RPI has shown balance on both sides of the ball and, as always, boasts one of the stronger ST units in the LL, if not the East. Last season Hobart (4-1, 0-1) dug themselves into a 24-3 hole, before starting a late rally after then JR WR Ray Conley caught two TD passes to pull the score to 24-17 with 2:51 remaining in the game. The teams traded quick TDs after that and it wasn't until a failed onside kick attempt by the Statesmen in the final seconds that effectively ended the game.
The Engineers hold a narrow 31-30-1 edge over Hobart in the all-time series, which dates back to 1910. RPI has had Hobart's number this past decade, going 5-4 against Statesmen, including wins in three of the last four contests. Hobart last defeated RPI at the Boz in 2017, in a 30-0 shutout, but a lot has changed in Troy, NY since that meeting.
Scouting the Engineers
The biggest development coming out of their 30-0 loss to Hobart back in 2017 was Engineers HC Ralph Isernia deciding to give the starting QB job to (now) JR QB George Marinopolous who's led RPI to 19 wins in their last 23 games, including a run into the national quarterfinals last season.
The Guilderland (NY) HS grad has passed for 1,059 yds and 12 TDs so far this season, completing nearly 67% of his attempts, while throwing only 3 INTs. Marinopolous also has one rushing TD on the season but has mostly spread the ball around, as the Engineers have five different receivers with over 10 catches. SR WR Nick Smith has been his favorite target based on his team high 17 receptions for 210 yards and 2 TDs. The favorite end zone target is JR WR Vinnie McDonald with a team high 4 TDs. McDonald's size (6'4" 220lbs) will be a challenge for pretty much any secondary. McDonald also can throw the ball, completing a 76-yard TD pass in the season opener against Allegheny (0-4).The Statesmen LBs will need to keep an eye out for SR SB Marc Meislahn, who's caught 16 passes for 184 yards while also scoring 5 rushing TDs in short yardage situations.
The Engineers have split carries between SO RB Joe Scaglione (42 carries for 198 rush yards) and SO RB Dylan Burnett (34 carries for 202 rush yards and 1 TD).
The RPI OL is led by SR RG Jakob Grant, but otherwise is a younger, inexperienced OL compared to last season. SO C Thomas Olausen, SO LG Rick Demboske, FY LT Luke Koscioc and FY RT Shawn Gibbons were the starters in last week's win over Rochester (0-5). This young OL has done a solid job, only allowing three sacks so far this season.
This overall unit is helping the Engineers gain 33.2 PPG, 365.8 YPG of total offense, scoring 20 TDs (the defense has scored two).
Defensively RPI is holding opponents to only 10.6 PPG and is led by LL DPOTY candidate SR LB John Sadak. He has a team high 32 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 1 sack and an INT. The Engineers run a 3-3-5 scheme that provides various looks and uses a "rover" and multiple safeties. SR DL Andrew Banaitis has a team high 3 sacks to go with 17 tackles and 3.5 TFL. JR DL Amaechi Konkwo is having another good year, tallying 2 sacks, 4 TFL, 1 FF and 1 FR.
The secondary has a lot of new names compared to past seasons, but so far so good, as RPI has only allowed 229 passing YPG and 4 TDs to go with 6 INTs. The Engineers rush defense has been very stout, allowing only 61.6 rush YPG and 2 scores all season.
On special teams, JR PK Zac Montrief has averaged 34.35 YPP, forcing 8 FC and dropping another 8 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line. JR PK Sanjay Krishnan has handled FGs and PATs, converting 4-5 with a long of 34 yards. He also is the KO specialist, averaging over 56 YPKO. The return men for RPI have been numerous, but SO WR Matt Spellman and SR WR Delano Munoz Whatts have handled the majority of PR and KORs.
Keys to the Game:
1. Get Off to a Fast Start - Hobart has scored six points - both on JR PK Kyle Hackett FGs - in their opening drives so far this season. It would go a long way to get an early lead on the Engineers, especially at home where the Statesmen tend to play their best games. This is only RPI's second road game of the season, they're 0-1 and haven't scored any TDs away from the ECAV yet this season.
2. Win the TOM & TOP Battle - Hobart was -2 last weekend in the loss to Union. When RPI lost to WPI they were -3 and in the game against Utica, a narrow 2 point win back in Week 3, they were -1. Given the Statesmen's offensive struggles, they need to protect the football and look for ways to rattle Marinopolous into making somewhat rare mistakes. While he didn't turn over the ball against Rochester, he has thrown an INT in each of the three prior competitive games (against Allegheny, WPI and Utica), meaning Hobart should be able to come up with at least one Saturday. WPI and Utica also beat RPI in TOP, Utica especially, holding the ball for nearly 34 minutes. Hobart will need to put some drives together and convert a few third downs, which they haven't done a good job with this season, but the Engineers defense has been allowing opponents to convert them at over a 40% clip.
3. Air Raid - Speaking of Utica, they proved the Engineers secondary is susceptible to the pass. Neither WPI nor Utica could run the ball much against the RPI front six, and given the health and run-blocking challenges we've seen on the Hobart OL, we probably need a game plan similar to the one against Rowan. I wouldn't be surprised to see around 45 attempts or more Saturday.
Prediction:
The stats point to a win for the Engineers in this one by probably 10 points. The Statesmen will need to find a way to limit RPI's balanced attack and scoring opportunities. The Hobart defense has been tough to score on in the red zone, allowing only five TDs in 18 tries. Unfortunately the Statesmen offense has only scored 9 TDs in 21 trips. They will need to do better than that against the Engineers to win Saturday.
I'm hoping Hobart will be able to hang on in a close one.
We will see how the Statesmen respond to their first big adversity of the season. Thanks for reading and go 'Bart.
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