FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[NESCAC.Football.Observer]

So some week 1 observations:

From a buddy at the Colby @ Williams game:
- 2 offensively inept teams who both couldn't couldn't move the ball until the last 5 mins of the game. 
- Colby lost QB Harrington (no idea on his status) in the 1st quarter, and until Williams inserted the Frosh thrower and threw the ball with 4 mins left, they couldn't do anything.
- Colby is lucky that they play Bowdoin (8th game) as they might now get another win.
- Williams dropped Bowdoin for Colby this year, so their only (LONG) shot for a win will be at Hamilton.  (Enough said for "equal" teams trying to win on the road in Clinton.)

From a buddy at the Hamilton @ Amherst game:
- Amherst looked better than they did at this point last year in winning their 20th in a row.
- Offensive line (with 3 new starters) looked big, agile, and dominated a Hamilton D-Line that was supposed to be improved.
- Amherst offensively was balanced (pass vs run) in their usual way.
- Amherst QB (Berluti) made the throws he needed to, had a couple that he threw into 2x/3x coverage (that should have been pics), and really hurt Hamilton with his legs. 
- 3 RB's (Hickey, Kelly, and Figueroa) were great, with Hickey getting the majority of snaps with Kelly only practicing 2x this week... first time in last 3 weeks.
- Defense limited Hamilton to 2 drives into Amherst territory.  A 3rd started at the LJ 44 and went 2 yards.  Only RedZone penetration went to the 19.
- Amherst 2nd O and 2nd D went into game with 11 mins left in 4th quarter.  (2nd O scored last TD.)

I attended the Wes @ Tufts game (and sat on the Jumbo sideline with a Tufts buddy (but actually rooted for Wes)):
- Both kickers s*cked.  Wes kicker missed 2, and the Tufts guy missed 2 on the first drive of the game. (First attempt was a miss, but a Wes penalty game him another shot, and he missed that attempt, too.  But the "no play" given the 5 yard penalty made the kicker's stats look better.)
- Wes dominated for 3 quarters and a few minutes into 4th quarter, and seemed to have a 14 - 3 lead for about 30 mins of the game. (2 quarters plus a few minutes into the 4th quarter.)
- Wes imploded in the 4th quarter, and their QB play (despite the writeup in the NESCAC weekly recap) was abysmal.  The last few Wes drives were horrible, and I'd put it to the QB.  His passing overall was terrible, and he looked to run more than be a passer.
- Wes defense lost its poise a couple of times in the 4th quarter, with some resultant penalties (with a HUGE unsportsmanlike conduct call that continued a Tufts drive after a stop). 
- End of game scenario showed me that Wes has no class.  On 3 consecutive "victory" formations, albeit with Wes having one remaining timeout but mathematically no way to stop the clock before time expired, the Wes DL and LB's tried to kill the Tufts lineman who didn't drive out (but were in "protect" mode).  It was sandlot semi-pro "we lost but don't have to win with class" at its best.
- If you'd seen the way the Wes kids (and their fans) departed the Tufts field... well, normally I'd have felt for them, but given the classless last 3 plays... couldn't have happened to a more over-hyped team who all believed their press clippings and self-promotions.

Summary of the weekend:
- Amherst... Reloaded, not rebuilding.... 20.... 1 down... 7 more to go.
- Hamilton - Horribly disappointing game for a time who was trying to tell people "we're Tufts of 2 years ago".
- Trinity - No hype.  Great team.  Maybe their GOTY is on 11/5 and not 11/12?!?!?!
- Bates - Hung tough for 1.5 quarters @ Hartford University.  Bodes well for the Bobcats.
- Middlebury - Despite the 130+ on the ground (vs Bowdoin), they need to prove they possess a running game in week 3.  THAT will tell us all if Middlebury is a real team that deserves to be mentioned in the top tier of the NESCAC.  Pressure will be on Middlebury, not the LJ's who have a warmup in Brunswick next week prior to their Middlebury trip.
- Bowdoin - Just plain bad.
- Colby - Like Bowdoin, just plain bad, but had the fortune of playing Williams, and gets to play Bowdoin the last game of the year.
- Williams - "winless" is being whispered in Williamstown.
- Wesleyan - Everyone in Middletown forgot that football games last 60 mins (and not 47+).  Wes needs to improve its QB if they think they've a shot vs Trinity or Amherst.  Defense needs to learn "poise".
- Tufts - Awesome job by a team that never gave up, stuck to the gameplan, and overcame adverse momentum to grind out and deserve a big win.

[lumbercat]

NFO
Great and informative post- I saw 1 and 3/4 NESCAC games this weekend and couldn't agree more with your insights.

[Jonny Utah]

I heard the Wesleyan team did not come out of the locker room during the national anthem. 

True or False?

[PolarCat]

I can't speak to Wes, but Trinity played the National Anthem before EITHER team took the field.

[NESCAC.Football.Observer]

I was walking on the street and could hear the anthem being played, but didn't get "inside" until the same time as the kickoff, so I don't know.

I reached out to my buddy for confirmation.......

[Grabowski]

Wes stayed in the locker room

[Jonny Utah]

Wes stayed in the locker room

Interesting.

You could look at this in different ways.  Is the school/coaching staff not allowing their kids to actually protest as individuals?  Is the school/team playing it "safe"?

[amh63]

Need to change the subject a bit, me thinks.  Thus will go back to the " sticks & stone/ concrete" topic. .  A little time on my hands...nah, lots of time, for it is Tuesday and little football news that is truely about football.  Wait, talk about coaching pressure....HC Miles/Myles ( hedging my bet on the spelling here...got burned once) of LSU of the SEC is fired due to a 2-2 start!  OC to go too.  HC owed 10 million bucks!
Back to my off the subject topic.  Looking for a CAC sport to watch!  Field Hockey...Amherst vs MIT tonight online.  Will throw it on the big flatscreen.  My interest?  Two schools that I donate too.  One in the " sticks" and the other located in the more urban industrial area of Cambridge..Central Square to the Charles.  Too bad it is a night game.  The MIT players will not smell the foliage or even see the grass...got to keep an eye on the ball and it is on turf.   Thinking ahead here.  Grand child is good with a stick in her hands and likes to run.  Need to understand the game more.  Come to think of it, why is there no field hockey for men?  It is an Olympic men's sport.  There is talk of women wrestling, etc?!

[PolarCat]

Have your granddaughter take up lacrosse.  More fun than fockey and many more opportunities at both the D1 and D3 level.

As for female Olympic wrestling: unless there is Jello or mud involved, I think I will pass.

[RetiredMule]

So some week 1 observations:

From a buddy at the Colby @ Williams game:
- 2 offensively inept teams who both couldn't couldn't move the ball until the last 5 mins of the game. 
- Colby lost QB Harrington (no idea on his status) in the 1st quarter, and until Williams inserted the Frosh thrower and threw the ball with 4 mins left, they couldn't do anything.
- Colby is lucky that they play Bowdoin (8th game) as they might now get another win.
- Williams dropped Bowdoin for Colby this year, so their only (LONG) shot for a win will be at Hamilton.  (Enough said for "equal" teams trying to win on the road in Clinton.)

To add to this, obviously glad to get a win out of the gate. Tough historically as the board knows that Colby opens with a 4 game meat grinder of Williams/Trinity, Middlebury, Wesleyan, Amherst every year. As is tradition best of luck to our opponent for the rest of the season. In terms of Colby looking forward, it obviously hurt our offense to have Harrington go down in the 1st. Harrington (as noted on the board) is reportedly a knee injury and is getting an MRI, view him as Questionable for Saturday. Fy QB Jack O'Brien (9-19 for 102yds, 9 rushes for -5yds, 1 Int, 2 sacks for -18) stepped in shifting a larger load to Jabari Hurdle-Price (23 rushes for 83yds, 1TD) forcing Colby's offense to be more 1 dimensional. John Baron hit a 19 yarder to win after the mentioned late TD by Williams. Look to see if Harrington makes it back (he has had knee issues in the past) or if O'Brien settles in a bit more with a week of time with the 1st team. Hurdle-Price, regardless, will remain the focal point of the offense either compensating for a MRI'ed Harrington or to take the load off of a Fy QB in O'Brien. The offensive line will need to improve after letting up 4 sacks, 14 TFLs (according to the box) and having a injured or freshman QB. The defense produced 2 FR and 2 Interceptions with 2 sacks. They fit into the "bend-don't-break" mold occasionally lowing but not allowing a score for 58 minutes. They will need to remain stout and get stouter to hope to challenge in any of the next three games.

[amh63]

PolarCat....thanks for the suggestion....plus K.  Lacrosse is good in MD, but less so in the Finger Lake region of NY state. Granddaughter likes the water and greats swimmers in the CAC come from the area.  Great 4-time All American swimmer graduated from Williams recently...but she will not be going to Willytown . Her mom and two uncles are Amherst Purple people.  Just hedging my bet on her future.
Retired Mule...plus K to you for your "traditional" thoughts.

[Trin9-0]

Trinity posted a preview for the Williams game. An interesting note; a Bantam win would give Trinity the lead in the all-time series (currently tied at 36-36-2).
I believe that would leave Amherst as the only NESCAC school with an all-time series lead over Trinity.

[PolarCat]

Can any of the Colby posters comment on how the FY O'Brien leapfrogged over Sparicio?  I thought there was a lot of hype surrounding Sparicio in years past.  Is he hurt?  Or is this another situation (like Tobin at Hamilton?) where the player didn't live up to the hype?

[JumbosMom]

I was walking on the street and could hear the anthem being played, but didn't get "inside" until the same time as the kickoff, so I don't know.

I reached out to my buddy for confirmation.......

Wes did not come out to the field for Anthem. Tufts locked arms in solidarity regarding the silent protest going on nation wide but stood in honor for all the Veterans who have served. It was a great way to rise up to a difficult situation .  Wes was boo'd as they entered the stadium.

[NESCAC.Football.Observer]

I had it confirmed by a Wes buddy (who was at the game and standing outside the Wes entry point to the field from their area off the track by the scoreboard but who didn't think about it at the time) that during the National Anthem (when he took off his Wes cap and looked to the flag) that the Wes team was hooping and hollering it up as they waited for the National Anthem to end.......

Make your own conclusions.........

GO JUMBOS......... (And, no... I'm not a Jumbo guy......  but good for them.)