Time to eat crow
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I practically said that Chris Sharpe is the best thing to happen to Division III football since sliced bread, gushing over all the accomplishments ...
So against Ithaca, he looked human in the slop.
I didn't see him against Fisher like I did against Ithaca (via ICTV), but he looked beatable. Which the Pride were by the Bombers by a 24-7 score in the rain and mud at Butterfield Stadium on Saturday.
Sharpe didn't have a horrible day. He carried 24 times for 74 yards and one touchdown, a 9-yard run in the first quarter. But Ithaca held Sharpe 101.6 yards below his rushing average. They stopped the Pride's vaunted No. 1 ranked rushing offense.
I won't totally fall off the bandwagon. Here's a bold prediction. Despite the slip-and sliding against Ithaca, I believe Sharpe is still a player of the year candidate.
The 'unsolvable' triangle in the Empire 8
So now three teams in the Empire 8 have one loss -- Ithaca, Springfield, and St. John Fisher. If all three win their remaining games, all three will end up with 9-1 records, and you really can't go by head to head matchups anymore because each one split against the other two.
To top that off, Ithaca beat Springfield by 17 (24-7), the same margin that the Pride beat Fisher (55-38)!
Union announcer Frank Rossi is smarter than the average Division III football bear. He's managed in a very readable, understandable way to get the Empire 8 tiebreaker.
Without repeating all the numbers here, Springfield has the upper hand and St. John Fisher could still win, but unfortunately Ithaca loses out based on the win-loss record and the strength of non-conference opponents they've played. While a win at Cortaca Jug would be a plus the committee couldn't deny, their other non-conference games against Buffalo State and against non-regional independent Huntington might not be enough to push the Bombers over the top. Now saying that, the committee could take three Empire 8 teams in the 32-team tournament, but we'll just have to watch over the next two weeks.
Could Ithaca be 9-1 and get snubbed by the NCAA? The Bombers have had 36 consecutive winning seasons, one of the highest current totals at any level of college football, Division III or otherwise. (Linfield just clinched its 51st consecutive winning season, which is the longest streak in college football history.)
Don't forget the rest
About the rest of the East. Cortland is 8-0 for the first time in about 20 years. If they win out against Rowan and Ithaca, they get the No. 1 seed in the East, right? An Ithaca loss would also take them out of contention for NCAA in all likelihood in this situation.
But not so fast, my friend. What about Hobart? Also undefeated still with games against Union Saturday at the Boz and the Nov. 11 against Rochester, two winnable games.
Last week's predictions
I said Springfield 38-31 over Ithaca.
I said Union 31-13 over St. Lawrence
I said Hartwick 24-7 over Norwich.
I was two out of three. Not bad. Three more predictions at the end of this column.
Crow tastes like chicken
Montclair State. I give the Red Hawks some pub in the last couple of weeks, and then I cast them aside after they lost to Kean, and then I tossed them in the garbage disposal after they were smoked by Cortland 41-3.
Then after they are left for dead, they go and upset the then-ranked No. 7 Rowan Profs 27-20 after forcing overtime on a Vin Doffont 43-yard field goal with nine seconds left in regulation.
I've said all season that despite their victories (discounting its loss against Robert Morris -- not a Division III team), Rowan has been unimpressive against teams they should beat up. Finally after a few weeks of that, the Profs stumble against Montclair State.
Team hanging perilously on the edge by their fingertips:
Rowan can go in this spot. They come off the loss to Montclair State to face off against Cortland State which will be a tough opponent to topple, especially this season as Cortland has looked impressive. The Red Dragons have backup quarterback Ray Miles in in place of Alex Smith, but the Dragons have the chance to 'step' on the Profs' 'fingertips' and cause them to fall off the cliff.
Team peering over the edge:
Rochester. At 6-2 and still in the hunt for the Liberty League title if it can win its last games. It would be an impressive accomplishment for first-year coach and former NFL player Scott Greene if the Yellowjackets could get it done.
A game with title implications in the Liberty League:
Union and Hobart will stand in Rochester's way to the LL title and they face off Saturday at the Boz (Boswell Field in Geneva).
Both come off good wins, Union pasting St. Lawrence 42-7 and Hobart a hard-fought victory over E8 contender Alfred 21-14. Union gets Ryan Twichell and Steve Angiletta back from injury.
See my prediction at the bottom of the page.
Other notables during Week 9 of the Division III season:
RPI shut out WPI 26-0 in the 100th annual meeting between the Engineers and ... well, Engineers. In the 27th meeting for the Transit Trophy, the boys from Troy won for the 10th consecutive time against the Massachusetts guys. Overall, RPI has the 52-43-5 lead in the 100-game series.
RPI forced seven turnovers in the nasty field conditions at '86 Field and held WPI to 89 rushing yards.
SUNY-Maritime beats Becker 29-16 for the Privateers' first win in program history. Congratulations to coach Clayton Kendrick-Holmes and the rest of the team.
As for Becker, the loss was the 15th straight in the two years of the program. Keep it up guys. You'll get it done soon enough. Don't give up.
Goal-line oriented
Ithaca's Justin Kulp is the Brandon Jacobs of Division III. For those around the country who don't follow the NFL's New York Giants, Jacobs usually gets the goal-line carries, denying Tiki Barber the scores.
Kulp has been the man this year down near the goal line. He has only rushed for 101 yards this year, but has seven touchdowns.
Great performances
Union senior running back Tom Arcidiacono ran for five touchdowns and 172 yards in
the U's 42-7 win over St. Lawrence.
As referenced above, Montclair State kicker Vin Doffont (which ties Vinson Hendrix of Alfred for coolest name in the region) kicked a 43-yarder with nine seconds left to force overtime against Rowan in a game MSU would eventually win.
Hartwick quarterback Jason Boltus threw for 237 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-20 win over Norwich. He also ran for a touchdown, and is now in third place in school history with 4,997 passing yards.
Junior St. John Fisher running back Ryan Hansen ran for 168 and a touchdown on only 13 carries in the Cardinals 64-0 drubbing of Utica.
Alfred's Paul Keeley tied a Saxons school record with 21 passing touchdowns this season.
Ithaca's Jamie Donovan outran Springfield's Chris Sharpe on Saturday, carrying 20 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns, and now is third in career rushing yards at Ithaca.
Brockport State held SUNY-Morrisville to 153 yards of total offense in their 16-0 win.
Around the East Top 10
Sure to spark debate everywhere!
1. Cortland State
2. Wesley
3. Hobart
4. St. John Fisher
5. Ithaca
6. Springfield
7. Union
8. Rochester
9. RPI
10. Rowan
Honorable mention: Alfred
Predictions
Cortland vs. Rowan: I think Rowan is reeling after the loss last week, and I think Cortland nails them with the knockout blow. Cortland 24, Rowan 13
Union at Hobart: The U comes off the big win and I think they can create some havoc in the LL with a win. Bring on the Shoes! Union 27, Hobart 24
Ithaca at Alfred: Ithaca's flying high after the big win over Springfield, but on the carpet at Merrill, the Bombers can't let their guard down or the playoffs may be a distant memory. Ithaca 21, Alfred 14.