FB: Empire 8

[Tlm]

A couple of comments:

Springfield is the same team as last year with one very big exception.  Chris Sharpe only became the starting QB late in the season during 2005.  He now knows the offense.....he is explosive.....and he is a better passer then former SC star QB Ryan Sylvia.  If you stop Sharpe, you stop Springfield.  No one has been able to so far.  That is why SC is 4-0.

SC runs the "Wing-bone" not the "Wing-T".  The basic difference is that the Wing-T is not a triple option attack.  It is a misdirection attack.  The Wing-bone offers all of the misdirection of the Wing-T with the added difficulty of a tirple option.

There has been a good deal of discussion on who's the best in upstate NY, the East, etc.  Much of this discussion tends to view the season as static in nature which it is not.  Over the course of a season some teams get better and some don't, particularly when injuries to key personnel are factored in.  In 2005, Union was certainly not the best team in upstate NY during September and most of October.  They only got to that point in late October and early November.  At the same time, Rowan may have had a national championship team in September of 2005 and due to key injuries, they lost a bit by the end of the season, even though they were still good enough to edge Del Val and Union for the top spot in the East.

There is still a lot of football to be played.  

[JQV]

Actually Fisher plays on field turf now.  Finally got rid of that astro turf.  Still it is faster than natural grass.  Also, Fisher's defense is too solid to give up 53 points especially since they have had great success in the past against the Springfield attack.  Defensive coordinator Faggiano at Fisher is very knowledgable about the wing T offense run by the pride and has a great scheme to stop it.  In 2004 and 2005 Fisher basically shut down Springfield.  I do admit that Springfield will score points, but not nearly as many as the Fisher offense will score against the mediocre at best Springfield defense.  

I am not sure Fisher and SC have any relevant history.  Clearly, shutting down the 2005 SC offense didn't take much more than showing up on game day and not having "Mount Ida" painted on the front of your jersey.  The 2004 team wasn't bad (8-2) but wasn't as good as previous SC teams.

When you go back far enough for the SC offense to really be clicking you go too far into Fisher's past for the game to be relevant.  The 2001-2003 teams were incredible and scored points in bunches.

Furthermore, it is unclear if this team is a mere improvement over last year and similar to the 2004 team that was respectable but not great, OR, if DeLong has recaptured the magic of 2001-2003.  

It is an attack that is hard to shut down and, even harder to shut down on the fake stuff.  Whenever we play SC I pray for bad weather and I hope the mowers stay far away from the field.

Also, on a related note, does anyone think Mike DeLong could pass as a body double for Bill Gates?  RPI boys, you must be able to help.  Think back to the Gates posters you had in your dorm rooms and make the comparison for JoseQ.

[realistic]

hahahaha

Nice - Not too much action today but nice to see some good banter.  I too like seeing the LLPP guys around here.  I think everyone loves having them pop into their board once in a while.  It's always a nice treat on the MIAC page too.

['gro]

where did you get that picture from the sex offender registry? He looks like the creepy dood that hangs around public pools.

I have an autographed bag of fritos (empty of course) and can of mountain dew from when bill gates did like 15,000 lines of code on 2 hours sleep.  I also bought this random award off eBay called a "hessman" or something like that given to someguy named OJ, but that's not at cool as my Gates items.

[fisheralum91]

What is with all this third person stuff...?

fisheralum91 would never do that...

[JQV]

where did you get that picture from the sex offender registry? He looks like the creepy dood that hangs around public pools.

Sadly that is the picture on his bio on Springfield's website.  The caption reads "Parents, before you sign up for SC Football Camp there is something I am required to tell you by law."

[labart96]

There has been a good deal of discussion on who's the best in upstate NY, the East, etc.  Much of this discussion tends to view the season as static in nature which it is not.  Over the course of a season some teams get better and some don't, particularly when injuries to key personnel are factored in.  In 2005, Union was certainly not the best team in upstate NY during September and most of October.  They only got to that point in late October and early November.  At the same time, Rowan may have had a national championship team in September of 2005 and due to key injuries, they lost a bit by the end of the season, even though they were still good enough to edge Del Val and Union for the top spot in the East.

There is still a lot of football to be played.  

True dat.  A lot can happen in five games.

BTW - what's the over/under on snow in UNY this year?

Back when TGP was at the Bart, TGP normally bet the under (meaning b/f Halloween).

[bomber27]

Hessman is always nice to have around gro but Gates memorabilia is priceless, epecially out this way.  Silicone Vally and what not.

[maxpower]

"When you're sad, does your money make you feel better?"


"Yes, it does!"

[bombsaway]

1) If Alfred stays within 17 points of Ithaca I'll eat my hat.  If the only debate on a game is "will the heavy favorite show up to play", you can pretty much expect that they will, and it will not be pretty.  The pep band will be playing notes more blue than bruce springsteens collar by halftime. 

2) If Ithaca plays Fisher again this season I have no doubts Ithaca wins the game.  SJF snuck by once, it won't happen again. 

3) It's not surprising that Rowan struggled against a D1 team considering all their players have been sent down from such programs.  I also don't like their odds in any Jersey municipal police line up...

4) I disagree whole heartedly with Maxpower, cstate doesn't make it harder to dislike cortland.  As a matter of fact he reinforces it.  Buddy, if your team can't take care of business against the lackluster teams in your conference, don't take it out on IC saying they leave their startes in the whole game.  That is a terrible argument and it reflects the weak education system that the SUNY system provided you with.  Lower student loan interest rates is no way to pick a school.

5) B-27, I didn't play football at IC but had many historic games on the campus quad, including the mudd bowl of fall '02 and the ice bowl of Jan. '04.  And I have to play in a flag football league out here to stay sane, I can only imagine how you feel. 

6) My last couple years at IC the gridiron report was a weak representation of its former self.  What was once an engaging show had become the best comedy on ICTV complete with more technical flaws than an RPI guy throwing game at a local watering hole... BOMBSAWAY!

[fisheralum91]

Bombs away----
Snuck by?

Dont mean to question that but are you serious?

[Reno Hightower]

You Ithaca guys sure talk a lot of trash. When was the last time you beat a LL team when it mattered?

[maxpower]

That is a terrible argument and it reflects the weak education system that the SUNY system provided you with.  Lower student loan interest rates is no way to pick a school.

Wow buddy. You don't make it any easier to like IC. That is, in my short time on this board, the most irresponsible, ignorant, and reprehensible comment I've heard so far. Congrats!

I saw more than one promising student have to leave IC because they couldn't get the aid. This is why we make fun of Cortland?

A rivalry is a rivalry because it just is. Cortland sucks. No argument. They suck and I hate them. They are also a great football team. These things do not contradict each other.

[bomber27]

Um, 2001, I believe we beat you in the second round of the playoffs.  We really don't play you much though Reno 911.  Do you come with short shorts and a gunbelt though???

Bombs away, I give you one kharma for feeling my pain and making a good point or two.  Though Fishpeople didn't sneak by, I believe the outcome would be different if they met again

[bomber27]

I make fun of cortland because I hate them like Wes Mantooth hates Ron Burgondy.  But dawgonit, I respect them......sometimes.