FB: Liberty League

[Bartman]

So I watched the IC/Hobart in full today, a few things I missed and some other thoughts:

-Two missed plays by both teams were Colombi overthrowing an open WR in the 1st that would have been a TD and also IC just missing a pick six at the end of the half from an errant Colombi cross field throw.

-IC and Hobart had success running the ball on two concepts, but didn't run them enough and tried to pass (too much for both teams imo).  Hobart runs an outside zone/stretch play really well.  They put that fullback in in addition to either Boswell or Denham also blocking and both of those guys are tough.  They only ran it twice it seems and both times went for big yards.  They need to run those concepts more as Denham is real good at making cuts, and those cuts are easier on outside zone plays vs inside zone plays.  Ithaca too seemed to have much bigger holes with simple inside zone.  granted Jake Williams is out and he is their go to back and power runner, but they seemed to get away from it too early until the 2nd half and broke off a big run with it in the 4th.

-in the 3rd quarter Wingfield scrambled and rushed to his right.  A ref through a flag during the play for holding (it was a clear hold) and then a Hobart defender came up and crushed Wingfield with a helmet to helmet tackle and the ref there threw the flag (Wingfield was trying to run so he was fair game but the flag could have only been for the helmet to helmet hit).  Then another flag came out when an IC lineman pushed a Hobart player after the play (also a clear penalty).  But the refs only called the two on IC?  I wouldn't have minded if the refs didn't throw the flag on Hobart but they did and it was clear what the flag was for.  Unless I'm missing something with that rule and defenders are allowed to go helmet to helmet with players who have the ball?  I've seen that called on the offense as well so I'm not sure what happened there. 

-The bad snap on the punt was a tricky one.  The Hobart punter was at the 3 (or maybe even 5) when he tried to scoop it or fall on it (it wasn't clear from the video).  I'm not sure punters are coached to bat/kick the ball out of bounds if the ball lands there.  I can see the endzone sure, but the 3 or 5?  Especially when he may have tried to scoop it up and turn and make somethign out of it?  Also you can't kick or bat the ball.  If he did that Ithaca would have gotten 2 points, and the ball with a 10 yard penalty assessed on the Safety which would have had Hobart kick from the 10 yard line instead of the 20.  I think punters are coached to scoop it and carry it out of the back of the endzone, not bat it or kick it. 

-On the blocked FG it didn't look like the Hobart player (lineman or TE?) could have scooped or scored.  But again that was a tough angle that you couldn't really see on video but Ithaca was there quick so who knows.

Overall this was a good test for Hobart (Ithaca has already been tested which isn't great for IC as I think they could have done more offensively) and they can figure some things out.  Not sure Colombi is a great QB but he is solid.

I reviewed the tape(I was in the stands) and the snap over the punter was not as clear on video as my own recollection and I still think the punter had an opportunity to have the play result in a safety, but he would have had to be a really quick thinker. That snap went about a foot over a 6'6" player, ouch.  As far as the blocked punt, the video gave me a better view and it is clear that even if he scooped the ball it was very unlikely he would have scored.
I liked hearing the ICTV analyst give Hobart the edge for the first half except for the score following the errant punt snap.. Hobart had a pretty good game plan for the first half, but falling behind a good team at Ithaca is tough. Oh well, I will be rooting for RPI this weekend to start some chaos.

[UfanBill]

Jonny U, thanks for the analysis and your insights on the IC/Hobart game. How do I access the archived Ithaca Football video from last Saturday? Thanks.

IC posted a link a few pages back.  It should be on the right side of the page after you click on the link!

Yes IC posted the link but the Hobart game was not there as of Sunday so I contacted ICTV via email asking them to add it. On Monday I received an email from a student involved in their sports broadcasts informing me that the link was up. http://ictv.org/bomberslive/ithaca-football-vs-hobart-9-30/  You're welcome.

[Bartman]

+k Thank you UFAN

[Bartman]

So I watched the IC/Hobart in full today, a few things I missed and some other thoughts:

-Two missed plays by both teams were Colombi overthrowing an open WR in the 1st that would have been a TD and also IC just missing a pick six at the end of the half from an errant Colombi cross field throw.

-IC and Hobart had success running the ball on two concepts, but didn't run them enough and tried to pass (too much for both teams imo).  Hobart runs an outside zone/stretch play really well.  They put that fullback in in addition to either Boswell or Denham also blocking and both of those guys are tough.  They only ran it twice it seems and both times went for big yards.  They need to run those concepts more as Denham is real good at making cuts, and those cuts are easier on outside zone plays vs inside zone plays.  Ithaca too seemed to have much bigger holes with simple inside zone.  granted Jake Williams is out and he is their go to back and power runner, but they seemed to get away from it too early until the 2nd half and broke off a big run with it in the 4th.

-in the 3rd quarter Wingfield scrambled and rushed to his right.  A ref through a flag during the play for holding (it was a clear hold) and then a Hobart defender came up and crushed Wingfield with a helmet to helmet tackle and the ref there threw the flag (Wingfield was trying to run so he was fair game but the flag could have only been for the helmet to helmet hit).  Then another flag came out when an IC lineman pushed a Hobart player after the play (also a clear penalty).  But the refs only called the two on IC?  I wouldn't have minded if the refs didn't throw the flag on Hobart but they did and it was clear what the flag was for.  Unless I'm missing something with that rule and defenders are allowed to go helmet to helmet with players who have the ball?  I've seen that called on the offense as well so I'm not sure what happened there.

-The bad snap on the punt was a tricky one.  The Hobart punter was at the 3 (or maybe even 5) when he tried to scoop it or fall on it (it wasn't clear from the video).  I'm not sure punters are coached to bat/kick the ball out of bounds if the ball lands there.  I can see the endzone sure, but the 3 or 5?  Especially when he may have tried to scoop it up and turn and make somethign out of it?  Also you can't kick or bat the ball.  If he did that Ithaca would have gotten 2 points, and the ball with a 10 yard penalty assessed on the Safety which would have had Hobart kick from the 10 yard line instead of the 20.  I think punters are coached to scoop it and carry it out of the back of the endzone, not bat it or kick it. 

-On the blocked FG it didn't look like the Hobart player (lineman or TE?) could have scooped or scored.  But again that was a tough angle that you couldn't really see on video but Ithaca was there quick so who knows.

Overall this was a good test for Hobart (Ithaca has already been tested which isn't great for IC as I think they could have done more offensively) and they can figure some things out.  Not sure Colombi is a great QB but he is solid.

I was also a bit perplexed by this Utah. While I haven't watched the replay of the game I clearly recall the official throwing a flag (for what I interpreted during real time to possibly be an illegal helmet to helmet hit). At the time I remember not knowing if the hit was legal or not as it happened so fast. Illegal or not, it was no joke. Then, I saw that no penalty was called on the hit, but only on the retaliation (IC lineman sticking up for his QB). The official must have picked up that flag. I wonder if there was any discussion between the officials? Regardless, like I mentioned before, Wingfield is tough as nails. My man bounced up, didn't really seem to complain (from my memory), and was ready for the next play. Man, football is a tough game and Wingfield is one tough young man.

This will be my last comment on the Ithaca-Hobart game, I promise. I watched that hit on Wingfield frame by frame, and the official was correct to not call a personal foul for a helmet to helmet on Hobart. Wingfield did not give himself up(The IC announcer said he did), in fact Wingfield was looking to give as much as receive on that hit. He is tough and he was not shrinking from that hit one bit , the Hobart DB tried to lower his pads which I think the ref saw but the helmets did crash.. Both Wingfield and Columbi are pure running backs when they take off and don't relish sliding very often. In each case, the coaching staffs need to make sure their back ups are ready because Wingfield and Columbi both seem to like the contact.
Last point, the new turf at Butterfield is super slippery. Boswell, in particular, could not make his cuts very well and slipped quite a few times. Hobart also had new  turf installed this year and the team has been very happy with the footing at the Boz. Perhaps the new turf at Butterfield is the artificial version of the old grass .

[Machiavelli]

Is it too early for Mach's Amazingly Mind-Blowing Sexy and Handsome Predictions? I don't care. I'm off the grid after tomorrow, so here goes:

Ithaca - 21
RPI - 31
Obviously this is the game of the week and I feel like it's kind of a toss up. But going with how I picked Ithaca last week, I think RPI wins at home. I'm going to go out on a limb and say RPI's offense surprises the Ithaca faithful and they actually are as good as advertised. RPI will subsequently bump up in the Top 25 votes and get 3 votes.

Union - 42
Rochester - 17
I was feeling decently high on Rochacha, home of the best H(*)(*)TERS(at least in the late 90's/early 2000's), until last week. Unless Union goes out and is served by the one-armed Albany Crossgates mall H(*)(*)TERS transfer waitress on Friday night, I expect kind of a blowout.

Buffalo St. - 6
Hobart - 49
This feels like a great week for Hobart to lick their wounds and get their swag back after a tough one last week.

Also expect a HUGE jump with Top 25 media darling Delaware Valley this week after they comfortably destroy perrenial MAC power Alvernia this week. Definitely bumping to atleast 13 in the polls.

Write it down. Mail it in. Taste it. Rub it down. Oh nooooooo....

This is what we call 'A Schenectady 8.5'

[Bartman]

Is it too early for Mach's Amazingly Mind-Blowing Sexy and Handsome Predictions? I don't care. I'm off the grid after tomorrow, so here goes:

Ithaca - 21
RPI - 31
Obviously this is the game of the week and I feel like it's kind of a toss up. But going with how I picked Ithaca last week, I think RPI wins at home. I'm going to go out on a limb and say RPI's offense surprises the Ithaca faithful and they actually are as good as advertised. RPI will subsequently bump up in the Top 25 votes and get 3 votes.

Union - 42
Rochester - 17
I was feeling decently high on Rochacha, home of the best H(*)(*)TERS(at least in the late 90's/early 2000's), until last week. Unless Union goes out and is served by the one-armed Albany Crossgates mall H(*)(*)TERS transfer waitress on Friday night, I expect kind of a blowout.

Buffalo St. - 6
Hobart - 49
This feels like a great week for Hobart to lick their wounds and get their swag back after a tough one last week.

Also expect a HUGE jump with Top 25 media darling Delaware Valley this week after they comfortably destroy perrenial MAC power Alvernia this week. Definitely bumping to atleast 13 in the polls.

Write it down. Mail it in. Taste it. Rub it down. Oh nooooooo....

This is what we call 'A Schenectady 8.5'

Mach,
     Nice, Miss/Ms./Mr./Master Octoberfest  Schenectedy

Bartman Picks:

Bombers.           17.             SlideRulers.             24.            The EVAC undefeated streak continues to little brother Bombers

Charging Cords   31.             Yellowjackets          17.            Yellowjackets half time lead vanishes       

Buffmen.            10.             Pumpkins.               45.            Pumpkins shake off Bomber wounds after slow start


When these picks become reality the LL season chaos begins .......I hope

[unionpalooza]

As for this weekend:

Hobart 42, Buffy 3. 

Union 31, Rochester 10.  It will be interesting to see Union's defense tested for the first time by a pretty balanced team; Papa is Papa, and their QB Rose actually has a better QBR than Wingfield at this point.  But I think Union cruises.

Ithaca 21, RPI 20.  This is a coin flips and since I picked against Ithaca last week, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt this week.  Either way, we'll have a definitive LL front runner when the final whistle sounds.

In other news, one interesting thing to see this season is a resurgence of attendance at Union football games.  Both the Springfield and SLU games approached 6,000, with a very different atmosphere than past years.  (The rainy Montclair games clocked in at a respectable 2750.). I think that has a lot to do with Poppe - when he came in, one of his first initiatives was to get the football team to show up in force at other Union sporting events, which seems to have become a generally cultural thing at Union.  There is now an actual, loud student section at the games.  Cool to see.

[Bartman]

As for this weekend:

Hobart 23, SLU 7.  I think folks will find SLU's defense to be pretty decent.

Union 31, Rochester 10.  It will be interesting to see Union's defense tested for the first time by a pretty balanced team; Papa is Papa, and their QB Rose actually has a better QBR than Wingfield at this point.  But I think Union cruises.

Ithaca 21, RPI 20.  This is a coin flips and since I picked against Ithaca last week, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt this week.  Either way, we'll have a definitive LL front runner when the final whistle sounds.

In other news, one interesting thing to see this season is a resurgence of attendance at Union football games.  Both the Springfield and SLU games approached 6,000, with a very different atmosphere than past years.  (The rainy Montclair games clocked in at a respectable 2750.). I think that has a lot to do with Poppe - when he came in, one of his first initiatives was to get the football team to show up in force at other Union sporting events, which seems to have become a generally cultural thing at Union.  There is now an actual, loud student section at the games.  Cool to see.

Hobart is actually playing Buff State on Saturday....any change? Glad to see Union getting attendance , way better than other D3 teams. More people to watch Hobart beat the Chargers this year

[unionpalooza]

As for this weekend:

Hobart 23, SLU 7.  I think folks will find SLU's defense to be pretty decent.

Union 31, Rochester 10.  It will be interesting to see Union's defense tested for the first time by a pretty balanced team; Papa is Papa, and their QB Rose actually has a better QBR than Wingfield at this point.  But I think Union cruises.

Ithaca 21, RPI 20.  This is a coin flips and since I picked against Ithaca last week, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt this week.  Either way, we'll have a definitive LL front runner when the final whistle sounds.

In other news, one interesting thing to see this season is a resurgence of attendance at Union football games.  Both the Springfield and SLU games approached 6,000, with a very different atmosphere than past years.  (The rainy Montclair games clocked in at a respectable 2750.). I think that has a lot to do with Poppe - when he came in, one of his first initiatives was to get the football team to show up in force at other Union sporting events, which seems to have become a generally cultural thing at Union.  There is now an actual, loud student section at the games.  Cool to see.

Hobart is actually playing Buff State on Saturday....any change? Glad to see Union getting attendance , way better than other D3 teams. More people to watch Hobart beat the Chargers this year

Oops!  Fixed that. 

[IC798891]

Re: ICTV — remember that this is a completely student run station, with lots of other teams they cover, not to mention non-sports programming, and their actual coursework.

Maybe give them some time, rather than putting on a public message board that it's not up (checks calendar) 24 hours later.

Pat Coleman reminds us that SIDs are always overworked and to give them a break — and he's right. That should go double for students who are also often overworked, and aren't even paid for the privilege.

[IC798891]

Re: The Wingfield play. Agree with the takes here. Clean play by Hobart.

Understandable reaction by the OL, who does not have the benefit of a bunch of replays to see all the nuance, and saw the helmet contact. It struck me as a proportional response. He gave a shove, but nothing too serious, he got the flag he deserved, but he stuck up for QB1, which is his job.

Was a well played game by both teams.

[unionpalooza]

Re: ICTV — remember that this is a completely student run station, with lots of other teams they cover, not to mention non-sports programming, and their actual coursework.

Maybe give them some time, rather than putting on a public message that it's not up (checks calendar) 24 hours later.

Pat Coleman reminds us that SIDs are always overworked and to give them a break — and he's right. That should go double for students who are also often overworked, and aren't even paid for the privilege.

ICTV is a gem. Much better production values for their streaming broadcasts then almost anything else in D3. Light years ahead of the Union stream which, apart for zero production values, is done with cheap equipment and it shows. 

[IC798891]

Game prediction:

Don't care about what I see as the non-competitive games.

I think RPI at home with an extra week to prepare is the favorite against IC. The Bombers have played a very tough schedule this year, but the offensive issues have been documented and are fair. The defense is stout, and the special teams will be as well. But I think RPI is improved on offense this year, and will hold off IC, 24-14

[IC798891]

Re: ICTV — remember that this is a completely student run station, with lots of other teams they cover, not to mention non-sports programming, and their actual coursework.

Maybe give them some time, rather than putting on a public message that it's not up (checks calendar) 24 hours later.

Pat Coleman reminds us that SIDs are always overworked and to give them a break — and he's right. That should go double for students who are also often overworked, and aren't even paid for the privilege.

ICTV is a gem. Much better production values for their streaming broadcasts then almost anything else in D3. Light years ahead of the Union stream which, appear for zero production values, is done with cheap equipment and it shows.

K+

[Pat Coleman]

Re: ICTV — remember that this is a completely student run station, with lots of other teams they cover, not to mention non-sports programming, and their actual coursework.

Maybe give them some time, rather than putting on a public message that it's not up (checks calendar) 24 hours later.

Pat Coleman reminds us that SIDs are always overworked and to give them a break — and he's right. That should go double for students who are also often overworked, and aren't even paid for the privilege.

ICTV is a gem. Much better production values for their streaming broadcasts then almost anything else in D3.

When people ask what the best video productions are in D-III, I typically start with Wabash and Ithaca. Trinity (Texas) is right up there right now. Whitewater's is up there in recent years as well. ... There's another which I am forgetting, and I apologize for that.

Edited to add North Central.