FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[AmherstStudent05]

Just so we are clear as I understood it, you wouldn't be claiming a share of a title and a 33% chance of an automatic bid. In a world where point differential can be determinative, you could know you needed to lose by a certain number of points on the last week of the season to ensure sole possession of the conference championship and the bid that goes with it.

I'm not sure how much that would impact team behavior but it's hard to say it would be zero. If Wesleyan is up 7 against Trinity with 2 minutes to play and knows that if they don't win by at least 9 points Trinity will be declared conference champs rather than them of course they try to drive down the field for a field goal rather than take a knee. These are obviously corner cases but I don't like the incentive structure of point differential tiebreakers.

[Nescacman]

We think NPI is the way to go, particularly if the NESCAC wakes up and starts playing out of conference games.

[Nescacman]

Here you go...

https://athletics.bowdoin.edu/news/2026/11/3/bowdoin-football-program-update.aspx

Congratulations to the new Interim HCOF of the Bowdoin Polars, Nick Turchyn.

[Nescacman]

2026 NESCACMAN Week 7 Power Rankings

Welcome to the NESCACMAN Power Rankings for Week #7.

NESCACMAN went 5-0 in Week #7 and we now stand at 30-5 on the year. Hartford State is all alone at the  top spot in the NESCACMAN Weekly Rankings.

NESCAC headlines for Week #7:
•   No upsets or surprises in Week #7.
•   All three league leaders, Hartford State, Amherst and Wesleyan won as expected setting up a fight to the finish the last 2 weeks. The 2026 NESCAC Champion will come from this collection of teams.
•   Of course, Amherst and Hartford State control their own destiny. Either wins out and they win the NESCAC title and the AQ bid to the NCAA tourney.
•   In fact, IF Amherst beats Hartford State Saturday, it's over no matter how the Lord Mammoths do against the Ephs in Week #9. Amherst would be league champs and they get the AQ bid.
•   There are 17 remaining undefeated teams left in Division 3 nationally. 2 of those 17 are in the NESCAC and they play Saturday in Amherst.
•   The Lord Mammoths once again come from behind to win scoring twice in the fourth quarter to pull out the win against Tufts. With the 3-point lead, the Lord Mammoths made big plays in their final 3 drives including a stop on 4th and 1, a 3rd down sack, and an interception.
•   Hartford State won another close one on the road in Middlebury. Middlebury outgained the Bantams but went 1 for 3 in the red zone.
•   Wesleyan recorded their first shut-out since 2021in skunking the Polars in Brunswick and keeping their title and play-off hopes alive. They will need some help: they need to win out and hope Amherst loses twice. Or win out, hope that Hartford State beats the Lord Mammoths, and then win the crazy NESCAC tie breaker via coin flip.
•   Speaking of the Polars, they only have 3 offensive TDs in 2026. We did a bit of research and the all-time NESCAC low point for offense ineptitude was in 2006 when Hamilton scored 4 TDs in 8 games. The Polars are on the cusp of setting a record for all-time offensive futility. Three additional facts make the situation particularly noteworthy:  Bowdoin has been shut out twice in seven games, they average just 3.6 yards per offensive play (last in the conference), and      their offense has not scored a rushing touchdown all season. Yikes.
•   Ephs frosh QB Drew Weiler appeared to suffer a serious shoulder injury on his left throwing shoulder. We hear that he is done for the year. Maybe it's time that the Williams administration finally ponies up and replaces the turf on Farley-Lamb Field, turf which is way past its useful life. How many student-athletes need to get injured to convince them to fix this problem?!?
•   The State of Maine got their first win (Congratulations Colby) and ran their combined record to 1-20.
•   Ephs Freshman RB Jack Fabiano had a huge day, rushing for 257 yards on 26 carries including a game winning 83 yd TD in the final minute.
•   Amherst is ranked #20 in the most recent NCAA NPI ranking. Hartford State is ranked #26.

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 wherever you get your podcasts including YouTube, Spotify, and Apple. Please follow us and take a listen. Season 3, Episode 7 will be available later this week and will feature Tufts RB Christian Shapiro, Amherst Head Coach EJ Mills, and Author Dan Covell who is writing a book about the 2026 NESCAC season from the eyes of Hartford State. We will also review Week #7's games and give previews/picks for Week #8. Should be another great watch/listen. We encourage you to check it out.

Here are our rankings for Week #7:
1). Hartford State Bantams (Record: 7-0; Last Week Rank: 1; Last Week: Win @ MID 26-23; This week: @AMH): Another close one for Hartford State.  WR Darison Hooper had a big day with 3 TD catches and snagged 13 catches for 197 yards. This week, they travel to AMH to face the Lord Mammoths in the biggest game of the NESCAC season thus far.
2). Amherst Lord Mammoths (Record: 7-0; Last Week Rank: 2; Last Week: Win @ TUF 24-21; This Week: v. HS): Amherst remains one of two unbeaten NESCAC teams after (again) rallying past Tufts in the fourth quarter. Sooner or later, that must catch up with you, right? This week, Amherst hosts the Bantams.

3). Wesleyan Cardinals (Record: 6-1; Last Week Rank: 3; Last Week: Win v. BOW 28-0; This week: v. WIL): Not only was it the first shut out for Wes since 2021 (hard to believe btw), but it was also the first time they had 2 players rush for over 100 yards in the same game since 2021. They held the Polars to 28 yards rushing and no rushing first downs. They remain in the mix for the NESCAC title. They will need some help but they control their own destiny as far as Hartford State is concerned. They will need some help with the Lord Mammoths. This week they host Williams in Little 3 action.

4). Tufts Jumbo's (Record: 4-3; Last Week Rank: 4; Last Week: Loss v. AMH 24-21; This week: @ COL): Close but no cigar for the Jumbo's. Tufts led early in the 4th quarter but couldn't hold on. Loss eliminated the Jumbo's from title contention. Jumbo's travel to Colby this week.

5). Williams Purple Cows (Record: 5-2; Last Week Rank: 5; Last Week: Win v. HAM 34-25; This week: @ WES): Ephs back in the win column on the back of FY RB Jack Fabiano's 257 rushing yards. Frosh QB Drew Weiller was injured in this one and looks like Senior Drew Renzella will be the starter the rest of the year. Shame on Williams for letting their student-athletes play on a field that continues to lead to season ending injury after season ending injury. Weiler's injury is just the latest in a long list of killer injuries for the Ephs. The turf at Farley-Lamb Field, which is way past its useful life, is to blame for many of those injuries. Walk on the field and feel the turf. It's hard as a rock. Weiler's shoulder landed square on that rock hard turf. Williams still has the Little 3 in front of them and will play the role of spoiler against Wesleyan and Amherst. WES is up first this week on historic Andrus Field.

6). Middlebury (Record: 3-4; Last Week Rank: 6; Last Week: Win v. HS 26-23; This week: v. HAM): MID seems to always play Hartford State tough nearly coming away with the upset. MID outgained the Bants, ran 86 plays, and threw 55 passes on the day. FY WR Tommy Hetherington had a huge day catching 10 passes for 148 yds and 2 TDs. QB Aidan Moss came back and played for the Pants. MID is back at home this week hosting Luke Kurzum and the high-flying Hamilton Continentals.

7). Hamilton Continentals (Record: 2-5; Last Week Rank: 7; Last Week: Loss @WIL 34-25; This week: @ MID): The best 2-5 team this side of  Clinton. HAM nearly pulls out the win in Williamstown. HAM had a chance to tie this game with 1:49 remaining but missed the two-point conversion. QB Luke Kurzum went 33-46 for 308 yds with 1 TD and no picks. WRs Jack Hoag had a day with 15 receptions for 144 yds and a TD and WR Matthew Kearns caught 10 passes for 140 yds. This week they travel to Middlebury.

8). Colby Mules (Record: 1-6; Last Week Rank: 9; Last Week: Win v. BAT 21-19; This week: v. TUF): Good news for the Mules as they get win #1 against UBates. The Mules jumped out to a 21-3 lead and held on for the win. This week they host Tufts in Waterville.

9). University of Bates Bobcats (Lewiston Campus)(Record: 0-7; Last Week Rank: 10; Last Week: Loss @ COL 21-19; This week: v. BOW): Hope to get their first W this week against the Polars. Outgained Colby but once again turnovers hurt the Kitties. This week they face the woeful Polars offense in Lewiston.

10). Bowdoin Polar Bears (Record: 0-7; Last Week Rank: 8; Last Week: Loss v. WES 28-0; This week: @ BAT): Now that we have seen them live, maybe the worst offensive team we have ever seen in the NESCAC. They cannot run the ball; they have no game breaking talent threat and the play calling left a lot to be desired. They are on the cusp of setting all-time records for offensive futility in the NESCAC.  They are last in the NESCAC in scoring, total offense, rushing offense, and 3rd down conversions. They are 2nd to last in the country in scoring offense. Meanwhile, their defense has played respectably putting them in the middle of the pack in total defense and #1 in the NESCAC in passing defense. We have to say a word or two but the unfortunate situation around this program. As has been speculated for weeks, their HCOF is no longer with the Polar Bear Football Program. They have named tight ends coach, who was formerly the OC at Gettysburg, as the Interim HCOF. Our opinion is they will completely clean house and bring in a new HCOF and all new assistants. How can they not? We would think that the Athletic Director is also at risk given the fact that he runs the (athletics) show at Bowdoin and created the culture that led to the HCOF leaving. We will see. This is certainly not a good situation for a program that has suffered for years. We feel bad for the student-athletes. We imagine that it will be tough to recruit at Bowdoin for the foreseeable future even though it is one of the finest liberal arts colleges in America. This week the Polars travel to UBates to face the Kitties in a C-B-B game.

NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week: RB Jack Fabiano, Williams

NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week: LB Lincoln Moore, Trinity

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[lumbercat]

What a folly at Bowdoin..... They gas the Head Coach in early September over an incident and don't tell anyone. They wait 90 days before they issue any communication relative to the "incident". Four weeks of the season progress and people throughout the NESCAC actually still think that BJ Hammer is coaching the Bowdoin team along with recruits, parents and Alums, nobody knows he's no longer with the team....he was gone before the season started!
Now AD Ryan turns the page and says we're starting a National Search.
Where is the Bowdoin president in this, does she know what's going on? Feel bad for my Bowdoin aquaintences I have some old friends there -but they are totally embarrassed. Feel worse for the players.