FB: Liberty League

[IC798891]

Time will tell, but all the haters may owe the NPI an apology.  So far this year, the NPI has accurately predicted the winner of 21 of the 24 play-in and first round playoff games.  That compares favorably to last year, where the old system was only "right" (i.e., the home team only won) in 12 of the 16 first round games.

I mean, last year's system gave Endicott a hame game over Cortland despite having the same record and a much worse result against their common opponent. Any rational observer would have given it to the Red Dragons, and been "right"

[IC798891]

Springfield takes over at midfield following a sack of Boyes, but rather than try to grind the clock, attempt a pass, which fails. They go 3 and out. Really curious call there

[NEd3ALUM]

So we can stop pretending Boyes is better than Lehnen now. A little different when you don't have two NFL WRs on the outside.

[Bartman]

Susquehanna up 31-24 over St.John's. Hobart sliced through the SU defense last week in the second half, but they are playing tough against the top seed. Right now Ehrlich is looking like the best QB in D3, great throwing and rushing combination.

[Bartman]

So we can stop pretending Boyes is better than Lehnen now. A little different when you don't have two NFL WRs on the outside.

No doubt Lehnen is a great QB, but Boyes was playing hurt today after an early hit and toughed it out.

[XREDDRAGON77]

Was more than an early hit! Word was it carried over from last week. But either way, SC was the better team today!

A team of that caliber shouldn't be giving up KO's for a TD and then coughing up the ensuing KOR! Special teams was no friend of the Dragons today.

Not sure if SC will stop the NC offensive machine, but I'm sure interested in seeing if they can keep that option attack on schedule! They managed the game great today!

[unionpalooza]

What an awesome day for Eastern football - Susq takes down the #1 Johnnies, JHU over Top 10 DePauw, Salisbury manhandles Randolph Macon, and Springfield knocks off Cortland in the day's only east-on-east crime.  Even Carnegie Mellon had a shot to knock off Mt. Union in the final seconds.

Also seems like a great day for parity in D3 - close games all around, and while maybe NCC is an exception, the last few weeks results show there is not much daylight between the best teams in the PAC, LL, E8, Landmark, MAC and even the two best New England leagues and the big boys of the Midwest.

[Caz Bombers]

Good to see the East get up off the slab. Cortland '23 notwithstanding, we were starting to feel like Division IV.

Even nicer to see SJU eat it at home. Just don't care for their fans on the boards, I find them entitled.

[Bartman]

What an awesome day for Eastern football - Susq takes down the #1 Johnnies, JHU over Top 10 DePauw, Salisbury manhandles Randolph Macon, and Springfield knocks off Cortland in the day's only east-on-east crime.  Even Carnegie Mellon had a shot to knock off Mt. Union in the final seconds.

Also seems like a great day for parity in D3 - close games all around, and while maybe NCC is an exception, the last few weeks results show there is not much daylight between the best teams in the PAC, LL, E8, Landmark, MAC and even the two best New England leagues and the big boys of the Midwest.

Palooza,
    Totally agree that these playoffs prove the parity between the East and the Mid/West. I think the Susquehanna game was very revealing. The Hobart loss last week looks "good" , but it still was a loss. I hope Susquehanna goes all the way to the title game. Ehrlich, their QB, and his complementary Offensive weapons are very impressive. I would congratulate them here, but no one posts on the Landmark board.
   

[Bartman]

Good to see the East get up off the slab. Cortland '23 notwithstanding, we were starting to feel like Division IV.

Even nicer to see SJU eat it at home. Just don't care for their fans on the boards, I find them entitled.

I'm with you Caz, the silence at the end of the game was sweet. Amos Alonzo Stagg's boys get a BIG win over the Gagliardi boys, nice.

[unionpalooza]

Good to see the East get up off the slab. Cortland '23 notwithstanding, we were starting to feel like Division IV.

Even nicer to see SJU eat it at home. Just don't care for their fans on the boards, I find them entitled.

I'm with you Caz, the silence at the end of the game was sweet. Amos Alonzo Stagg's boys get a BIG win over the Gagliardi boys, nice.

Yeah, the shirtless guy in the end zone with the Johnny suspenders outfit looked sad, which made me happy.

[UfanBill]

Great to see eastern teams continue to prove themselves against national competition. Things have surely shifted. I was not surprised that Springfield came to play today since their ground game has been rolling and Cortland isn't the 2023 Dragons. Susquehanna knocking off St. John's was gold and JHU and Salibury showed Maryland strong. Nice...All great programs.  

BTW as a Union fan I'm trying hard to forget the disappointment of this past season. It started with only having 4 scheduled home games and the struggle became apparent quickly in a scrimmage against lowly Hartwick. The Garnet never got it right and 3-7 was exactly where they deserved to be. My sources tell me Union's OOC schedule for next season should include the two agreed upon E8 vs LL opponents(I heard Cortland and Utica?) and Susquehanna. Not sure about Springfield since with Hilbert joining the LL there's now room for only 3 OOC games. 2025 looms just as formidable and forgettable. I hope coach Drach brings in some studs.   

[Bartman]

So 3 of the 4 games in the next playoff round are coming East based on NPI rankings:

Bethel @ Susquehanna

Mount Union @ Salisbury

MHB  @  Johns Hopkins

Springfield @ North Central

A very entertaining round. Looks like the weather will cooperate. I wonder if ESPN will keep to the noon start time? My hope is an Eastern sweep....you never know.

[Bartman]

I borrowed this from a Mont Union poster, if you love D3 football you'll enjoy this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKR-g-_Kdhg

[tony/troy]

Great to see eastern teams continue to prove themselves against national competition. Things have surely shifted. I was not surprised that Springfield came to play today since their ground game has been rolling and Cortland isn't the 2023 Dragons. Susquehanna knocking off St. John's was gold and JHU and Salibury showed Maryland strong. Nice...All great programs.  

BTW as a Union fan I'm trying hard to forget the disappointment of this past season. It started with only having 4 scheduled home games and the struggle became apparent quickly in a scrimmage against lowly Hartwick. The Garnet never got it right and 3-7 was exactly where they deserved to be. My sources tell me Union's OOC schedule for next season should include the two agreed upon E8 vs LL opponents(I heard Cortland and Utica?) and Susquehanna. Not sure about Springfield since with Hilbert joining the LL there's now room for only 3 OOC games. 2025 looms just as formidable and forgettable. I hope coach Drach brings in some studs.   

So should Union really be playing Cortland and Utica in 2025 and we also already know Cortland will be playing Ithaca every year, Cortland is "off the board" as far as the 2025 LL/E8 interlock goes.

Should anyone find out anything else besides the above about the eastern side of the 2025 interlock post it.

If and when "enough precincts report their results" then everyone in the east can "project their interlock pairings" for 2025 by process of elimination.

Some of the eastern LL websites sometimes take forever to post upcoming schedules. Would be nice to know before forever.