FB: Liberty League

[Reno Hightower]

Once again the inconsistency of the Union offense  almost cost them the game.  They get 526 yds of total offense  but fumble 4 times in WPI red zone losing possession 3 times. Arcidiacano continues  his great season with 203 yds rushing and 3 TDs. Marotti 26-44 for 284 yds. What a wild year it has been in the LL so far .

Are you kidding me dea? Union gave up 27 points and gave up big pass after big pass all day long.....If it were not for a bad play call by WPI, our Dutchmen would have lost a heartbreaker. The Union Offense is averaging 29 points per game yet the team is in a dogfight week after week. Who cares about TOP? 29 points a game is great. Time for the Union D to show some pass defense.

[dewcrew88]

Wow -

Take a couple of days off to attend to family matters and all hell breaks loose in the LL!

TGP would like to announce the birth of TGP II on Oct 4.  Lil TGP weighed in at 7 lbs and 4 oz, 21 inches long (and that was just the "peepee")

Seriously though, Mrs. TGP and Mr. TGP couldn't be happier.

Better start saving yesterday though, TGP's guess is Hobart's tuition will be around 100K once TGP II is old enough for college.

Congratulations to the new addition to your family, TGP.

[zachattack22]

Once again the inconsistency of the Union offense  almost cost them the game.  They get 526 yds of total offense  but fumble 4 times in WPI red zone losing possession 3 times. Arcidiacano continues  his great season with 203 yds rushing and 3 TDs. Marotti 26-44 for 284 yds. What a wild year it has been in the LL so far .

Are you kidding me dea? Union gave up 27 points and gave up big pass after big pass all day long.....If it were not for a bad play call by WPI, our Dutchmen would have lost a heartbreaker. The Union Offense is averaging 29 points per game yet the team is in a dogfight week after week. Who cares about TOP? 29 points a game is great. Time for the Union D to show some pass defense.

[zachattack22]

Sorry for quote without a reply...Very hung over....I agree that it's TIME for Union's D to do something with the secondary, whether it's juggling personnel or coming up with different schemes....It certainly isn't a good thing to turn the ball over in the red zone or fail to score from the one yard line, however, the offense had WPI's defense on the field just about the entire game.  No offense should have to consistently score 30 to 40 points a game to win...

Bottom line, when the offense was placed into a "do or die" situation, (4th and 10) with time running out and WPI suddenly and surprisingly ahead, the offense marched downt the field, converted on a 4th and 10 and then scored...It was an unbelievable display of calm and confidence.

When the defense was placed in tough situations, they just about crumbled.

Can't go with "inconsistent offense" statement.  Not happy with what happened in the red zone, the bad snap for a field goal, the 40 yard touchdown called back, etc...but when bad things happen to the offense does that mean the defense just falls apart? 

Does anyone have a defense?  ZT thinks that with all the spread offenses and talent out there, it's obviously going to be more difficult for defenses to keep up....

Looks like the days of 17 to 13 bruising battles with defenses dominating are apparently...over!!!

[Stlarry]

Congrats TGP!!!

Gro had a terrible dream last night that RPI lost to St. Lawrence.

Stlarry had a similar dream, but he woke up with a sticky spot next to him on the bed, and realized he was wearing his cleats and jersey, and was spooning with a football.  Does this make Stlarry a bad person?

Seriously though, Stlarry gives mad props to the Saints for fighting back.  SLU has always fought to the bitter end, but normally it was to avoid the monkey stomp, so it's great to see a big win come out of all the effort.  This win should be a huge confidence boost for program that has had very little to brag about sine the early 90's, and who knows, maybe SLU can keep the momentum going and get another upset or two this season.

[dewcrew88]

Stlarry had a similar dream, but he woke up with a sticky spot next to him on the bed, and realized he was wearing his cleats and jersey, and was spooning with a football.  Does this make Stlarry a bad person?
[/quote]

+k for that statement... a disturbing image, but really funny

['gro]

on to pro football... my cable company doesn't carry FOX in HD so I can only comment on CBS. Just about every week the 1pm CBS game is not available in HD. why aren't all NFL games broadcast in HD?? CBS college games are usually in HD, what gives?? Depending on who carries the 4pm game there are weeks where Gro gets no HD football until the 8pm game and then monday night (which I watch about the 1st half before it's bed time).

Watching a game in HD then switching to regular TV it looks like someone smeared vasoline on the screen.

that is all for now, tying to not think about RPI football right now.

[Frank Rossi]

With "all hell breaking loose" in the Liberty League the past couple weeks, it is time to regroup and look at the possibilities in terms of teams winning the Liberty League and teams that could possibly find their way into Pool C if they fail to win.

1) Hobart (4-0, 2-0 LL)

- In control of its own destiny

- LL games remaining: at MMA (10/14), at SLU (10/21), vs. Union (11/4) and vs. Rochester (11/11)

- If Union beats SLU, and if Hobart beats MMA and SLU on its way to the 11/4 Union showdown, the Union/Hobart game would be for the League Championship, much like 2004

- Hobart stands the best chance at a Pool C bid if it were to lose the LL with one loss to Union, as 8-1 with a potential win at Alfred and wins against Dickinson and William Patterson would not be a detriment to strength of schedule (must begin to win games with larger margins than the 4.8 points per game average for this to happen)


2) Union (4-1, 3-0 LL)

- In control of its own destiny

- LL games remaining: vs. SLU (10/28), at Hobart (11/4) and at RPI (11/11)

- If Union beats SLU on 10/28, it could win the LL with a win at Hobart

- A loss to SLU or Hobart would not eliminate the Dutchmen.  However, it would require Union to beat RPI and require the team that beats Union to lose an additional game

- Union would be at best 7-2 if it were relying on a Pool C bid.  The only way a Pool C bid could be likely is if Hobart and Springfield both run the table (10-0 and 9-0, respectively).  This would still require some help from other teams in other conferences


3) Rochester (4-2, 2-1 LL)

- Not in control of its own destiny

- LL games remaining: at WPI (10/21), vs. RPI (11/4) and at Hobart (11/11)

- If Rochester runs the table and Union loses two games, Rochester would win the LL

- While a loss would not eliminate Rochester, its loss to Union and a loss to Hobart would likely sink Rochester in a tiebreaker scenario

- A Pool C bid would be unlikely, unless St. John Fisher and Union both run the table (10-0 and 8-1, respectively).  A 10-game schedule might aid Rochester in such a hunt, but it would be a longshot


4) St. Lawrence (3-2, 1-1 LL)

- NOT in control of its own destiny

- LL games remaining: vs. Hobart (10/21), at Union (10/28), vs. MMA (11/4) and at WPI (11/11)

- Since both Hobart and Union remain on its schedule, it obviously is in control of its own destiny IF, and ONLY IF Rochester loses a game 

- Even in a 3-way tie with Rochester and either Union or Hobart, Rochester would probably have the edge on St. Lawrence (although Rochester has no guarantee to win such a tiebreaker either).  St. Lawrence could still win a 4-way tie with either one or two league losses

- A Pool C bid is highly unlikely, as a 7-2 St. Lawrence with losses to Alfred and Rochester might not be enough for consideration (since Alfred has a loss and Rochester has two losses)


5) Merchant Marine Academy (3-3, 1-2 LL)

- Not in control of its own destiny

- LL games remaining: vs. Hobart (10/14), vs. RPI (10/21) and at SLU (11/4)

- Losses to Union and Rochester, who could both be involved in a two-loss tie scenario with Merchant Marine for this scenario to even be feasible, hurt Merchant Marine immensely

- Merchant Marine must run the table, have Hobart and Union both lose two games (since Union and Hobart play, this is actually a very unlikely scenario)

- Union or Rochester cannot be the only other two-loss team, or else Merchant Marine would lose in a direct tiebreaker.  Thus, Hobart cannot lose a third game for this to be possible

- Pool C bid virtually impossible


6) RPI (3-2, 0-2 LL)

- Not in control of its own destiny

- LL games remaining: at MMA (10/21), vs. WPI (10/28), at Rochester (11/4) and vs. Union (11/11)

- Like MMA, RPI must rely on Hobart to lose three games or for Rochester to win all games except the RPI/Rochester game.  RPI loses a three-way tie with Union and Hobart if Hobart beats Union, and loses a three-way tie with St. Lawrence and Hobart.  RPi would win a three-way tie with Union and Rochester.  All other three- and four-way ties would require additional circumstances to decide

- Pool C bid virtually impossible


7) WPI (2-3, 0-3 LL)

- Not in control of its own destiny

- LL games remaining: vs. Rochester (10/21), at RPI (10/28) and vs. SLU (11/11)

- Technically not eliminated since it could win a seven-way tie at 3-3 in the LL since it has won all of its non-league games.  However, if Union wins any of its LL games, Hobart wins two of its LL games or if WPI loses any of its LL games, WPI is eliminated

- Pool C bid impossible

[tecmobowler]

Union's not going anywhere with another loss.

[Frank Rossi]

Remember something:  the post below is not an opinion-based post.  It is based on the idea that Pool C is still very wide open this early in the season.  If there is a huge grouping of two-loss conference runners-up, then Union would have as good a chance as any, depending on the circumstances.

One interesting side note:  in non-league games, the E8 is 17-5 (0.773 winning percentage), while the LL is 14-4 (0.778 winning percentage).  There are about 5 non-league games remaining for each league (including Alfred-Hobart, as the only remaining head-to-head game).

[tecmobowler]

Other interesting note:

Union only plays nine games.

[Frank Rossi]

So do other teams in the country that may finish with 2 losses, and I also pose what seems to be the only likely scenario for Union with 2 losses to gain entry through Pool C -- Springfield going 10-0 and Hobart going 9-0.  It'd be better if Union just ran the table and made this discussion moot, of course.

[maninyellowhat]

on to pro football... my cable company doesn't carry FOX in HD so I can only comment on CBS. Just about every week the 1pm CBS game is not available in HD. why aren't all NFL games broadcast in HD?? CBS college games are usually in HD, what gives?? Depending on who carries the 4pm game there are weeks where Gro gets no HD football until the 8pm game and then monday night (which I watch about the 1st half before it's bed time).

Watching a game in HD then switching to regular TV it looks like someone smeared vasoline on the screen.

that is all for now, tying to not think about RPI football right now.

Fox HD isn't any better than regular Fox when it comes to sports.  A whole lot nicer with their shows, but not with sports.  They also seem to stop broadcasting in HD for about half an hour or so, usually during the 2nd quarter.  So you're not missing much 'Gro.

[Frank Rossi]

My favorite HD moment:  when ABC began broadcasting the World Cup Finale in SD for the first five minutes -- after I invited two female coworkers to come watch on the new 50" Plasma.  After panicking at the unclear cropped image and running into my bedroom to confirm the issue, I went back and saw a glorious HD picture...and it gave me a true appreciation for HD.  Just don't believe the 1080p hype.

[tecmobowler]

Time Warner doesnt offer Fox in HD here