We know last week we took a drop in production. Much of that was because of a decidedly upsetting uptick in classwork, but excuses won’t cut it. Without a doubt our stock was down last week, but we promise that this week will be different. We went back over the tape, saw some places we could improve on (it involves less procrastinating), and are ready for whatever.
Week three didn’t spring any big upsets on us, but Bates and Bowdoin registered their first wins of the season. Scoring was down around the league in part because of the weather with the Amherst-Middlebury game a slog that ended up hinging on one long Nick Kelly ’17 run.
Stock Report:
Amherst Defense- The Jeffs defense on Saturday stifled the Middlebury attack completely holding them to only 2 yards per play. Defensive lineman Paul Johnson ’17 recorded 2.5 sacks and now leads the NESCAC with 4 on the season. A different player has led Amherst in tackles in each of the first three games. If you still have any doubt about how good Amherst is, consider these statistics. Through three games they have let up two plays of more than 20 yards. One was a 28 yard completion by Bowdoin in the final minute of the fourth quarter when Amherst’s backups were in. The other was a 21 completion by Matt Cannone ’16 to Mark Riley ’16. So essentially only play over 20 yards. The longest running play against Amherst is 14 yards. If the Jeffs can get their offense sorted out, they can beat Wesleyan and Trinity.
Quarterback Mac Caputi ’15 (Bowdoin)- Running back Tyler Grant deservedly took home NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week accolades for his 43 carries, 208 yards, and 4 touchdown performance, but that should not overshadow the play of Caputi. Many had called for his benching after week one and those calls were even stronger after backup Tim Drakeley ’17 gave the offense a shot of energy against Amherst. Head Coach Dave Caputi (Yes, they are father and son) gave the younger Caputi one more chance, and he responded brilliantly. He went 20-25 for 209 yards averaging 8.4 yards per attempt without a touchdown or interception. That was after he went 33-57 and averaged only 4.1 yards per attempt in his first two games combined. He made the play that the Jumbo defense gave him and also managed to make a couple of plays with his feet that helped extend drives. Another good performance against Hamilton Saturday could lift the Polar Bears to .500.
Head Coach Dave Murray (Hamilton)- The Continentals have lost the first three games under Murray, but he has been getting rave reviews for his handling of the Hamilton team so far. After a tumultuous few years for the Hamilton program, Murray demands respect and hard work, and the Hamilton has responded positively. On Saturday against Trinity the score was only 3-0 at halftime. For the game Trinity only recorded 12 first downs, and the Bantams are an offense that tends to wear teams down and get a lot of those. Chase Rosenberg ’17 has emerged as a quality QB for Hamilton and the receiving corps has done a great job after losing Joe Jensen ’15. It has been a long time since such positivity has been coming from Clinton, but Murray seems to be the real deal.
Stock Down:
Williams- Now it seems long ago, but in the days leading up to the Williams-Trinity game last week, people really believed the Ephs had a chance to score the upset. They followed up that blowout with another loss on the road to a previously winless Bates team. The offense sputtered especially in the second half which was a major reason for why Bates was able to seal the game with a 14 play, 95 yard drive in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats keyed on the running game for Williams holding them to 2.1 yards per attempt. Austin Lommen ’16 has proven to be an upgrade in the passing game but not the massive one that some expected him to be. With Middlebury coming to Williamstown on Saturday, the Ephs have to get back on track.
Quarterback Gabe Harrington ’17 (Colby)- The sophomore had Colby fans excited before the season as he stepped in to lead the Mule offense. He performed admirably in his first game but has seen his statistics regress in the last two weeks. Saturday he completed only 40.5% of his passes and threw two interceptions. The Colby offense has now scored seven points in each of the last three weeks in part because the passing game has stalled. Some of his struggles can be attributed to the strength of the defenses he has faced. Middlebury, Wesleyan, and Trinity are all very good against the pass. And things don’t get any easier when the Mules go on the road to face the hottest defense in the NESCAC- Amherst.
Kicker Phillip Nwosu ’15 (Amherst)- In the preseason one of the All-NESCAC picks we felt most confident about was Nwosu because of the strength of his leg and accuracy. So far he has struggled going 1-3 on field goals with both misses coming within 35 yards. On the opening drive for Amherst he missed a 30 yard field goal that helped keep the game tied for a long time. Last season kicking was the difference in the Trinity-Amherst game with the advantage going to the Jeffs. Nwosu has to find his kicking stroke again in order to help an Amherst offense that has done very little so far.