Also, I saw this incredible photo from Saturday and couldn't resist poking some fun at my takes this season:

Quote from: Brady12 on October 04, 2025, 08:16:30 PMAm I the only one who thinks we need to pump the brakes on the Mammoths?

This didn't age well as the crazy NESCAC year continues. The little three could be epic this year.

Well, I said I'd starting taking Amherst seriously if they beat Midd on the road and boy did they ever! The Mammoths led 27-3 heading into the final frame. Agree with Nescacman that the league is better when the Little Three teams are relevant.

Trin certainly looked the part on Saturday and appear to be rounding into form. The Bants' next three games are @ Hamilton, Midd in the Coop and @ Bowdoin. I would expect them to be 6-1 when Amherst comes to Hartford for Senior Day on November 1. A fun year in the 'CAC!

Am I the only one who thinks we need to pump the brakes on the Mammoths? Certainly very few (if anyone) predicted they would outclass the Jumbos, but they also lost to Bates and their other win came at home against Hamilton.

Amherst also hasn't won a road games since they beat the Continentals last September. Now, if they can go on the road and beat Middlebury this week I'll start to believe there's something there. Until then I still think they max out at 3, maybe 4 wins.

Well, nescac1 nailed it: another absolute classic Trinity-Williams game on Saturday. I said the game would be decided by the two superstars and boy was it ever! Johansen and O'Brien are the two best players in the NESCAC this year and they showed it.

O'Brien did a little bit (a lot?) of everything for the Bants. He had 7 catches, 3 carries, 201 yards of total offense and scored two TDs. I was very impressed with Johansen who is a load to bring down but really hurt Trinity through the air throwing for 311 and 3 TDs. You've got to feel for the kid as his fumble in OT ultimately cost Williams the game.

Kudos to Nescacman for even attempting to rank the league this season! Despite the loss the Ephs may still be the best team in the league even though they don't have a quality win yet. Trinity, and Tufts both have a head-scratching loss. Wes probably deserves the #1 spot based on their win over Midd and a close road loss to a good team.

I think overall the quality of the league is down a bit this year (should we be thankful we aren't sending a NESCAC team to the D3 playoffs this season?!). The middle tier seems to have closed the gap on the top squads and the bottom tier is closer to the middle. 


Here's how SP+ sees the league heading into Week 4 of the NESCAC:

41. Trinity
60. Wesleyan
64. Williams
77. Middlebury
95. Tufts
135. Amherst
161. Colby
169. Hamilton
183. Bates
187. Bowdoin

Colby 19.8 - Bates 17.0
Middlebury 27.8 - Amherst 14.1
Trinity 28.3 - Tufts 11.6
Wesleyan 31.6 - Hamilton 4.4
Williams 33.4 - Bowdoin 8.7

Quote from: lumbercat on September 23, 2025, 06:50:29 PMIf the Colby O line handled Trinity it will be interesting how Eph's OLine fares against the Bants.

Lumber, I hope I didn't mislead you when I said Trinity was "physically outmanned up front by Colby". This was in reference to the Mules front seven against the Bantam offensive line. In that game the Bants rushed for just 52 yards on 30 carries and took 7 sacks.

However, Trinity's defense didn't have much trouble with the Mules offense as Colby rushed for just 47 yards on 35 carries and had four sacks. Through two games Trin is allowing 1.9 yards per carry.

It appears Williams will present a more substantial challenge given their size across the board offensively. The bigger question will be whether or not Trinity can score against an Eph defense who has only allowed a few garbage time scoring drives through their first two games.

Trinity @ Williams in a huge early season game sure feels like old times! I'm a fan of the SP+ model but I certainly wouldn't have the Bants as road favorites given their respective performances vs. Colby.

The Bantam quarterback play was much improved vs Bates and it appears Carroll will be the guy moving forward for Trin. The Bants may need to rely on him this week as it appears the Ephs' 8th ranked pass defense could potentially be a weak spot.

This game may be decided by which superstar makes the most/biggest play(s). Nolan O'Brien and Owen Johansen are 1-2 in All Purpose Yards and Scoring through two weeks. Nolan leads the league in receiving while Johansen leads in rushing.

A win here would put Trinity right back into the title chase given Wes & Midd already have a loss and Tufts has to come to The Coop.

I feel like every year since I've followed this board (nearly 20 years) people have been predicting parity in the league and it never comes.

This may actually be the year.

I've got to tip my hat to Charlie, once again, who called the Trinity-Colby game as a potential upset (I scoffed at the notion). I did pick the Mules as my surprise team this season but that outcome was a little too surprising for me!

As previously mentioned, this was Colby's first win over Trinity since a 14-11 win in 1995. It's worth noting that prior to 2017 the teams only played every two years due to the 8 game schedule (Trinity rotated season openers between Colby and Bates). The last Mule win prior to '95 was a 20-17 upset in 1980 which ended up being the only blemish on a 7-1 Trinity season.

Any way you look at it this is a huge with for Cosgrove and I can only imagine what the scene was like on Mayflower Hill Saturday night. Congrats to the Colby faithful on a historic win.


As for Trinity, they could be in trouble. The defense was stout led by their excellent secondary who forced three interceptions. However, the Bantam offense was stuck in mud. They appeared to be physically outmanned up front by Colby which was a real shock. The biggest issue is quarterback and they clearly need to figure out a solution quickly. Jaxon Carroll wasn't exactly sharp in the first half. He did not get injured. I don't know if the decision to play Tyler Aronson after halftime was predetermined or if they were looking for a spark. Either way, his 3 interceptions in the second half (one of which was returned for a TD) doomed the Bants. One other note on him, he's listed as a sophomore on the roster but Devanney called him a freshman in his post game summary. Not sure if he just misspoke or if Aronson could have an extra year of eligibility which makes sense given he didn't see game action at SMU.

The Bants have been a bit spoiled at the position the past few seasons with three years of Fetter who set multiple school records followed by Zebrowski who had played in 15 games prior to taking over as a grad student and then had a monster season last year. Hopefully a home game in The Coop will help to settle the nerves and get the season back on track. At the risk of a jinx, Trinity hasn't lost to Bates since 1979!   

Quote from: Charlie on September 09, 2025, 06:37:28 PMInteresting to see who you have Trinity losing to some more explanation on the three losses by Wesleyan and Middlebury would be nice ?

I actually have Trin losing at Williams in Week 3. Aside from their most recent trip there in '23 the Bants have struggled in Williamstown more than almost anywhere. Maybe I'm overestimating Williams or perhaps I still have scar tissue from the 42-3 thrashing by the Ephs in '21 but I think that game could trip up Trinity especially since it's still early in the season and they may not yet be firing on all cylinders.

As for Wes, history tells us they'll drop a surprise game and my money is on the road against the Mules in Week 5. I also think the Ephs finally get over the hump and take down the Cardinals this year for the first time since '21. Wesleyan hasn't won back-to-back games against Trinity since 1997-'98, so I'm betting those three games as the losses for the reigning champs.

As I mentioned, I think Middlebury drops the opener to Wes while Trinity finally gets their revenge over the Panthers. Their third loss is the season finale against the Jumbos.

Here are my 2025 predictions:

1. Trinity 8-1 - They won't be better than either of the last two Bantam squads, but with the loss of returning talent across the league (especially from the other contenders) the Trinity machine will have enough firepower led by Nolan O'Brien and Tyler DiNapoli to nearly run the table and capture their 20th NESCAC Championship.

2. Middlebury 6-3 - The Panthers are one of the only teams with a proven returning signal caller in Brian Moran and they have weapons on offense. However, they lose a ton in the trenches on offense and defense. I don't see them beating Trinity three years in a row and they'll split with the other contenders.

2. Wesleyan 6-3 - The Cards lost the most talent in the league. The cupboard isn't exactly bare but following their storybook season last year I see Wes reverting to their usual six wins (with their annual head-scratching loss thrown in).
 
2. Williams 6-3 - Williams could have had 7 wins last season and I think the Ephs improve on their win total from a year ago. The loss of Owen McHugh to injury will hurt but they've got enough on both sides of the ball to contend this year.

5. Colby 5-4 - The Mules are my surprise team. With a solid QB returning along with most of the pieces from a defense that finished second in the league last year I'm going out on a limb and predicting Colby to finish with their first winning season since 2005!

5. Tufts 5-4 - Another usual contender with huge graduation losses, especially at QB and in the secondary. The Jumbos will lose to the top teams and, similarly to Wes, will drop a stunner to a bottom tier program along the way.

7. Bates 4-5 - Another team on the rise; I think the Bobcats can ride Lynskey to their highest win total since 2014 but that's probably the top of the ceiling for them as a program.

8. Bowdoin 3-6 - Hammer has done a good job of recruiting so they should be able to replenish some of their graduation losses but I don't see them as any better than they were last year.

9. Amherst 1-8 - I'm not sold on Marek Hill. He was only a freshman last year, but 5 TDs with 8 INTs doesn't instill a lot of confidence, especially without much returning talent on that roster. Maybe they surprise a team or two but I think it's another year in, or near, the basement for the Mammoths.

9. Hamilton 1-8 - The Continentals were only competitive in 3 of their 8 losses last year. They also graduated all but three starters on defense... on the bright side, they had the worst defense in the league last year so maybe the new guys will be better!? Let's throw them an upset win.

Below are the NESCAC score projections for Week 1 followed by the respective national ranking based on the Bill Connelly SP+ computer model rating (last years final rankings included in parenthesis):

Amherst 20.0 - Bates 19.9
Trinity 35.2 - Colby 8.3
Tufts 30.9 - Bowdoin 14.6
Wesleyan 23.7 - Middlebury 17.9
Williams 31.2 - Hamilton 9.3

29. Trinity (31)
68. Wesleyan (74)
73. Tufts (79)
82. Middlebury (87)
89. Williams (91)
140. Colby (130)
159. Bowdoin (152)
173. Amherst (180)
186. Bates (174)
194. Hamilton (190)

As you'd expect with a computer model, the accuracy improves once there's actual data from games to pull from so this week especially is more of a crap shoot. TWith that said, the computer sees Amherst-Bates as a virtual pick 'em. Sorry, blitzBowdoinblitz but it agrees with nescac1 and NESCACFball24/7 on the Jumbos and Polar Bears. The Game of the Week between Midd @ Wes should be a good one while the Bants and Ephs are expected to take care of business rather easily.

We shall see! Looking forward to Saturday.

My take on the roster limits is that player 85 through 120 at Trinity, Wesleyan, Tufts, etc. isn't going to make any difference at any NESCAC program. The kids just want to be a part of the team and they should have every right to show up and practice and have the experience of being a college football player.

The same teams that were good when we had roster limits are the same teams that were good without them. Similarly, the same teams that were bad when we had roster limits are the same teams that were bad without them.

Devanney made several excellent points against roster limits when he joined nescacman's podcast. If you haven't listened, take a minute (it comes at the 57:34 mark):


Also, Frank Rossi of the @D3FBHuddle podcast has reported that a NESCAC parents group is ready to sue the league over football roster limits:

"Sept. 7, 2025 — After attempts to work with the NESCAC to change the conference's policy on roster limits for football teams at NESCAC schools were met with resistance and new, potentially stricter policies, a group of NESCAC parents has indicated to "In the (D3FB) Huddle" ("ITH") their intent to potentially sue the NESCAC conference for discriminatory practices toward football players and programs, according to a point person for the group of parents, who spoke with ITH on the condition of anonymity.

Until 2025, the NESCAC had a roster limit for football of just 75 players, but that limit was not imposed during COVID-impacted years when fifth-year players were prevalent. In April 2025, though, the NESCAC made two important changes: 1) for the first time ever, starting in 2026, the NESCAC will participate in the NCAA Division 3 Football Playoffs; and 2) the roster limit for football would be re-established to 84 players maximum per team and would be enforced again starting in the 2025-2026 school year. Over 300 parents signed off on letters provided to ITH, in which they implored the NESCAC to change this policy. One letter stated, "We are writing on behalf of and in solidarity with families and players at every NESCAC school who will be hurt by the newly mandated roster limit of 84 football players. With some insight into the consequences of this arbitrary and capricious action, we hope you will come to understand the insensitive and discriminatory nature of this policy." Furthermore, the parents stated, "Now, weeks before preseason begins, these players face the prospect of losing not only their place on the team but also the community, purpose, and structure that football provides. Football is not only an extracurricular activity for them; it is a central part of their identity, a driver of academic discipline, and a foundation for friendships and support networks that extend far beyond the field."

The group claims based on empirical data, that roster limits have not worked even when they were imposed. "If the goal is competitive parity, the historical record is clear: Roster Caps Do Not Work. Over the last 20 years, NESCAC Football championships have been consistently captured by the same small group of programs, regardless of roster size....In the four post-COVID seasons, when the previous 75-person roster limit was removed, championships went primarily to the same group: Middlebury (.5), Trinity (1.5), Williams (1), and Wesleyan (1). Four NESCAC football programs, Bates, Bowdoin, Hamilton and Tufts, have not won a league championship since 2000. Roster limits do not drive parity in performance or outcome. They have not had an impact on league balance."

Despite the parents' call to action, the NESCAC Presidents last week reaffirmed the 84-person roster limit for football while still instituting no roster limits on any other sports. In addition, according to sources, the NESCAC is fearful that schools that had the most parental involvement in the letters cited above will voluntarily breach the limits this year, leading to the Presidents requiring their NESCAC Athletic Directors to create and agree on sanctions for roster limit violations. Those new sanctions may be announced as early as this Tuesday.

According to ITH's anonymous source, "[N]o one's clear whether the sanctions are going to be heavy and draconian. If you carry more than 84 players...then you might be precluded from postseason play. You [might not] be eligible for a championship. We don't know what the sanctions will be. On the other end of the spectrum, it could be a wrist slap. It could be window dressing. Who knows?"

In one of the letters, the parents made clear their intentions (in boldfaced text) if the roster limit was not removed, let alone the potential for additional sanctions: "We wish to make clear that we intend to swiftly pursue all appropriate avenues until this decision is reversed. We hope for quick and amicable resolution without the need for legal action." The second letter, signed by about half of the 300 parents involved, suggests similar potential issues: "Breach of Implied Contract: The recruitment process and prior season participation created reasonable expectations that roster cuts may violate [law], potentially exposing NESCAC institutions to civil action and reputational damage." The ITH source stated that many of the parents are indeed prepared to take legal action if the conference does not reverse their present stance.

The legal theories become clearer when reviewing the second letter, in which those parents raised Title IX and specific legal concerns. "Implementing roster limits disproportionately affecting football compared to other sports may violate equal protection requirements under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act....Current federal regulations state that 'college athletic departments with $50,000,000 or less in revenue...or that do not have any revenue-generating sports should not disproportionately reduce scholarship opportunities or roster spots...' NESCAC institutions appear to fall under these protections." Interestingly, the House vs. NCAA settlement affecting Division I sports includes roster limits for ALL sports, according to a recent NCAA governance FAQ document: "If a Division I institution opts in to the settlement, the roster limits apply to all NCAA-sponsored teams at the institution. For a Division I sport on a Division II or III campus, if the institution opts in to the settlement, the roster limits apply to all Division I sports."

There have been other NCAA Division 3 conferences with varying types of football roster limits, but locating current such limits is not easy since COVID often forced the need to allow larger rosters. With the House vs. NCAA settlement, there is also an expectation that more would-be Division I football players may need to drop down to lower divisions because of the inability to walk onto Division I teams as easily as they once could. Yet, according to ITH's source, some NESCAC Presidents are not going to allow that to take place for their own reasons at their schools. "[T]here's a legendary story about, I think it was the Amherst president at one point saying the reason why we want roster limits, this is going back to the '70s and the '80s when they put the 75-person-roster limit in place, was just because we don't want more football players on campus. It's that simple. And the total absence of any justification or explanation around why football is being singled out, it raises a lot of questions. And I think there are a handful of very powerful, highly endowed institutions in the NESCAC — Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, they just don't want more football players. But that is as close to justification as anybody has been able to come because the league is otherwise silent on why this seems to be important."

According to the source, the NESCAC Presidents have not raised their own Title IX or budget justifications during discussions related to this roster limit policy, and they have not responded specifically to the parents' Title IX and federal law arguments in the most recent re-affirmation of football roster limits. He includes that the parents' next steps are to see the new sanctions later this week and to see which of the about 300 parents are willing to help fund the litigation they are intent to undertake to reverse the policy. "[W]e've signaled to all of the parents that the next step is likely to be legal." Whether or not that happens appears to be squarely in the hands of the NESCAC Athletic Directors and Presidents this week."



I am of the opinion that a concern over Title IX legal action is the only reason we have a 9th game and playoff participation in the league, starting next season. My guess is roster limits will be short lived and the league will enforce a game day roster limit but allow schools to have "practice squads" for kids who just want to be part of the team but are ineligible to play/dress on game days.

Quote from: nescac1 on September 04, 2025, 12:59:34 PMI think for ANY position save for QB, a four star recruit with FBS offers would be an absolute lock to be a major star at NESCAC if healthy and engaged.  But QB is a position that is incredibly difficult to evaluate, probably the toughest in all of sports.  Heck, even after four years of high-level college tape, NFL teams routinely miss out on QBs who end up starring on the biggest stage or draft total busts with top-three picks.  Things like how you react to defensive pressure, how fast you can learn a new offensive system, how quickly you read the field, and what kind of leader you are can be really difficult to ascertain based on watching someone sling it in a relatively simple scheme against potentially overmatched high school kids.  It's not simply a matter of being bigger/stronger/faster/more nimble like D1 recruits at other positions.  And the returning Trinity QBs, who presumably have talent just by virtue of being Trinity recruits, have the advantage of one or multiple years in the system, instead of just a few weeks. 

If memory serves Trinity has brought in a few other acclaimed D1 QB transfers over the years (granted, not four star recruits) who were not immediate starters. 

The aforementioned Jake Robbins was a transfer from West Virginia. He played mop-up duty in four games but only attempted 5 career passes.

Jordan Vazzano transferred from URI. He played in 9 total games though the vast majority of his snaps came in 2018 when he led Trinity in total offense. Over his career he accounted for 19 total touchdowns and just 6 picks.

Billy Schweitzer transferred from UVA in '03 but wasn't eligible until '04. He split time with Josh Pitcher in '04 and '05. The Bantams went undefeated both seasons and Schweitzer passed for just over 1,000 yards and 9 TDs in 13 appearances.

There may have been others but those are the three that I can recall who transferred from D1 schools.

Quote from: lumbercat on September 03, 2025, 10:03:58 PM

Quote from: Trin9-0 on September 03, 2025, 02:13:30 PM

Quote from: GroundandPound on September 03, 2025, 01:21:35 PMCongratulations to Trinity, Wesleyan, Williams, Colby and Bates on posting 2025 Rosters at least 10 days before the first game :-)
https://bantamsports.com/sports/football/roster
https://athletics.wesleyan.edu/sports/football/roster
https://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/football/roster
https://colbyathletics.com/sports/football/roster
https://gobatesbobcats.com/sports/football/roster

Looks like Charlie was right about the Bantam QB room as neither Jake Robbins, Vincent Ferrara, nor Bobby Wiesenhahn are on the '25 roster. Robbins was a senior last year so that's not a complete surprise depending on his remaining eligibility.

Aronson was a 4-Star QB prospect by Rivals and had at least four other FBS offers coming out of high school. There's not a long track record of successful D1 to NESCAC transfers, but if he turns out to be the real deal then Trinity would be in a great spot at quarterback for the next three seasons.

Yes 9-0-- I questioned the accuracy of Chucks post also but let me stand corrected on that, he was right.
I doubted Devanney would be that ruthless, maybe these kids are begging him him for a chance to play at Trinity..... but I doubt it.
He recruits these kids and then cuts them. Not even like D1 where they can keep kids they recruit. Devanney knows he has the strictest roster limitations in the NCAA and he consistently over recruits. Love to know that he tells these kids to get them in the fold and then he cuts them.
He's like an airline that overbooks.

Let's settle down just a little bit, Lumber. All we know for sure is that the kids aren't on the roster. Robbins graduated so it's understandable that he didn't coming back for a grad school year if he wasn't likely to play and that's if he even had any eligibility left. As for Ferrara and Wiesenhahn they may have quit the team for all we know.

Whatever the circumstances, with the return to roster limitations in the NESCAC this won't be the only time kids who were recruited don't last. And that'll be the story across the top teams in the league. Your obsession with Devanney is inching closer to nescacman's infatuation with Aaron Kelton.

Quote from: GroundandPound on September 03, 2025, 01:21:35 PMCongratulations to Trinity, Wesleyan, Williams, Colby and Bates on posting 2025 Rosters at least 10 days before the first game :-)
https://bantamsports.com/sports/football/roster
https://athletics.wesleyan.edu/sports/football/roster
https://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/football/roster
https://colbyathletics.com/sports/football/roster
https://gobatesbobcats.com/sports/football/roster

Looks like Charlie was right about the Bantam QB room as neither Jake Robbins, Vincent Ferrara, nor Bobby Wiesenhahn are on the '25 roster. Robbins was a senior last year so that's not a complete surprise depending on his remaining eligibility.

Aronson was a 4-Star QB prospect by Rivals and had at least four other FBS offers coming out of high school. There's not a long track record of successful D1 to NESCAC transfers, but if he turns out to be the real deal then Trinity would be in a great spot at quarterback for the next three seasons.