At this point pretty much all of Hobart's Liberty League (LL) rivals have released their 2017 football game schedules.
Ithaca, Saint Lawrence, Union and RPI published theirs either via social media and/or directly on their athletics websites in the last couple of weeks. In case you missed it, I reported on Hobart's 10 game schedule back on 2/13/17 and once again on 3/21/17 after the exciting announcement of adding Saint John Fisher.
The only holdout is Rochester at this point, but we can expect the Yellow Jackets to likely announce their dates later this spring. Their LL game schedule is easy to deduce with the five other programs already out there, but it remains to be seen if OOC games with Catholic (who recently joined the NEWMAC), for example, will be in play again for 2017? I have read online that UofR has agreed to play Alfred (although they did have a game against Alfred State last season, but the Pioneers have joined the ECFC, so that series may be off now that Alfred State has landed in a new conference) but that's about it. I emailed their SID today and will provide an update when I hear back from him.
Without further ado, let's get started taking a look at
SLU's schedule:
Wk 1 @ Utica
Wk 2 @ Norwich
Wk 3 vs. Ithaca* (update as of 4/20/17 - this date is confirmed)
Wk 4 Bye*
Wk 5 @ WNEU (defending NEFC, now CCC, Champions, 2016 NCAA playoff participant)
Wk 6 @ Union
Wk 7 vs. Buffalo State (who we now know should be a LL member by next season)
Wk 8 vs. Rochester
Wk 9 vs. RPI
Wk 10 @ Hobart
Wk 11 vs. Brockport
That's a pretty tough schedule for the Saints, but it shows they realized that their strength of schedule (SoS) probably kept them out of an at-large (aka Pool C) playoff bid in 2016 even after going 9-1. They definitely won't have SoS issues this fall pairing up with three Empire 8 teams and an OCC game against a 2016 NCAA playoff team in WNEU.
The only questions I'd have about this schedule would be:
- How will the Saints' defense reload after graduating a very large SR class?
- How will they fare having only one home game in the first six weeks of the season?
- Will this tougher OCC schedule cost them in the hunt for a playoff berth?
Now we go to
Ithaca, which interestingly enough, has the game against the Saints pegged for Wk 4, not Wk 3. That's probably a typo, but here's the Bombers schedule:
Wk 1 vs. Alfred (Undefeated Empire 8 Champions and 2016 National quarterfinalists)
Wk 2 @ Brockport
Wk 3 @ SLU*
Wk 4 Bye
Wk 5 vs. Hobart
Wk 6 @ Rochester
Wk 7 @ RPI
Wk 8 vs. Saint John Fisher
Wk 9 @ Utica
Wk 10 vs. Union
Wk 11 vs. Cortland (Cortaca Jug rivalry game)
Another tough slate, especially for a program with a new coaching staff and questions coming off a disappointing 5-5 campaign in 2016. It's possible the Bombers could be 0-3 when they host the Statesmen in Wk 5 (mostly likely off a bye) but
Hobart can't be too overconfident as the Statesmen have never won a game at Butterfield Stadium. All five of Hobart's wins in the series (1983, 2000, 2002, 2014 and 2016) have only happened in Geneva.
A couple of comments, questions I have regarding IC's schedule included:
- Are the Bombers setting themselves up for failure with basically 3 teams that finished in the D3football.com Top 25 in the first half of the season? I suppose if they can beat SLU it sets up a potential elimination game with Hobart in the following week.
- Although they never leave NYS, the only back-to-back home games come in Weeks 10&11. That's tough to say the least.
Union College surprised many with their 2017 schedule. This is probably due to the program's recent struggles (no winning seasons since 2012 and only eight wins overall in the last four seasons). Without a bye week until late in the season, the Dutchmen will have to try and grind out some wins against a relatively weaker OOC slate before getting into LL play. A couple of long road trips to Bangor, ME and Washington, DC are probably for alumni support and a win over Husson would be considered an upset by many.
Union's schedule is as follows:
Wk 1 @ Husson (defending ECFC Champions and 2016 NCAA playoff participant)
Wk 2 vs. Coast Guard
Wk 3 @ Gallaudet
Wk 4 @ Curry
Wk 5 @ Morrisville State
Wk 6 vs. SLU
Wk 7 @ Rochester
Wk 8 vs. Hobart
Wk 9 Bye
Wk 10 @ Ithaca
Wk 11 RPI (Dutchmen Shoes rivalry game)
While some of these OOC teams should be beatable,
having only two home games thru Week 7 is a tough road to hoe for the Dutchmen also. I suppose the one positive is both traditional rivals of RPI and Hobart are home games and the last road trip to Ithaca will be coming off a bye week.
RPI recently released their schedule with HC Ralph Isernia boasting they will have a
"Top 10 SOS" (based on the winning percentages from 2016 most likely). Here are the Engineers' opponents for 2017:
Wk 1 vs. William Patterson University
Wk 2 @ WPI (Transit Trophy game)
Wk 3 vs. WNEU (defending NEFC/CCC Champion and 2016 NCAA playoff participant)
Wk 4 @ Buffalo State
Wk 5 Bye
Wk 6 @ Hobart
Wk 7 vs. Ithaca
Wk 8 @ Alfred (Undefeated Empire 8 Champions and 2016 National quarterfinalists)
Wk 9 @ SLU
Wk 10 vs. Rochester
Wk 11 @ Union (Dutchmen Shoes rivalry game)
Coach Isernia has a pretty valid argument about the difficulty of this schedule. While opening with WPU isn't a tough match up (they finished tied for last in the NJAC last season), RPI has OOC games with two conference champions / NCAA playoff teams, plus their usual LL schedule, which includes three key games on the road. The Engineers have tripped up Hobart in recent years, having beaten the Statesmen in consecutive seasons (Hobart won three in a row from 2012-14). I noticed RPI has their bye week before they go to Geneva for their LL opener. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.
That's it for now. In the meantime, I'll be on the look out for more recruiting news.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
PS - Did hear from UofR, but schedule is still "unofficial". Alfred and Alfred State were listed as well as two more OOC games on their nine game regular season schedule, but hasn't been confirmed at this time.
PPS - Rochester finally released their schedule and it's as follows:
Wk 2 @ Carnegie Mellon
Wk 3 vs. Alfred State
Wk 4 @ Alfred
Wk 5 @ Becker
Wk 6 vs. Ithaca
Wk 7 vs. Union
Wk 8 @ SLU
Wk 9 Bye
Wk 10 @ RPI
Wk 11vs.
Hobart
Another late start (no Week 1 game) and only four home games will be a tough road for the Yellow Jackets. At least most of their LL slate will be mostly at Fauver Stadium. CMU is a new add given both schools' ties to the UAA (outside of FB) as are Alfred State and Alfred. Becker is also a new matchup (and may be the best chance for UofR to get a win in 2017).
