FB: Empire 8

[sjfcards]

Not exactly a brilliant performance by Fisher but a win is a win. The Offense really struggled to move the ball, and to score points all night. Not really throwing the ball downfield at all as the offense felt really inept at times. They were able to move the ball on offense but struggled to finish off drives.

The defense felt as good as advertised, with several take aways, and big stops in the second half (One really big stop at the end of the game).

Buff State appeared to be a lot better than last year. That coach really knows what he is doing. A real scare for Fisher tonight.

The coaching at Fisher has really been a problem to me. The defense, as well as they played tonight, but they are not the same defensive units from the glory years (All 3 of them). I don't know if it is less talent, but when Fisher lost Blaise I have seen a decline. I don't know if my thought about Fisher being good is going to be realized.

Oh Well...a win is a win. Week by week, the offense will get better I hope.

[fisheralum91]

jesus cards..that d shut down a team that had cortland on the ropes..
dont be so quick to dismiss the alma mater!

[Bombers798891]

jesus cards..that d shut down a team that had cortland on the ropes..
dont be so quick to dismiss the alma mater!

Okay, but to be fair, Buff State's not exactly an offensive juggernaut here. The offense generated two field goals against Cortland.

[fisheralum91]

yes. but was beating cortland in the 3rd qtr...
a win is a win

[Bombers798891]

yes. but was beating cortland in the 3rd qtr...
a win is a win

Amen

[sjfcards]

I am happy that Fisher got the win. Even as ugly as it was, 1-0 is the best Fisher could be after this week. I am not saying Fisher will be garbage (but, I do feel they are closer to 4 wins than 9 this year), but lets be honest. The Fisher teams we are seeing now are not even close to the teams that were making playoff runs. I am hoping that Fisher can figure out the offense, and the D continues to play like they did tonight. I am not as hopeful as I would have liked after game 1.

[Old IC Voice]

How I'd rank the E8 teams after two weeks. There are four tiers, it looks like; 1-2, then a distance to 3-4, a shorter distance to 5-6, and a substantial drop to 7-8.

1) Alfred: Big win over RPI. The Liberty League may be down, but that was still really impressive.
2) Salisbury: Nice win over IC at home, but I need to see them shut down an offense that can move the ball better than the Bombers can before I rank them above Alfred.
3) SJF: I'm beginning to think Buff State's a bit better than most thought they were. Still some kinks to work out for the Cardinals, but as mentioned, a win's a win.
4) Springfield: Frostburg hung in there for a bit before the Pride pulled away. SC and SJF are really close, and I won't complain too loudly at those that rank the two teams the other way.
5) Ithaca: Good defensive effort by the Bombers at Salisbury, but their two-QB system is just a nightmare. They're not going to blow anyone out this year, it looks like, and as an IC alum, that makes me nervous.
6) Utica: They're 2-0, and I respect that. But the Liberty League is way, way down. SLU beat Norwich, but Norwich is now 0-2 on the season and Union seems to be no great shakes either. If Union beats IC, that'll make me respect Utica's win more. For now, I stand by putting the Pioneers here.
7) Frostburg State: Not a bad outing at Springfield for the Bobcats, who gave the Pride a scare before getting worn down.
8) Hartwick: Hopefully the week off will help them after the scare against Morrisville. They've got a chance at revenge against Norwich coming up next week.

[sjfcards]

How I'd rank the E8 teams after two weeks. There are four tiers, it looks like; 1-2, then a distance to 3-4, a shorter distance to 5-6, and a substantial drop to 7-8.

1) Alfred: Big win over RPI. The Liberty League may be down, but that was still really impressive.
2) Salisbury: Nice win over IC at home, but I need to see them shut down an offense that can move the ball better than the Bombers can before I rank them above Alfred.
3) SJF: I'm beginning to think Buff State's a bit better than most thought they were. Still some kinks to work out for the Cardinals, but as mentioned, a win's a win.
4) Springfield: Frostburg hung in there for a bit before the Pride pulled away. SC and SJF are really close, and I won't complain too loudly at those that rank the two teams the other way.
5) Ithaca: Good defensive effort by the Bombers at Salisbury, but their two-QB system is just a nightmare. They're not going to blow anyone out this year, it looks like, and as an IC alum, that makes me nervous.
6) Utica: They're 2-0, and I respect that. But the Liberty League is way, way down. SLU beat Norwich, but Norwich is now 0-2 on the season and Union seems to be no great shakes either. If Union beats IC, that'll make me respect Utica's win more. For now, I stand by putting the Pioneers here.
7) Frostburg State: Not a bad outing at Springfield for the Bobcats, who gave the Pride a scare before getting worn down.
8) Hartwick: Hopefully the week off will help them after the scare against Morrisville. They've got a chance at revenge against Norwich coming up next week.

I can't say I disagree with any of that. I don't know what RPI has this year, I did not think much of them after last years bowl game with Fisher, but you can't argue with AU being the top choice right now.
The only question I would have is if Utica should be in front of IC, but with IC's defensive effort today I would say you have it right.

[AUSaxons]

A few thoughts on the Alfred game:

-Rankl always finds a way to patch together a good OLine, and the OLine was impressive today. They opened up holes for a 224 yard rushing day, and kept Secky on his feet pretty much the whole game not allowing one sack. If this unit can replicate this performance against the better teams on the schedule, this team will score a TON of points. The offense was unstoppable for pretty much the whole first half.

-Tyler DeRosa is the real deal. Though he had only 60 rush yards (and a 42 yard reception) to Dwyer's 108 (and 0 TD's compared to Dwyer's 3), I would say he looked more impressive then Dwyer today and I for one am extremely excited to see what he can do. He is a very different back from Dwyer, he is a bruiser, smash mouth "fall forward" type. Though today he showed incredible quickness as well. He really appeared to be the whole package, though it was only one game.

-Tom Secky had a very good game, throwing for 328 yards and 3 TDs. He used a variety of recievers, but his main target was Josh Phillips who had an incredible 201 yard 2 TD game. Secky managed the game well and methodically lead the Saxons to TD's on their first 6 possessions.

-The defense was hard hitting, smash mouth, and suffocating all game. There were several massive hits and the defense carries a certain swagger that can only come with experienced success. They held RPI to 51 yards rushing and controlled the point of attack all game.

-As a result of both sides of the ball performing excellently, AU outgained RPI a staggering 561-227. This team will be tough to beat.

-The crowd was awesome! It was one of the biggest i've seen at Merrill in a while, and the AU faithful were rocking all game!

-St Lawrence seems to be a little down thus far this year, I think the game may get ugly. Only beating Norwich by 2 TD's doesnt bode well for a matchup with Alfred. I felt like the LL performance indicated that (while the jury is out on Hobart) their top tier will be a notch below the top tier in the E8 this year.

-Speaking of the top tier, I think we may have added some evidence to that picture. To me, Alfred and Salisbury are the clear frontrunners at this juncture. They both put together impressive performances against impressive teams. Springfield will contend for sure, Fisher looked shaky but will probably also contend, and after that (at this juncture) I cant see anyone else contending for the championship. 

-In conclusion, as scary as it sounds, I think Alfred can improve on this performance. I think OLine play will continue to get better as less experienced starters gain experience, DeRosa gets more familiar in the system, I thought the secondary did not play as well as they did towards the end of last year (and have to think they'll rise back to that level, as all 4 starters return).

[fisheralum91]

Cards,
I understand your sentiments, but it was the first game....Peter said on the broadcast last evening that this Offensive line will gel and when it does this system will be fine.  Kramer will get into his groove.. First game jitters and rust did play into this...Buff state played Cortland well and they had a game at full game speed on us..The first week bye didnt help in prep...We can move on now and look forward to NOT PAST the courage bowl.. This year especially is not a trap game...its going to be a real fight!

[Bengalsrule]

Buff State appeared to be a lot better than last year.

The truest (sic) words of the days sfcards!! 2:03 away from a monumental victory on Fisher turf and my beloved BENGALS give up the game winner and fall a tad bit short. Whats hurts even more is that after giving up the go ahead score, my BENGALS flew down the field, and got down to the Fisher 6 with 1:06 left to play.

   Last year we lost at home to Fisher 54 to 26. This year ..on the road...... first and goal from the 6 with a min plus to play....and we couldn't seal the deal!  Coach Boyes has these kids believeing again in BENGAL football. I can't wait till our first home game next Sat. vs West Conn. Something tells me that a BENGALS winstreak looms ahead in the immediate future.

Congrats to St. John Fisher and thier loyal fans. I witnessed that loyalty, first hand, last fall when our BENGALS basketball team scrimmaged at St John Fishers and thier football team had a game going on at the same time. The Fisher football post game party in the gym lobby (had to cut through it to get to the bathroom during the b-ball scrimmage) was something to behold. I was truly impressed by the support the Fisher fans gave thier kids.

Good luck the rest of the season!

[sjfcards]

Cards,
I understand your sentiments, but it was the first game....Peter said on the broadcast last evening that this Offensive line will gel and when it does this system will be fine.  Kramer will get into his groove.. First game jitters and rust did play into this...Buff state played Cortland well and they had a game at full game speed on us..The first week bye didnt help in prep...We can move on now and look forward to NOT PAST the courage bowl.. This year especially is not a trap game...its going to be a real fight!

I know. I tend to over think these early games, but I was hoping to see the Fisher offense show me something. I think it will be an interesting match up in the Courage Bowl this weekend. Fisher will need to score more than 12 points to beat U of R. This years game may be the most closely matched game between Fisher and U of R since the Courage Bowl was established.

[fisheralum91]

Cards- I totally agree.
The courage bowl will be a close one.
The Fisher D impressed me.
The O needs work- but im confident that they will come together...Sooner rather than later tho!

[SJFF82]

UR 27
SJF 21....

going to call this one right sooner or later...

[fisheralum91]

Ya keep calling em like that ---that means we will keep winning.....karma