Weekend 9 Game of the Week: Colby (2-6) vs Bowdoin (1-7)
It’s finally here folks, CBB championship weekend. NESCAC fans in Maine have been waiting all season for this game, the chance for one of their beloved teams to hoist a trophy. Bowdoin came out of nowhere last week to grab their first win in what seemed like decades and will hope to keep the magic alive when they take the bus ride up to Waterville this weekend. Colby fans will be brushing off last weekend’s brutal defeat and will get the chance to cheer their team on to what could be their first CBB ‘ship since 2005. Everything is on the line for both teams this weekend, its going to be 40 degrees and dumping rain, and if that doesn’t fire you up I don’t know what will.
Keys for Colby: Shutting Down the Passing Game Early
In both of Colby’s wins this season they allowed 125 yards or less in the air. It will be important for the Mules to establish a dominant pass defense against Bowdoin in order to deteriorate the confidence of QB Austin McCrum. McCrum is dead last in the league, allowing 16 interceptions through only 8 games. The Mules will need to take advantage of his inaccuracy and grab a few more pics this weekend. In a game as high stakes as this one, turnovers of any kind can be a huge momentum swing and with a home crowd in your favor it can be just the confidence boost they need. Colby needs to shut down the passing game early so they can focus their efforts on RB Nate Richam. When Richam is healthy he can terrorize defenses so through eliminating the effectiveness of the passing game Colby has a better chance of shutting him down.
Keys for Bowdoin:
Stopping Schwern
Despite being ineffective last weekend, Colby RB Jake Schwern has been known to tear defenses apart. It is more than likely that he will be handed the ball upwards of 25 times in the game and the Polar Bears will need to be on high alert. Bowdoin is second to last in the league, behind Colby, in rushing yards allowed per game at 236.4 yds/game. Schwern is second in the league in yards per game with just under 100. That is a dangerous combo that Bowdoin will need to address, and quickly. If Bowdoin is able to contain Schwern, which is not impossible, they will give their offense a chance on the field and a chance for a championship. Sure, Colby does have other offensive threats, but if I were in Coach Wells’ shoes, Schwern would be priority #1.
Colby X-Factor:
QB Matt Hersch ‘22
This Freshman has come out of nowhere to help Coach Cosgrove and the rest of the Mules establish a decently effective passing game, something the boys up in Waterville have been trying to get for years. Hersch has averaged a touchdown and 173 yards of passing in the 7 games that he has started for the Mules this year. If these numbers seem pretty average, that’s because they are, but not every game this season for Hersch has looked the same. In the last 2 weekends Hersch has thrown 0 touchdowns, 1 interception and has averaged a mere 68.5 yds/game. These are terrible numbers and if the Mules want to hoist a trophy Saturday night they’re going to need the Matt Hersch from weeks 4-6. In these 3 games Hersch threw for 5 touchdowns, 2 interceptions and averaged a whopping 259 yards per game. Also in this 3 week stretch was where Colby earned both of their wins. I haven’t taken geometry in quite some time but I can tell you that “Matt Hersch plays well therefore Colby wins” is a fairly true statement. This is a lot of pressure on a freshman playing in what must be the biggest game of his career, but Hersch will need to show up on Saturday so that him and the rest of the Mules can celebrate Saturday night.
Bowdoin X-Factor:
RB Nate Richam ‘20
Richam has a small sample size of statistics after sitting out 4 straight weeks with injury, but he has returned at the right time for the Polar Bears because when he is on the field he is by far the most effective part of their offense. In the 4 games he has played this season he has 4 touchdowns and averages 131.5 yards per game, just less than NESCAC leader Max Chipouras. Richam was essentially the reason that Bowdoin was able to take last weekend’s game from Bates. His two touchdowns were essential to their win and his mere presence took some of the focus off of his teammates, who were therefore able to perform better. Richam’s biggest game to date was week 2 against Midd where he racked up an insane 288 rushing yards. Bowdoin is going to need a historic performance such as that one to pull of an away win to take the CBB. All eyes are going to be on Richam when Bowdoin’s offense is on the field and he is not only going to have to deal with that pressure, but embrace it.
Everything Else:
The Bates Bobcats have been running the show in the CBB for the last half decade. They have won the last 5 CBB titles but finally this year it is time to crown a new champion. Both of these teams are hungry for a trophy, which should make for an exciting matchup. Coach Cosgrove will have the opportunity to make a statement in his first year with the Mules, winning a CBB ‘ship for the first time in 13 years. Both offenses have been consistently inconsistent. For the Mules it seems as if they decide to show up one weekend and not the next. If there is any weekend in which the need Matt Hersch and Jake Schwern to prove themselves, this is the one. The stage is perfectly set for them, they’re at home, in the final game of the season, in front of a crowd of fans that wants nothing more than an excuse to go wild. For the Polar Bears they come into this contest to grab a CBB victory out of nowhere. I underestimated this Bowdoin team last weekend, predicting that the Bobcats would take them down fairly easily. This weekend they will be able to complete a miraculous comeback from a clearly last place team to a team that can lift a trophy after it’s all said and done. Tensions and emotions will run high this weekend in what has all the makings of a can’t-miss game.
Score Prediction: Colby 20 Bowdoin 17