Bartman, curious on your thoughts on Coach DeWall. Are you starting to maybe turn up the heat on his seat? Seems like a good guy and obviously a solid coach but he also has some Swanstrom in him where he tends to struggle in more meaningful games. Obviously they beat Ithaca and won the league last year but if you look at the body of work it is overall disappointing in conference. I had to come to terms with this during the Swanstrom era and eventually found myself looking for change to try and get over the in league hump, he did get us over the hump with Cortland which was felt great the first two years.. but I digress. Not throwing any shade or anything like that just very curious on what you think!

Quote from: Bartman on September 30, 2025, 08:46:23 AMAll this talk of gray jerseys....how boring...give me the pumpkin all orange for Hobart this Saturday against RPI...pants, jerseys and helmets....and in some cases cleats as well.
On another topic, I just read about the Hope Flying Dutchmen's game and it made pine for the old Dutchmen of Union. Now when I recharge my phone , I think of Union    

Rochester - 13
RPI - 28

Buff St - 31
Hillbert - 11

Hobart 14
Ithaca 24

SLU - 17
Union - 16

Quote from: Machiavelli on September 23, 2025, 12:54:28 PMOk, before my predictions, I just took a look at the Top 25, and I hope someone here can help me get this straight. Ithaca lost to the #3 team in the country. They then proceeded to throttle Alfred who beat Hobart who beat Utica. The result is Ithaca getting no Top 25 votes while Utica gets 3. The math ain't mathing. Me thinks one of the voters submitted their ballot for this week last Friday.

In any case...

Mach's Astonishingly Brilliant Week 4 Predictions:

Rochester - 17
RPI - 35
This is one of the 2 LL games of the week. I really liked what I saw from RPI last week. They looked much improved from the first 2 weeks against a very tough Brockport. RPI decided not to show up after the 11 hour drive to Roch-Vegas last year and a total bender at H(*)(*)TERS. They will avenge that barf-fest from a year ago and stick it to the Bumblebees at home.

Buffalo St - 6
Dilbert - 8
This pick is mostly out of spite for Buff State getting destroyed by friggin Alfred State last week. I'm pulling for the Dilberts to get their first ever W, even though I think it's less than likely.

Hobart - 17
Ithaca - 34
Hobart is flying high after last week's W, but Ithaca basically had a bye week against Dilbert and will more than likely be in a better spot. I like Ithaca at home by a bit.

St. Lawrence - 14
Union - 28
I'm not entirely sure how to feel about this one. Union SHOULD win, possibly even by a lot, but I don't know how I feel about the douchmen yet. I'd stay relatively traditional here and Union handles them.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Carry on...

This feels very spot on. I was really disappointed to see the Bombers get physically dominated and outclassed in every aspect of the game and it had me worried about what was to come for the rest of the season.

Last week's result against Alfred did give me a lot of optimism for the rest of the season especially with teams like Cortland, Union and RPI seeing like they are some what "down" compared to previous years. I think it also shows the difference between the elite in D3FB and teams that are good. I do think that IC has all the talent to win the LL and obviously the showdown with Hobart will have the winner in the driver seat for the conference. There is a lot of young talent on IC right now so these next few weeks of game experience are going to be massive for the first time starters.

Quote from: Jonny Utah on September 15, 2025, 11:34:25 AMAnd back to football, it was nice to see Ithaca get their act together.  Maybe JHU really is just that good.  Still hard to watch as Ithaca has been very competitive with them the past 3 years. 

Ithaca also has a few new faces on offense and defense.  Two freshman starters on defense and overall 16 of the 22 starters are underclassmen.

Hilbert next week should be a good chance for experience for the younger players and then on the the Finger Lakes Fiesta with Hobart.

BUFFALO ST. (7).  v.  BROCKPORT(45)
SLU (21)           v.  OLIVET(16)
ALFRED(14).        v.  HOBART(29)
ITHACA(22).        v.  JOHNS HOPKINS(31)
SUSQUEHANNA(41).   v.  UNION(20)
St.VINCENT (42).   v.  HILBERT(10)
RPI (28).          v   WPI(10)
ROCHESTER(24).     v.  OLIVET(17)

Does anyone know if there have been any FBS or FCS transfers into any of the LL teams? I feel like there are usually a few in any given offseason which I always find interesting. Curious if anyone is up to speed on this.

A bit of a discussion question for the group, would you all consider this a down year for the LL? Ithaca, RPI and Union all having relative down years and Hobart being bounced in the first round. Curious to hear everyone's thoughts!

Union 27 - St. Lawrence 13: SLU can be a tough place to play after some long travel. The score is closer than the game actually is

RPI 22 - Rochester 9: RPI defensive staff puts together a great game plan for the UR rushing attack and RPI wins ugly.

Mercyhurst 42 - Buffalo St 14: I don't know anything about Mercyhurst but if they are are a new FCS team this could be ugly... or not? I really have no idea but still too much for the Bengals.

Ithaca 21 - Hobart 10: Ithaca continues the domination over the Pumpkins and continue to reign supreme over the Finger Lakes. Ithaca defense forces a few turnovers and the offense rides JLO and J Williams to a gritty victory.

FYI - Ithaca has a much needed bye this week and travels to Milton to take on Curry on 9/28

Nothing quite like week 1 predictions season

Hopkins 27, Ithaca 17 - As much as this pains me I think with a bunch of new starters it is going to take the Bombers a little bit to get going. My guess is they are going to rely on the 1-2 punch of Osborne and Williams to carry the load. I know they have some young speedsters (sophomores I believe) so this will be good experience for them. I expect them to play well on defense but the experience of Hopkins help them pull through on Butterfield (turf = not my Butterfield)

Hobart 28 Alfred 10- I think IC said it perfectly with respect to these two teams

Utica 23 Union 24 - I think Union gets it done on the road. Despite some new starters I think coaching makes the difference here.

Rochester 21 Olivet 18 - truthfully I don't know anything about Olivet but Rochester controls the clock with their running game and plays tough defense to get their season off to a strong start.

La-Crosse 38 RPI 20 - I think RPI hangs tough in the first half but La-Crosse pulls away late behind a big midwestern offensive line. I do think RPI has a chance to put up more points than we think.

Endicott 35 St.Lawrence 14 - I think the long travel for Endicott makes them start slow and allows St. Lawrence to even have a slight lead at halftime. Endicott is a talented team and the experience from last year allows them to pull away in 2H

Brockport 42 Buff St 9 - Tough start for the Buffs but hopefully they show flashes of getting back to being competitive throughout the game

Quote from: IC798891 on September 03, 2024, 02:52:26 PMPredictions

Hopkins 31, Ithaca 14. Bombers hang tough, but inexperience in the back of the D and a new O-line prove too much to overcome

Hobart 23, Alfred 3. I am lower on the Statesmen than most (I think they are a half step below the other three contenders), but Alfred has really backslid as a program.

Utica 17, Union 14 Pioneers haven't been super dominant against LL teams, but I think home field tips the scales

Rochester 24, Olivet 20 Do we get the Daniel Papantonis that can look unstoppable like he did in 2022? Or do the injuries that took much of his 2023 season render him a good, if limited back? It's week 1, let's be optimistic

La-Crosse 35, RPI 13 Don't think RPI has the magical mystery dust up in Wisconson

Endicott 38, St. Lawrence 7 Sorry Saints, but Endicott does not get enough national love for their season last year, so I'm taking it out on you

Brockport 55, Buffalo State 3 I miss plucky Buff State, and wish for a safe return to that status eventually. But Brockport's got to get ready for Susquehanna in Week 2, so I don't expect the Bengals to get much quarter here

Does anyone have any insights into if there have been any D1,FC, or D2 transfers into any of the LL teams? Does anyone know if there is any interesting commits during this recruiting cycle?

From what I can see from the Bombers, it appears the JLO is back for a 5th year and should be the front runner for LL OPOY and a few returning OL and DL. As usual, Bombers will probably need to re-load in the defensive back 7 especially with the graduation of Slewka. However, IC always has a ton of depth at those positions so I feel ok about the defense. Hopefully on offense they can get back to attacking the field vertically in the passing game.

Quote from: IC798891 on December 07, 2023, 03:37:40 PM

Quote from: ICAlum16 on December 07, 2023, 12:12:41 PM

Quote from: IC798891 on December 07, 2023, 11:51:26 AM
Dan Swanstrom named the HC at Cornell

Let the games begin. I would not be surprised if Terp is gone to be his DC by Christmas. Again, I don't fault him for this at all. Excited for the Ithaca coaching search. I should note this is all speculation on my end and don't have any actual sources telling me anything about Ithaca.

I doubt this will be the case

Why don't you think this would be the case? I will lay out why I think it makes sense,

In Swanstrom's only stint as a head coach he picked Terp to be his DC. They now have history at two places and had a tremendous amount of success while working together at Ithaca. College coaching is all about who you know and having your guys. Swanstrom only knows Mike Terp as his defensive coordinator. Terp has continued to prove himself as a coach and is quite literally still in Ithaca, it requires no change of life for Mike and his family and it will absolutely be a step up in pay. He is right in Swanstrom's backyard. How many times have you seen coaches hop between jobs and bring their guys with them, it happens all the time. Reeder followed Swanstrom from Ithaca to Penn. Clearly they know how to work together and know the area and how to recruit kids to the area. I think it only makes sense. At this point and as I think about it, I would be more surprised if Terp doesn't leave than if he does.

Quote from: IC798891 on December 07, 2023, 11:51:26 AM
Dan Swanstrom named the HC at Cornell

Let the games begin. I would not be surprised if Terp is gone to be his DC by Christmas. Again, I don't fault him for this at all. Excited for the Ithaca coaching search. I should note this is all speculation on my end and don't have any actual sources telling me anything about Ithaca.

I think we are on the verge of a coaching search on the South Hill. Dan Swanstrom is going to take the Cornell HC job and with Bob Chesney to JMU, I think coach terp is going to be in demand else where. Nothing confirmed but the writing is on the wall.

I also would not blame him whatsoever if he decided to take a Cornell DC job or JMU DB/LB job. Keep your eyes and ears open over the next few weeks.

I think this day in age everyone should just assume that their coach is going to jump at the next best opportunity especially when you are a young up and coming coach on the D3 level. I think the days of guys like Coach Welch and Vosburgh from SJF and Audino are over. It is unfortunate that we should all get accustom to seeing new faces but it is the state of college football in 2023.

I am now expecting and waiting for the day Coach Terp makes the jump for a DC or HC job in a higher division sometime in the next few years and that is OK. I think if anything, it is a testament to the quality of all the programs in the LL that higher level schools feel comfortable taking a "chance" on a D3 coach.

I would love to see one of my former coaches and current Willams DC, Mark McDonough, get a chance. He is an awesome coach that was a finalist for the IC job back when Swanstrom was hired and is an incredible defensive coach, motivator and recruiter. He is familiar with the area, the schools and the conference and I think is someone that would be in it for the long haul.

I know I have been absent from the boards from the past few weeks so im late but seeing Cortland with a chance at going to the natty just does not sit right with me. They obviously have a great team, especially on offense, and just got a great draw of games but as a life long IC fan, seeing them have their best season in school history makes me unwell.

Lastly, how do you all follow the LL recruiting circus? I usually just see RTs on Twitter so curious if there is a better source of news. Anyway, hope you all are having a good holiday season!

Quote from: IC798891 on November 27, 2023, 09:30:23 AM
Ithaca ran into a buzzsaw. No9t much to say about that game.

But look, if you'd told me before the season that:

Ithaca's leading rusher from last year would only play two games
Ithaca's QB1 would miss the second half of the season
Ithaca's leading returning receiver from 2022 would only catch 11 passes

There is no planet on which I'd assume they won the LL, let alone a road playoff game.

Everything really hinges on who is coming back for IC next year.

Sam Kline, the leading receiver, has another year of eligibility, as does Jalen Leonard Osborne. Jake Williams should have an injury redshirt if he wants. That's some solid skill players to put around a young QB. Especially important as the defense loses its two best players, Slywka and Stola

That was tough to watch. Just like last year against NCC we were completely outmatched upfront on both sides of the ball which is a bit discouraging but I suppose that is the way the cookie crumbles. It is frustrating that it appears the ceiling for any LL or E8 team in the playoffs is the quarterfinals because of the distribution of talent across all the different schools.

Heading into next year they need to let Schumm air it out more, we became a little too one dimensional this year. I would not be surprised to see at least one of JLO or Jake Williams back next year. Especially since JLO also runs track maybe that is enough to entice him to use his fifth year.

Regardless, congrats to IC on a great season they faced a lot of adversity and showed that when the going gets tough, the Bombers get going. Also, congrats to Union on what I believe is their beast season in the last 15 years or so. Excited for the rest of the D3 playoffs and to see how Cortland does!