FB: Empire 8

[boobyhasgameyo]

Not at all.  It wasn't a statement against Pine, it was a demonstration of Hartwick's ability to put up points in the past before Pine was a factor.  Also, Ithaca and Fisher have two of the better defenses in the conference, while it looks like Salisbury has one of the worst.  In my mind those were contributing factors as to why Hartwick was able to put up so many points, more so than a single player. 

[AUPepBand]

Boob- I totally agree,
Tho- I must say- Fisher travels REALLY WELL when they come to Utica.
The crowd was great and I met some great Fisher parents!
Its also an easy 2 hr drive down the thruway.

...and from Rachacha, Mayberry is a hop (on I-390), skip (down Rt. 36) and a jump (on I-86). 75 minutes easy. 76 min. if the traffic light in Arkport is red.

Fisher struggling at Yunevich Stadium is even more reason to send as many fans as possible...if, like Pep, you believe that a crowd can give a team a real lift in a dogfight. Heck, AU fans hadn't won in Ithaca in a couple of decades, but always showed up. And Pep would venture to guess the crowds at Growney for Fisher-AU are closer to 60-40 than some want to believe. (Of course memories of the wins there in 2005 and 2009 always gives Pep hope, while Pep tries to forget AU's participation there in a (Dis)Courage Bowl.) 

On Saxon Warriors!

[Bombers798891]

   Are you writing that Pine couldn't have done that against those teams?  He's just as good at passing and a much better scrambler.  Got no problems with Garcia though.   Maybe Hartwick will find a way to use them both?

They did, if you look at the box score of the Salisbury game

[D3viewer]

Brockport at Hartwick for the oddball 2pm start. Brockport is 2nd in the E8 in total offense....and Hartwick's defense is dead last.  So..in order to have a chance..Hartwick's defense will need to step up to slow down Brockport's offense. If not..could be a long day.

[MooseKnuckles]

   Are you writing that Pine couldn't have done that against those teams?  He's just as good at passing and a much better scrambler.  Got no problems with Garcia though.   Maybe Hartwick will find a way to use them both?

They did, if you look at the box score of the Salisbury game

   I did....429 yds/5 tds vs 239 yds/1 td.  My first post was about how much Pine contributed in that particular game and the second was referring to the rest of the season.  I'm not sure that Hartwick's first real experiment with both QB's (losing against a team with a questionable defense) means that they figured anything out yet except that Pine needs more snaps.

[Upstate]

Unless Pine is Jason Boltus 2.0 it won't make that much of a difference in wins/losses thanks to the Wick O-Line, the lack of a running game and lack of defense...

[AUPepBand]

Pep's Picks

St. John Fisher College 56, Alfred State 6
Alfred U. 33, Frostburg State 24
Ithaca 24, Salisbury 21
Buffalo State 31, Utica 21
Brockport State 56, Hartwick 49

Go AU!

[Bengalsrule]

Pep's Picks

St. John Fisher College 56, Alfred State 6
Alfred U. 33, Frostburg State 24
Ithaca 24, Salisbury 21
Buffalo State 31, Utica 21
Brockport State 56, Hartwick 49

Go AU!

56-6?   Really Pep?

[AUPepBand]

Pep's Picks

St. John Fisher College 56, Alfred State 6
Alfred U. 33, Frostburg State 24
Ithaca 24, Salisbury 21
Buffalo State 31, Utica 21
Brockport State 56, Hartwick 49

Go AU!

56-6?   Really Pep?

Yep. Fisher will roll over Alfred State. You expect something different, 'rule?

[Upstate]

Pep's Picks

St. John Fisher College 56, Alfred State 6
Alfred U. 33, Frostburg State 24
Ithaca 24, Salisbury 21
Buffalo State 31, Utica 21
Brockport State 56, Hartwick 49

Go AU!

56-6?   Really Pep?

Alfred State is just transitioning from a JUCO school.

It's always tough when a program gets started and it's going to be a rough game for ASC.

Give Coach Caba a few years and he will have them headed in the right direction!

[boobyhasgameyo]

Bombers,

Someday I will forgive you for not posting your updated E8 rankings this week.  Someday.  But today isn't that day. 

[dewcrew88]

Regarding Ithaca, it's clear the team has taken a step back this season. That said, I'm not too impressed with the E8—outside of Fisher, who's looked dominant against everyone who doesn't run a triple option. I'm not 100% sure how Buff State is 5-1 right now, but then again, I wasn't sure how Ithaca was 8-1 at one point last year. This might just be the Bengals' year.

Still, the E8 is just strange this year. Hartwick barely moves the ball against IC and Fisher but lights up Salisbury? Frostbug looks like a non-entity on offense all year, but puts up 10 points in the 4th quarter against Ithaca and easily scores two TDs in overtime? Buffalo State needs a miracle to beat 2-4 Cortland, gets beat by a 3-3 Alfred, but controls their own destiny heading into the home stretch? Alfred may cough up 300 turnovers and finish .500?

   No disrespect to Garcia, but Utica transfer QB Billy Pine (who's kinda strange ) is the reason.

Hartwick put up 43, 40 and 34 points in their games outside of Fisher and Ithaca - with Garcia as the quarterback.

Salisbury has given up 32, 43, 32, 34, 19 and 49 this season.  The more likely reason is Salisbury's defense being the reason Hartwick moved the ball, not one single player.

   Are you writing that Pine couldn't have done that against those teams?  He's just as good at passing and a much better scrambler.  Got no problems with Garcia though.   Maybe Hartwick will find a way to use them both?

Pine also has a high school teammate catching passes, with Tanner Williams, who is definitely in top 5 in the Empire 8 at receiver. That continuity is huge.

[boobyhasgameyo]

Pep's Picks

St. John Fisher College 56, Alfred State 6
Alfred U. 33, Frostburg State 24
Ithaca 24, Salisbury 21
Buffalo State 31, Utica 21
Brockport State 56, Hartwick 49

Go AU!

56-6?   Really Pep?

Yep. Fisher will roll over Alfred State. You expect something different, 'rule?

Yeah?  Really Pep??  How dare you disrespect Fisher by putting the margin of victory at 50!  Everyone who knows anything about the game knows it would be at least a 60 point win!   

[Bombers798891]

Ithaca loses their top two running backs to injury, which should help Fisher a lot in two weeks.

Meanwhile, the triple option doesn't work at Butterfield. Period. Salisbury did nothing on offense all game. (8 first downs, 141 yards) But they also put the ball on the ground six times, and were pretty awful passing. I know what Bomber23 said about matchups, but honestly, it still blows my mind that Fisher can have so much trouble with these guys on defense, and Ithaca really has never had much difficulty.

[AUPepBand]

Pep's Picks

St. John Fisher College 56, Alfred State 6
Alfred U. 33, Frostburg State 24
Ithaca 24, Salisbury 21
Buffalo State 31, Utica 21
Brockport State 56, Hartwick 49

Go AU!

56-6?   Really Pep?

Yep. Fisher will roll over Alfred State. You expect something different, 'rule?

Yeah?  Really Pep??  How dare you disrespect Fisher by putting the margin of victory at 50!  Everyone who knows anything about the game knows it would be at least a 60 point win!

Pep thought the home field advantage would have made a 10 point difference....guess that didn't work out. 

But the Dansville H.S. Marching Mustangs put on an excellent halftime show in Yunevich Stadium. Thanks, Marching Mustangs!!