who beat Fisher...

The idea of Fisher dropping out is a perfect example of how the polls are 50% perception and 50% reality.  Because AU lost to UR at home, it is now perceived that somehow Fisher is closer to UR's talent level...despite the fact they are not and SJF smoked them to prove it.

Cortland, at the same time is presently perceived stronger than Fisher, because they beat Montclair...yet in 2 weeks, IC is going to beat Cortland, and prove that in reality, this weeks ranking of Cortland was an illusion, or poor perception, if you will...