FB: Liberty League

[unionpalooza]

Oof, I'm not sure I've seen a team play a worse opening ten minutes than what the Bees turned in at RPI today.  Rose throwing to the wrong team, no one covering the WR wide open down the middle, trying to run a kickoff out of the back of the end zone.  Total collapse.

[Ice Bear]

That was one heck of a JHU/Muhlenburg game. Muhls down by 2 TD's in the fourth and rally to tie it. Then a Muhls INT leads to a Hopkins game winning 31 yard FG try with 3 seconds left. Muhls block the kick, ball bounces behind the LOS, Hopkins player picks it up and runs into the end zone as time expires. Unreal. Great battle by two really good football teams with an absolute wacky ending. Unreal. What a great game. My goodness football is a beautiful thing.

[UfanBill]

So with the Liberty League games all being blowouts my focus moved to a game with important implications to RPI or Union's Pool C considerations, Johns Hopkins at Muhlenburg. The LL got want it needed(I think) when JHU had a game winning field goal blocked only to be picked up and run in for a TD by Hopkins giving the Blue Jays a 34-28 win. Great game by two excellent teams but this leaves the Mules at best a 9-1 record with no RRW's. They should be behind in playoff criteria to a LL 9-1 finisher, especially Union who with wins in it's last 2 games would finish 9-1 with a RRW over Springfield. A Mules win would have made it more likely a 9-1 JHU would be above a LL Pool C team because of their win over Ithaca. Springfield hanging on to beat a game USMMA also helps the Garnet. Love this time of year.   

[UfanBill]

Speaking of Regional Rankings. The NCAA puts out it's first rankings this week with what they call their Alphabetical listing. The Liberty League could should have 3 teams listed. Ithaca, RPI and Union. If all 3 are there that could signify how highly the NCAA values the Liberty League. It will all shake out of course after week #11 but being on the list early might bode well for the LL to have 3 teams ranked in the Final Rankings. That would be huge for a Shoes Game winner in it's pursuit of a Pool C.

[Bartman]

Speaking of Regional Rankings. The NCAA puts out it's first rankings this week with what they call their Alphabetical listing. The Liberty League could should have 3 teams listed. Ithaca, RPI and Union. If all 3 are there that could signify how highly the NCAA values the Liberty League. It will all shake out of course after week #11 but being on the list early might bode well for the LL to have 3 teams ranked in the Final Rankings. That would be huge for a Shoes Game winner in it's pursuit of a Pool C.

Not to be the party pooper but after watching Hobart bounce back and beat SLU 35-0, I'm predicting a Hobart victory over RPI . If this occurs and the Charging Cords can beat the Sliderulers in the Shoeless Bowl, I'm sure the L_z_l will get a Pool C Bid. If by some miracle RPI beats Hobart at the BOZ(only possible if the refs give the game to RPI, of course) , that will be one electrified Shoeless Bowl

[unionpalooza]

That was one heck of a JHU/Muhlenburg game. Muhls down by 2 TD's in the fourth and rally to tie it. Then a Muhls INT leads to a Hopkins game winning 31 yard FG try with 3 seconds left. Muhls block the kick, ball bounces behind the LOS, Hopkins player picks it up and runs into the end zone as time expires. Unreal. Great battle by two really good football teams with an absolute wacky ending. Unreal. What a great game. My goodness football is a beautiful thing.

Absolutely bonkers.  Right up there with the wildness that was the end of Shoes 2021.

[unionpalooza]

Speaking of Regional Rankings. The NCAA puts out it's first rankings this week with what they call their Alphabetical listing. The Liberty League could should have 3 teams listed. Ithaca, RPI and Union. If all 3 are there that could signify how highly the NCAA values the Liberty League. It will all shake out of course after week #11 but being on the list early might bode well for the LL to have 3 teams ranked in the Final Rankings. That would be huge for a Shoes Game winner in it's pursuit of a Pool C.

I'd love to see that, but think it will be hard for an 8-2 RPI to make the final RR given the size and state of R2.  (Though if R2 gets 9 ranked ather than 8, as they're supposed to, maybe a little more likely.). In any event, a 9-1 Union would have a pretty good case under the criteria - should have a RR win over Springfield and a SOS in the .570 range.  (Union's SOS is currently #29 out of 241 schools.). But I also don't have a lot of faith that the national committee wouldn't ignore that in favor of an 8-2 non-East team with no better SOS or more RR wins based on history/reputation alone.

But it's all theoretical unless/until we win the Shoes.

[Jersey42]

Just to show how stats can be misleading, here are some team stats for RPI and Rochester.
Which team won?


   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   
   
   
   
   

	A	B
First Downs	25	18
Rushing Yards	162	156
Receptions	24	18
Receiving Yards	209	215
Plays-Yards	88-371	57-371
Interception-Yards	0-0	2-35
Fumbles-Lost	1-0	0-0
Penalties	2-42	2-42
Punts	4-24.8	3-35.0
Possession	39:40	20:20
3rd Down Eff	7-18	4-10

Yes RPI was team B.  The two interceptions were big.  Also a 21-0 score after six minutes change the approach to the game for both teams.  Unlike last week where RPI tried to give the game to SLU in the first half, Rochester did everything possible in the first half to give the game to RPI.

[unionpalooza]

Just to show how stats can be misleading, here are some team stats for RPI and Rochester.
Which team won?


   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   
   
   
   
   

	A	B
First Downs	25	18
Rushing Yards	162	156
Receptions	24	18
Receiving Yards	209	215
Plays-Yards	88-371	57-371
Interception-Yards	0-0	2-35
Fumbles-Lost	1-0	0-0
Penalties	2-42	2-42
Punts	4-24.8	3-35.0
Possession	39:40	20:20
3rd Down Eff	7-18	4-10

Yes RPI was team B.  The two interceptions were big.  Also a 21-0 score after six minutes change the approach to the game for both teams.  Unlike last week where RPI tried to give the game to SLU in the first half, Rochester did everything possible in the first half to give the game to RPI.

Indeed.  I am too lazy to reformat it, but you could contrast the Union-UR boxscore, where Union had 537 yards of offense to 300, and 30 first downs to 10, yet won 21-17. 

[Jonny Utah]

Just to show how stats can be misleading, here are some team stats for RPI and Rochester.
Which team won?


   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   
   
   
   
   

	A	B
First Downs	25	18
Rushing Yards	162	156
Receptions	24	18
Receiving Yards	209	215
Plays-Yards	88-371	57-371
Interception-Yards	0-0	2-35
Fumbles-Lost	1-0	0-0
Penalties	2-42	2-42
Punts	4-24.8	3-35.0
Possession	39:40	20:20
3rd Down Eff	7-18	4-10

Yes RPI was team B.  The two interceptions were big.  Also a 21-0 score after six minutes change the approach to the game for both teams.  Unlike last week where RPI tried to give the game to SLU in the first half, Rochester did everything possible in the first half to give the game to RPI.

Wrong.  Team A won the TOP is right in the box score.   

[tecmobowler]

Hey some bad news for pretty much everyone on here....

Colin Schumm is going to be a stud. First IC gunslinger since the Danny Juvan era?

[IC798891]

Speaking of Regional Rankings. The NCAA puts out it's first rankings this week with what they call their Alphabetical listing. The Liberty League could should have 3 teams listed. Ithaca, RPI and Union. If all 3 are there that could signify how highly the NCAA values the Liberty League. It will all shake out of course after week #11 but being on the list early might bode well for the LL to have 3 teams ranked in the Final Rankings. That would be huge for a Shoes Game winner in it's pursuit of a Pool C.

So, if we have 7 spots for the region, and give the first two to LL teams, we now have 5 left. After IC was put behind Hopkins in 2021, I just am going to assume a 9-1 team will be ahead of an 8-2. Disagree? Make your own scenarios

1. Grove City is going to be 10-0
2. Susquehanna is going to be 10-0
3. Hopkins is going to be, at worst, 9-1 with a win over Ithaca, but probably 10-0

Those three are dead locks to be in front of the LL teams in the rankings.

So that leaves two spots. You need three of the these things to happen in order to not have the other two spots go to 9-1 teams

You have to have Muhlenberg loses to Franklin and Marshall.
You have to hope Carnegie Mellon loses to Case Western or Westminster
You have to hope Brockport loses to Cortland
You have to hope Cortland loses to Ithaca

But that still means, that best case you've probably got

8-2 LL 3rd place team
8-2 Cortland
8-2 Brockport
8-2 Utica
8-2 Muhlenberg
8-2 Franklin and Marshall (because that's who will be the team to likely make Muhlenberg 8-2)
8-2 Carnegie

And Washington and Jefferson and Case Western who could also be 8-2

It's possible an LL team rises to the top 2 spots there, but if there's 8 or 9 8-2 teams, it's hardly likely

Personally, I think Brockport is going to beat Cortland and Cortland will beat IC, meaning Brockport will be 9-1, and Cortland will block a LL team that lost to IC

[IC798891]

Hey some bad news for pretty much everyone on here....

Colin Schumm is going to be a stud. First IC gunslinger since the Danny Juvan era?

I mean, it's definitely hard to know everything when you've just got dudes open all day (even IC's 3rd string QB was 5-for-5 yesterday), but the kid has a cannon. 

And IC's gonna get the injured Jake Williams back for another year if he wants, given how early the injury occurred.

Deeply ironic, but injuries to IC's QB1 and RB1 did not only not derail the 2023 season, but now has 2024 looking a lot a brighter.

And sorry, but Toerper is the best coach in the LL. It's easy to forget, IC had only won one playoff game between 2004 and 2021, a literal centimeters win over Framingham State. Under his watch, the Bombers have lost 2 games, both on the road, one to the eventual national champion, and one to currently undefeated Hopkins.

[Bartman]

Hey some bad news for pretty much everyone on here....

Colin Schumm is going to be a stud. First IC gunslinger since the Danny Juvan era?

I mean, it's definitely hard to know everything when you've just got dudes open all day (even IC's 3rd string QB was 5-for-5 yesterday), but the kid has a cannon. 

And IC's gonna get the injured Jake Williams back for another year if he wants, given how early the injury occurred.

Deeply ironic, but injuries to IC's QB1 and RB1 did not only not derail the 2023 season, but now has 2024 looking a lot a brighter.

And sorry, but Toerper is the best coach in the LL. It's easy to forget, IC had only won one playoff game between 2004 and 2021, a literal centimeters win over Framingham State. Under his watch, the Bombers have lost 2 games, both on the road, one to the eventual national champion, and one to currently undefeated Hopkins.

This is all factual( I still think Isernia is the best coach, however with a few more seasons of data, I could yield to the Toerper opinion) and certainly laudable for the IC fans. However, the gap in talent between IC and the balance of the LL has not created a boring "yield the title" to the Bombers as of yet(Mount Union effect). I do feel they have this potential as IC has some recruiting advantages that Toerper should leverage . If Toerper has a small run in the playoffs again this year, replaces his Seniors effectively and navigates away game wins next year at Hobart and Schenectady , the only risk to the Bombers is losing Toerper to a D1 HC job (FCS, Ivy, Patriot), that is certainly on his career path goal.Although his wife is an IC grad, when the call comes he's going. ( This was a just a jealous Hobart fan throwing water on the Bombers celebration )

[Jonny Utah]

Hey some bad news for pretty much everyone on here....

Colin Schumm is going to be a stud. First IC gunslinger since the Danny Juvan era?

I mean, it's definitely hard to know everything when you've just got dudes open all day (even IC's 3rd string QB was 5-for-5 yesterday), but the kid has a cannon. 

And IC's gonna get the injured Jake Williams back for another year if he wants, given how early the injury occurred.

Deeply ironic, but injuries to IC's QB1 and RB1 did not only not derail the 2023 season, but now has 2024 looking a lot a brighter.

And sorry, but Toerper is the best coach in the LL. It's easy to forget, IC had only won one playoff game between 2004 and 2021, a literal centimeters win over Framingham State. Under his watch, the Bombers have lost 2 games, both on the road, one to the eventual national champion, and one to currently undefeated Hopkins.

The most impressive thing about Ithaca's win yesterday (granted I did not see any of the Rochester game) is that Ithaca ran what appeared to me to be a much different offense than they have run since the beginning of the year.  With Wingfield they had a few basic sets and that was really it.  Yesterday they had dozens of formations and motions and concepts that I have not seen Ithaca run.  I don't break down their film so I'm not 100% sure but Schumm looked impressive and Ithaca featured a few freshman skill guys that I have not seen this year.