RPI Game Preview

The eighth ranked Hobart College Statesmen (6-0, 3-0) return to action Saturday when they travel to Troy, NY to face off against Liberty League rival RPI. The Engineers (4-3, 2-2) started off strong but have fallen back to the pack since the loss of their starting JR QB Jeff Avery to injury. Although SO QB Tommy Morgan has built some confidence in his first two collegiate starts, he has struggled in key spots committing at least five turnovers (four interceptions and a fumble that was the game clincher for Rochester last Saturday).

Last season the Statesmen gave up an initial TD to RPI before running off 35 unanswered points en route to a 35-13 win. The all time series, which began back in 1910, is even at 28-28-1. RPI is the last LL team to defeat Hobart (back in 2011 aka the “Mike Hermann game”).

Scouting the Engineers

#1 GR WR/RB Reggie Colas – A talented and versatile athlete, Colas is a big play threat any time he touches the football. He leads RPI with 9.5 YPC and has rushed for three TDs, including a 71 yarder last Saturday against UofR (4-2, 2-2). He also leads the Engineers with 20 catches with five receiving TDs.

#6 FY RB Mike Tivinis – This FY RB has emerged as a solid contributor and leads RPI with four rushing TDs. He will likely split carries with #21 JR RB Nick Schlatz, who leads the Engineers with 360 rushing yards.

#85 JR WR Logan Gaddar – Tall (6’ 2”) and athletic, Gaddar has 14 catches on the season for a team high 357 receiving yards and four TDs.

#56 SR LB Colby Tragni – An aggressive tackler, Tragni is co-captain and leads the RPI defense with 38 tackles, three TFL and one sack.

#4 SR DB Nick Borkowski – Another co-captain, Borkowski is an excellent cover man who will blitz off the corner. Borkowski is third on the team with 32 tackles, including five TFL and two INTs. In fact the strength of the RPI defense is it’s secondary which includes players like #31 JR DB Philip Lanieri III (leads team with four INTs) and #46 SR FS Connor Young (24 tackles and two INTs).

#3 SR PK Andrew Franks – A potential NFL talent, Franks has made 12 of 16 FG attempts with a long of 51 yards. Last week he broke the RPI record when he converted his 32nd career FG. He’s almost automatic making 23 of 24 PATs but what’s most impressive is how Franks has 29 touchbacks on 41 kickoffs (70.7%). He also is a good punter, averaging just under 40 YPP.

Keys to the Game:

1. Bottle Up Colas – RPI’s offense simply isn’t the same since it lost Avery. RPI’s best chance to do anything against the Statesmen defense is to try and get the ball to Colas, who missed last season due to injury. It’s likely Coach Isernia will look to put Colas in motion and/or test the Hobart contain with pitch option plays that can get Colas in space. The key for the Hobart LBs and DBs will be to come up and make the tackle on initial contact. Colas isn’t that big (5’ 11” 175) so he won’t bowl anyone over. However if you miss him or don’t wrap him up, he has the speed to break a long run.

2. Create and Cash In on Turnovers – The Engineers have been their own worst enemy during this two game losing streak. Given the pressure that will be coming from the Statesmen DL, the LBs and DBs could have at least a couple of interceptions and/or fumble recoveries if they stay on their assignments and play the ball. As an aside SR DE Tyre Coleman can crack the top five of the D3 career sack list if/when he gets one (or more) sack(s) Saturday.

3. Stop the Run – RPI’s run and shoot style option offense uses up a decent amount of clock given the number of running plays (the Engineers run 71.4% of time). If the running game fails the Engineers will be forced to pass which has not gone well for Morgan. He has a 35.9% completion percentage (14 of 39) and has thrown four INTs compared to two TDs.

Prediction:

I thought this game would be a tough contest a couple of weeks ago when RPI was standing at 4-1 and clicking on both sides of the ball. Since then they’ve really struggled and I could see this game getting away from them quickly. To their credit RPI played Saint Lawrence (5-1, 3-0) who has similar defensive stats as Hobart close in the first half. What kept the Engineers in the game was their ability to pressure Lefflbine and stop SLU on third downs (the Saints went five of 13 or 38% in that game).

I predict a healthy dose of running plays by the Statesmen to look to wear down the Engineer defense with a couple of down field strikes and/or roll out passing plays. RPI really struggled defending SLU’s big TE and WRs, so I could see SR TE Mike Berkowitz and the Statesmen WRs have some chances in the red zone. Hobart’s first two TDs vs. the Engineers last season where ironically to “Berk” and now SR WR Elvin Souffrant.

All that said I’ll pick Hobart to win this one 42-7.

Thanks for reading and go ‘Bart!