A spectacular video highlight reel of that contest can be seen here. We also invited new Bombers HC Dan Swanstrom onto ITH and that video interview can be seen here.
Hobart and Ithaca have resumed a series back in 2014 that was on hiatus since 2003. The Bombers lead the all-time series 5-25, but the Statesmen have a slight edge, 4-3, since the 2000 season. Hobart defeated Ithaca, 23-3, last year at Homecoming.
The Bombers got on the board first, after converting a 24 yard FG, to lead 3-0 only 4:33 into the game. The rest of the way was all Statesmen, however, as Hobart's defense shut out Ithaca. The offense would score 23 unanswered points, cashing in on two SR WR Brandon Shed receiving TDs and a rushing TD by SR RB Joe Letizia. Sean Kirshe '17 added a 29 yard FG as well. SO LB Jedh Downey led the defense with eight tackles.
Scouting the Bombers
"A work in progress" is how Coach Swanstorm describes his team, but the newest era of Bombers football shows promise. FY QB Wahid Nabi was thrown into the fire in a 31-0 loss to Brockport (4-0) in Week 2, but he rebounded well with a 357 yard passing, three TD performance against SLU.
SR RB Tristan Brown leads the Ithaca run game with 110 yards over two games (he didn't play against Alfred in Week 1). SO WR Will Gladney leads the Bombers with 362 yards and three TDs for an impressive 120.67 YPG. SR WR JR Zazzara and FY WR Andrew Vito have caught nine and seven passes for 135 and 110 yards, respectively. Vito scored his first collegiate receiving TD against SLU.
Defensively Ithaca returned nine starters from what was one of the best scoring defenses in the Empire 8 last season. SR LBs Dan Loizos and Kenny Bradley lead the Bombers with 29 tackles each. JR LB Pat Minogue and JR DL Brian Gill have tallied 22 stops as well.
Minogue doubles as the Ithaca punter, averaging 38.07 average YPP. JR PK David Prudhomme has struggled a bit, only converting two of five FG tries. He's better on KOs and PATs, averaging 48.3 YPKO, and going five for five.
Keys to the Game:
1. First Blood - The Statesmen got off to a fast, then sluggish, start last weekend against Endicott. The Bombers don't put up a lot of points, averaging only 13.67 PPG. It would bode well for Hobart to get a few early scores under their belt and put Ithaca behind the eight ball early in this one.
2. Under 100 - The Brockport game showed that if the Bombers are held to under 100 rushing yards, they are prone to pass more (and potentially be turnover prone). The Hobart DL will need to apply pressure at the point of attack, and bottle up the small, but quick, Brown.
3. Don't Be Soft - The Statesmen got a little soft in their coverage after the Brockport game, and while Ithaca's WRs are talented, the Hobart secondary shouldn't play off the line of scrimmage too far like they have on several occasions this season. A good pass rush will be necessary to avoid having the Hobart CBs being left in coverage too long and giving up deep routes.
4. Ancient History - I saw Brad Paisley in concert in Tampa a couple of weeks ago. His new single is "There's a Last Time for Everything." Well, guess what? The Butterfield shut out of Hobart has to end someday. The Statesmen literally fumbled away a great opportunity to do that in 2015, but this Hobart team is definitely stronger than the squad that played there then, so hopefully we can watch them put this streak to bed (finally).
Prediction:
It's hard to gauge how good this Bombers team is this season. They nearly beat #20 Alfred (3-0), but the defending E8 Champion Saxons barely beat Utica (1-3) and allowed 355 yards to Rochester (1-2). SLU is 1-2 also, losing to Utica in Week 1 and barely beating Norwich (0-4) in Week 2.
The Ithaca defense has talented players, but they are allowing 360 YPG and three TDs per game also so there's no reason for this Hobart offense not to have success this Saturday. I do get that the Bombers have had an extra week to prepare, and that'll probably mean a lower scoring first half (especially with rain in the forecast). Since I do think Hobart is closer to Brockport (4-0) than Ithaca in this one, and while they probably won't pitch a shut out, I do like the Statesmen to win 31-17, with a late surge in the second half.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
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