Week 2 - SUNY-Morrisville Game Preview

The #23 Hobart College Statesmen will hit the road for the first time in the 2022 to take on the SUNY-Morrisville Mustangs. "Mo' State" (1-0) won their season opener, 10-0, over Kean University last Saturday.

Hobart (1-0) has won all three of the matchups against the Mustangs by a combined score of 141-48, including last year's 41-0 blowout, where the Statesmen outgained Morrisville 407-112 total yards. This season I expect a more competitive showing from the Mustangs, who struggled to a 2-8 mark in 2021, but did surprisingly beat Brockport, 13-7, in Week 10.

Scouting the Mustangs

Thanks to Twitter, we know that these four Morrisville players were big factors in the win over Kean. SR WR Justin Adams hauled in 3 catches for 55 yards and 1 TD. On defense, SO DB Anai Brake had 5 tackles and 2 TFL and big SR DL Will Brown added two stops and a sack. On special teams, JR PK Hunter Regal averaged 43 YPP, with a long of 54, and only one TB on six kicks.

This is helpful, but really the Mustangs success will be based on their dual threat JR QB Steven Frerichs. He went 10-22 passing with a TD and rushed for 62 yards in Saturday's game. He also booted two punts himself, averaging nearly 50 YPP, so Hobart needs to be prepared the "quick-kick" in certain situations. 

Defensively Morrisville is led by SR LBs Joe Miller-Labar and Ernesto Mitchell. They tallied a combined 15 tackles in the win over Kean Saturday. 

Keys to the Game:

1. Start Fast - Last season it took the Statesmen until the second quarter to get on the scoreboard and they actually trailed, 17-21 at the half, in 2019. Realistically the Statesmen have more overall talent on both sides of the ball, so they should be able to set the tempo early in this one.

2. Break the Mustangs (Run Defense) - Even though they shut out Kean (0-1), the Cougars still averaged 4.5 YPR in Saturday's game. I think Morrisville's defense is tough, but undersized, and Hobart's big OL and TEs can take advantage of this matchup. 

3. Focus on Fundamentals - Not to beat a dead horse (pun intended), but the penalties have to stop. Hobart's too polished a program to get as many flags as they do. This (-95 yards on 9 penalties) was the only negative in Saturday's 36-6 win over Alfred (0-1).

Prediction:

No surprise here, but I like Hobart in this one. History suggests the Statesmen could crack 40 points, but I'll give the Mustangs defense a little more credit after their performance against a Kean team that finished second in the NJAC in 2021. Still, I'll take Hobart by a wide margin, say 38-10, in this Saturday's contest.

We will recap the Alfred game, among other things on the next episode of In the D3FB Huddle. Don't forget to catch the next Ted Baker and Coach DeWall podcast, which should be out a day or two before the next game.

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!