FB: Liberty League

[dlippiel]

What was the deal with that game? Did RPI just kind of sit back in the second half or did WPI really step it up? Dlip saw the score at half (which he wasn't totally surprised about) and figured it would have ended up like 40 something to 0. He saw the final 28-21 and just scratched his head.

[Bartman]

The Larries and RPI take care of bussiness today convincingly. Hobart joins them at 2-0 in the league by looking like the OLD Hobart against WPI today. Hobart OC Drach must have worked the offense extra hard this week as the last 2 weeks have not looked like Bartball. This week the hard work showed as the Oline finally jelled and the passing game complemented a strong run game mixed in with a few wildcat plays . Sydeski was composed and  threw well when necessary(I pretty much gave up on this guy...Ithaca was a nightmare game and MM was sketchy... but Cragg stuck with him and it will pay off if Sweeney is still out ) . 

The league looks like a three team race as one of these three should end up undefeated in LL play. These should be three great games to determine the champ. Rochester is just not there yet, but that doesn't mean that they don't have the ability to upset either RPI or Hobart.
Not sure the second tier of the league will figure in any big upsets as the gap between first tier and second seems significant based on the year to date performances .

[Bartman]

Pretty good with the picks last week although none were too challenging. May not be the most exciting week in the league but there will be some good contests. Each year there are ALWAYS upsets and surprises, so it is just a matter of time.

12:00 Union @ Springfield

This one is actually a very intriguing matchup for all of the wrong reasons. These two teams may be battling to stay out of the basement. However, like we saw last week, Union is a good team with talent that just simply cannot put it together. Is now the time? I say yes. In an ugly game, sloppy game Union wins 32-21.

1:00 USMMA @ RPI

Kings point has played pretty well despite the 1-2 record. They have shown they will continue to be a tough/disciplined team. They may also be playing inspired because of the unfortunate passing of their beloved mighty mike. RPI continues to impress and has this one at home. I look for their defense to swallow up the triple option here. RPI wins easily, 38-10.

1:00 Rochester @ St Lawrence

In the LL's game of the week, UofR is heading up to Canton, NY in what hopes to be a good battle. We have Rochester looking as good as they have in years, and despite playing below expectations SLU is very quietly back to playing dominating football. The yellowjackets will be ready to go as they believe the time is now. If they won't to have any realistic shot at the playoff or an ECAC game, the must win this game. SLU realizes they must win out to erase that awful week one loss, but Coach Raymond will have his boys looking no further than tomorrows game. It's at home, and opposing teams seem to hate the pristine grass. I'll take SLU in an offensive game 33-25.

1:00 WPI @ Hobart

The engineers are coming off a tough loss to RPI in which they really thought they could've had. A win there would have done wonders for that program, and put confidence into the players that the team was for real. Their reward? A nice trip to Geneva to play the Statesmen. However, Hobart does not look good on the offensive side on the ball. With Sweeney out at QB (though he may be back I'm not sure) the offense has struggled mightily. However, the defense still looks dominate and they continue to bring the heat on special teams with another blocked punt for a TD last week. This may seem like one of the LL surprises that happens each and every year, but betting against Hobart is still just crazy. Hobart wins 20-7.

For the record, I agreed with your picks(not necessarily points). I did expect Union to follow the Larries game with some momentum, but they are just off this year. Looking forward to the head to heads amongst RPI, Hobart and the Larries.  RPI v. the Larries in Canton this weekend should be great...thinking the Larries a 6 point favorite . Hobart has both RPI and SLU at home this year, a nice advantage. Hobart travels to Rochester for the final game, Centennial Cup, which the Yellowjackets always play tough in...this race is wide open.

[NED3Guy]

I understand why its easy to label this as a three team race, but I think each of those 3 teams are still unproven.

Hobart's wins are against teams with a combined 8-14 record. WPI being their only win vs a team with a winning record.

RPI's wins are against teams with a combined 7-12 record. They too only have WPI as a winning record win.

SLU has beaten teams with a combined 6-12 record, with Rochester being the only win vs a winning record.

We'll get some clarity this weekend when SLU hosts RPI-

Tough stretch of games coming for the Engineers of Troy...at SLU, Rochester, and at Hobart with the Statesmen coming off of a bye week.

Three horse race could become a two horse race very quickly.

[dlippiel]

dlip thinks it's a down league this year. With that said, it did look like Hobart woke up a bit last week on the offensive side of the football against an ok...ish WPI team (dlip is not and has never been high on WPI, however the fact that they at least won their 3 OOC games this season shows dlip they are not as abysmal as they have been in years past). RPI has a very impressive senior QB in Avery who can, at times, make a lot happen. SLU is well, still underachieving IDHO and really isn't as good as he thinks they should be/could be/were supposed to be.

dlip doesn't expect anything from the LL postseason wise this year. As of right now he can see a New England team like Framingham or WNEU defeating the LL champ in a round 1 match-up. In the back of dlip's head he is kind of expecting RPI to win the league after what he has seen thus far. However there is a lot of season left and Hobart and SLU have the talent and potential to improve and put this thought to bed.

As of right now...it is certainly a three team race...

[Div3Fan]

dlip doesn't expect anything from the LL postseason wise this year. As of right now he can see a New England team like Framingham or WNEU defeating the LL champ in a round 1 match-up.

That's crazier than me saying Rochester would be SLU and go undefeated

[Bartman]

dlip doesn't expect anything from the LL postseason wise this year. As of right now he can see a New England team like Framingham or WNEU defeating the LL champ in a round 1 match-up.

That's crazier than me saying Rochester would be SLU and go undefeated

Well, almost . Dlip, not ready to wave the white flag at this point, for sure, although a run like Hobart last year is  unrealistic. Understand the LL teams have not beaten an OOC opponent of stature , which is a real and a totally relevant point.However, the Larries looked pretty strong against Rochester and RPI  looks  post season worthy. Hobart offense is growing into their  shoes , with the seven new starters getting important experience, and if QB Sweeney gets back soon, I think beating a WNEU or Framingham is probable and I am sure the team would love a crack at the E8 champion(loved the match-up last year) especially after the poor performance against Ithaca as well as the other E8 wins against LL teams......Now, the competitive games at the end of last year against SLU and Rochester really helped the Statesmen in the playoffs...these games will improve these three teams before the post season........no white flag from the Liberty League...especially if we get a local contest in the first round(excluding Wesley)

[dlippiel]

It really isn't all that crazy of a statement at all. We can get into comparisons etc but the bottom line is that an LL champion losing to either one of the aforementioned teams in 2015 is a real possibility. Would Dlip like to see it happen? No way, but looking at the fact that Framingham has played solid competition in the recent past very tough and having watched WNEU first hand Dlip can say they are a good team that COULD defeat our beloved LL champion.

Would Dlip put those two teams as a favorite over let's say Hobart or SLU at home? No, certainly not. Yet to act as if this years LL champ would be head and shoulders above either Framingham or possibly WNEU just isn't realistic IDHO.

U of R hasn't defeated anyone, RPI lost it's only real test (****ty weather Dlip knows), and WNEU kicked the horsepiss out of Union in a MUCH MORE convincing fashion than SLU did. Why is this so hard to believe? Aside from BART (who has been awesome but is a completely different team this season) what has any team in the LL done to deserve to be so far above the best two teams in New England? **** SLU lost to ****ing Norwich last season (Dlip still can't get over that).

[D3pc]

Hate to say it but I am both hoping for a New England matchup and dreading it at the same time. It is very much looking ahead, but god forbid its a close game or even worse the LL champ loses to the NEFC/MASCAC/ECFC champion. I might have to tuck my tail between my leg and stay off the boards for awhile.

And one point about the Union/WNE matchup. That will be Unions worst lost (differential wise) this season. I'm not saying the weren't jacked up for it, but to Union I'm sure they were much more anticipating the Ithaca or SLU games. I mean out of Ithaca/SLU/WNE the point differential goes from least to greatest in that same order.

With that being said, WNE has some talented players in their secondary and a potent offense with multiple options at QB. I still think out of Framingham, WNE, and Husson, Framingham is the best team - but not by much. Things are going to be interesting again with Husson clearly in control of the ECFC. Castleton was probably their closest competition based on last year's results and they just whooped them 40-7.

[Div3Fan]

Whatever the case may be, the 2015 post-season will be very interesting! I'm not sure what is best for the LL in terms of how the E8/NEFC/MSCAC will shake out. I'm honestly hoping Rowan plays lights out 10/24 and upsets Wesley since I don't see anyone else in the east beating Wesley, while Rowan is much, much more manageable (just stop the run). That being said, we still have a ways to go before that.

[Div3Fan]

With that being said, WNE has some talented players in their secondary and a potent offense with multiple options at QB. I still think out of Framingham, WNE, and Husson, Framingham is the best team - but not by much. Things are going to be interesting again with Husson clearly in control of the ECFC. Castleton was probably their closest competition based on last year's results and they just whooped them 40-7.

The only caveat being, WNE is untested - much more so than any team in the LL. The disparity between teams in the NEFC is huge.

[jackson5]

With that being said, WNE has some talented players in their secondary and a potent offense with multiple options at QB. I still think out of Framingham, WNE, and Husson, Framingham is the best team - but not by much. Things are going to be interesting again with Husson clearly in control of the ECFC. Castleton was probably their closest competition based on last year's results and they just whooped them 40-7.

The only caveat being, WNE is untested - much more so than any team in the LL. The disparity between teams in the NEFC is huge.

While the bottom two teams,  WNE already beat two Liberty League teams in games that weren't even close.

[Div3Fan]

While the bottom two teams,  WNE already beat two Liberty League teams in games that weren't even close.

Yes, Union and Springfield. I'd like to think my point still stands, but who knows.

[bman]

Looking forward to Rochester vs SLU next week.

If U of R gets the win, I see them running the tables this year in the LL - even against RPI in Troy and at home against Hobart.

Time to recalibrate I guess 

[Div3Fan]

Time to recalibrate I guess 

*shrugs*

I did say, "if". Didn't Rochester have something like 5 turnovers? That's a great way to lose a game.