FB: Liberty League

[Boxer7806]

   
   I would love a Hobart against Ithaca draw as a rematch of E8 vs. LL champs in the playoffs

What rematch?

To clarify, I meant to say a rematch of LL champs with an E8 team in playoffs(last year was Hobart vs. SJF), realize that Ithaca was the E8 champ last year, so please forgive . Still would like to see the Bombers in the playoffs. Good luck to Ithaca in Cortaca.

I'd love it too. We should be playing in the regular season. Best of luck in the playoffs

Totally agree that Cragg/AD should schedule during the season instead of Dickinson or sub one of the Mass. teams, and then maybe Hobart wouldn't have to continually answer for a weak schedule. It is clear this year that 10-0 isn't  any better than 9-1 year with a stronger SOS.

Playing Endicott was actually a good idea from Hobart to strengthen their SOS, because they were an annual contender for the NEFC title. Granted this year they will probably end up 6-4, but regardless it helps their SOS numbers, which is all the committee really looks at anyways. I obviously would like to see them drop Dickinson and continue to play the top teams from the MASCAC and NEFC because its a good measuring sticks for these schools to go after and it doesn't really hurt Hobart's SOS as long as those teams don't tank. I think it just makes the East stronger as a whole.

[ITH radio]

I kind of agree re Endicott and it's a bummer they dropped off a little this season. They're back on the schedule in 2015, but at the Boz. Dickinson was a good rivalry there for a good run but the Devils have just plain stunk since about 2010. Not sure they'd drop that series though b/c it dates back to 92 and both schools (supposedly) have "a lot" of admissions overlap. At least Curry is one and done. Honestly Hobart's SoS would have been blostered if they just played 9 games w/o the Colonels on the schedule. It probably would have helped too if Union and MMA didn't tank either. WPI is coming on late but still can't seem to earn more W's. Losing Grasis in Wk 2 killed them in OOC games.

On a more positive note, if Hobart wins tmw it'll be the Class of 2015 40th win and third straight unbeaten regular season. Pretty awesome accomplishment and a program first in the 120+ seasons of Statesmen FB. Not too many teams other than the Big 4-5 can say the same over the same 4 yr period.

[UfanBill]

It's "Shoes Week" and there is no mention of this years game on this board.  Let's change that. Actually this game should continue the recent trend of close, hard fought battles.  Union has pulled itself out of the doldrums and will be primed to "save their season" by beating hated rival RPI.  Last week's record performance (6 TDs) by freshman QB Dante Cioffi bodes well for the future.  Coach Audino however, has a decision to make. stay with the hot Cioffi or let senior Connor Eck, cleared to play after concussion symptoms, finish his solid career with the start.  Eck is listed as the starter in the pregame "game notes".  I believe both will play.  Speaking of records, senior WR Kyle Reynolds caught 4 of Cioffi's record 6 TDs last week.  After missing all of his junior season to injury Reynolds has seemingly fully regained his all LibertyLeague status.  He will certainly be a major factor Saturday as will senior RB Darnell Thomas who needs only 41 yards to reach 1,000 yds rushing this season.  With all this offensive firepower finally gelling the Dutchman have to feel good about their chances of regaining the "Shoes'. Should be a good one.

[UfanBill]

I'd also like to recognize "Voice of the Dutchmen", Frank Rossi.  He will be calling his last Union football game Saturday after 20 years.  Thank you Frank. Your dedication to keep Union football on the air is greatly appreciated. You will be missed.

[ITH radio]

2nd that re Frank. His 20 yrs of service, on his own dime no less, is truly #WhyD3 is so great.

It's been a privilege to work on ITH with him and calling into his halftime show over the past few years to discuss games in process in the LL and East Region.

He may ruffle feathers from time to time, but Frank is a class act, good friend and a true champion of D3FB.

[AUPepBand]

Pep's gonna prognosticate that the Engineers are going to take those Dutchman shoes with a 27-24 win.

[Bartman]

It's "Shoes Week" and there is no mention of this years game on this board.  Let's change that. Actually this game should continue the recent trend of close, hard fought battles.  Union has pulled itself out of the doldrums and will be primed to "save their season" by beating hated rival RPI.  Last week's record performance (6 TDs) by freshman QB Dante Cioffi bodes well for the future.  Coach Audino however, has a decision to make. stay with the hot Cioffi or let senior Connor Eck, cleared to play after concussion symptoms, finish his solid career with the start.  Eck is listed as the starter in the pregame "game notes".  I believe both will play.  Speaking of records, senior WR Kyle Reynolds caught 4 of Cioffi's record 6 TDs last week.  After missing all of his junior season to injury Reynolds has seemingly fully regained his all LibertyLeague status.  He will certainly be a major factor Saturday as will senior RB Darnell Thomas who needs only 41 yards to reach 1,000 yds rushing this season.  With all this offensive firepower finally gelling the Dutchman have to feel good about their chances of regaining the "Shoes'. Should be a good one.

Good luck to both teams. Glad to hear Connor Eck is healthy, saw him play at Rye HS and he was an incredible High School QB winning NYS Class B Title as a Sophomore. Hope he gets a chance to start his last Shoes game.

[jmcozenlaw]

It's "Shoes Week" and there is no mention of this years game on this board.  Let's change that. Actually this game should continue the recent trend of close, hard fought battles.  Union has pulled itself out of the doldrums and will be primed to "save their season" by beating hated rival RPI.  Last week's record performance (6 TDs) by freshman QB Dante Cioffi bodes well for the future.  Coach Audino however, has a decision to make. stay with the hot Cioffi or let senior Connor Eck, cleared to play after concussion symptoms, finish his solid career with the start.  Eck is listed as the starter in the pregame "game notes".  I believe both will play.  Speaking of records, senior WR Kyle Reynolds caught 4 of Cioffi's record 6 TDs last week.  After missing all of his junior season to injury Reynolds has seemingly fully regained his all LibertyLeague status.  He will certainly be a major factor Saturday as will senior RB Darnell Thomas who needs only 41 yards to reach 1,000 yds rushing this season.  With all this offensive firepower finally gelling the Dutchman have to feel good about their chances of regaining the "Shoes'. Should be a good one.

Good luck to both teams. Glad to hear Connor Eck is healthy, saw him play at Rye HS and he was an incredible High School QB winning NYS Class B Title as a Sophomore. Hope he gets a chance to start his last Shoes game.

Bartman - If it shakes out this way, do you see Hobart and Ithaca sweeping Widener and DelVal in Round One?

[Bartman]

It's "Shoes Week" and there is no mention of this years game on this board.  Let's change that. Actually this game should continue the recent trend of close, hard fought battles.  Union has pulled itself out of the doldrums and will be primed to "save their season" by beating hated rival RPI.  Last week's record performance (6 TDs) by freshman QB Dante Cioffi bodes well for the future.  Coach Audino however, has a decision to make. stay with the hot Cioffi or let senior Connor Eck, cleared to play after concussion symptoms, finish his solid career with the start.  Eck is listed as the starter in the pregame "game notes".  I believe both will play.  Speaking of records, senior WR Kyle Reynolds caught 4 of Cioffi's record 6 TDs last week.  After missing all of his junior season to injury Reynolds has seemingly fully regained his all LibertyLeague status.  He will certainly be a major factor Saturday as will senior RB Darnell Thomas who needs only 41 yards to reach 1,000 yds rushing this season.  With all this offensive firepower finally gelling the Dutchman have to feel good about their chances of regaining the "Shoes'. Should be a good one.

Good luck to both teams. Glad to hear Connor Eck is healthy, saw him play at Rye HS and he was an incredible High School QB winning NYS Class B Title as a Sophomore. Hope he gets a chance to start his last Shoes game.

Bartman - If it shakes out this way, do you see Hobart and Ithaca sweeping Widener and DelVal in Round One?

That would be a lot of shaking to have that first round lineup. But if it happens, I think Delaware Valley's defense(given up 210 pts) would be a liability against either Hobart or Ithaca, as these 2 should be able to control the ball against DelVal(Hobart running and Ithaca pass). Widener, on the other hand , looks to have a pretty stout defense(91 points allowed, only 386 rush yds against and 13 out of 24 stops in the red zone)  and this matchup would be very close no matter who they play. I personally think that Widener will beat DelVal, and in that case Ithaca will get to slug it out with them, and I think I would give the edge to Ithaca(17-14) as this team is more battle tested. If Hobart gets matched with DelVal, I think the Hobart "run by committee" offense will "5-6 yard them to death" and control the clock. However,the Hobart DLine(Coleman and Johnson will be unleashed) will need to get to the DelVal QB to limit their WR's from having big days(Hobart wins 35-28). As always, turnovers will matter(Hobart had -5 against St.Lawrence) as none of these teams are that much better than the other to overcome a significant difference in turnovers at this level. These would be great matchups if they happen in either round one or two.

[jmcozenlaw]

It's "Shoes Week" and there is no mention of this years game on this board.  Let's change that. Actually this game should continue the recent trend of close, hard fought battles.  Union has pulled itself out of the doldrums and will be primed to "save their season" by beating hated rival RPI.  Last week's record performance (6 TDs) by freshman QB Dante Cioffi bodes well for the future.  Coach Audino however, has a decision to make. stay with the hot Cioffi or let senior Connor Eck, cleared to play after concussion symptoms, finish his solid career with the start.  Eck is listed as the starter in the pregame "game notes".  I believe both will play.  Speaking of records, senior WR Kyle Reynolds caught 4 of Cioffi's record 6 TDs last week.  After missing all of his junior season to injury Reynolds has seemingly fully regained his all LibertyLeague status.  He will certainly be a major factor Saturday as will senior RB Darnell Thomas who needs only 41 yards to reach 1,000 yds rushing this season.  With all this offensive firepower finally gelling the Dutchman have to feel good about their chances of regaining the "Shoes'. Should be a good one.

Good luck to both teams. Glad to hear Connor Eck is healthy, saw him play at Rye HS and he was an incredible High School QB winning NYS Class B Title as a Sophomore. Hope he gets a chance to start his last Shoes game.

Bartman - If it shakes out this way, do you see Hobart and Ithaca sweeping Widener and DelVal in Round One?

That would be a lot of shaking to have that first round lineup. But if it happens, I think Delaware Valley's defense(given up 210 pts) would be a liability against either Hobart or Ithaca, as these 2 should be able to control the ball against DelVal(Hobart running and Ithaca pass). Widener, on the other hand , looks to have a pretty stout defense(91 points allowed, only 386 rush yds against and 13 out of 24 stops in the red zone)  and this matchup would be very close no matter who they play. I personally think that Widener will beat DelVal, and in that case Ithaca will get to slug it out with them, and I think I would give the edge to Ithaca(17-14) as this team is more battle tested. If Hobart gets matched with DelVal, I think the Hobart "run by committee" offense will "5-6 yard them to death" and control the clock. However,the Hobart DLine(Coleman and Johnson will be unleashed) will need to get to the DelVal QB to limit their WR's from having big days(Hobart wins 35-28). As always, turnovers will matter(Hobart had -5 against St.Lawrence) as none of these teams are that much better than the other to overcome a significant difference in turnovers at this level. These would be great matchups if they happen in either round one or two.

I saw the projected brackets and the geographical piece can really punish a few teams, relatively speaking. NCAA cheapskates

[Bombers798891]

Bartman - If it shakes out this way, do you see Hobart and Ithaca sweeping Widener and DelVal in Round One?

Ithaca needs to get by Cortland if it wants to avoid Mount or Wesley

[dlippiel]

It's "Shoes Week" and there is no mention of this years game on this board.  Let's change that. Actually this game should continue the recent trend of close, hard fought battles.  Union has pulled itself out of the doldrums and will be primed to "save their season" by beating hated rival RPI.  Last week's record performance (6 TDs) by freshman QB Dante Cioffi bodes well for the future.  Coach Audino however, has a decision to make. stay with the hot Cioffi or let senior Connor Eck, cleared to play after concussion symptoms, finish his solid career with the start.  Eck is listed as the starter in the pregame "game notes".  I believe both will play.  Speaking of records, senior WR Kyle Reynolds caught 4 of Cioffi's record 6 TDs last week.  After missing all of his junior season to injury Reynolds has seemingly fully regained his all LibertyLeague status.  He will certainly be a major factor Saturday as will senior RB Darnell Thomas who needs only 41 yards to reach 1,000 yds rushing this season.  With all this offensive firepower finally gelling the Dutchman have to feel good about their chances of regaining the "Shoes'. Should be a good one.

Good luck to both teams. Glad to hear Connor Eck is healthy, saw him play at Rye HS and he was an incredible High School QB winning NYS Class B Title as a Sophomore. Hope he gets a chance to start his last Shoes game.

dlip is really looking forward to the Shoes game tomorrow. dlip has just been busier than ever and going non-stop as of late (no posting here, no blog, etc) so even selfishly just being able to sit back and watch his beloved Dutchmen play their arch rival on that beautiful field will be fantastic.

To dlip RPI is the clear favorite here. Especially after defeating Springfield last week. Who will be starting at QB for both squads is my question?

Re: Cioffi/Eck, Coach A finds himself with a very difficult decision to make. dlip is an Eck fan, always has been. He loves the kid's toughness, heart, and ability to make plays. His injury was unfortunate but in some ways maybe took some pressure off of him as this season started to fall apart the second they began the second half against Utica. dlip would LOVE to see him finish his career with a start tomorrow (and hopefully some success). With that said dlip believes that Cioffi is the future. He feels this kid has not only started to find a rhythm but has found some serious chemistry with Sr. wideout Kyle Reynolds. dlip also feels that Cioffi would benefit from getting an early taste of this rivalry as well as to play in a game that is so important to Union's season. Like dlip said it's a tough call but if you ask dlip he would start the Freshmen.

UfanBill dlip will look for you tomorrow. He'll be sitting on the Dutchmen side (obviously) and may be going solo (clip's father detests RPI so much he has a hard time even setting foot on that campus. It's hilarious!

Piggy backing ufanBill tomorrow represents something very special (but admittedly sad) to dlip. Tomorrow is Frank Rossi's final game calling Union College Football. He has been the voice of the Dutchmen for 20 years now and has been nothing short of fantastic. Not only is Frank the consummate professional but the amount of personal time and $ he has spent to do this for 20 seasons is unreal. If you asked Frank he would shrug it off as nothing, but dlip has met very few, if any, people who have given up so much to bring a college sport to so many for so long. Hats off to Frank and as great as tomorrow will be for Frank it will be a bit sad for dlip and the many Dutchmen faithful who appreciate his work so much!

[Bartman]

Congrats to Hobart Statesman on another undefeated regular season! Senior class record is an outstanding 39-4, 4 LL Titles and 4 playoff berths. Not the best game today by Hobart, but Rochester came to play with a tough attitude and good game plan. Connor Hartigan wildcat look for 55 yard TD today, could be an interesting option in the Playoffs. Tyre Coleman moving up the record book in sacks and TFL. On to the Playoffs......

[jmcozenlaw]

2nd that re Frank. His 20 yrs of service, on his own dime no less, is truly #WhyD3 is so great.

It's been a privilege to work on ITH with him and calling into his halftime show over the past few years to discuss games in process in the LL and East Region.

He may ruffle feathers from time to time, but Frank is a class act, good friend and a true champion of D3FB.

ITH - I don't want to be rude......what is your first name?

I just wanted to tell you that the show last night/this morning was absolutely fantastic!!!!!!!!!! Great Job!!

Have an awesome day!

Jay

[ITH radio]

I'm James but I can't take any credit for the mock selection show. A family commitment made me unavailable so it was all Frank, Pat and Greg (aka Wally Wabash).

We're back on with Duey Naatz tonight live looking at the brackets and such at 7:15pm at www.inthehuddlle.com