FB: Liberty League

[UfanBill]

Another week and another Liberty League football player has been named to the D3football Team of the Week. This time it's Union LB Colin Lama, "Lama recorded a game-high and career-high 16 tackles, including 11 solo tackles, and one tackle for a 2-yard loss in a 30-23 win against Springfield. In the first quarter, Lama recovered a fumble, which resulted in a Union field goal in the next drive. With less than a minute to go in the fourth quarter, Lama intercepted a pass on Springfield's final drive to secure the win."

The Liberty League is showing it's muscle in OOC games with the big 4: Union, Hobart, Ithaca and RPI all 3-0. Overall the LL is 15-5 and importantly 7-3 against it's NY rival E8 with 3 more matchups this weekend. Add in the 10-6 advantage from 2019 and the numbers(17-9) show who now rules the Empire State.

[UfanBill]

As for my take on Cortaca '22 being played in Yankee Stadium...it seems that again it would be Ithaca that loses a home game to play in NYC. As long as they're OK with it, go for it...AND I'm just thinking, maybe they should move the Dutchman Shoes game this November to Fenway Park. That way the RPI parents and fans could actually attend the game and...NO WAIT ...the Shoes game is in Schenectady, Plenty of good seats available on the hill.    

[Oline89]

St. John Fisher College @ Rensselaer      Sticking with RPI here, 24-21
Union @ Utica College                      Union rolls, 42-14
Buffalo State @ SUNY Morrisville              MOOVille 21-7
Castleton @ St. Lawrence                      SLU keeps going Larrys 42-10,
Keystone @ Hobart                               Homecoming/night game, Electric! Lots of youngin's get on the field.  Hobart crushes 49-0

[Bartman]

As for my take on Cortaca '22 being played in Yankee Stadium...it seems that again it would be Ithaca that loses a home game to play in NYC. As long as they're OK with it, go for it...AND I'm just thinking, maybe they should move the Dutchman Shoes game this November to Fenway Park. That way the RPI parents and fans could actually attend the game and...NO WAIT ...the Shoes game is in Schenectady, Plenty of good seats available on the hill.

Ufan...nice scheduling advice. Not happy that Hobart lost its home game to host Union due to the pandemic, would rather not be in Schenectady after Hobart's disasterous start 2 years ago , we were planning on deflating the footballs so the Bellamy to Ross connection might suffer.....be careful with Utica this week and keep the LL out of conference record strong.

[AUPepBand]

Attended the Hobart-Fisher game yesterday . Great facilities at St.John Fisher, although the visitor side bleachers seem to intentionally make the visitor fans feel like Division C high school , an obvious intended  psychological advantage . The game was way too chippy and I cannot defend the Statesmen who were sloppy and lacked discipline, although the refs often seemed confused and lacked consistency. The Hobart fans felt the refs were "homers", but I can't be honest unless I see the film since the lower stands don't give you a good view to weigh in on whether the calls were fair. In any case,I think Fisher was unable to run against Hobart Dline and found some success in the air. Without Emett Forde (out with bad Shoulder) Hobart did not put enough pressure on the Fisher QB's resulting in the first points against the Statesmen this year. Hopefully Forde  will be back for the better passing teams like Ithaca and Union or there will be big pressure on our DBs.
   The Hobart Oline improves every week and opened holes big enough for what could be the best dual threat running attack that Hobart has had since the 1970s with All Americans A-Z and Rich Kowalski in the same backfield. Both Denham and Boswell are averaging more than 100 yards a game each, and are extremely talented as runners and receivers , while Denham added a 90 yard TD kickoff return to start the second half that took the air out of the Fishers.
   Looking at the rest of the LL, Union, RPI and Ithaca remain undefeated and SLU and Rochester look improved(watch out for upsets!) while Buff State  struggles. Union is still the favorite, IMO, although beatable after watching much of the Springfield game(NB, Ross and Irabor were out). It should be a great LL season .May our teams stay healthy and enjoy the best the game offers.

Pep is pleased to report that his Saxons DID score a field goal against a very good Hobart defense in the season opener. Last we knew, that was good for 3 points and worthy of a run through the fight song.

As for those 1940s visitor bleachers at Growney Stadium, Pep must agree and has been complaining about them for years. Difficult for the band to sit in those old wooden bleachers...tough retrieving one's kazoo without a major operation. Something different than the elevated visitor stands at Yunevich Stadium, no?

On Saxon Warriors!

[Bartman]

AU pep ,
     +k for outing Bartman on the inaccuracy in reporting...I meant to say first TD, but still no disrespect to the Alfred team.....I hope the Saxons all the best this and every season and I hope we stay on our schedules in the future.
      Bartman totally respects the elevated and generous visitor stands at the Home of the Saxons, it has my vote for the best environment for a visiting fan...also allows the visitors to keep a safe distance from the Saxon Warrior which is totally cool....although I would not want to have cleanup duty

[ITH radio]

Some commentary on the current RPI attendance situation:

https://soundcloud.com/frank-rossi-5/frank-rossi-on-big-board-sports-talk-with-rodger-wyland

[AUPepBand]

AU pep ,
     +k for outing Bartman on the inaccuracy in reporting...I meant to say first TD, but still no disrespect to the Alfred team.....I hope the Saxons all the best this and every season and I hope we stay on our schedules in the future.
      Bartman totally respects the elevated and generous visitor stands at the Home of the Saxons, it has my vote for the best environment for a visiting fan...also allows the visitors to keep a safe distance from the Saxon Warrior which is totally cool....although I would not want to have cleanup duty

Pep remembers the days when play would be paused to remove dogs from the field, who delighted in running about on the meticulously manicured Merrill Field of natural grass. Now it's Alden, the Saxon steed, galloping on the fa-sod. +K back at ya, Bartman, and best of luck to the Statesmen through the LL slate. Pep has always enjoyed an autumn jaunt to Geneva to see the Saxons and Statesmen mix it up. Pep's Saxons looking to hook up the horses and get back to their winning ways before E8 play begins.

On Saxon Warriors!

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear says he knows his beloved Dutch are walking into a hostile environment come Saturday out in U-tica.

Ice Bear says their win over Western New England, WNEC, The University of Western New England, UWNE, The College in Springfield That Is Not Springfield, TCISTINS, etc. is impressive even if it did involve some late game heroics. Ice Bear says the Dutch will certainly have their Garnet hands full this weekend.

Ice Bear just looking for a win here, but IHHO a BIG CONVINCING win would show Ice that his beloved Dutch are worthy of their lofty ranking.

"Alright stop, collaborate, and listen, Ice is back with his brand new invention...

[UfanBill]

A week ago when asked in their weekly Quick Hits column, "What Top 25 team is likely to be upset this week?" two D3football.com gurus (Pat and Greg) answered by choosing Union. Thankfully they were wrong and the Dutchmen pulled out a hard earned victory over Springfield. This week when faced with the same question, none of the D3 boys dared mention Union. Apparently wary of bucking the Dutchmen. Well, while I was confident in the Dutchmen's ability to beat the Pride at home, I'm very concerned about today's game at Utica. The Pioneers have been a thorn in Union's side and upset a very good Western New England team last week. Add in the fact that the Dutch are banged up, according to coach Behrman "it is highly unlikely" that RB Ike Irabor will play and he's only "hopeful" that WR Andre Ross Jr. will see the field. I'm not calling an upset but...Union's depth will be tested.   

                                                                      LET'S GO U

[Bartman]

A week ago when asked in their weekly Quick Hits column, "What Top 25 team is likely to be upset this week?" two D3football.com gurus (Pat and Greg) answered by choosing Union. Thankfully they were wrong and the Dutchmen pulled out a hard earned victory over Springfield. This week when faced with the same question, none of the D3 boys dared mention Union. Apparently wary of bucking the Dutchmen. Well, while I was confident in the Dutchmen's ability to beat the Pride at home, I'm very concerned about today's game at Utica. The Pioneers have been a thorn in Union's side and upset a very good Western New England team last week. Add in the fact that the Dutch are banged up, according to coach Behrman "it is highly unlikely" that RB Ike Irabor will play and he's only "hopeful" that WR Andre Ross Jr. will see the field. I'm not calling an upset but...Union's depth will be tested.   

                                                                      LET'S GO U

Ufan,
     I think the scheduling by Union this year will help prepare the Dutchmen for the LL schedule where the league should have some great competition. While Bartman has stated that Union is the favorite to take the league auto bid, I think they will have some very tough games to prove their superiority( I actually don't think the winner of the LL will be undefeated this year ) . Utica will be a good test for the Dutchmen and an upset without Irabor or Ross is very possible . Good luck and may the Dutchmen represent the LL well today.

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear is pleased with the 30-9 Union win over Utica this afternoon. Ice attributes the W to Unions bend but not break D. Great defensive performance today from Union.

Ice Bear also gives credit to the Utica defense today which really tied up the Dutchmen O for much of the contest. Ice Bear is hoping for the best for Utica through the remainder of the season.

Ice Bear's question...and he feels fortunate as a fan that he can ask it. Ice asks, are the Dutch deserving of their lofty ranking?

Ice Ice Bear Bear

[Pat Coleman]

12 is too high for me personally, but I'm not losing any sleep over it the way I have with some other rankings in the past.

[Ice Bear]

12 is too high for me personally, but I'm not losing any sleep over it the way I have with some other rankings in the past.

Ice Bear concurs. He thinks more along the lines of 15-25, with 15 being the ceiling, as of now.

[MRMIKESMITH]

12 is too high for me personally, but I'm not losing any sleep over it the way I have with some other rankings in the past.

Ice Bear concurs. He thinks more along the lines of 15-25, with 15 being the ceiling, as of now.

I think as the podcasters mentioned, Outside of the top 5, you can probably throw the rest of the teams from 6 to 15 in a hat and place them wherever. This is one of those year's where you may see chaos or the top programs just dominate the season and most likely the playoffs. I'm just excited to see that we really are seeing more than 2 teams that can win a national championship. Hopefully the others below can get in on the action.