There are games during every college football season where records are thrown out the window, where teams can start anew and forget about what has transpired beforehand.
Rivalries such as Army- Navy, Michigan- Ohio State, USC- UCLA, Oklahoma Nebraska are just a few of those rivalries that seem to take on a life of their own.
Such is the case with the C- B- B Trophy, or Colby-Bates-Bowdoin football trophy. Each year, the three New England Small College Athletic Conference teams meet toward the tail end of the season, with each squad looking for two wins over its rivals to earn the chance of lifting and possessing the coveted C-B-B Trophy for a year.
Recent history has gone the way of the Bates College Bobcats, who have held the C-B-B for the past five years, with four outright wins and a three-way tie where each team earned a win in the series, keeping the trophy in Lewiston.
The Bobcats, Mules and Polar Bears have each had their times with the C-BB. Colby won it seven out of nine seasons, with a pair of ties, from 1988-’96. The Mules also possessed the trophy from 2000-’05.
Bowdoin had a run from 2006-’ 11 with four wins and two ties over the six-year stretch.
It is close in the all-time series, with the Polar Bears winning the C-B-B 16 times, followed by the Mules and Bobcats with 14 each. There have been eight three-way ties.
Tough campaigns
One thing the three Maine teams have in common is the difficulty of the 2017 season. Entering last weekend’s action, all three teams were 0-6.
The first win for the squads was a big one, as Bates traveled to Waterville and downed the Mules, 27- 24, last Saturday, taking the first step toward maintaining control of the C-B-B Trophy.
On Saturday, Bowdoin visits Garcelon Field in Lewiston to face the Bobcats at 12:30 p.m. A Bates win and the C- B- B remains in Lewiston for another year. However, a Polar Bear victory and Bowdoin will have a chance to win the C- B- B outright for the first time since 2010 (it was a three-way tie in 2011) when it hosts Colby on Nov. 9 at renovated Whittier Field. However, if Colby comes to Brunswick and wins, then we have another three- way deadlock and the trophy remains with the Bobcats for another year.
Thinking of Bowdoin, 2017 has been rough. Through seven losses, the Polar Bears have been out-scored, 243-76, including last weekend’s 21- 10 home loss to Wesleyan.
Bowdoin is averaging just 10.9 points per game, gaining 262.7 yards a contest while allowing over 470. Freshman quarterback
Griff Stalcup has been steady at the helm, completing 79-of-152 passes with four touchdowns and four interceptions. Sophomore running back Nate Richam has shown moments of stellar play, racking up 346 yards on 72 rushes, while senior wide receiver Nick Vailas has 31 receptions for 425 yards and two TDs.
Bates has faced its share of difficulties, with bad starts the main culprit. Before defeating Colby, the Bobcats had scored 85 points while allowing 222. Quarterback Brendan Costa has stood out on offense for Bates, rushing for a team- leading 610 yards and three touchdowns and throwing for 617 more. The Bobcat defense has been hurt both in the air and on the ground, allowing 447 yards per contest.
And at Colby, the Mules have been out-scored 233- 75 so far, with the defense torched for 412 yards a contest, while the offense has produced 219.4 yards a game and scored just 10.7 points a contest. However, Colby has played two solid contests in a row, falling to both Hamilton and Bates by 27-24 scores after failing to score more than seven points in its first five games. Quarterback Jack O’Brien has thrown for 938 yards while completing 136- of- 243 heaves with six touchdowns and five interceptions. Jake Schwern leads the Colby rushing attack with 331 yards and has chipped in 234 receiving yards, combining for four scores.
Bowdoin has struggled with Bates, falling in the last six meetings. The offense has averaged a mere 5.3 points a contest in those matchups with the Bobcats, while the defense has permitted 20 points a game. The last win over Bates for the Polar Bears was a 21- 20 victory in 2010.
The series between Colby and Bowdoin since the 2011 season has been won by the home team, with each team capturing three victories. The scoring has been close ( 110- 108 Bowdoin) in those six contests, with last year’s win going to Colby, 32-16.
Bowdoin enters Saturday’s game at Bates on a 15- game losing streak overall.
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