FB: Empire 8

[maxpower]

Maybe I should have said "can't score 28 points without being handed the ball 27 times over the course of the game." Sooo many damn turnovers that I view this win with trepidation. But, a win's a win, and a big win is a big win.

[lewdogg11]

Maybe I should have said "can't score 28 points without being handed the ball 27 times over the course of the game." Sooo many damn turnovers that I view this win with trepidation. But, a win's a win, and a big win is a big win.

Without being brash, I think it's safe to say that Union sucks.

[dlippiel]

Congrats to the Ithaca Bombers for their victory over Union College today in Schenectady and good luck the rest of this season. dlip has a feeling after today that he will have to write one of these congragulatory posts almost every week from here on out  .

[Bombers798891]

Looks like Ithaca's found their quarterback. Jason Hendel, on the road, goes 18-of-26 for 154 yards and rushes 15 times for 60 yards (sack yardage excluded). More importantly, zero turnovers.
The big play came from Ithaca's secondary, as Josh Leimer intercepted Drew Connolly at the Union 19 with 8:27 to go an the score 30-18. The Bombers slowly worked down the field and Hendel punched it in from one yard out to effectively end the game.

The Bombers put up some points, but the offense was pretty average. 296 yards on 73 plays is not great. But, Hendel managed to do what he'd struggled with, which was avoid turnovers. With Nuemann throwing five picks in 39 attempts, that's huge.

Bomber RB's Sulla and Naiden were solid if unspectacular. 31 carries for 99 yards isn't great, but it'll do.

Defensively, the Bombers were good. Gallo got his, but the Bombers did a good job on everyone else and made the big plays getting the turnovers. But they held Union to their lowest output of the season, on the road, missing two starting linebackers (Carter and Clarke).

Welcome back Andrew Rogowski! The Bombers got three field goals from Rogo, (21, 31, 41) and that's a great sign.

As for Union, well, I'll let someone who saw the game tell me if the turnovers were good plays by IC, bad plays by Union, or weird flukes, but a -5 turnover margin at home is pretty astounding. They showed some fight in trying to come back from a 23-point deficit, but that's asking a lot from a team.

If there's a silver lining for the 0-3 Dutchmen it's that the conference is still there's for the taking. As we saw with St. Lawrence last season, taking care of business in conference can render a lot of early season struggles moot. Still, a pretty bad loss considering how it played out. I don't think anyone expected it to be 30-7 Ithaca in the third quarter.

[Bombers798891]

The E8 continues to roll in OOC play as, in addition to Ithaca's win, Hartwick destroys Norwich 37-14, and Alfred rolls St. Lawrence 36-12. Springfield obliterates Husson 63-19. Those games clearly favored the E8, but it's nice to see no letdown.

Utica...okay, I'm just going to say it: In my view, there is something that happens to this team in conference play. Yes, there's the possibility of a letdown, yes Frostburg may be better than we thought, and yes it was on the road, but allowing 44 points and 462 yards to a team picked to finish dead last in the conference? That's laying an egg, IMO. Utica's got some more chances to get over the hump, but right now, the Pioneers just don't get it done in conference.

Salisbury and Fisher look to keep the E8 perfect in OOC play tonight

[sjfcards]

Salisbury and Fisher look to keep the E8 perfect in OOC play tonight

Let's all pull for that...

[Old IC Voice]

Frostburg has had a number of things going for them. The Bobcats are playing with some motivation after what happened earlier this season, for sure, and there may also be a tinge of the "Nobody believes in us!" attitude. Plus, it's not an easy trip to make for some E8 teams to play there, and that plays a substantial role.

Big win for them, and a tough loss for the Pioneers.

[Bombers798891]

Frostburg has had a number of things going for them. The Bobcats are playing with some motivation after what happened earlier this season, for sure, and there may also be a tinge of the "Nobody believes in us!" attitude. Plus, it's not an easy trip to make for some E8 teams to play there, and that plays a substantial role.

Big win for them, and a tough loss for the Pioneers.

I buy the third reason more than the first two, but it's still pretty shocking

[sjfcards]

Frostburg has had a number of things going for them. The Bobcats are playing with some motivation after what happened earlier this season, for sure, and there may also be a tinge of the "Nobody believes in us!" attitude. Plus, it's not an easy trip to make for some E8 teams to play there, and that plays a substantial role.

Big win for them, and a tough loss for the Pioneers.

I buy the third reason more than the first two, but it's still pretty shocking

I was on the Utica bandwagon until this week, but I think UC may have another tough year in the lague this season. I don't care what the trip down is like. If you want to be a top team in the league, you have to beat Frostburg.

[Bombers798891]

Frostburg has had a number of things going for them. The Bobcats are playing with some motivation after what happened earlier this season, for sure, and there may also be a tinge of the "Nobody believes in us!" attitude. Plus, it's not an easy trip to make for some E8 teams to play there, and that plays a substantial role.

Big win for them, and a tough loss for the Pioneers.

I buy the third reason more than the first two, but it's still pretty shocking

I was on the Utica bandwagon until this week, but I think UC may have another tough year in the lague this season. I don't care what the trip down is like. If you want to be a top team in the league, you have to beat Frostburg.

I agree. This is what's so frustrating about Utica. We keep thinking they're on the cusp, they look like world-beaters OOC, and then it comes to E8 play and it's like a different team

[boobyhasgameyo]

Final score from the Courage Bowl:

Fisher - 52
U of R - 3

So much for this being the year the Yellowjackets take down Fisher

[maxpower]

Frostburg has had a number of things going for them. The Bobcats are playing with some motivation after what happened earlier this season, for sure, and there may also be a tinge of the "Nobody believes in us!" attitude. Plus, it's not an easy trip to make for some E8 teams to play there, and that plays a substantial role.

Big win for them, and a tough loss for the Pioneers.

I buy the third reason more than the first two, but it's still pretty shocking

I was on the Utica bandwagon until this week, but I think UC may have another tough year in the lague this season. I don't care what the trip down is like. If you want to be a top team in the league, you have to beat Frostburg.

I agree. This is what's so frustrating about Utica. We keep thinking they're on the cusp, they look like world-beaters OOC, and then it comes to E8 play and it's like a different team

Yeah, but, in a way, doesn't this strange inconsistency make Utica's season even MORE fascinating? I mean, if they were just a team on the rise they'd beat everyone up to Fisher or so, but no, they're something........    else........

[Old IC Voice]

Rankings after Week 3.

1) Alfred: No surprises here. The Saxons did what they were supposed to do for a second straight week.
2) Salisbury: Christopher Newport is a solid program, but the Sea Gulls were lucky to escape with the win. The gap between #2 and #3 narrowed considerably this week.
3) SJF: Big, big win in the Courage Bowl. Rochester came in off an impressive season opener, but couldn't get anything going against the Cardinals. Next up is Hobart, who will have had three weeks to prepare after their 2011 debut.
4) Springfield: Did what they were supposed to do against Husson, and benefited from Frostburg's upset win over Utica. This coming week is the big test, though, as they make the long trek to Alfred.
5) Ithaca: The question it seems IC fans will have to answer every week is, which Jason Hendel will we get? The good one managed the Union game effectively, made some plays with his feet, and did enough to stake IC to an early lead and keep it. It was a nice rebound win on the road, for sure.
6) Frostburg State: One of the biggest wins in program history today, as the Bobcats outright smoked Utica at home. The tests keep coming, though, as they get undefeated Randolph-Macon next weekend.
7) Utica: Obviously a week the Pioneers want to forget. Not only did Frostburg State dominate the game, but suddenly, the win over Union doesn't look nearly as impressive. The bye week comes at a good time, as they'll need to shake this off before October 1st's date with Salisbury.
8) Hartwick: Good revenge win over Norwich. Still, though, it's Norwich, and there were some definite holes (namely the nearly 200 rushing yards allowed).

[maxpower]

Rankings after Week 3.

1) Alfred: No surprises here. The Saxons did what they were supposed to do for a second straight week.
2) Salisbury: Christopher Newport is a solid program, but the Sea Gulls were lucky to escape with the win. The gap between #2 and #3 narrowed considerably this week.
3) SJF: Big, big win in the Courage Bowl. Rochester came in off an impressive season opener, but couldn't get anything going against the Cardinals. Next up is Hobart, who will have had three weeks to prepare after their 2011 debut.
4) Springfield: Did what they were supposed to do against Husson, and benefited from Frostburg's upset win over Utica. This coming week is the big test, though, as they make the long trek to Alfred.
5) Ithaca: The question it seems IC fans will have to answer every week is, which Jason Hendel will we get? The good one managed the Union game effectively, made some plays with his feet, and did enough to stake IC to an early lead and keep it. It was a nice rebound win on the road, for sure.
6) Frostburg State: One of the biggest wins in program history today, as the Bobcats outright smoked Utica at home. The tests keep coming, though, as they get undefeated Randolph-Macon next weekend.
7) Utica: Obviously a week the Pioneers want to forget. Not only did Frostburg State dominate the game, but suddenly, the win over Union doesn't look nearly as impressive. The bye week comes at a good time, as they'll need to shake this off before October 1st's date with Salisbury.
8) Hartwick: Good revenge win over Norwich. Still, though, it's Norwich, and there were some definite holes (namely the nearly 200 rushing yards allowed).

This says.... everything I think it should. +k.

[sjfcards]

Rankings after Week 3.

1) Alfred: No surprises here. The Saxons did what they were supposed to do for a second straight week.
2) Salisbury: Christopher Newport is a solid program, but the Sea Gulls were lucky to escape with the win. The gap between #2 and #3 narrowed considerably this week.
3) SJF: Big, big win in the Courage Bowl. Rochester came in off an impressive season opener, but couldn't get anything going against the Cardinals. Next up is Hobart, who will have had three weeks to prepare after their 2011 debut.
4) Springfield: Did what they were supposed to do against Husson, and benefited from Frostburg's upset win over Utica. This coming week is the big test, though, as they make the long trek to Alfred.
5) Ithaca: The question it seems IC fans will have to answer every week is, which Jason Hendel will we get? The good one managed the Union game effectively, made some plays with his feet, and did enough to stake IC to an early lead and keep it. It was a nice rebound win on the road, for sure.
6) Frostburg State: One of the biggest wins in program history today, as the Bobcats outright smoked Utica at home. The tests keep coming, though, as they get undefeated Randolph-Macon next weekend.
7) Utica: Obviously a week the Pioneers want to forget. Not only did Frostburg State dominate the game, but suddenly, the win over Union doesn't look nearly as impressive. The bye week comes at a good time, as they'll need to shake this off before October 1st's date with Salisbury.
8) Hartwick: Good revenge win over Norwich. Still, though, it's Norwich, and there were some definite holes (namely the nearly 200 rushing yards allowed).

Yep...Can't say I disagree with any of this.