FB: Liberty League

[ITH radio]

http://rpiathletics.com/news/2016/10/7/football-hosts-hobart-on-saturday.aspx?elinkdata=132302&utm_medium=sidearm-email&utm_source=www.rpiathletics.com&utm_campaign=Football+Hosts+No.+22+Hobart+on+Saturday+(1pm)

[Bartman]

The big Game this week is Hobart v. RPI.The "pocket protectors" have a chance at the title if they beat Hobart and Hobart beats SLU in November and they all  win out against the rest of the league.  The challenge for both these teams is redzone defense as Hobart is just 1 for 15 and RPI is 3 for 18 in stopping their foe close in. Hobart must stop another run oriented offense  and RPI has to stop the Hobart air game( RPI DB's do have 3 "pick sixes" though). I think the Hobart defensive line will toughen up this week and wear shoes with cleats and remove the roller skates they wore against MMA last week...predictions:
     
  Hobart       35             RPI        24       The Pumpkinheads ruin the "pocket protector's" crowd Homecoming and avenge last year's crucial loss       
  SLU           52             U of R    14       Scoring 14 against the Larries is not bad
   
  MMA          31             WPI       28       Big win for the Mariners
  Union        28      Springfield     24       First LL win by the Dutchmen since November,2014     

So far 23-4 on picks, but it is getting difficult now

[Jonny Utah]

The big Game this week is Hobart v. RPI.The "pocket protectors" have a chance at the title if they beat Hobart and Hobart beats SLU in November and they all  win out against the rest of the league.  The challenge for both these teams is redzone defense as Hobart is just 1 for 15 and RPI is 3 for 18 in stopping their foe close in. Hobart must stop another run oriented offense  and RPI has to stop the Hobart air game( RPI DB's do have 3 "pick sixes" though). I think the Hobart defensive line will toughen up this week and wear shoes with cleats and remove the roller skates they wore against MMA last week...predictions:
     
  Hobart       35             RPI        24       The Pumpkinheads ruin the "pocket protector's" crowd Homecoming and avenge last year's crucial loss       
  SLU           52             U of R    14       Scoring 14 against the Larries is not bad
   
  MMA          31             WPI       28       Big win for the Mariners
  Union        28      Springfield     24       First LL win by the Dutchmen since November,2014     

So far 23-4 on picks, but it is getting difficult now

I agree with all your picks except your Union score.   I think Union should win by more.  24-7.

[Bartman]

The big Game this week is Hobart v. RPI.The "pocket protectors" have a chance at the title if they beat Hobart and Hobart beats SLU in November and they all  win out against the rest of the league.  The challenge for both these teams is redzone defense as Hobart is just 1 for 15 and RPI is 3 for 18 in stopping their foe close in. Hobart must stop another run oriented offense  and RPI has to stop the Hobart air game( RPI DB's do have 3 "pick sixes" though). I think the Hobart defensive line will toughen up this week and wear shoes with cleats and remove the roller skates they wore against MMA last week...predictions:
     
  Hobart       35             RPI        24       The Pumpkinheads ruin the "pocket protector's" crowd Homecoming and avenge last year's crucial loss       
  SLU           52             U of R    14       Scoring 14 against the Larries is not bad
   
  MMA          31             WPI       28       Big win for the Mariners
  Union        28      Springfield     24       First LL win by the Dutchmen since November,2014     

So far 23-4 on picks, but it is getting difficult now

I agree with all your picks except your Union score.   I think Union should win by more.  24-7.

Maybe The Dutchmen will put it all together Saturday , but they lost to WPI by 7 and Springfield beat WPI by 5....unless you see a BIG home field advantage I am thinking it will be closer....in any event winning at Bailey will be an experience that should bring back memories......

[dlippiel]

The big Game this week is Hobart v. RPI.The "pocket protectors" have a chance at the title if they beat Hobart and Hobart beats SLU in November and they all  win out against the rest of the league.  The challenge for both these teams is redzone defense as Hobart is just 1 for 15 and RPI is 3 for 18 in stopping their foe close in. Hobart must stop another run oriented offense  and RPI has to stop the Hobart air game( RPI DB's do have 3 "pick sixes" though). I think the Hobart defensive line will toughen up this week and wear shoes with cleats and remove the roller skates they wore against MMA last week...predictions:
     
  Hobart       35             RPI        24       The Pumpkinheads ruin the "pocket protector's" crowd Homecoming and avenge last year's crucial loss       
  SLU           52             U of R    14       Scoring 14 against the Larries is not bad
   
  MMA          31             WPI       28       Big win for the Mariners
  Union        28      Springfield     24       First LL win by the Dutchmen since November,2014     

So far 23-4 on picks, but it is getting difficult now

+k for the pocket protector nickname...dlip likes that. Best of luck to Bart today!

[dlippiel]

dlip is hoping for a big Union win this afternoon in Shocktown. He couldn't be happier with the improvement and direction of the 2016 Dutchmen. Granted the 1-4 record is certainly not all that different from recent years however this is a marathon for the Dutchmen not a sprint. Rebuilding the foundation of this program and it's culture is what is important. dlip believes he is seeing that here in 2016.

Best of luck to the Pumpkinheads today! Certainly another big test for Bart and after the MMA game a convincing win in Troylet would certainly solidify Bart's unquestionable place as one of the two top teams in the league.

May Sweeney rein pumpkins throughout the city of Troylet today like the ****ing Headless Horseman did upon Sleepy Hollow a long time ago!

[stlawus]

More Beamer ball from SLU today, nice 48-13 win over Rochacha.  2 special teams TDs and Ferraro back from injury having a nice 95 yard game. Payne and Dietsch were a bit banged up so it's nice to be heading into the bye week after today.  This team has shut down the run all year but it's going to be a big test against MM, should be a great game in a couple of weeks.

[Bartman]

Congrats to Springfield(solid win over Union), MMA(exciting finish against a good WPI team), Saint Lawrence(as expected against Yellow Jackets) and RPI(gutsy final drive for the win as Hobart dies by the "cardiac" sword this week) . The Larries are the favorite , for sure , but the Mariners,Pride, Engineers and Statesmen ,all with one LL loss,are not out of it yet.

[ITH radio]

15 penalties for -148 yards. RPI didn't beat Hobart today, the Statesmen did that to themselves.

WPI-MMA game was crazy - 970 yards of offense with the Mariners winning it in final seconds. Best game of the wkd IMO.

[Bartman]

15 penalties for -148 yards. RPI didn't beat Hobart today, the Statesmen did that to themselves.

WPI-MMA game was crazy - 970 yards of offense with the Mariners winning it in final seconds. Best game of the wkd IMO.

Totally agree on Hobart.....If you were told that Hobart would finally defend the run and hold RPI to fewer yards (192) than the SLU defense did , that Sweeney would throw for 300+ again and Hobart started to run bit(97 yards and 3.7 a carry)...you would be happy as a Statesman fan and expect a nice win....but instead the 2 crucial penalties(one roughing the kicker and a pass interference) lead to 2 RPI TD's....so they need to go to the infirmary back in Geneva and clean up the blood from those self-inflicted gun shot wounds 

I think the Mariners should give the Engineers and the Larries all they can handle  the next 2 weeks.....and after the Hobart loss today...I hope they win them both

[Hobart15]

Brutal loss for Hobart. Were in control the entire first half but were only up 10-0 at half. Second half kickoff for a big return set RPI for a score and the game was on. Yes Hobart was ridiculous in the amount of penalties but there seem to be many called at very opportune times for the Engineers. Including a face mask on the Hobart kicker many yards away from the play on the last kickoff that set RPI up at the Hobart 37. Game ending INT by Jamison was called back for pass interference on a flag that looked like it was thrown after the ball was picked off. That being said, a couple of things from the game. RPI recognized early on that they could get their receiver down the field against a Hobart inside linebacker. They went back to that play 4-5 times with great results drawing multiple pass interference penalties including on the final drive to negate the INT.

Shed was a non factor in today's game as RPI's #23 was able to shut him down. Other teams will take note how he was played and adjust.

Not sure why Hobart kicked the ball deep with minute to go as they had already given up a big return in the second half.

Hobart defense looked like a different unit against the run today. That should help them down the stretch and give them a chance to win the LL.

They don't seem to be blitzing like they used to negating some of the big play potential of Marcus Jemison. When they blitzed on the final drive, Todd Collier was able to sack the QB. Also they are getting no turnovers on D.

Shane Sweeney showed once again he is not someone the opposing team wants to have with the ball at the end of games. He is cool and calm engineering these drives.

[Olorin]

RPI's defense is what won the game - they played their hearts out. 23 shut down 5. Couldn't get the offense on track until opportunities presented themselves in the 2nd half. Crucial kick return at the end led to hope for them.

As far as penalties, yes Hobart shot themselves in the foot. But if you look at the video they were the correct calls. RPI kicker clearly was run into Hobart kicker grabbed 22's facemask at the kick return right in front of the ref and that pass interference on the INT was very obvious.

Engineers never gave up.

[D3pc]

I caught the end of that game myself once i say the score and boy was I glad that I did. Once again very impressed with the RPI live feed. I agree with you above, especially on that PI call on the interception. They were able to show the replay and it was a very blatant penalty.

Thinking big picture, that was bad for the league as it is starting to 'empire 8 itself' with everyone beating up on each other. Plus, does that ruin the chance of having to LL teams make the playoffs if Hobart were to beat SLU in week 10? Anyone know the tie breaking scenario if that does happen as well (if RPI, SLU, and Hobart finish with 5-1 league records)? I believe it was heavily discussed last year as well but Hobart ended up with two league losses.

[Bartman]

OK, I am sure Frank and James will report on the three way tie breaker rules if it ends up 5-1 for Hobart, SLU and RPI. Personally, I think MMA and WPI are strong enough to disrupt the final standings and Union could also surprise RPI in the "Shoes" game....so we have lots of football to go.... Good point on the "E8 effect" as I think we have some really good teams this year, but SLU still has the best chance just to win out and make the rest of the speculation moot. The only way the LL gets 2 teams in is if Hobart beats SLU and they are both one loss teams...and although Hobart lost yesterday I was encouraged by the play of the defense and the run blocking, so I am actually more optimistic about their competitiveness for the balance of the season, but no game is a gimme.

[Bartman]

The big Game this week is Hobart v. RPI.The "pocket protectors" have a chance at the title if they beat Hobart and Hobart beats SLU in November and they all  win out against the rest of the league.  The challenge for both these teams is redzone defense as Hobart is just 1 for 15 and RPI is 3 for 18 in stopping their foe close in. Hobart must stop another run oriented offense  and RPI has to stop the Hobart air game( RPI DB's do have 3 "pick sixes" though). I think the Hobart defensive line will toughen up this week and wear shoes with cleats and remove the roller skates they wore against MMA last week...predictions:
     
  Hobart       35(17)             RPI        24(21)       The Pumpkinheads ruin the "pocket protector's" crowd Homecoming and avenge last year's crucial loss.       
  SLU           5248                U of R    14(13)       Scoring 14 against the Larries is not bad
   
  MMA          31(45)             WPI       28(44)       Big win for the Mariners
  Union        28(3)      Springfield     24 (17)      First LL win by the Dutchmen since November,2014     

So far 23-4 on picks, but it is getting difficult now

Not a good week, 2-2 , league games are getting harder to pick...."pocket protectors" protect home field with a Bart-like last minute win, Mariners kept running, the Larries performed as expected and the Pride D stifles the Dutchmen offense. Can the Larries keep it going or will one of the one loss teams step up ?