Over the Hump: Week 6 Power Rankings

(1) 1. Middlebury (6-0)

The Panthers have continued to prove that they are a step ahead of the rest of ‘CAC and that showed this past weekend in their 45-21 win over previously undefeated Wesleyan. Will Jernigan ’21 earned himself NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week after lighting the Cardinal D up for over 350 passing yards and 4 touchdowns. Offensive production has not yet been an issue for Middlebury this year, it is the defensive side of the ball where things can get shaky for the Panthers. Letting up 26 points to a struggling Colby defense was certainly a red-flag for Panther fans, but the defense showed once again this week that they will do what they must to give their offense a chance week in and week out. As the only undefeated team left with a fairly soft schedule to round out the season, this is Midd’s conference to lose. Middlebury will almost surely keep their record clean this coming weekend as they face an 0-6 Bowdoin squad.

(3) 2. Williams (5-1)

William’s defensive consistency and lethal passing game has propelled them up to 2nd on our power rankings this week. Frank Stola ’21 seemed to take the day off against Bates, only recording 14 yards on 2 catches, but that didn’t phase the Eph offense whatsoever as Bobby Maimaron ’21 found the back of the endzone 3 times (he now leads the conference with 16 TDs) and Freshman running back Elijah Parks ’23 ran for his first collegiate TD. It is not a shock to see that Williams held the Bobcats to just one score as they lead the conference with just 8.7 points against per game, almost half the points allowed of the next best team. If it were not for the week one battle that they lost to Midd, Williams would surely be sitting atop the power rankings. These final 3 games will be the toughest stretch the Ephs will have to face this year, starting with the Bantams in Hartford next weekend.

(5) 3. Trinity (4-2)

It has been a good past couple of weekends for the Bantams as they have taken a couple of trips up to Maine and outscored their opponents a combined 94-7. Trinity is well known for their CBB-aided stat-padding and their scorlines are finally starting to look like the Trinity of the past. Seamus Lambert ’22 continues to lead the conference in passing yards per game (256.2), QB efficiency (189.9) and completion percentage (65.2%) while being just one passing TD shy of the lead with 15. The biggest problem with the Bantams is that Lambert is essentially their only offensive production. He also leads the team in rushing yards and rushing attempts, showing what a one-horse show this offense really is. Clearly against teams like Colby and Bates this strategy works effortlessly, but better teams can adjust as is shown in the Bantam’s 2 losses.  

(4) 4. Amherst (4-2)

Amherst is lucky to remain at #4 after being upset by Hamilton. It was neck and neck between the two the whole game but a few miracles and a couple of Ollie Eberth interceptions saw Amherst take their second loss of the season. While this loss is a big blow for Amherst lots of credit has to be given to a persistent Hamilton team who has put up good fights against the better teams in the conference this season. Amherst just doesn’t seem to have what it takes to hang with the big dogs in the conference this season and it is for that reason that they have continued to linger outside of the top 3. It is not a surprise to see that as a team, Amherst is 4th in the conference in points scored per game and points against per game. This team just screams slightly above-average and they’ve played that role to a tee this season. Their next contest will be home against Wesleyan where they have a chance to justify their ranking. 

(2) 5. Wesleyan (5-1)

Sorry Wesleyan fans, your time is up and the real schedule has started. Unfortunately for the Cardinals their 5-0 record seems to be more due to strength of schedule than ability, as their defense that had not allowed more than 13 points in a game had Middlebury walk all over them for 45 points. This had to be a painful reality check for the Cardinals and that reality check is reflected in the sharp downward movement in the rankings. Before last weekend Wesleyan had already played all 3 CBB teams as well as Hamilton and Tufts. It is fairly safe to say that this was the softest possible start that Wesleyan could have been given this year and now they have to face 3 more of the best teams in the league. This is where the season will start to get rough for the Cardinals because every weekend from here on out will be a test and their defense just failed the first test miserably. 

(6) 6. Tufts (3-3)

The Jumbos rise back up to .500 after easily taking care of business against Bowdoin in a 49-0 rout. After a week 1 defeat of Trinity the trajectory of the Jumbos season was sky high, but 6 weeks in they face a very different reality. With the clear exceptions of their CBB contest, the Jumbos offense has been lackadaisical at best all season. Even in their win against Trin the Jumbos only recorded 2 scores and in their crushing defeat to Amherst, Tufts could only muster up 8 points. This lack of offensive production couples with their defense’s tendency to allow crooked scoreboards has resulted in an extremely disappointing season for Tufts. The Jumbos will try and salvage what is left next weekend as they welcome a red-hot Continental squad in what could be a defacto 6th place game. 

(7) 7. Hamilton (3-3)

Hamilton is riding high at the moment after shocking Amherst last weekend 31-28. Absolute chaos ensued at the end of the game in which Hamilton was down by 11 with just 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Continental kicker Sam Thoreen booted a 44 yarder to make it 28-20 Amherst, then the Contintal defense came up clutch and forced a 3 and out. After the 3 and out the offense drove down the field for a TD and converted a ridiculous 2-point conversion on a broken play to make it an even 28-28. Hamilton was then able to block a punt with 30 seconds left and Thoreen kicked a 40 yarder for the win. The win was a great display of grit and determination and its safe to say now that Hamilton has solidified themselves as an extremely competitive team who can give anybody a run for their money on any weekend. While Tufts is probably the favorite heading into the weekend, I wouldn’t blame anyone riding the wave of momentum that Hamilton is on right now. Another strong performance could allow the Continentals continue to grind their way up this year’s power rankings. 

(8) 8. Colby (0-6)

Colby did absolutely nothing to prove that they were better than the rest of the CBB this past weekend in their 43-7 loss to Trinity, but everyone else in the CBB also got destroyed too so they will stay atop. As a Mule fan, or any CBB fan for that matter, it can be extremely disheartening having 6 straight weekends of losing football. Their tight game against Midd added some spice to what was previously a very bland season, and now the real fun can finally begin for the Mules as they get their first CBB opponent of the season this weekend when they host Bates. QB Matt Hersch ’22 will look to lead the Mules to their second straight CBB championship this year as he sits at 5th in the conference in yards per game (207) but leads the conference in attempts with 201. He will need to reign it in and establish consistency in the passing game as the dual-back system of Chris George ’20 and David Smith ’20 have produced barely over 100 yards of rushing per game combined. A game against Bates at home should be all the encouragement that Colby needs to come out firing this weekend in what is the beginnings of this years’ CBB championship.

(10) 9. Bates (0-6)

Once again Bates and Bowdoin have flip-flopped at 9 and 10 and this week it is because Bates was able to get on the scoreboard in their 35-7 loss to Williams while Bowdoin was given no room to breathe in their 49-0 loss to Tufts. Bates showed us their most impressive performance of the season thus far a few weeks back when they took a close one with Tufts deep into the 4th quarter, eventually losing 33-28. That scoreline contrasted with Bowdoin’s 49-0 scoreline suggests to me that Bates is a more competitive team at this point in the season that Bowdoin. While the gap between the two is slim, Bates has a fantastic chance to blow that gap wide open and propel themselves towards a CBB championship with their game this weekend at Colby. CBB games are almost always a toss-up no matter what so even if the Mules look stronger on paper and have home field advantage, Bates still have more than a fighting chance. When I say Bates, I mean Brendan Costa. The guy is their entire offense and if the Mules can stop him they will lose but if the Mules can’t then it’s all Bobcats. The equation is very simple and that is thanks to the extreme lack of creativity and running game in Bates’ offense. That all being said, Colby is no powerhouse so Bates will certainly have an opportunity to steal one in enemy territory on Saturday.

(9) 10. Bowdoin (0-6)

Last Saturday’s game against Tufts was miserable on both sides of the ball for the Polar Bears as they were manhandled by the Jumbos. Bowdoin’s best offensive weapon, RB Nate Richam-Odoi ’20, could only amass 27 yards on 11 rushing attempts against a Tufts defense that gave up over 40 points to Amherst. While it is obviously not all Richam-Odoi’s fault as the blocking around him was nothing less than non-existent, that is still a disheartening statistic for the player that could separate Bowdoin offensively from the rest of the CBB. The tough weekends will keep coming for the Polar Bears as they welcome undefeated Middlebury on Saturday in what should be another game to forget.