NESCAC oozes with tradition, but not playoffs
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The league oozes with tradition. Some of the rivalries are the best you'll find anywhere. The Little Three rivalry games involving Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan are anticipated by alumni every year. The CBB rivalry series involving Bates, Bowdoin and Colby has similar prestige and importance attached to it.
Sports Illustrated anointed the post-game walk at Williams after the homecoming game as "The Best Post-Game Tradition in America." That stroll from Weston Field up the street to the barber shop is one of those extras that makes the NESCAC so special.
Williams and Amherst have been meeting on the gridiron since 1881, Bowdoin and Colby since 1892, Colby and Bates since 1893 and Bowdoin and Bates since 1889. When Williams knocked Tufts from the ranks of the unbeaten this week, it was the Ephs' 600th victory, making them only the fifth Division III team to reach that milestone and the first in New England. Now, that's tradition.
Yet, this time of year, something is missing. There should be an unbelievable playoff buzz. Amherst, Middlebury, Trinity and Tufts are all locked in a tie for first place with 4-1 records. Imagine that, five weeks into the season, there is no team with a perfect record and four of them are tied for the best record. There should be all kinds of anticipation about which team will win the race for the NCAA playoff berth.
But there is no playoff spot for the winner of the NESCAC. It is league in which the teams simply play eight games and turn in their uniforms.
The presidents embrace this quaint custom. It is the league's stance that prolonging the season is getting away from the student athlete ideal that the NESCAC is so noted for.
And that was fine before the 1993-94 school year. That's when the presidents lifted the NCAA playoff ban for all other teams except football.
That is, to my way of thinking, when excluding the NESCAC football champion from NCAA postseason play became discriminatory.
Chris Fells, who does the play-by-play for all Middlebury football games home and away over ESPN 1490-WFAD, should have been packing up his equipment in the Bates press box in Lewiston, Maine on Saturday for the long drive back home, thinking about having at least the possibility of doing an NCAA playoff game in the future.
"I think it's ridiculous," Fells said of the ban. "And I have been outspoken about it."
And it's not only because the Panthers he calls the action for are 4-1 and working on a special season. Fells would love to see any of the top NESCAC teams measure themselves against top regional opponents like the Currys or St. John Fishers of the world.
"The recent Trinity teams could have beaten a lot of the top Division III teams," Fells said.
Since the NESCAC lifted its NCAA playoff ban in 1993, Middlebury has seen its teams claim 27 NCAA Division III national championships in other sports.
Imagine being a football player and seeing the rest of the campus athletic fraternity going off into the world of postseason play and coming back with national championship crowns.
It's no different at Williams where the Ephs have won 17 national championships in nine sports.
Still, the presidents are not the only NESCAC people who have not wanted to see their football teams test the playoff waters.
"When Dick Farley coached here, he did not want to extend the season," Williams Sports Information Director Dick Quinn says. "There are practice issues and weather issues.
"And then you are asking our kids to play in the 'Biggest Little Game in America' (the Williams-Amherst game) and then asking them to play in a game that isn't as big. I don't know?"
The Williams-Amherst game draws in the neighborhood of 10,000 people each year and is televised on the New England Sports Network.
The odd thing about the NESCAC is that it not only excludes its teams from postseason, but that it limits them to only eight games.
"There is a bigger push for a ninth game than for playoffs," Quinn said. The coaches have petitioned to be able to add a nine game and will likely continue to do so.
Even if the teams can't measure themselves outside the conference in a playoff setting, one non-conference game would be an improvement.
Middlebury and in-state rival Norwich University played one another a hundred times, but the series ceased in 1991 when the NESAC became confined to just the eight conference games.
"Everybody wants to see the Middlebury-Norwich game," Fells said. A ninth game would be nice. The opportunity for a playoff berth even better.
NESCAC powers collide
Those four 4-1 teams all play one another this week. Tufts hosts Amherst and Trinity travels to Middlebury. Imagine the NCAA playoff buzz with this same situation in another conference.
The Wesleyan air show
Wesleyan quarterback Zack Librizzi continued to put up big numbers. He completed 25 of 43 passes for 259 yards in the 28-9 loss to Amherst. Librizzi leads the conference in total offense. He has rushed for 136 yards and thrown for 1,202.
Tackling machine
Williams linebacker Trevor Powers earned NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week honors with 17 tackles with four stops for a loss. He also had a sack and recovered a fumble in the Ephs win over Tufts. The other NESCAC Player of the Week honors were won by Amherst's Aaron Rauh (Offense) and Hamilton's Mark Snickenberger (Rookie).
Another big game
Curry stayed unbeaten (8-0) by winning its New England Football Conference showdown against Plymouth State, 42-14. Jamal Woods rushed for 110 yards and Ryan Van De Giesen threw for three touchdowns to keep the Colonels perfect while pinning the first loss of the season on Plymouth.
When you keep winning, the games just keep getting bigger. Curry now travels to Nichols, which has only one loss in the Boyd Division for another NEFC showdown. In the Bogan Division, Maine Maritime and Coast Guard meet with the division title on the line.
Record breaking
Tufts senior quarterback Matt Russo went 30-of-45 for 308 yards, tying the program record for completions. As a team, the Jumbos were 39-of-57 for 378 yards, all program standards.
Sweet Homecoming
The Endicott Gulls had weathered a 1-5 season coming into Homecoming, but a 34-21 victory over Western New England took a lot of the sting out of the season. Colby Hawkins piled up 123 yards on just nine carries and his day included a 36-yard touchdown jaunt. Alex Smith took the idea of spreading the ball around to an art form as he completed 13 passes to seven receivers.
Mount Ida, another independent, did not fare as well, losing 43-27 to Hartwick.
This week Mount Ida will host future North Atlantic Conference foe Gallaudet. Ida and Gallaudet begin play in the NAC in 2009.
Husson, another independent and future NAC team, made the long trip to western New York and came back to Bangor, Maine with a 53-21 loss to Alfred. Husson has already assured itself of a winning season with a 5-3 record. The Eagles have an open date this week and wind up the season against Becker, another NAC charter team, on Nov. 3.