This post was written by Adam Lamont, a sophomore at Bowdoin. Lamont is a former member of the Bowdoin football team. 

Offensive MVP: McCallum Foote (Middlebury)

Foote has not managed to repeat last year’s gaudy numbers in terms of efficiency, but he is averaging over 340 yards per game, which is 120 yards more than Jake Doll, the second highest passer in the league. Middlebury’s win over Bates, Saturday, was Foote’s best performance of the year, earning him NESAC Player of the Week honors. The senior threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns while completing 35 of 61 passes, but his biggest plays came with his legs—an underrated aspect of his game. Even when he played terribly in the Amherst game, throwing five interceptions, his value was underscored as his 450-plus yards of passing kept the game close until late. No other player in the NESCAC requires the game planning that Foote does because of his arm. Even without a very consistent running game, the Middlebury offense moves up and down the field because Foote can make every throw consistently. To be sure his 9 interceptions so far this year show he is not perfect, but he is working with a revamped receiver core and young offensive line. He will go do down as one of the all time great quarterbacks in NESCAC history.

Defensive MVP: Landrus Lewis (Amherst)

The senior cornerback for Amherst has been the leader of a defense that has been the key to Amherst’s 4-1 record, ranking second in the NESCAC in points allowed and total defense and first in takeaways with an astounding 15 interceptions. Lewis has accounted for three of those picks, including two in Amherst’s big win over Middlebury and has amassed 129 return yards, tops in the NESCAC. He does not make too many tackles from his corner position, but at 5’11 193 he is stout and has even recorded a sack this year. His ability to cover so much space on the back end frees up the Amherst safeties to take chances in the box. The defense for the Lord Jeffs has been great all around and you make an argument that a number of players from that unit deserve this award.

The Panthers are 3-1 at the halfway mark of the 2013 season. Given the their play, however the Panthers appear as likely to go 1-3 down the stretch as they are to finish the season 6-2. Mac Foote has not regained his 2012 NESCAC Player of the Year form and likely wouldn’t be a First Team All-NESCAC selection through four games. While individual awards don’t matter if the team continues to win, it’s hard to envision Middlebury competing for a NESCAC title without Foote morphing back into an all-conference, let alone All-American, caliber player. How much of Foote’s struggles should be placed squarely on his shoulders is debatable, but even acknowleding stretches inconsistent play on the edge, Foote needs to be improved going forward.

His play—and especially his negative play—will be of particular importance today. If Bates is able to take advantage of Middlebury turnovers with short fields, their gravity-bound offense will appear more phalanx than picket fence. Short fields is the Bobcats’ best chance to eclipse their 14.5 point per game average and their deliberate pace will keep Foote and the offense off the field for long stretches of time.

For the first time this season, the Middlebury offense must help its defense by sustaining drives and converting in key situations. If Middlebury can limit Bates to 50 plays today, instead of their season average 75, Middlebury will win the game, even if the offense continues to struggle in the red zone. While the Panthers won’t be able to settle for field goals against certain teams, long drives that result in three points will be enough today, if Foote and the offense can remain mistake free.

Middlebury needs to improve offensively over the second half in positive ways, by creating more big plays and scoring touchdowns in the red zone. Today, however, they simply need to eliminate the negative plays.

 

Editors’ Note: A group of writers from around the NESCAC, led by Joe MacDonald (Middlebury) and Adam Lamont (Bowdoin), will be contributing to the blog for the remainder of the football season and hopefully beyond. This post was written by MacDonald, a sophomore at Middlebury and a sports editor of The Middlebury Campus.

A season ago, Amherst crushed the Cardinals’ hopes of an undefeated season, traveling to Middletown, Conn. then-unbeaten Wesleyan and emerging with 17-9 victory. This time around the stakes are even higher as two-thirds of the Little Three boast 4-0 records and NESCAC title hopes.

On paper, this appears to be a matchup of the conference’s two best teams. Wesleyan has the top scoring defense and offense this year, while Amherst is second and third in those categories, respectively.  They are first and third in turnover differential, with Amherst’s league-best +9 differential holding the edge to Wesleyan’s +5. And most directly, Wesleyan’s top-ranked rushing offense (266.0 yards per game) will be trying to break through the wall that is Amherst’s first-ranked rush defense (71.2 yards per game allowed).

Editors’ Note: A group of writers from around the NESCAC, led by Joe MacDonald (Middlebury) and Adam Lamont (Bowdoin), will be contributing to the blog for the remainder of the football season and hopefully beyond. This post was written by Lamont, a sophomore at Bowdoin and a former member of the Polar Bears’ football team.

Death Valley at LSU or Camp Randall at Wisconsin are usually mentioned first when college football fans list the most fearsome stadiums to play in. Miami owns the longest Division I home winning streak in the history of college football with 57 straight wins from 1985 to 1994. The Trinity Bantams are approaching that same level of success as they attempt to win their 50th (50th!) consecutive home game against Bowdoin today. The last Bantam loss was on September 29, 2001 against Williams. Most of the players in today’s game were in elementary school and the freshman class was in first grade the last time Trinity lost at home. Today’s game will undoubtedly have plenty of recent football alumni who contributed to the streak along the way to ensure the current group maintains the streak.

Like a season ago, Trinity has gotten off to a perfect 4-0 start. Over the first two weeks of the season, however, this team did not look like the typical Trinity team of recent years that has steamrolled over much of the NESCAC. Close wins over Bates and a still-winless Williams team did not suggest another run at an undefeated season for the Bantams. In the last two weeks the status quo has returned as—playing against lesser competition—Trinity won consecutive games against Hamilton and Tufts by 35-plus points.

Editors’ Note: We are excited to announce that a group of writers from around the NESCAC will be contributing to the blog for the remainder of the football season and hopefully beyond. This post is written by Pat English, a junior government major at Hamilton. Pat is an Opinion editor and sports writer at The Spectator, Hamilton’s student-run newspaper.

A season ago, the Colby game marked a turning point for Hamilton’s offense. For the first time all season, the Continentals scored more than 14 points, putting up 29 by the end of the third quarter alone. The Mules mounted a furious comeback, however, scoring 19 unanswered points to eke out a 32-29 victory. Heading into today’s matchup the teams are separated by just a game in the NESCAC standings and desperate for a win, which should make for another exciting matchup.

Hamilton Offense vs. Colby Defense: This year, the two teams meet at similar points in their seasons. At 1-3, Colby ranks last in the league in yards per game and seventh in scoring offense. Hamilton (0-4) is also struggling on that side of the ball, coming in at ninth and eighth, respectively in those categories.