FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Gate 91]

Time to address a difficult question after this week of sloppy play across the NESCAC. Has the transfer portal killed the quality of play in the NESCAC? The top-tier players in the league now only stick around for 1 or 2 years before transferring to an FCS program.

[The #802]

I would guess the transfer portal would impact the NESCAC less than many other D3 conferences. Most players are in the NESCAC for football and academics. Not a lot of players are going to jump at the opportunity to leave a NESCAC after two years to play at UCONN or UMass.

[nescac1]

Very few teams have lost players who hadn't already graduated to the transfer portal - I think Tufts and Trinity lost two each, and Bates one, over the past few years?  Maybe I'm forgetting a few, but hardly any Nescac teams have been impacted at all.  Trinity has been hurt the most losing two all-league defenders each with two years eligibility, but Trinity has also brought in some high profile transfers over the years so it has benefited as well. 

I think the week one struggles are largely a factor of all but three teams having generally inexperienced starters and in many cases still unsettled situations at QB (and Midd, while having continuity at QB, had massive of turnover nearly everywhere else including some of the best all time in Nescac on both lines).

[Nescacman]

Pat, thank you very much for the shout out to the "9 Weeks NESCAC" podcast on your D3 Football podcast this week. Much appreciated.

Just want to make one correction as far as something your partner said on the pod. Hartford State's last opening game loss was not in 1995 but in 2019 when they lost on the road against Tufts.

Appreciate all you do for D3 football and D3 sports and it was an honor to meet you in Fort Wayne in March.

NM

[Nescacman]

and BTW Pat, if you need a guest picker on your "NESCAC Stack" feature on your podcast, here we are...

For the record, your co-host Greg went 1-4 with his picks this week (not sure we've ever had a losing week picking NESCAC games) and NESCACMAN/9 Weeks NESCAC podcast went 4-1 in a tough week #1.

NM

[Pat Coleman]

I only do NESCAC Stack once a year but I'll keep it in mind.

[Nescacman]

I only do NESCAC Stack once a year but I'll keep it in mind.

We're ready for 2026!

[Scoops]

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.

I agree that the Tufts/Bowdoin game was not a particularly fun watch. Infact I think it was incredibly frustrating watching either one of those offenses. Bowdoin just seemed content to be in a close game. Their approach to their final drive before the half was mind boggling. There was no urgency at all, and I thought it was very indicative of their offensive strategy on the day. Aside from one big pass, they didn't really show any desire to try and test the new Tufts secondary. Especially odd considering the Tufts defensive front was all over them in the run game.

As for the Jumbos, their offensive play calling was equally infuriating if not more-so. The game could've easily been a blowout if they just leaned on their run game. How can a team with TWO all-conference RBs, a running threat at QB, AND an all-american OL fail punch it in from inside the 10? Even more, there were opportunities in short yardage situations where they elected to THROW the ball? What in the world is Civetti thinking? They should've been able to run up the score, but instead they barely got by against a lesser team. If they ever get out of their own way, Tufts will be an elite program in the league. But they just can't seem to figure it out on offense

[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.

I agree that the Tufts/Bowdoin game was not a particularly fun watch. Infact I think it was incredibly frustrating watching either one of those offenses. Bowdoin just seemed content to be in a close game. Their approach to their final drive before the half was mind boggling. There was no urgency at all, and I thought it was very indicative of their offensive strategy on the day. Aside from one big pass, they didn't really show any desire to try and test the new Tufts secondary. Especially odd considering the Tufts defensive front was all over them in the run game.

As for the Jumbos, their offensive play calling was equally infuriating if not more-so. The game could've easily been a blowout if they just leaned on their run game. How can a team with TWO all-conference RBs, a running threat at QB, AND an all-american OL fail punch it in from inside the 10? Even more, there were opportunities in short yardage situations where they elected to THROW the ball? What in the world is Civetti thinking? They should've been able to run up the score, but instead they barely got by against a lesser team. If they ever get out of their own way, Tufts will be an elite program in the league. But they just can't seem to figure it out on offense

The solution to your dilemma might be the fact that Bowdoin's OC is a rookie and the Tufts OC is a second year OC. Both have no prior experience in a Coordinator role.

Assume they will learn from Saturday's tape and continue to grow into their new position. It's a tough jump to move from a position coach role to a job where you are calling plays and managing the overall offensive scheme.

[Trin9-0]

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!