If you go to HWSAthletics.com you'll see the 2017 Hobart College Football schedule is up. It features nine games and byes in Week 2 and 9 given the LL is down to six teams due to exodus of WPI, Springfield and the USMMA to the NEWMAC.
Although some local Upstate NY teams like Saint John Fisher, Utica and Buffalo State may have open dates in Week 2, it remains to be seen whether or not the Statesmen will be willing and able to get a 10th game scheduled. This could be because of short and/or long term scheduling commitments, home vs. away scheduling, etc. among other matters. Another potential opponent could be Western Connecticut, who has gone up against Union College the last couple of years. The Colonels also supposedly have an open date in Week 2 as well.
If Hobart can't find or decides against scheduling a 10th game, the Statesmen will play a nine game regular season schedule for the first time since 2013. The 2017 slate has a lot of familiar names on it, but it also includes a pair of programs that are new to the Statesmen and /or haven't faced Hobart in a couple of decades. What else is noticeable is how travel friendly the 2017 schedule is for the Statesmen. Hobart would effectively open their schedule with three home games over the first four weeks of the season. That's significant to me because the Statesmen are 15-2, regular season and playoffs, the last three seasons at the "Boz".
Week 1 has the Statesmen hosting Brockport in a rematch of last season's thrilling 41-35 shootout before a possible bye in Week 2. Week 3 has former Hobart DC Coach Scott Yoder '00 returning to Geneva for a 7 PM kickoff with his Shenandoah University Hornets. Coach Yoder has done a nice job in bringing SU back to being a competitive program, finishing 2016 with a 6-4 overall record in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC). I expect this to be HWS' Homecoming and Family Weekend's "main event."
Speaking of old friends and alumni, Week 4 sees Coach Kevin DeWall '01's return home to the Finger Lakes region with his Endicott College Gulls squad. Week 5 is a short road trip to newly minted LL conference member Ithaca College (who named Dan Swanstrom of Penn, formerly of Johns Hopkins, as their new HC this offseason), then Week 6 is back at home to take on RPI. Those pesky Engineers are riding a two-game winning streak against Hobart, and have a 3-3 record against the Statesmen since 2011, winning the last two in a row.
Week 7 sees the return of Hartwick College to the schedule. The Statesmen are 4-2 all time against the Hawks with the last match-up dating all the way back to 1997, a game Hobart lost, 31-30. If you haven't noticed, all the box score information is available on these "classic" games, dating back to as far back as the archives have kept them (all have scores and results, but not every game has a BX). This 31-30 win by the Hawks was revenge for a 42-27 loss to the Statesmen in 1996. That game actually made it on ESPN's Sportscenter that year, due to a fluky TD a Hartwick receiver caught after the ball ricocheted off of SR DB and Co-Captain Tony Aguilar '97's helmet.
Week 8 is a road trip to long-time LL rival Union College. As stated earlier, Week 9 is currently slated as a second bye week before Hobart hosts Saint Lawrence in Week 10 for Senior Day. Week 11 is against Centennial Cup and LL rival, the University of Rochester.
With five home games and only four away games, none of which that are longer than a three hour drive (the Union game is the longest distance at 176 miles), Hobart has drawn a very favorable slate for 2017 in my opinion. Certainly there are a lot of factors to consider, but I have no doubt the Statesmen will be the LL favorite this fall, not just because of who they're returning, but this schedule as well.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
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