HuskyColonial
PhD Student
Posts: 1976
Age: 50
Reg: 02-17-12
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09-02-17 10:04 AM - Post#232566
Anyone have a feel for how good the gridiron Bison may be this season? Another season with scholarships and some favorable home match-ups....
Improvement?
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Bison137
Professor
Posts: 16147
Reg: 01-23-06
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09-02-17 10:48 AM - Post#232568
In response to HuskyColonial
Hard to say. Defense should be good. Offense has big question marks due to having only one returning OL. OL has been the one area where recruiting has not been very good the past few years - which is puzzling considering Joe Susan's background plus having an OL coach who started at that position in a Super Bowl.
Unfortunately the Bison appear to be down at least a few players due to injury. Both a starting DL and a starting OL have dropped off the depth chart, presumably due to injuries. Also a potential starting WR. Additionally former starting safety Connor Golden, a potential All-PL player, has had his career ended due to injuries.
The offense in the past few years had become fairly bland and predictable. I think that may change with new offensive coordinator Bobby Acosta - if the OL does an acceptable job. Matt Muh won the QB battle and did gain some experience last year. However he will have to do well or a QB change could occur at some point during the year. They have two very good RB's (Floria and Freshnock) and some good receivers.
The defense has two All-PL LB's (Pyle and Richard) plus DL Abdullah Anderson, who is a potential All-American. They will need a couple younger DL to step up, however, due to injuries and graduation losses. Even with the loss of Golden, I think the DB's will be OK.
Yes, it's another year with scholarships - but that is true of the entire PL. Unfortunately Bucknell continues to offer less scholarships than the rest of the league. Also every PL team except Bucknell and Georgetown continually has 3-5 5th year players - which is a huge deal in a sport like football. Bucknell has not had any in 15+ years. Lehigh has had about 40 in that time span, as have HC, LC, CU, and Fordham. Not sure what the deal is with BU never having any 5th year guys.
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jkrun80
Postdoc
Posts: 3305
Age: 65
Reg: 05-07-12
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09-02-17 04:33 PM - Post#232577
In response to Bison137
Rough day for the PL so far. Fordham lost to Army 64-6. HC led UConn 20-7 at halftime, but lost 27-20. Lehigh gave Nova a good game but lost 38-35. Colgate was the only winner over Cal Poly on the road 20-14.
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jkrun80
Postdoc
Posts: 3305
Age: 65
Reg: 05-07-12
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09-02-17 07:09 PM - Post#232583
In response to jkrun80
Well, this is a surprise.
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bison63
Postdoc
Posts: 3857
Reg: 01-23-06
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09-02-17 07:49 PM - Post#232586
In response to jkrun80
Rough day for the PL so far. Fordham lost to Army 64-6. HC led UConn 20-7 at halftime, but lost 27-20. Lehigh gave Nova a good game but lost 38-35. Colgate was the only winner over Cal Poly on the road 20-14.
CU over Cal Poly was actually last week. Colgate took a 17-0 lead at the half and held on for dear life as Cal came back and still had a chance to take the lead with under a minute to go. Good win for 'gate over what was at the time the # 23 FCS TEAM IN THE COUNTRY. SOrry for the caps.
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bison63
Postdoc
Posts: 3857
Reg: 01-23-06
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09-02-17 09:28 PM - Post#232590
In response to bison63
Turned on FB game just after we scored to make it 35-0 with 10 minutes left in the 2nd qtr. Saw a 10-6 BU win the rest of the way. You can spin this one any way you want. An opening game win vs. Marist has started many a 4-7, 5-6 season in the past. So no big deal. But a 45-6 opening day win may tell another story.
Next week against HC will go a long way towards letting us know if we have anything to look forward to in the PL season. For now, hopefully optimistic, but being a Jets fan, is this the "same ol' Bison?"
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HuskyColonial
PhD Student
Posts: 1976
Age: 50
Reg: 02-17-12
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09-02-17 10:48 PM - Post#232593
In response to bison63
Thanks for the analysis 137.
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A Western Bison
Sophomore
Posts: 179
Age: 65
Loc: Albuquerque
Reg: 07-05-12
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09-04-17 12:52 AM - Post#232607
In response to HuskyColonial
Field position. Field position. Field position. Bucknell had it; Marist didn't, due in part to Pechin's brilliant punting. That was a lot of points for 261 yards in total offense. The Bison have to get more than 1.4 yards per rush going forward. That new O-line has its work cut out for it.
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bison63
Postdoc
Posts: 3857
Reg: 01-23-06
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09-04-17 11:30 AM - Post#232609
In response to A Western Bison
That was on my mind when I said you could spin this any way you want. Question for next week, is HC that good, or UCONN that bad? Are we that good or Marist that bad? Or, none of the above?
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jkrun80
Postdoc
Posts: 3305
Age: 65
Reg: 05-07-12
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09-04-17 03:43 PM - Post#232618
In response to A Western Bison
Field position. Field position. Field position. Bucknell had it; Marist didn't, due in part to Pechin's brilliant punting. That was a lot of points for 261 yards in total offense. The Bison have to get more than 1.4 yards per rush going forward. That new O-line has its work cut out for it.
I'm not a football expert, but it seemed that the pass blocking was good, the run blocking not so much. That could have been in part due to the Marist defense. Though the second half they did break Freshnock for a couple decent runs. Hopefully things balance out as they gain more experience.
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BisonRoadWarrior
Professor
Posts: 5203
Loc: Where the Bison Roam
Reg: 08-16-06
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09-15-17 06:45 PM - Post#232875
In response to jkrun80
Broadcast info for William & Mary game (free)
http://www.tribeathletics.com/news/2017/9/14/footb...
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BisonRoadWarrior
Professor
Posts: 5203
Loc: Where the Bison Roam
Reg: 08-16-06
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09-16-17 05:56 PM - Post#232885
In response to BisonRoadWarrior
Looks like one should be able to watch on the big screen:
http://www.tribeathletics.com/news/2017/9/1/2017-t...
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jkrun80
Postdoc
Posts: 3305
Age: 65
Reg: 05-07-12
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Bucknell Football
10-15-17 05:46 PM - Post#234014
In response to BisonRoadWarrior
Remarkably, Bucknell has the best overall record in the PL right now at 3-3. It appears every team in the league is struggling to some degree. Lehigh and Lafayette are 2-0 in league play, but the wins weren't all that impressive and they've suffered some bad losses. I'm no football expert but there doesn't appear to be a clear cut favorite at this point.
Edited by jkrun80 on 10-15-17 05:46 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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A Western Bison
Sophomore
Posts: 179
Age: 65
Loc: Albuquerque
Reg: 07-05-12
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10-15-17 11:30 PM - Post#234027
In response to jkrun80
The Bison are the only PL team with a winning OOC record in a dreadful start for the conference across the board. Monmouth managed to beat four PL teams, including Bucknell. Holy Cross, after playing UConn tough in their first game, beating the Bison and New Hampshire, have crumbled, and have sent Tom Gilmore, their longtime coach, packing.
You're right, the race seems wide-open. Lehigh , the pre-season opened 0-5 but won their first two League games. HC, Lehigh and Holy Cross all have appeared in the Top-25 early on but now everyone will scrambling for the single bid the PL will receive in November for the FCS tournament.
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bison63
Postdoc
Posts: 3857
Reg: 01-23-06
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10-16-17 10:10 AM - Post#234036
In response to A Western Bison
Re the Gilmore firing, does anybody remember the last time a PL coach (FB or B.B.)was fired during the season?
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Bison137
Professor
Posts: 16147
Reg: 01-23-06
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10-16-17 11:58 AM - Post#234045
In response to bison63
Re the Gilmore firing, does anybody remember the last time a PL coach (FB or B.B.)was fired during the season?
I am not aware of any PL football or men's basketball coach being fired during the season. If basketball also extends to the women's teams, I am sure you recall Bucknell having fired a coach mid-season. Holy Cross also fired a men's lacrosse coach in the middle of the season not too many years ago - although that was for cause, not for performance.
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bison63
Postdoc
Posts: 3857
Reg: 01-23-06
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10-16-17 05:01 PM - Post#234053
In response to Bison137
It seems kind of “unPatriotLeagueish.†Of course the BU women’s thing came about for causes over and above losing. She could have kept losing till the cows came home and still kept her job if not for the other allegations, and the pressure brought to bear.
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BisonRoadWarrior
Professor
Posts: 5203
Loc: Where the Bison Roam
Reg: 08-16-06
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10-16-17 08:05 PM - Post#234066
In response to bison63
This wasn't a strong career move for Gilmore:
"...Holy Cross lost to previously winless Lafayette, 10-7. With the game tied, 7-7, at 1:42 remaining, Holy Cross went for it on fourth-and-1 from its own 33 and didn’t make it. The Leopards took over on downs and three plays later kicked the winning field goal as time expired."
http://www.telegram.com/news/20171015/holy-cr oss-f...
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jkrun80
Postdoc
Posts: 3305
Age: 65
Reg: 05-07-12
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10-21-17 06:25 PM - Post#234314
In response to BisonRoadWarrior
Well that was a weird ending, but a win is a win.
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BisonRoadWarrior
Professor
Posts: 5203
Loc: Where the Bison Roam
Reg: 08-16-06
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10-21-17 07:13 PM - Post#234315
In response to jkrun80
A spectacular ending. Lafayette starts OT on offense and then this happened:
https://twitter.com/patriotleaguetv/statu s/9218648...
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