RPI 2025–26: Off the Critical List and In Recovery

[Waite21]

W21- Very difficult to find any sort of odds on this one. Seems these last minute ECAC bowls were not on many radar units. The only one I can find is that we are a 9.5 point favorite. You are absolutely correct about common opponents and the results but I had thought both teams had played St. Lawrence also. This has been a surprisingly good season for us and we were within range of turning around one of our losses (Ithaca) which might have changed the ending of this season even if it only moved this ECAC Bowl game to our home field.

You're right, they did both play St. Lawrence. RPI beat St. Lawrence by 48-0, while SJF scored a 28-23 win, so that one also could be counted as a comparative score in favor of RPI.

Then, again, I can recall back in 1966, someone calculated that by comparative scores, RPI would have beaten Notre Dame that year.

 

[DrDemento]

You're right, they did both play St. Lawrence. RPI beat St. Lawrence by 48-0, while SJF scored a 28-23 win, so that one also could be counted as a comparative score in favor of RPI.

Then, again, I can recall back in 1966, someone calculated that by comparative scores, RPI would have beaten Notre Dame that year.

I did that kind of calculation a few times back then. Just a fun little exercise that meant nothing of course. What is somewhat telling though is looking at our winning percentage in football over the past 25 years versus the winning percentage for hockey over the same period of time. Astonishing for someone like me who was in Troy for the early to mid 1960's when the winning percentage for football hovered around zero while the hockey team was competing for league and national championships.

 

[tony/troy]

W21- Very difficult to find any sort of odds on this one. Seems these last minute ECAC bowls were not on many radar units. The only one I can find is that we are a 9.5 point favorite. You are absolutely correct about common opponents and the results but I had thought both teams had played St. Lawrence also. This has been a surprisingly good season for us and we were within range of turning around one of our losses (Ithaca) which might have changed the ending of this season even if it only moved this ECAC Bowl game to our home field.

According to someone I am at best casually acquainted with but is nonetheless extremely connected with the D3 football scene, no different results were needed to move the game to our home field except for an Athletic Departments' willingness to host which includes spending some money above and beyond the ECAC hosting stipend of $1,500.

The ECAC Bowl manual clearly lists both the primary and secondary criteria for the selection of participating teams and, of course, seeding. Of those listed criteria, Fisher does not win a single solitary one over RPI. They don't win a single column on the newer NPI rating chart (one of the primary criteria) either. Clearly, RPI was supposed to be the host of this game.

However, the general understood skuttlebut is that RPI declined to host due to "pre holiday staffing".

These ECAC Bowl games, including the 15 RPI has already participated in, are ALWAYS played within several days of the upcoming holiday. RPI has hosted five of those appearances in 1993, 1995, 2008, 2022 and 2023. That covers three different decades, multiple department heads and only heaven knows how may rank and file athletic staff. Somehow and someway, those people (a number of which I knew personally) always managed to scrape up adequate "pre holiday staffing" and a few extra shekels to host these games while their current day counterparts (of which I know absolutely none) apparently can't swing it or, hopefully not, just can't be bothered.

Either way, this just doesn't sound or smell good for the current state of affairs but, come to think of it, does quite possibly speak volumes for the athletics' people I knew that no longer work here.