The Statesmen have not lost to the UofR since the 2010 season, a 35-34 decision, when a Hobart 2-point conversion came up short at the end of the game. Last season, the Statesmen won big, 51-12, in JR QB Ryan Hofmann's first collegiate start. Then FY RB Dakota Harvey rushed for 207 yards and three TDs in that game, but he won't play in this season's match-up due to a hamstring pull.
New Rochester HC Chad Martinovich '94 has been working on rebuilding the UofR program and the Yellow Jackets have struggled, with only one win against a slate that is 10-16 overall (Hobart's opponents by comparison are 18-8 - which according to D3football.com makes the Top 5 for Strength of Schedule in the nation). This weekend shouldn't really be a close game, but future contests, as Coach Chad gets in his recruiting classes, will become more and more competitive.
This year's game will also coincide with the annual Tackles & Touchdowns for the Ability Partners Fundraiser. JR OL Micah Holloway is leading the charge and you can read more about that here.
Keys to the Game:
1. Attack the Defense - Rochester lost last weekend to Saint Lawrence (2-4, 1-0), 38-24, giving up 357 passing and 237 rushing yards. Hobart should have no trouble putting up points on this 4-3-4 group, but the Yellow Jackets may try and disrupt the Statesmen's passing game by running stunts and leveraging newcomer FY LB Caden Cole, who leads the team with 39 tackles. SR LB Ricky Simcic is talented, and is second on the team with 35 stops to go with a sack, TFL and INT. The third leading tackler is SR LB Christian Marini. In spite of these players, this group is allowing over 425 YPG and so we should expect Hobart to be able to move the ball on them fairly easily Saturday.
2. Keep UofR One-Dimensional Offensively - The Yellow Jackets have struggled to run the ball all season, scoring only two rushing TDs, earning only 24 rushing first downs (less than five per game) and averaging only 98.2 YPG. The Statesmen faced SR QB Josh Brown last season, but it appears as though Saturday they'll match up against SR QB Matt Gallagher, who went 21-36 for 278 yards, three TDs and one INT against SLU last weekend. FY WR Noah Shinaman has nearly twice as many catches as any other Rochester receiver with 22 for 294 yards and three TDs.
3. Look for More Ways to Improve Defensively - The Statesmen made some key plays down the stretch to beat Union last weekend and we'd like to see more of the same against the UofR. While I thought we'd see a four man DL front based on the game notes, it appears as though the three man front remains the favored option. While I'm not entirely sold on that yet, I am willing to give it more time. Hopefully this game will allow Hobart to try several different looks and personnel to bolster experience.
Prediction:
I think the Statesmen should fare well and improve to 2-0 in conference play, winning this game by a score of 42-21.
With a second bye week following this game, we could see the starters in for longer than you might expect. I'd hope that they'd be saved for the big Week 9 @ RPI game, but it'll depend on how it goes Saturday.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
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