Week 1 - 2022 Season Opener and Alfred Game Preview

Raise the orange and purple high!

After a long offseason, the 128th season of Hobart College Football is finally upon us. The #23 Statesmen will host out of conference and relatively local rival, the Alfred University Saxons, on Friday night at the "Boz". According to the record books, Hobart is 40-35-4 all time against the Saxons, so this should be the 80th meeting of the two programs. The Statesmen have moved to the plus side of that equation over the past several decades, winning 11 straight over the Saxons dating all the way back to the 1996 season.

Last season, Hobart won big, 35-3 over Alfred on the road, thanks to five rushing TDs. The Statesmen offense racked up 386 total yards and called 45 running plays (58 total) in the rout. The defense was no slouch either, holding the Saxons to only three points and collecting four INTs.

Scouting the Saxons

Last season was considered a bit of a down year for Alfred, who finished 5-5 overall and tied for second place in the Empire 8 with a 4-2 conference record (but they did lose head-to-head Brockport, who also finished 4-2 in the E8, by a lopsided score of 38-0 in Week 11). 

The Saxons are led on offense by team captains SR WR Jake Kelsey and 5th year SR OL Bobby Felder, Jr. Kelsey hauled in 15 catches for 181 yards and 1 TD in 2021. Felder, who stands 6' 1" and weighs in at 315 lbs. is a strong blocker who was named the Saxons Offensive MVP in 2021.

Based on the 2022 roster, it would appear that Kelsey, Felder and the Alfred offense will be looking for SO QB Zuke Smith to take a step up after a 2021 season that saw him go 69-180 passing for 782 yards with 4 passing TDs. 

Smith came into the 2021 Hobart-Alfred game in the second half and completed four passes for 51 yards and 1 INT. For the Saxons to improve, Smith and the offense will have to drastically cut back on turnovers. Smith was picked off 8 times in 2021 and Alfred was -18 overall in TOM last year.

At the RB position, it appears as though leading rusher SO RB Max Freeman IV is back after a solid rookie year. Freeman rushed for nearly 500 yards and three TDs in 2021.

On defense the Saxons are led by team captains JR LB Joe Copp and 5-year SR DL Tim Dahl. These two combined for 10 total tackles against Hobart last season. Copp was named the Alfred defensive MVP by his coaches and teammates. If you believe the Saxons roster data, it appears as though six of their top 10 tacklers are back in 2022.

On special teams, Alfred needs to replace their FG PK, and they appear to have brought in a couple of FY PKs to compete for that role. Punting duties were handled last season by now JR LB Zach Johnson and SR WR Neil Peters, with Peters having the better statistics as far as net average and other metrics.

Keys to the Game:

1. Expect the Unexpected - Although a good percentage of returning players from both teams are back and 2021 data is helpful, we really don't or won't know anything about the 2022 versions of Hobart and Alfred until we see them back on the field. While it is possible the Statesmen offense goes with a 77-23 run-to-pass ratio like they did in last year's game on Friday night, we could also see the Hobart mix things up, try some new formations and players. On the flip side, defensively the Statesmen will have seven new starters, but most of the players we already know from getting lots of reps in 2021 (a hallmark of the Hobart philosophy of getting young players experience, especially for games like this one).

2. Let's go 12-0 - Look for the Statesmen to extend their home regular season and series winning streak over Alfred to 12-0 Friday night. This is the only game under the lights this season scheduled for Hobart (assuming no changes down the road), so the team really needs to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

3. Embrace the Inner (Under) Dog Mentality - The 2022 preseason Liberty League poll came out yesterday and had Hobart slated 3rd, which isn't a surprise, but should be a motivating factor this season. Alfred is also viewed as an underdog in their conference race and will likely come into this game with a similar chip on their shoulder as well. A fast and strong start for Hobart, like last year's opener, will go a long way to get the Statesmen to 1-0.

Prediction:

I think Hobart's experienced OL will once again dictate the game and while the defense will likely give up more than 3 points, I view Friday's season opener as a Statesmen win. I'll take Hobart to win it, 31-10.

Stay tuned for more In the D3FB Huddle coverage Friday before the big game. Frank and I will be covering a lot of the big Week 1 matchups, including Alfred vs. Hobart, via our @D3FBHuddle handle.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Hobart College Football 2022 Preseason Preview

The 128th season of Hobart College Football is upon us, and I couldn’t be more excited! Today is also the 13th anniversary / birthday of the blog, so why not celebrate our 14th (really 13th given the 2020 COVID year) season of Hobart Football with a 2022 preseason preview?

The Statesmen are returning to the shores of Seneca Lake today to continue to build off of their successful 2021 campaign that saw them win 9 games and an ECAC Bowl Championship. Hobart has unfinished business however, as they have not won the Liberty League (LL) title and berth into the NCAA playoffs since 2016. Last season the Statesmen missed an undefeated regular season record by literal inches, but this fall, in order to meet their goals, they will need to answer a great deal of questions, particularly on defense.

You can expect another hyper-competitive LL season, as the conference has catapulted into one of the nation’s Top 4 best. Ithaca (17), RPI (20) and Hobart (23) all appeared in the D3football.com Preseason Top 25 poll, with Union in the “receiving votes” category. It was the second most of any conference in the nation. 

Here's a first look at “Team 128”:

(OFFENSE)

The Statesmen bring back almost every starter from last year’s offense that averaged 31 PPG. Starting up front, four OL return including SR OL Ben Frank, SR OL Cade Frucci, SR OL Kieran Paskewitz and JR OL Devin Adamo. This group only allowed five sacks in 2021 – a league best. Ludner Mercy ‘21’s graduation means there will be an opening at center. 

Both JR RBs Rayshawn Boswell and Tim Denham, Jr. also return. Behind this strong OL, they helped Hobart rack up a league high 2,609 rushing yards and 36 TDs in 2021. Boswell is also a receiving threat, ending up second on the team with 272 receiving yards and a team high 3 TDs.

SR QB David Krewson returns looking to improve the Statesmen’s passing game. With a relatively inexperienced receiver group, Hobart ranked last in the LL in passing yards per game (137.1 YPG) and only threw for six passing TDs in 2021. Krewson has had his moments and with a more experienced WR corps, should fare better this year. SR WR Alex LaBella (32 catches for 354 yards and 2 TDs last season) returns as does JR WR Chris Bartosic, SO WR Marcus Lenz, and SO WR Rane Daramola. Also, back for a fifth year is SR TE Mike Zaccone, a very strong run blocker and team leader.

(DEFENSE)

The biggest question mark for Hobart going into 2022 will be who fills in the numerous openings on the defensive side of the ball given several losses to graduation. Only four starters return (JR DE Connor Gunn, JR DB James Mahoney, SR DB/SS Blake Hansen and JR LB Jamien Bliss) from the 2021 group that held opponents to 12.6 PPG.

Hansen and Bliss ended up fourth (47) and fifth (43) in overall tackles, respectively. Gunn had a solid year, racking up 4.5 TFL and 1 sack. Mahoney was reliable in coverage, especially with teams regularly going at him (and away from Jared Leake ’22, who's now on the coaching staff) with 7 PBU and 1 INT. 

That said, there are a large number of returning letterman in this group that got valuable playing experience last season and should be able to step up, and into, starting roles without too much trouble. I imagine players such as SR DB Jay McCoy, SR DT Naj Johnson, SO DE Alex Karpawich, SO ILB Anthony Romano, SR CB Abdoulaye Diallo, and SO CB Joe McCoy fitting that bill in 2022.

(SPECIAL TEAMS)

SO PK Tobias Wefering is back and will likely be pushed for playing time by FY PK Vicente Lyon. Teams will continue to roll the dice kicking the ball to Boswell, who’s always a threat to “take it to the house.”

(SCHEDULE)

The Statesmen play basically the same schedule as they had in 2021, just reverse home and away sites. I still can’t believe the administration scheduled the bicentennial celebration on a weekend when the team is on the road but having the Ithaca (Homecoming) and Union games at home this year – where Hobart is 11-0 since 2019 – should be big.

(FINAL THOUGHTS)

With at least four teams harboring LL title hopes, Hobart will be in the thick of things yet again. With a strong running game and tough defense, the Statesmen will give all the contenders a good run for their money. Time will tell if Krewson can balance out the offense with his strong arm, but either way you can count on more close games in the month of October – including big back-to-back road trips to RPI and SLU – deciding how 2022 plays out. 

I'll plan to do another update closer to Week 1 following preseason camp.