Elation and Heartbreak in Hartford: The Stock Report 11/4

In another thrilling game between two of the top teams in the NESCAC, Amherst managed to give Trinity their second consecutive home loss by a 7-6 score. The win all but wraps up the NESCAC championship for Amherst assuming they can hold serve at home against Williams.

The NESCAC could be accurately described this year as a two-tiered league. Middlebury, Wesleyan, Trinity, and Amherst were all well above their competition. The only losses those teams had were against each other with Middlebury’s overtime victory over Williams the closest call to an upset. So while a lot of games lacked drama, when those teams matched up, it more often than not resulted in great games.

Stock Up

Wesleyan Defense: If you don’t give up any points in two games, we are going to recognize your level of play. Bowdoin and Williams are two of the lesser offenses in the league, but it is still quite an achievement. This is a senior laden defense with stars all across the board. Because of that, it can be hard for one player to stand out. Safety Justin Sanchez ’17 is the leading tackler for the Cardinals but has only the 17th most in the league. The one exception that has stood out even on Wesleyan is Jake Bussani ’14. The defensive back has a whopping six interceptions, two of which he brought all the way back to the house. Even though they are only fourth in points given up, Wesleyan has allowed 20 fewer yards per game than any other team. At this point it seems unlikely that Wesleyan is able to capture a NESCAC championship, but they still want to beat their arch-rival Trinity badly. Another shutout from the defense would do just that.

Wide Receiver Greg Lanzillo ’15 (Tufts): In his final home game, Lanzillo went out with a bang turning all three of his catches into touchdowns. He opened up the scoring with a 61 yard completion from Alex Snyder ’17 who was filling in for injured senior Jack Doll ’15. Then Lanzillo scored the final two touchdowns for the Jumbos as well to stretch the score to 28-0 in the third quarter. The Jumbos ended up cruising to the 28-7 victory over Colby and finished the season undefeated at home. Lanzillo played the role of the deep target man in a Tufts offense that threw the ball underneath on the vast majority of their passes.He ranks fourth on the team with 14 catches but actually leads the team in yards with 312. His 22.3 yards per catch would be first in the NESCAC if he qualified. Lanzillo along with all the other Tufts seniors were rewarded for their hardwork by a magical season. The legacy they leave will extend well past this year.

Running Back Shaun Carroll ’16 (Bates): One of the biggest problems for Bates all year has been their inability to gain consistent yards on the ground. Coming into Saturday, no player had more than 200 yards rushing. That made Carroll’s 80 rushing yards on 10 attempts all the more impressive. The performance was by far his best of the season, and he also scored the only touchdown for Bates on the day. Because of the cold wet conditions in Brunswick, offense was at a premium, but Carroll did a great job all game of getting to the outside and picking up yards. Bowdoin was never able to get the ball moving consistently against a very good front seven. The victory for Bates clinched the CBB title for them, the second time in three years that the Bobcats have won the title. This year was an especially sweet victory because of all the off the field tragedy for Bates. These seniors have gone through a lot and more than deserved the victory Saturday.

Stock Down

Trinity’s Luck: Absolute heartbreak for the Bantams who for the second consecutive year have lost to both Middlebury and Amherst. Trinity hasn’t slipped much, but it has slipped just enough to lose close games. Yet this was a game that the Bantams really felt they should have won. This was the second straight year that the margin of victory for Amherst was a missed extra point by Trinity. The missed extra point would not have mattered either if Ben Rosenblatt ’17 had been able to make a 24 yard field goal in the final minute of the game.

Being unlucky is also having to play your fourth string freshman quarterback for the first time all year against the most opportune defense in the NESCAC. Hayden Jardine ’18 struggled in his action of the year throwing for only 10 yards, and the Bantams were forced to become completely one-dimensional and turn to running QB Spencer Aukamp ’18 for most of the second half. All of this should not take away from Amherst of course. They went into Hartford against a team that had more motivation than anyone all year after what Middlebury did. The Jeffs played their game, keeping the ball on the ground, and winning the turnover battle. They played a great game and have proven themselves to be the class of the NESCAC this year, but the game Saturday leaves Trinity thinking: what if?

Photo Courtesy of Greg Sullivan (http://www.sevenstrong.net/TrinityFootball)
Photo Courtesy of Greg Sullivan (http://www.sevenstrong.net/TrinityFootball)

Williams: Look, we don’t know the details of the Williams football program, but something has gone wrong in Williamstown the last few years. Before the year started, Ephs fans (and us) thought that 2013 was a bottoming out for their proud squad. A 2-6 record is not what Williams fans expect, but there were a lot of good signs going forward. The Ephs really did play better than their record, but an 0-4 record in games decided by seven points or less doomed them. The defense was a strength with a breakout star in James Howe ’16. Most importantly for this year, Williams was returning 17 starters and brought in transfer quarterback Austin Lommen ’16 to improve the passing game. Everything looked great when in week one the Ephs laid the boom on Bowdoin and won 36-0. Since then the season has been a debacle in many ways. The offense has now been shut out twice at home, and the defense has allowed the second most yards in the NESCAC. After a lot of hope before the season, Williams can’t wait for 2015.

Next Week: The expectation before the season began was that the league championship would come down to the final week of the season. While the scenario of Williams stunning Amherst and Wesleyan beating Trinity to cause a tie between Amherst and Wesleyan at the top is still possible, it appears very unlikely. Given how bad Williams has looked this year, Amherst should have no trouble with the Ephs. The game in Middletown between Wesleyan and Trinity will be a good one, but the teams are playing for second place. Even beyond the championship race, the other games lack drama. Colby-Bowdoin last year was an instant classic that ended with one of the wildest endings in memory while also robbing Colby of the CBB title. This year, with Bates already having won the CBB, the two teams are playing simply for pride. Elsewhere, Middlebury-Tufts and Bates-Hamilton lack much in the way of a traditional rivalry.

Here is the thing however: rivalry games are still rivalry games. Maybe hypothetical television ratings are down next week because some fans won’t tune in, but don’t expect the game day experience to change much. All the motivation that players need is the combination of playing against a team you don’t like and trying to send the seniors out with a victory. Thousands of alums, students, and community members will still flock to Amherst for the Biggest Little Game in America. Though most of the usual drama is already played out, a lot still is left to be played for, and we will have every second of it covered.

Tufts Team Preview – The Jumbo Herd is Ready to Rumble

Editors Note: Today we start our team previews. We are releasing them in order of expected finish and will do two every day of this week.

2013 Record: 0-8

Returning Starters: 21 (10 Offense, 10 Defense, 1 specialist)

Offensive Overview:

A unit that at times looked very good returns practically everyone who made an impact last season. Tufts will again be running the spread offense that relies on a lot of West Coast passing concepts of short to intermediate throws. The QB position is a question mark as Jack Doll ’15 and Alex Snyder ’17 are in an open competition. Doll was the starter to begin the 2013 season before he was injured. Snyder struggled with accuracy but had some good moments as well. When Doll returned from injury against Middlebury in the final game of the year he saw the majority of the snaps. The running back tandem of Zach Trause ’15 and Chance Brady ’15 was actually pretty effective averaging a combined 4.6 yards per carry last year.

Whoever wins out at QB will have plenty of returners at his disposal. At receiver, Greg Lanzillo ’15 is the number one guy on the outside with Jack Cooleen ’16 on the other side. In the slot Ben Berey ’17 and Mike Rando ’17 are the starters. An offensive line that was pretty inexperienced entering last season now features two seniors in center  Landon Davis ’15 and captain guard Kyle Duke ’15. Tackles Akene Farmer-Mikos ’16 and Justin Roberts ’16 were both starters as well. The final spot is up for grabs in a unit that has to do a better job in pass protection after letting up 26 sacks.

Defensive Overview:

Again, much like the offense, a young unit from last season has to make major strides. The secondary welcomes back safety Mike Defeo ’15 to pair with Pat Glose ’15. Junior Arroyo ’16 mans one corner position while Mike Stearns ’17 enjoyed a great freshman year at the other corner finishing third on the team in tackles. His hard nosed style is what Tufts is looking to do at every position in order to match up with the run heavy offenses in the NESCAC. Linebackers Matt McCormack ’16 and Tommy Mead ’15 are now in their third year starting with each other.

A wealth of returners on the defensive line headlined by James Brao ’15 and Corey Burns ’16 return. The line is undersized with no player over 250 pounds listed on the roster from 2013. They try to make up for that by rotating players in to keep everyone fresh, and the defensive staff also has to get a little inventive in terms of stunts and blitzes. Whether it was through the air or on the ground, Tufts struggled to stop teams last season, but the athletes they return should help.

Courtesy of Tufts athletics
Courtesy of Tufts athletics

Three Big Questions

1. Can Tufts score in the red zone?  Tufts had the lowest rate (42%) of touchdowns after reaching the red zone last year in the NESCAC. While they were able to move the ball OK, the spread offense got bogged down in the most important part of the field. A common complaint of the spread is that it doesn’t work as well in the red zone. To combat that an offense has to either run the ball very well or have receivers who can win 1-on-1 battles.

2. Can the defense improve?

The Jumbos allowed a shocking 99 more yards per game than any other team. They simply struggled to get off the field as Tufts held the ball for only 25:29 per game. While they played well in certain games (against Bowdoin and Amherst, for example), games were often over by halftime as the Jumbos allowed an average of 24.5 points in the first half of games. Another year of getting stronger and faster should yield better results for what was a very young group. It is hard to pinpoint what needs to improve the most, but garnering more than the seven sacks they had all of 2013 is a good place to start.

3. Is this a make or break year for Jay Civetti?

Head Coach Jay Civetti is now entering his fourth season, and his record at Tufts is 0-24. Judging him by that record is a mistake given how little he inherited when taking over and how young a team Tufts was. Civetti brings great energy and has worked hard to position the team for improvement, but now some results have to follow given all the players returning for this season. Even though Civetti’s job is not in trouble, a breakthrough win or two would prove the progress the Tufts program has been making.

Team MVP: The two linebackers McCormack and Meade get the nod because of their work in the middle of the defense. Though their numbers are inflated somewhat because of how many plays the Jumbo defense is on the field for, these two represent the best hope for improvement on that side of the ball. Unlike the NFL where corner and defensive end are now the most important positions on defense, good NESCAC teams build from the middle out. Having those two to anchor the defense is a huge advantage.

Biggest Game of the Year: Sept. 20 against Hamilton

Consider this for a second; no current player on the Tufts roster has won a football game as a Jumbo. Their best chance for a victory in 2014 comes in the very first game of the year against a Hamilton team that was also winless last season. One worry for Tufts is that they come out too excited and try to do too much. Penalties or a costly turnover at the wrong time are a big reason why Tufts has endured such a long losing streak that looks like it should end this season.

Best Tweet of the Offseason:

The Jumbos have the experience and desire to turn their losing streak around this year. Is this the season they break through?