Liberty DIAA Conference Latest: Is BC Top Dog?
Liberty DIAA Conference Latest: Is BC Top Dog?
Boston College defeated University of Connecticut 47-7 in Liberty Conference action and the Eagles now sit at 5-0.
This is the Liberty DIAA conference, and BC and is in a pretty dominant position in the Liberty DIAA East. Meanwhile, in the DIAA West, 4-0 Siena is going to be tracked to NCR's D1 playoff, so the top teams are Binghamton the surging Stony Brook, who managed to beat Binghamton at the beginning of the season but then dropped a close, back-and-forth match to Cortland.
For Binghamton, the points have come think and fast since that opening loss. They beat Oswego 102-7 behind three tries from center Liam Heanue and two each from fullback Eli Cunliffe and prop Alex Eforo. Stony Brook, with Jimmy Sullivan playing well at flyhalf, flanker Mike White powering past tacklers, and fullback Andre Bussenault unleashing some exceptional elusiveness and passing skills, the Seawolves can't be ignored.
Coming up Stony Brook plays Siena, which is a game where they have nothing to lose, and then an expected forfeit vs Albany, Stony Brook will likely be the #2 team in the West. Binghamton has only Siena left.
In the East, BC holds sway. Against UConn their forwards were controlling. Club president Christopher Siegert scored three tries off the back of mauls, while the Eagles scored another from a maul.
"The first one I peeled off the back and dove over," said Siegert. "The other two the forwards just drove right over the line and all I had to do was touch it down. Our forwards played well I think and we were able to run backline plays off the scrum, too. I just think we're feeling really good."
Pat Massman (pictured above) was a force once again. BC needs to do better on their pick-and-goes, added Siegert, but what they did was keep the foot on the gas.
"We didn't let up and when the subs came on we didn't have a dropoff; that's important," said Siegert.
The question now is who will be #2. UMass and Columbia are both 4-1. Columbia has eked out two straight very tight wins, beating UConn 19-17 and Yale 21-20. UMass just got by Rhode Island 29-24 this past week to join Columbia at 4-1. These two have already played each other, with UMass winning 14-10. This coming week UMass faces Tufts while Columbia has to take on BC, so the Minutemen are on the inside track. However, Columbia's run has shown how constant competition can make a team better.
Spare a thought for Rhode Island. Yes they are 0-5, but four of the losses were within a try. A little more luck and we might be talking about URI chasing a Liberty semifinal spot.
Unofficial standings
| Liberty D1AA East | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | Pts |
| Boston College | 5 | 0 | 0 | 214 | 33 | 181 | 5 | 0 | 25 |
| Columbia | 4 | 1 | 0 | 113 | 56 | 57 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| UMass | 4 | 1 | 0 | 94 | 88 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| Yale | 2 | 3 | 0 | 117 | 82 | 35 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| UConn | 2 | 3 | 0 | 116 | 101 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Rhode Island | 0 | 5 | 0 | 60 | 117 | -57 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Tufts | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 244 | -237 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Liberty D1AA West | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | Pts |
| Binghamton | 4 | 1 | 0 | 302 | 75 | 227 | 5 | 1 | 22 |
| Siena | 4 | 0 | 0 | 338 | 8 | 330 | 4 | 0 | 20 |
| Stony Brook | 3 | 1 | 0 | 72 | 57 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| Cortland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 61 | 52 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Oswego | 1 | 3 | 1 | 74 | 329 | -255 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Albany | 1 | 4 | 0 | 61 | 163 | -102 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Brockport | 0 | 4 | 1 | 54 | 278 | -224 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
