Husson vs. Maine Maritime: Part Two

Since writing my first entry on these teams back on July 4th, I have discovered a couple of things...

First of all, I stated on the 4th that 2016 was Husson's first Division III playoff season, when in fact they made the playoff field two years earlier.  In 2014, they hosted an undefeated MIT team.

Secondly, tonight I uncovered a couple of Bangor Daily News articles talking about the lack of a Husson and Maine Maritime football matchup when they play each other in ten other sports.  It appears as though Husson has approached the Mariners to play, but they keep getting rebuffed.  Maine Maritime states that they prefer scheduling other maritime schools, and that they don't see much crossover on the recruiting trail. 

In a quote from MMA president William J. Brennan, “The NEWMAC’s emphasis on academics, sportsmanship, honor and integrity make it one of the nation’s most prestigious leagues. It is an excellent home for Maine Maritime football.”

I am thinking that he doesn't believe that Husson fits the mold...

Numbers 277 and 278

This past week, I discovered two named rivalries/trophy games that were unknown to me until now:

• 2017 will be the 10th Annual Luther Cup matchup between Concordia - Wisconsin and Wisconsin Lutheran.  The Warriors of Wisconsin Lutheran have won 5 of the last 7 games, and now lead the Luther Cup rivalry 5-4.
• This year's matchup between Emory & Henry and Ferrum will be the second "Crooked Road Classic", even though they have played on the opening weekend for 11 straight years.    The Crooked Road is a 330 mile driving trail through the mountains of Southwest Virginia that promotes the region’s rich heritage of traditional music.

Therapeutic

Since starting this website less than a year ago, I have considered myself very lucky to be able to go out to many websites and learn so much more about schools, teams, games, and the sport itself and share my findings.  Today I have realized just how therapeutic it can be as I try to keep my mind busy and occupied.  I don't see this site going anywhere (well - I hope it gets a ton of viewers) anytime soon, because it is so healthy for me, and a blast to write!

Contradictory

As I have finished researching college football games across the country for week 1 in a few weeks, I have realized that almost all the games have a special kick to them - especially to their fan base.  For that reason, I have made a decision (that probably contradicts a previous entry and counter-contradicts another on this site) to include more games each week this upcoming season - rather than go into depth on a few games.  Because of this, I can talk about the trials and tribulations of a small independent school (Finlandia) or make mention of a newly named rivalry (2016) - The Crooked Road Classic between Ferrum and Emory & Henry, when normally they would fall between the cracks.

I confess right now that I might favor the Northeast/Mid Atlantic teams though...

Husson vs. Maine Maritime

Husson College, up in Bangor, Maine, recently established a football program back in 2003, and last year made the NCAA Division III playoff for the first time - losing in the first round to future conference opponent Western New England.  In 2019, they will be joining the newly formed Commonwealth Coast Conference, which next year will include a new football program from Maine, the University of New England Nor'easters.

To me, the next logical step for the Eagles is to start up a nice out-of-conference rivalry with Maine Maritime - who would be their closest opponent geographically (only 40+ miles down the road in Castine).  It astonishes me that in the 14 years of playing football, Husson has not found their way on to the Mariners' schedule.  Maybe they have talked, and are scheduled in the future, but if not - lets get on it guys!

Dare I suggest a nice round robin between Husson-Maine Maritime-University of New England?

Must Read Article

Earlier today I read an Outside the Lines article on ESPN's website called "I Just Wanted to Survive" that was a sad reminder that college football, even at a small school, isn't exempt or isolated from real world issues around drugs and theft.  An awful story, but one that is worth a read!

Week 1 Schedule Scrub

For the past week, I have started to gather information on Week 1 games so that I can start to scrub down the number of games that I will cover.  Unfortunately (or fortunately - depending on one's point of view), after reviewing the FBS and FCS games, I have only identified 5 out of 55 that I might cross of my list.  During this phase of work that I love, I can't help but get excited for the season as I read and learn about the teams and their series history - and this is only week 1!  It never ceases to amaze me that games, that to the normal eye seem insignificant, are actually very interesting based on their past - both recent and in times gone by.  I look forward to putting some of this information found up on the site in the upcoming weeks, but forgive me if I hold on to some interesting tales until September...

Former Conference Opponents

There are a couple of games in Week 1 between former conference opponents that I will be following:  Miami (Ohio) at Marshall and New Mexico State at Arizona State.  I admit that they aren't very exciting matchups in the big scheme of things, but they do have some history...

The Red Hawks dominated Marshall in their MAC days (lead overall series 30-12-1), but Marshall has won 8 of the last 9 matchups since 1998.  Meanwhile, New Mexico State and Arizona State are former Border Conference opponents from 1931-1961, and they have played only twice since 1963.  The Sun Devils lead the series 21-7-1, and they have won 18 of 20 against the Aggies since 1939.

ESPN Article

Enclosed is a link to an article that I enjoyed reading today.  In fact, I might use some of the points in the future...

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/19454278/alabama-crimson-tide-meet-florida-state-seminoles-top-storyline-college-football-week-1-schedule

Phil Steele's College Football Preview

Last night I found myself in the vicinity of BAM at the Maine Mall, so I stopped at the store to see if by chance they had put out the new magazine (which isn't supposed to hit the shelves until next Tuesday, the 27th).  As luck would have it - they had put it out a few days early!  I had debated this spring as to whether or not I should purchase it this year, as I have grown a bit bored with his bravado.  But I relented because it is a good source of information, and his preview was the first inspiration I had for the creation of this site as I was impressed with his sentence or two about every FBS game to be played.  So last night as I flipped through the pages, I was pleased that I laid out the money so that I have this book as a quick source of information throughout the 2017 season...

Whittier Field

I made a quick crusade out to Whittier Field at Bowdoin College yesterday to get a glimpse as to how the new field will look this fall.  I must admit that I was saddened at what I saw, as the only things left standing were the original grandstand and the scoreboard - everything else had been removed.  Where the field once existed, crushed rock, that will serve as the base for the new turf, was being leveled.  The tailgating area is now a huge pile of dirt.  Just this morning, I happened upon a sketching of the new field, and my first thought was "watching a game will never be the same."

September Games

I have now added the games that I will be initially watching over for first five weeks of the upcoming season.  Currently, that total for September sits at 512!  My guess is that it will be trimmed to about 200 my the time the games are played.

In addition to adding weeks 4 and 5, I have now updated the other three weeks that have been up on the site for a bit, and I have changed the format slightly as I now separate Division II and III games...

More News and Notes

As almost all the news is currently about FBS teams with some FCS stories sprinkled in, I have figured out how to add Division II and III news to the mix.  Each time I see a fan from these schools (t-shirt, hat, sweats, car sticker), I will write a brief story about the school.  I have seen three schools in the last couple of days:  Carnegie Mellon, Lake Forest (IL), and Saint Lawrence.  'Cac schools have been spotted (Bowdoin and Bates), but I will not write about them since they will find their way on this site a few times in the coming months...  

Spartans

Michigan State made an announcement that they will wear a white helmet for their match up against Western Michigan on September 9th.  They haven't worn their white helmet since 1954.  At first glance, it looks pretty sharp!  I am now looking forward to this game, which will be broadcast on the BTN at 3:30. 

Offers

I am sure that it is very, very exciting for kids to receive scholarship offers from schools, but I think that it is getting a bit ridiculous.  Lane Kiffin made a couple of offers recently to a 6th and 7th grader, only to be topped by the Rainbow Warrior's head coach, who made an offer to a 5th grader from Hawaii.  Where will this end?  Maybe Jim Harbaugh will make an offer to a former teammate's unborn son...

College Apparel - Washington

As I walked around Washington this past weekend, it was definitely ACC and Big Ten territory, as well as FCS territory with the CAA and Patriot Leagues.  In fact, a team bus from Lafayette drove by me as we were waiting at the light!  I also got to add some schools that I didn't see in Orlando:  Iowa, Rutgers, Colorado, Virginia, James Madison, and Howard.

Fast Approaching

I have had some good reminders recently of how fast the upcoming college football is approaching - which is 78 days away (even though the first games are only 73 days away):

• On our return flight from Orlando, I saw the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium as we approached Baltimore for our layover
• I had a good conversation with a former Bates football player - as we discussed the new Bowdoin field and how Bates' Garcelon Field doesn't have the same feel after its change
• Our new neighbor called out my University of Texas t-shirt as I was outside gardening.  She told me how she grew up in Austin, and is a huge Longhorn fan
• In Washington this past weekend, I got some "Go Terps" as I proudly wore my Maryland T-shirt on the mall
• And lastly, at work I have seen a couple of our new seasonals wearing college gear - Bucknell and USC fans

It is time to give this site some more lovin' and beef it up with some serious content...

Games 4

In giving some Division III New England teams some love, as well as adding games from teams not included in my previous totals, I have added an additional 65 games, bringing my total "Games to Look at" up to 1,034.

A pretty extensive list...

Bob Stoops

After 18 seasons, Bob Stoops has decided to step down as the head coach of Oklahoma.  Stoops was the longest tenured FBS coach (one day longer than Kirk Ferentz), and his Sooner teams won ten or more games in 14 of his 18.  

Lincoln Riley was succeed Stoops - and with it he becomes the youngest FBS coach.  He has a tough task ahead of him as he faces Urban Meyer's Buckeyes in his second game. 

Games 3

It took me a while, but I got through my list of add on games in Divisions II and III - which added 201 games to my previous list of 768 games that I will be looking at between now and the end of November.  That makes the current grand total 969 games - only 31 shy of .my goal of 1,000.  In the next couple of days I am going to look at teams that aren't a part of this total and see if I can add more teams to my watch...