FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[muleshoe]

Week 3 Lines from SP+:

Bowdoin 18.1, Hamilton 17.3
Middlebury 24.8, Colby 13.6
Trinity (Conn.) 22.5, Williams 19.0
Tufts 26.7, Amherst 9.4
Wesleyan 34.2, Bates 10.4

[GroundandPound]

Here is a shoutout to Tufts' Special Teams...truly special.

[nescac1]

Per Jefffan's point, it's certainly a dual threat year in Nescac - whether by choice or simply necessity.  Four of the top nine runners in the league, and seven of the top twenty, are QBs.  Meanwhile, only two QBs are averaging over 200 passing yards, and there doesn't really seem to be a single elite passer in the conference. 

[Trin9-0]

Trinity @ Williams in a huge early season game sure feels like old times! I'm a fan of the SP+ model but I certainly wouldn't have the Bants as road favorites given their respective performances vs. Colby.

The Bantam quarterback play was much improved vs Bates and it appears Carroll will be the guy moving forward for Trin. The Bants may need to rely on him this week as it appears the Ephs' 8th ranked pass defense could potentially be a weak spot.

This game may be decided by which superstar makes the most/biggest play(s). Nolan O'Brien and Owen Johansen are 1-2 in All Purpose Yards and Scoring through two weeks. Nolan leads the league in receiving while Johansen leads in rushing.

A win here would put Trinity right back into the title chase given Wes & Midd already have a loss and Tufts has to come to The Coop.

[Nescacman]

2025 NESCACMAN Week 2 Power Rankings

Welcome to the Week 2 Power Rankings for September 20, 2025.

NESCACMAN goes went 3-2 in Week2 and now stands at 7-3 on the year. Our losses this week were Colby coming back to earth and getting walloped by Williams and Wesleyan losing a very winnable, close game at Tufts.

Tufts moves into our top spot based on their impressive win over Wesleyan. Williams moves into the 2nd spot after their beat down of Colby.

Some details on "NESCACMAN"...we share a love for all things NESCAC, but especially football, with our fellow boardsters. 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 (winners and with the "spread").

We also co-host a podcast titled "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 2  is available now (featuring Colby Coach Jack Cosgrove and Wesleyan QB Matt Fitzsimons). Season 2, Episode 3 will be available later this week and will feature Coach Jay Civetti from Tufts and QB Owen Johansen from Williams. Should be another great watch/listen. Our weekly show features coach and player interviews, game analysis, rankings, weekly game previews, and predictions. We encourage you to check it out.

Here are our rankings as we head into Week #2:

1). Tufts Jumbo's (Record: 2-0; Last Week Rank: 2; 7  first place votes): Great win for the Jumbo's at home under the lights. Although they were outplayed for most of the game against Wesleyan, the defense was solid and the Tufts special teams were nothing short of spectacular (blocked punt for a safety, several long kick-off returns, made a long FG, recovered an on-sides kick). QB Justin Keller and the Tufts offense looked sluggish most of the night although they converted a key third down in the waning moments to seal the victory. This was a good win for Tufts against a quality opponent. We think the Jumbo's will have an easier time of it this week as they travel to Amherst to face the Lord Mammoths.

2). Williams Purple Cows (Record: 2-0; Last Week Rank: 6; 3  first place votes): Great all-around win for the Ephs. Offense racked up 465 total yards including 365 yards on the ground led by QB Owen Johansen who ran for 223 yards and 3 TDs. Williams continues to run the ball early and often (45 running plays and only 17 passes). To their credit, Johansen, a converted TE, was 10 of 17 and threw for 2 TDs. Williams OL was once again stellar not allowing a sack and only allowing 1 TFL on the day. The Williams defense was also excellent only allowing 143 yards of total offense for the Mules and recording the shut out. They also had 4 sacks and 2 interceptions. They will be tested again this week as they host Hartford State

3). Wesleyan Cardinals (Record: 1-1; Last Week Rank: 1): Disappointing loss for Wesleyan. Game was very winnable. Wesleyan's defense was very good (9 first downs allowed 219 yards against including only 96 yards passing). Offense outgained Tufts and was efficient but not spectacular. They did enough to win. Special teams and a key turnover were the deciding factor in this game. DB Dylan Connors, WR Dante Kelly and LB AJ Morris (another INT) were standouts for the Cards. Wes stays on the road this week as they face the always dangerous Kitties in Maine. 

4). Hartford State Bantams (Record: 1-1; Last Week Rank: 4): Bounce back win, as predicted, against UBates. Offense ran the ball well led by RBs Tyler Dinapoli and Jack Tesone who both had more than 80 yards rushing. WR Nolan O'Brien was the star for the Bants with 2 TD catches and nearly a kick-off return for a TD. QB Jaxon Carroll was effective tossing two TDs (one INT as well). The Hartford State defense smothered the UBates offense. UBates could not do anything through the air and only had 116 yards rushing on the day. LB Lincoln Moore lead the way for Hartford State with 11 tackles including 3.5 TFL and a sack. Hartford State is on the road this week as they face Williams in the Purple Mountains.

5). Middlebury (Record: 1-1; Last Week Rank: 5): Middlebury wins their home opener against Bowdoin. Middlebury was in control of this one most of the day only allowing a late touchdown to the Polars to make it 31-10. Middlebury dominated Bowdoin outgaining them 426 to 93. QB Brian Moran led a balanced attack for the Panthers. The Middlebury defense was dominant only allowing 44 yards on the ground, 49 yards passing, and 5 offensive first downs. Sophomore RB Connor McClellan had two rushing TDs for Mid.  The Panthers travel to Colby this week to face the Mules.

6). Colby Mules (Record: 1-1; Last Week Rank: 3): Disappointing loss for the Colby Mules. Colby's offense struggled for the second straight week. They need to figure that out to take pressure off the defense. 143 yards of total offense, 9 offensive first downs, 2 interceptions, 2 lost fumbles and only 41 yards rushing (on 30 carries) led to the shut out. QB Miles Drake struggled for the second straight week (2 interceptions and 4 sacks). Defensively, they could not stop the Ephs running attack. Another head scratcher for Colby. They played so well against Hartford State last week and then they have  game like this. This week they will try to bounce back against Middlebury.

7). University of Bates Bobcats (Record: 1-1; Last Week Rank: 7): The Kitties fell behind early and could not make up a 27-point deficit to Hartford State. The running game could not get untracked gaining only 116 yards on 44 carries.  RB Ryan Lynskey had two running TDs but only averaged 2.7 yards per carry. The passing game for UBates was not effective. Defensively, they had problems stopping Hartford State on third down and could not stop the Bantam running game. The Kitties will face Wesleyan at home this Saturday.

8). Amherst Lord Mammoths (Record: 1-1; Last Week Rank: 8): Not sure what it is about the 4th quarter for the 2025 Lord Mammoths. Like they did last week, they ran out to a big lead in the 3rd quarter to almost blow it in the 4th quarter. Amherst was up 23-0 in the 3rd quarter against Hamilton. The offense has looked better thus far in 2025, and they topped the 400 yard total offense mark. QB Marek Hill threw for 2 scores and rushed for over 100 yards and a score running the RPO. WR Carter Jung caught the 2 TD passes. Defensively, they were very solid against the run, but Hamilton seemed to have their way through the air against them. We should get a better read on Amherst when they host Tufts this Saturday.

9). Hamilton Continentals (Record: 0-2; Last Week Rank: 10): Hamilton threw the ball well in the loss on Saturday. QB Luke Kurzum had another strong game (299 yards passing and 2 TDs), but once again lack of a ground game (14 yards on 16 carries) needs to be fixed. The offensive line needs to play better to give the Conts any shot going forward (3 sacks and no running game). The Conts host Bowdoin this weekend in a winnable game at Steuben Field.

10). Bowdoin Polar Bears (Record: 0-2; Last Week Rank: 9): Polars continue to struggle. Although the offense did finally get on the scoreboard, they were ineffective against Middlebury. QB Michael Wolfendale was replace by FY QB Soren Hummel. As bad as the offense was against Tufts, it was even worse against Middlebury. This week they travel to Hamilton to face the Continentals in what might be there last chance for a win this year.

2025 Week2 NESCACMAN Offensive Players of the Week: QB Owen Johansen, Williams; WR Nolan O'Brien, Hartford State

2025 Week2 NESCACMAN Defensive Player of the Week: LB Lincoln Moore, Hartford State

2025 Week2 NESCACMAN Special Teams Player of the Week: K Vaughn Seelicke, Tufts

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[Scoops]

NM - Your cardinal bias is showing. I'm not sure how you can say Wesleyan "outplayed" Tufts on Saturday night. It looked like the cards didn't practice special teams at all last week. 140+ kickoff return yards (should've been two touchdowns but the returner somehow couldn't evade the kicker), a missed field goal, a blocked punt when they were backed up, and they got pinned deep in their own territory by the Tufts punter. The Wesleyan staff should be ashamed of themselves for putting such little effort into such a vital part of the game.

Tufts certainly did the absolute bare minimum to win offensively, but it's not like the Wesleyan offense looked like a world beater there either. Kelly had a pair of very nice catches, but was otherwise average (maybe we can pump the brakes on exhalting him as the next great NESCAC receiver?). The Cards quarterback was under pressure all night and was lucky to only throw one INT with how careless he was with rushers in his face. And they weren't particularly effective running the ball.

All around a great defensive battle, but Wesleyan came up short because they ignored the third phase of the game, and Tufts took advantage. Neither team looked like they brought their best into the night.

[Nescacman]

NM - Your cardinal bias is showing. I'm not sure how you can say Wesleyan "outplayed" Tufts on Saturday night. It looked like the cards didn't practice special teams at all last week. 140+ kickoff return yards (should've been two touchdowns but the returner somehow couldn't evade the kicker), a missed field goal, a blocked punt when they were backed up, and they got pinned deep in their own territory by the Tufts punter. The Wesleyan staff should be ashamed of themselves for putting such little effort into such a vital part of the game.

Tufts certainly did the absolute bare minimum to win offensively, but it's not like the Wesleyan offense looked like a world beater there either. Kelly had a pair of very nice catches, but was otherwise average (maybe we can pump the brakes on exhalting him as the next great NESCAC receiver?). The Cards quarterback was under pressure all night and was lucky to only throw one INT with how careless he was with rushers in his face. And they weren't particularly effective running the ball.

All around a great defensive battle, but Wesleyan came up short because they ignored the third phase of the game, and Tufts took advantage. Neither team looked like they brought their best into the night.

Did you watch the game? We're not sure you did.

1. The QB that threw the interception was not the QB that was playing the entire game (Fitzsimons). The interception was thrown by Chase Vaughan on a trick play. It was Chase's only pass on the day.
2. Wesleyan's offense out gained Tufts (261 to 219), out first downed Tufts (16 to 9), and outscored Tufts (20-13). We'd say the Wes offense was clearly better than the Jumbo's offense.
3. The game was a battle of two very good defensive teams.
4. Wes was MAYBE two inches from converting the game tying two point conversion (we've watched the play about a dozen times and Fitzsimons looked in to us but we digress).
5. Wes was an inadvertent whistle from recovering the ensuing onsides kick-off (just horrible officiating btw). Who knows whether or not they would have scored, but we like Wes' odds in that situation (tons of time and short field).
6. Underestimate Donte Kelly at your own risk.

We agree that the Cardinal special teams were not good on Saturday but in the other two phases of the game they played well enough to win. BTW, how do you know the Cardinal coaching staff doesn't put an emphasis on special teams? Clearly you didn't watch the game but you go to Wesleyan practices? Comments like that are a borderline violation of the Boards TOS. False and inflamatory. Get your facts straight.

NM


 

[Scoops]

I said nothing that comes close to violating the tos. I stated that it LOOKS like the cardinal staff spent no time. Whether they did, or did not? only the Wesleyan staff knows. But again, it certainly LOOKS like they didn't.

I did, infact, watch the game. And anyone with eyes could see that, while the wes offense was statistically better, they looked equally as maligned as the Tufts offense. So to say they "outplayed" Tufts is rather disingenuous in my opinion. Both teams were constantly 3 & out. Neither team had anything going in the run game. And aside from maybe one or two passes for Wes, both air attacks were largely grounded. It was, as I said, a great defensive battle. But Tufts very clearly out played Wesleyan on special teams, which is why they won. Wesleyan was sloppy in all four special teams, and Tufts was dialed in. The fact that Wes was "two inches" away from tying an otherwise even game is downright poetic, given that it came down to the phase that Wes seemingly neglected.

[Nescacman]

The Wesleyan staff should be ashamed of themselves for putting such little effort into such a vital part of the game.

We don't see the where you said "looks like"...your quote seems pretty clear to us.

And we quote "Rule #1" from the D3Boards TOS:

"1. Comments or rumors of a defamatory nature without published substantiation will be removed. NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTS. If we haven't noticed them yet, we will and will remove them."

Seems like a violation to us. Of course, there are ways you could have made that comment to not violate the TOS but that is part of the nuance of the D3Boards.

NM

[Nescacman]

Here is a public service announcement to those new to the D3Boards...

When the Purple Cows start to win, their supporters come out of the woodwork. Williams "fans" are by far the biggest fair weather fans in the NESCAC. Of course, exceptions exist. SpringSt and nescac1 are exceptions to the rule, are (fairly) objective, and have been present on the Boards through thick and thin (like 2013-2016 when the Ephs won a total of 6 games). We know others exist as well.

We think everyone needs to relax in Williamstown. They MAY be a decent team but let's look at who they have beaten. They beat one of the worst teams in the league (barely) and beat a flawed team that was still punch drunk from their biggest program win in the last 25 years. We should have seen that coming but we sort of bought into the Colby hype last week (not going to happen again). Talk to us after you beat Hartford State this Saturday. Should be a great game. And we'll put our money where our mouth is...we'll take the Bantams and the points.

NM

[Scoops]

NM - Your cardinal bias is showing. I'm not sure how you can say Wesleyan "outplayed" Tufts on Saturday night. It looked like the cards didn't practice special teams at all last week. 140+ kickoff return yards (should've been two touchdowns but the returner somehow couldn't evade the kicker), a missed field goal, a blocked punt when they were backed up, and they got pinned deep in their own territory by the Tufts punter. The Wesleyan staff should be ashamed of themselves for putting such little effort into such a vital part of the game.

Cherry-picking "quotes" does not suit you. If we can back away from being purposefully obtuse and arguing semantics, then the implication of what I said in full context is pretty clear. Wesleyan LOOKED like they didn't practice special teams, and therefore the staff should be ashamed of putting such little perceived effort into that phase.

I genuinely enjoy your commentary, and our banter. But you can't go thumping your chest after every Wes victory, and then be snide and belittling in your commentary of their opponents when they lose. That just looks weak.

[Nescacman]

2025 NESCACMAN Week 2 Power Rankings

1). Tufts Jumbo's (Record: 2-0; Last Week Rank: 2; 7  first place votes): Great win for the Jumbo's at home under the lights. Although they were outplayed for most of the game against Wesleyan, the defense was solid and the Tufts special teams were nothing short of spectacular (blocked punt for a safety, several long kick-off returns, made a long FG, recovered an on-sides kick). QB Justin Keller and the Tufts offense looked sluggish most of the night although they converted a key third down in the waning moments to seal the victory. This was a good win for Tufts against a quality opponent. We think the Jumbo's will have an easier time of it this week as they travel to Amherst to face the Lord Mammoths.

Our write-up this week on Tufts (our #1 ranked team). As a reminder, they played Wesleyan last week. Not sure we would classify these comments as "snide and belittling".

[Pat Coleman]

The Wesleyan staff should be ashamed of themselves for putting such little effort into such a vital part of the game.

We don't see the where you said "looks like"...your quote seems pretty clear to us.

And we quote "Rule #1" from the D3Boards TOS:

"1. Comments or rumors of a defamatory nature without published substantiation will be removed. NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTS. If we haven't noticed them yet, we will and will remove them."

Seems like a violation to us. Of course, there are ways you could have made that comment to not violate the TOS but that is part of the nuance of the D3Boards.

NM

Hi -- I'll handle this. If you have a problem with a post, report it to moderator.

[nescac1]

Nescacman, unless I missed it, I didn't see any fair-weather Williams fans popping up here.  In all events, I think pretty much every fan base is more likely to engage when their team is doing well than doing poorly.

Speaking of Williams fandom, it's highly annoying that the school no longer posts highlights of home games (for any sport) in its game stories, seems like a pretty easy thing to do, but I know that Williams has really penny-pinched athletics at every opportunity (to the point that the school's field house literally collapsed and it seems like the school is still at least five years away from a desperately needed permanent new indoor athletics complex).  Really hope that this decision is reversed.  At least for football, you can see a few highlights on the weekly football show, but for other sports, you are out of luck. I did watch one highlight posted on Twitter of one of Johansen's long runs (one were he showcased his agility, speed and strength) and I was struck by how massive the lineup on the field was for that play:

https://x.com/NoManatCAAFlog/status/1969476297685373428

In addition to five linemen averaging around 290 pounds, you had the TB, and then a 6'0 230 battering ram of a fullback, one 6'5 205 WR, two TEs (6'5 230 and and 6'2 240), and a 6'3 210 QB carrying the ball. On that play Johansen outran most of his blockers anyway, but that is a lot big dudes coming at you down the field.  Whatever happens with Williams going forward, and as others have said we still haven't seen how the offense will look in a situation where they have to move the ball consistently through the air, I love that they've chosen an identity that is unique in the conference, and are all-in with it - you know you are going to be hurting for days after you play the Ephs.     

[GroundandPound]

I predict Williams will never have to move the ball consistently through the air.
Play action to TE or WR on occasion.  The rest is down hill power run game.