FB: Liberty League

[dlippiel]

WPI comes up with an excellent win over MIT. Dlip thought WPI looked pretty darn good. Watched the very end of the SLU game. Tough loss and not the way the Saints wanted to start what is supposed to be a banner season. They battled though they just couldn't get over the hump at the end 😔.

[SaintsFAN]

LewDogg -

I have accepted a job with a Boston-based Hedge Fund.  As such, I move to Boston (training, for 6 months) without my family on September 19th.  I'm going to be living right in the Financial District.  On weekends without flying back to Cincy, I'd like to take in a D3 game in the area.  Are you interested in doing this? 

[Bartman]

LL League Alum Update: Ali Marpet, Hobart (Tampa Bay) and Andrew Franks,RPI(Miami) officially have made it to the NFL rosters and will get some nice air time from"tiny" Hobart and RPI as both will be starting..Congrats to both, so get the NFL Sunday Ticket this year

As far as LL weekend results looks like Hobart has found a QB in transfer/homeboy Shane Sweeney(21-30,250 yards),  a very solid replacement receiver group, continued hard running from Hartigan and Burns along with new speedster Tynard Barfield(a "Webb-like" bounce to the outside TD run)..... the Defense looked very solid against Dickinson with second string giving up only score with seconds left in game(can't wait for the real test against Ithaca in 2 weeks).

RPI may be the "next up" contender with a stomp of Norwich(remember they beat Sain Lawrence last year) as SLU disappoints with a poor performance against a very strong Morrisville squad( E8 will point to this win as sign of superiority)
Union fought well against Ithaca but they need some development ,hopefully Audino can rally them .
WPI looked strong against MIT, so beware of the Engineers this year.
Springfield loses soundly to Western New England
So 3-3 out of conference.... not so good out of the box .

[UfanBill]

Some observations from the Union/Ithaca game.  Ithaca used a mix of short underneath crossing patterns to control the ball and pick up first downs.  Wolfgang Shafer  was right on target all day 25/33 and the Bombers were 10/15 on 3rd down.  As I have observed for awhile now the Union linebackers seemed to be lost in pass coverage.  They play a 3-4 and quickly drop 10 yds deep at the first sign of a pass.  Ithaca continually used motion to get receivers open underneath the coverage.  Am I missing something isn't the purpose of playing the 3-4 is to help in pass coverage, but don't you have to locate the receivers first?  The Union lbs drop too deep and too soon and usually end up covering no one. Shafer has a field day dropping passes off to #2 Josh Oliver.  Oliver was the difference maker of the game. He caught 8 for 80 yds., returned punts 17, 26 and 39 yds. and caught Union flat footed with a flanker reverse TD pass.

[Bartman]

Some observations from the Union/Ithaca game.  Ithaca used a mix of short underneath crossing patterns to control the ball and pick up first downs.  Wolfgang Shafer  was right on target all day 25/33 and the Bombers were 10/15 on 3rd down.  As I have observed for awhile now the Union linebackers seemed to be lost in pass coverage.  They play a 3-4 and quickly drop 10 yds deep at the first sign of a pass.  Ithaca continually used motion to get receivers open underneath the coverage.  Am I missing something isn't the purpose of playing the 3-4 is to help in pass coverage, but don't you have to locate the receivers first?  The Union lbs drop too deep and too soon and usually end up covering no one. Shafer has a field day dropping passes off to #2 Josh Oliver.  Oliver was the difference maker of the game. He caught 8 for 80 yds., returned punts 17, 26 and 39 yds. and caught Union flat footed with a flanker reverse TD pass.

Thanks for the scouting report on Ithaca UfanBill. Hope Union backers pull it together and cover better (except for Hobart game ,of course), I would really love to see Union at full strength in the league again .

[ITH radio]

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ith/2015/09/07/in-the-huddlle--liberty-league-football-talk-show

[D3pc]

Saw some of the SLU, RPI, and Hobart games this past weekend.

St Lawrence just did not look impressive and found themselves in a big hole early. They looked like the better team in the second half but it was too little too late. Talked to someone there and word is the lost starting strong safety Lapice for the year who was the anchor back there and a 2 year captain. Also, the offensive line looked very shaky allowing SIX sacks and many more QB pressures. That has to improve if they are to live up to expecatations-which already took a big shock. This was a bad loss for both SLU and the LL. The only way it will look better is if Morrisville has a very good season, which could actually happen. They have a good players on both sides of the ball and their new transfer QB will not be as athletic as Johnson was, but he is very talented.

RPI seemed to just absolutely dominate Norwich. Norwich looked unimpressive as well, but they have always had tough, disciplined players and stingy defenses to go up against. I did not think RPI would be as good this year with some losses to graduation, but they looked very good with Avery back at QB. Side note - i liked the white helmets better!

Hobart, sigh, looked very good per usual. As expected, Sweeney started under center and he had a good day back there. It will be different, but with the promotion of Drach from QB coach to OC, and a weapon of an arm in Sweeney, this may not be the hobart of the past 10 years. Give them a few games to get going and they may be a more pass happy team then we have ever seen. Those middle lnebackers are something else, in addition to Jemison on the outside. They got hit hard with graduation, but until they got knocked off, its hard for me to say they shouldn't be number one. I still think SLU has the best chance of doing so, but it looks that much tougher.

I also peaked into the Endicott - FSU game. Endicott got demolished by a good FSU offense. The rams were getting 8-10 yards a rush and senior QB Silva was something like 29-35. Tough luck for Endicott as they play even better teams the next two weeks in Hobart and SLU...both on the road. Not exactly the start Dewall must have been looking for.

Props to WPI winning their first game against MIT. I know MIT lost their QB and RB to graduation, but kind of a reality check to the differences in the talent of leagues. MIT was still picked to finish first in th NEFC this year. And speaking of the NEFC, WNEU looked like the handled Springfield with ease. I only saw stats, but it looked like it wasn't even close. What has happened to Springfield? Does this mean when the join the NEWMAC in a few years they will just continue to slide?

This upcoming week...

I think WPI loses a close one to Worcester State, though i will be rooting for WPI

Springfield should bounce back with an easy win against UMass Darmouth

Hobart should handle Endicott. Interested to see how this one goes with the coaching connection.

Catholic U and Rochester could be a good one. Would like to see Rochester open up strong so I will pick them.

Alfred against RPI has been close each of the past few years. I want to say RPI, but Franks was the difference in all of those close games. I'll say Alfred by a score

USMMA and Coast Guard in the Secretaries Cup. A spirited battle among two proud institutions no doubt. CG wins.

SLU will be out for blood after last years travesty. SLU wins easy in this one (Hopefully it doesn't rain)

Union vs Western Conn. Sorry Union, still just don't see it yet.

[Bombers798891]

SLU disappoints with a poor performance against a very strong Morrisville squad( E8 will point to this win as sign of superiority)

If we wanted to tout conference superiority, we could just use pretty much every conference ranking ever by d3football.com 

Overall, I'm a little tired of the E8 love-fest, honestly. I think we've shifted into excuses mode. We can't just scream "DEPTH!" if the E8 sends a two or three-loss team into the NCAAs for the 5th time in 6th years this season. I don't think an elite conference should finish a season having their lone ranked team sitting at 21, and their conference champion unranked. (And this year, the E8 can even use Ithaca's annual Cortaca loss as a positive!)

Regardless, we'll know more in two weeks when Hobart travels to take on the Bombers.

[Bartman]

SLU disappoints with a poor performance against a very strong Morrisville squad( E8 will point to this win as sign of superiority)

If we wanted to tout conference superiority, we could just use pretty much every conference ranking ever by d3football.com 

Overall, I'm a little tired of the E8 love-fest, honestly. I think we've shifted into excuses mode. We can't just scream "DEPTH!" if the E8 sends a two or three-loss team into the NCAAs for the 5th time in 6th years this season. I don't think an elite conference should finish a season having their lone ranked team sitting at 21, and their conference champion unranked. (And this year, the E8 can even use Ithaca's annual Cortaca loss as a positive!)

Regardless, we'll know more in two weeks when Hobart travels to take on the Bombers.

The Hobart-Ithaca game should be a great game and barometer for both squads. Not really interested as much in E8 comparisons as LL needs to recruit a couple of new(E8?)teams to keep automatic berth,as Springfield, WPI and MM leave.....Ithaca is a nice fit ??

[D3pc]

SLU disappoints with a poor performance against a very strong Morrisville squad( E8 will point to this win as sign of superiority)

If we wanted to tout conference superiority, we could just use pretty much every conference ranking ever by d3football.com 

Overall, I'm a little tired of the E8 love-fest, honestly. I think we've shifted into excuses mode. We can't just scream "DEPTH!" if the E8 sends a two or three-loss team into the NCAAs for the 5th time in 6th years this season. I don't think an elite conference should finish a season having their lone ranked team sitting at 21, and their conference champion unranked. (And this year, the E8 can even use Ithaca's annual Cortaca loss as a positive!)

Regardless, we'll know more in two weeks when Hobart travels to take on the Bombers.

The Hobart-Ithaca game should be a great game and barometer for both squads. Not really interested as much in E8 comparisons as LL needs to recruit a couple of new(E8?)teams to keep automatic berth,as Springfield, WPI and MM leave.....Ithaca is a nice fit ??

I'm not exactly sure how the rules work, but i know if the LL were to add Ithaca it would have to be as a full time member in all sports. What allowed springfield, USMMA, etc to join is their respective leagues didn't have football. Im sure they will figure something out as they have another full year, plus you can petition to keep the AQ for another year or two. Having SLU and Hobart make things a little tricky because of distance. There was some chatter about possibly bringing in Endicott. Lets also remember that the Empire EIGHT has nine teams...just saying.

[AUPepBand]

SLU disappoints with a poor performance against a very strong Morrisville squad( E8 will point to this win as sign of superiority)

If we wanted to tout conference superiority, we could just use pretty much every conference ranking ever by d3football.com 

Overall, I'm a little tired of the E8 love-fest, honestly. I think we've shifted into excuses mode. We can't just scream "DEPTH!" if the E8 sends a two or three-loss team into the NCAAs for the 5th time in 6th years this season. I don't think an elite conference should finish a season having their lone ranked team sitting at 21, and their conference champion unranked. (And this year, the E8 can even use Ithaca's annual Cortaca loss as a positive!)

Regardless, we'll know more in two weeks when Hobart travels to take on the Bombers.

The Hobart-Ithaca game should be a great game and barometer for both squads. Not really interested as much in E8 comparisons as LL needs to recruit a couple of new(E8?)teams to keep automatic berth,as Springfield, WPI and MM leave.....Ithaca is a nice fit ??

I'm not exactly sure how the rules work, but i know if the LL were to add Ithaca it would have to be as a full time member in all sports. What allowed springfield, USMMA, etc to join is their respective leagues didn't have football. Im sure they will figure something out as they have another full year, plus you can petition to keep the AQ for another year or two. Having SLU and Hobart make things a little tricky because of distance. There was some chatter about possibly bringing in Endicott. Lets also remember that the Empire EIGHT has nine teams...just saying.

You are correct about full-time membership and Pep believes Ithaca expressed interest in switching to the Liberty League back in 2009 but the LL instead voted in Bard and RIT, rejecting Ithaca.

Perhaps the recent series between Union and Ithaca on the gridiron was the LL's way of feeling out the prospect of the Bombers in the Liberty League, not to mention the Hobart-Ithaca clash. Could there be something in the works?

Stay tuned!

[Bombers798891]

I'm sure Ithaca would love to join the LL, especially from a football perspective, just to be competing more directly with institutions similar to itself. I can't imagine the football coaches love half their schedule being comprised of SUNY schools when Ithaca costs maybe two and a half times as much to attend.

I've heard my own stories of why Ithaca was not accepted into the LL. However, I would not feel comfortable attaching my name to them publicly, as I do not know first-hand information

[Yanks 99]

I'm sure Ithaca would love to join the LL, especially from a football perspective, just to be competing more directly with institutions similar to itself. I can't imagine the football coaches love half their schedule being comprised of SUNY schools when Ithaca costs maybe two and a half times as much to attend.

I've heard my own stories of why Ithaca was not accepted into the LL. However, I would not feel comfortable attaching my name to them publicly, as I do not know first-hand information

I was always surprised that somehow Ithaca was passed over in the LL...yet the LL willingly accepted Springfield, when Ithaca is generally perceived as having a far superior academic rating.

[NED3Guy]

I believe at the time Ithaca was rumored to be trying to join the Liberty League, the Empire 8 was just starting to allow public (state schools) to join them for football, BUT was not going to allow New York State schools. Thus the Frostburg / Salisbury era began. Now that the E8 looks like the SUNYAC with 4 NY State schools in the mix; I can imagine Ithaca would try very hard to get out of there.

I don't know much about why the LL didn't take Ithaca the last time around, but I have heard it was about other sports and the league coaches not wanting Ithaca in the LL.

[AUPepBand]

I'm sure Ithaca would love to join the LL, especially from a football perspective, just to be competing more directly with institutions similar to itself. I can't imagine the football coaches love half their schedule being comprised of SUNY schools when Ithaca costs maybe two and a half times as much to attend.

I've heard my own stories of why Ithaca was not accepted into the LL. However, I would not feel comfortable attaching my name to them publicly, as I do not know first-hand information

I was always surprised that somehow Ithaca was passed over in the LL...yet the LL willingly accepted Springfield, when Ithaca is generally perceived as having a far superior academic rating.

Pep is talking about full membership (all sports) in the LL for Ithaca....Springfield was not accepted into the LL for full membership, but as an associate member for football only. Now that the LL is likely to lose its football-only associate members, perhaps it is revisiting the idea of Ithaca joining in the mix.