FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[MapleBBQChicken]

Can't start a post today without shouting out the Mules! Always fun to see Trinity with a losing record.

Being objective, based on the games we've watched (and we've watched 3+ of the 5 so far) plus analyzing the stats plus speaking with our reporters that were at games we have not watched completely yet, outside of Wes and Colby, that was (by far) the worst weekend of NESCAC football we have ever seen.

Boring/predictable play, bad teams, lack of playmakers, sloppiness (missed tackles, dropped balls, bad turnovers) seemed to rule the day. Maybe it's first game jitters, maybe it's all the new players (definitely a significant number of first time starters), maybe it's no preseason games, but the level of play was not good. Many of our preseason question marks and areas of concerns are still an issue.

I agree with this. I watched much more of the Midd-Wes game than anything else, but I got this impression from the snippets I saw of the games in Lewiston and Brunswick, as well as the 8 turnovers in the Colby-Trinity boxscore.

Wesleyan could have easily scored another 2/3 TDs had passes been on their mark. It was 31-17 but it was not even that close. More on that game later but their defensive front 7 completely manhandled the new MID offensive line limiting them to 28 yards rushing on 24 attempts and constantly pressuring Brian Moran.

I'll congratulate Wesleyan on a win that they clearly earned. I do agree Wesleyan missed some opportunities, but taking advantage of those chances is part of what makes a good team good. I would also add that Middlebury left things on the table as well, starting with their opening drive where 2nd and goal from the 3 only led to 3 points. And then a third quarter pick six was a complete back-breaker when the Midd offense looked for a moment like they had something going for the first time since that opening possession.

Middlebury's offensive line was a glaring issue (not easy to say as a former Midd OL myself). Four of the five up front for the Panthers are new starters, including three sophomores, and the run game was just not there. I do think Middlebury will get better, and their passing offense looked good when Moran had time. Middlebury threw for 261 yards, and despite the poor rushing, Wesleyan actually only gained 7 more yards than Midd on the day.

Wesleyan looks like the team to beat through week 1, but we all know how quickly things change in this conference, and I don't think anyone will be undefeated. Looking forward to 8 more weeks.

[quicksilver]

Being objective, based on the games we've watched (and we've watched 3+ of the 5 so far) plus analyzing the stats plus speaking with our reporters that were at games we have not watched completely yet, outside of Wes and Colby, that was (by far) the worst weekend of NESCAC football we have ever seen...

100% agree. I was at the Bowdoin-Tufts game where both teams played poorly although the Jumbos, employing two new QBs, who showed flashes but not much consistency, were able to do the bare minimum needed to come away with the win.

The Polar Bears went with an unusually young line-up, with the top 3 or so defensive performers being first years and the next bunch being sophomores. It made me wonder whether preseason should start earlier and whether there should be more exhibition games . . And throughout the NESCAC, we see brand new or inexperienced QBs getting the starting nod . . This year is perhaps unusual due to the back-up of fifth year players in the fall of 2024 that slowed the development of younger players but regardless more of a glide pathway to the regular season is probably in order.

[lumbercat]

Being objective, based on the games we've watched (and we've watched 3+ of the 5 so far) plus analyzing the stats plus speaking with our reporters that were at games we have not watched completely yet, outside of Wes and Colby, that was (by far) the worst weekend of NESCAC football we have ever seen...

100% agree. I was at the Bowdoin-Tufts game where both teams played poorly although the Jumbos, employing two new QBs, who showed flashes but not much consistency, were able to do the bare minimum needed to come away with the win.

The Polar Bears went with an unusually young line-up, with the top 3 or so defensive performers being first years and the next bunch being sophomores. It made me wonder whether preseason should start earlier and whether there should be more exhibition games . . And throughout the NESCAC, we see brand new or inexperienced QBs getting the starting nod . . This year is perhaps unusual due to the back-up of fifth year players in the fall of 2024 that slowed the development of younger players but regardless more of a glide pathway to the regular season is probably in order.

Gimme a break......Bowdoin has a young team so now we should start preseason earlier and have more exhibition games (also known as pre season scrimmages).
Every program has to rebuild within the Nescac system - it's the same for everybody my friend, but since it's Bowdoin let's change the system.