FB: Liberty League

[IC798891]

Thoughts:

Colombi reminds me a lot of AJ Wingfield. Not a prolific passer but tough as nails, and a guy who can make plays when needed. I like the kid, and he made the play he needed to to get the W. Be 1-0 and move on to next week.

But overall, that was not the performance they likely expected. Alfred's entire offense was basically Dion Anderson and were it not for a muffed punt, it would have been enough.

[Bartman]

Thoughts:

Colombi reminds me a lot of AJ Wingfield. Not a prolific passer but tough as nails, and a guy who can make plays when needed. I like the kid, and he made the play he needed to to get the W. Be 1-0 and move on to next week.

But overall, that was not the performance they likely expected. Alfred's entire offense was basically Dion Anderson and were it not for a muffed punt, it would have been enough.

I agree with the AJ Wingfield comparison when it comes to Colombi's toughness and grit, also he is a leader that you want in your huddle and forgive a few errant throws when you buy into his field presence. I wanted Hobart to give Dion Anderson an NIL deal at halftime, the dude was a total pain all game.The front seven of the Alfred defense is "for real" as they had quite a few returners that were looking to settle some old scores last night.
Good luck to the bombers today. The last time the Blue Jays traveled to New York was 2014 when Hobart beat them 24-21 in the NCAA second round.

[XREDDRAGON77]

What I'd give for a Hooters to be within a mile of me! I'm a sucker for the breaded wings! Had to go to Cuse while playing at Cortland and currently Albany for a fix. The Paramus, NJ location closed years ago.

What I do have is a lousy FCS program in close proximity. Some of the local HS teams offer better entertainment on a Saturday!

Anyway, Football and wings! Tis the season!

[BomberJeff]

Wow Ithaca gets a big jump to start the game against Hopkins.  Up 14-0 after 1 quarter on 2 Colin Schumm rushing TDs, and the defense gets a 3 and out and a 4th down stop at the Ithaca 25.

Not sure it lasts, but they're starting the season really strong.

[Bartman]

Bombers come out hot on both Offense and Defense sides. Hopkins looks very flat, but has the talent to come back and win. Should be a great second half, as I'm expecting close finish. No matter who wins, Ithaca has shown it is way ahead of the rest of the LL at this point in the season.FYI, 2023 first team LL DE and ex Statesmen Conner Gunn is grad student at Hopkins(#0) and didn't even crack the starting lineup, although he has been used on quite a few snaps.

[unionpalooza]

Bombers come out hot on both Offense and Defense sides. Hopkins looks very flat, but has the talent to come back and win. Should be a great second half, as I'm expecting close finish. No matter who wins, Ithaca has shown it is way ahead of the rest of the LL at this point in the season.FYI, 2023 first team LL DE and ex Statesmen Conner Gunn is grad student at Hopkins(#0) and didn't even crack the starting lineup, although he has been used on quite a few snaps.

.

Wacky game so far.  JHU is out gaining Ithaca but is 0-8 on third and fourth down, while Ithaca is 5-10 on third, which is the difference on the scoreboard.  Ithaca definitely looks like the league favorite by a heavy margin, though I also agree JHU has the horses to come back and win.

Also, I'll say it now: this is the year Rochester finally breaks the LL top four.

[IC798891]

Bombers hang tough, but just can't make the plays at the end.

For whatever we can take from Week 1, that's about as encouraging a loss as you can have. Ithaca is the favorite, but whoever it is I think the LL is looking like Pool A or bust this year.

[IC798891]

LL Power Rankings

1. Ithaca: Look, they led for most of the game, didn't fold when Hopkins went on a run of their own, and lost by a margin a lot closer than any of us expected. If Hopkins is indeed as good as people say, Ithaca stood with them.

2. Union: Like Ithaca, Union stood tall against a good team and didn't fold. But they trailed most of the day, gave up 500+ yards, and a 15 point loss against Utica aint 4 against Hopkins.

3. Rochester: My controversial pick. Yeah, Olivet isn't good. Yes, LaCrosse is a Stagg contender. And yeah, UR got outgained by a yard per play. But at some point, wins matter.

4. RPI: Ithaca showed that just because you're playing an elite team, you don't have to get boat raced at home. Zero points ain't it, fellas

5. Hobart: I was down on the Statesmen, and frankly, they should have lost. Muffed punts are not a replicable winning strategy. Sorry, but anyone struggling to beat Alfred at home is just not a serious contender in my eyes.

6. Buffalo State: The Bengals, on the road, trailed by just 13 points in the 4th quarter and held Brockport scoreless for two full quarters. A stalwart effort.

7. St Lawrence: On the other side of the coin, this game was 37-0 at halftime. Home no-shows will be given no quarter

[UfanBill]

I'm guessing Union losses by 10-14 points tonight. I think this is a very good Utica team and a Union team that will get better as the year progresses but will struggle to find itself early. Let's go Union! Hope I'm way off on this.

Well Ice Bear you weren't "way off" on this. I would have been 7/7 on my picks if I'd have gone with my head and not my heart. Union looked very beatable in their Hartwick scrimmage and though they showed much better against Utica there's still lots of room for improvement. What doesn't need much more work is this excellent Utica squad. QB Brett Fuller showed a strong accurate arm and a penchant for making crucial plays. Utica has a lot of team speed in seemingly all their skill positions. HC Blaise Faggiano is an Ithaca guy and at times I thought I was watching the Bombers offense out there. Lots of delayed crossing routes with the Pioneer receivers using their quickness to run away from the Union defenders. Fuller repeatedly put the ball right on them. I was very impressed.

On the other hand I'm still waiting for Union and it's new quarterback and head coach to do anything impressive. A team with two returning 1000 yard rushers only ran the ball 22 times and 9 of them were by the quarterback. Sure they were behind all game but how is it the game plan to come out throwing? Patch Flanigan was only 13/34. His best moments were running the ball. He out rushed Fiore and Anderson combined. 

I also wanted to see some imaginative offense. Something we haven't seen in years. A reverse, an end around, flea-flicker or a halfback option pass. Nothing, though Utica did successfully use a double handoff pass for A TD. Even if a gadget play doesn't work it plants a seed in the defense's mind (or subsequent opponents) that they have to prepare for. 

The past two seasons Union has opened with cupcakes and won in a monkey stomp. Utica played more like a big gorilla.

[Ice Bear]

I was admittedly very disappointed in the line play Bill.

[Bartman]

UFAN BILL:"On the other hand I'm still waiting for Union and it's new quarterback and head coach to do anything impressive. A team with two returning 1000 yard rushers only ran the ball 22 times and 9 of them were by the quarterback. Sure they were behind all game but how is it the game plan to come out throwing? Patch Flanigan was only 13/34. His best moments were running the ball. He out rushed Fiore and Anderson combined". 
  My Union friends, Jon Drach was a fantastic QB in college and a great QB coach at Hobart. He helped make Shane Sweeney(an FCS transfer) a very exciting and competent passer ( Shane also had Brandon Shad who found every ball). He is in love with the passing game and his ego is not small. I will be watching with interest to see how Jon uses Patch and if he makes the transition to lead a program with the tradition of performance that Union has.

[JacketsPride]

Rochester gets a B for their overall performance in a 28-21 win at Olivet.  Bottomline- good enough to beat the Comets but not enough to win vs. the LL's top teams.

Credit to Olivet's QB Thomas Foust.  Not an amazingly accurate passer (3 picks), but he did a lot of damage with his feet and will definitely be a consistent threat in the MIAA.

The Yellow Jacket defense looked solid and were led by their excellent secondary and LB Luke Herter (11 tackles). Although, moving forward the DB's cannot allow big plays ex: the 75 yard bomb at the beginning of the Comets' second series of the game.  After that though they settled it and played well together.  They did give up a TD with 53 seconds left but it was such a long drive (15 plays) that it took way too long and forced the Comets to use all their timeouts.

On offense, Tre Johnson shined (per usual) with 2 TD's and Daniel Papantonis with 117 rushing and 1 TD looked like he did as a sophomore.  Also, TE Jackson Kane also proved that he is a great option.  More consistency in the OL line (guys getting moved in and out) and reducing turnovers (2 picks) are a must.

Rochester is on the road on Friday at Alfred State for a 7 pm. 

[unionpalooza]

I'm guessing Union losses by 10-14 points tonight. I think this is a very good Utica team and a Union team that will get better as the year progresses but will struggle to find itself early. Let's go Union! Hope I'm way off on this.

Well Ice Bear you weren't "way off" on this. I would have been 7/7 on my picks if I'd have gone with my head and not my heart. Union looked very beatable in their Hartwick scrimmage and though they showed much better against Utica there's still lots of room for improvement. What doesn't need much more work is this excellent Utica squad. QB Brett Fuller showed a strong accurate arm and a penchant for making crucial plays. Utica has a lot of team speed in seemingly all their skill positions. HC Blaise Faggiano is an Ithaca guy and at times I thought I was watching the Bombers offense out there. Lots of delayed crossing routes with the Pioneer receivers using their quickness to run away from the Union defenders. Fuller repeatedly put the ball right on them. I was very impressed.

On the other hand I'm still waiting for Union and it's new quarterback and head coach to do anything impressive. A team with two returning 1000 yard rushers only ran the ball 22 times and 9 of them were by the quarterback. Sure they were behind all game but how is it the game plan to come out throwing? Patch Flanigan was only 13/34. His best moments were running the ball. He out rushed Fiore and Anderson combined. 

I also wanted to see some imaginative offense. Something we haven't seen in years. A reverse, an end around, flea-flicker or a halfback option pass. Nothing, though Utica did successfully use a double handoff pass for A TD. Even if a gadget play doesn't work it plants a seed in the defense's mind (or subsequent opponents) that they have to prepare for. 

The past two seasons Union has opened with cupcakes and won in a monkey stomp. Utica played more like a big gorilla.

As frustrating as Friday's night's loss was, I think we'll have to give this team a little more time before we're know what they're capable of.  The kids are on their third coach in three years, and it showed - the defense was carved up by Utica because guys were simply not where they are supposed to be, and on offense, the o-line just didn't execute in either run or pass blocking.  Those are fixable, and I hope will come with more experience running two very new and different schemes on offense and defense.

There were zero holes in the RB running game, so I'm less bothered by the limited carries Fiore and Andersen got.  But Flanagan simply missed wide open receivers all day (mostly over their head); on his 19 incompletions and two picks, they were no drops, and on nearly every one of those throws, the WR was open.  I'm hoping that with a cleaner pocket and some experience, he'll become more consistent, in which case Union will have a very potent passing attack.  At the end of that day, he's played exactly one full game of football in the past three years, so I'm willing to give him more than a tough road opener to impress.

Perhaps more importantly, I was super impressed by Utica.  Their QB is a gamer, their RB is explosive and hard to tackle, and their front seven gave Union fits all day.  More importantly, their played their balls off and nearly every play call and game decision was exactly right, and they are a very complete team - strong special teams, as well.  There are no superstars (other than the RB, perhaps) but every kid knew their job, and did it well.  Their only weakness seemed to be poor pass coverage on defense, but as with Union, that may be more failure to execute than lack of talent.  I can absolutely see them running the table in the league (other than Cortland) and being a 9-1 Pool C team that one would not want to face in the first round.

[Bombs away]

1. ITHACA - I was impressed at the way they jumped on Hopkins but they should be able to run the ball late with a lead. More run game and less deep balls and I think they pull off the upset. As good as they are I think with their schedule they may end up a 3 loss team.

2a. RPI- The defense stood tall and hung in against a possible national champion for a half unfortunately dropped passes and 3 and outs by offense kept the defense on the field too long. We'll know more about this team in few weeks when they play Endicott.

2b. Union- They didn't look as bad as RPI but they lost to a solid UTICA not a Powerhouse UW LACROSSE.

3. HOBART- Unimpressed but I think Dewall gets them on track by the time league play starts.

4. ROCHESTER- A win is a win.

5. S Lawrence- Nothing positive to take from that performance.

6. BUFFALO ST - I believe they are recruiting better and improving but not yet.

[UfanBill]

WOW that was some upset Saturday!!! Lowly Hilbert taking down National Champ Cortland. Who would have thunk it...Of course I'm not talking about on the scoreboard, I'm talking about in T.O.P. Hilbert won the Time Of Possession battle 31:11 to 28:49 ! Utah must be so proud.   

In real stats Cortland absolutely stuffed them. Hilbert had 18 rushing yards in 43 plays and 1 first down, and that was by penalty. So they must have thrown the ball right? No, incredibly they did not even attempt a single pass ! So the QB was sacked before he could get the pass off? No, Cortland had only one sack... It looks like Hilbert just ran the ball every play. That's another take on a "running clock." And I remind you they'll be on our Liberty League schedules next year.