NEC Pick'em Week 2

[Original_RMC]

Week 2 Games
Albany @ Stephen F. Austin
Bryant vs. Saint Anselm
CCSU vs. Bentley
Duquesne vs. Dayton
Monmouth vs. Maine
RMU @ Sacred Heart
SFPA @ Morehead State
Wagner @ Assumption

[danefan]

Albany @ Stephen F. Austin - historically a tough offensive style for the Danes defense to handle. The inability to convert in the red zone last week cannot continue with any hope of winning tough games on the road. Hopefully we can keep it close, but I cannot pick Albany to win. Not enough firepower on offense yet.

Bryant vs. Saint Anselm - I knew Bryant would be tough on Defense, but now it looks like they have the offense on track as well. They should have beaten Fordham by more and they'll kill poor St. Anselm.

CCSU vs. Bentley - CCSU better beat up on Bently.

Duquesne vs. Dayton - I think RMU > Duquense and Dayton > RMU, so I have to use my logic and pick Dayton over the Dukes. All the Dukes need to do though is stop Valentino and they'll win. But I'm not sure they (or anyone else this year) can do that.

Monmouth vs. Maine - Maine will be up for some revenge this week. Monmouth better watch out or this could get ugly. The Hawks won't get the benefit of a first half with Warren Smith under center for Maine. That experiment is over.

RMU @ Sacred Heart - Coach Walton rights the ship and gets RMU its first win on the road to the Playoffs.

SFPA @ Morehead State - tough loss last week for SFPA after manhandling the Libert lines for the first quarter and a half. SFPA may have gained some confidence though. Morehead is coming off a beating by JMU and the bottom of the NEC is just better than the bottom of the PFL this year.

Wagner @ Assumption - the days of Wagner losing to sub-DI teams is over with Nick Doscher at the helm. I can see Wagner hanging 45+ on Assumption in a rout.

[CoachL]

Albany @ Stephen F. Austin - Can lightning strike twice? ..... Nah.

Bryant vs. Saint Anselm - Romp of the Week?

CCSU vs. Bentley - I hope that this is Romp of the Week II, The Sequel.

Duquesne vs. Dayton - Duquesne showed 1/4 of its offense last week, and I believe that Opfar has got the defense ready to handle Valentino.

Monmouth vs. Maine - Don't mess with pissed off Black Bears.

RMU @ Sacred Heart - Might be closer than I originally expected. I question RMU's discipline.

SFPA @ Morehead State - St. Francis will be able to play four quarters of football this week.

Wagner @ Assumption - Wagner makes it a clean sweep for the Northeast Conference over the Northeast 10 Conference

[Seahawks]

Albany @ Stephen F. Austin
Bryant vs. Saint Anselm Bryant was impressive vs Fordham
CCSU vs. Bentley
Duquesne vs. Dayton
Monmouth vs. Maine Monmouth could have won last week @ Colgate. They will be tough at home.
RMU @ Sacred Heart
SFPA @ Morehead State
Wagner @ Assumption This could be Wagner's year.

[89Hen]

6-2 last week, not bad


Albany @ Stephen F. Austin
Bryant vs. Saint Anselm
CCSU vs. Bentley
Duquesne vs. Dayton
Monmouth vs. Maine
RMU @ Sacred Heart
SFPA @ Morehead State
Wagner @ Assumption

[aceinthehole]

Albany @ Stephen F. Austin - Albany impressed me, but didn't suprise me too much vs Maine - they are very good. However, another 'upset' is just too much to expect on the road in the Texas heat.

Duquesne vs. Dayton - Dukes took care of business last week vs a bad PL team, but this week tha\ey play a very good PFL team. Flyers are legit and would be a NEC contender.

Monmouth vs. Maine - The Bears are licking their wounds. MU was impressive vs a quality Colgate team and have had Maine on the ropes before.

RMU @ Sacred Heart - Have to think RMU starts league play 1-0, but Fink is a very good QB and could cause a lot of problems for then Colonials. This is an early evaluation of the quality and depth inside the NEC this year.

SFPA @ Morehead State - A great 1st half for the Flash and a shot of confidence. One of the few winnable games for the Frannies, so they make it count.

NEC vs. NE-10 - no comments, just wins

Bryant vs. Saint Anselm
CCSU vs. Bentley
Wagner @ Assumption

[dgreco]

Albany @ Stephen F. Austin - Great win last week, but too long of a road trip. SFA wins at home.
Bryant vs. Saint Anselm - Coach Fine will not run up the score, be prepared to see Brown and Canfora run the ball most of the game.
CCSU vs. Bentley - A lot of NE-10 fans are picking Bentley, I have a hard time seeing this, I think CCSU wins without much effort.
Duquesne vs. Dayton - Just a hunch
Monmouth vs. Maine - Maine doesn't lose two weeks in a row to NEC teams
RMU @ Sacred Heart - RMU should be the better team. I think they get the win on the road.
SFPA @ Morehead State - SFPA should just be better than MSU
Wagner @ Assumption - I don't really want to do this, but there needs to be one upset, and Assumption just came off a nice road win vs. Millersville.

[Dane96]

Week 2 Games
Albany @ Stephen F. Austin
Bryant vs. Saint Anselm
CCSU vs. Bentley
Duquesne vs. Dayton
Monmouth vs. Maine
RMU @ Sacred Heart
SFPA @ Morehead State
Wagner @ Assumption

[mainejeff]

Monmouth vs. Maine - Maine will be up for some revenge this week. Monmouth better watch out or this could get ugly. The Hawks won't get the benefit of a first half with Warren Smith under center for Maine. That experiment is over.

Oh, really???..........http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/bd ... job,153117" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Monmouth 21 Maine 10

[MUHAWKS]

Albany @ Stephen F. Austin wowuld love to take albany again,...but?????
Bryant vs. Saint Anselm wins BIG
CCSU vs. Bentley wins BIG
Duquesne vs. Dayton
Monmouth vs. Maine MU baby!! get it back on track!!
RMU @ Sacred Heart
SFPA @ Morehead State
Wagner @ Assumption

[andy7171]

Albany
Bryant
CCSU
Dayton
Maine
RMU
SFPA
Wagner

[bobcat7]

Albany @ Stephen F. Austin - Every time I go against Albany, I lose. One more (last) try.
Bryant vs. Saint Anselm
CCSU vs. Bentley
Duquesne vs. Dayton - Dukes with their best defense since '02 plus explosive receivers. It feels right.
Monmouth vs. Maine - Monmouth may be better than I thought. We'll see.
RMU @ Sacred Heart - RMU must win this or they have just been hype,
SFPA @ Morehead State - wishful thinking?
Wagner @ Assumption - let's find out about Wagner. Maybe they can resurrect Toto and Parisi from the 70's (huh?).

[Seahawks]

MUHAWKS:

You picked both Albany and Austin

and

No pick for the Bryant game.

[MUHAWKS]

Good Point.. I am picking AGAINST Albany, although I would love to see them win and would love to pick them. Truth is, it is a total guess as I have no clue on either team.

I am taking Bryant BIG over St Alselm or whatever. I guess I have a problem with using bold..

[FAMU Rattler70]

Albany @ Stephen F. Austin
Bryant vs. Saint Anselm
CCSU vs. Bentley
Duquesne vs. Dayton
Monmouth vs. Maine
RMU @ Sacred Heart
SFPA @ Morehead State
Wagner @ Assumption

[danefan]

Monmouth vs. Maine - Maine will be up for some revenge this week. Monmouth better watch out or this could get ugly. The Hawks won't get the benefit of a first half with Warren Smith under center for Maine. That experiment is over.

Oh, really???..........http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/bd ... job,153117" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Monmouth 21 Maine 10

MJ - I feel for you. I can't believe he's going back to Smith.

[Original_RMC]

Albany @ Stephen F. Austin
#12 Lumberjacks welcome Albany to their Home Opener night game. SFA has a great QB in Jeremy Moses who continues to break many records. SFA will be too much for Albany but once again Albany will represent the NEC very well and shock many folks. After this game more and more people will start talking on when Albany leaves the NEC again.
I wonder if Albany gets up on SFA will the coaches for SFA deploy the 'cramping' strategy again.
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SFA 35-24

Bryant vs. Saint Anselm
I had to Google search 'Saint Anselm Football' which does not boost well for Bryant. If I have not heard of our program then teams from the NEC should not be playing you.
Bryant rolls at home

Bryant 45-3

CCSU vs. Bentley
CCSU takes on another Northeast-10 team in Bentley. I can understand Bryant having perhaps scheduling issues but not CCSU. Awful game to schedule for CCSU but it is what it is....

CCSU 31-0

Duquesne vs. Dayton
The Dukes did not 'WOW' me with their game against Bucknell. Dayton did sound like they have a very talented team this year when they hosted RMU. Dayton has the talent to roll to a 11-0 season but would that be enough for an at-large bid in the playoffs? There is a reason why Steve Valentino was named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List and he will be the difference on Saturday.

Dayton 24-21

Monmouth vs. Maine
I don't think Maine is very happy after being shut out at home vs. Albany. I expected a very fired up Maine to take the field on Saturday. Monmouth can't expect to win this game if they fall behind early again. But I think Monmouth's D at home will be the difference here.

Monmouth 27-20

RMU @ Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart will test RMU's D with their 1-2 punch at RB with Archer & Ibe. If Sacred Heart gets their running game going then it will open up play action for Dale Fink.
There are some questions for RMU to answer coming into this game. Can they cut down on the penalties? Will Walton open up the offense? Is Russ 100% yet?
I think the Colonials will play smarter football on Saturday. No official word on how Russ is doing...I'm sure he will play but not sure how if he is ready to carry the entire load of the running game.
I personally would enjoy seeing Monty Ashby getting a chance to display his skills but if Russ is 100% then I expect him to lead the offense into the end zone many times.

RMU 23-13

SFPA @ Morehead State
Doesn't it seem like every year we all wait for SFPA to break out? Is this the year? I'm not sure if this game will tell us too much but I think SFPA is heading in the right direction.

SFPA 24-10

Wagner @ Assumption
NEC vs. NE-10 matchup again. But it seems that Assumption is an upcoming team within the NE-10 and they return a lot of talent. I think Assumption can keep it close against Wagner in the 1st half but Wagner will do just enough to win the game. Some people might question them winning the NEC this year after this ugly game.

Wagner 23-17

[UAalum72]

CCSU vs. Bentley
CCSU takes on another Northeast-10 team in Bentley. I can understand Bryant having perhaps scheduling issues but not CCSU. Awful game to schedule for CCSU but it is what it is....

CCSU 31-0

I think this CCSU game and their next D-II, and maybe some others in the league, are late replacements for Hofstra and Northeastern dropping football.

[dgreco]

CCSU vs. Bentley
CCSU takes on another Northeast-10 team in Bentley. I can understand Bryant having perhaps scheduling issues but not CCSU. Awful game to schedule for CCSU but it is what it is....

CCSU 31-0

I think this CCSU game and their next D-II, and maybe some others in the league, are late replacements for Hofstra and Northeastern dropping football.

Bryant has at least 1 DII game because of Hofstra dropping their program. If I recall correctly I think the second is from losing the Northeastern game, but I am not 100% on if a Northeastern game was finalized.

[Seawolf97]

Albany @ Stephen F. Austin
#12 Lumberjacks welcome Albany to their Home Opener night game. SFA has a great QB in Jeremy Moses who continues to break many records. SFA will be too much for Albany but once again Albany will represent the NEC very well and shock many folks. After this game more and more people will start talking on when Albany leaves the NEC again.
I wonder if Albany gets up on SFA will the coaches for SFA deploy the 'cramping' strategy again.
" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SFA 35-24

Bryant vs. Saint Anselm
I had to Google search 'Saint Anselm Football' which does not boost well for Bryant. If I have not heard of our program then teams from the NEC should not be playing you.
Bryant rolls at home

Bryant 45-3

CCSU vs. Bentley
CCSU takes on another Northeast-10 team in Bentley. I can understand Bryant having perhaps scheduling issues but not CCSU. Awful game to schedule for CCSU but it is what it is....

CCSU 31-0

Duquesne vs. Dayton
The Dukes did not 'WOW' me with their game against Bucknell. Dayton did sound like they have a very talented team this year when they hosted RMU. Dayton has the talent to roll to a 11-0 season but would that be enough for an at-large bid in the playoffs? There is a reason why Steve Valentino was named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List and he will be the difference on Saturday.

Dayton 24-21

Monmouth vs. Maine
I don't think Maine is very happy after being shut out at home vs. Albany. I expected a very fired up Maine to take the field on Saturday. Monmouth can't expect to win this game if they fall behind early again. But I think Monmouth's D at home will be the difference here.

Monmouth 27-20

RMU @ Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart will test RMU's D with their 1-2 punch at RB with Archer & Ibe. If Sacred Heart gets their running game going then it will open up play action for Dale Fink.
There are some questions for RMU to answer coming into this game. Can they cut down on the penalties? Will Walton open up the offense? Is Russ 100% yet?
I think the Colonials will play smarter football on Saturday. No official word on how Russ is doing...I'm sure he will play but not sure how if he is ready to carry the entire load of the running game.
I personally would enjoy seeing Monty Ashby getting a chance to display his skills but if Russ is 100% then I expect him to lead the offense into the end zone many times.

RMU 23-13

SFPA @ Morehead State
Doesn't it seem like every year we all wait for SFPA to break out? Is this the year? I'm not sure if this game will tell us too much but I think SFPA is heading in the right direction.

SFPA 24-10

Wagner @ Assumption
NEC vs. NE-10 matchup again. But it seems that Assumption is an upcoming team within the NE-10 and they return a lot of talent. I think Assumption can keep it close against Wagner in the 1st half but Wagner will do just enough to win the game. Some people might question them winning the NEC this year after this ugly game.

Wagner 23-17

The OLD CRAMP PLAY-no defense can stop it

[jmg1mon]

Stephen F Austin
Bryant
CCSU
Dayton
Monmouth
RMU
SFPA
Wagner

[CoachL]

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette previews the local NEC games:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10254/1086802-450.stm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Duquesne's veterans to face Dayton

Saturday, September 11, 2010
By Rich Emert, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Every coach knows that injuries are an unavoidable part of football and that some starters are going to miss games with various ailments.

There were times last season when Duquesne University coach Jerry Schmitt thought all of his starters were out with bumps and bruises.

Thirteen Duquesne starters missed at least one game with an injury in 2009 and two were lost for just about the entire season.

"I've been coaching for 25 years and never saw anything like it," Schmitt said. "I think in week six we had 10 starters out."

The Dukes finished 3-8 last season but five of those losses were by a touchdown or less. And the upside to all of the injuries is that Schmitt has 32 players this season who started at least one game in '09.

All of that game experience is a plus and might come into play today as Duquesne (1-0) plays host to Dayton (1-0) at noon at Rooney Field in a non-conference game.

The Flyers are coming off an impressive 28-14 victory against a solid Robert Morris team and are favored to win the Pioneer Conference. The Dukes edged Bucknell, 17-13, last week and were picked to finish seventh in the Northeast Conference preseason coaches poll.

Schmitt likes having the Dukes in the underdog role with low expectations.

Of course, all of that would change quickly with a victory today and a 2-0 season start.

"We thought we had a pretty good football team last year before all of the injuries, and even then we were still competitive," Schmitt said. "I'm excited about playing Dayton and seeing where we are."

The contest will certainly be a test for the Dukes' defense led by linebacker Nathan Totino, who was in on 13 tackles in the Bucknell game. The Dukes limited the Bison to 178 yards total offense, but Dayton has slick senior quarterback Steve Valentino. He accounted for 348 yards -- 272 passing, 76 rushing -- of Dayton's 442 total yards against Robert Morris.

"We played them last year after they had just moved him over to quarterback because of injuries," Schmitt said. "He's a former receiver who runs a 4.4 40. He presents a lot of problems."

Valentino wasn't the only quarterback forced into a starting role last season. Duquesne's Sean Patterson started two games in 2009 as a freshman and is the starter this year. A left-hander, he completed 13 of 24 passes for 159 yards and a score against Bucknell.

He has talented receivers to throw to in 6-foot-5 Connor Dixon, who started at quarterback last season but was shifted to wide out due to shoulder injuries, Akeem Moore, tight end Sean Bunevich, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, and Dave Williams. Moore and Williams both caught four passes last week.

A few historical facts about the Duquesne-Dayton series: The schools have played six times in football with each winning three. The first meeting was Nov. 13, 1920, with the Dukes winning, 20-0, at home. The quarterback and place-kicker for the Dukes in that game was Art Rooney, who would go on to own the Steelers.

Other games today

Robert Morris (0-1) at Sacred Heart (1-0), Noon, Campus Field, Fairfield, Conn.: The Colonials face another solid offensive team as they open Northeast Conference play. ... Sacred Heart defeated Marist, 28-25, in its opener Sept. 3 and had an extra day to prepare for Robert Morris, which lost at Dayton, 28-14, last Saturday. ... Sacred Heart piled up 456 yards total offense against Marist with Marcel Archer rushing for 104 yards on 22 carries and freshman Greg Ibe gaining 97 on 16 attempts. ... RMU running back Myles Russ has 2,978 yards in his career, is second on the school's all-time list and needs 22 yards to become the Colonials second 3,000-yard rusher.

[CoachL]

Albany @ Stephen F. Austin - Can lightning strike twice? ..... Nah.

Bryant vs. Saint Anselm - Romp of the Week?

CCSU vs. Bentley - I hope that this is Romp of the Week II, The Sequel.

Duquesne vs. Dayton - Duquesne showed 1/4 of its offense last week, and I believe that Opfar has got the defense ready to handle Valentino.

Monmouth vs. Maine - Don't mess with pissed off Black Bears.

RMU @ Sacred Heart - Might be closer than I originally expected. I question RMU's discipline.

SFPA @ Morehead State - St. Francis will be able to play four quarters of football this week.

Wagner @ Assumption - Wagner makes it a clean sweep for the Northeast Conference over the Northeast 10 Conference

[DetroitFlyer]

The Dukes did not manage to contain Tino. They did manage to completely dominate Dayton's young defense. One of the worst defensive efforts for the Flyers in a long time, (at least as far back as last year's Butler game). Dayton did not seem to be able to pick up the Duquesne receivers, they always seemed to be wide open.... We also could not tackle the Dukes QB, saw many missed tackles when we could have had him for a loss, but he ran through our guys for good yards. We topped that off by getting little to no pass rush all game.... Hats off to the Dukes for a great game plan and great execution on the offensive end. Like Dayton, however, the Dukes need to greatly improve on defense.

[CoachL]

Hmmm....

"Handle" and "contain" are two very different words. (And both are very different from the phrase, "have a solution for containing Tino" that you used on the UD site, DF.) If you are going to quote me, please quote me accurately.

Even Coach Schmitt, when asked about what the Dukes were going to do to contain Valentino said to the reporter, "If you have any ideas, please let us know!"

Steve Valentino is a great athlete and QB. The Dukes apparently decided to make Tino try to beat them with his passing by taking away his rushing. Tino had 47 yards net rushing. Mission accomplished. While Tino passed for 248 yards and 3 TDs (while managing to avoid any interceptions - his usual weakness) and engineered some terrific scoring drives, in the end the Dukes came away with the victory. Mission accomplished.

The Flyers are a terrific team. To my chagrin, I fully expect Dayton to win the PFL this year. I think that you're being a bit hard on your defense. While there is certainly room for improvement (as there is with the Dukes' D), the Duquesne offense may be the best offense that Dayton faces all season. While our sophomore QB, Sean Patterson is a complete unknown outside of The Bluff, as you have seen he is quite a threat with a great deal of upside over the next few years. The Dukes' receiver corps is the best in the NEC, and may be amongst the best in the entire FCS. That goes a long way in explaining why the Duquesne receivers "always seemed to be wide open".

I love it when (according to Dayton fans) Tino makes people miss it's because he's such a great athlete, but if an opposing player makes a Dayton player miss, it's because there is something wrong with the defense! Other teams have some pretty terrific athletes too!

The Dayton defense held the Dukes' to only 135 yards rushing (a 3.6 ypc average). Dayton seemed to be keying on Larry McCoy and did a good job keeping him in check for most of the game. The Dukes need to work on their running game if they hope to seriously contend for the NEC title, IMHO. I'm a Line Coach, and I was not pleased with the holes that were not being opened by the O-line for our running game. As you noted, our pass protection wasn't too bad, however.

I was also tremendously impressed with Dayton's Gary Hunter. He looks like he's going to rip up the PFL this year. Duquesne seriously needs to work on their kickoff coverage. That has been a definite weakness in the first two weeks, but Hunter seems like he'll make even the best kickoff team look bad.