It has been a wild last three weeks for the undefeated Wesleyan Cardinals. First, they had to go to Maine and take down two NESCAC opponents in the final minutes. They defeated Bates on a late fourth quarter touchdown drive starting at their own 25-yard line that put them up 27-24. They then put the ball in the end zone against Bowdoin with only 1:06 remaining, capping off a 77-yard march down the field. Adding to the drama, Bowdoin swiftly moved down the field getting in field goal range before pulling it left. Then came last week, where Wesleyan produced yet another 4
th quarter go-ahead touchdown to win the game against Tufts. The drive started with 12:15 left in the game and at their own seven-yard line. It lasted over six minutes and put the Cardinals up by a single point.
With last week's win Wesleyan stays undefeated, keeping pace with the other top teams in the NESCAC. They move to 5-0 where they sit atop the conference standings with Trinity and Williams. They have now won five straight to start the year for the second season in a row, winning eight consecutive games going back to last season.
The Wesleyan offense has been a big part as to why the Cardinals are off to this hot start. They rank in the top three in scoring in the NESCAC at 30.4 points per contest. Wesleyan has exceeded that mark the past two games, going for 35+ against both Bowdoin and Tufts. The orchestrator of this high-powered offense is QB
David Estevez '22. Estevez has done a bit of everything for the Cardinals this year. Through the air he has thrown for 807 yards on 73.7% accuracy, nine touchdowns, and only one interception that came last week. On the ground he leads the team in rushing at 451 yards to go along with two TD's.
Wesleyan had done a great job taking care of the ball leading up to the Tufts game, where they turned it over five different times giving the Jumbos multiple chances to get back into the game. The Cardinals had been +8 in the turnover battle coming into the week. The five turnovers included Estevez's first interception of the year on a ball thrown down the sideline while he was rolling out to his right.
Wesleyan and Middlebury has been one of the better NESCAC battles throughout their long history playing each other. The Cardinals come in 25-23-2 against the Panthers in their storied history that stretches back over a century. That being said, the biggest storyline of this matchup on October 23
rd will be connected to their most recent matchup in 2019. The last time these two teams faced off two years ago there was a lot at stake. Both teams came in undefeated and looked like the best teams in the conference. Wesleyan traveled to Middlebury, Vermont and got smacked 45-21. Both teams would go on to go undefeated the rest of the year finishing first and second in the NESCAC respectively. Now in 2021, Wesleyan has a chance for a little revenge for what happened in their last matchup. It may not be the hyped up 5-0 vs 5-0 contest from 2019, but I'm sure the players still on the Cardinals roster want to make up for what happened two years prior.
The 2021 campaign marks the 138
th season of Wesleyan football with competition as the Cardinals look to conclude the fall with a ninth-straight winning season. Wesleyan went 8-1 and finished in sole possession of second place in the NESCAC standings in 2019, marking the third time in program history that the Cardinals won eight games in a season and the first time since 1969. Wesleyan posted thrilling wins against Amherst (31-28 2OT) and Williams (27-21 OT) to earn their third Little 3 title in the past seven seasons. The Cardinals saw 13 players earn a spot on the All-NESCAC Team, the most of any team in the conference.
The Cardinals (5-0) – At a Glance
Wesleyan holds the 3
rd highest scoring offense in the NESCAC at over 30 points per game, scoring a ridiculous 36 and 38 points in the last two. They also have the 4
th best scoring defense in the conference allowing only 22.2 points per game. Wesleyan's defense began the year as the top defense through the first three games, however two straight shootouts has moved them back to the middle of the pack in the NESCAC. The run defense was especially tough, ranking in the top five nationally before being run over a bit by the Jumbos. Another key for this team has been controlling the turnover margin. They are +4 on the season, grabbing an interception in all but one game. On offense, it has been the combination of Estevez and
Ashton Scott '22 who have put together 1,383 yards passing, 15 touchdowns, and only one interception. They are assisted on the ground by RB
Charlie McPhee '22 with 259 yards rushing and three touchdowns, and through the air with WR
Logan Tomlinson '23 (36 catches, 556 yds, 5 TD's) who leads the conference in receptions and is second in TD's. The Estevez to Tomlinson connection was working well in their last game as they connected for 10 catches for 186 yards and a touchdown. Estevez also had his legs working against Tufts, rushing for 204 yards and two touchdowns to go with his 270 yards and a touchdown through the air, earning him NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The Panthers (1-4) – At a Glance
Middlebury is off to their worst start since 2011, a season which opened with a loss to the Cardinals. The Panthers' early season struggles have mostly been attributed to them not being able to score. They rank 2
nd to last in points scored per contest (12.2), while holding opponents to a respectable 22.8 points per game which ranks 6
th in the NESCAC. This defense is led by linebacker, Jack Pistorius. Pistorius is second in the conference in both sacks (2) and solo tackles (25). While they do have one of the better pass rushers in the conference, on the other side of the ball they have had trouble protecting their quarterback allowing 19 sacks (last in NESCAC) through 5 games. On the offensive side of the ball you are going to see Will Jernigan at QB (178 yds per game, four touchdowns, six interceptions), RB Peter Scibilia (85 rushes for 323 yds), and WR Donovan Wood (16 Rec, 275 yds, one touchdown). The Panthers come in losers of their last three games, but have looked much improved over their last two.
