FB: Liberty League

[Ice Bear]

Union with a big win today for the Shoes and hopefully a pool c bid to the NCAA's. The story for me today was the play of both defenses. The Union D made many big plays on third down and to me, those plays were the difference.

The Freshman QB McCormack is a excellent (IMHO a step above Kazanowsky, and I like Kazanowsky). He gets rid of the ball very quickly, has a solid arm, and can make plays with his legs. As a D3 football fan I love his game, as a Union fan, he scares me. I disagree with Bartman's thoughts that  Kazanowsky would have made a difference today. No way. RPI played extremely hard and impressed me as always with their focus and attention to detail. As frustrated as I was with the Union O's inability to score today, especially when they were handed red zone field position more than once, I'm going to credit the RPI D here for just not allowing Union to put points on the board. Union got many breaks today and could not capitalize enough to break the game open.

I also feel the need to say Union's decision to go for it on 4th and 1 in the 3rd quarter instead of kicking a field goal and going up by two scores, almost cost them the game. Ufan and Father Ice Bear were vehemently against the call. I was for it...and they were correct. Union could have made it a two score game but instead they muffed the 4th down, almost fumbling, and giving RPI possession. RPI proceeded to go right down and put up 7.

I'm very happy for Union. I have yet to look at the stats but Union really ran the ball well which caused problems for RPI. I feel Union won the LOS on both sides of the ball today which was huge.

I also wanted to give props to RPI's offensive lineman 5th year Sr. #73 Danny Bekkenhuis. What a tough player who seemed to battle through injury all afternoon (looked like an ankle). Time and again he seemed to be in quite a bit of pain but he fought to continue. I was so impressed with his toughness and leadership throughout. What a player.

Union hopefully gets the pool C bid and finishes Poppe's first season at the helm 9-1 with a hopeful NCAA appearance. It will be interesting to see who they play. Congrats to both teams on great seasons and another great Shoes game.

[UfanBill]

In a game that always seemed like a Union victory the defense was the difference as the offense never quite finished a drive. The Union Garnet had enough to withstand a second half RPI mini-rally and after making yet another defensive stop they ran out the clock on a 13-7 win. Coach Jon Poppe nearly rued a potential game changing decision when up 13-0 with a 4th and 6 on the RPI 14 Poppe elected to take points off the board, a made Max Gluck field goal, that would have given the Garnet a 16-0, two score lead in favor of taking a 5 yard RPI offsides penalty that left Union still needing a yard for a 1st down. QB Donovan Pacatte run attempt was subsequently stuffed and the Engineers took over at their own 10...TAKE THE POINTS

Bolstered by their defensive stand RPI then moved 90 yards in 13 plays, mostly pinpoint passes from impressive freshman QB Justin McCormack, to make a game of it. The Engineers got the ball one more time but the Union D rose up to sack McCormack twice and some hard running by Michael Fiore sealed the deal for the Garnet. Kicker Gluck was a huge part of the difference with his two made FGs as the RPI kicker missed his 2 attempts...A game worthy of the fight for the Dutchmen Shoes.     

[Jonny Utah]

In a game that always seemed like a Union victory the defense was the difference as the offense never quite finished a drive. The Union Garnet had enough to withstand a second half RPI mini-rally and after making yet another defensive stop they ran out the clock on a 13-7 win. Coach Jon Poppe nearly rued a potential game changing decision when up 13-0 with a 4th and 6 on the RPI 14 Poppe elected to take points off the board, a made Max Gluck field goal, that would have given the Garnet a 16-0, two score lead in favor of taking a 5 yard RPI offsides penalty that left Union still needing a yard for a 1st down. QB Donovan Pacatte run attempt was subsequently stuffed and the Engineers took over at their own 10...TAKE THE POINTS

Bolstered by their defensive stand RPI then moved 90 yards in 13 plays, mostly pinpoint passes from impressive freshman QB Justin McCormack, to make a game of it. The Engineers got the ball one more time but the Union D rose up to sack McCormack twice and some hard running by Michael Fiore sealed the deal for the Garnet. Kicker Gluck was a huge part of the difference with his two made FGs as the RPI kicker missed his 2 attempts...A game worthy of the fight for the Dutchmen Shoes.   

Not trying to be a dink here but isn't a 13 point lead or a 16 point lead both "2 score leads"?  It does seem that teams go for it on 4th and 1 inside the 50 yard line 100% of the time though.   RPI did it (might regret it now) against Ithaca as well.

Taking points off the board is always bad juju though....

[unionpalooza]

What time is the bracket announced?

5 pm tomorrow.

[UfanBill]

In SOS updates Union has moved ahead of Muhlenberg .555 to .546. By criteria that should cement the Garnet as the top Region 2 Pool C candidate. 

[UfanBill]

In a game that always seemed like a Union victory the defense was the difference as the offense never quite finished a drive. The Union Garnet had enough to withstand a second half RPI mini-rally and after making yet another defensive stop they ran out the clock on a 13-7 win. Coach Jon Poppe nearly rued a potential game changing decision when up 13-0 with a 4th and 6 on the RPI 14 Poppe elected to take points off the board, a made Max Gluck field goal, that would have given the Garnet a 16-0, two score lead in favor of taking a 5 yard RPI offsides penalty that left Union still needing a yard for a 1st down. QB Donovan Pacatte run attempt was subsequently stuffed and the Engineers took over at their own 10...TAKE THE POINTS

Bolstered by their defensive stand RPI then moved 90 yards in 13 plays, mostly pinpoint passes from impressive freshman QB Justin McCormack, to make a game of it. The Engineers got the ball one more time but the Union D rose up to sack McCormack twice and some hard running by Michael Fiore sealed the deal for the Garnet. Kicker Gluck was a huge part of the difference with his two made FGs as the RPI kicker missed his 2 attempts...A game worthy of the fight for the Dutchmen Shoes.   

Not trying to be a dink here but isn't a 13 point lead or a 16 point lead both "2 score leads"?  It does seem that teams go for it on 4th and 1 inside the 50 yard line 100% of the time though.   RPI did it (might regret it now) against Ithaca as well.

Taking points off the board is always bad juju though....

Come on man...you know exactly why a 16 point lead is much better than a 13 point lead. It's 2 scores with a 3rd needed to beat you.

[Jonny Utah]

In a game that always seemed like a Union victory the defense was the difference as the offense never quite finished a drive. The Union Garnet had enough to withstand a second half RPI mini-rally and after making yet another defensive stop they ran out the clock on a 13-7 win. Coach Jon Poppe nearly rued a potential game changing decision when up 13-0 with a 4th and 6 on the RPI 14 Poppe elected to take points off the board, a made Max Gluck field goal, that would have given the Garnet a 16-0, two score lead in favor of taking a 5 yard RPI offsides penalty that left Union still needing a yard for a 1st down. QB Donovan Pacatte run attempt was subsequently stuffed and the Engineers took over at their own 10...TAKE THE POINTS

Bolstered by their defensive stand RPI then moved 90 yards in 13 plays, mostly pinpoint passes from impressive freshman QB Justin McCormack, to make a game of it. The Engineers got the ball one more time but the Union D rose up to sack McCormack twice and some hard running by Michael Fiore sealed the deal for the Garnet. Kicker Gluck was a huge part of the difference with his two made FGs as the RPI kicker missed his 2 attempts...A game worthy of the fight for the Dutchmen Shoes.   

Not trying to be a dink here but isn't a 13 point lead or a 16 point lead both "2 score leads"?  It does seem that teams go for it on 4th and 1 inside the 50 yard line 100% of the time though.   RPI did it (might regret it now) against Ithaca as well.

Taking points off the board is always bad juju though....

Come on man...you know exactly why a 16 point lead is much better than a 13 point lead. It's 2 scores with a 3rd needed to beat you.

As a coach though they are both 2 score leads.  Going up by 19-24 is a three score lead.  I'm guessing college coaches use some sort of analytics to make these decisions.  I'm just wondering if that's what Coach Poppe is going on.

[Oline89]

IC 8-2
Union 9-1
HC 8-2
RPI 7-3

Very nice year again.  Well done LL

On to the playoffs/bowl games!

[hazzben]

Congrats Union. Since Ice jumped on the Bethel bandwagon I felt I should return the favor!

[Ice Bear]

Congrats Union. Since Ice jumped on the Bethel bandwagon I felt I should return the favor!

You're the man Hazz! Union needs all the help and support they can get. Much appreciated.

[Machiavelli]

I hadn't put a lot of thought or effort into reviewing all of the Pool A teams across the board. But looking at the projected bracket and seeing Alfred St. @ Mt. Union, my brain melted, I said WTF to myself, then I had to go and look if it was actually true. And yes, a team that lost 49-7 to Rochester gets to play Mt. Union(possibly). Welp...ughhhhh...good luck? Yikes. I know it's part of the process and within the rules, but what a freaking waste of a spot.

And I still can't truly understand Endicott not getting a home game, if this holds. It just feels like it's earned. But maybe they will, maybe they'll send Alfred State their way.

[tecmobowler]

Bombers felt like they were running from behind from the first quarter on.... Cut it to a one possession game, Cortland scores and extends it back to two possessions
Over and over and over.... Constant catch up. To the offense's credit, every possession in the second half felt like a must score and I think they did...

A few thoughts... more to come I'm sure:

- Boyes indeed the best player on the field. His 77% completion percentage is no joke, and he lived up to it today. No Yankee Stadium choke. He was totally in control.

- Twice Boyes fumbled, and twice Cortland still benefitted from a big play on it. Picked it up and threw one for 15 yards on third down. The other on 3 and 4 or so....
Ball snapped too early. Could have been a ten yard loss, instead he scrambled it to a 4th and 2. Best to be good and a bit lucky.

- Play of the game when Cortland decided to go for it from their own 30 following that last play. Up a score, 4th quarter. Gutsy and it worked.

-  Poor kickoff and coverage following TD in 4th really hurt. Had tons of momentum and was going to be a wild defensive series. Instead they get a 70 yard return and start from our ten.  Ouch.

- Great day for Schumm. Made all the passes, showed great feel in the pocket, can flick it 40 yards downfield with ease.... His WRs made a couple of amazing plays but he gave them an opportunity to make those plays. Can move well. Really only one ill  advised pass I can think of when he threw across the field into quadruple coverage. Oops. Handled the day great for a guy with three starts against mediocre/bad teams.

- We need a bruiser at RB for short yardage.

- How many times can we run our WR pass option? I've now seen it four times this year for touchdowns in limited viewing action. Including two vs Cortland! Fool me seventeen times, shame on......?

- One more year of grad student/fifth year eligibility? If so, we could be pretty nifty again. If not, we'll turn it over to the kids, and I think the roster shows that Toerper and crew can really recruit.

[tecmobowler]

- Ejecting one of our best defenders on a non existent targeting call isn't very nice. Tough for the team and brutal for the student. Maybe best not to have those sorts of outcomes without the benefit of clear targeting on replay?  That hurt.

[UfanBill]

- Ejecting one of our best defenders on a non existent targeting call isn't very nice. Tough for the team and brutal for the student. Maybe best not to have those sorts of outcomes without the benefit of clear targeting on replay?  That hurt.

Of course video did exist...Did the "targeting" call happen in the first half? I believe the NCAA allows and actually encourages officials to review video of such calls when available during halftime. I remember a few years ago(2019?) a particular hard hitting safety from Union was ejected for targeting in the first half and the call was reversed at halftime. He was allowed to re-enter the game. Maybe the Ithaca coaching staff has to request it and of course the officials would have to cooperate. Apparently you have no ides if it was looked at? 

[Jonny Utah]

- Ejecting one of our best defenders on a non existent targeting call isn't very nice. Tough for the team and brutal for the student. Maybe best not to have those sorts of outcomes without the benefit of clear targeting on replay?  That hurt.

Of course video did exist...Did the "targeting" call happen in the first half? I believe the NCAA allows and actually encourages officials to review video of such calls when available during halftime. I remember a few years ago(2019?) a particular hard hitting safety from Union was ejected for targeting in the first half and the call was reversed at halftime. He was allowed to re-enter the game. Maybe the Ithaca coaching staff has to request it and of course the officials would have to cooperate. Apparently you have no ides if it was looked at?

It was the 3rd quarter and can only assume they weren't allowed to review it because this had a 100% chance of being overturned.