The time has come, football season is finally upon us. FBS college teams begin games tonight, meaning we will get football non-stop for months now. While teams throughout the NESCAC have turned the page on the 2014 season, we want to take one last look at last year and tell you what stats will be crucial to know heading into the 2015 campaign.
17. No better place to start than the defending champs. The steel-curtain defense of the Amherst Lord Jeffs accrued a league leading 17 interceptions last season. Going into this year, three out of the four defensive backs will be returning as seniors – Jaymie Spears ’16, who led the league with six picks last year, Chris Gow ’16 and Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn ’16. Look for this trio to continue to wreak havoc for opposing NESCAC quarterbacks this year.
2,004. While the DBs of Amherst held him to only 67 yards when they played each other last October, Middlebury quarterback Matt Milano ’16 was the only QB in the conference to throw for over 2000 yards in the 2014 season, amassing 2,004 yards through the air. The next closest was Wesleyan’s Jesse Warren ’15 with 1513.
1. On the other side of the spectrum, the Bowdoin offense had a lowly one passing touchdown in 2014. That touchdown went to fullback Jack Donovan ’15, meaning the Polar Bear wide receivers had zero receiving touchdowns all season. With the entrance of JB Wells as the new head coach of the Polar Bears, along with the change in personnel at the quarterback position with Tim Drakeley ’17, look for a drastic improvement from last year’s lowest-ranked offense.
74.6. The number of tackles per game for Tufts. While the Jumbos had the most tackles per game in the NESCAC, they also were the last-ranked team in terms of passing yards allowed (225.1 per game).
34. The Middlebury Panthers, who were among the league’s best offensively, hired a new offensive coordinator in Dave Caputi for 2015. After graduating from Middlebury himself in 1981, 34 years later he finds himself back as a member of Panther football.
33:38. Wesleyan’s lengthy time of possession per game last year, made possible by their second-ranked 18 first downs per game. They will again look to hold the rock for long periods with their talented running back duo of LaDarius Drew ’15 and Lou Stevens ’17.
16. The number of consecutive losses for Hamilton. Although it’s not quite as impressive as Tufts’ 31 straight which ended last year, second year head coach Dave Murray will rest much easier if that 16 doesn’t turn into 24 after this season.
61. Touches for Trinity RB/QB Spencer Aukamp ’18 last season. Expect that number to rise, but it’s unclear whether that will be via the run or passing game. Aukamp is a weapon and will see a lot of snaps for the Bantams, but they most likely won’t take place under center this season.
71.5. Receiving yards per game for Bates’ Mark Riley ’16, who led the league in this category as well as total receiving yards with 572. The Bobcats are also in the midst of a change at the quarterback position, so it’ll be interesting to see how the loss of Matt Cannone ’15 affects Riley’s 2015 numbers.
2. Straight years Williams has been below .500, an occurrence that had not happened for 15+ years.
533. Total yards for Colby RB Jabari Hurdle-Price ’17, who broke out his sophomore year as the Mules’ premiere back. Keeping an eye on Colby, it will be interesting to see how the ground load will be split for Hurdle-Price and fellow classmate Carl Lipani who, although he had fewer carries (37 compared to 131), averaged more yards per touch (4.9) than Hurdle-Price (4.1). Lipani is healthy again after missing the second half of the season.
23. Fourth down attempts were not rare for Middlebury, and they led the league converting 12 of their 23 tries. The next closest team was Bates with 12 attempts. Keep in mind the change at O-coordinator for the Panthers this season, and consider whether that might have an impact on their fourth down strategy.
226. Bowdoin running back Tyler Grant ’17 had his work cut out for him last year, carrying the ball 226 times, the most of any back in the league. In addition to having his number called early and often, he produced, leading the league in both yards (893) and yards per game (111.6). Don’t expect Bowdoin to lean quite so heavily on him this year.
54. That’s how many points top-ranked Wesleyan kicker Ike Fuchs ’17 had in 2014, who was good for 10 out of 13 field goals on the year. With the amount of time the Cardinal’s offense had possession of the football, coming away with points at the end was a big part of their game last season.
4. Number of sacks for Amherst’s 300-pound defensive tackle Paul Johnson ’17. With the graduation of defenders Chris Tamasi ’15 and Max Lehrman ’15, who had five and 4.5 sacks last year, respectively, the pass rushing load will depend even more on Johnson this season.
60. The number of solo tackles for Tufts’ sophomore defensive back Mike Stearns ’17, which put him at the top of the conference in that category. It is incredibly rare for a defensive back to led the league in tackles, and Stearns might shift from corner to safety this year.
3653. The top-ranked average amount of fans in attendance for Amherst. The real question is do championships help bring the fans, or do the fans help bring the championships? Either way, the Lord Jeffs will go into the 2015 season looking to capture their third consecutive conference championship.
299. Hamilton’s LaShawn Ware ’18, who, despite starting in only one game last season, led the Continentals in rushing yards with 299.
50%. Colby’s red-zone touchdown percentage, which was the worst in the NESCAC. Not only could the Mules not get the ball in the end-zone, but also they failed to kick any field goals from inside the 20 as well.
298. Days since the last NESCAC football game was played, only 24 more to go.