FB: Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference

[ECoastFootball]

Framingham State pulled off an amazing 4th quarter performance against West Conn, I really thought West Conn played well throughout the whole game, momentum just took the turn for the worst for them and the better for Framingham State. I think if Fitchburg can run the table and on the 18th of October take advantage of home field advantage against Western Conn, the MASCAC may have a chance for two playoff teams (maybe that's to early).

There is no way the MASCAC gets 2 teams in. If Framingham wins out, they still need help from Rowan to get in themselves. The league's teams are definitely much stronger than they've been in the past, but they are no where near being a 2 bid league, and Fitchburg is not an NCAA playoff team. I can see why you can be happy with the Falcons, but their OOC was Becker and Curry. That being said, I would be shocked if Fitch beat WConn, and I also think Westfield-Fitch will be a slugfest.

[Jonny Utah]

Framingham State pulled off an amazing 4th quarter performance against West Conn, I really thought West Conn played well throughout the whole game, momentum just took the turn for the worst for them and the better for Framingham State. I think if Fitchburg can run the table and on the 18th of October take advantage of home field advantage against Western Conn, the MASCAC may have a chance for two playoff teams (maybe that's to early).

There is no way the MASCAC gets 2 teams in. If Framingham wins out, they still need help from Rowan to get in themselves. The league's teams are definitely much stronger than they've been in the past, but they are no where near being a 2 bid league, and Fitchburg is not an NCAA playoff team. I can see why you can be happy with the Falcons, but their OOC was Becker and Curry. That being said, I would be shocked if Fitch beat WConn, and I also think Westfield-Fitch will be a slugfest.

And don't forget that west conn lost to hartwick, who apparantly isn't a good football team. 

[ECoastFootball]

MASCAC POWER RANKINGS FOLLOWING WEEK 4
Not a lot of movement here, other than switching Fitch with BWater. In hindsight I probably should have already had Fitch 4 and BWater 5 seeing how I ended up picking Fitch to beat the Bears on the road anyways. I also want to say that there are 6 solid football teams in this league right now. You have to come to play week in and week out, because outside of MMA and PSU, anybody can beat you if they play their game. I don't think I could have said that about this collection of schools 3 years ago.

1.   (LW 1) Framingham State Rams (3-1, 2-0)
Great win for the Rams. Down 31-28 after 3, the Rams rattled off 20 unanswered to remind West Conn that they ain't there yet. While we're here, let's talk about depth. MVA graduates, Offley gets hurt, and some kid named Hunter Beckerman comes in and does nothing but rattle off 125 yards on 8.1 ypc. Silva and the passing game also come together as he throws 4 tds and only one pick. This win puts Framingham firmly in the driver seat for a 2nd MASCAC title, and a 3rd strait conference title.

2.   (LW 2) Western Connecticut State Colonials (2-2, 1-1)
This loss drops West Conn to 2-2, not where they planned to be at this point. They started off on fire, but slowed down to a halt in the 4th (broken record alert: 'Ham does this to people). Absolutely huge one for West Conn as they host a BWater team coming off of a Heart Breaker. This game will set the tone for the rest of the season, with the winner positioning themselves for a shot at an ECAC game and the loser falling to 2 conference losses way too early.

3.   (LW 3) Westfield State Owls (2-1, 1-0)
Nice time for a bye, right about the midpoint of the season. Hopefully for the Owls Mercadante recharged his battery and they can ride him to a ECAC bid. Plymouth coming to town this Saturday, don't expect much throwing at all. Plymouth doesn't like to, and Westfield won't need to.

4.    (LW 5) Fitchburg State Falcons (3-1, 1-1)
Huge win for the Falcons. I had been questioning their opponent strength up until Friday night, but that's a good Bear team they just beat. Dellechieia is poised as hell and Saint Juste is a beast of a WR. Look for Fitch to continue to roll as they get MMA this week.

5.   (LW 4) Bridgewater State Bears (2-2, 1-1)
Very tough loss for the Bears. In spite of all the nice things I just said above, the Bears had every opportunity to win this game, and I don't know that Fitchburg is really a better team than BWater. Fitch scored off of a pick6 on a bad decision by Higgins. BWater's game ended on what clearly should have been a P.I. call on the Fitch DB. The bigger issue is that 3 years ago BWater doesn't put themselves in this situation, and a first year qb will make mistakes in this type of environment.

6.    (LW  6) UMass Dartmouth Corsairs (2-2, 1-1)
Dominating performance for the Corsairs. The game was not as close as the score. I would say the question mark would be is Barneys out for good, but according to the stats it seems like Burnham absolutely shredded Plymouth, so they may have something there. Gut check time for the Corsairs this week though, as New England Football's measuring stick rolls into town. Interested to watch this one, as I have a feeling UMD will trade some punches with Fram, at least early.

7.   (LW 7) Worcester State Lancers (3-1, 1-1)
Must be fun to play MMA after the abuse they took from BWater the week before. 3-1 looks good, but I'm not sure if Worcester is a paper tiger, propped up with 3 wins over bad teams. WPI, Curry and MMA? Not impressed. We won't know until Worcester-Fitch, as the Lancers have 2 weeks to prepare for the rival Falcons.

8.    (LW 8) Plymouth State Panthers (1-3, 0-2)
Plymouth does not seem to be rebuilding. I thought at one point this was just a downturn from graduating a good class, but years keep changing and Plymouth just isn't improving. Something must have changed up there that's holding Castonia back, because they used to be very, very good.

9.    (LW 9) Massachusetts Maritime Buccaneers (1-2, 0-1)
MMA may be looking at a 1-9 year. Tough for a program that had been competing with the rest of the MASCAC for the last few years. They may surprise someone this year if they can tempo them and steal some points, but I don't think they can stop anyone. Another problem for that, teams with recent success are more likely to tank when they start losing, because they're not used to it. With trips to Fitchburg and West Conn next, it's going to get worse before it gets better.

[ECoastFootball]

The Week 3 New England poll is out and is as follows: http://www.wesleyan.edu/athletics/football/link-resources/poll.html ... I have taken out the NESCAC teams but you can see them in the link.

Rank (Rank w.NESCAC Teams Included) Team
1  (1) WNEC
2  (3) Framingham
3  (6) MIT
4  (7) Springfield College
5  (8) Fitchburg State
6  (9) Endicott College
7 (10) West Conn
8 (12) Worcester State

My New England Poll (minus the NESCAC*)
Rank.  Team - Conference - (Record, Reasoning)
1.    Framingham State - MASCAC - (3-1, lost to Rowan)
2.    WNEC - NEFC - (3-0, beat good Springfield and Westfield teams)
3.    Springfield - LL - (3-1, lost close game to WNEC)
4.    Endicott - NEFC - (2-2, Lost to Framingham and Hobart)
5.    West Conn - MASCAC - (2-2, Lost to Hartwick and Framingham)
6.    MIT - NEFC - (3-0, P.S. I told you guys Salve would kill them)
7.    Westfield State - MASCAC - (3-0, lost close game to WNEC)
8.    Fitchburg State - MASCAC -  (3-1, lost close game to Framingham)
9.    Bridgewater State - MASCAC -  (2-2, lost close games to Salve and Fitchburg)
10.  Norwich - ECFC -  (2-1, lost 29-9 @ RPI but beat 3-1 St. Lawrence)

*** I am not holding out NESCAC teams because I don't think the league is good, I do. I'm doing it because A. They don't play outside their league so it's tough to gauge them and B. I don't watch them play ever.

[D3MAFAN]

The Week 3 New England poll is out and is as follows: http://www.wesleyan.edu/athletics/football/link-resources/poll.html ... I have taken out the NESCAC teams but you can see them in the link.

Rank (Rank w.NESCAC Teams Included) Team
1  (1) WNEC
2  (3) Framingham
3  (6) MIT
4  (7) Springfield College
5  (8) Fitchburg State
6  (9) Endicott College
7 (10) West Conn
8 (12) Worcester State

My New England Poll (minus the NESCAC*)
Rank.  Team - Conference - (Record, Reasoning)
1.    Framingham State - MASCAC - (3-1, lost to Rowan)
2.    WNEC - NEFC - (3-0, beat good Springfield and Westfield teams)
3.    Springfield - LL - (3-1, lost close game to WNEC)
4.    Endicott - NEFC - (2-2, Lost to Framingham and Hobart)
5.    West Conn - MASCAC - (2-2, Lost to Hartwick and Framingham)
6.    MIT - NEFC - (3-0, P.S. I told you guys Salve would kill them)
7.    Westfield State - MASCAC - (3-0, lost close game to WNEC)
8.    Fitchburg State - MASCAC -  (3-1, lost close game to Framingham)
9.    Bridgewater State - MASCAC -  (2-2, lost close games to Salve and Fitchburg)
10.  Norwich - ECFC -  (2-1, lost 29-9 @ RPI but beat 3-1 St. Lawrence)

*** I am not holding out NESCAC teams because I don't think the league is good, I do. I'm doing it because A. They don't play outside their league so it's tough to gauge them and B. I don't watch them play ever.

I watch a couple a year (big rivalry games), but you are 100% correct, +K.

[ECoastFootball]

Week 5 Predictions for the MASCAC
(4-0 last week, 8-1 last 2 weeks, 19-6 or 0.760 for the year)
I'm going to start to put my overall New England rank next to the teams each week. Sweet Right?

1. FRAMINGHAM STATE (3-1, 2-0) – 24
@ UMass Dartmouth (2-2, 1-1) – 20
Trap game here for the reigning champs. Huge win over West Conn and now they head down to play a good football team on the road that sports a pedestrian 2-2 record. If Aborishade gets a long one and the Corsairs can get Cooper going, they could stun the Rams. The difference here will be that the Rams have played in games like this before. Silva and Mangano should be able to rally the Rams from anything the Corsairs throw at them.

9. Bridgewater State – 27 (2-2, 1-1)
@ 5. WEST CONN – 34 (2-2, 1-1)
West Conn traveled up to Bridgewater and THUMPED the Bears last year. They built a 42-7 first half lead and never looked back. The Bears will have that in their minds as they make the drip down, and this one will be much tighter. Two teams coming off a loss fighting desperately to keep their MASCAC title hopes alive. I think in the end West Conn just has more talent across the board. Bumpus went 33-51, 455 yds 2 TDs 1 INT v BWater. West Conn won't be that one dimensional, Mack will get his touches. But if Arndt is anywhere close to 455 then that TD # will be more like 3 or 4, just because of the athletes around him. I am also very interested to see what Green can do to a solid Colonial secondary.

Plymouth State – 6 (1-3, 0-2)
@ 7. WESTFIELD STATE – 35 (2-1, 1-0)
Welcome to the Mercadante Show (for the first half anyways). My only real question here is: Why would the Westfield administration make their Bridgewater game in 3 weeks Homecoming? This is the one. Stress free W. Westfield should march up and down the field, and Plymouth shouldn't be able to get much going.

Massachusetts Maritime – 14 (1-2, 0-1)
@ 8. FITCHBURG STATE – 40 (3-1, 1-1)
The only thing that may keep Dellechiaie from abusing this swiss-cheese secondary on his way to a 2nd Golden Helmet is the fact that, in all probability, they're just going to hand off the rock. Look for both Perry and Titus to get a bunch of carries and have a big day.

Thoughts ?

[amh63]

ECoastFootball....thanks for the info.   You should try to take in a Nescac football game.  If interested, let me know.  The third oldest football rivalry in the land....is in Amherst in Early Nov.  this year under the lights.  NESN will covered the game as usual and it will be broadcasted around the world to Amherst and Williams Alumni/ ae...gatherings. 

[Boxer7806]

Week 5 Predictions for the MASCAC
(4-0 last week, 8-1 last 2 weeks, 19-6 or 0.760 for the year)
I'm going to start to put my overall New England rank next to the teams each week. Sweet Right?

1. FRAMINGHAM STATE (3-1, 2-0) – 24
@ UMass Dartmouth (2-2, 1-1) – 20
Trap game here for the reigning champs. Huge win over West Conn and now they head down to play a good football team on the road that sports a pedestrian 2-2 record. If Aborishade gets a long one and the Corsairs can get Cooper going, they could stun the Rams. The difference here will be that the Rams have played in games like this before. Silva and Mangano should be able to rally the Rams from anything the Corsairs throw at them.

9. Bridgewater State – 27 (2-2, 1-1)
@ 5. WEST CONN – 34 (2-2, 1-1)
West Conn traveled up to Bridgewater and THUMPED the Bears last year. They built a 42-7 first half lead and never looked back. The Bears will have that in their minds as they make the drip down, and this one will be much tighter. Two teams coming off a loss fighting desperately to keep their MASCAC title hopes alive. I think in the end West Conn just has more talent across the board. Bumpus went 33-51, 455 yds 2 TDs 1 INT v BWater. West Conn won't be that one dimensional, Mack will get his touches. But if Arndt is anywhere close to 455 then that TD # will be more like 3 or 4, just because of the athletes around him. I am also very interested to see what Green can do to a solid Colonial secondary.

Plymouth State – 6 (1-3, 0-2)
@ 7. WESTFIELD STATE – 35 (2-1, 1-0)
Welcome to the Mercadante Show (for the first half anyways). My only real question here is: Why would the Westfield administration make their Bridgewater game in 3 weeks Homecoming? This is the one. Stress free W. Westfield should march up and down the field, and Plymouth shouldn't be able to get much going.

Massachusetts Maritime – 14 (1-2, 0-1)
@ 8. FITCHBURG STATE – 40 (3-1, 1-1)
The only thing that may keep Dellechiaie from abusing this swiss-cheese secondary on his way to a 2nd Golden Helmet is the fact that, in all probability, they're just going to hand off the rock. Look for both Perry and Titus to get a bunch of carries and have a big day.

Thoughts ?

EastCoast
Spot on man. I'm starting to become a believer in Framingham now that the Bears seem out of it. Looking back, Fram seems to really hit their stride right about this time in the season every year and I don't see why it would be different this year. The way things have played out, Fram has easily had the hardest schedule of any team in New England and if you told them they would be 3-1 at this point, I think they would take it. Turnovers killed them in the Rowan game, specifically Silva with picks. If he keeps playing like he did last week, then they could be a tough out once again come playoff time. (Yes, I'm saying they are getting in because Endicott is going to give them a RR win since they are the best team in the NEFC.) The team that most impresses me is Fitchburg St, who I wouldn't be shocked makes an ECAC bowl this year. Next year, I would like to see them go out and play a NJAC or LL team. I think they have moved on from the Curry's (Can't believe I'm saying that) and the Anna Maria's of the world and need to start challenging themselves if they really want to make a move in the future.

[D3MAFAN]

Week 5 Predictions for the MASCAC
(4-0 last week, 8-1 last 2 weeks, 19-6 or 0.760 for the year)
I'm going to start to put my overall New England rank next to the teams each week. Sweet Right?

1. FRAMINGHAM STATE (3-1, 2-0) – 24
@ UMass Dartmouth (2-2, 1-1) – 20
Trap game here for the reigning champs. Huge win over West Conn and now they head down to play a good football team on the road that sports a pedestrian 2-2 record. If Aborishade gets a long one and the Corsairs can get Cooper going, they could stun the Rams. The difference here will be that the Rams have played in games like this before. Silva and Mangano should be able to rally the Rams from anything the Corsairs throw at them.

9. Bridgewater State – 27 (2-2, 1-1)
@ 5. WEST CONN – 34 (2-2, 1-1)
West Conn traveled up to Bridgewater and THUMPED the Bears last year. They built a 42-7 first half lead and never looked back. The Bears will have that in their minds as they make the drip down, and this one will be much tighter. Two teams coming off a loss fighting desperately to keep their MASCAC title hopes alive. I think in the end West Conn just has more talent across the board. Bumpus went 33-51, 455 yds 2 TDs 1 INT v BWater. West Conn won't be that one dimensional, Mack will get his touches. But if Arndt is anywhere close to 455 then that TD # will be more like 3 or 4, just because of the athletes around him. I am also very interested to see what Green can do to a solid Colonial secondary.

Plymouth State – 6 (1-3, 0-2)
@ 7. WESTFIELD STATE – 35 (2-1, 1-0)
Welcome to the Mercadante Show (for the first half anyways). My only real question here is: Why would the Westfield administration make their Bridgewater game in 3 weeks Homecoming? This is the one. Stress free W. Westfield should march up and down the field, and Plymouth shouldn't be able to get much going.

Massachusetts Maritime – 14 (1-2, 0-1)
@ 8. FITCHBURG STATE – 40 (3-1, 1-1)
The only thing that may keep Dellechiaie from abusing this swiss-cheese secondary on his way to a 2nd Golden Helmet is the fact that, in all probability, they're just going to hand off the rock. Look for both Perry and Titus to get a bunch of carries and have a big day.

Thoughts ?

EastCoast
Spot on man. I'm starting to become a believer in Framingham now that the Bears seem out of it. Looking back, Fram seems to really hit their stride right about this time in the season every year and I don't see why it would be different this year. The way things have played out, Fram has easily had the hardest schedule of any team in New England and if you told them they would be 3-1 at this point, I think they would take it. Turnovers killed them in the Rowan game, specifically Silva with picks. If he keeps playing like he did last week, then they could be a tough out once again come playoff time. (Yes, I'm saying they are getting in because Endicott is going to give them a RR win since they are the best team in the NEFC.) The team that most impresses me is Fitchburg St, who I wouldn't be shocked makes an ECAC bowl this year. Next year, I would like to see them go out and play a NJAC or LL team. I think they have moved on from the Curry's (Can't believe I'm saying that) and the Anna Maria's of the world and need to start challenging themselves if they really want to make a move in the future.

It is kind of strange, because between 01-09, they were the standard that many teams within the New England Area looked to be like, now with the way they are playing this year, it is kind of tragic (lack of better word). Now, as for the rest of the MASCAC, it appears that Framingham is heading their stride and as you stated with Silva finally getting over the turnover bug, such that it was in the Rowan game (with Rowan winning against Cortland State and Wesley continuing to blow teams away, may be better than what we thought), they may be the clear favorite, but they can not have a let down game. Regarding Fitchburg State, they have been impressive this year, they haven't been blowing teams away, but playing every game tough or some may say playing to the level of their opponent, they still have Western Connecticut in a couple weeks, we shall see if they have taken that step forward. It would be nice for them to take a stab a the other top conferences in the East or South, just for the experience, it has help other teams.

[ECoastFootball]

MASCAC POWER RANKINGS FOLLOWING WEEK 5

1.   (LW 1) Framingham State Rams (4-1, 3-0)
Nice road win for the Rams. Dead locked in a 14-14 battle at the half, the Rams exploded in half #2. The offense looked great and Silva carved up a young corsair secondary. Defensively they had a little trouble in the first half, but they completely locked down UMD for part 2. Another Big Game for FSU this week, as they welcome a very good Westfield team to Bowditch next week. Fram snuck by the Owls 17-15 last year.

2.   (LW 2) Western Connecticut State Colonials (3-2, 2-1)
Nice win for the Colonials keeps them on track for a 2nd place finish and an ECAC bid half way through the season. That was a good BWater team, though I really would have liked to see how the Bears would have fared with Green playing. In addition to no Green, there was also very little Arndt. West Conn is not the same team without him at the helm, and they need him back.

3.   (LW 3) Westfield State Owls (3-1, 2-0)
Westfield is just an all around solid team. Good Defense. Solid Offense. We'll find out this week exactly what they are, as they head to Framingham for the Game of the Week in New England. If they can get Mercadante going on that Bowditch grass, the Owls could send shockwaves through the MASCAC.

4.    (LW 4) Fitchburg State Falcons (4-1, 2-1)
I don't know what to make of this Fitchburg team. I honestly think they overlooked Maritime, but how can a team that's 14-30 over the last 5 years overlook anyone? This game was in doubt all the way to the very end, and if the Falcons play like this against Westfield or West Conn, they'll get spanked. The young Dellechiaie may have been a bit rattled, or just not checked in, as he threw an uncharacteristic 2 picks. Fitch should be able to get by Worcester on Saturday, but Western Connecticut looms.

5.   (LW 5) Bridgewater State Bears (2-3, 1-2)
Need to know what's going on with Green. When he plays, that offense is different. They can score almost on accident. Also, this is not a typical Bear defense. I'm used to watching a bruising linebacking core that lays people out for 60 minutes and 2 ball hawking safeties. They were not that last season, and they certainly aren't that this year. I am not saying this is a bad defense, probably middle of the pack, but in the past they've been elite. If Green is out indefinitely, the D better pick it up.

6.   (LW 7) Worcester State Lancers (3-1, 1-1)
Big Game for Worcester coming off this bye. I've called them a paper tiger before, sitting at 3-1 with wins over no one and a blowout loss to BWater. If they can beat Fitchburg it all changes. Always helps to have a bye before a big one, we'll see what they did with this one.

7.    (LW  6) UMass Dartmouth Corsairs (2-3, 1-2)
This one hurts much more than Springfield did. The Springfield box score looked very similar to this one, but the game had a different feel. I will say that I think Framingham is much better than Springfield, but for the first time this year UMD looked completely outclassed. They traded punches in the first half and even the third quarter, but the 4th quarter looked like a bully picking on a little kid. Burnham did display great poise early, but was clearly rattled late after he was continuously stuck for the first 3 quarters.

8.    (LW 9) Massachusetts Maritime Buccaneers (1-3, 0-3)
Some life out of the Bucs! MMA stayed with Fitch all the way through and had an opportunity to win this game. It seems like they've developed another offensive threat to go with Bennett, as Bobby Rosano had 10 catches for 123 yards. The problem for MMA and any momentum is they had, is they now host West Conn. They better hope for some rain and a bunch of wind off that water, because the Colonials will be on the war path after losing and giving up 54 to MMA last year. As we've learned in the past, WCSU games get ugly whenever West Conn has a chance to make them ugly. This week could get ugly.

9.    (LW 8) Plymouth State Panthers (1-4, 0-3)
Westfield has left, but Plymouth is still outside on the field working their offense on air. They haven't scored yet.

[ECoastFootball]

Week 4 of the New England poll is out and is as follows: http://www.wesleyan.edu/athletics/football/link-resources/poll.html ... I have taken out the NESCAC teams but you can see them in the link.

Rank (Rank w.NESCAC Teams Included) Team
1  (1) WNEC
2  (3) Framingham
3  (6) MIT
4  (7) Springfield College
5  (8) Fitchburg State
6  (9) Endicott College
7 (10) West Conn
8 (11) Westfield State

My New England Poll (minus the NESCAC*)
Rank  (LW) Team - Conference - (Record, Reasoning)
1(1)    Framingham State - MASCAC - (4-1, dismantled UMD @ UMD)
2(2)    WNEC - NEFC - (4-0, Defeated USCGA. Defense played well, offense struggled.)
3(3)    Springfield - LL - (3-1, Defeated Union in a shootout. Will be tested this week as they head to   Hobart)
4(4)    Endicott - NEFC - (3-2, Beat a bad MaineMA team, have another snoozer scheduled Saturday)
5(5)    West Conn - MASCAC - (3-2, beat BSU, but BSU was without Green. Arndt left with an injury, they'll need him back if they want to stay at only 2 tallys in the L column)
6(6)    MIT - NEFC - (4-0, Bye this week (and next week really with Nichols coming up))
7(7)    Westfield State - MASCAC - (4-1, Held Plymouth to 1 first down this past week)
8(8)    Fitchburg State - MASCAC -  (4-1, struggled against a BAD MassMA team this past week)
9(NR)  Husson - ECFC - (2-1, knocked off Norwich last week and their loss is to Alfred)
10(9)  Bridgewater State - MASCAC - (2-3, here because there is noone else to put here. A loss @ WCSU without their best player doesn't kill them I guess)

Dropped Out: 10. Norwich (lost to Husson)

thoughts?

[Boxer7806]

Husson could be higher but generally speaking its right on. Very interested in westfield vs Framingham. If fram wins they haven the league practically wrapped up which makes this game have huge implications. I think it will be tough for westfield because all they have is mercandante and if he is stopped so is westfields offense. Husson I feel could be sneaky good for that conference and actually be better than westfield. I think they will run away with the ecfc just like fram could in the mascac because they played and won all their toughest league games for the year already.

[ECoastFootball]

Husson could be higher but generally speaking its right on. Very interested in westfield vs Framingham. If fram wins they haven the league practically wrapped up which makes this game have huge implications. I think it will be tough for westfield because all they have is mercandante and if he is stopped so is westfields offense. Husson I feel could be sneaky good for that conference and actually be better than westfield. I think they will run away with the ecfc just like fram could in the mascac because they played and won all their toughest league games for the year already.

I think that Husson will win the ECFC and the race is over. They would have to lose 2 for Norwich to catch them, so even at 8-2 (with losses to Alfred and another random) they'd still get in. Don't sleep on Westfield though. Mercadante is a beast, but their OL is very good as well. They QB can sling it a little if you crowd the line and they do go to some 4 wide stuff from time to time. Their defense is also one of the best in New England. Their new head coach is the guy who's been their DC forever, and he's a good one.

[ECoastFootball]

Week 6 Projections for the MASCAC
(Went 4-0 for the second straight week last week, although some scores were off. Puts me at 12-1 for the last 3 weeks and 23-6 for the year or 0.793)

Friday October 10th
UMASS DARTMOUTH (2-3, 1-2) - 14**
@ 10. Bridgewater State (2-3, 1-2) - 10**
HUGE game for both programs. The difference between 3-3 and 2-4 is big. I don't know who to take because I don't know who's playing. If Green is playing I take BSU 24-14. He adds so much to both the offense and the Special Teams. If Barneys is playing and Green isn't, I take UMD 24-10. He's just a great athlete and he gave Springfield fits, I can only imagine him against the BWater D. **If neither play, I take UMD in a tight low scoring game. I think UMD has a better defense than BSU, and that will be the difference. If both play I would add 10-14 pts to each team's total.

Saturday October 11th
5. WEST CONN (3-2, 2-1) – 48
@ Mass Maritime (1-3, 0-2) – 7
I look for West Conn to pound Maritime, especially after last year. Coach Loth likes to send messages with the scoreboard, and he will do that after the 1 point shootout loss to a team that he should have beat a year ago. I'll be watching for two things: 1. Does Arndt play, and 2. How good can So. Michael Nicol be if he is forced to lead this offense the rest of the way?

8. FITCHBURG STATE (4-1, 2-1) – 30
@ Worcester State (3-1, 1-1) – 24
This is the second test of the year for the Lancers, they failed the first one miserably with a 51-27 loss at Bridgewater. I expect Dellechiaie to shred the Woo State secondary, the question of the day will be can Bumpus keep pace. When Bumpus has a run game to go with his arm he is at his best. If they get Jones going, this game could be a tight one, but if he gets held under 50 like he did v BWater, a one-dimensional Woo State tends to turn the ball over.

7. Westfield State (3-1, 2-0) – 21
@ 1. FRAMINGHAM STATE (4-1, 3-0) – 24
Another heartbreaker for the Owls at the hands of the Rams. I think Westfield is built to play with Framingham, and they almost have the horses to do it. Their defense is good and their rushing attack will make every possession priceless, but I just trust Fram in close ones. They've been in games like this throughout the last few years, and the only times they have lost close ones are when they are the less talented team (@ Cortland '12, @ Rowan '13, @ Ithaca '13). I think the experience in big games and the edge in offensive productivity puts Silva and the Rams at 5-1, inching closer to a possible at large bid.

[D3MAFAN]

I had a chance to watch the UMD vs. Bridgewater game, was very impress with the way UMD played, they played with a lot of enthusiasm, especially after the early turnover for a touchdown and then the safety. Bridgewater just didn't really respond after that. I thought that they were going to make it game early in the third, but UMD kept it on them. Framingham State beat an okay Westfield State team, I stop watching after the long touchdown run midway of the third. Fitchburg continues to win setting up a big game against Western Connecticut this upcoming weekend. If Fitchburg does win out, their SOS will hurt them with any chance of reaching the playoffs, but will nevertheless have a ECAC home game.