FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[nescac1]

Just an absolute instant classic in Williamstown and whoever loses this game will be despondent, but both teams have looked really good today.  A very cleanly-played game, lots of huge plays by guys on both teams in all three phases, both teams really came to play.  Stellar play by both quarterbacks.  Nolan O'Brien is so damn slippery and is just killing Williams, but going the other way, Montesano and Falls have killed Trinity with their size.  Feels right that it's going to OT and feels like one of those three guys will make the winning play.  . 

[nescac1]

Uggggh and Johansen (who had been so, so good all day long) fumbled trying to make an extra-effort play on the first play of OT.  Very tough break and Trinity wins it on the next play.  Absolute heart-breaker for the Ephs who had plenty of chances to win this one and were hurt by a few big plays down the field, really felt like they were in control in the second half but to Trinity's credit they kept coming with big plays by their speedy WRs, and Trinity's LBs did an awesome job bottling up the the Ephs' running attack, there were almost no YACs all game long. 

One big concern for Williams is that Holden Gehring missed most of the game, not sure what the issue is, but it's like losing two guys for the Ephs and the pass coverage downfield definitely suffered. 

Both QBs answered a lot of questions - Johansen can clearly launch it and is a true dual-threat, and Carroll was absolutely on target all game and certainly cemented himself as a quality starter for Trinity.

Tough, tough loss to swallow for Williams but the good news is they are in a massive tie for first and certainly look like a team who can compete for the title along with virtually the entire league at this point (minus Hamilton and the Maine teams, I'd say). 

On a positive note I predicted that Falls would have a huge game at some point this year and he already made that prediction come true, he and Montesano (the best TE in the league by a WIDE margin) are going to really do some damage down the field over the course of their careers, as both are only sophs. 

[Former CAC Coach]

A six-way tie for first place in the NESCAC after three games - no remaining undefeated teams mean a wild season is going to be even more puzzling to figure out week to week.

Amherst looked like its old self in the first half - dominating defense and opportunistic offense with some big chunk plays....not sure the same offense showed up in the 2nd half though.  Great win for Coach Mills!

[Brady12]

What a game in Williamstown! Anyone at Tufts/Amherst with some insight?  Is Amherst for real or was Tufts overrated?  Really a season of any given Saturday anyone can win. 

[Brady12]

A six-way tie for first place in the NESCAC after three games - no remaining undefeated teams mean a wild season is going to be even more puzzling to figure out week to week.

Amherst looked like its old self in the first half - dominating defense and opportunistic offense with some big chunk plays....not sure the same offense showed up in the 2nd half though.  Great win for Coach Mills!

You beat me to post, good to hear Amherst is back

[JEFFFAN]

Wow ... Amherst might actually have a football team again!  Let's see how the rest of the year plays out, of course, but it certainly is encouraging.

[lumbercat]

Another great day of NESCAC football.

Bates battled the Birds hard in Lewiston at the outset but then the unthinkable.....Bates best player Sergio Beltran went down with an injury that looks serious. A season changer in Lewiston. The Bobcats continued to hang in but the Bates D wore down in the second half and the Birds prevailed.

Observations on the Birds---great depth in offensive backfield, a big physical WR which we have come to expect from them. O line ordinary and smaller on my eye test. Some good athletes on D.
Amherst QB will be a handful for them as will Johansen at Williams. I say the Little 3 will be a dogfight.

I've seen 6 QBs in person early in the year after 3 games....I know it's way too soon but Amherst QB is very good with huge upside.

No question whatsoever that EJ Mills is the the best coach in this league. If he was in the Trinity job the Bants record would be better with more rings. If Devanney was at Amherst in Mill's shoes he might have ended up as the HC at New Haven if admissions and administration bailed on him like they did on Mills.

On a trivial note- glad to see Wes dump those stupid matte helmets. The shiny black helmets looked great. Wish Bates would do the same. Maybe I'm the only guy who hates the matte look.....trivial as I said.

What a beautiful New England day to watch a small college football game in the beautiful Maine sunshine.

They had a great deal at Garcelon Field today which took a little of the sting out of the Bates loss.....A fresh Maine Lobster roll with Fries for $25- was really good.

[NESCACFball24/7]

Is it just me or does the league overall just look less talented than it has in the past? The last 3-4 years I had be thoroughly impressed by some of the top end talent these schools had pulled in and this last year I noticed it a little bit but this year there seems to have been a significant drop off.

[RamapoRUFan]

NM,

Enjoy all the podcasts.  Quick question: will you be at the Wesleyan-Hamilton game next weekend?  If so, I would love to connect live and compare notes on the '25 season.

[Nescacman]

NM,

Enjoy all the podcasts.  Quick question: will you be at the Wesleyan-Hamilton game next weekend?  If so, I would love to connect live and compare notes on the '25 season.

Ram/RU Fan...We sent you a DM but we can answer here as well. Yes, we will arrive in the tailgate area at opening...~9:30 AM. we park in our normal spot along Foss Hill. Just ask for us...we're not hard to find. Our fellow fans will point you in the right direction. Look forward to comparing notes on the 2025 campaign.

And to all of our fellow Boardsters who just can't get enough of NESCACMAN, we will be providing the color commentary on the webcast for this Saturday's Wes/Hamilton game working alongside Wes play-by-play announcer, Chris Grace. It will indeed be an honor to sub for AD/Coach Mike Whalen. Should be fun.

NM 

[Nescacman]

2025 NESCACMAN Week 3 Power Rankings

Welcome to the Week3 Power Rankings for September 27, 2025.

NESCACMAN picks resulted in a 4-1 record in Week3, and we now stand at 11-4 on the year. Our lone loss this week was the Lord Mammoths of Amherst upsetting the Original Elephants of Tufts.

The Bantams move into our top spot in the NESCACMAN Consortium rankings based on their big win over Williams in overtime. In other action, Wesleyan played a strong second half and beat the Kitties on the road, Hamilton wins as expected over Bowdoin and Middlebury gets it done against Colby.

We can't remember the last time there were no undefeated teams in the NESCAC after 3 weeks. There are now 6 teams at the top of the NESCAC standings tied at 2-1. We think that we'll have a 4-way tie at the top after next weekend is over.

Some details on "NESCACMAN"...we share a love for all things NESCAC, but especially football. We love everything about NESCAC...the history, traditions, rivalries, quirky rituals, passion, student-athletes, coaches, students, parents, alumni, tailgates, fields of play, breakfast spots, post-game meetups et cetera. Each week, we will present our power rankings and then later in the week an overview, prediction and spread on every NESCAC game. There will also be some special reports along the way. And of course, we publish our weekly "9 Weeks: A NESCAC Football Podcast" where we speak with the coaches, interview key student-athlete playmakers in the league, give our weekly power rankings, and of course, pick each game.

Speaking about the podcast, we co-host "Nine Weeks: A NESCAC Football Podcast" along with Chris Grace, the longtime play-by-play voice of the Wesleyan Football Cardinals. Available weekly, the podcast is available on YouTube and Spotify. Please follow us and take a listen. Season 2, Episode 3  is available now (featuring Tufts Coach Jay Civetti and Williams QB Owen Johansen). Season 2, Episode 4 will be available later this week and will feature two more amazing guests. Should be another great watch/listen. We encourage you to check it out.

Here are our rankings as we head into Week #4:

1). Hartford State Bantams (Record: 2-1; Last Week Rank: 4; 8 first place votes): As we predicted, the Bantams were too much for the Ephs as they won their 4th straight against Williams. Excellent NESCAC game between two well-coached, very good football teams. We have the Bantam's ranked first based on the quality of their wins. Fourth straight year they have score 30+ points against Williams. Hartford State jumped out to a quick 14-point lead before Williams tied it up in the 3rd quarter. The teams went back and forth before RB Tyler Dinapoli tied it up with a 1-yard run mid-way through the 4th quarter. Williams outgained Hartford State on the day as both teams had more than 400 yards of total offense. Key play in the game was a Williams fumble in the first OT. The Bantams held the vaunted Williams running game mostly in check on Saturday. However, Williams was able to move the ball through the air on the Hartford State secondary. QB Jaxon Carroll was efficient throwing for more than 300 yards, tossing a TDs, and not turning the ball over for the Bants. LB Lincoln Moore lead the way again for Hartford State with 12 tackles. Hartford State hosts the Tufts Jumbo's in a key NESCAC battle next week.

2). Wesleyan Cardinals (Record: 2-1; Last Week Rank: 3; 2 first place votes): Wesleyan wins their second game of the season and played a very strong second half. Game was very "workmen-like" for the Cards and could have easily been a larger margin of victory. Offense had 351 yards of total offense and the defense played well holding UBates to 225 yards including only 32 yards on the ground (on 31 carries). Wesleyan was 10 of 14 on third down. Wesleyan had 5 sacks, an interception, and 9 TFL. The Kitties lost converted QB Sergio Beltran to an apparent serious ankle injury in the 1st quarter. The Cards held UBates RB Ryan Lynskey mostly in check.  Cards LB Chris DeMartino led the Wes defense with 4.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks. WRs Blake Newcomb and Dante Kelly were standouts for the Cards. Wes heads home to face Hamilton this Saturday in Middletown. 

3). Williams Purple Cows (Record: 2-1; Last Week Rank: 2): The Ephs lose a heartbreaker to Hartford State at home in OT. First loss in 2025 for the Ephs. Offense once again topped the 400-yard mark in total offense and racked up 466 total yards. This week the Ephs proved some doubters wrong by doing it by the air AND on the ground. QB Owen Johansen amassed 75 yards on the ground and threw for 311 yards and 3 TDs. Unfortunately, his fumble in OT was a key play and led to the Hartford State win in the first OT period.  Williams OL was very good again but did allow their first sack of the year. WR Zach Falls (another Duxbury/Williams student-athlete) starred for the Ephs with 165 yards receiving and a TD. The Ephs travel to Brunswick to face the Polar Bears this week.

4). Tufts Jumbo's (Record: 2-1; Last Week Rank: 1): Tough loss for the Jumbo's on the road at Amherst. Tufts struggled to get the running game going. The overall offense still looks like they are struggling to us. Amherst led 30-0 at the half. Defensively, Tufts didn't have an answer for Amherst QB Marek Hill and the Lord Mammoth offense. They failed to record a sack and only had 3 TFL. The Jumbo's will have a big test this week as they travel to Hartford to face the #1 ranked Bantams.

5). Middlebury (Record: 2-1; Last Week Rank: 5): Strong second half of the game carries Middlebury to a win over Colby. Story of this game was the Middlebury ground game (168 yards) and the Middlebury defense which had 2 interceptions, including a "pick 6" as time was winding down. They also had 3 sacks and a blocked field goal. RB Connor McClellan had two more rushing TDs and 152 yards rushing for Mid. The Panthers host the Amherst Lord Mammoths Saturday in Vermont.

6). Amherst Lord Mammoths (Record: 2-1; Last Week Rank: 8): The Lord Mammoths get their 2nd win of the season on a big first half against Tufts. They jumped out to a big 30-0 lead in the first half. The 30 points scored by Amherst was their largest offensive output since 2019 and their most first half points since 2015. DB/LB Luke Harmon led the Lord Mammoths in tackles with 9 in his return to action. Tufts tried for the furious comeback in the 2nd half but didn't have enough. The offense continued to play better, although, they only had 41 yards of offense in the second half. The Lord Mammoths travel to Middlebury this week to face the Panthers.

7). Colby Mules (Record: 1-2; Last Week Rank: 6): Another tough loss for the Colby Mules as they squandered a 10-0 half time lead against Middlebury. Colby's offense still does not appear to be hitting on all cylinders. They are 9th in scoring, 9th in total offense, have yet to throw for a touchdown pass and lead the NESCAC in INTs with 7. They ran the ball better in this game than they did in their first 2 games. On defense, they only had 1 sack, 3 tackles for loss, and did not force a turnover. Trying to figure out if Week1 against Hartford State was an anomaly. This week they travel to UBates to face the Kitties in the first leg of the 2025 C-B-B under the lights in Lewiston.

8). University of Bates Bobcats (Record: 1-2; Last Week Rank: 7): The Kitties lose their 2nd straight game. The running game could not get untracked for the 2nd straight game. QB Sergio Beltran was injured early in this one. If they lose Beltran for an extended amount of time, they will have to figure some things out. We are a bit perplexed on why there were more Wesleyan fans at this game then there were Kittie fans. Disappointing to say the least. The student and alumni base need to support and appreciate what Coach Coyne is doing in Lewiston. Defensively, they had problems stopping Wesleyan in the second half. The Kitties will host the Colby Mules this week in Lewiston.

9). Hamilton Continentals (Record: 1-2; Last Week Rank: 9): Hamilton records their first win of the year at home against Bowdoin. QB Luke Kurzum and the Continentals continue to throw the ball well. Hamilton leads the NESCAC in passing offense. Most yards from scrimmage (449 total yards) for the Continentals since 2018. WR Matt Kearns had 137 yards receiving and 2 TDs for Hamilton. The Conts travel to face Wesleyan this weekend.

10). Bowdoin Polar Bears (Record: 0-3; Last Week Rank: 10): Polars lost a tough one on the road against Hamilton. FY QB Soren Hummel started for Bowdoin. Former starting QB Michael Wolfendale was moved to receiver and was the Polars leading receiver. This week they host Williams in Brunswick.

2025 Week3 NESCACMAN Co-Offensive Players of the Week: RB Connor McClellan, Middlebury; QB Luke Kurzum, Hamilton

2025 Week3 NESCACMAN Defensive Player of the Week: LB Chris DeMartino, Wesleyan

2025 Week1 NESCACMAN Special Teams Player of the Week: P Efe Ilgar, Amherst

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[Trin9-0]

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

[nescac1]

Early season POTY rankings:

OPOTY: 1. Owen Johansen (leading the league in rushing yards, ypc, and passing efficiency, not bad, and seems to get better each week); 2. Nolan O'Brien (most explosive offensive weapon in the league by far); 3. Luke Kurzum (he's been great despite a terrible offensive line and putrid defense); 4. Marek Hill; 5. Connor McClellan.  Others to watch: Donte Kelly, Ryan Linskey. 

DPOTY: too hard to rank yet as lots of guys seem closely grouped, but top players to watch include Luke Harmon, Carson Skotak, Dylan Connors, Ben Yedid, Shane Mosia, and Lincoln Moore.

OROTY: Donte Kelly is the runaway early leader
DROTY: Connor Acheson is the runaway early leader

[Nescacman]

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

As we have said, not sure the level of play is down this year, but with 6 teams playing new QBs (Hartford State, Wes, Tufts, UBates, Williams, Bowdoin) and a ton of new starters around the 'Cac, it will take a few games for the student-athletes to get their feet under them. We still see a ton of talented players around the League and expect the level of play to accelerate as the season progresses.

Hs8-1, appreciate the shout out and hope you are doing well in your new gig. Nice to see that the computer and NM are mostly aligned, although not sure we agree where they rank UBates. As you know, we will never shy away from the tough decisions. Looking forward to seeing you in Middletown on November 8. Maybe (hopefully), the game will be as important as it was last year in Hartford.

NM

[nescac1]

It seems like a bit of a tough year ahead for the Maine teams.  Colby looked great in week one but I think they just caught Trinity at the best possible time, before they figured out who their QB was and how to play to their personnel's strengths: no one can really match up with O'Brien anywhere on the field, just too fast and shifty, so just get him the ball as much as possible in a variety of different ways, and then a huge dose of both Tossone and DiNapoli both running the ball and as receivers out of the backfield. Hooper has a lot of speed and is a developing deep threat to keep defenses honest, but getting the ball quickly to O'Brien, Tossone and DiNapoli space to run will be their bread and butter I suspect, and Carroll throws a very accurate short ball (which also takes pressure off the offensive line to protect). 

And it looks like a very rough year ahead for Bowdoin (just lost way too much high-level talent from last year's team without obvious replacements) and likely Bates.  I still think Bates is on an upwards trajectory, but they have simply lost too much talent on offense to be in the mix for a top half of the league spot this year as many of  us thought possible - Bosselait, Moore, and now maybe Beltran all gone from the QB / flex position; the two best linemen from last year, Simplico and Pierotti (who took his name out of transfer portal I thought but nevertheless did not return) were big losses too.  Losing Moore and Pierotti unexpectedly as major pieces before the season even began really hurt, which will only be compounded if Beltran has to miss significant time too.  Ryan Lynskey has gone from 5.7 ypg last year to 3.0 ypg this year.  He has faced three of the better rush defenses in the league, so that 3.0 number will surely move up, but clearly without the same type of explosive offensive talent around him, every defense will be able to key on him even more. 

As for the six 2-1 teams, I think they will (mostly, Colby is good enough to sneak out another win against one of them) beat up on the bottom four going forward, and anytime they play one another, anything is possible.