NEC Football Power Rankings Week 10: Hawks 2-UP

Oct 27

I think we implied heavily that chaos was coming to the NEC soon.

That delivery was made on Saturday.

Wagner nearly upset CCSU the week prior at home and followed up the near miss with an upset of a heavily favored Duquesne team that looked safe heading into Staten Island. Had Wagner managed to beat CCSU and Duquesne, the title picture in the conference would be looking both different and completely unexpected. We liked Wagner to win a few league games this season, but knocking off Duquesne was not on our schedule. Maybe we shouldn’t be so surprised. We knew the Seahawks were as talented as they’d been under Coach Masella heading into the season. They just seemed to be close, but not quite there on the rebuild yet.

Despite Wagner flipping the table, we’re actually still where we were last week in many ways. If Duquesne or CCSU win out, they get to hang the banner and go to the FCS Playoffs. There’s paths for almost everyone at this point, except for Saint Francis. The Red Flash are officially eliminated from the playoffs and an outright championship (still a path to win a share, but not the tiebreaker) in their final year of Division I competition. Stonehill- the other Hawk team in the league- has the best shot outside of the top 2 teams after a big win of their own over Mercyhurst, and not an insane path to do it- win out, and have CCSU beat Duquesne.

Central Connecticut State
Unsurprisingly, the Blue Devils default here even though they were idle this past week. They’re taking on a rejuvenated LIU team that spent a week at the top of these rankings already this season. With the injury bug hopefully in the rearview mirror, look for the Sharks to give CCSU a very good game here and challenge for this spot. Wagner’s defense gave CCSU some fits last week and QB Brady Olson uncharacteristically turned the ball over. He’s been so careful with possession this season. A chance to refocus and not put more miles on Elijah Howard will have the Blue Devils ready to go again.
Duquesne
I like to punish teams a little more than this for losses, but as of right now it doesn’t feel right putting Wagner in 2nd place and the Dukes have beaten Stonehill, so I can’t drop them lower than this for right now. There were probably two areas that the Dukes can correct in this bye week to ensure that a loss like this doesn’t happen again. First, the Dukes had special teams miscues all day, from a botched fake punt and then a difficult sequence late in the game where they actually recovered a muffed punt, but after a 3 and out had two consecutive pre-snap penalties (one on a kick that was good), pushing them back 10 yards and turning a makeable field goal into a miss. Second, the Dukes could not stop Wagner on the ground. They’ve got a handful of good backs on Staten Island led by Andre Hines, but the Dukes could not find a way to contain the Seahawks on the ground- particularly late in the 4th when it mattered the most. The Dukes will get right and their goals are still in front of them.
Stonehill
The Skyhawks catapult back up after a wire to wire win over Mercyhurst. The offense was able to finish their drives, which has been the biggest issue for the Skyhawks to this point, and the defense kept Mercyhurst at bay for most of the game. QB Jack O’Connell looked like a rushing threat for the first time all season, and he threw for 2 TDs when he wasn’t moving the chains on the ground. Stonehill will welcome in Robert Morris this weekend and every game is now vital to their postseason chances. I like Stonehill here to continue making a run up the standings in the league and to keep things interesting heading into a huge November 8th showdown with Central Connecticut State.
Long Island
Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water, the Sharks are officially back. Luca Stanzani was a shoo-in for offensive player of the week, and while New Haven has had some struggles against NEC teams this season, any time you have guys lined up on the opposite side of the field it’s hard to be responsible for 5 touchdowns. We’ve got a good one with lots of chaos potential this Saturday as the Sharks are riding a wave back into contention.
Wagner
The Seahawks beat Duquesne this week and were competitive with CCSU last week, but I want to see it end with a victory one more time before we put them in the top half of the rankings. Andre Hines is looking like one of the best backs in the league right now and Jack Stevens had an efficient day with the football. Defensively, the Seahawks kept Duquesne out of the end zone and offensively the Dukes were run over by a powerful running game. The Seahawks may just have found their winning combination.
Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst has lost the previous two games two teams that we expected to be among the best in the league during the preseason. The Lakers had a lot of magic early on, but now they have to regroup. Proving you’re for real isn’t always starting out the season fast and competing in games no one expects you to. Once the target is on your back and you slip up, how you respond is key. It’s also one of those life skills that sports teaches you better than anywhere else.
Robert Morris
Robert Morris beat Saint Francis in the final edition of a long-running Pennsylvania rivalry game behind the motor of Ethan Shine. The RB ran for 123 yards against a stout Red Flash defense and while the game was competitive late, the Colonials took the lead at half time and never relented again. QB Zach Tanner looked healthy again, too, with 2 TDs to 0 INT. The matchup against Stonehill this week will tell us if the Colonials are truly on the upswing.
New Haven
New Haven is approaching the end of their season but has already finished out their NEC slate at 0-3 following the loss to LIU this past week. New Haven started quickly again- this has become their trademark- but were unable to hold on and once the Sharks took back the lead they didn’t let up. The Chargers were hit hard in the transfer portal and suffered from the injury bug, but the win against Albany alone has made this season something of a success in the transition.
Saint Francis
The Red Flash are the first team truly in conference (New Haven competes as an independent) that are eliminated from NEC Championship contention and the FCS Playoffs. While the Red Flash do technically have a narrow path to a shared championship, the tiebreakers do not work in their favor and they are unable to advance their season past Stonehill on November 22nd, which we can now officially say is the final Division I football game in Saint Francis history.