FB: Liberty League

[DanPadavona]

Am I the only one that loves having Mt. Union in the east?  And I always loved when the D1 basketball tournement had wierd matchups in any round.  It makes it fun I think.

Bottom line is that we have seen possibly the best regular season in the history of college football at any level with Mt. Union this year.  And now for the next four weeks us fans get to see what eastern d3 football is all about.  The ghosts of the 2003 RPI team,  the 1991, 1988 and 1979 Ithaca teams, the Rowan teams, and 1983 and 1989 Union teams are all excited to see what happens the next few weeks.

Go Bombers, and bring it on Mt. Union......bring it on......

Agreed and well put.....

Very well put Jonny.  DP would bestow upon you massive karma if DP had such powers.

The East has a very proud tradition of small college football championship teams.  I often theorize the reason we no longer do is not for lack of talent, but for too many teams, and hence parity.  Look at Upstate football - Fisher, Union, RPI, Hobart, Cortland, Ithaca, Alfred, Brockport, Rochester, Hartwick - all picking each other part vying for the same talent pool in overlapping geographies.  Then you have a second tier - Buff State, Utica, Morrisville, St Lawrence, and on and on - taking bits and pieces.

For the upstate football fan, there can never be too many teams.  But for a true powerhouse to develop and maintain itself, there can certainly be far too many teams.

You mention Ithaca 1988.  Don't forget Cortland 1988.  At the end of the season, Ithaca was the national champion, and Cortland was ranked #2.  The 2 best teams in the country played in the East, separated by a mere 20-odd miles.  And they were the only 2 teams capable of handing the other a loss that season.  There is a reason that game was called "The Upstate Game of the Century."

[Senor RedTackle]

Am I the only one that loves having Mt. Union in the east?  And I always loved when the D1 basketball tournement had wierd matchups in any round.  It makes it fun I think.

Bottom line is that we have seen possibly the best regular season in the history of college football at any level with Mt. Union this year.  And now for the next four weeks us fans get to see what eastern d3 football is all about.  The ghosts of the 2003 RPI team,  the 1991, 1988 and 1979 Ithaca teams, the Rowan teams, and 1983 and 1989 Union teams are all excited to see what happens the next few weeks.

Go Bombers, and bring it on Mt. Union......bring it on......

Agreed and well put.....

Very well put Jonny.  DP would bestow upon you massive karma if DP had such powers.

The East has a very proud tradition of small college football championship teams.  I often theorize the reason we no longer do is not for lack of talent, but for too many teams, and hence parity.  Look at Upstate football - Fisher, Union, RPI, Hobart, Cortland, Ithaca, Alfred, Brockport, Rochester, Hartwick - all picking each other part vying for the same talent pool in overlapping geographies.  Then you have a second tier - Buff State, Utica, Morrisville, St Lawrence, and on and on - taking bits and pieces.

For the upstate football fan, there can never be too many teams.  But for a true powerhouse to develop and maintain itself, there can certainly be far too many teams.

You mention Ithaca 1988.  Don't forget Cortland 1988.  At the end of the season, Ithaca was the national champion, and Cortland was ranked #2.  The 2 best teams in the country played in the East, separated by a mere 20-odd miles.  And they were the only 2 teams capable of handing the other a loss that season.  There is a reason that game was called "The Upstate Game of the Century."

Ahh...1988...what a year. Just to remind you of the good things that came out of 1988.....RT fondly remembers his junior year of high school







And let's not forget the top movies

Gross              Movie
172,825,435   Rain Man (1988)
154,222,492   Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
128,152,300   Coming to America (1988)
114,968,774   Big (1988)
111,936,400   Twins (1988/I)
109,305,000   'Crocodile' Dundee II (1988)
80,707,729   Die Hard (1988)
78,222,753   Cocktail (1988)
78,041,829   The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
73,450,885   Oliver & Company (1988)

Top Albums  1988
Appetite for Destruction - Guns N' Roses     
Bad - Michael Jackson     
Dirty Dancing - Sound Track     
Faith - George Michael     
Hystrtia - Def Leppard     
Kick - INXS     
Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman     

...and in case you're bored
www.ratemymullet.com

[DanPadavona]

RT forgot



Get Out of my Dreams.  Get into my Car!

Which could be an unfortunate song about pedophiles too I suppose...

[Jonny Utah]

Rowan ever get an apology letter from the NCAA?

Nope. NCAA officials were "sick to their stomach" while watching the tape, but once the refs leave the field, it is an official game regardless.

I understand that last part, but several leagues will send coaches apology letters, saying that the refs blew it and that they would attempt to ensure that such injustice would never happen again.  They didn't get that from the NCAA even?

I don't think Rowan got a letter, knowing how much KC Keeler liked hearing himself talk in the press, he'd have said something about a letter or an apology.

All I know is that schools can no longer supply their own clock operator in the playoffs.

This amazes me.  Massachusetts HIGH SCHOOL football has been paying refs ($75 now) to do the clock at games for the last 20 years!

['gro]

Is it me or have our LLPP, Inc. bretheren from RPI been EXTREMELY quiet prior to the big NCAA game with TCNJ??

Part of that has to do with fact that LD, Gro, Reg et. al. have no one to play with with regards to TCNJ.  The NJAC is a virtual wasteland when it comes to active posters outside of Rowan.  You'd think with all the social networks on the web that football fans would post regularly.  There are very few regular posters in the NJAC.  Lot of newbees come and go from season-to-season.

If I'm the one giving TCNJ info to gro on the NJAC board, you know there's a problem.  The NJAC board can't seem to grow past its dozen regulars from year-to-year,

Yup.  Tried to stir up an actual football conversation on the NJAC board, didn't want to scare them off with LLPP speak... no bites.

Every 1st round game in the east is interesting... too bad PC and friends are focused more on MUC's mission of manifest destiny than the other story lines.

NJAC champs vs LL champs
Can the NEFC win one?
Hartwick? Hartwick? (the new Coast Guard)
Hobart might be the 2nd best team in the bracket behind MUC (you heard that here 1st people)

[PBR...]

PBR is back from the house of mouse....man pbr needs a vaca from his vaca...so what did pbr miss while gone?

[HScoach]

Sorry to interupt your page, but can I get an eastern perspective on the rest of the East Region teams?  It seems like SJF is the best of them, but by how much over Ithaca, RPI, Hobart, NJ, etc?

Reason I'm asking is I'm trying to judge how the winner of the MUC/Ithaca game will match-up with the rest of the region. 

In the North Region, Whitewater's toughest game will be this week vs Capital, but in the East, I don't have a good read on the overall strength of the teams.

THANKS for the info.

You may now return to you previously scheduled banter.....

[PBR...]

pbr would put hobart even par w/ sjf if not a little above...then rpi, nj, ithaca....

[superman57]

Sorry to interupt your page, but can I get an eastern perspective on the rest of the East Region teams?  It seems like SJF is the best of them, but by how much over Ithaca, RPI, Hobart, NJ, etc?

Reason I'm asking is I'm trying to judge how the winner of the MUC/Ithaca game will match-up with the rest of the region. 

In the North Region, Whitewater's toughest game will be this week vs Capital, but in the East, I don't have a good read on the overall strength of the teams.

THANKS for the info.

You may now return to you previously scheduled banter.....

I will be able to tell you more after saterday, beacuase I will have then seen all 4 teams play... Fisher does not do one thing more spectacular than another, they just do everything really really good.... If Rob Kramer is on, your in trouble... Steve Stepnick, is a beast and I've seen people basically just bounce off of him and he keeps running..

Hobart-Strom is nasty as QB...if he is running and throwing then you will have a hard time beating them... When I saw them their special teams were suspect at best getting a blocked punt returned for a TD and having a blocked XP, Hobart has 0 running game except strom, so if Miranto and Stepnick can stop Strom it's going to be a long afternoon for the LL and we might just see a repeat of what Fisher did to Union last year...

[Senor RedTackle]

pbr would put hobart even par w/ sjf if not a little above...then rpi, nj, ithaca....

The east is pretty evenly matched. RT disagrees that SJF is the best team, aside from MUC. This is probably the tightest grouping of teams in a long time. RPI, SJF, IC, Hobart, and TCNJ can all hang w/ each other. Hartwick showed what they could do against the E8 at home (but also showed what they couldn't do on the road). Curry...well, sorry but they're just not a factor here. Aside from MUC, RT thinks the East is pretty well balanced.

[Jonny Utah]

I havent seen Hobart play this year, but its interesting how LL guys love to put say 'Hobart is on par with SJF, maybe better'' while the E8 guys say just the opposite.

Any Rochester guys have a say?

[Tags]

I havent seen Hobart play this year, but its interesting how LL guys love to put say 'Hobart is on par with SJF, maybe better'' while the E8 guys say just the opposite.

Any Rochester guys have a say?

I'd agree they may be close, but it's at Growney, and they (Fisher) have not been playing very good football - they've been doing what they've been doing and not playing very well, specifically on offense.

I think if it's ever going to click, it'll start Saterday - which isn't good for Hobart. If not, we're in for a great game.

[lewdogg11]

I havent seen Hobart play this year, but its interesting how LL guys love to put say 'Hobart is on par with SJF, maybe better'' while the E8 guys say just the opposite.

Any Rochester guys have a say?

I think the telling thing is that Hobart really turned it on at the end of the year and seems to be in stride.  SJF is obviously the darling of d3football.com as far as Upstate NY football is concerned.  I really don't think their ranking so far above everyone else in the poll is really telling that they are that much better.  I think there is a good chance Hobart will knock them off.  But they have the home field advantage and all of that nonsense.  Hobart is used to playing in 4 inches of mudd this time of year, so the turf might actually slow them down.

Hobart 38
Fisher 35

RPI tends to play to the level of their competition, so i'm expecting a great game.  All this talk about how much TCNJ blitzes makes me sick.  Don't ya think if blitzing solved all defensive problems, everyone would do it?  When you blitz, you open yourself up for big plays.  Against a bad or inexperienced QB, those weaknesses usually aren't seen.  But Roberston has seen blitzes before.  Union came after him like crazy last week.  he didn't have a spectacular game, but the last touchdown he threw scrambling around the pocket and hitting the guy in the back corner of the endzone was very impressive.  I think it's RPI's D that really needs to put the boots to TCNJ and cause some turnovers.  TCNJ's offense doesn't appear to be a juggernaut, so all RPI has to do is outscore them by 1 point.  

RPI 28
TCNJ 24

Hartwick vs. Curry...All i'm saying is there is a LOT of pressure on Hartwick.  I am expecting a blowout to be quite honest.  But if Hartwick does lay an egg and loses, they are not only embarrassing their own program, but the entire E8.

Hartwick 56
Curry 17  

[lewdogg11]

I guess i'll give my synopsis for the 'other' game too.

I would love to see Ithaca play with these guys.  And they might, for a half, but they might not.  Ithaca also seems to be playing well, so if there is a team that could beat the evil empire, it could be Ithaca.  However, I just really don't see anyone taking them down this year.  And don't smite me Ithaca guys, I really am pulling for ya, I just don't see it happening.

Mt. Union 63
Ithaca 10

[Tags]

LD-

Tags is convinced we haven't seen Fisher play well since Ithaca. I feel that if the O-line gets off their A** and actually controls the LOS like they should be doing, Fisher will be able to control the game.

Alfred was pushing them around most of the game, and quite frankly it was difficult for us to move the ball on the ground. This cannot happen going forward, or it'll be over quickly.